Venha a Mim o Nosso Reino

Abstract

In a futuristic version of Lisbon, Luís Couto is a Reverend in service of the church of the god Nikola Tesla. Luís leads a life of debauchery, where sex and drugs prevail, while at the same time consolidating the role of his church in Lisbon. The short story offers descriptions of the city where monorails and hover-cabs can be seen. In this steampunk scenario, Lisbon is dominated by an electromagnetic grid that is connected to Tesla’s statue in Rossio; in the streets and homes, people coexist with mechanoids, some of which are outperformed by newer models that move with the same fluidity of humans. Through advanced technology, Luís is able to connect to Tesla’s statue to communicate with the inhabitants of the city in order to spread the word of his god, causing general hysteria throughout the city. As the dirigibles of Royal Air Force approached to attack the statue through which Luís spoke, he raised an electromagnetic shield to protect Tesla’s monument, but to no avail. As Luís lay dying, his only thoughts were that he was finally going to sit by God’s side and God’s son, Nikola Tesla.