"Chapter 13" - читать интересную книгу автора (BeauSeigneur James - The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts of God 1.5.html)
The Christ
Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God
By
James Beau Seigneur
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Steadfast9:34 a.m., Sunday, June 21, 4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker opened his eyes and looked at the clock beside his bed. Another night had passed in the eastern United States, and the greater part of the day had passed in Babylon, and yet still there was no call from Christopher. Two full weeks had passed since the call to Jackie and Milner and except for a call to Debbie Sanchez to say he'd be gone 'longer than expected,' he'd had no contact with anyone from the U.N. Sooner or later, Decker knew Christopher would call and he would have to give some explanation for his absence, not to mention explaining why he had not yet taken the communion. He still didn't know what he would say. It had been one thing to lie to Milner, though he still wondered if Milner really believed him. It would be quite another to try to hide the truth from Christopher.
What was the truth, though? Decker still had not decided. He could not ignore the dream in Petra. It wasn't just that Christopher had hesitated when Decker asked about Tom. It was the look of indifference on his face — as though he truly didn't care whether Tom got out of there or not. It was as though he only told Decker where Tom was because he knew Decker wouldn't leave without him. The image haunted and tormented him. But though Decker could not ignore the dream, neither could he ignore over twenty years of knowing Christopher as intimately as anyone could have. He struggled to find an explanation.
Perhaps, he thought, perhaps the dream in Petra was not identical to the dream in Lebanon after all! He tried to compare the two dreams in his memory and they seemed identical, but how could he be sure? Perhaps in the second dream his imagination had added the expression of indifference to Christopher's face; and now, as he looked back through the years, his mind had transposed the image to the events of the first dream as well.
Then a new possibility occurred to him: maybe it wasn't his imagination at all! Maybe Rosen had used his telepathic abilities to plant the image in his head! And maybe he, or some other member of the KDT, had done the same thing to Tom, planting the idea in Tom's mind to kill Christopher. Maybe that's what this was all about! Maybe Rosen had altered Decker's memory and had only let him leave Petra so that he would betray Christopher! Maybe that was why they kidnapped him in the first place; and the indoctrination from Rosen was either to soften him up, or it was a front to hide the KDT's real purpose. Maybe at the proper moment some other latent image would be recalled that would compel him to believe that he had to kill Christopher! Would history repeat itself? Was he destined to again play the role of Judas the betrayer?
But what could Rosen hope to gain? If Christopher was killed again, then surely he would once again be resurrected. Or maybe he wouldn't. There was no way to know how many times Christopher could die and come back. Maybe it only worked once. Or maybe Rosen and the KDT were simply trying to get Christopher out of the way temporarily so they could launch some larger plan like the murderous madness that had struck while Christopher lay dead for three days. Perhaps this time they were devising a scheme to kill everyone.
The real question, Decker realized, was who was the monster? If the dream was accurate and Christopher was simply going to let Tom remain a hostage in Lebanon because he was insignificant to his plans, then Christopher was indeed the monster that the KDT made him out to be and Decker had found the one flaw in Christopher's otherwise perfect performance. On the other hand, if the dream had been altered by Rosen and the KDT, then it was Decker himself who was the monster — a time bomb waiting to explode that might end the New Age of Humankind and hurl the planet back into a dark age of subservience to a tyrannical despot who would reduce humans to the level of cattle. Decker held his head in his hands and let out a low moan. He wished there was a benevolent God that he could pray to for wisdom and then trust the answer. The only thing that seemed relatively certain was that until he could straighten this all out, the best thing to do for both himself and for Christopher was to stay where he was.
Decker rubbed his eyes and realized that his mental distraction had obscured a rather significant headache. Going into the bathroom to take some aspirin, he turned on the faucet to allow the water to cool while he attended to another pressing bodily need. His mind momentarily drifted back to the silent telephone, but from the comer of his eye he caught a glimpse of unexpected color which drew his attention. Looking over at the sink, he saw that the water flowing from the faucet had taken on a definite pink hue that grew quickly darker as he watched. By the time he finished relieving his bladder, the water was bright red. "Oh, no!" he said out loud, as he grasped its likely meaning. Out of habit, he reached to flush, but then jerked his hand back as if the toilet handle had become a venomous snake.
Decker turned off the faucet and ran to the television in his bedroom. It took only a moment to confirm his fears. As the picture changed to show scenes from numerous locations, the anchorman summarized the story. Throughout the world, all fresh water supplies, all rivers and springs, all lakes and ponds and reservoirs fed by rivers or springs, had turned to blood. The only sources of water that had not turned to blood were those that were detached or sealed off, such as water towers, swimming pools, and holding tanks at water treatment plants.
Decker ran back to the bathroom and removed the cover from the back of the toilet. As he expected, the water inside was still clear. By stopping himself from flushing, he had given himself a three gallon supply of clean water. With the toilet downstairs that gave him six gallons. Going next to the refrigerator and pantry, he quickly inventoried everything suitable for drinking. In the refrigerator, there was about a half gallon of milk and three one-liter bottles of soda. In the freezer, the ice-maker was full of ice that Decker estimated could be melted down to a little more than a gallon of water. In the pantry he found only a bottle of tequila. In all, he estimated that he had about eight gallons of liquid suitable for drinking. Then, realizing that the next time the ice maker took in water it would instead get blood, Decker ran to the laundry room to turn off the water main.
When he returned to the television, the scene had changed to the parking lot of a supermarket in Virginia. A woman's body lay on the pavement in a pool of blood, surrounded by police tape to keep back onlookers. Assuming that the report was of a simple homicide, Decker was at first surprised that the media's attention had so quickly shifted to this from the more important story of the fresh water turning to blood. The reporter explained the connection. The water had changed during the night, and most grocery stores had sold out of all milk, bottled water, and other drinks within a half hour of opening. Even canned vegetables like green beans and corn were bought up for the water in the cans. Some who arrived late at the stores panicked and fights had broken out over what little was left. At this supermarket in Virginia, two women had fought in the store over the last gallon of milk. The woman who lost the battle left the store, went to her car, and retrieved a gun. Waiting for the other woman to leave the store, she followed her to her car, shot her three times in the back of the head and then fled. A few feet from the lifeless body lay the remains of the plastic milk bottle, which had broken open when it hit the ground.
Keeping or obtaining water quickly became the full-time occupation of everyone, for though fresh blood can be drunk (theMasa/ natives in Kenya frequently drink a mixture of milk and cows' blood) even this became impossible as bacteria quickly filled the rivers and springs, turning them into open cesspools of disease and stench. Those who, in desperation broke through the scabbed-over surface to the blood flowing below, either turned away in revulsion or, if they did drink, quickly vomited it up, thus losing additional body fluid and worsening their dehydration.
Resourceful people devised numerous ways to collect water. Where rain fell, people put out pots, pans, and bowls to catch whatever they could. Others rigged poles to hold up the comers of sheets of plastic or bed sheets, gathering the rain into the middle of the sheet through a hole, then into a pan.
Public service television programs told where and how to find water. In addition to toilet tanks, small amounts of fresh water could be found in recently used garden hoses. The programs also told how to collect water condensed by air conditioners or from drip pans in refrigerators. By leaving the refrigerator door ajar, it was possible to condense as much as two quarts or more a day, except in areas of low humidity. In coastal areas warnings were repeated every half hour not to drink seawater because the salt would actually absorb more body fluids than the water would replenish. Instead, seawater could be boiled and then condensed on a cold surface and collected. One very productive method was to place an electric skillet or crock pot in the refrigerator and boil the seawater. The steam then condensed on the refrigerator's wall and ran down into the drip pan. Literally gallons could be collected by this method in a single day and many near the coasts set up business, charging incredible prices to eager buyers. It was also possible to distill the water from the blood by the same means, but few had the stomach for it.
Christopher and Milner promised relief within the week. Television cameras captured pictures of Milner deep in meditation atop the United Nations building in Babylon, and it was said that he was neither eating nor drinking in order to prepare himself for a miracle of similar magnitude to the one he had performed with the world's oceans. Even so, few were taking any chances. Those who had water guarded it by whatever means available, while those without it used whatever force was necessary to get it. Wealthy neighborhoods where swimming pools were common became war zones as those less fortunate tried to relieve the residents of their liquid assets.
