Act 4 (Falling action) God’s judgment

The curtain opens. Everyone stands in their initial position.

Adam: When I lost Lilith, the pain and isolation I had escaped from crept into my soul. But His Sovereign Lord created another woman. Eve. And now, I am about to lose her as well. I swore that would never happen again [to The Snake]. When you had left, I felt grief like never before. The misery hath increased ten-fold. Pain and betrayal consumed me to such an extent that I could not see the world like you. I was consumed by my joy and had not understood the pain you felt. You were miserable and alone. But after eating from the fruit, I began to understand. I cannot wallow in my own misery and never consider others. When you left, I should have gone after you. I should have stayed with you.

The Snake: Indeed, you should. I gave everything to you. But when I needed you the most, you hath left me alone. There was no one for me. What choice did I have but to transform? But make no mistake. I do not regret my choices. I am me. There is no chance for us anymore, and I will continue my path. As a woman and as a snake, I will achieve my own happiness.

Eve [to herself]: Listening to her words, why do I feel sadness coming from her?

Adam: The happiness we had, or the one I thought we had. That is gone or never had existed. I ate the fruit to stay at Eve’s side. Not because I understood her, but because I felt fear. I did not wish to go back to that emptiness. Rather would I suffer than feel emptiness. But that was before I tasted the forbidden fruit of knowledge between good and evil. Now, I wish to remain at Eve’s side so that she will feel neither solitude nor misery on her path like you did. Whatever hardship she will go through, I will be there for her.

God: We see. That hath been thy reason. Thou hath been corrupted by loss and pain and wished to sin than endure that pain any longer. That led you to disobey our order. Now Eve, what do you have to say.

Eve [to The Snake]: I wish to ask. Why did you give me the fruit? Could you have not taken it and distributed it evenly among all men? What did you gain from making me eat the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil?

God: Could it not be any clearer? She wished to see you fall. You are the most immaculate woman in existence and the most beautiful possession in this garden. You were supposed to be the embodiment of female perfection. Nothing greater in the mortal plane could exist. But for those who have basked in evil, there exists joy in seeing goodness corrupted. The purer it becomes, the more those of twisted minds wish to see it fall to their level. Lilith wished to turn you Eve, the most beautiful and most perfect of all women, into a snake as wicked and foul as her.

The Snake [subdued]: That is...That is not true. I admit that your beauty has bewitched me. [louder] When I saw you naked, when I saw you consume the fruit and express your newfound freedom, desire overcame me. I wished to devour you. Greed and lust filled my heart, and together with you, I wished to bask in sin and decadence. But I saw you. All alone. There is no one to share your world with. I know your pain. Here in this garden, you would have remained in solitude. But if you hath devoured this fruit, you would gain a desire to explore the world. You would have found someone to share this future with you. Someone you will choose from the bottom of your heart and with your free will, not someone given to you through fate and cosmic design.

Eve: I understand. [smiles] Thank you. When I took the fruit, I wished to gain the knowledge between good and evil. Why was it here? Couldn’t it be nothing but good? I desired to know more about this world and this garden as well. How could I appreciate good if I never knew of evil? So, I ate from this fruit, and thus I learned. I gained experience, but seeing this trial, I also realized how little I know. Eating from this fruit, I have only learned about my world. As Lilith had said, there are innumerable worlds in existence on this planet. When I ate the fruit together with Lilith, I understood good and evil, and upon that knowledge, I built my world. Here, during this trial, I saw the worlds of Adam and Lilith, and thus I expanded my horizon. I will declare this. There is no need for court or judgment.

God: No need for trial or judgment? What do you mean by that?

Eve: I have realized that this garden of yours is merely another world. If I stay here, I will remain the same. I will not evolve; I will not progress. And I cannot help. And the first one I will help is Lilith.

Lilith [shocked] Help? Me? I do not understand.

Eve: You said you wished for me to find someone to share. Someone I can view as my equal. Perhaps I will, or I will not. But what about you? You have been here alone for so long. How can you not suffer in solitude? Who can you call your equal? I will be here for you. Come with us as we explore the world. I wish for you to be at my side. You vanquished my solitude and pain, and I desire to do the same. I want you to see the world together with me. And for this, I will leave the Garden of Eden behind. Therefore, there is no need for punishment, for we will leave the garden behind on accord with our free will.

God: We understand. We have listened enough. It has become clear that eating the fruit of knowledge between good and evil hath corrupted you. Your souls hath become tainted with the outside world. You could not remain pure when confronted with evil. That is clearly the fault of Lilith. Eve, listen to us. This Lilith woman is nothing but evil. You may think of her as a being that opened your eyes, but we know better. Her words are dripping with poison. Her heart is as cold as ice. And her nature is as fickle as the state of water. She is a dragon, a succubus, and an evil imp wishing to corrupt you. This woman will bring nothing but misery to you, Eve. As the Sovereign Lord and as your guardian, we have to protect you from her. You may be blind to it, but we see it clear as night and day, how much she has changed you. The once pure and honest soul is gone. We will not deny it, you were in pain, and we had ignored it. We apologize. To some degree, there was fault in us as well. This Lilith saw you at your weakest and preyed on you. She enticed you with affection and companionship. A poor soul wished for companionship, for someone to carry with her the weight of the world. I cannot punish you for your actions. You did not know of good or evil and thus could not do wrong or right. All the blame lies with Lilith. She may have tainted you, but that shall be corrected.

Eve [concerned]: What does His Sovereign Lord mean with this? What is His Sovereign Lord’s intent?

God: The trial is finished. You spoke, and we saw into you. It has become evident. Despite eating from the forbidden fruit of knowledge between good and evil, neither you nor Adam lost their pure core. Thus, we will remove all influence of Lilith from you. We will cast her to the depths of Hell. There she can freeze in a lake of ice, as it is befitting of a snake. And you two, we will take you back to our garden. There you will eat from the fruit of life. We will watch over you. You will never leave our garden and remain there for all eternity with us. We will educate you in the right way. We will protect you from evil. You will tend to our garden, and you two will live an eternal life of bliss and joy in this garden of ours. And the day will come, where you have forgotten of this knowledge you gained from eating the fruit. We will burn the tree and scatter its ashes across the universe. One day you will not remember this Snake. And the blemish on your soul will fade away and vanish. You will become pure again and walk the path of becoming the perfect being. You will become Adam Kadmon.

Everyone on the stage is shocked.

Eve: No, you cannot do this.

God: Yes, we can. This is our final, our last judgment.

Cracks start to build on the stage. For a moment, the distinction between actor and character fades away. The two swap places, and the curtain closes for one final time.