"What about the caribou?" Gabrielle asked, eyebrows raised like the French circonflex accent.
"They're dwindling faster than glaciers. But you know what these foolish carbon units are saying -- the ones encroaching on the caribou's territory -- the reason they give for the caribou's eventual demise? They say logging is their livelihood; towns will close, residents will relocate and abandon their homes, their schools, their way of life unless -- they continue clear cutting. I sympathize, I really do but I can't believe they'd choose their meagre little lives in exchange for an entire species."
"Well, what can you do? Send another plague to eradicate. . ."
"Hey, that wasn't me. Don't forget, I'm all merciful. That was Lucy. She'll stop at nothing if something threatens her and. . . "
"Well then, there's nothing you can do. YOU are helpless," continued Gabrielle, shaking her head in exasperation.
"Not true. I can leave nature takes its course. Remember the Great Flood? A super way to begin again. But with today's abundance of species, it will take a flotilla of arks. I'll have to inspire more than one person."
"Lucy won't be happy. She'll interfere, make things dicey."
"Leave it to me Gabrielle. I must do something now before my blue planet is doomed."
"What if it doesn't work?"
"I can start over. I made a mistake, I. . . "
"You? Impossible. No such thing," Gabrielle said, ruffling her wings.
"Not exactly a mistake. But even I don't have the power to foresee every eventuality. Free choice is still the right way to go but I must amend, remove or add something to these humans - they should not be allowed to fall into the same trap. Do you not agree Gaby?"
"Oh God, of course I do but I hope the battle between good and evil will remain as an integral part of humanity otherwise Lucifer and I will have no raison d'être."
Pondering on the seat of Time, God smiled benevolently on the blue planet, her favourite in all the galaxies, its occupants made in her image -- somewhat.
"Have you forgotten Gaby, the way I'm described. Let me refresh your memory: ALL powerful, ALL knowing. You my BFF, as they say on earth, have nothing to fear and neither does Lucifer. Your job title and assignments are yours for eternity,"
and God laughed, and all the celestial beings chuckled with her.