Suddenly Adam was awake. Before him was great a light that would blind the average man. Adam was no average man, however. He was the first man, and the light before him was his creator, God. God took delight in Adam, and Adam took delight in God. There was order to their relationship, and they spent much time together naming all the creatures of the earth. There was no pain or toil at this time. The naming of the animals was purely creative for Adam. This creativity came from God Himself because with it God created Adam.

Although Adam knew only joy from the moment breath filled his lungs, he wondered why all the creatures he named had partners and he did not. He asked God this question. God, foreseeing this query, put Adam into a deep sleep. Adam's eyes opened to a creature of unrivaled beauty lying beside him. It was Adam's kind, a partner to help him. Adam named her Eve, and God said it was good.

"You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, and I have seen all of God's wonderful creations," Adam said to Eve. Eve blushed her first blush and from that moment had great joy when Adam complimented her. "I will show you all there is to see in God's garden. All of it is for us to enjoy except one tree and its fruit. That tree we must stay away from," Adam continued. Eve took to heart every word Adam said because she was devoted to him. The couple spent all their time with one another. God took great delight in seeing the two together, for God knew their love came from Him.

There came a time when Adam and Eve went off on their own. They had never separated before. Adam was spending time in God's presence while Eve looked for the best fruits for them to enjoy. Before Eve was a tree with a creature unknown to her standing beside it. The creature, a serpent, had speech attractive to Eve's ears. The serpent's stature and speech distracted Eve from the danger she knew was present.

"Why has Adam left you alone, Eve? You're too beautiful to be by yourself. Would he rather spend time without you?" the serpent questioned.

"Adam is spending time with our Lord," Eve replied. "He spends time with God, and it is good."

"Adam and God spend time without you because they think you are lesser than them. If you eat this fruit you will know just as much as God, and Adam can no longer think of himself as better than you," the serpent retorted. Eve had never thought of herself as lesser before. Her desire was to be with Adam, and so she accepted the fruit as a means to please Adam. In her mind, the fruit would make her, and even Adam, like God. They could draw closer to Him.

Adam found Eve returning with a fruit in her hand. He could see how excited she was about it, and although he sensed an unfamiliar feeling called temptation, he knew it would please her to take a bite. The two of them took a bite together. For the first time they felt the breeze against their naked bodies. They felt cold and ashamed. The omnipresent light in the garden had at once become too bright and too dim for them to look at. Adam and Eve hid and tried to fashion clothes out of the flora nearby but were too dismayed to be able to think of how to do so. The act of breathing was much more difficult than it was before. Their breaths were labored until they heard the voice of God calling out to them. At this their breaths stopped.

"Where are you, Adam and Eve?" God asked.

"We are hiding, Lord... This woman you gave me has given me the treacherous fruit! My life is a burden now, and I want you to take it away!" Adam exclaimed.

"Lord, it was not I who wanted the fruit! The serpent convinced me of it. He is to blame!" Eve yelled.

"The time has come. Adam, Eve, and the serpent, you all are banished from the garden. Our story is not yet complete, however. Adam and Eve, although your life will be toil and you will constantly yearn for the days we were completely together, I have a design for the future. Our creation will stomp out the serpent and his deception. Your disobedient sin will be redeemed, and you will once again join me in paradise. Until then, leave here. Your nature, which is now sin, is unable to stand in My presence."

Adam and Eve once again awoke, but this time they were John and Alex. They both became acutely aware of what was going on once their eyes opened to the blinding light of the digital screens surrounding them.

"You two failed," a bodiless voice said in the room. "You were the most promising subjects yet, and even for you the temptation--or whatever it is--was too great. Of course you both are too disoriented to know what I'm talking about, so I'll just play the clip."

The video clip then took over the screens and began describing what had just taken place: "Welcome to the Eden Project. It is our design to find a couple who can do what Adam and Eve couldn't. Using our recreation technology, we have modeled a genuine Eden. For the couple who can overcome the temptation, we will send them back in time to do what Adam and Eve..." the voice trailed off in the minds of John and Alex. Whatever the Eden Project was trying to do, they knew it couldn't be done with man alone.

Author's Note: I came up with this story idea after reading the first story in the Adam and Eve unit. The first story is the King James version of Genesis. I found all the stories beyond the Biblical origin deepened and expanded the story of Adam and Eve. I thought it would be best if I did a condensed version with a twist ending to keep things interesting. I didn't try to change any major elements of what the story in the Garden of Eden is about, but I did try to describe why Adam and Eve would break away from God. Once Eve and then Adam tried to please each other before God, things fell apart. I also made it a little more obvious about what God's plan for the future was.

I think there could definitely be more development once John and Alex wake up, but I ran out of space. What I'm trying to get across is that this organization is trying to make it so Adam and Eve never leave the garden. I don't really know what that looks like in practice, but the meaning is this: they are trying to fix things without thinking about how God has it all under control.

I appreciate the interest in learning more about the world John and Alex wake up in. For the purposes of this story, I was more concerned with giving a possible reason why Adam and Eve rebelled from God. The twist ending, while being cool, is more so to show that even humankind's great failure was all part of God's plan. However, I could write another story. I'll post a link here if I do decide to write it.

Bibliography:

Adam and Eve

King James Bible: Genesis