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Chapter 3

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

By

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER THREE

The Great City

October 24 (United Nations Day), 1 N.A. (2023 A.D.) York City

New

A crowd of nearly half a million people listened, some swaying, some tapping their toes in time as the lilting music of Divination, a New Age band from Miami, poured from the speakers on a massive stage and drifted like falling leaves through the trees and fields of New York's Central Park. They had gathered there to celebrate the seventy-eighth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid-seventies and just a few scattered white billowy clouds in the sky. It hardly seemed possible that only seven months earlier the human race had been threatened with the possibility of complete extinction. Now, not only was it apparent that the world would survive, there was undeniable evidence that Humankind was on the brink of both its biggest evolutionary step and its greatest adventure. The psychic occurrences that had begun a few weeks earlier grew more and more frequent, though at this early stage no one held onto their powers for more than about twenty-four hours. Among those in the park this afternoon, hundreds or perhaps thousands had experienced such abilities in the past few weeks, and scores were having such experiences at this very moment.

Under a tree at the edge of the crowd, two women — strangers moments before — sat reminiscing of lives long past when they, as men, had fought and died side by side in the second Battle of Bull Run. Elsewhere, a group of about thirty people listened intently as a fifteen-year-old girl told of the knowledge and wisdom she had gained in her previous life as a eunuch in the court of the ancient Babylonian king and law-giver, Hammurabi. Not far away, a homeless man suddenly found himself very popular when it was discovered that, for the time being at least, he possessed the power to heal.

On the stage the band completed its set and the mayor of New York, who was serving as master of ceremonies, announced the arrival of United Nations Secretary-General Christopher Goodman. Christopher's United Nations Day address to the world would be his first major public appearance since the strange psychic powers began appearing, so the world was particularly interested in what he had to say.

At the very moment Christopher came to the microphone, the attention of the crowd was suddenly drawn to the sky above him. In the nearly cloudless sky there appeared a small point of pulsating white light that grew so quickly it soon dwarfed the entire stage. News crews trained their television cameras on the spectacle as millions marveled at what new wonder Christopher was about to reveal. Had the cameras caught the pique on Christopher's face they would have realized that this was none of his doing.

Somehow — no one was sure exactly when it happened — the shimmering light took on a familiar form. It was a man; that is, it had the appearance of a man, though it most definitely was not. It was far too large, as tall as any building in the city, and it appeared attired in a long flowing robe of purest white light. Later some swore that it had wings, though far more were certain that it did not, and the film of the event could neither confirm nor deny it.

Not wasting another moment, Christopher took the microphone. "People of the world, do not fear this apparition!" he declared. "It is a messenger of Yahweh, come to frighten and distract you from your rightful destiny."

It was all Christopher had time to say before the entity spoke.

"Fear God and give him glory," it began, "because the hour of his judgment has come." Its voice was like thunder and it spoke in the same universal language that Christopher himself had used in Jerusalem. "Worship him who has made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water."

With that the light vanished even more quickly than it had appeared. And though most of the world had seen it on television, the strange being apparently wanted to convey its message personally to the people of earth, with the full impact of its awesome size and voice. In the course of the day it appeared and repeated its message in nearly two thousand cities around the world.

In New York, Christopher reassured the world that there was nothing to fear. "In this act, Yahweh has revealed his desperation." he told them. "In his demand that we fear him and worship him, he has shown his true nature. We must not fear him for he is not our god. Humankind does not need a god, for we ourselves shall become as gods — bowing to and fearing no one. We must not yield to Yahweh's threats, whether they come from the mouth of an angel or the mouths of the Koum Damah Tatare." This latter reference was to recently stepped-up efforts by the KDT. Though a few KDT had remained in Petra with the tens of thousands of other Israelis, most had returned to the outside world. And despite the best efforts of numerous police organizations, KDT members had become as elusive as their masters, John and Cohen.

"Yahweh makes his demands, but they are hollow," Christopher said. "Test me and see if my words are not true: wait a week, a month, a year, and you will see that Yahweh will do nothing to enforce his demand for worship. He will not, because he cannot! His demands are empty, his threats are hollow! Yahweh knows that his days are numbered," Christopher continued. "He has seen the evidence in your lives as you approach the beginning of your own self-realized godhood. Humankind does not need Yahweh or any other god. Our only god must be ourselves!"

March 11 (New Years Day), 2 N.A. (2024 A.D.) — Jerusalem

As Christopher predicted, Yahweh did nothing to enforce his demand for worship. For a while there was some anxiety as members of the KDT and their allies in a few fundamentalist Christian churches continued their entreaties for worship of Yahweh. If they had the power to do any more than that, they did not use it. Now, on the first New Year's Day of the New Age, nearly five months since the entity appeared in New York, the world was learning to trust what Christopher said.

Great celebrations were scheduled throughout the world to commemorate this first new year. More than simply offering an adequate replacement for the New Year's celebrations of the old era, this New Year's Day festivities were designed to underscore the reality of the New Age to those who were resistant to change. Television documentaries recounted everything that was known of Christopher's life, and reminded the world of the terrible destruction and death that preceded Christopher's rise to power a year earlier.

Nowhere was the celebration larger or more enthusiastic than in Jerusalem, the incubator of so much of the world's history and the city from which Christopher had made his declaration of Humankind's independence from Yahweh. It was fitting then, that Jerusalem, and particularly the Temple, should be at the center of the New Year's Day celebration.

Many things had changed in the year that had passed. Despite pleas by Prime Minister Golda Reiner, the exodus of Jews to Petra in Jordan continued, and although none who went could be convinced to return, at least the flow had dwindled to a mere trickle. Reiner had noticed one rather ironic advantage to their departure in that she found it much less difficult to work with a Knesset void of militant religious partisans. With a more accommodating Israeli government, Jerusalem had become a truly international city, overseen in part by a United Nations administrator and open to all races and nationalities. The same was true of the Temple. No longer was access denied based on nationality or race. All were now free to enter into all parts of the Temple, including the Holy of Holies. The Ark, which remained in its place, was preserved just as Christopher had left it, with its lid askew to remind the world that Christopher had removed the tablets and replaced the laws of Yahweh with a new covenant — a decree that Humankind must pass from the age of adolescence into a New Age of maturity and self-reliance from which would come true justice and freedom for all peoples.

