Shaking his head, he reminded them, “We have forced no one to join our cause, to see our vision, to take up our enterprise. Instead, all have been free to live out their lives in peace. Never, in fact, throughout history has such great change come more peacefully.
“But for some, free choice is too great a freedom. Like their predecessors — those who opposed sexual freedoms, reproductive freedoms, and an individual’s right to choose their own time to die — our opponents are enemies of individual freedom and personal choice.
“Today, the world is again witness to the cruelty of those who would restore tyranny over Humankind and confiscate the freedom that is rightfully ours. You are witnesses by the wounds you bear. I need not describe the extent of your suffering. And yet our enemies, the followers of Yahweh, continue to assert and insist that he is a god of love.
“Though I don’t personally bear the sores, I know your pain. I, too, have suffered and even died to bring about the New Age for all of Humankind. I beg of you, do not allow this temporary discomfort to the physical body, these vile attacks to the flesh, to divert you from your spiritual objective. Don’t allow the KDP, or the fundamentalists, or the demon god they serve to stay us from our course. Our goal is too noble, our purpose too great, our ambition too high to yield to anyone, whether man or self-proclaimed god.
“Instead, I urge you, wear your wounds as a badge of honor and defiance and take heart in this: The evil that Yahweh and his followers do will not go unanswered. Yahweh’s only hold upon this planet is in the grip of his confederates — the KDP and the fundamentalists. Without these followers, Yahweh could do nothing. As with the men John and Saul Cohen, Yahweh must have human agents to facilitate his evil. If their resolve is broken, so too will the last vestiges of Yahweh’s power upon Earth be broken.
“To break this grip, the Security Council has authorized the following actions. First, I have asked Robert Milner to put in place and oversee the mechanisms to ensure that anyone who has not taken the communion and the mark shall no longer be allowed to participate in the open market under penalty of arrest.[125] Second, warrants have been issued for the immediate arrest of fundamentalists and KDP leaders.
“Prohibiting the right to buy and sell is an altogether appropriate restriction for those who by their own actions have demonstrated their desire to separate themselves from the rest of Humankind. If they insist upon separation, then separation they shall have. Let us see how well they make out without the rest of society. As for the fundamentalist leaders, they will be treated with respect, and any who swear to cease their efforts against Humankind will be released on their own recognizance.
“There are many who will say that these measures are not strong enough or who fear that the fundamentalists and the KDP will respond by calling down even worse plagues — but it is not our desire to punish preemptively. We wish only to make the point that actions against Humankind will not go unanswered. It is our hope that from this, those who wish us ill will learn not only that Humankind cannot be assailed with impunity, but also that we are just and merciful, not meting out punishment beyond what the offense demands.
“Nevertheless, to our foes, despite the suffering that you have brought on the Earth because of your blind obedience to Yahweh, still we offer you the olive branch of peace. Renounce your allegiance to your god of pain and suffering and we will welcome you as brothers and sisters!
“But if this plague continues,” Christopher warned, “or if others follow, know this with all certainty: Humankind will not continue to suffer your malevolence forever.” Lightly pounding his fist to accentuate his words, he concluded, “We will not allow you or anyone to change our course, to deter or deny our destiny!”
Decker wanted to cheer. It was a moving and emotional speech. Christopher had shown both decisiveness and great restraint in not striking out more harshly at his opponents. Somehow it eluded Decker for the moment that, because he hadn’t taken the communion, the restrictions on buying and selling applied to him as well.
Based on the World Health Organization’s records, 87 percent of the total world population, or just under 2.5 billion people, had received the communion and the mark, leaving approximately 375 million who had not. After Christopher’s speech, the insta-polls found that of those who had taken the communion, 64 percent agreed that the action of the Security Council to restrict the right to buy and sell was appropriate; 36 percent felt that the action wasn’t strong enough; and virtually no one said they felt the restrictions were too severe. Among those who didn’t have the mark, the numbers were much different: 93 percent disapproved, and of the 7 percent who approved, nearly all indicated they would take the communion within the next week.