There were, of course, many areas of the world where things like swimming pools and refrigerators and crock pots and flush toilets were unknown — the lesser developed areas of Asia, South America, Africa, and India. In those areas people and animals withered from dehydration after only a few days. Those who had taken the communion lasted longer than those who had not, but ultimately the lack of water took its toll and tens of millions died. As much as possible, the U.N. attempted to send water to such places, but the supply was extremely limited and distribution unreliable.
6:30 P.M., Thursday, June 25, 4 N.A. (2026 A.D.) — Derwood, Maryland
George Rollins dug through rakes, shovels, saws, hedge trimmers, and various and sundry other tools and gadgets in his shed looking for something he could use to pry open a door. But George Rollins had never been much for keeping his tools in order, nor did he have the patience to keep looking, so when he found a combination hatchet and hammer, he altered his plan of entry and decided the hatchet was just what he needed.
Climbing back over his old lawnmower which hadn't worked in three years but which he planned to get around to working on someday, he called to his son, George, Jr. "Take these two buckets," he said, handing his son two plastic pails with dried paint in the bottom.
"Are you going to chop the door down?" George, Jr. asked, looking at the hatchet in his father's hand.
"Not if I can help it," his father answered. "Let's see if we can find a window that's not locked. If not, then we'll either break a window or try to break the door open at the lock."
"What if somebody's home?" the younger asked. It was a silly question; everybody in the neighborhood knew that no one lived there. Still, the idea of breaking into someone's house was a bit unnerving to a ten-year-old.
"We've lived here three years and no one has ever been in that house. We'll just go in and, if the water is okay in the toilet tanks, then we'll bail it into the buckets and bring it back home. It's probably been in there for years so we'll want to boil it before we can drink it."
"What if the police come?"
"George, as busy as the police are, they're not going to bother us," the father answered reassuringly. "All we're doing is trying to get a little water. No one can blame us for that. Besides, if we don't take it somebody else will. We just thought of it first." Arriving at the house, George, Sr. added, "Let's start in the back. We don't want anybody knowing what we're up to or they'll want some of the water for themselves."
They tried the sliding glass door to the dining room first but without success. Next they tried the windows but they were all locked. Though the curtains were all pulled, George Rollins knew the floor plan of the house well; it was the exact reverse of his own house. There was only one more place to try in the back of the house and that was the door that led into what in the Rollins home was the media room.
"Look, Dad," George, Jr. said, as he pointed to a set of three grave stones.
"Yeah," his father replied. "They probably died in the Disaster."
George, Jr. responded with a puzzled look, having never heard of the event.
"I'll tell you about it sometime," the elder said. "It happened before you were born."
George, Jr. got to the door before his father and tried it. To his surprise it slid open about an inch, but then stopped. "Let me try," George, Sr. said, as he stepped in front of his son and tried to jiggle it loose. It wouldn't budge. "Ah, here's the problem," he said, pointing through the glass. "There's a cut-off broomstick laid in the track to keep the door from opening, but it's in there crooked. I think if I can just shove it hard enough, that it will. . . ugh!" he said as the door slid open.
"Yay!" the son cheered at his father's success.
Suddenly the curtains that hung across the doorway were thrown open, revealing an old man in his seventies. He was holding a shotgun. "What do you want?" he demanded, pointing the gun in George Rollins' face. Bandages hung loose about him. George, Jr., had not yet reached twelve years old, the age of majority, and therefore did not have the mark and the resultant sores, but he was certainly used to seeing grownups and teenagers with bandages over their sores. Somehow though, the bandages seemed to add terror to the old man's appearance.
Instinctively throwing his hands skyward in a sign of surrender, George, Sr. tried to answer. "I'm sorry! We ... we didn't think anybody lived here!"
"Well, somebody does!" the man growled. "Now, get the hell off of my property!"
"Yes, sir!" George, Sr. said and then ran to catch up with his son who was already headed for the gate.
Decker Hawthorne closed the door quickly and locked it, placing the cut-off broomstick properly into the track. Pulling the curtains closed again, he slumped into a chair, still holding the barrel of the shotgun in one hand. In the other hand was the shotgun shell which he had not had time to load. It had been a close call. He had barely gotten his phony bandages on before they had opened the door. If they had gotten in and seen him without any bandages or sores, they surely would have called the police and turned him in as a fundamentalist, if for no other reason than to get his water. From then on Decker determined that, uncomfortable as they might be, he would wear the bandages day and night.
It baffled Decker why the police had not yet come. And why had Christopher or Milner still not called? None of it made sense.
A half mile away Montgomery County Police Officer Amanda Smith waited for her partner, Sgt. Joseph Runningdeer, to get back in the car. "You want some?" he asked, offering her a can of water collected in a reservoir under the car that was attached to the condensation line from the air conditioner.
Smith didn't answer, but took the can eagerly, drinking it down as Sgt. Runningdeer picked tiny pieces of gravel from a sore on his arm.
"Who's next?" he asked as he readjusted the bandage.
Officer Smith looked at the assignment sheet. "Take a look," she said, handing Runningdeer the clipboard.
Sgt. Runningdeer found the next name, shook his head, and pulled a pen from his pocket. Scratching out the name Decker Hawthorne without excuse or explanation or authorization, he looked down the list to the next name. "Okay," he said. "Brubaker, off of Needwood Road."
"We evicted them last week," Officer Smith said, questioning the accuracy of the assignment.
"According to the neighbors, they're back in the house."
"They're making this too easy for us," she said as she started the car and headed toward the former Brubaker residence in South Riding, an established upper middle-class neighborhood. Driving slowly past the address, looking for any sign of activity outside the house, Smith rolled the car to a stop to allow Sgt. Runningdeer to get out. "Give me about sixty seconds," he said and then got out and ran around behind the house next door to Brubaker's.
Amanda Smith waited a moment and then put the car in reverse and backed it in front of the Brubakers' house and turned on the flashing bar lights. This made it obvious to anyone inside that the police were there and in many cases the element of fear proved even more effective than the element of surprise. Though the fundamentalists were not known for violence when being arrested, Smith took her service revolver from the holster in accordance with standard operating procedures for these arrests. Going to the front door, she checked the police security lock to see if it had been tampered with. It had not, and so she punched in the six digit code and slowly opened the door. When she did she heard a voice.
"They're in here," Sgt. Runningdeer called to her.
Officer Smith found the Brubaker family, Sid and Joan Brubaker and their two sons, sitting around the table in the dining room. Alerted to their imminent arrest by the flashing police lights, they sat with their hands joined and heads bowed. Sgt. Runningdeer stood in the door to the kitchen. "Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker," he said, "you and your family are under arrest for crimes against Humankind and for trespassing on government property."
Acting on the most recent directive from the United Nations, the Brubakers were taken into custody and booked. After receiving counseling, any member of the family who still refused to cease their anti-human activities and to take the communion and the mark would be held for transfer to a correctional facility. It was swift and inexorable punishment, but in light of the incredible suffering and untold deaths that had resulted from the corruption of the fresh water supply, it seemed to most people to be a very mild escalation in the penalty. This conclusion was further reinforced by the frequently televised video of fundamentalists in prison praying to Yahweh to punish the people of the earth with even greater and more violent afflictions. In a related action, the United Nations ruled that anyone caught selling goods to a fundamentalist would also be jailed, though the term of the sentencing was left up to the local authorities, depending on the circumstances.
8:13 a.m., Friday, June 26,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.) — Derwood, Maryland
Decker poured himself a cup of coffee and went back into the bedroom to watch television. Many would have killed for the liquid in that cup, but Decker had carefully rationed his water and still had about half of what he had started with on Sunday. Most of his water came from condensation from the refrigerator and he had to depend very little on his reserves. He felt bad that others were dying while he had plenty, but there was no way of telling how long this would last. He chose not to think about the fact that by hoarding his water 'just in case' he was demonstrating a lack of faith in Christopher and Milner who said they would resolve the crisis in less than a week. It was just best to play it safe, he thought.