Christopher, Decker, and Robert Milner arrived in Jerusalem together by helicopter, reminding all of the events of one year ago. But it was more than the celebration of the new year that had brought them to Jerusalem. They had come also to participate in the official dedication of a statue of Christopher which had been commissioned by Robert Milner, paid for by the U.N., and approved by the Israeli government. Although the statue had actually been erected just thirty days after Christopher's Jerusalem address, on the sixth day of the Passover week, Christopher had not been present, so in typical political style, an 'official dedication' had been suggested to both mark the New Year's celebration in a symbolic way and to give a boost to Israel's flagging tourist trade.

The statue was a slightly-larger-than-life re-creation of Christopher, appropriately placed on the spot where he delivered his Jerusalem address from the Temple's pinnacle, making it clearly visible to all. So that visitors could, in some small way, experience what it was like for those who had actually been in Jerusalem on that day, speakers near the statue broadcast Christopher's Jerusalem address three times a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset.

October 24 (United Nations Day), 2 N.A. (2024 A.D.) — Babylon, Iraq

Little more than nineteen months had passed since the Security Council voted to build a new headquarters complex in Babylon. And yet, here on a site not far from the reconstruction of ancient King Nebuchadnezzar's palace, stood the structurally complete main building of the new headquarters. Much remained to be done inside, and the rest of the nine buildings in the complex were still under construction. Still, United Nations Day came only once a year and it seemed the perfect occasion for dedicating the new structures. The first to move into the main building would be the World Health Organization (WHO) — a decision which had never been fully explained since WHO's offices would ultimately be in another building that was still months from completion. It made little sense to have WHO move into the main building now, just to have to move again when their building was completed in January, but for some reason the decision was important to Christopher, and no one felt it was really worth arguing about.

The city of Babylon, located on the Hilla branch of the Euphrates, just north of the modern town of Hilla, and 55 miles southwest of Baghdad, is one of the most famous cities of the ancient world. Depending upon whose account is believed, the size of the ancient city ranged from as much as 225 square miles to as little as five square miles. The earliest Greek writings in which Babylon is described are those of Herodotus, who described Babylon as an exact square, 120 stadia (approximately 14 miles) on each side, located on a broad plain. Babylon's historic rise to regional importance came in the third millennium B.C. when the course of the Euphrates river shifted westward away from the ancient Sumerian city ofKish. Since that time there have been five well-defined periods of Babylonian history. Old Babylon, the capital city from which Hammurabi and his successors ruled, was almost entirely destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 689 B.C. Within about a decade Sennacherib's son and successor, Esarhaddon, built a new city on the same site, but it too was destroyed by revolution and siege. Later, from 626 to 562 B.C. Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon and brought it to its greatest glory. It was during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar that the city's massive walls and the Hanging Gardens (two of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) were constructed. In 275 B.C. the inhabitants of the city were moved to the new city ofSeleucia on the Tigris River, thus bringing the ancient history of Babylon to a close.

Beginning in the 1970s, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who considered himself a twentieth century version of Nebuchadnezzar, spent hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of oil to rebuild the city as a monument — ostensibly to the Iraqi people, but more accurately to himself. Millions of bricks used to build the city bear his name, and plaques on nearly every corner bear the silhouetted relief image of both Nebuchadnezzar and Hussein.

Now, a year and a half after the madness decimated the region, the only Iraqis left to inhabit the city were immigrants returning home from abroad. There was no shortage of other inhabitants, however, as more than 38,800 engineers and construction workers poured into the city to work on the many building projects. Together with the workers' families and another 9200 or so additional support personnel, the population of Babylon came to nearly 55,000 people, making it a bustling metropolis compared to the rest of Iraq and the surrounding countries which, except for Israel, were all but uninhabited. Ironically, considering the history of hostility between the two countries, nearly a sixth of the people now in Iraq were Israelis. But this was the new Iraq which, like the new Israel, was under United Nations control and open to all races and nationalities.

Christopher Goodman, together with an entourage of reporters, had begun the day with a tour of the city, followed by speeches by a host of dignitaries from around the world who praised Christopher's leadership and offered accolades for all who had been involved in the new U.N. headquarters project. Amid great cheers, Christopher himself praised the human spirit which, by this project "had proven itself supreme and unyielding to the whims of spiritual oppressors." As millions listened and watched around the world, he recalled the city's historical and spiritual significance. Repeating what he had articulated to the gathering of New Age leaders at the United Nations, he noted, "It was near here that the first Theatan ship landed more than four billion years ago, and life on earth began. It was near this spot, in Eden, that Humankind first declared its independence from Yahweh. It was in this very place," he added, "that Humankind first came together in peace to work as one united people in the construction of a great city and the magnificent Tower of Babel, before being dispersed by the despotic Yahweh. And," Christopher said, completing his brief history lesson, "tragically, it was not far from here that Yahweh, in perhaps his crudest act against Humankind, released the madness that led to the brutal slaughter of one-third of the planet's population." Christopher concluded by noting that the decision by the United Nations to build its new headquarters in Babylon had sealed for all time Humankind's emancipation from Yahweh's rule.

After his speech, Christopher held up an oversized pair of scissors and prepared to cut a wide red ribbon which had been stretched across the entrance to the new headquarters. It may have been the second year of the New Age, but some traditions would never change and Christopher had accepted the role of ribbon-cutter with good humor.

Aided by Robert Milner because of his crippled arm, Christopher reached out to cut the ribbon when suddenly someone in the back of the crowd cried out, "Look!"

It took a moment for the rest of those gathered to understand, but then everyone saw. Directly above the new structure, a shimmering light was growing and taking shape, much like the one that appeared a year before over Central Park in New York.

"Fallen, Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries!" it said. And then, after repeating its message, it vanished.

As before, the entire event was captured by television cameras and transmitted throughout the globe. And again, in order to convey its message to the people of earth personally, the angel appeared and repeated its message in nearly two thousand cities around the world.

In Babylon all eyes and cameras shifted back to Christopher. For a brief moment there was silence and then, very much unlike his reaction to the first angel, Christopher began to laugh. It was an infectious laugh and though they weren't sure why, many of those watching began to laugh as well. For what seemed nearly a minute, Christopher laughed heartily and shook his head as if in disbelief over what he had just witnessed. "Well, one thing is for certain," Christopher said, finally, "Yahweh really knows how to steal the spotlight!" Now everyone laughed.

"But his theatrics will not frighten us," Christopher continued. Then, looking skyward and shaking his one good fist towards heaven, he shouted at Yahweh, "You will not succeed in frightening us! Humankind will not bend its knee to you or any other tyrant ever again!"

Several thousand fists now raised with Christopher's in defiance as a spontaneous roar of cheers from the crowd resonated through the city.

