"The Secretary-General has scheduled an address to the world on Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. local time," the reporter said. Decker quickly ran the computation in his mind: that would be noon his time. "Until then, we are told that neither Secretary-General Goodman nor Robert Milner will be granting any interviews, or making any comments. No one seems to I know why Goodman is waiting until Sunday evening before addressing the world, but some insiders expressed concern that the delay just feeds the fear that another plague, perhaps one even more deadly than the ones before, is coming. With that kind of concern, we could see Goodman's approval rating drop even lower."
The picture switched back to the anchor. "One important note on the findings of that poll," the anchor said as she concluded the segment, "is that while the poll does show a significant loss of support for Secretary-General Goodman, there is no evidence of any corresponding switch in allegiance toward the KDT or Yahweh. Our poll shows that it is not that people are turning to Yahweh. Instead, many are cursing Yahweh and Goodman in the same breath."
The story of Christopher's drop in approval led the news for two hours and was replaced by a story which for the first time revealed the true extent of the loss of life from the last plague. One of the polling experts at the network had thought to apply features of the methodology used in insta-polling to the process of estimating the number of deaths. By having viewers enter the number of deaths in each viewing household and then estimating the approximate number of deaths represented by the reduction in the total number of poll respondents for that day-part as compared to the previous weeks, a conservative death toll of well over 130 million was projected. This news could not help but drive Christopher's approval rating down even farther.
News abhors a vacuum and in the absence of an explanation from Christopher or Milner, rumors began to circulate that Christopher was planning to resign and that he was waiting until Sunday to allow the Security Council to determine how to proceed.
2:30 p.m., Saturday, July 11,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker dragged the mattress down the steps and out the back door and dropped it on the patio. It was not a permanent solution to the problem, but the smell of urine had become so offensive that he had to get it out of the house. Closing the door behind him as he came back in, he sat down in the first chair he came to. As he sat there trying to catch his breath, he was startled by the sound of the phone. Despite his exhaustion, he ran past two other phones to get to the one in the kitchen, which had a caller ID feature.
As he saw the number, Decker exhaled in relief; it was Bert Tolinson.
"Hello, Bert," Decker said, out of breath.
"Mr. Hawthorne, I'm afraid we've got a problem. I got a call from a Ms. Listen at the bank today about the transfer of funds from your account. She said no funds can be withdrawn. I asked her why, and she said that the computer said that you hadn't taken the communion. Can you believe that? I started to argue with her but she insisted the computer was right. She said that all your funds had been frozen and she'd be surprised if you hadn't already been arrested. I didn't want to push it any further 'cause I know how important it is to you that no one knows that you're in town, but you're going to have to get this straightened out."
"This is crazy," Decker said with a little laugh, trying to sound convincing.
"That's what I told her. I guess she didn't realize who you were or she would have figured that out for herself."
"Okay, Bert. I'll take care of it," he said confidently. "You did the right thing, though. Thanks for handling it with such discretion."
"That's part of what you pay me for," Tolinson said. "You want the number for the bank?"
"Yeah," Decker answered, though he had no intention of actually making the call. Tolinson gave him the number and Decker recited it back as though he was writing it down. "I'll give you a call when I get this taken care of," he concluded.
Decker put down the phone. This presented a serious problem. There was probably enough food to last for about a week if he rationed it carefully. After that, he would be forced to leave the house to scavenge or steal what he could, which would greatly increase the chances that he would be discovered and arrested. There was the additional problem that in a few days, Bert Tolinson would begin to wonder why he had not gotten things 'straightened out' at the bank. At the least, it would mean that Decker would have to admit he could no longer pay him and, therefore, could no longer depend on Tolinson's assistance. At the worst, Tolinson might notify the police. There was now a substantial reward for turning in people who had not taken the mark.
12:04 p.m., Sunday, July 12,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker sat straight-backed on the couch in front of the television set. Christopher was about to make what everyone acknowledged was a make-or-break speech, not only for his own position as Secretary-General, but for the very life or death of the New Age. Decker was torn. With his heart he hoped the speech would be everything Christopher needed it to be. But there was a strong nagging doubt that had kept him here on the other side of the world from Christopher, which feared the very thing for which his heart hoped.
For Decker, however, the importance of this speech was not primarily what Christopher would say. What he was looking for would not be spoken; it was the look in Christopher's eye.
Decker's time was running out. Soon Bert Tolinson would begin to ask questions; Decker would run out of food; the local phone service and the power would be shut off; and sooner or later some computer security person would question the recent activity in his bank account or the calls made on his phone, and one way or another, the police would be notified. He knew he would have to leave soon. When he came to Derwood, he had hoped that with time he would be able to think things through, to find some answers. Instead, after a month, he found himself just as confused as when he arrived.
Thus it was that he came to this point where his simple gut reaction to Christopher's broadcast would determine whether he would return to Babylon to serve at Christopher's side, or flee into the night, living on scraps of garbage and fearing contact with any other human lest he be betrayed to the police.
