2041 The Charters of Freedom

by TW Powell

  “Yes, that be me, but you have me at a loss, sir.”

  “Excuse my manners, I’m Porter Young.”

  “Good to meet you, Mr. Young. Earlier this morning, I saw a few young men out here. Do your boys play on this field?”

  “Yes, they do, all 2,000 of them.”

  With that, Delvin heaved a sigh of relief and extended his hand.

  Porter shook Delvin’s hand, “Sempre Fi!”

  Delvin replied, “Oorah!”

  Porter was a United States Marine.

  “Forgive my ignorance, can Mormons be Marines?”

  Porter chuckled, “May I call you Delvin?”

  “Certainly, but my friends call me Slick.”

  “That’s OK, Slick. Most Gentiles ask that question. They confuse Mormonism with Quakers, or Amish, or even Jehovah’s Witness. Mormons serve in the United States military with honor.”

  “So, Porter, did your boys have me in their crosshairs?”

  “Yes, they most certainly did, but they didn’t shoot.”

  Mama

  Tom Jackson made it back to Stonewall Ranch at dawn. Miss Daisy was not her usual cantankerous self, almost as if she sensed the solemnity of the occasion. Junior, Carlos, Bobby Ray, Ho, Tommy, and Adam were already out in the family cemetery digging the grave. Grandpa John had picked out a nice spot under a cottonwood, but the younger men insisted on digging the grave. They also tried to stop Doc Pham from digging, but Ho said that just because he was a doctor, he wasn’t too good to dig.

  Tom had Pastor Williams in tow, having stopped in Kingston to rouse Pastor from a good night’s sleep. The women were busy doing chores and cooking breakfast.

  Tom dismounted and gave Miss Daisy a carrot, “You did good ‘ol girl, Slick would be proud of you.”

  Daisy answered with the softest of brays.

  “Doc, would you and Yen mind examining the body for cause of death? Slick doesn’t want you to do anything invasive, just confirm that it was natural causes.”

  “We can’t be definitive on cause of death without an autopsy, but we can fairly easily rule out foul play. Please place the body on the big table in the old stone house.”

  Within a half hour both Doctors Pham gave Tom their report.

  “No sign of trauma or any other unnatural cause of death. Likely cause of death is myocardial infarction, a massive heart attack.”

  After a few soothing words from Pastor, Ms. Smith was immediately laid to rest. The Jackson extended family then had breakfast.

  “After breakfast, I’m going to catch a couple of hours sleep. Junior be ready to ride with me up to Black Bird Canyon when I get up. We’ll meet Delvin at sundown, then crash at Kingston tonight. We should be back home by early afternoon tomorrow.”

  The National Archives

  Prior to the 2026 Revolution, the original copies of The United States Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, and The Bill of Rights, collectively known as the “Charters of Freedom”, were stored and exhibited in the Rotunda on the upper level of the National Archives in Washington, DC.

  The Charters were displayed in bulletproof frames, hermetically sealed between pieces of glass to keep out both moisture and oxygen. In the early 2,000s, a new vault was installed, the details of which were known to very few people. One of the few people in the know was David Shulman, Director of Security – Charters of Freedom.

  In 2022, David landed his dream job at the National Archives. He was a relatively young man, only 39. After college, he had worked as an engineer for a couple of major safe manufacturers, then worked at The Smithsonian for five years prior to transferring over to the National Archives.

  Every night, after the Archives closed, The Charters were lowered into that new vault which was rumored to be capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. Security of The Charters was a major concern. During the early years of World War II, out of fear that Washington might be bombed, The Charters were temporarily moved to secure location, deep in the heartland. They were returned to DC in 1944, after fear of bombing subsided.

  It was also rumored that a contingency plan existed to transfer The Charters to an undisclosed, safe location in the event of insurrection. David, who was nicknamed “The Keeper”, was one of the very few people who knew just what was rumor and what was fact. By the way, David was Jewish.