"Yahweh knows," Christopher said, turning back to the crowd, "that by building a new U.N. headquarters here in Babylon, Humankind is delivering an unmistakable slap in his face. With each passing day he grows more and more desperate as he feels his grip on the earth slipping away." Again the people cheered. "In his desperation," Christopher continued, "he foolishly attempts to frighten us, even though by doing so he makes himself a laughingstock.

"Look around," Christopher told them, "Babylon is not fallen as Yahweh's driveling minion has proclaimed so loudly: Babylon stands! And it will continue to stand long after Yahweh is forced to abandon his fraudulent claim on this planet!"

Then, reaching out with the ceremonial scissors, Christopher and Milner cut the ribbon to thunderous applause and cheers, and the new headquarters building of the United Nations was officially opened.

As before, the KDT and a small, vocal, and apparently growing number of fundamentalist Christians attempted to drive a wedge of doubt and fear between the people and Christopher, claiming that the fall of Babylon spoken of by the angel referred not to the present, but was a warning about the near future.

10:35 a.m., February 3, 2 N.A. (2025 A.D.) Headquarters, Babylon, Iraq

U.N.

Decker Hawthorne sat eating a late breakfast at a corner table in the new U.N. dining room. Looking up from the empty plate where once there had been a Belgian waffle and lots of bacon, he saw Christopher coming toward him, smiling. Decker waved and smiled back. "Have you had breakfast?" Decker asked.

"I had a donut in my office," Christopher answered, and then got straight to the reason he was there. Still standing, he leaned down over the table and spoke quietly so that no one else could hear. "Would you like to see the secret of eternal life?" he whispered.

Decker raised his eyebrows. "The communion?" he asked, using Christopher's terminology from almost two years ago.

Christopher nodded.

"I already know about it," Decker said, feigning disinterest.

"What? How?" Christopher gasped in surprise.

"I was once a reporter, you know."

Christopher pulled out a chair and sat down, looking a little deflated. "I thought it was such a well-kept secret," he said, shaking his head. "We took every precaution." For a moment Christopher just stared at Decker, and then they both smiled. "So how much do you know?" he asked.

"Not that much, really," Decker admitted. "I know that there's some big hush-hush project going on at WHO," he said, referring to the World Health Organization. "I also know that you've said this 'communion' is supposed to dramatically extend the human lifespan. My guess," Decker said, studying Christopher's face for a response that might confirm his suspicion, "is that WHO has been working on something similar to what your Uncle Harry was doing before he died."

"You're pretty close," Christopher said, "but that's not exactly it. What Uncle Harry was working on was actually far more complicated. What he didn't realize was that there is a much easier way to accomplish what he was after."

"What do you mean?" Decker asked, leaning forward and finally showing how interested he really was.

"Decker, I know it's been a long time, but do you remember when we were at the refugee camp in Sahiwdi, Pakistan about five years ago?" Decker nodded. "On our last day there, I was in my tent and you came looking for me. When you found me, I told you that I had seen the death of one who sought to avoid death's grip."

Decker nodded as he recalled the events. "That was the day Secretary-General Hansen was killed in the plane crash."

"But there was also someone else in my vision:" Christopher continued, "one who sought to accept death's release." Christopher shrugged and shook his head as he spoke. "I really didn't understand it then. If you had asked me about it at the time, I'm not sure what I would have said, but I understand it now. It was John." Decker knew immediately that Christopher referred to Yochanan bar Zebadee, the Apostle John.

"I told you once that when I was crucified John was the only one of the apostles who came to see me. At first I thought he came to ask forgiveness for betraying me, but of course he had not. But he hadn't come just to mock me, either," Christopher explained. "Do you remember the legend of the Holy Grail?"

"Sure," Decker answered. "It was supposed to be the cup that you used at the Last Supper. I remember reading stories when I was a kid about the Knights of the Round Table going on quests to find the grail. Of course they never found it."

"One of the legends about the grail," Christopher continued, "says that when John came to the cross he brought the grail with him."

Decker thought for a second. "I do remember something about that," he said slowly, trying to awaken any additional recollection of the matter. "The legend was that John collected some of your blood by letting it drip into the cup." A long forgotten memory began to make its way into Decker's consciousness. He started to speak but then paused to be sure his memory was correct. "According to the legend," Decker continued tentatively; and then suddenly he was struck by the connection to the current conversation. Had he not already been sitting down, he would have done so now. Could Christopher really be implying that . . . "According to the legend," Decker began again, "if anyone drank of the blood from the grail they would have eternal life!"

Christopher nodded, and it was clear that he was doing more than just confirming Decker's accurate recollection of the legend. He was also implicitly confirming Decker's realization of the larger point: there was no need for anything nearly so complex as the genetic engineering on which Professor Goodman had been working. Total immunity from all disease and the power of rapid healing — the secret of eternal life which Harry Goodman had sought — was attainable by simply ingesting the blood.

"Somehow John knew that by drinking the blood, he would gain eternal life," Christopher concluded. "I suppose it was part of his bargain with Yahweh."

"But in Pakistan you said that John 'sought death's release.' That makes it sound as though he wantedlo die."

"I believe that he did: I'm not sure why. I doubt it was because he felt guilty for betraying Humankind into Yahweh's hands. I suppose that after two thousand years, he was simply tired of living."

Decker considered what Christopher said and then returned to the more pressing topic. "So if the benefits of the blood are gained by drinking it, what about Milner?" Robert Milner was now in his mid-nineties but appeared far younger than Decker, who was several months shy of turning seventy-two.

"Apparently it can either be ingested or transfused," Christopher answered, referencing the time fourteen years earlier when Robert Milner, then on his deathbed, had received a transfusion of Christopher's blood. "It's rather puzzling why it works at all, but with what we knew about what the blood did for Robert Milner, we had to pursue it. Originally, it was believed that injections would be more effective, thus requiring far smaller dosages than with oral administration. But by adding a new genetically-designed absorption agent to the blood, WHO found that two average-sized capsules taken orally were as effective as a 50 cc transfusion."

"Sort of a 'take two capsules and you'll never need to call me in the morning again' approach," Decker said, unable to resist the joke.

Christopher laughed. "I guess you could say that. A week after taking the capsules, the human immune system grows incredibly robust and resilient. Within a month the body is entirely immune to all bacteriological and viral disorders. Pre-existing illnesses wane and then disappear altogether. And though it's too soon to tell with the volunteers in the test group, if what we saw with Bob Milner holds true, it may even reverse the effects of old age.

"You've already begun human testing?!"

