"03 - Acts of God" - читать интересную книгу автора (BeauSeigneur James)were not yet close enough for the networks to decide to interrupt normal programming, but that decision would have to be made soon. If they went to live coverage and the boys chose to break off their mischief, the networks would appear foolish and would risk angering their regular program viewers. In a way the networks, like the boys, were playing a game of chicken; for while no one wanted to be too quick to commit to live coverage, neither did they want to be beaten to the story by their competition.
Soon enough the decision was made for them. Twenty yards from the bodies, the boys suddenly froze in their steps as one by one they saw what had thus far eluded the cameramen. Following the boys' terrified glance, the cameramen quickly realized the reason for the boys' distressed stare. The bodies of the two men had begun to glow. Immediately the networks went to live coverage and the boys ran in fear. The glow of the bodies continued to intensify and soon the light was too bright for the cameramen to look at. One man reached into his jacket pocket to retrieve his sunglasses, but before he could, the light had grown too strong for them to be of any use. There was nothing to do but turn away. As horrified millions watched on television, it became obvious they had seen this same drama played out just four days before at the United Nations. In mere seconds, the worst fears of the world were realized. There in the middle of the Jerusalem street stood the two prophets, John and Saul Cohen, restored to life. In the stunned seconds that followed, the people of the world relived the personal suffering they had survived and the terror they had endured for the past three and a half years. When John and Cohen died, it had seemed that the worst was over. But now that they were back, no one dared imagine what savage horrors they and their god might bring with them. Now unattended by the fleeing cameramen, the cameras, still on their tripods, continued to record the event as the two 36 Acts of God men dropped to their knees and appeared to be praying. It was an ominous sight. There could be no telling what curse the two were about to rain down upon the earth. Then with a voice that sounded like a mighty roll of thunder, and speaking in the same universal language used by Christopher when he addressed the world three days earlier, the sky itself seemed to speak. "Come up here," was the entire message. No sooner had the echo disappeared than those who had heard it began to wonder if it had not been a clap of thunder after all. That doubt quickly evaporated as the two men rose to their feet, and then looking to the stars above them, physically ascended into the night sky. One of the cameramen Ч perhaps more daring, perhaps more foolhardy than the rest Ч ran back to turn his camera to follow the prophets' ascent. The other cameramen quickly followed suit, pointing their cameras toward the steadily rising silhouettes. Trembling from panic, it took a moment for the cameramen to realize that it was not just their nerves that shook. As the live picture began to shift they soon realized that the earth itself was shaking. The tremors grew more quickly than they could react, throwing the cameras, tripods, and men to the ground. 10:50 a.m., March 18,1 N.A. (2023 A.D.) Ч New York The meeting was not scheduled to start for another ten minutes so Decker was in no hurry as he arrived at the auditorium in the U.N.'s Secretariat building. His intent was to simply stroll in and find a place to sit where he wouldn't be noticed. Christopher had asked him to attend and so he had, but despite his closeness to Christopher, Decker had never been entirely comfortable around these people. Apparently the feeling was not mutual, however, for as Decker entered the room he was greeted with loud and sustained applause. His various positions in life had brought him close to many great men and women; and his position at the United Nations, one might argue, conferred upon him some modest level of A God Who Thrives on Fear 37 greatness. But while occasionally his words had been applauded, he himself had never been accorded that honor, and certainly never for simply walking into a room. Decker nodded politely to acknowledge and thank the assembly. "Come with me," a familiar voice said from behind him. It was Jackie Hansen, who, either by coincidence or design had been near the door where Decker entered. "Gaia wants you up front with her," she said, referring to Gaia Love, the Director of the Lucius Trust and sponsor of this gathering. Attendance was high and it took them several minutes to make their way to the front. Everyone they passed wanted to shake Decker's hand or pat him on the back. One woman in her mid-thirties, an adherent of Wiccan (a nature religion aligned with the New Age) was a bit more expressive in her admiration for the man who had raised Christopher from a child. Unnoticed by Decker or Jackie, the woman slipped loose the knot of a cord wrapped around her waist, and when Decker was a few feet away she dropped the cord and opened wide the long robe she wore, revealing her totally nude and very well-endowed body. In a flash, she ran and wrapped her arms around Decker, swallowing him into the warm silken cocoon of her robe. Things had changed a lot in the world since Decker was young: most of the old taboos had disappeared, except among a few conservative religious groups. Public nudity, or partial nudity with a few frilly accessories which hid nothing, was common in most of the world, and it was not unusual to find couples or even groups having sex on the beaches or in the parks. Still, Decker was old-fashioned enough to be a little stunned by the Wiccan woman's attentions. "Gaia is waiting for Mr. Hawthorne," Jackie said as she tugged Decker loose from the woman. Whether out of respect for Gaia Love or for Jackie's six-foot-two inch stature, the woman grudgingly released her hold, allowing Decker Ч his heart rate accelerated and the rest of his body responding as one might expect under the circumstances Ч and Jackie to continue. 38 Acts of God In this one room was nearly every major leader of the New Age movement. So many were there that it seemed to Decker that Christopher and Milner must have understated the extent to which the world had already been prepared for the arrival of the New Age. There were heads of state, members of the World Court, celebrities from television and movies, sports figures, labor leaders, the entire board of the World Council of Churches, several Roman Catholic and Orthodox Bishops and Cardinals, and numerous other religious leaders. Gaia Love's invitations for the meeting had stated its purpose as 'a time of fellowship and celebration for the arrival of the New Age.' But beyond the handshakes, greetings, and smiles, as Decker looked around him he saw the shadow of concern. Along his path he caught snippets of conversation about the events in Jerusalem, beginning with the resurrection of John and Cohen and the earthquake that followed. As he reached the front of the room, he even heard Gaia Love saying something about Israel, but he was unable to hear exactly what. The quake had caused major damage throughout Jerusalem with about ten percent of the city utterly destroyed and a death toll of no less than seven thousand. Christopher spoke on television and radio immediately after the quake to assure the world that this was not the beginning of a new reign of terror. "John and Cohen will not return," he stated without reservation. "Their resurrection was intended to incite fear by a god who thrives on fear, but I appeal to you to remain calm. John and Cohen are gone and they will never return! It is those who serve Yahweh who should fear, for they know they are no match for the will of a united Humankind." Insta-polls after the speech indicated that most believed Christopher. But in an ironic twist that defied logic, millions of Israelis Ч many who had lost relatives in the quake Ч instead of seeing the death and destruction as proof of Yahweh's malevolent nature, actually worshiped him all the more, saying that this was evidence of his power, as though his power itself made him worthy of their worship. Even more absurd, A God Who Thrives on Fear 3 9 however, was that the Jewish High Priest and his followers were actually rejoicing in John and Cohen's resurrection. True, they had hated John and Cohen before their deaths; and true, they still hated John and Cohen's followers, the KDT, but a few things had changed. First, following the example of 'my enemy's enemy is my friend,' the resurrection of John and Cohen was seen as a direct challenge to Christopher's power. There was also the fact that John and Cohen, despite their strange ways and teachings, had, after all, been raised from the dead and apparently called by God into heaven. Additionally, throughout its history Israel had always looked more generously on its dead prophets than its live ones; and while John and Cohen were no longer dead, they were at least gone. And there was one other factor; for while the proverb may be true that a prophet will not be honored in his own city, that same city will fight to defend even a local brigand if he is attacked by outsiders. So it was that John and Cohen now enjoyed a significantly improved position in the hearts of those who had for years been their strongest opponents. |
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