"Friends," Christopher began simply, immediately setting the tone for the rest of the speech. "There has been a great deal of speculation as to my reason for waiting so long after the most recent plague to address you. The truth is simple: I believe that actions speak far louder than words.
"It is now Sunday evening in Babylon. It's a bit warmer than I care for," he said with a slight but sincere smile, "but, unlike the past five Sundays, the water has not turned to blood; there is no darkness seeping up out of the earth; there are no demonic locusts swarming overhead; no asteroids are heading in our direction; no nuclear wars; there are no reports of mass insanity, or murders, or suicides. In short, there are no plagues. And I pledge to you, there will be no more plagues!" Christopher pounded his fist to emphasize his point. It was a tactic he had used seldom in the past, which made it all the more forceful now.
"I have waited until now to speak with you," he continued, "because I wanted not only to tell you, but to show you — so that you would be able to see for yourselves — that the plagues have come to an end. We who have survived have weathered the storm, and though the loss has been great, I am here not to admit defeat, but to declare victory!
"Now, I fully recognize that this may seem like a typical politician's ploy to obscure the ugly truth with unfounded visions of hope. It has not escaped my attention that according to the polls a large number — in fact an overwhelming majority of you — have lost faith in my ability to lead us through this crisis. And yet I am certain that few of you would prefer to allow the fundamentalists and the KDT to impose their totalitarian controls on your lives.
"Still, in all honesty, I acknowledge that there is every reason for you to be skeptical, and I would not be so presumptuous as to expect, or even to ask, you to abandon that skepticism based merely on what I say to you here tonight. Again, I believe actions speak far louder than wor
ds. In a moment, I will present a simple proposal in which I will outline the actions I will undertake, and the means by which you may be absolutely certain that what I say tonight is true and that victory is ours.
"First, however, allow me to take a moment to set the events of the past few weeks in perspective.
"Seven years ago, famines and drought struck India and Pakistan, leaving 4l/2 million dead and ultimately leading to the China-India-Pakistan War, in which an additional 420 million people died. While these at first appeared to be tragic but natural events, we later realized that the planet had come under attack from outside, by a spirit being known as Yahweh, and that he was acting in concert with and at the invocation of his human mediums, the men John and Saul Cohen.
"Less than six months later, an asteroid entered the earth's atmosphere and, in a span of mere minutes, wiped out most of the population of central Canada and the midwestern United States as well as nearly all of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay, leaving tens of millions more injured and homeless and turning one-third of the world's forests, including the once vast woodlands of North America and most of the South American rainforests, into funeral pyres.
"The same day, on the other side of the world, a second asteroid struck in the Pacific south of Japan, causing earthquakes, tsunami, and unprecedented volcanic activity which killed additional millions and left the ocean a blood-red pool of death as it totally destroyed all marine life in the Pacific.
"The two asteroids had the additional effect of so displacing the ozone layer that all grains and grasses throughout the world were destroyed, resulting in worldwide famine.
"A third asteroid, far larger than the first two and capable of eliminating all life on the planet, was destroyed while it was still a safe distance from the earth, thanks to the cooperation of the member nations of the U.N. But weeks later, as the dust of the third asteroid reached the earth, we learned that it contained a high content of arsenic, a deadly poison which polluted much of the earth's water supply. Altogether from the asteroids, 380 million innocent men, women and children died. Again, this was no natural disaster, but rather the vile handiwork of Yahweh.
"The following year, insects, genetically mutated by the design of Yahweh and whose coming was foretold by John and Cohen, swarmed over the earth for five full months, causing havoc and horrible suffering. And though none died from the attack of these locusts, the pain was so great that death would have been preferred by those who endured the excruciating torment of their stings. Many, perhaps most of you listening tonight, experienced that pain firsthand.
"Four months after the locusts died, a follower of the KDT, without provocation, shot and killed me in cold blood, and endangered the lives of hundreds of bystanders." Christopher paused to let those listening reflect on the tragic scenes of that day at the U.N. The video of the assassination had been broadcast on television so many times it was doubtful there was anyone who had not seen it. The black patch that Christopher wore over his right eye socket and his crippled left arm bore further witness to the suffering he had endured.
"Within minutes of my assassination, a savage madness swept over much of the planet, which caused neighbor to kill neighbor, spouse to kill spouse, and even parents to kill their own children. For three and a half days this madness continued unabated until, following my resurrection, I flew to Jerusalem and ended the madness by putting an end to John and Saul Cohen. In all, nearly l!/2 billion — a full one-third of the population of the earth — died because of the madness. Had I not stopped John and Cohen, it is doubtful that anyone on earth outside of Israel would have been left alive.
"When John and Cohen were themselves resurrected three days later, they left a reminder of their infamous destructiveness: an earthquake which destroyed ten percent of the city of Jerusalem and killed 7,000 people. Fortunately that was the last we would ever see of John and Cohen.