Those who disapproved of the Security Council’s restrictions gave several reasons for doing so. About 0.5 percent said they considered it a violation of their civil rights; 3 percent — presumably fundamentalists — said they wouldn’t take the communion or the mark for religious reasons. The remainder said they didn’t want to have to take the communion because they didn’t want to risk getting the lesions. Not surprisingly, Christopher’s approval rating, which had dropped from 97 to 82 percent after the lesions appeared, rose 7 points, back to 90 percent.
Sunday, June 13, 4 N.A.
Seaside, California
Amos Hill heaved the second of two metal tubs into his wooden hulled boat and went to start his truck. In each of the tubs were 500 foot trotlines, with 250 leaders and hooks baited with salted squid. Ordinarily he would have had twice as many lines, but the sores on both of his hands and arms made working with the salty bait very painful. Despite his best efforts, he had repeatedly felt the sting of salt in the lesions. He would’ve preferred not to work at all under the circumstances — he cringed to think about the salt spray on his face — but it had been a week since he last fished and he had bills to pay.
As he drove toward the Monterey harbor, he noted how little had changed since his last time out. This area of California was growing fast, and Monterey itself was a literal boomtown since the fish had started to come back. It had been five years since the tsunami and earthquakes had destroyed most of the west coast and filled the Pacific with the murky red cloud of rust that had killed the phytoplankton and destroyed all sea life from the Americas to China. Carried by currents from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the phytoplankton had returned as the rust and sediment settled to the Pacific seabed. And in the ensuing years, fish had followed and in favorable areas, had grown in abundance. Now, not only were there fish in the bay, but signs of progress were everywhere, especially in the construction trade. Until last week Amos Hill had been able to track the progress on a daily basis as new foundations were laid or walls went up. Since the lesions had appeared, however, almost no one was working and all progress had stalled. But Amos Hill wasn’t the only one who had decided that, sores or not, he had to make a living. Around the city, crews were once again loading trucks and preparing to get back on the job. Others, while they weren’t up this early in the morning, had set their alarms and would be getting up soon. No one really felt well enough to work, but after a week, most had no choice. The same was true throughout most of the world.
Amos Hill launched his boat, started the engine, and headed out into the bay, traveling much slower than usual in order to minimize the spray. He was forty-five minutes off his usual schedule when he reached the area where he would set his lines. Looking to the stern and starboard of the boat, he located the outcroppings of rock on shore that he used to determine his position and moved his boat directly above the underwater rock ledge where Monterey Bay drops off into the much deeper water of the Pacific. It was here that he’d have the best catch of rock and ling cod. Most fishermen would have used a depth finder to find the ledge and they would never have used a trot line, opting instead for nets. Amos Hill fished the way he did because that’s how he was taught by his father, and because restaurants and fish markets would pay a premium for fish that hadn’t been marr
ed by nets.
Dropping the anchor and buoy that would mark the beginning of his first set, Amos moved the boat slowly northward, tossing out line as he went. The winds and tide were favorable and, based on experience, he sensed the line was falling just right for a good catch.
Twenty minutes later, he moved the boat back to the first buoy. It was important not to leave the hooks down too long or the fish that had been caught would become easy prey for predators.
From the weight of the line as he retrieved it, Amos Hill could tell immediately that this was going to be a good catch. His first three hooks each had ling cod over eight pounds. From there on it was mostly rock cod, bright golden orange with bloated air sacks protruding from their mouths — the result of being pulled so quickly from the bottom. The fish would be beautiful on display, lying on a bed of ice in some market. Nearly every other hook had something on it, most of them edible, though there was the occasional ratfish, a brilliantly colored creature that is as poisonous as it is frightening in appearance. It was by far the best catch Amos Hill had had since before the tsunami.