  In the Dugout

  Porter and Delvin made their way from the mound over to the dugout on the first base side. Porter’s “boys” emerged from the trees, armed with AR-15s, and formed a perimeter just out of earshot around the dugout. Delvin was sizing them up. Porter might refer to them as boys, but Delvin was a Marine Captain and, in earlier times, Lieutenant Smith led a Marine infantry platoon in combat. These men looked like crack infantry to Captain Smith.

  Delvin briefed Porter on Operation Daisy, which was still very much in the planning stage. Then Porter filled Delvin in on his “boys”.

  “Captain Smith, Slick, I have 2,000 men, divided into four 500-man squadrons, every one of them a cookie cutter version of those men out on the field. All 2,000 are mounted and can assemble on a moment’s notice. We do have some heavy weapons that we liberated from the local National Guard Armories back in ’26. Each squadron has several .30 caliber Brownings and at least a couple of Ma Deuce, .50 caliber Brownings. The Japanese have supplied us with a bunch of Type 91 heat seekers. We have enough motorized transport, 4-wheel drive, to transport the heavy stuff. Oh, we also have a few Javelins, maybe 4 or 5, I’ll get an inventory. In addition to all that, we have plenty of grenades, demolition charges, and Claymores.”

  “Outstanding Porter let’s get things rolling. We’ll make this up as we go. Remember what General Patton said.”

  Porter was clueless, “What’s that?”

  “A good plan, violently executed right now, is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

  “Porter, what do you call your outfit?”

  “Helaman’s 2,000.”

  “Whose 2,000?”

  The Keeper

  One of The Keeper’s best kept secrets was the existence of replicas of The Charters of Freedom. These forgeries were so good that even experts found it difficult to distinguish them from the real McCoy. A microscopic sliver of radioactive material was inserted in the forgeries for positive ID. These replicas were enclosed in the same type of hermetically sealed cases as the originals. The Keeper would never reveal exactly how many duplicates existed.

  David had earned his nickname due to his devotion to The Charters. This man was not your stereotypical civil servant. Many evenings, after the Archives closed, but before The Charters were lowered into their bomb-proof vault, security guards would notice David standing silently before The Charters with eyes transfixed upon the documents.

  David was Jewish, but not a practicing Jew. He had grown up in affluent Arlington, Virginia. His father was a professor at Georgetown University and his mother was an attorney at the Department of Justice. They lived the life of the East Coast Elites and gave little thought to anything that transcended this life. This left a God-sized hole in young David’s spirit. David didn’t know exactly what was missing, but he spent his entire young life searching for answers.

  In addition to being areligious, David was pretty much apolitical. His views on most issues mirrored the views of his small circle of friends, left of center, but he was quite libertarian on most things. Without an ultimate authority, how could anyone be absolutely sure of anything?

  Things changed when David came to the National Archives. At first, David concentrated on the nuts and bolts of his new post, just as he would if he were safeguarding any other great treasure. During the course of his career, he had secured many such treasures, works of art, jewels, and precious metals. One day, David spotted a tourist crumpling up a piece of paper and tossing it into the trash. Seemingly out of nowhere, a thought crossed his mind, “Just what makes these pieces of paper and parchment so valuable?” At that moment, David began his transformation
to The Keeper.

  David carefully read each of the three documents. That didn’t take very long, but then he began thinking about what he had just read, a process that consumed David for the rest of his life. He voraciously read everything he could lay his hands on concerning The Founders. He read The Articles of Confederation, Magna Charta, and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense. Everything he read could be distilled down to one point. Rights are not granted by men; rights are a gift from Almighty God.

  The Founders, some of whom owned slaves, were imperfect. They knew that of themselves. They knew that all Men are imperfect. They knew that governments are imperfect. Their goal was not to cancel the past or burn it all down. Their goal was to make America more perfect.

  Finally, David had to confront the 800-pound gorilla in the room – God. After that encounter, David renewed his forefather’s Covenant and the hole in David’s spirit was mended. His transformation to The Keeper was now complete.