"Over the next three years, under my leadership, our planet experienced a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity. And in this environment of peace, as we entered the New Age of Humankind which Yahweh had been unsuccessful in stopping, people throughout the world of all races, cultures, nationalities, and ages began to experience powers of the mind and spirit which had only been dreamt of before.
"Thirteen months ago, with the institution of the communion, the world witnessed the end of sickness, miraculous recoveries from injuries, and even a reversal of the aging process. Humankind was at last running full speed toward its glorious destiny.
"This brings us to the events of the past four weeks.
"Unable to control us any longer, as Humankind stood poised on the threshold of the New Age, Yahweh and his henchmen, the KDT and the fundamentalists, unleashed another set of plagues intended either to frighten us into submission, or, failing that, to kill us all. First it was the lesions on those who had dared take the first step into the New Age by taking the communion. Next he turned the seas and then the fresh water to blood. Each time, as Robert Milner halted one plague, a new one followed. Next it was the extreme heat, and finally the darkness. Altogether these last five plagues have resulted in an additional 240 million deaths.
"But now that is over. Let me repeat what I said earlier. There will be no more plagues!"
"Yahweh's forces are like a three-legged stool which is made up of the KDT, the fundamentalists, and Jews who inhabit Petra. Through the cooperative efforts of police and security forces around the world, the program to deal with the fundamentalist threat is working. We have splintered that leg of the stool and broken their power! There will be no more plagues!
"The KDT, the fundamentalists, the dwellers of Petra, and Yahweh have done all the damage that they can for now. And so let the first proof that what I tell you is true be offered and confirmed on a daily basis, as no more plagues befall us.
"But it is not enough to remove the one leg of the stool. We must complete the goal by dealing also with the KDT and those in Petra. If we do nothing, they will learn to stand upon two legs and they will do even worse, to the point of destroying all of Humankind.
"I have been criticized for not dealing more harshly with the KDT and their supporters. I will admit that I have always held out hope that the KDT would see the error of their ways and join us. I do not regret having had that hope. I do, however, regret the toll in human suffering they have caused as we have held out to them the hand of peace. It is now clear that they will not travel with us. By their own choice, we must leave them behind. I know there may be some who fear that because of my patience with the KDT in the past, I may again be persuaded to offer the olive branch. Let me assure you that that will not happen. The KDT and the rest of the cult of Yahweh have shown themselves to be maniacal, intolerant, narrow-minded fanatics, cruelly calling down plagues upon the earth as if for their amusement. We must now deal with them with equal fervor.
"They have assembled themselves in the ancient walled city of Petra, and it is ironically fitting; for their religion is an ancient one: old and brittle and ready to crumble down upon them. So let it be that the legend of Joshua will serve as a metaphor for their own destruction. In that legend, all the people of Israel, under the rule of Joshua, gathered around the walled city of Jericho.80 So let us gather at Petra. But unlike the people of Israel who called on Yahweh to destroy Jericho, we will call out to no one. Neither will we bring with us any weapon. For by the very power of our combined will and inner strength, all the universe will bear witness that no walls of stone or self-proclaimed god can stand against a united Humankind. For just as the walls of Jericho in the legend fell, so shall the walls of Petra come down upon those who have rained terror down on us. Let us be rid once and for all time of Yahweh and those who would force us to our knees to worship him.
"That is my proposal. But I offer more.
"I said that I would provide the means by which you could be certain that what I have promised — the
end of the plagues, the end of Yahweh's dominion, and our victory — is at hand.
"The proof that I will offer will not be a miracle at the hands of Robert Milner. Nor will I, myself, perform some miraculous deed. Instead the miracle will come from you, from Humankind, by the sheer will and power of each of you. For let me assure you," Christopher said, "that during these past three years since Humankind began experiencing the powers of the mind and spirit, time has not stood still.
"Within two weeks time, the first of three signs will be given that will offer conclusive proof that Humankind has, over the past three years, taken a giant step in the evolutionary process. It is you, those who hear my voice and have joined with the rest of Humankind, who will perform the miracle. And you will see for yourself why Yahweh fears you!
"Humankind must be free to achieve its destiny. It was not mere chance that Professor Harold Goodman found the cells on the Shroud from which I was cloned. I have come into the world to act as the catalyst that Humankind may achieve its destiny. But it is not my place to carry Humankind into the New Age. Rather, each of you must go of your own accord and under your own power. And each of you must participate, for though we each must carry our own weight, we must all go together as one family of Humankind.
"All of us have lost friends or family over the past few weeks," Christopher said, drawing his address to a close, "and it is understandable that there should be a healthy release of anger. And if some of that anger is directed at me, well then, so be it. But before you abandon the path that has brought us this far, realize that the plagues are not and have never been the result of animosity between Yahweh and myself. This began long before I was elected Secretary-General and declared the beginning of the New Age. The plagues that afflict us have a simple and undeniable root cause: after thousands of years of stagnation, evolution has brought Humankind to the brink of a transformation which will take all who embrace it as far beyond the narrow confines of the present human form as Humankind is now above the simple one-celled amoeba!
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