He was nearly finished with the second line when something caught his eye and he looked up toward the waters of the Pacific in the west. Wrapping the cord around a deck cleat, he paused to wipe his brow and looked again. Something was wrong. A half mile away and moving quickly in his direction was an ominous expanse of dark water. Quickly he unhooked the line from the cleat and began pulling in fish as fast as he could.
He had only about fifty hooks left when it reached him. The sea was a blackish red and carried with it the smell of death. It didn’t progress like a normal tide but spread with astonishing speed that seemed unaffected by the waves. Like a great cloud of blood, the redness passed beneath him, headed for the shore. From that point on, everything he pulled up was dead. Nearly retching from the smell, Amos Hill cut the nylon cord and let the remainder of it drop into the sea.
As he started his engine he realized one other attribute of the red sea: It was much thicker than seawater, so much so that it clogged the cooling ports of his engine, forcing him to shut it off or risk burning it up.
With his holds full of fish, he pulled out an oar and reluctantly began rowing, hoping to get his catch the two and a half miles to the dock before it spoiled.
Unlike five years earlier, when the second asteroid had struck and turned the Pacific red with rusting iron particles, this time the bloody sea wasn’t confined to one ocean but filled all the oceans of the world. Within twenty-four hours every salt sea on the planet had turned crimson, and in that single day, every creature in the sea was killed.[126]
Christopher’s response was immediate.
“I cannot express,” Christopher said, addressing the United Nations and the world, “the utter grief I feel — that I know we all feel — at this unthinkable atrocity.” The pace of his words was slow and measured; shock and disbelief showed on his face. In the corner of the screen, the networks showed scenes of dead sea creatures floating on a rolling sea of blood. “In a single blow,” Christopher continued, “Yahweh has destroyed tens of thousands of species. Fish of unbelievable variety — shell creatures, sharks, the great whales, porpoises, manatees: All have been cruelly exterminated to satisfy Yahweh’s wretched desire to terrorize and dominate the Earth. A few species survive in aquariums, but most have been lost forever. And those animals — such as bears, otters and seals — that depend on these creatures for food, will soon share this fate.
“No longer can there be any doubt that Yahweh and those who support him are at war with this planet and its inhabitants — all its inhabitants! And what Yahweh has done to the seas, he would most certainly do also to the rest of the planet were it not for Humankind’s sheer strength of will. He knows that he cannot defeat us as long as we are united, and so he seeks to demoralize and dishearten us by striking at the defenseless creatures in our seas.
“Seeing this wanton destruction and death, one would think that surely those who have sworn him their allegiance would now be able to see what he truly is. And yet, based on their own confessions, the fundamentalists leaders who have been arrested continue to pray to their god for the destruction of Humankind; for the deaths of friends, neighbors and even their own family members who do not agree with them; and for the establishment of a theocratic dictatorship on Earth, a dictatorship where Yahweh would crush like grapes all who oppose him.
“As I have said, Yahweh’s only hold on this planet is in the grip of his confederates. That hold must be broken and it must be broken soon, before even more destruction occurs, before even more die at his hand.
“The profound urgency of this matter and the severity of the offense require an immediate and appropriate response — a response that neither I nor the members of the Security Council desire, and which all of us would prefer to avoid if there were any alternative. However, we cannot simply allow Humankind to remain targets for Yahweh’s aggression. The fundamentalists are a gun in Yahweh’s hand, cocked and ready to fire into the heart of all Humankind. We cannot ignore that threat or simply wish it away. The Security Council has, therefore, voted unanimously to instate capital punishment for anyone found guilty of leading activities intended to subvert Humankind’s advancement or providing support to Yahweh’s attempt to reestablish control of the planet.
“However, because even now we are merciful and wish no one to perish, this penalty shall be limited only to the leaders; and even among these, for any who pledge to cease their activities, I will grant a full pardon and they will be released on their own recognizance.