  In early March 2026, the civil unrest sweeping across The United States was reaching a crescendo. The Federal government was paralyzed and many of the corrupt, incompetent, and impotent politicians were planning their exit strategies. The Keeper made a difficult decision. He recommended that the Archivist of The United States immediately implement Plan Roosevelt, the secret relocation of The Charters to an undisclosed, secure location. A set of fake Charters would take their place on display in the Rotunda.

  Upon the President’s approval, the Archivist implemented Plan Roosevelt. At 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 9, 2026, the Secret Service blocked off Constitution Avenue between 7th St NW and 9th St NW. Minutes later, Lieutenant Josephine Parker landed her Super Huey on Constitution Avenue directly in front of the National Archives.

  Jo’s exploits in Okinawa had made her legendary among Marine aviators. By now, her leg wound had healed and there were no lingering effects from her exposure to CVX nerve agent. She had one last mission to accomplish prior to discharge. The Huey had been stripped of armament and fitted with external fuel tanks to increase its range. Jo’s mission was to deliver The Keeper and his unidentified cargo to a secure location deep in America’s heartland.

  Less than a month later, on April 1, 2026, 5 million Members descended upon Washington, DC. Their first stop was the Lincoln Memorial. In a scene reminiscent of the toppling of Saddam’s statue upon the fall of Baghdad, the mob toppled Abraham Lincoln’s statue, then headed for the National Archives. Once at the Archives, a security officer was forced at gunpoint to raise the counterfeit Charters from their protective vault. The mob smashed apart the protective frames. The documents were then removed and taken out into the middle of Constitution Avenue, where they were shit on, pissed on, and burnt.

  Helaman’s 2,000

  The Book of Mormon tells the story of 2,000 young warriors who were faithful to God due to their righteous upbringing. The parents of these warriors had been members of a cruel, bloodthirsty tribe that constantly brutalized its neighbors. When the young warrior’s parents converted to Christianity, their parents threw down their weapons and swore a holy oath to never take up arms again. But not all the barbarians converted.

  The remaining unconverted barbarians continued to slaughter, rape, and generally victimize the newly converted Christians, who would not break their holy oath and were now at the mercy of the cruel barbarians. The local Christian tribe protected the new converts at the cost of much treasure and many lives. The new converts were not blind to the great cost their Christian protectors were paying to stave off the barbarians. They considered breaking their holy oath and once again taking up arms.

  Helaman was one of the religious leaders of the newly converted. He raised an army of 2,000 young holy warriors to fight the barbarians. These young men were too young to have sworn the pacifist oath sworn by their parents. They were called Helaman’s 2,000. Eventually, every one of the 2,000 would be wounded in battle, but not a single man would die from his wounds.

  The Return

  Delvin picked up his Glock and a special gift from Porter at the checkpoint on his way back to his truck. He had to get a move on if he were to make it back to Black Bird Canyon by sunset. As Delvin drove west on Peoples’ 50, his mind wandered back and forth between the upcoming operation and the death of his mother.

  When Delvin pulled off the road into the brush at Black Bird Canyon, he saw that Tom was already there along with Junior.

  “Good evening Sergeants. Thomas, your Dead Eye son isn’t lurking around here this evening, is he?”

  “No, but if he was, you’d be in his crosshairs for sure.”

  All three men had a good laugh which broke the tension.

  “Tom, everything went OK with Mom?”

  “She’s at rest in a beautiful place.”

  Delvin gave Tom a big hug, fought back the tears, then got directly to the point, giving Tom and Junior a brief outline of Operation Daisy, because an outline is all Delvin had.

  The mood suddenly changed, “Damn it, Captain, with all due respect. We lost 7 brave Americans out on NV 376 only a few weeks back just intercepting a small convoy. If Adam hadn’t scared off that Apache, it would have been much worse.” Tom Jackson was now being a realist.

  “Tom, we’ll have more resources this trip.”

  Now Junior joined in, “You’re going to need it. You know what’s down there in Vegas, on the northeast side of town.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “Just for the record, Nellis is down there. We know that place is still operational, but we have no current intel. Nellis means F-35s, maybe some Hogs, probably some helos.” Junior was being uncharacteristically negative.

