Infrared, ultraviolet, motion detecting sensors, sound analyzers; all my equipment was set up and ready. As I started activating the myriad of power buttons on the various components, I thought to myself, if there was a ghost in this old museum, I was going to find it. The low hum of electricity began to fill up the dead silence, no longer making me feel quite so alone. And I soon found out, I wasn't alone, as the gamma wave detector began quietly chirping for attention. I repositioned the small dish towards the 'sweet spot', then shivered as the radar-type monitor began drawing the outline of a human form, sitting casually on the first of a series of steps leading up to the second floor. Holding my fear at bay, I pointed my other instruments in the same direction, and soon had more confirmation of the anomaly. The air was denser, and much colder there than in the rest of the room, and its shape was unmistakable. It was indeed a human shape. Set your audio device to thirty hertz, a voice inside my head directed, nearly causing me to bolt for the front doors. My master wishes to speak with you.

With that, the form vanished from all of my readouts, and I stood there, mouth agape, wondering if I'd imagined the event. A second or two later, another form appeared, and almost by reflex, I reached over and amplified the audio at the requested frequency.

The voice was deep, like the sound of water roaring from a waterfall. "I have a message for humanity."

"Who are you?" I stammered, rooted to the spot by sheer terror. "Where did you come from?"

"My true name is Lucifer." The being replied. "And as for the other, I come and go as I please, most recently from what will soon be the New Babylon, or what you might better know as Iraq."

"Iraq? That's impossible!"

"To us, a thousand years is as one day," Lucifer replied. "Time itself has no meaning, other than to measure your own finite lives."

"You said 'us', what does that mean? How many of you are there?"

A dark chuckle issued from the being. "Recall your studies in Scripture, mortal. One third of the host of heaven was cast down to Earth. There are many, many of us."

I grabbed my head between my hands. "You're the Devil! You're the cause of all the misery and pain in the world! You're the Great Deceiver!"

"False. Neither Adam nor Eve were deceived. They willingly brought sin upon this world." The Fallen Angel corrected. "I merely gave them food for thought."

"Oh, my God." I gasped, sinking down on my knees. "Please make this nightmare go away."

"Was I so wrong in what I did?" Lucifer asked, leaning forward for emphasis. "Think of this, if it wasn't for my actions, you would have remained His pets, forever confined inside of His righteous walls, force fed and immature, much like his little dinosaurs, which He later disposed of. You should be thankful for what I did for humanity! I gave you freedom, I gave you choice! I gave you truth!"

I started shaking my head in anger. "Yeah, thanks for the greed, the corruption, the scandals, the cover-ups, the lies and the wars you helped fuel! A real good step in the right direction!"

Lucifer leaned back. "Of course, there are some of my ilk who are resentful for being exiled from Heaven. They do their utmost to bring chaos to the human condition. I, on the other hand, sought to bring humankind out from the shadow of ignorance, and into the light of truth."

"Into the light?! Into your light, maybe!" I snapped back. "I'm starting to remember things now, you were cast out because you wanted people to worship you, and not God! You thought you were better than God!"

"I am better." He replied casually.

"Better for whom?!" I shouted. "Better for yourself?! Everything you do is an attempt to discredit God! God is good, God is just, and somehow, you delude these terrorists, these rampant dictators to think that they're committing their atrocities as a service to the Almighty?! Whatever message you want to give me, I'll have no part of it!"

"Fool." Lucifer whispered. "In my various incarnations, I've had the entire world in my grasp. I had pyramids built for me, I had souls sacrificed in my name on altars and fire pits all around the world, and in your time, I am the god of currency, which the people of your world worship with much more fervor than they ever did Him!"

"Oh, Jesus." I whimpered.

"Another fool. I offered him the world, and he refused." Satan frowned in disgust. "Think of this, I can give you all the money you could ever want, all the sexual pleasure you can bear, and the power to topple governments and have monuments erected in your image. This I will give to you, in exchange for your allegiance, your obedience."

Images of my old car, my dwindling check register, my worn clothing, all flashed through my mind, followed by more tantalizing visions of fancy autos, stacks of cash, and expensive suits. These things I wanted, I craved, and here they were, dangling in front of me like a carrot on a stick. The price was the kicker, it would cost me my soul.

"You don't even go to church," Lucifer pointed out. "So we're halfway there already."

"Get these pictures out of my head!" I yelled, knocking over the nearest stack of equipment. The metal boxes slammed to the ground with a loud clang and several flashes of sparks.

"Jesus may have his supporters, but do you know how many are in my fan club?"

Another column of devices came down. Only the audio remained.

"You will be mine, you will all be mine." Lucifer commented dryly.

Gasping, I pulled the last plug.