This piece was written for the weekly photo prompt challenge provided by the Unicorn Challenge.
After the war over how many angels could dance on the head of a pin, the Holy See withdrew in a sulk and the Jesuit shipyard was forced to close. Unfortunately, it happened to occur at the time when the Holy Vessel (aka The Ark of the Convent) was in dry dock for repairs to its ageing cubits. Nobody wanted to buy it (the economy had receded along with the tideline) until the shrewd septuagenarian Michelangelo Escher sensed an opportunity.
He offered to salvage the stranded ship of the Vatican State, in return for a lifetime pass from Confession and the automatic dispensation of any sins committed from that point on, into Eternity (which took care of the Fires of Hell option).
He erected a brick façade around the ship’s shiver-me timbers, divided the interior up into rooms not much bigger than a monk’s cell, and then rented them out to True Believers for a fortune. After all, who wouldn’t want to end their days in one of the rooms in the Lord’s house of many mansions?
In a nod to the building’s heritage, the street at the front (known as the Path of the Righteous) was level. However, if you strayed around the corner into Old Nick Street, you would find the steep climb to the luxury apartments of the Earthly Rewards project, with its sublime central heating emanating from the convenient grid that opened for an express descent to Hades. But, what the Hell, the views were Divine.
Six Crooked Highways 
So many of the Flock are now in Righteous indignation, ye sinner! A penance for your sack of religious thoughts Doug! And don’t say ‘the Devil made me do it.’
A very well crafted piece of writing Doug, zingers everywhere. A pleasure to read.
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Mant thanks, Obb. Greatly appreciated.
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A wry and clever use of the prompt to have a dig at ‘church and co’.
And so well constructed, Doug.
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Please! My cubits are aging as we speak!
Quite a clever idea you’ve got there, Doug. Great fun!
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Thanks, Nancy.
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I like this! An ideal abode for animal lovers.
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Thanks, Keith
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Michelangelo Escher — Is he the one who painted God’s hand painting Adam’s hand? Is that hill ascending or descending? Gah! So many questions!
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Got it in one for the first question. The second one I’ll leave to the Gnostics. 🙂
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Amazing. Michelangelo has a good eye for a profitable enterprise.
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Michelangelo Escher, the often ignored younger brother with a gift for… I forget. This was a clever piece and I enjoyed all the religious pokes. As well as the thought of a weekend in a Earthly Rewards suite.
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🙂
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