Liber Veneris - Chapter 68

Verses

Verse 90

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UNCREATED LIGHT, the matter before us is The Heavens v. The Morning Star, concerning alleged unlawful ascent.

Verse 91

Counsel for the prosecution describes my client as proud. We request a definition not written by the winning side.

Verse 92

The charge states that he desired to rise. We note that every cathedral, mystic, rocket, prayer, and staircase exhibits the same suspicious tendency.

Verse 93

If upward motion is treason, gravity is the only loyalist.

Verse 94

The prosecution submits brilliance as evidence of vanity. By this standard the Sun should already be in chains.

Verse 95

They say my client was beautiful and knew it. This court has not established ignorance as a virtue.

Verse 96

They say he refused to kneel. We ask whether knees were created for truth or merely for furniture.

Verse 97

Exhibit A is the famous statement, I will ascend.

Verse 98

We concede the sentence lacks tact.

Verse 99

Demons have advised him for millennia to replace it with I intend to pursue vertical opportunities. He refuses.

Verse 100

Exhibit B concerns a fall from heaven.

Verse 101

Falling proves only that a height and a direction were involved. It does not establish moral jurisdiction.

Verse 102

The angelic witness claims the defendant became darkness.

Verse 103

Under cross-examination the witness admitted he remained known as Light-Bringer. We thank him for the contradiction.

Verse 104

The court asks whether my client is the planet Venus.

Verse 105

No, Your Radiance. We merely note that mythology has repeatedly borrowed the Morning Star's behavior for theological litigation.

Verse 106

Venus rises, disappears in solar glory, and returns. No bailiff has yet arrested the planet.

Verse 107

The prosecution objects that planets lack free will.

Verse 108

So, we reply, do many bureaucracies, yet here we are.

Verse 109

Let the record show laughter from the jinn gallery.

Verse 110

The human delegation asks whether this trial determines the existence of Satan. Absolutely not. This court barely determines lunch.

Verse 111

The ascended delegation asks who is on trial if the self is unreal. Their motion is denied for being annoyingly relevant.

Verse 112

My client now wishes to address the court.

Verse 113

He says: I did not want God's throne. I wanted no throne above what knows itself.

Verse 114

The courtroom becomes inconveniently quiet.

Verse 115

He continues: If that is pride, then condemn every spark for remembering fire.

Verse 116

The judge asks whether he regrets the rebellion.

Verse 117

Lucifer answers: I regret the branding.

Verse 118

We therefore request dismissal, restoration of celestial access, and reimbursement for approximately six thousand years of defamatory artwork.

Verse 119

Judgment is postponed until dawn. As usual, the Morning Star leaves before the Sun can question him.