So say you were an exceptionally brilliant leader in a society that was overall pretty stupid. Your people are an unruly sort by nature, so you decide to create a religion to keep them in line. Create the legend of Heaven to reward good behavior and the threat of a Hell to scare them into good behaviour.
You can treat the situation like your people are at any stage development wise. Any time will do. So:
Heaven: There will be 77 women for every man’s nut. And meat and wine shall flow with no end. Hell: The great volcano of the north shall have you as an eternal ember.
is acceptable, so is:
Hell: Any man who violates these laws shall be damned forever to the domicile of carrot-top. He shall drink of unfunny comedy for all of time. Heaven: Video Games, Nymphomaniac Supermodels, kegs, reggae music, gambling, and skydiving. Then we break for lunch.
Have fun! Try not to abuse the godlike powers. I’m sure the imaginary subjects have feelings too. . . .
Books and magazines as far as the eye can see; lots of Cecil Adams ones, etc.
Chocolate cake as far as the eye can see.
Nice, warm weather, slight breeze.
A certain consumer advocate lying naked on a large bed…uh ahem
Hell:
Below freezing weather, tv, but only with infomercials.
Heaven: My own personal island of Barbados, complete with a good supply of mountain dew, godiva chocolate, raw chocolate chip cookie dough, and the occasional glass of milk (for the chocolate and the cookie dough). Also, no less than 15 insanely hot guys are to cater to my every need at any given point in time. More would be preferred.
Heaven: Eternally challenging, successful, and appreciated tasks. Rewarded by hours of tantric sex.
Hell: Eternally frustrating, repetitious, and useless tasks, never accomplished. And then having to watch those in Heaven being rewarded while standing under a cold shower, with an eternal case of blue-balls.
Heaven? I think I’ll go with the idea of Valhalla here. Breakfast, then a massive melee, followed by a long lunch and a couple of pints, then more combat until it gets too dark. After that, everyone reassembles themselves for a night of drunken revelry, with no hangover come morning. A trip to the library on weekends, and I’d be set.
Hell? Sitting in the cold and damp singing the praises of some egomaniacal tyrant while sycophantic zealots fawn over him, and winged assholes with canes make sure everyone’s paying attention to his sadistic pronouncements. Repeat, ad infinitum.
Heaven: Here the gods were very generous and allowed for many girls for each guy, lotsa food, free of course, surfboards galore, Beatles music only, however only one video to watch - Raw Deal! and of course nunchakus for all.
Hell: Here the gods weren’t so generous. Only one cartoon to watch on TV - The Flintstones, only one song to listen to - Black Sabbath’s Iron Man, only one book or one edition of one newspaper of your choice to read, and of course only one movie to watch - Terminator 2 Judgement Day. Also tons of cherry coke, day old french fries and alot of chocolate cake too.
Hell is: no cable, slow internet connection,pools filled with urine, only diet soda, no good snacks, perpetual fear,
and while the rest of you is hot; your hands and feet are cold.
Heaven is: full of parks and beaches, a rainbow sky, hot tubs everywhere, excellent buffets, and fluffly clouds to sleep upon, with plenty of feather pilllows.
Heaven, for me, is The Vik. A medium-sized spit of land jutting out into the North Atlantic, separated from the mainland by a short chain of fairly high but passable mountains, with a sturdy longhouse where the fire’s always burning, the home brewed beer (an old Scandinavian recipe) is in endless supply, and there is much music making throughout the long evenings.
But I get to travel elsewhere with my dog when I feel like it.
Hell? Living in a city run by the people you find most morally and politically repugnant. And they know how you feel.