'Hell is the absence of God' by Ted Chiang

::: spoiler Spoiler Well this story was a brain fuck. I really liked the setting of how the world would look if the existence of God wasn't baseless speculation, but undeniable fact. Suddenly, religious fanatics aren't cuckoos but just plain make sense.

And then, boom. Protagonist gets brainwashed and banished to a life of pain. And no real reason is given. The sheer arbitrariness of it brings to mind the nonsense strictures of existing religion, along with the willingness of its adherents to accept and explain away anything.

Just... Damn. :::