Angelology(68)

will find Raphael’s files to be a bit of a challenge to put in order.”

“There are so many,” I said, enthralled by the sheer amount of papers to go through and curious as

to how we would document such a mass of information.

“I have already given Gabriella precise instructions about our methodology for cataloging the

papers,” Seraphina said. “She will pass those instructions on to you. There is only one directive I

will repeat: You must remember that these notebooks are exceptionally precious. They form the bulk

of our original research. Although we have excerpted some of the material for publication, none of

these has been copied in its entirety. I ask that you take special care to preserve the more delicate

notebooks, particularly the texts outlining our expeditions. These papers cannot leave my office, I’m

afraid. But as long as you work through the material in a timely fashion, you may read them as you

wish. I believe that there is much to learn, however disorderly the papers may be. Indeed, I am hoping

that our work will help you to understand the history of our struggle and, if we are very lucky, help us

discover what we are seeking.”

Taking a leather notebook and giving it to me, she said, “These are some of my writings from my

student years. There are notes from lectures, some conjectures about angelology and its historical

development. It’s been so long since I’ve looked at it that I cannot fully account for what you might

find. I was once an ambitious student myself and, like you, Celestine, spent many, many hours in the

Athenaeum. With so much information about the history of angelology, I felt that I needed to make it

all a bit more compact. I’m afraid some of my rather naïve speculations may be included, which you

should take with a grain of salt.”

I struggled to imagine Dr. Seraphina as a student, learning the very things we were learning. It was

difficult to imagine her ever having been naïve about anything.

Dr. Seraphina said, “The notes from later years might be more engrossing. I rewrote the material

from this journal into a more—how shall I say it?—succinct account of the history of our work. One

objective that our scholars and agents have tried to adhere to is that angelology is purely functional—

we use our study as a concrete tool. Theory is only as good as its execution, and in our case historical

research plays a large role in our ability to fight the Nephilim. Personally, I have a rather empirical

mind. I am not at all adept at understanding abstractions, and so I used narrative to make

angelological theories more tangible to me. It is much the same way that I order my lectures. While

the use of narrative is commonplace in many aspects of theology—allegories and the like—the church

eschewed such an approach when speaking of angelological systems. As you perhaps know,

hierarchical systems were often constructed as a kind of argument by the church fathers. They

believed that as God created hierarchies of angels, so He made hierarchies on earth. Explaining one

would illuminate the other. For example: As the seraphim are superior angelic intelligences to the

cherubim, so, too, is the archbishop of Paris to the farmer. You see how it might work: God created

hierarchies, and everyone must remain in their God-appointed place. And pay their taxes, bien sûr.

The church’s angelic hierarchies reinforced the social and political structures. They also offered a

narrative of the universe, a cosmology that gave order to the seeming chaos of ordinary people’s

lives. Angelologists, of course, diverged from this path. We observe a horizontal structure, one that

allows intellectual freedom and advancement through merit. Our system is quite unique.”

“How could such a system survive?” Gabriella asked. “Surely the church would not have allowed

it.”

Startled by Gabriella’s brazen question, I looked down at my hands. Never would I be able to

question the church in such a forthright manner. Perhaps it was a detriment, my belief in the soundness

of the church.

“I believe that this question has been asked many times before,” Dr. Seraphina said. “The founding

fathers of angelology developed the perimeters of our work at a grand meeting of angelologists in the

tenth century. There is a wonderful account of the meeting, written by one of the fathers in

attendance.” Dr. Seraphina returned to the cupboard and removed a book. Turning through the pages,

she said, “I suggest that you read it when you have the chance, which will not be now, as you have

more than your share of work ahead of you this morning.”

Seraphina placed the book on the table. “Once you begin reading the history of our group, you will