  Tom chimed in, “Before we get to Nellis, we have to get through the south end of this valley. That means we must avoid detection as we by-pass Carver’s and Round Mountain, or are we to capture those too?” Tom was now getting agitated.

  Captain Smith responded, “OK Marine, calm down.”

  Tom wasn’t about to calm down as he slammed his fist against the fender of Smith’s truck., “If that ain’t enough, we have to get past Creech, you know, Indian Springs. Last I heard, they’ve got those ‘toy’ airplanes down there. You know, the ones that fire those Hellfire missiles.”

  Delvin once again tried to defuse the situation, “We don’t even know if Creech is operational.”

  “Damn straight, we don’t know. Just like we didn’t know that third Apache was in the barn over at Top Gun.” Tom had just made a good point.

  Delvin paused, then agreed, “Men, you’re right. We can’t risk thousands of lives without adequate intel.”

  Tom and Junior’s eyebrows raised when Delvin said, “thousands”.

  “Junior, first thing I need you to do is read The Book of Mormon. It’s your responsibility to make sure we don’t do anything to piss off our allies.” Delvin was beginning to think like a commander.

  Tom started laughing, “Guess we can throw out all the booze and coffee.”

  Junior snickered and chimed in, “Hey Cowboy, we better clean up our potty mouths.”

  Delvin couldn’t afford to jest, “Tom, we need to recon Carvers, Round Mountain, Indian Springs, and Nellis. We need it now. I’ve got a little present for Tommy that might be useful.”

  Delvin walked over to the back of his truck and removed a 6-foot long, gray plastic suitcase and a smaller black case.

  “We’ve got a ‘toy’ of our own. It’s a Puma LE drone. The Mormons recovered a bunch of these when they sacked the National Guard armories back in ’26. Don’t worry, it may be a bit dated, but it’s cherry. Suggest that Tommy rig up some way to recharge it in the field. Solar maybe?”

  “Yes Sir, Captain! If we’re really going to do this, guess I should have Dad check out all the tack. Maybe have Doc Williams come down to the Ranch and check out all the mounts and Miss Daisy. I’ll be seeing Doc later. We’re going to spend the night down in Kingston.”

  “Tom, while you’re down there see what kind of support those folks can offer us,
if needed. I know they paid a heavy price last time out and they certainly don’t owe anybody anything, but my gut tells me they want to see this thing through.”

  “I think you’re reading them right.”

  “Don’t give them any specifics. This is all confidential for now. Just gauge their mood down there. How’s the gang at the Ranch?”

  “I’m amazed at how everyone has pulled together. It’s literally one big family.”

  “Are Bobby Ray’s dad and brother still down at Kingston? Bobby Lee and Big Sid?”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Weren’t they into maintenance down at Round Mountain?”

  “Yes, they are heavy equipment mechanics. I don’t know if they have any process experience. You know flotation, milling, calcination, sizing, and all that other process stuff.”

  “Truthfully, Tom, I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about, but obviously you know the right questions to ask. While you’re in Kingston ask ‘em. We may need the Skippers’ expertise.”

  “You’re thinking about Mountain Pass, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, Mountain Pass.”

  Family Ties

  Yes, David was now The Keeper, but he was no superhero, far from it. David was a tall, thin, gangly fellow, balding with coke bottle eyeglasses. He looked and acted the part of a complete nerd. Early that morning in March 2026, David was experiencing the white-knuckle ride of his life.

  Jo’s orders were implicit. There was no posted flight plan. Absolutely no record of her flight. She had been selected for this mission due to her battle proven Nape of Earth flying expertise and her firsthand knowledge of the Appalachian terrain.

  Wearing her jumpsuit, helmet, and night vision googles, Jo resembled something more at home out in Area 51, down south of Stonewall Ranch. David peered out of the chopper and could clearly see a few lights scattered among the hills and hollows below. Every so often, the Huey would whiz across a highway and David could judge just how low they were flying. Across West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky, County Sheriffs were inundated with telephone calls, most reporting an aircraft in trouble, but a few of the more imaginative were UFO reports.