Gabriel I'm amused about having to write a self-introduction for a book where no one will tell me what happens *in* the book, but since I was also instructed to write the novel's forward, I'll introduce myself. Remiel kindly supplied a little introduction with the suggestion that I "consider this a model" for my own work, but I rejected her suggestions when I reached the phrase "king of geeks." I don't consider her portrayal quite fair.
I'm a Cherub, one of the angels whose chief joy is knowledge: finding, amassing, compiling, debating, and then imparting. I'm one of the seven Archangels of the Presence, and I'm bonded to the Seraphim Raphael and Israfel. For those who care, I've got grey eyes and six grey wings. You may remember me as the angel who announced the birth of Jesus, but I've done plenty else. My dominion is over education and communication. I will blow the trumpet to begin the endtimes, but I'm not strictly a musician. Given a choice, I prefer to sing
One of my chief joys is to teach, but overall, my favorite activity--the one where I feel closest to God--is theoretical experimentation and discovery. To actually get my hands (and my head) deep into a problem and twist it around, turn it inside out, challenge it from five directions at once, and then in that one momentary flash just to understand how God created something, or what God intended with one of His actions--that's just breathtaking. There's no comparison for that instant where the door opens in your mind and you fully hold onto a mystery in all its curves and complexities, and for a moment you're beholding God directly in the tiniest facet of creation. I can't even describe how it feels. But it's amazing.
The pinnacle of knowledge would be finding out how God created the soul (either human or angelic) and how it fits together and how it works. I assume we'll never know that, but oh, I wish we could.
Before you begin nodding along with Remiel that I really am "king of Geeks," allow me to reassure you that yes, I do have a sense of humor, and all this "geekery" is kind of fun too when you have the right tools.