"Welcome back," said Suzanne Wright, the television program's host, when Decker turned on the TV. "Joining us in the studio today is my very special guest, Reverend Timothy Dowd." Her voice revealed sincere respect for the man. "Reverend Dowd is here to talk about the charge that the recent cataclysms — the sores, followed by the oceans and now the fresh water turning to blood — are the result of collusion between the fundamentalists and Yahweh."
"I don't think you can really call it just a charge anymore," Rev. Down responded. "Based on the confessions and the videotapes of fundamentalists praying in prison for Yahweh to punish the earth, I'd say there's no question that the charge is supported by the evidence."
"I'm sure we've all seen the videotapes and heard the confessions," Suzanne Wright said. She could make that assumption with some confidence: for days the tapes had been shown, analyzed, reviewed, considered, discussed, and shown again on nearly every network and independent broadcast station in the world. "But," she continued, "and here's my real question: does Yahweh really need the prayers and support of the KDT and the fundamentalists to do what he's doing? Can't he just do it on his own? He is God, after all."
"Well, one would certainly think so," Reverend Dowd answered. "If Yahweh is really an all-powerful god, one would think he would be capable of doing whatever he wanted, regardless of what anybody else thinks. But in the sixth chapter of Mark in the New Testament, we find that he is not quite as all-powerful as he would like for us to believe. In that account we read that Jesus was in a certain town and because so few people were willing to believe in him, he was unable to do anything more spectacular than a few minor healings.
"The point is that we humans have tremendous power to use our mental and spiritual energy to determine what happens on this planet. Christopher is absolutely correct when he says that Yahweh's hold on the earth is in the grip of his confederates. Without the KDT and the fundamentalists (I call them the 'Cult of Yahweh'), without their prayers and support, without their focused mental and spiritual energies, Yahweh really could do very little. In fact — and this is key — what has happened to the earth over the last few weeks is not the result of Yahweh's superior powers. Rather it is the result of the fact that the KDT and fundamentalists are more focused on their vision of keeping Humankind subservient to Yahweh than those who follow Christopher are to the vision of freeing the planet of Yahweh's rule."
"That's amazing. I never realized that."
"In the same way, Suzanne, we must understand that as powerful as Christopher is, he cannot defeat Yahweh and the KDT and fundamentalists on his own. Christopher needs us, all of us, to support him with every ounce of positive mental and spiritual energy we can muster. We need to put off any dissension and disagreements among ourselves and focus instead on supporting Christopher and Robert Milner."
"You've been a minister for over fifty years," Suzanne Wright said. "You're probably the best known preacher since Billy Graham. You've served for years on the World Council of Churches. And yet, from what you say, it sounds as if you ... well, almost as if you've lost all faith in Yahweh."
"Well, with all that has happened, I'd be less than honest to tell you that I haven't struggled with that issue. But I still hold out hope. I pray to God every day that he will repent and turn from his wrath; that he will realize that we have grown beyond the need for an autocratic god, and that he will allow the people of this planet to advance to the next stage in their evolution so that one day we can join him as equals."
Suzanne Wright smiled thoughtfully and nodded, inspired by Reverend Dowd's hopeful vision, then continued. "It should be obvious to our viewers from all that you've just said, as well as from the bandage on your cheek, that even though you're a Christian . . ." She paused for clarification. "You do refer to yourself as a Christian?" she asked.
"Yes, of course, though I certainly never beat anyone over the head with it and tell them my way is the only way."
"Okay, then . . . even though you're a Christian, you are not a fundamentalist."
"God forbid," Dowd said with a slight laugh. Then pointing to the bandage on his cheek, he added, "I didn't get this shaving."
"And I know from talking with you earlier in your dressing room that the lesion on your cheek is not the only one you have."
"No," Dowd said. "I've taken the communion and the mark and I've got the sores to prove it." As he spoke, one of the cameras got a close up of the mark on the back of his right hand to further validate his statement.
"You seem proud of that fact," Suzanne Wright said. "I am, Suzanne. Christopher said we should wear our sores as badges of honor, and I do."
"If I recall, his exact words were to wear our wounds as 'badges of honor and defiance.' How do you feel about that term: 'defiance'?"
"I prefer to think of it as steadfastness," Dowd answered.
Wright nodded both her understanding and approval.
"What do you say to those who say that the communion is a
violation of the command not to drink blood, and that the mark
is the 'mark of the beast' referred to in the Bible?"
Timothy Dowd shook his head in complete disagreement. "That is such a tired old excuse that I hesitate to even address it again. The fundamentalists and the KDT began making these arguments as soon as the communion was announced. Nevertheless, to the first charge I would say you have to really stretch your definitions to equate taking a couple of capsules with drinking blood. The command not to drink blood is such an obscure law in the Bible that it's hard to believe Christopher's opponents would rely on such a feeble excuse. It's a sign of just how desperate they are."
"But the 'mark of the beast' is far less obscure, isn't it?" Suzanne Wright countered.
"You're right," Dowd replied. "Over the past fifty years or so, reference to the mark of the beast has been one of the most frequently mentioned passages in scripture. And for that very reason, it is one of the least understood. It has been so twisted by radicals and kooks, so abused by rock music groups and pulp novelists to sell recordings and books, and so frequently cited by right wing fundamentalist preachers to engender fear, that almost no one knows what it really means. I'm sure you remember twenty years ago when the current bank credit system began to replace the cash systems of the world. The outcry then from various lunatic fringe groups was that the imbedded bio-chip was itself the mark of the beast. Instead of a curse, it has proven to be not only tremendously convenient, but the biggest single deterrent to organized crime. I doubt if anyone today wants to go back to carrying around pockets full of coins and paper money, not to mention credit cards, driver's licenses, medical records, and assorted other personal ID."
"You've just begun a major crusade to bring your message around the world," Suzanne Wright said, interrupting the natural flow of the conversation, as so many reporters do, in order to fit in all the pre-scripted questions. "Tell us a little about that."
"Actually, Suzanne, this is a continuation of the work I've been doing for the last several years. During that time, I've been working through the World Council of Churches with the leaders of all the major Protestant denominations as well as the Pope and leaders from many other world religions."
"I take it that doesn't include any fundamentalists," Suzanne Wright interjected in jest.
"No," Dowd answered. "The people I'm working with are all intelligent, reasonable, open-minded people, many of whom recognize the tremendous power for good that the communion offers for Humankind, and were among the first in line to take the communion in order to calm any misgivings among the members of their denominations.
"So," Dowd continued, "as I was saying, I've been at this for some time. It's just that now with the sores and the waters turning to blood, people are beginning to listen. I've never believed in forcing my beliefs on anyone: I've always believed that a person's religious beliefs are a private matter. For me, what the Bible has to say about what happened 2000 years ago is far less important than what we do to help our fellow human beings and other living creatures to have a better life today." "Well put," the interviewer said as she nodded agreement. "But there is a reason for renewing my efforts right now," with this, his tone became deathly serious, "and that, quite frankly, is that the suffering and death must stop." His expression revealed both fervor and distress. His eyes seemed to hold a flood of dammed-up tears held in check only by his determination to deliver his message. "The suffering and death must stop," he repeated. "And we must do everything in our power to stop it."
"Which brings up the current crisis," Suzanne Wright said. "Reportedly millions have died already from lack of water and millions more are at death's door. From what you've said, can we take it that you feel that the Security Council was justified in reinstating capital punishment for leaders of the fundamentalists?"
"I'm a man of peace. In general I am absolutely opposed to capital punishment. However, as you said, millions of people have already died and millions more are close to death. Seldom are things so black and white as they are now. Without support from the 'Cult of Yahweh,' this crisis simply would not be occurring. The people we're talking about, the fundamentalist leaders, are no different than the Nazis of World War II except that they leave the actual slaughter to Yahweh. If the deaths of a few fundamentalist leaders will result in breaking Yahweh's hold on the planet and thereby save the lives of innocent millions, then as unpleasant as it is for all of us, we must not shirk our responsibility to ourselves and our children to do what is necessary. The executions should not be carried out in anger or malice or out of a desire to 'get even'; but for the sake of all Humankind, they must be carried out."