Christopher just nodded. "Of course, the communion can't prevent injuries," he said, continuing his train of thought. "It won't keep you from breaking your leg or cutting yourself, but the healing of such injuries is vastly accelerated. It also won't prevent death from an injury, but barring that, it will allow people to live long enough for the evolution of Humankind to the spirit form to be completed. Then not even an injury will be able to kill."

"This all sounds fantastic," Decker interjected, "but isn't it going to be a little hard on you to be draining out all this blood?"

"The blood won't be coming directly from me," Christopher said, "WHO is cloning the blood from a sample."

"Of course," Decker said, acknowledging his oversight of the obvious. Then bringing the conversation around to a facet of the subject to which he had been giving a great deal of thought prior to this conversation, he asked, "Is it your intention that the communion be given to everyone?"

"Of course," Christopher responded, his tone indicating surprise at the question.

Decker thought for a moment, choosing his words and tone carefully. "Why should we provide the communion to our enemies?" he asked, "to the KDT and the fundamentalists who oppose everything you say and do?"

Christopher thought for a second and then started to speak, but before he had gotten out the first syllable he stopped again, apparently unable to find a convincing response.

Decker answered his own question. "You know that ultimately they'll die without it."

Christopher didn't speak but his expression indicated that Decker's assumption was correct.

"Christopher, I understand how you feel about this. You hate the thought of leaving anyone behind. It has cost so much: so many lives uselessly lost over the centuries because of Yahweh's oppression. You hate to allow more suffering because of him. But if you allow the KDT and their fundamentalist Christian supporters to take part in the communion, you'll be giving Yahweh a foothold not only in this century but in all the centuries to come.

"You've given the KDT every opportunity to turn from their ways and join you in the battle for Humankind's independence," Decker said, a little surprised at how much he was sounding like Robert Milner. "You've bent over backward to accommodate them, but not a single one of them has joined us. What hope is there that they'll ever change? I think the time has come to let them suffer the consequences of their own choices. Besides, you told me yourself, when a person dies they are reincarnated to live again." Clearly Decker had given the subject of the communion considerable thought. "They're remnants of the old age: why not allow them to go their own way? When they die they'll be reborn with no memory of what they were or how the world once was. They'll be born anew into the New Age, leaving behind all of their prejudices and their learned ignorance.

"If you look at it that way," Decker continued, "it becomes obvious that you're not helping anyone by giving eternal life to people who are not ready for the New Age from which that life comes." Decker took a breath, and then concluded his argument, "Let those who are bound to the old age die with the old age, so that in their next life they may truly live in the New Age that has come."

Christopher thought for a moment. Decker's logic was indisputable and Christopher would not deny it. "You've been reading too many of your own speeches," he said finally.

Decker smiled, but that was not the response he wanted from Christopher.

"Okay," Christopher added finally. "I suppose that the clinics could be directed not to give the communion to members of the KDT — that should be easy enough: they're pretty hard to miss with the writing on their foreheads. But how could you prevent the fundamentalists from receiving communion? Unfortunately, they're not so easy to spot; they look pretty much like everyone else when they're not beating you over the head with a Bible."

"But that's the answer," Decker declared. "We can use their fundamentalism to make them not want to take the communion."

"I'm sorry, Decker. I don't follow you," Christopher replied.

"I've been thinking about this," Decker said.

"Yes, I noticed."

Decker brushed Christopher's comment aside and continued. "The book of Revelation in the Bible says that those who follow the Antichrist will be required to take a mark on their forehead or on the back of their hand."

"I'm familiar with the passage," Christopher said.

"Well, it seems to me we can use that to our own benefit. If we require anyone who takes the communion to also take some kind of a mark on either the back of their hand or on their forehead — though I doubt that anyone would really want to have something tattooed on their forehead — then the fundamentalists won't dare do it for fear of angering Yahweh."

Christopher appeared to be giving the proposition some serious thought, but Decker wanted to drive home his point even more. "Again, it's just my opinion, but it seems to me that the communion should be given only to those who have pledged their loyalty to you and what you stand for. Taking the communion should, therefore, be done only in full recognition and agreement with what it represents — a declaration of independence from the dictates of a dictatorial god, a statement of belief in individual self worth and the collective value of Humankind, a statement of self-determination, a resolution to make one's own decisions and to live with the consequences, and a commitment to leave the nest and to declare that Humankind has come of age and has outgrown the need for a guardian."

"I hope you've written all this down somewhere," Christopher said. Decker nodded, a little embarrassed by his speechmaking. "So, how exactly do you propose that we apply this mark?" Christopher asked.

"Well, I don't think we want anything too conspicuous or no else one will want to get it. It should be as small and unobtrusive as possible on the back of the right hand. As I said, I don't think anyone is going to want to have it on their forehead, but we should offer the option so it will match the prophecy and keep the fundamentalists away. It should be something permanent, but it also should to be as painless as possible. I've been doing some research on the subject and it turns out that very few tattoos are done using needles any more; most are done with permanent dyes that soak deep into the flesh so they don't wear off."

"And I suppose to have the desired effect of keeping the fundamentalists away, the mark will have to depict either my name or the number 666?" Christopher asked, cringing a bit.

"Well, the KDT have made a big deal of the fact that when your name is written phonetically in Hebrew the sum of the letters equals 666, so I guess that makes it the natural choice," Decker remarked, and then added, "It's a lot shorter than writing out your whole name."

Christopher took a breath and let out a deep sigh. "Well, let me give it some thought," he said.

"Great, that's all I'm asking," Decker answered, confident he had presented his argument with undeniable logic.

"Now," Decker said, as he pushed his chair back from the table, "when you came in here you asked if I wanted to 'see' the secret of eternal life. Is there something you were going to show me?"

"Yes, there is," Christopher answered, apparently ready to move on and let Decker's proposal settle in for a while. "Come with me," he said. Decker followed Christopher from the dining room and down the hall to the elevator. Decker quickly guessed that they were headed for the World Health Organization.

Inside the WHO facilities they passed two armed guards and approached a secure door. Christopher placed his hand on the print reader, spoke his name, and the door opened. Decker expected to find a laboratory with dozens of WHO personnel busily running tests or engaged in discussions on the best methods for cloning Christopher's blood. What he saw instead was immeasurably more striking. Beyond the door in the secured area was a simple warehouse full of pallets stacked high with boxes.

Christopher tore open a box and held it open for Decker to see. Inside were hundreds of blister packs, each bearing two capsules filled with a thick red liquid. The entire warehouse was filled with Christopher's blood.

