Nathanael hadn’t delivered any specific message; the angel’s parting words, which had boomed out across the entire visitation site, were the typical Behold the power of the Lord. Of the eight casualties that day, three souls were accepted into Heaven and five were not, a closer ratio than the average for deaths by all causes. Sixty-two people recived medical treatment for injuries ranging from slight concussions to ruptured ardrums to burns requiring skin grafts. Total property damage was estimated at $81.1 million, all of it excluded by private insurance companies due to the cause. Scores of people became devout worshipers in the wake of the visitation, either out of gratitute or terror.
Alas, Neil Fisk was not one of them.
Stories of Your Life and Others por Ted Chiang.