"Right now only the leaders face execution," Wright said. "I think the question all of us are wondering about is, will that be enough? Will it be necessary to extend capital punishment to include other members of the 'Cult of Yahweh,' as you have called them?"
"I don't know," Dowd answered. "Let us hope that it is enough, because if it's not, I fear that even worse plagues will follow."
"That's a horrible thought," Suzanne Wright replied.
"Which is why we must give our total support to Christopher and the Security Council. I'm not a soldier, but as I understand it, in time of war it is the responsibility of the troops to support their commanding officer. The more desperate the situation, the more important it is that his orders are followed to the letter. As Christopher has pointed out, we are at war. Yahweh has declared war against the planet earth and, like it or not, we are the soldiers. Even if we disagree on how some things are being handled by the U.K., we should acknowledge that those making the decisions are more aware of the overall situation than any of us are. Unless we know different, we should wholeheartedly support the decisions of Christopher and the Security Council."
"Do you think that the decision to use capital punishment against the leaders of the fundamentalists was influenced by the recent discoveries concerning reincarnation; that is, that no one ever really dies — that after a time they are born again?"
Rev. Dowd nodded thoughtfully. "Absolutely," he said. "Let me give you an analogy, Suzanne, that might make their decision more clear. When a woman terminates a pregnancy, the fundamentalists say that's wrong. But, of course, we know that's ridiculous. How could it be wrong? All she is doing is controlling her own body, her own life. She makes the decision for the good of herself, for the good of her family, and for the good of society. For many women, carrying the pregnancy to term would prevent them from advancing themselves in life and would keep them in poverty — if not financial poverty, then emotional and spiritual poverty — because they would never discover their true selves: they'd be too busy taking care of the children to do anything else. And quite often, perhaps more often than not, the unwanted child would become a burden not only for the mother and family but for society. How many thieves and murderers were unwanted children? Psychologists say many. It would have been better for those people and their victims if they had never been bom. Love — self love — is the greatest and most important love. That is the foundation upon which the New Age is built. A child cannot learn to love himself if he is not loved and wanted by the one who bore him. It is better for those children that their spirits return to the 'collective unconscious' — to use Carl Jung's terminology — before they are even born. The elimination of regressive people groups is really the same thing. Their inability to achieve self love is evidenced by the fact that they rely on someone else, in this case Yahweh, to give their life meaning. They place a burden on society so great that their very existence prevents Humankind from advancing to the next stage in its evolution. Like the unwanted pregnancy, the regressives must be removed so that the rest of Humankind may advance. And just as the termination of an unwanted pregnancy is best for all concerned, so it is for the best of everyone that radical fundamentalism be erased.
"Of course, this should be accomplished in the most humane manner possible. Certainly the desire to limit the suffering of the condemned prisoner must be taken into account and — I would think — that is why the Security Council chose the method of execution that it did."
"I was wondering about that. It seems rather . . . well, gruesome to me," Wright said with an uncomfortable look on her face.
"As I understand it," Dowd replied, "despite appearances, doctors consider decapitation to be both painless and quick. And I think when it comes to a choice between what is least upsetting to us and what is least painful and quickest for the condemned, we are obliged to think first of those who must die. Despite the suffering they have caused Humankind, we must not lower ourselves to their level; there is no reason to cause them to suffer.
"But there is another factor that should not be overlooked in our evaluation of the method, and that is that because beheading does appear brutal, hopefully it will deter other fundamentalists and help them realize the foolishness and futility of their intolerance."
Suzanne Wright nodded in agreement, though it was obvious that the thought of it still made her squeamish.
"But I think all of us and, in fact, even those who are to be executed should take consolation in the knowledge that death is temporary."
"We're almost out of time," Wright said, "but can you tell us very briefly what it will be like for those who die?"
"Well, not from personal experience," he answered dryly. "Our reliable data is limited to information gathered from people who have undergone detailed analysis of their past life experiences. What I can say is that there is strong evidence that when we die we do not remain dea^' long. Many are born again within just a very few years; for some, it's just a few days. Seldom do we find anyone who went more than twenty years between lifetimes. And, of course, when a person dies and is reborn, they almost never remember events of their past lives without undergoing past life therapy. What that means — and I'm thinking now primarily of those who are executed, though in truth this applies to those who have died in the plagues as well — is that those who die leave behind all the regressive tendencies they have learned in their former life. They return, stripped of the vestiges of the old paradigm, to a world in which the New Age is not just beginning, but is in full bloom. When they return, they will be able to accept the truth because the lies of Yahweh will be so obvious to them."
"So there is hope, even for the most fanatical of the fundamentalists?" Suzanne Wright asked, making no attempt to hide the wonder in her voice.
"There is hope," Rev. Dowd concluded with certainty.
"Our guest today has been Reverend Timothy Dowd," Suzanne Wright concluded with an optimistic smile for her audience. "We'll be back after this."
6:50 p.m. — Allahabad, India
As cameras watched, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims waited anxiously upon the banks of the tongue of land at AttOiabad, where the Yamuna, Sarasvati, and Ganga (Ganges) rivers join. Few had enough strength to stand; many were near death from dehydration; and tens of thousands more had died before making it this far. To this, the site of the "true Prayag" or place of pilgrimage, where annually millions of devout Hindus come to wash away their sins in the sacred river, and where also is held the great festival called the Maghmela, had come the prophet of Babylon, Robert Milner. Wearing the same robes as he had the week before in Tel Aviv, and again waiting until twilight to begin his work, Milner walked barefoot to the point where the rivers unite and where the flow of blood was sufficient to prevent any scabbing over.
This time he bore no crystal spheres. Also, unlike before, he did not stop at land's edge, but continued into the river until the blood washed around him up to his knees. The fabric of his robe reacted like a straw and drew the blood through it up toward his waist. Reaching into a pocket hidden by the robe's many folds, Milner retrieved a large knife, made of ivory and bearing unusual markings. A few in the crowd recognized it as the ceremonial knife of the Khond sacrifice of the Meriah, a ritual not openly practiced in India for at least a hundred and fifty years, where a human sacrifice was put to death by strangulation and his body dismembered and spread over the fields to entreat the gods for a good harvest.
Standing there, Milner raised his eyes to the heavens. His right hand formed a defiant fist and was bent at the wrist so that the mark he bore there faced the skies. In his left hand he held the knife point up, as if ready to stab at the heart of God. Then, as he had in Tel Aviv, again he shouted, "In the name of the Light Bearer, and of his son, Christopher, and in the name of myself and those with me, and all of Humankind, I declare my defiance of Yahweh, the god of sickness and disease and oppression! We will not yield to you! We will not submit to you! We will not bow to you! We declare our freedom from you! We spit upon you and upon your name!"
Then, with his arms still upraised and all the world watching, he held the point of the knife to his right wrist. Placing the blade against his flesh, he pulled down sharply, cutting a deep gash which cleanly severed the ulnar artery. Immediately blood began spurting from the wound with each heartbeat and ran down his arm.
Those watching nearby and on television gasped in surprise, and though Milner already stood knee-deep in blood, some still turned their heads in revulsion. For a few seconds the cameras focused on Milner, who stood unflinching with blood pouring from his arm, the knife still raised high. Then someone noticed that as his blood mingled with the blood in which he stood, a change began to occur. Then everyone saw it, as the color of the blood in the river lightened and then turned crystal clear, clearer than anyone had ever seen the river flow. With great speed, the reformation spread up and down stream in all three rivers. In three minutes it had spread as far as the Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Ganges, south of Calcutta. From there the cleansing began to occur in other rivers and springs, traveling around the world just behind the setting sun.
In Allahabad, except from the reporters present, there was no great cheer as there had been in Tel Aviv. Instead, all who had strength to move walked or crawled to the water to drink.
With a sigh drowned out by the rushing waters, Robert Milner dropped his arms and walked back to shore. Walking silently past cameras and reporters who cleared a path, he turned and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. There was an initial flurry of concern, but as he lay there still conscious and assuring those around him that he was fine, the cameras revealed an amazing image: his wrist was entirely healed.