Chapter 3

The Christ Clone Trilogy 03 - Acts Of God

By

James Beau Seigneur

CHAPTER THREE

The Great City

October 24 (United Nations Day), 1 N.A. (2023 A.D.) York City

New

A crowd of nearly half a million people listened, some swaying, some tapping their toes in time as the lilting music of Divination, a New Age band from Miami, poured from the speakers on a massive stage and drifted like falling leaves through the trees and fields of New York's Central Park. They had gathered there to celebrate the seventy-eighth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid-seventies and just a few scattered white billowy clouds in the sky. It hardly seemed possible that only seven months earlier the human race had been threatened with the possibility of complete extinction. Now, not only was it apparent that the world would survive, there was undeniable evidence that Humankind was on the brink of both its biggest evolutionary step and its greatest adventure. The psychic occurrences that had begun a few weeks earlier grew more and more frequent, though at this early stage no one held onto their powers for more than about twenty-four hours. Among those in the park this afternoon, hundreds or perhaps thousands had experienced such abilities in the past few weeks, and scores were having such experiences at this very moment.

Under a tree at the edge of the crowd, two women — strangers moments before — sat reminiscing of lives long past when they, as men, had fought and died side by side in the second Battle of Bull Run. Elsewhere, a group of about thirty people listened intently as a fifteen-year-old girl told of the knowledge and wisdom she had gained in her previous life as a eunuch in the court of the ancient Babylonian king and law-giver, Hammurabi. Not far away, a homeless man suddenly found himself very popular when it was discovered that, for the time being at least, he possessed the power to heal.

On the stage the band completed its set and the mayor of New York, who was serving as master of ceremonies, announced the arrival of United Nations Secretary-General Christopher Goodman. Christopher's United Nations Day address to the world would be his first major public appearance since the strange psychic powers began appearing, so the world was particularly interested in what he had to say.

At the very moment Christopher came to the microphone, the attention of the crowd was suddenly drawn to the sky above him. In the nearly cloudless sky there appeared a small point of pulsating white light that grew so quickly it soon dwarfed the entire stage. News crews trained their television cameras on the spectacle as millions marveled at what new wonder Christopher was about to reveal. Had the cameras caught the pique on Christopher's face they would have realized that this was none of his doing.

Somehow — no one was sure exactly when it happened — the shimmering light took on a familiar form. It was a man; that is, it had the appearance of a man, though it most definitely was not. It was far too large, as tall as any building in the city, and it appeared attired in a long flowing robe of purest white light. Later some swore that it had wings, though far more were certain that it did not, and the film of the event could neither confirm nor deny it.

Not wasting another moment, Christopher took the microphone. "People of the world, do not fear this apparition!" he declared. "It is a messenger of Yahweh, come to frighten and distract you from your rightful destiny."

It was all Christopher had time to say before the entity spoke.

"Fear God and give him glory," it began, "because the hour of his judgment has come." Its voice was like thunder and it spoke in the same universal language that Christopher himself had used in Jerusalem. "Worship him who has made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water."

With that the light vanished even more quickly than it had appeared. And though most of the world had seen it on television, the strange being apparently wanted to convey its message personally to the people of earth, with the full impact of its awesome size and voice. In the course of the day it appeared and repeated its message in nearly two thousand cities around the world.

In New York, Christopher reassured the world that there was nothing to fear. "In this act, Yahweh has revealed his desperation." he told them. "In his demand that we fear him and worship him, he has shown his true nature. We must not fear him for he is not our god. Humankind does not need a god, for we ourselves shall become as gods — bowing to and fearing no one. We must not yield to Yahweh's threats, whether they come from the mouth of an angel or the mouths of the Koum Damah Tatare." This latter reference was to recently stepped-up efforts by the KDT. Though a few KDT had remained in Petra with the tens of thousands of other Israelis, most had returned to the outside world. And despite the best efforts of numerous police organizations, KDT members had become as elusive as their masters, John and Cohen.

"Yahweh makes his demands, but they are hollow," Christopher said. "Test me and see if my words are not true: wait a week, a month, a year, and you will see that Yahweh will do nothing to enforce his demand for worship. He will not, because he cannot! His demands are empty, his threats are hollow! Yahweh knows that his days are numbered," Christopher continued. "He has seen the evidence in your lives as you approach the beginning of your own self-realized godhood. Humankind does not need Yahweh or any other god. Our only god must be ourselves!"

March 11 (New Years Day), 2 N.A. (2024 A.D.) — Jerusalem

As Christopher predicted, Yahweh did nothing to enforce his demand for worship. For a while there was some anxiety as members of the KDT and their allies in a few fundamentalist Christian churches continued their entreaties for worship of Yahweh. If they had the power to do any more than that, they did not use it. Now, on the first New Year's Day of the New Age, nearly five months since the entity appeared in New York, the world was learning to trust what Christopher said.

Great celebrations were scheduled throughout the world to commemorate this first new year. More than simply offering an adequate replacement for the New Year's celebrations of the old era, this New Year's Day festivities were designed to underscore the reality of the New Age to those who were resistant to change. Television documentaries recounted everything that was known of Christopher's life, and reminded the world of the terrible destruction and death that preceded Christopher's rise to power a year earlier.

Nowhere was the celebration larger or more enthusiastic than in Jerusalem, the incubator of so much of the world's history and the city from which Christopher had made his declaration of Humankind's independence from Yahweh. It was fitting then, that Jerusalem, and particularly the Temple, should be at the center of the New Year's Day celebration.

Many things had changed in the year that had passed. Despite pleas by Prime Minister Golda Reiner, the exodus of Jews to Petra in Jordan continued, and although none who went could be convinced to return, at least the flow had dwindled to a mere trickle. Reiner had noticed one rather ironic advantage to their departure in that she found it much less difficult to work with a Knesset void of militant religious partisans. With a more accommodating Israeli government, Jerusalem had become a truly international city, overseen in part by a United Nations administrator and open to all races and nationalities. The same was true of the Temple. No longer was access denied based on nationality or race. All were now free to enter into all parts of the Temple, including the Holy of Holies. The Ark, which remained in its place, was preserved just as Christopher had left it, with its lid askew to remind the world that Christopher had removed the tablets and replaced the laws of Yahweh with a new covenant — a decree that Humankind must pass from the age of adolescence into a New Age of maturity and self-reliance from which would come true justice and freedom for all peoples.

