Archangel Michæl approached Archangle Petrello from behind, as Petrello looked down upon the world of mortals. Petrello had been among the naïve of angels, but of course that was expected of him due to being the most recent of archangels. Rather, in Petrello’s case, he was considered an archangle. As odd as the title may seem, it was certainly indicative of Petrello’s purpose as an archangel. The name referred to geometric angles, as one could easily presume, to convey the purpose of Petrello’s power of Holy Mathematics. The angle served as a manifestation of Petrello himself, being at the edge of every shape, and serving as the sharpest point among mathematical principles. Petrello was acute as could be; his wit, intelligence, and accuracy were the quintessence of his mathematical knowledge. Of course, being as diligent as he was, he wished for nothing more than to give this wisdom to the mortals below.
Michæl knew this of Petrello, as did all others. T’wasn’t difficult to decide Petrello’s nature, especially considering his status. As he stood beside Petrello, who looked upon the world of mortals (as he often did), he carefully rolled words through his mind, deciding how to give them to Petrello. At last, Michæl spoke,
“You are fond of mortals, yes?”
“Aye,” replied Petrello.
“How so?” Michæl replied.
“The knowledge of God deserves to be shared,” Petrello’s response came with no premeditation needed.
“I see,” Michæl hummed. He paused, choosing his next words, “Do you not know of the dangers of such knowledge?”
“Hardly,” Petrello scoffed, “As long as we ensure that the mortals know how to use such knowledge, I do believe that we can trust them with it.”
“And what do you mean by ensuring that the mortals know how to use such knowledge?”
Michæl sighed, “You do understand that we must give mortals free will, do you not?”
“The giving of knowledge is not the taking away of free will. Should that indeed be the case, I’d dare say that the mortals would have no leg upon which one could stand.”
Michæl hummed once again. He knew Petrello was far from wrong, yet simply giving divine knowledge to mortals had been forbidden since the beginning of God’s creation. He turned away from the land of mortals, looking upon the Heavenly kingdom which God created for himself.
“Such great land there is,” Michæl commented, “Both in God’s domain and man’s.”
“If God’s kingdom is his domain, then man’s realm shall be his range.”
Michæl chuckled. The analogy made no sense, yet it was fitting for Petrello’s character.
“The Dæmons wish to control both the domain and rage, Petrello, yet the range is not ours with which we may meddle.”
“And so we shall allow their control?” Petrello turned to Michæl, insulted by such words, “The Dæmons surely shall not prevent man from entering the domain!”
Michæl paused, deep in thought, before finally responding.
“Very well, then,” he turned back to Petrello and placed a hand on his shoulder, “We shall send you on our behalf to show man the divine knowledge of God. We will not risk the loss of mortal souls.”
Petrello nodded. At last, his wish was granted: his wish to give knowledge to the mortals below.
“We shall meet in council with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” Michæl said to Petrello, “They shall decide where to send you and how you may assist in the salvation of mortals."
God sat atop his golden throne, enshrined in silk cloth and adorned with jewels. Beside him sat Jesus Christ in a humble wooden chair. The dove of the Holy Spirit perched itself upon God’s shoulder. The Holy Trinity looked down upon Petrello, who stood his own ground at one end of the Divine Hall.
“Petrello,” spoke God the Father, his voice echoing throughout the hall, “You wish to assist in the salvation of man by entering his domain, is that correct?”
Jesus interrupted, “Father?”
“Yes?” God the Father responded.
“Can you turn down the reverb on your voice? The echo’s getting pretty loud.”
“Son, we’ve been over this-” God responded, yet Jesus interrupted him.
“Yeah, Dad, I get it, it’s your thing, but it gets old after a while.”
“Well, what other audio filter is there to make me sound divine and infinite?”
“I dunno, just turn the reverb down so it doesn’t get so overwhelming when you talk.”
God the Father sighed, yet complied. Such was evident by the lack of booming echo once God the Father spoke again.
“Petrello!” God called out.
“Yes, God?”
“We require good reason for your descent unto man’s domain!”
“Man’s range, Sir,” Petrello corrected.
“I created it, I call it what it shall be called.”
“Yes, Father,” Petrello said sheepishly.
“You keep on derailing this… okay, where were we?”
“Wanting to enter man’s domain,” Jesus chimed in.
“Ah, yes, yes,” God replied, “We require good reason for your descent unto man’s domain! Speak now, Petrello, and give your reason.”
Petrello stepped forward, and spoke clearly and eloquently: “Father, I do believe that man must be given the knowledge of the divine in order to successfully enter your kingdom. Just as Jesus did so over two thousand years ago - in Earth time, that is - I choose to descend unto them on your behalf and show them that which you have carefully crafted for your followers: Mathematics.”
“Should I give man knowledge, that may interfere with his free will, Petrello. Do remember that,” God responded.
“Not entirely,” Petrello said, “Jesus was sent to do exactly that, and the same can be said for a great number of angels. Furthermore, you have performed miracles to save humans. If this truly is the case, then sending me to the range should not contradict the practices you regularly commit.”
“I side with him on this,” Jesus chimed in, “We do send a lot of people down, and remember, we did reveal ourselves to a few people way back when. Muhammed, Constantine, Saint Paul-”
“Constantine?” God said.
“Well, supposedly, that is, according to a few Byzantines.”
“Huh, interesting.”
“Anyways, if we could do it then, then why not now? Heck, you still do miracles, so even if you don’t send down as many angels as you used to, sending Petrello down wouldn’t be a problem at all.”
God thought for a moment as the dove of the Holy Spirit preened itself on his shoulder. He looked down upon Petrello, and finally spoke once more.
“Very well, then,” His voice boomed, “Petrello! I hereby send you to Earth to teach the divine principles of mathematics!”
“Thank you, father,” Petrello knelt and bowed his head, “How do you wish for me to spread my wisdom?”
“Go to LaSalle High School!” God’s voice boomed.
“Er… only one place, Lord?” Petrello responded, “I’d only be teaching a few dozen students! Lord, I surely implore that I shall teach more than just-”
“Just let it go, dude,” Jesus cut in, “Do what the man says, and you’ll do greater things later on.”
Petrello paused, letting Jesus’s words sink into his mind. He then stood and looked up to God the Father.
“Very well, Lord. I shall do your bidding,” he said finally.
“Michæl, lead him to the domain of man,” God called.
“As you wish,” Michæl replied dutifully.
Petrello was led by Michael out of the Divine Hall and towards the Cloud of Descent. Many angels had used it before, Jesus himself included, to travel to the range of humans. So, too, did Petrello in order to show the divine ways of Mathematics to the mortals which live within the mortal range. As the Cloud of Descent touched down just in front of LaSalle High School, Petrello snapped his fingers, transforming his holy silk robe into a guise adorned with a simple cardigan.
“...and that’s how it’s done,” Petrello said as he walked straight into the school.