“To the rest of the fundamentalists, I say, there is still time to denounce your allegiance to the god of death. All of Humankind will welcome you and cheer your decision. But if you continue to align yourself with Yahweh, you will pay the price.
“As an added measure, effective twenty-four hours from now, in addition to the prohibition on buying and selling, any who have not taken the communion are also prohibited from owning property. The destruction of the world’s seas is a crime against the planet. It is only fitting that you shall not be allowed to own that which you do not respect.”
The Security Council acted quickly to put muscle into the new restrictions. Governments around the world were directed to seize all property of anyone who hadn’t taken the communion and the mark. All who refused were to be evicted within a week.
Wednesday, June 16, 4 N.A.
Derwood, Maryland
Sgt. Joseph Runningdeer stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. His partner, Officer Amanda Smith, stayed back ten feet to observe and act as backup. A moment later a woman came to the door.
“Yes?” she said, surprised by this unexpected police visit.
“I’m Sgt. Runningdeer with the Montgomery County Police. This property is registered to Mark Cleary. Is Mr. Cleary in?”
“Yes,” she answered, obligingly. “He’s asleep, but I’ll get him.”
As the woman ran to rouse Cleary, Sgt. Runningdeer turned without thinking to look back at his partner. Keeping an eye on one’s partner was a constant imperative in police work. But as he turned to look, the crusted drainage from the lesions on his back clung to the gauze bandages, tearing at the raw skin and causing him to wince in pain.
Mark Cleary reached the door a moment later, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and a confused sleepy expression on his face. It was immediately obvious that his body bore no sores.
“What is it, officer?” Cleary asked.
“Mark Cleary?” Sgt. Runningdeer asked for confirmation.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Are you the owner of this property?”
“Yes.”
“Sir, it’s my duty to inform you that your property is hereby confiscated by the County of Montgomery, State of Maryland. Should you desire to reclaim your property, you may do so anytime within the next three days by presenting proof of your participation in the communion.”
“But, I took care of that yesterday,�
� Cleary protested. “See,” he said, extending his right hand and showing Runningdeer the mark.
Sgt. Runningdeer looked at Cleary’s hand. “Okay,” he said, though something in his voice said it really didn’t change anything. “Let us run a check.”
Officer Amanda Smith groaned, took the hand held data link from her belt, and initiated a query. This wasn’t the first time this had happened today. In fact, it was happening more often than not.
“I don’t understand this,” Cleary complained. “Don’t your networks talk to each other? I took care of this yesterday. I work two full-time jobs or I would’ve taken the communion months ago.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Cleary. Our systems have been running a little slow. My partner is checking on it right now.”
“We’re still getting a negative on it,” Officer Smith reported.
“This is ridiculous. You can see the mark for yourself,” Cleary insisted, pointing to it.
“I’m sorry sir,” Sgt. Runningdeer said again. “We’ll indicate in our records that you’ve shown us the mark, but I’m afraid you’re still going to have to go to the courthouse. You’ll need to clear this up within seven days to avoid eviction.”
“Can’t I do this online?”
“No, sir. I’m sorry. You have to go in person.”
“But I just told you, I work two jobs,” Cleary protested. “It’s bad enough that I have to get this thing, knowing I’ll probably get sores all over me. Why should I have to lose sleep or miss work to go to the courthouse just because your computers aren’t synced up?”
“There’s nothing we can do about it, sir. It’s the law. Oh, and sir, I wouldn’t worry about missing work,” Runningdeer added. “Without the mark it’s illegal for you to take part in any commerce. That isn’t limited to buying and selling of products; it includes employment for pay or barter. Your employers will be notified if they haven’t been already.”
“But I’ve got the stupid mark,” he said through clenched teeth, trying hard not to explode in anger, and showing the mark to Sgt. Runningdeer a third time.
The Christ Clone Trilogy - Book Three: ACTS OF GOD (Revised & Expanded) Page 18