Christopher, Decker, and Robert Milner arrived in Jerusalem together by helicopter, reminding all of the events of one year ago. But it was more than the celebration of the new year that had brought them to Jerusalem. They had come also to participate in the official dedication of a statue of Christopher which had been commissioned by Robert Milner, paid for by the U.N., and approved by the Israeli government. Although the statue had actually been erected just thirty days after Christopher's Jerusalem address, on the sixth day of the Passover week, Christopher had not been present, so in typical political style, an 'official dedication' had been suggested to both mark the New Year's celebration in a symbolic way and to give a boost to Israel's flagging tourist trade.

The statue was a slightly-larger-than-life re-creation of Christopher, appropriately placed on the spot where he delivered his Jerusalem address from the Temple's pinnacle, making it clearly visible to all. So that visitors could, in some small way, experience what it was like for those who had actually been in Jerusalem on that day, speakers near the statue broadcast Christopher's Jerusalem address three times a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset.

October 24 (United Nations Day), 2 N.A. (2024 A.D.) — Babylon, Iraq

Little more than nineteen months had passed since the Security Council voted to build a new headquarters complex in Babylon. And yet, here on a site not far from the reconstruction of ancient King Nebuchadnezzar's palace, stood the structurally complete main building of the new headquarters. Much remained to be done inside, and the rest of the nine buildings in the complex were still under construction. Still, United Nations Day came only once a year and it seemed the perfect occasion for dedicating the new structures. The first to move into the main building would be the World Health Organization (WHO) — a decision which had never been fully explained since WHO's offices would ultimately be in another building that was still months from completion. It made little sense to have WHO move into the main building now, just to have to move again when their building was completed in January, but for some reason the decision was important to Christopher, and no one felt it was really worth arguing about.

The city of Babylon, located on the Hilla branch of the Euphrates, just north of the modern town of Hilla, and 55 miles southwest of Baghdad, is one of the most famous cities of the ancient world. Depending upon whose account is believed, the size of the ancient city ranged from as much as 225 square miles to as little as five square miles. The earliest Greek writings in which Babylon is described are those of Herodotus, who described Babylon as an exact square, 120 stadia (approximately 14 miles) on each side, located on a broad plain. Babylon's historic rise to regional importance came in the third millennium B.C. when the course of the Euphrates river shifted westward away from the ancient Sumerian city ofKish. Since that time there have been five well-defined periods of Babylonian history. Old Babylon, the capital city from which Hammurabi and his successors ruled, was almost entirely destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 689 B.C. Within about a decade Sennacherib's son and successor, Esarhaddon, built a new city on the same site, but it too was destroyed by revolution and siege. Later, from 626 to 562 B.C. Nabopolassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon and brought it to its greatest glory. It was during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar that the city's massive walls and the Hanging Gardens (two of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) were constructed. In 275 B.C. the inhabitants of the city were moved to the new city ofSeleucia on the Tigris River, thus bringing the ancient history of Babylon to a close.

Beginning in the 1970s, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who considered himself a twentieth century version of Nebuchadnezzar, spent hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of oil to rebuild the city as a monument — ostensibly to the Iraqi people, but more accurately to himself. Millions of bricks used to build the city bear his name, and plaques on nearly every corner bear the silhouetted relief image of both Nebuchadnezzar and Hussein.

Now, a year and a half after the madness decimated the region, the only Iraqis left to inhabit the city were immigrants returning home from abroad. There was no shortage of other inhabitants, however, as more than 38,800 engineers and construction workers poured into the city to work on the many building projects. Together with the workers' families and another 9200 or so additional support personnel, the population of Babylon came to nearly 55,000 people, making it a bustling metropolis compared to the rest of Iraq and the surrounding countries which, except for Israel, were all but uninhabited. Ironically, considering the history of hostility between the two countries, nearly a sixth of the people now in Iraq were Israelis. But this was the new Iraq which, like the new Israel, was under United Nations control and open to all races and nationalities.

Christopher Goodman, together with an entourage of reporters, had begun the day with a tour of the city, followed by speeches by a host of dignitaries from around the world who praised Christopher's leadership and offered accolades for all who had been involved in the new U.N. headquarters project. Amid great cheers, Christopher himself praised the human spirit which, by this project "had proven itself supreme and unyielding to the whims of spiritual oppressors." As millions listened and watched around the world, he recalled the city's historical and spiritual significance. Repeating what he had articulated to the gathering of New Age leaders at the United Nations, he noted, "It was near here that the first Theatan ship landed more than four billion years ago, and life on earth began. It was near this spot, in Eden, that Humankind first declared its independence from Yahweh. It was in this very place," he added, "that Humankind first came together in peace to work as one united people in the construction of a great city and the magnificent Tower of Babel, before being dispersed by the despotic Yahweh. And," Christopher said, completing his brief history lesson, "tragically, it was not far from here that Yahweh, in perhaps his crudest act against Humankind, released the madness that led to the brutal slaughter of one-third of the planet's population." Christopher concluded by noting that the decision by the United Nations to build its new headquarters in Babylon had sealed for all time Humankind's emancipation from Yahweh's rule.

After his speech, Christopher held up an oversized pair of scissors and prepared to cut a wide red ribbon which had been stretched across the entrance to the new headquarters. It may have been the second year of the New Age, but some traditions would never change and Christopher had accepted the role of ribbon-cutter with good humor.

Aided by Robert Milner because of his crippled arm, Christopher reached out to cut the ribbon when suddenly someone in the back of the crowd cried out, "Look!"

It took a moment for the rest of those gathered to understand, but then everyone saw. Directly above the new structure, a shimmering light was growing and taking shape, much like the one that appeared a year before over Central Park in New York.

"Fallen, Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries!" it said. And then, after repeating its message, it vanished.

As before, the entire event was captured by television cameras and transmitted throughout the globe. And again, in order to convey its message to the people of earth personally, the angel appeared and repeated its message in nearly two thousand cities around the world.

In Babylon all eyes and cameras shifted back to Christopher. For a brief moment there was silence and then, very much unlike his reaction to the first angel, Christopher began to laugh. It was an infectious laugh and though they weren't sure why, many of those watching began to laugh as well. For what seemed nearly a minute, Christopher laughed heartily and shook his head as if in disbelief over what he had just witnessed. "Well, one thing is for certain," Christopher said, finally, "Yahweh really knows how to steal the spotlight!" Now everyone laughed.

"But his theatrics will not frighten us," Christopher continued. Then, looking skyward and shaking his one good fist towards heaven, he shouted at Yahweh, "You will not succeed in frightening us! Humankind will not bend its knee to you or any other tyrant ever again!"

Several thousand fists now raised with Christopher's in defiance as a spontaneous roar of cheers from the crowd resonated through the city.