The Christ
Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God
By
James Beau Seigneur
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Steadfast9:34 a.m., Sunday, June 21, 4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker opened his eyes and looked at the clock beside his bed. Another night had passed in the eastern United States, and the greater part of the day had passed in Babylon, and yet still there was no call from Christopher. Two full weeks had passed since the call to Jackie and Milner and except for a call to Debbie Sanchez to say he'd be gone 'longer than expected,' he'd had no contact with anyone from the U.N. Sooner or later, Decker knew Christopher would call and he would have to give some explanation for his absence, not to mention explaining why he had not yet taken the communion. He still didn't know what he would say. It had been one thing to lie to Milner, though he still wondered if Milner really believed him. It would be quite another to try to hide the truth from Christopher.
What was the truth, though? Decker still had not decided. He could not ignore the dream in Petra. It wasn't just that Christopher had hesitated when Decker asked about Tom. It was the look of indifference on his face — as though he truly didn't care whether Tom got out of there or not. It was as though he only told Decker where Tom was because he knew Decker wouldn't leave without him. The image haunted and tormented him. But though Decker could not ignore the dream, neither could he ignore over twenty years of knowing Christopher as intimately as anyone could have. He struggled to find an explanation.
Perhaps, he thought, perhaps the dream in Petra was not identical to the dream in Lebanon after all! He tried to compare the two dreams in his memory and they seemed identical, but how could he be sure? Perhaps in the second dream his imagination had added the expression of indifference to Christopher's face; and now, as he looked back through the years, his mind had transposed the image to the events of the first dream as well.
Then a new possibility occurred to him: maybe it wasn't his imagination at all! Maybe Rosen had used his telepathic abilities to plant the image in his head! And maybe he, or some other member of the KDT, had done the same thing to Tom, planting the idea in Tom's mind to kill Christopher. Maybe that's what this was all about! Maybe Rosen had altered Decker's memory and had only let him leave Petra so that he would betray Christopher! Maybe that was why they kidnapped him in the first place; and the indoctrination from Rosen was either to soften him up, or it was a front to hide the KDT's real purpose. Maybe at the proper moment some other latent image would be recalled that would compel him to believe that he had to kill Christopher! Would history repeat itself? Was he destined to again play the role of Judas the betrayer?
But what could Rosen hope to gain? If Christopher was killed again, then surely he would once again be resurrected. Or maybe he wouldn't. There was no way to know how many times Christopher could die and come back. Maybe it only worked once. Or maybe Rosen and the KDT were simply trying to get Christopher out of the way temporarily so they could launch some larger plan like the murderous madness that had struck while Christopher lay dead for three days. Perhaps this time they were devising a scheme to kill everyone.
The real question, Decker realized, was who was the monster? If the dream was accurate and Christopher was simply going to let Tom remain a hostage in Lebanon because he was insignificant to his plans, then Christopher was indeed the monster that the KDT made him out to be and Decker had found the one flaw in Christopher's otherwise perfect performance. On the other hand, if the dream had been altered by Rosen and the KDT, then it was Decker himself who was the monster — a time bomb waiting to explode that might end the New Age of Humankind and hurl the planet back into a dark age of subservience to a tyrannical despot who would reduce humans to the level of cattle. Decker held his head in his hands and let out a low moan. He wished there was a benevolent God that he could pray to for wisdom and then trust the answer. The only thing that seemed relatively certain was that until he could straighten this all out, the best thing to do for both himself and for Christopher was to stay where he was.
Decker rubbed his eyes and realized that his mental distraction had obscured a rather significant headache. Going into the bathroom to take some aspirin, he turned on the faucet to allow the water to cool while he attended to another pressing bodily need. His mind momentarily drifted back to the silent telephone, but from the comer of his eye he caught a glimpse of unexpected color which drew his attention. Looking over at the sink, he saw that the water flowing from the faucet had taken on a definite pink hue that grew quickly darker as he watched. By the time he finished relieving his bladder, the water was bright red. "Oh, no!" he said out loud, as he grasped its likely meaning. Out of habit, he reached to flush, but then jerked his hand back as if the toilet handle had become a venomous snake.
Decker turned off the faucet and ran to the television in his bedroom. It took only a moment to confirm his fears. As the picture changed to show scenes from numerous locations, the anchorman summarized the story. Throughout the world, all fresh water supplies, all rivers and springs, all lakes and ponds and reservoirs fed by rivers or springs, had turned to blood. The only sources of water that had not turned to blood were those that were detached or sealed off, such as water towers, swimming pools, and holding tanks at water treatment plants.
Decker ran back to the bathroom and removed the cover from the back of the toilet. As he expected, the water inside was still clear. By stopping himself from flushing, he had given himself a three gallon supply of clean water. With the toilet downstairs that gave him six gallons. Going next to the refrigerator and pantry, he quickly inventoried everything suitable for drinking. In the refrigerator, there was about a half gallon of milk and three one-liter bottles of soda. In the freezer, the ice-maker was full of ice that Decker estimated could be melted down to a little more than a gallon of water. In the pantry he found only a bottle of tequila. In all, he estimated that he had about eight gallons of liquid suitable for drinking. Then, realizing that the next time the ice maker took in water it would instead get blood, Decker ran to the laundry room to turn off the water main.
When he returned to the television, the scene had changed to the parking lot of a supermarket in Virginia. A woman's body lay on the pavement in a pool of blood, surrounded by police tape to keep back onlookers. Assuming that the report was of a simple homicide, Decker was at first surprised that the media's attention had so quickly shifted to this from the more important story of the fresh water turning to blood. The reporter explained the connection. The water had changed during the night, and most grocery stores had sold out of all milk, bottled water, and other drinks within a half hour of opening. Even canned vegetables like green beans and corn were bought up for the water in the cans. Some who arrived late at the stores panicked and fights had broken out over what little was left. At this supermarket in Virginia, two women had fought in the store over the last gallon of milk. The woman who lost the battle left the store, went to her car, and retrieved a gun. Waiting for the other woman to leave the store, she followed her to her car, shot her three times in the back of the head and then fled. A few feet from the lifeless body lay the remains of the plastic milk bottle, which had broken open when it hit the ground.
Keeping or obtaining water quickly became the full-time occupation of everyone, for though fresh blood can be drunk (theMasa/ natives in Kenya frequently drink a mixture of milk and cows' blood) even this became impossible as bacteria quickly filled the rivers and springs, turning them into open cesspools of disease and stench. Those who, in desperation broke through the scabbed-over surface to the blood flowing below, either turned away in revulsion or, if they did drink, quickly vomited it up, thus losing additional body fluid and worsening their dehydration.
Resourceful people devised numerous ways to collect water. Where rain fell, people put out pots, pans, and bowls to catch whatever they could. Others rigged poles to hold up the comers of sheets of plastic or bed sheets, gathering the rain into the middle of the sheet through a hole, then into a pan.
Public service television programs told where and how to find water. In addition to toilet tanks, small amounts of fresh water could be found in recently used garden hoses. The programs also told how to collect water condensed by air conditioners or from drip pans in refrigerators. By leaving the refrigerator door ajar, it was possible to condense as much as two quarts or more a day, except in areas of low humidity. In coastal areas warnings were repeated every half hour not to drink seawater because the salt would actually absorb more body fluids than the water would replenish. Instead, seawater could be boiled and then condensed on a cold surface and collected. One very productive method was to place an electric skillet or crock pot in the refrigerator and boil the seawater. The steam then condensed on the refrigerator's wall and ran down into the drip pan. Literally gallons could be collected by this method in a single day and many near the coasts set up business, charging incredible prices to eager buyers. It was also possible to distill the water from the blood by the same means, but few had the stomach for it.
Christopher and Milner promised relief within the week. Television cameras captured pictures of Milner deep in meditation atop the United Nations building in Babylon, and it was said that he was neither eating nor drinking in order to prepare himself for a miracle of similar magnitude to the one he had performed with the world's oceans. Even so, few were taking any chances. Those who had water guarded it by whatever means available, while those without it used whatever force was necessary to get it. Wealthy neighborhoods where swimming pools were common became war zones as those less fortunate tried to relieve the residents of their liquid assets.