"Yahweh knows," Christopher said, turning back to the crowd, "that by building a new U.N. headquarters here in Babylon, Humankind is delivering an unmistakable slap in his face. With each passing day he grows more and more desperate as he feels his grip on the earth slipping away." Again the people cheered. "In his desperation," Christopher continued, "he foolishly attempts to frighten us, even though by doing so he makes himself a laughingstock.

"Look around," Christopher told them, "Babylon is not fallen as Yahweh's driveling minion has proclaimed so loudly: Babylon stands! And it will continue to stand long after Yahweh is forced to abandon his fraudulent claim on this planet!"

Then, reaching out with the ceremonial scissors, Christopher and Milner cut the ribbon to thunderous applause and cheers, and the new headquarters building of the United Nations was officially opened.

As before, the KDT and a small, vocal, and apparently growing number of fundamentalist Christians attempted to drive a wedge of doubt and fear between the people and Christopher, claiming that the fall of Babylon spoken of by the angel referred not to the present, but was a warning about the near future.

10:35 a.m., February 3, 2 N.A. (2025 A.D.) Headquarters, Babylon, Iraq

U.N.

Decker Hawthorne sat eating a late breakfast at a corner table in the new U.N. dining room. Looking up from the empty plate where once there had been a Belgian waffle and lots of bacon, he saw Christopher coming toward him, smiling. Decker waved and smiled back. "Have you had breakfast?" Decker asked.

"I had a donut in my office," Christopher answered, and then got straight to the reason he was there. Still standing, he leaned down over the table and spoke quietly so that no one else could hear. "Would you like to see the secret of eternal life?" he whispered.

Decker raised his eyebrows. "The communion?" he asked, using Christopher's terminology from almost two years ago.

Christopher nodded.

"I already know about it," Decker said, feigning disinterest.

"What? How?" Christopher gasped in surprise.

"I was once a reporter, you know."

Christopher pulled out a chair and sat down, looking a little deflated. "I thought it was such a well-kept secret," he said, shaking his head. "We took every precaution." For a moment Christopher just stared at Decker, and then they both smiled. "So how much do you know?" he asked.

"Not that much, really," Decker admitted. "I know that there's some big hush-hush project going on at WHO," he said, referring to the World Health Organization. "I also know that you've said this 'communion' is supposed to dramatically extend the human lifespan. My guess," Decker said, studying Christopher's face for a response that might confirm his suspicion, "is that WHO has been working on something similar to what your Uncle Harry was doing before he died."

"You're pretty close," Christopher said, "but that's not exactly it. What Uncle Harry was working on was actually far more complicated. What he didn't realize was that there is a much easier way to accomplish what he was after."

"What do you mean?" Decker asked, leaning forward and finally showing how interested he really was.

"Decker, I know it's been a long time, but do you remember when we were at the refugee camp in Sahiwdi, Pakistan about five years ago?" Decker nodded. "On our last day there, I was in my tent and you came looking for me. When you found me, I told you that I had seen the death of one who sought to avoid death's grip."

Decker nodded as he recalled the events. "That was the day Secretary-General Hansen was killed in the plane crash."

"But there was also someone else in my vision:" Christopher continued, "one who sought to accept death's release." Christopher shrugged and shook his head as he spoke. "I really didn't understand it then. If you had asked me about it at the time, I'm not sure what I would have said, but I understand it now. It was John." Decker knew immediately that Christopher referred to Yochanan bar Zebadee, the Apostle John.

"I told you once that when I was crucified John was the only one of the apostles who came to see me. At first I thought he came to ask forgiveness for betraying me, but of course he had not. But he hadn't come just to mock me, either," Christopher explained. "Do you remember the legend of the Holy Grail?"

"Sure," Decker answered. "It was supposed to be the cup that you used at the Last Supper. I remember reading stories when I was a kid about the Knights of the Round Table going on quests to find the grail. Of course they never found it."

"One of the legends about the grail," Christopher continued, "says that when John came to the cross he brought the grail with him."

Decker thought for a second. "I do remember something about that," he said slowly, trying to awaken any additional recollection of the matter. "The legend was that John collected some of your blood by letting it drip into the cup." A long forgotten memory began to make its way into Decker's consciousness. He started to speak but then paused to be sure his memory was correct. "According to the legend," Decker continued tentatively; and then suddenly he was struck by the connection to the current conversation. Had he not already been sitting down, he would have done so now. Could Christopher really be implying that . . . "According to the legend," Decker began again, "if anyone drank of the blood from the grail they would have eternal life!"

Christopher nodded, and it was clear that he was doing more than just confirming Decker's accurate recollection of the legend. He was also implicitly confirming Decker's realization of the larger point: there was no need for anything nearly so complex as the genetic engineering on which Professor Goodman had been working. Total immunity from all disease and the power of rapid healing — the secret of eternal life which Harry Goodman had sought — was attainable by simply ingesting the blood.

"Somehow John knew that by drinking the blood, he would gain eternal life," Christopher concluded. "I suppose it was part of his bargain with Yahweh."

"But in Pakistan you said that John 'sought death's release.' That makes it sound as though he wantedlo die."

"I believe that he did: I'm not sure why. I doubt it was because he felt guilty for betraying Humankind into Yahweh's hands. I suppose that after two thousand years, he was simply tired of living."

Decker considered what Christopher said and then returned to the more pressing topic. "So if the benefits of the blood are gained by drinking it, what about Milner?" Robert Milner was now in his mid-nineties but appeared far younger than Decker, who was several months shy of turning seventy-two.

"Apparently it can either be ingested or transfused," Christopher answered, referencing the time fourteen years earlier when Robert Milner, then on his deathbed, had received a transfusion of Christopher's blood. "It's rather puzzling why it works at all, but with what we knew about what the blood did for Robert Milner, we had to pursue it. Originally, it was believed that injections would be more effective, thus requiring far smaller dosages than with oral administration. But by adding a new genetically-designed absorption agent to the blood, WHO found that two average-sized capsules taken orally were as effective as a 50 cc transfusion."

"Sort of a 'take two capsules and you'll never need to call me in the morning again' approach," Decker said, unable to resist the joke.

Christopher laughed. "I guess you could say that. A week after taking the capsules, the human immune system grows incredibly robust and resilient. Within a month the body is entirely immune to all bacteriological and viral disorders. Pre-existing illnesses wane and then disappear altogether. And though it's too soon to tell with the volunteers in the test group, if what we saw with Bob Milner holds true, it may even reverse the effects of old age.

"You've already begun human testing?!"

Christopher just nodded. "Of course, the communion can't prevent injuries," he said, continuing his train of thought. "It won't keep you from breaking your leg or cutting yourself, but the healing of such injuries is vastly accelerated. It also won't prevent death from an injury, but barring that, it will allow people to live long enough for the evolution of Humankind to the spirit form to be completed. Then not even an injury will be able to kill."

"This all sounds fantastic," Decker interjected, "but isn't it going to be a little hard on you to be draining out all this blood?"

"The blood won't be coming directly from me," Christopher said, "WHO is cloning the blood from a sample."

"Of course," Decker said, acknowledging his oversight of the obvious. Then bringing the conversation around to a facet of the subject to which he had been giving a great deal of thought prior to this conversation, he asked, "Is it your intention that the communion be given to everyone?"

"Of course," Christopher responded, his tone indicating surprise at the question.

Decker thought for a moment, choosing his words and tone carefully. "Why should we provide the communion to our enemies?" he asked, "to the KDT and the fundamentalists who oppose everything you say and do?"

Christopher thought for a second and then started to speak, but before he had gotten out the first syllable he stopped again, apparently unable to find a convincing response.

Decker answered his own question. "You know that ultimately they'll die without it."

Christopher didn't speak but his expression indicated that Decker's assumption was correct.

"Christopher, I understand how you feel about this. You hate the thought of leaving anyone behind. It has cost so much: so many lives uselessly lost over the centuries because of Yahweh's oppression. You hate to allow more suffering because of him. But if you allow the KDT and their fundamentalist Christian supporters to take part in the communion, you'll be giving Yahweh a foothold not only in this century but in all the centuries to come.

"You've given the KDT every opportunity to turn from their ways and join you in the battle for Humankind's independence," Decker said, a little surprised at how much he was sounding like Robert Milner. "You've bent over backward to accommodate them, but not a single one of them has joined us. What hope is there that they'll ever change? I think the time has come to let them suffer the consequences of their own choices. Besides, you told me yourself, when a person dies they are reincarnated to live again." Clearly Decker had given the subject of the communion considerable thought. "They're remnants of the old age: why not allow them to go their own way? When they die they'll be reborn with no memory of what they were or how the world once was. They'll be born anew into the New Age, leaving behind all of their prejudices and their learned ignorance.

"If you look at it that way," Decker continued, "it becomes obvious that you're not helping anyone by giving eternal life to people who are not ready for the New Age from which that life comes." Decker took a breath, and then concluded his argument, "Let those who are bound to the old age die with the old age, so that in their next life they may truly live in the New Age that has come."

Christopher thought for a moment. Decker's logic was indisputable and Christopher would not deny it. "You've been reading too many of your own speeches," he said finally.

Decker smiled, but that was not the response he wanted from Christopher.

"Okay," Christopher added finally. "I suppose that the clinics could be directed not to give the communion to members of the KDT — that should be easy enough: they're pretty hard to miss with the writing on their foreheads. But how could you prevent the fundamentalists from receiving communion? Unfortunately, they're not so easy to spot; they look pretty much like everyone else when they're not beating you over the head with a Bible."

"But that's the answer," Decker declared. "We can use their fundamentalism to make them not want to take the communion."

"I'm sorry, Decker. I don't follow you," Christopher replied.

"I've been thinking about this," Decker said.

"Yes, I noticed."

Decker brushed Christopher's comment aside and continued. "The book of Revelation in the Bible says that those who follow the Antichrist will be required to take a mark on their forehead or on the back of their hand."

"I'm familiar with the passage," Christopher said.

"Well, it seems to me we can use that to our own benefit. If we require anyone who takes the communion to also take some kind of a mark on either the back of their hand or on their forehead — though I doubt that anyone would really want to have something tattooed on their forehead — then the fundamentalists won't dare do it for fear of angering Yahweh."

Christopher appeared to be giving the proposition some serious thought, but Decker wanted to drive home his point even more. "Again, it's just my opinion, but it seems to me that the communion should be given only to those who have pledged their loyalty to you and what you stand for. Taking the communion should, therefore, be done only in full recognition and agreement with what it represents — a declaration of independence from the dictates of a dictatorial god, a statement of belief in individual self worth and the collective value of Humankind, a statement of self-determination, a resolution to make one's own decisions and to live with the consequences, and a commitment to leave the nest and to declare that Humankind has come of age and has outgrown the need for a guardian."

"I hope you've written all this down somewhere," Christopher said. Decker nodded, a little embarrassed by his speechmaking. "So, how exactly do you propose that we apply this mark?" Christopher asked.

"Well, I don't think we want anything too conspicuous or no else one will want to get it. It should be as small and unobtrusive as possible on the back of the right hand. As I said, I don't think anyone is going to want to have it on their forehead, but we should offer the option so it will match the prophecy and keep the fundamentalists away. It should be something permanent, but it also should to be as painless as possible. I've been doing some research on the subject and it turns out that very few tattoos are done using needles any more; most are done with permanent dyes that soak deep into the flesh so they don't wear off."

"And I suppose to have the desired effect of keeping the fundamentalists away, the mark will have to depict either my name or the number 666?" Christopher asked, cringing a bit.

"Well, the KDT have made a big deal of the fact that when your name is written phonetically in Hebrew the sum of the letters equals 666, so I guess that makes it the natural choice," Decker remarked, and then added, "It's a lot shorter than writing out your whole name."

Christopher took a breath and let out a deep sigh. "Well, let me give it some thought," he said.

"Great, that's all I'm asking," Decker answered, confident he had presented his argument with undeniable logic.

"Now," Decker said, as he pushed his chair back from the table, "when you came in here you asked if I wanted to 'see' the secret of eternal life. Is there something you were going to show me?"

"Yes, there is," Christopher answered, apparently ready to move on and let Decker's proposal settle in for a while. "Come with me," he said. Decker followed Christopher from the dining room and down the hall to the elevator. Decker quickly guessed that they were headed for the World Health Organization.

Inside the WHO facilities they passed two armed guards and approached a secure door. Christopher placed his hand on the print reader, spoke his name, and the door opened. Decker expected to find a laboratory with dozens of WHO personnel busily running tests or engaged in discussions on the best methods for cloning Christopher's blood. What he saw instead was immeasurably more striking. Beyond the door in the secured area was a simple warehouse full of pallets stacked high with boxes.

Christopher tore open a box and held it open for Decker to see. Inside were hundreds of blister packs, each bearing two capsules filled with a thick red liquid. The entire warehouse was filled with Christopher's blood.