There were, of course, many areas of the world where things like swimming pools and refrigerators and crock pots and flush toilets were unknown — the lesser developed areas of Asia, South America, Africa, and India. In those areas people and animals withered from dehydration after only a few days. Those who had taken the communion lasted longer than those who had not, but ultimately the lack of water took its toll and tens of millions died. As much as possible, the U.N. attempted to send water to such places, but the supply was extremely limited and distribution unreliable.
6:30 P.M., Thursday, June 25, 4 N.A. (2026 A.D.) — Derwood, Maryland
George Rollins dug through rakes, shovels, saws, hedge trimmers, and various and sundry other tools and gadgets in his shed looking for something he could use to pry open a door. But George Rollins had never been much for keeping his tools in order, nor did he have the patience to keep looking, so when he found a combination hatchet and hammer, he altered his plan of entry and decided the hatchet was just what he needed.
Climbing back over his old lawnmower which hadn't worked in three years but which he planned to get around to working on someday, he called to his son, George, Jr. "Take these two buckets," he said, handing his son two plastic pails with dried paint in the bottom.
"Are you going to chop the door down?" George, Jr. asked, looking at the hatchet in his father's hand.
"Not if I can help it," his father answered. "Let's see if we can find a window that's not locked. If not, then we'll either break a window or try to break the door open at the lock."
"What if somebody's home?" the younger asked. It was a silly question; everybody in the neighborhood knew that no one lived there. Still, the idea of breaking into someone's house was a bit unnerving to a ten-year-old.
"We've lived here three years and no one has ever been in that house. We'll just go in and, if the water is okay in the toilet tanks, then we'll bail it into the buckets and bring it back home. It's probably been in there for years so we'll want to boil it before we can drink it."
"What if the police come?"
"George, as busy as the police are, they're not going to bother us," the father answered reassuringly. "All we're doing is trying to get a little water. No one can blame us for that. Besides, if we don't take it somebody else will. We just thought of it first." Arriving at the house, George, Sr. added, "Let's start in the back. We don't want anybody knowing what we're up to or they'll want some of the water for themselves."
They tried the sliding glass door to the dining room first but without success. Next they tried the windows but they were all locked. Though the curtains were all pulled, George Rollins knew the floor plan of the house well; it was the exact reverse of his own house. There was only one more place to try in the back of the house and that was the door that led into what in the Rollins home was the media room.
"Look, Dad," George, Jr. said, as he pointed to a set of three grave stones.
"Yeah," his father replied. "They probably died in the Disaster."
George, Jr. responded with a puzzled look, having never heard of the event.
"I'll tell you about it sometime," the elder said. "It happened before you were born."
George, Jr. got to the door before his father and tried it. To his surprise it slid open about an inch, but then stopped. "Let me try," George, Sr. said, as he stepped in front of his son and tried to jiggle it loose. It wouldn't budge. "Ah, here's the problem," he said, pointing through the glass. "There's a cut-off broomstick laid in the track to keep the door from opening, but it's in there crooked. I think if I can just shove it hard enough, that it will. . . ugh!" he said as the door slid open.
"Yay!" the son cheered at his father's success.
Suddenly the curtains that hung across the doorway were thrown open, revealing an old man in his seventies. He was holding a shotgun. "What do you want?" he demanded, pointing the gun in George Rollins' face. Bandages hung loose about him. George, Jr., had not yet reached twelve years old, the age of majority, and therefore did not have the mark and the resultant sores, but he was certainly used to seeing grownups and teenagers with bandages over their sores. Somehow though, the bandages seemed to add terror to the old man's appearance.
Instinctively throwing his hands skyward in a sign of surrender, George, Sr. tried to answer. "I'm sorry! We ... we didn't think anybody lived here!"
"Well, somebody does!" the man growled. "Now, get the hell off of my property!"
"Yes, sir!" George, Sr. said and then ran to catch up with his son who was already headed for the gate.
Decker Hawthorne closed the door quickly and locked it, placing the cut-off broomstick properly into the track. Pulling the curtains closed again, he slumped into a chair, still holding the barrel of the shotgun in one hand. In the other hand was the shotgun shell which he had not had time to load. It had been a close call. He had barely gotten his phony bandages on before they had opened the door. If they had gotten in and seen him without any bandages or sores, they surely would have called the police and turned him in as a fundamentalist, if for no other reason than to get his water. From then on Decker determined that, uncomfortable as they might be, he would wear the bandages day and night.
It baffled Decker why the police had not yet come. And why had Christopher or Milner still not called? None of it made sense.
A half mile away Montgomery County Police Officer Amanda Smith waited for her partner, Sgt. Joseph Runningdeer, to get back in the car. "You want some?" he asked, offering her a can of water collected in a reservoir under the car that was attached to the condensation line from the air conditioner.
Smith didn't answer, but took the can eagerly, drinking it down as Sgt. Runningdeer picked tiny pieces of gravel from a sore on his arm.
"Who's next?" he asked as he readjusted the bandage.
Officer Smith looked at the assignment sheet. "Take a look," she said, handing Runningdeer the clipboard.
Sgt. Runningdeer found the next name, shook his head, and pulled a pen from his pocket. Scratching out the name Decker Hawthorne without excuse or explanation or authorization, he looked down the list to the next name. "Okay," he said. "Brubaker, off of Needwood Road."
"We evicted them last week," Officer Smith said, questioning the accuracy of the assignment.
"According to the neighbors, they're back in the house."
"They're making this too easy for us," she said as she started the car and headed toward the former Brubaker residence in South Riding, an established upper middle-class neighborhood. Driving slowly past the address, looking for any sign of activity outside the house, Smith rolled the car to a stop to allow Sgt. Runningdeer to get out. "Give me about sixty seconds," he said and then got out and ran around behind the house next door to Brubaker's.
Amanda Smith waited a moment and then put the car in reverse and backed it in front of the Brubakers' house and turned on the flashing bar lights. This made it obvious to anyone inside that the police were there and in many cases the element of fear proved even more effective than the element of surprise. Though the fundamentalists were not known for violence when being arrested, Smith took her service revolver from the holster in accordance with standard operating procedures for these arrests. Going to the front door, she checked the police security lock to see if it had been tampered with. It had not, and so she punched in the six digit code and slowly opened the door. When she did she heard a voice.
"They're in here," Sgt. Runningdeer called to her.
Officer Smith found the Brubaker family, Sid and Joan Brubaker and their two sons, sitting around the table in the dining room. Alerted to their imminent arrest by the flashing police lights, they sat with their hands joined and heads bowed. Sgt. Runningdeer stood in the door to the kitchen. "Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker," he said, "you and your family are under arrest for crimes against Humankind and for trespassing on government property."
Acting on the most recent directive from the United Nations, the Brubakers were taken into custody and booked. After receiving counseling, any member of the family who still refused to cease their anti-human activities and to take the communion and the mark would be held for transfer to a correctional facility. It was swift and inexorable punishment, but in light of the incredible suffering and untold deaths that had resulted from the corruption of the fresh water supply, it seemed to most people to be a very mild escalation in the penalty. This conclusion was further reinforced by the frequently televised video of fundamentalists in prison praying to Yahweh to punish the people of the earth with even greater and more violent afflictions. In a related action, the United Nations ruled that anyone caught selling goods to a fundamentalist would also be jailed, though the term of the sentencing was left up to the local authorities, depending on the circumstances.
8:13 a.m., Friday, June 26,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.) — Derwood, Maryland
Decker poured himself a cup of coffee and went back into the bedroom to watch television. Many would have killed for the liquid in that cup, but Decker had carefully rationed his water and still had about half of what he had started with on Sunday. Most of his water came from condensation from the refrigerator and he had to depend very little on his reserves. He felt bad that others were dying while he had plenty, but there was no way of telling how long this would last. He chose not to think about the fact that by hoarding his water 'just in case' he was demonstrating a lack of faith in Christopher and Milner who said they would resolve the crisis in less than a week. It was just best to play it safe, he thought.
"Welcome back," said Suzanne Wright, the television program's host, when Decker turned on the TV. "Joining us in the studio today is my very special guest, Reverend Timothy Dowd." Her voice revealed sincere respect for the man. "Reverend Dowd is here to talk about the charge that the recent cataclysms — the sores, followed by the oceans and now the fresh water turning to blood — are the result of collusion between the fundamentalists and Yahweh."
"I don't think you can really call it just a charge anymore," Rev. Down responded. "Based on the confessions and the videotapes of fundamentalists praying in prison for Yahweh to punish the earth, I'd say there's no question that the charge is supported by the evidence."
"I'm sure we've all seen the videotapes and heard the confessions," Suzanne Wright said. She could make that assumption with some confidence: for days the tapes had been shown, analyzed, reviewed, considered, discussed, and shown again on nearly every network and independent broadcast station in the world. "But," she continued, "and here's my real question: does Yahweh really need the prayers and support of the KDT and the fundamentalists to do what he's doing? Can't he just do it on his own? He is God, after all."
"Well, one would certainly think so," Reverend Dowd answered. "If Yahweh is really an all-powerful god, one would think he would be capable of doing whatever he wanted, regardless of what anybody else thinks. But in the sixth chapter of Mark in the New Testament, we find that he is not quite as all-powerful as he would like for us to believe. In that account we read that Jesus was in a certain town and because so few people were willing to believe in him, he was unable to do anything more spectacular than a few minor healings.
"The point is that we humans have tremendous power to use our mental and spiritual energy to determine what happens on this planet. Christopher is absolutely correct when he says that Yahweh's hold on the earth is in the grip of his confederates. Without the KDT and the fundamentalists (I call them the 'Cult of Yahweh'), without their prayers and support, without their focused mental and spiritual energies, Yahweh really could do very little. In fact — and this is key — what has happened to the earth over the last few weeks is not the result of Yahweh's superior powers. Rather it is the result of the fact that the KDT and fundamentalists are more focused on their vision of keeping Humankind subservient to Yahweh than those who follow Christopher are to the vision of freeing the planet of Yahweh's rule."
"That's amazing. I never realized that."
"In the same way, Suzanne, we must understand that as powerful as Christopher is, he cannot defeat Yahweh and the KDT and fundamentalists on his own. Christopher needs us, all of us, to support him with every ounce of positive mental and spiritual energy we can muster. We need to put off any dissension and disagreements among ourselves and focus instead on supporting Christopher and Robert Milner."
"You've been a minister for over fifty years," Suzanne Wright said. "You're probably the best known preacher since Billy Graham. You've served for years on the World Council of Churches. And yet, from what you say, it sounds as if you ... well, almost as if you've lost all faith in Yahweh."
"Well, with all that has happened, I'd be less than honest to tell you that I haven't struggled with that issue. But I still hold out hope. I pray to God every day that he will repent and turn from his wrath; that he will realize that we have grown beyond the need for an autocratic god, and that he will allow the people of this planet to advance to the next stage in their evolution so that one day we can join him as equals."
Suzanne Wright smiled thoughtfully and nodded, inspired by Reverend Dowd's hopeful vision, then continued. "It should be obvious to our viewers from all that you've just said, as well as from the bandage on your cheek, that even though you're a Christian . . ." She paused for clarification. "You do refer to yourself as a Christian?" she asked.
"Yes, of course, though I certainly never beat anyone over the head with it and tell them my way is the only way."
"Okay, then . . . even though you're a Christian, you are not a fundamentalist."
"God forbid," Dowd said with a slight laugh. Then pointing to the bandage on his cheek, he added, "I didn't get this shaving."
"And I know from talking with you earlier in your dressing room that the lesion on your cheek is not the only one you have."
"No," Dowd said. "I've taken the communion and the mark and I've got the sores to prove it." As he spoke, one of the cameras got a close up of the mark on the back of his right hand to further validate his statement.
"You seem proud of that fact," Suzanne Wright said. "I am, Suzanne. Christopher said we should wear our sores as badges of honor, and I do."
"If I recall, his exact words were to wear our wounds as 'badges of honor and defiance.' How do you feel about that term: 'defiance'?"
"I prefer to think of it as steadfastness," Dowd answered.
Wright nodded both her understanding and approval.
"What do you say to those who say that the communion is a
violation of the command not to drink blood, and that the mark
is the 'mark of the beast' referred to in the Bible?"
Timothy Dowd shook his head in complete disagreement. "That is such a tired old excuse that I hesitate to even address it again. The fundamentalists and the KDT began making these arguments as soon as the communion was announced. Nevertheless, to the first charge I would say you have to really stretch your definitions to equate taking a couple of capsules with drinking blood. The command not to drink blood is such an obscure law in the Bible that it's hard to believe Christopher's opponents would rely on such a feeble excuse. It's a sign of just how desperate they are."
"But the 'mark of the beast' is far less obscure, isn't it?" Suzanne Wright countered.
"You're right," Dowd replied. "Over the past fifty years or so, reference to the mark of the beast has been one of the most frequently mentioned passages in scripture. And for that very reason, it is one of the least understood. It has been so twisted by radicals and kooks, so abused by rock music groups and pulp novelists to sell recordings and books, and so frequently cited by right wing fundamentalist preachers to engender fear, that almost no one knows what it really means. I'm sure you remember twenty years ago when the current bank credit system began to replace the cash systems of the world. The outcry then from various lunatic fringe groups was that the imbedded bio-chip was itself the mark of the beast. Instead of a curse, it has proven to be not only tremendously convenient, but the biggest single deterrent to organized crime. I doubt if anyone today wants to go back to carrying around pockets full of coins and paper money, not to mention credit cards, driver's licenses, medical records, and assorted other personal ID."
"You've just begun a major crusade to bring your message around the world," Suzanne Wright said, interrupting the natural flow of the conversation, as so many reporters do, in order to fit in all the pre-scripted questions. "Tell us a little about that."
"Actually, Suzanne, this is a continuation of the work I've been doing for the last several years. During that time, I've been working through the World Council of Churches with the leaders of all the major Protestant denominations as well as the Pope and leaders from many other world religions."
"I take it that doesn't include any fundamentalists," Suzanne Wright interjected in jest.
"No," Dowd answered. "The people I'm working with are all intelligent, reasonable, open-minded people, many of whom recognize the tremendous power for good that the communion offers for Humankind, and were among the first in line to take the communion in order to calm any misgivings among the members of their denominations.
"So," Dowd continued, "as I was saying, I've been at this for some time. It's just that now with the sores and the waters turning to blood, people are beginning to listen. I've never believed in forcing my beliefs on anyone: I've always believed that a person's religious beliefs are a private matter. For me, what the Bible has to say about what happened 2000 years ago is far less important than what we do to help our fellow human beings and other living creatures to have a better life today." "Well put," the interviewer said as she nodded agreement. "But there is a reason for renewing my efforts right now," with this, his tone became deathly serious, "and that, quite frankly, is that the suffering and death must stop." His expression revealed both fervor and distress. His eyes seemed to hold a flood of dammed-up tears held in check only by his determination to deliver his message. "The suffering and death must stop," he repeated. "And we must do everything in our power to stop it."
"Which brings up the current crisis," Suzanne Wright said. "Reportedly millions have died already from lack of water and millions more are at death's door. From what you've said, can we take it that you feel that the Security Council was justified in reinstating capital punishment for leaders of the fundamentalists?"
"I'm a man of peace. In general I am absolutely opposed to capital punishment. However, as you said, millions of people have already died and millions more are close to death. Seldom are things so black and white as they are now. Without support from the 'Cult of Yahweh,' this crisis simply would not be occurring. The people we're talking about, the fundamentalist leaders, are no different than the Nazis of World War II except that they leave the actual slaughter to Yahweh. If the deaths of a few fundamentalist leaders will result in breaking Yahweh's hold on the planet and thereby save the lives of innocent millions, then as unpleasant as it is for all of us, we must not shirk our responsibility to ourselves and our children to do what is necessary. The executions should not be carried out in anger or malice or out of a desire to 'get even'; but for the sake of all Humankind, they must be carried out."
"Right now only the leaders face execution," Wright said. "I think the question all of us are wondering about is, will that be enough? Will it be necessary to extend capital punishment to include other members of the 'Cult of Yahweh,' as you have called them?"
"I don't know," Dowd answered. "Let us hope that it is enough, because if it's not, I fear that even worse plagues will follow."
"That's a horrible thought," Suzanne Wright replied.
"Which is why we must give our total support to Christopher and the Security Council. I'm not a soldier, but as I understand it, in time of war it is the responsibility of the troops to support their commanding officer. The more desperate the situation, the more important it is that his orders are followed to the letter. As Christopher has pointed out, we are at war. Yahweh has declared war against the planet earth and, like it or not, we are the soldiers. Even if we disagree on how some things are being handled by the U.K., we should acknowledge that those making the decisions are more aware of the overall situation than any of us are. Unless we know different, we should wholeheartedly support the decisions of Christopher and the Security Council."
"Do you think that the decision to use capital punishment against the leaders of the fundamentalists was influenced by the recent discoveries concerning reincarnation; that is, that no one ever really dies — that after a time they are born again?"
Rev. Dowd nodded thoughtfully. "Absolutely," he said. "Let me give you an analogy, Suzanne, that might make their decision more clear. When a woman terminates a pregnancy, the fundamentalists say that's wrong. But, of course, we know that's ridiculous. How could it be wrong? All she is doing is controlling her own body, her own life. She makes the decision for the good of herself, for the good of her family, and for the good of society. For many women, carrying the pregnancy to term would prevent them from advancing themselves in life and would keep them in poverty — if not financial poverty, then emotional and spiritual poverty — because they would never discover their true selves: they'd be too busy taking care of the children to do anything else. And quite often, perhaps more often than not, the unwanted child would become a burden not only for the mother and family but for society. How many thieves and murderers were unwanted children? Psychologists say many. It would have been better for those people and their victims if they had never been bom. Love — self love — is the greatest and most important love. That is the foundation upon which the New Age is built. A child cannot learn to love himself if he is not loved and wanted by the one who bore him. It is better for those children that their spirits return to the 'collective unconscious' — to use Carl Jung's terminology — before they are even born. The elimination of regressive people groups is really the same thing. Their inability to achieve self love is evidenced by the fact that they rely on someone else, in this case Yahweh, to give their life meaning. They place a burden on society so great that their very existence prevents Humankind from advancing to the next stage in its evolution. Like the unwanted pregnancy, the regressives must be removed so that the rest of Humankind may advance. And just as the termination of an unwanted pregnancy is best for all concerned, so it is for the best of everyone that radical fundamentalism be erased.
"Of course, this should be accomplished in the most humane manner possible. Certainly the desire to limit the suffering of the condemned prisoner must be taken into account and — I would think — that is why the Security Council chose the method of execution that it did."
"I was wondering about that. It seems rather . . . well, gruesome to me," Wright said with an uncomfortable look on her face.
"As I understand it," Dowd replied, "despite appearances, doctors consider decapitation to be both painless and quick. And I think when it comes to a choice between what is least upsetting to us and what is least painful and quickest for the condemned, we are obliged to think first of those who must die. Despite the suffering they have caused Humankind, we must not lower ourselves to their level; there is no reason to cause them to suffer.
"But there is another factor that should not be overlooked in our evaluation of the method, and that is that because beheading does appear brutal, hopefully it will deter other fundamentalists and help them realize the foolishness and futility of their intolerance."
Suzanne Wright nodded in agreement, though it was obvious that the thought of it still made her squeamish.
"But I think all of us and, in fact, even those who are to be executed should take consolation in the knowledge that death is temporary."
"We're almost out of time," Wright said, "but can you tell us very briefly what it will be like for those who die?"
"Well, not from personal experience," he answered dryly. "Our reliable data is limited to information gathered from people who have undergone detailed analysis of their past life experiences. What I can say is that there is strong evidence that when we die we do not remain dea^' long. Many are born again within just a very few years; for some, it's just a few days. Seldom do we find anyone who went more than twenty years between lifetimes. And, of course, when a person dies and is reborn, they almost never remember events of their past lives without undergoing past life therapy. What that means — and I'm thinking now primarily of those who are executed, though in truth this applies to those who have died in the plagues as well — is that those who die leave behind all the regressive tendencies they have learned in their former life. They return, stripped of the vestiges of the old paradigm, to a world in which the New Age is not just beginning, but is in full bloom. When they return, they will be able to accept the truth because the lies of Yahweh will be so obvious to them."
"So there is hope, even for the most fanatical of the fundamentalists?" Suzanne Wright asked, making no attempt to hide the wonder in her voice.
"There is hope," Rev. Dowd concluded with certainty.
"Our guest today has been Reverend Timothy Dowd," Suzanne Wright concluded with an optimistic smile for her audience. "We'll be back after this."
6:50 p.m. — Allahabad, India
As cameras watched, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims waited anxiously upon the banks of the tongue of land at AttOiabad, where the Yamuna, Sarasvati, and Ganga (Ganges) rivers join. Few had enough strength to stand; many were near death from dehydration; and tens of thousands more had died before making it this far. To this, the site of the "true Prayag" or place of pilgrimage, where annually millions of devout Hindus come to wash away their sins in the sacred river, and where also is held the great festival called the Maghmela, had come the prophet of Babylon, Robert Milner. Wearing the same robes as he had the week before in Tel Aviv, and again waiting until twilight to begin his work, Milner walked barefoot to the point where the rivers unite and where the flow of blood was sufficient to prevent any scabbing over.
This time he bore no crystal spheres. Also, unlike before, he did not stop at land's edge, but continued into the river until the blood washed around him up to his knees. The fabric of his robe reacted like a straw and drew the blood through it up toward his waist. Reaching into a pocket hidden by the robe's many folds, Milner retrieved a large knife, made of ivory and bearing unusual markings. A few in the crowd recognized it as the ceremonial knife of the Khond sacrifice of the Meriah, a ritual not openly practiced in India for at least a hundred and fifty years, where a human sacrifice was put to death by strangulation and his body dismembered and spread over the fields to entreat the gods for a good harvest.
Standing there, Milner raised his eyes to the heavens. His right hand formed a defiant fist and was bent at the wrist so that the mark he bore there faced the skies. In his left hand he held the knife point up, as if ready to stab at the heart of God. Then, as he had in Tel Aviv, again he shouted, "In the name of the Light Bearer, and of his son, Christopher, and in the name of myself and those with me, and all of Humankind, I declare my defiance of Yahweh, the god of sickness and disease and oppression! We will not yield to you! We will not submit to you! We will not bow to you! We declare our freedom from you! We spit upon you and upon your name!"
Then, with his arms still upraised and all the world watching, he held the point of the knife to his right wrist. Placing the blade against his flesh, he pulled down sharply, cutting a deep gash which cleanly severed the ulnar artery. Immediately blood began spurting from the wound with each heartbeat and ran down his arm.
Those watching nearby and on television gasped in surprise, and though Milner already stood knee-deep in blood, some still turned their heads in revulsion. For a few seconds the cameras focused on Milner, who stood unflinching with blood pouring from his arm, the knife still raised high. Then someone noticed that as his blood mingled with the blood in which he stood, a change began to occur. Then everyone saw it, as the color of the blood in the river lightened and then turned crystal clear, clearer than anyone had ever seen the river flow. With great speed, the reformation spread up and down stream in all three rivers. In three minutes it had spread as far as the Bay of Bengal at the mouth of the Ganges, south of Calcutta. From there the cleansing began to occur in other rivers and springs, traveling around the world just behind the setting sun.
In Allahabad, except from the reporters present, there was no great cheer as there had been in Tel Aviv. Instead, all who had strength to move walked or crawled to the water to drink.
With a sigh drowned out by the rushing waters, Robert Milner dropped his arms and walked back to shore. Walking silently past cameras and reporters who cleared a path, he turned and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. There was an initial flurry of concern, but as he lay there still conscious and assuring those around him that he was fine, the cameras revealed an amazing image: his wrist was entirely healed.
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