by TJ Tucker
People of America, you will be freer under my administration than you ever were before. But with freedom comes responsibility, and your first responsibility is to establish public order. We must prevent the rise of terrorist elements within the populace that would seek to undermine the new order. Congratulations America! Freedom is here to reign at last.”
Chapter 76: Kurdi’s Farm
Kurdi’s farm was in the rolling hills of Western Maryland, down a dirt road, and for all intents and purposes, invisible to the rest of the world. There was a large main house, and three other houses, each larger than a typical single family home. About 20 people had gathered in the main house, where Kurdi assured them that he was well stocked with nonperishable goods and water. They could hide out here for over a year, if it was necessary.
“Mr. Kurdistani,” started John.
“Call me Kurdi.”
John chuckled. “Okay, Kurdi. Won’t Ellis’ people be able to just look up your address and find us straight away?”
“That’s the beauty of being part of the government,” said Kurdi. “The ownership of this place is untraceable. They have a better chance of finding all those misplaced billions at the Pentagon than finding any link between me and this place.”
“What exactly happened back there in the White House?” asked Jess. “Who’s behind all this?”
Kurdi looked around and saw everyone looking at him expectantly. Even Matt Simpson and Roger Snyder, who had seen their share of shady dealings, were eager to hear his take. Kurdi felt it was time to tell the story as it really was.
“Most people think the President is the head not only of the government but of the world,” said Kurdi. “When they see that he’s a figurehead, they’re shocked. What happened is that President Torres was manipulated into facilitating the takeover of America. To top it off, he was supposed to launch a nuclear attack. Thank God, he refused.
“I can’t believe what they did at the Pentagon,” said Simpson.
“That’s the true definition of Terror, Matt. Lenin understood how to use terror to control the people. That’s what they’re doing here. It was calculated to achieve maximum effect. That’s why they picked the Pentagon, with its iconic status.
“So is Ellis a figurehead also?” asked Snyder.
“The puppet masters now have their protégé in charge of the United States,” was Kurdi’s reply.
“Who are the puppet masters? The Bilderbergers?” asked Lyle.
Kurdi sat back, smiled, and said, “Not exactly, but you’re looking in the right place. The Bilderbergers serve principally as an advisory group. They never make the strategic decisions. My former mentor was at several Bilderberg meetings, so I got to hear his stories. They meet to discuss topics that are assigned to them at each meeting. They develop a consensus, and the Session Chairs report it back to the Council of Seven. That’s where the real decisions are made. The decisions are then distributed back to the members of the Bilderberg group, whose responsibility it then becomes to implement the decisions. They’re a perfect cross-section of elite society, and so they’re perfectly positioned to execute the will of the Counciul.
“Who makes up the Council?” asked Frank. “I’ve never heard of that.”
“The secrecy around Bilderberg is pretty loose,” said Kurdi. “You could never keep a meeting that big secret. Not with that many global leaders in attendance. The New York Times won’t cover the meetings, but if anything that fact draws more suspicion to them. It’s kind of a game, where they don’t care if you know about Bilderberg. But you aren’t supposed to know about the Council. They’re the same people who’ve been pulling the strings of world history for much of the past millennium.”
“The banking families of Europe?” asked Frank.
“Three of them,” said Kurdi. “The Vatican will have a seat, and two seats go to royal families. Only six seats are actually taken. The seventh is vacant, for now. Some big importance is tied to whoever is supposed to fill that seat.”
“The Antichrist,” said Frank, with a nervous chuckle.
“They like to joke about that,” said Kurdi. “If it’s a leader of the whole world they want to appoint, I think they’ll make him match the popular Christian conception of Antichrist, for a very practical reason. We in government always gave subtle encouragement to reports of UFO sightings. We had secret aircraft, and wanted to keep them secret. But people saw them flying around. You couldn’t avoid that. If they reported seeing space aliens, it seemed to the world like they were hallucinating. So, too, if they ever appoint a leader for the world, having the Christians call him Antichrist will be tremendously useful to make all criticism of him seem ridiculous.”
“How did you encourage UFO reports?” asked Jess.
“By denying them with clumsy explanations,” replied Kurdi. “We would always make sure there were plenty of errors in what we released. People would find them and decide they had caught us in a lie. When you act suspicious in government, people always assume the worst.”
“Why would the Vatican be on the Council?” asked Simpson.
“The Vatican’s alignment with royal families goes back to Constantine,” replied Kurdi. “The banking families came to be involved within the last 150 years. They’ve been funding the Vatican’s operating deficits for some time. The Vatican simply can’t afford to turn them down. And the others all want the Vatican there to make sure they’re complicit in every decision. It ensures a soft tone for any criticism later, and often secures endorsement of their most ambitious goals. All in the name of helping the poor, of course.”
“Wait a second,” objected Jess. “These groups are often at each others’ throats. How can they be cooperating to rule the world?”
“I never said they were friends,” replied Kurdi. “But I’m telling you the facts. They have differences, to be sure, but that’s neither here nor there. They all need each others’ cooperation at the highest levels, so they cooperate. They’d probably betray each other in a heartbeat if they felt they could get away with it. I guess they don’t think they can. At least, not for now.”
“What about the royal families?” asked Frank. “They’ve been figureheads for a century now.”
“Most of Europe is still owned by the nobility. The royal families always drew their power from the nobility, and in return represented their interests. That’s how it still works.”
“And how does Ellis fit in with their plans?” asked Lyle.
“He’s useful to them at this time,” replied Kurdi. “Having full control over the United States was an important element in working towards world government. When he outlives his usefulness, they’ll ditch him.”
“Why did they want China destroyed?” asked Frank.
“They think nothing of killing millions. Asia to them is simply a consumer of their valuable resources.”
The TV was on in a corner of the room, and everybody’s attention shifted to it when Torres’ picture appeared on the screen. They turned up the volume, and a leading pundit came on with his commentary. “President Torres made an impassioned speech before his death, to be sure. But I would argue that it can’t be taken in full seriousness. The man was dying. He couldn’t have been thinking straight. In this great time of need, it’s the patriotic duty of all Americans to get behind Governor General Ellis. What would our enemies think if we were divided among ourselves? Those who oppose Governor Ellis are no different from the terrorists we’ve been fighting. They should be treated as terrorists, and denied any rights under Habeas Corpus. There comes a time when duty to one’s country becomes the same as duty to one’s government. This time has come.”
“Right on cue,” said Kurdi, shaking his head with a sarcastic grin.
“So, what can we do about it?” asked Jess.
“The best thing we can do is to spread the truth,” answered Kurdi. “The people now have the late President’s words as a wedge between the increasingly ridiculous stories from the press and the obvious tru
th.
“How’s that going to help?” asked Roger Snyder.
“Simple,” said Kurdi. “The whole economic system of the West is based on confidence. Confidence in the value of the dollar, which is only underpinned by debt. Confidence that the system works in your favor, when that’s the public narrative, completely at odds with the reality. And, yes, confidence in the legitimacy of the government. Take away that confidence, and people’s individual actions will undermine the system from within. They won’t hold dollars, but will buy gold or other hard assets instead. They won’t borrow money for a new house or a new car. Doing those things requires a lot of confidence in the future. Take that away, and the whole system will soon collapse under its own weight. Without borrowing, the money in circulation drops by over ninety percent. Mr. Ellis may control the security apparatus, but he’ll soon run out of ways to pay them. Gandhi once famously told the British that they simply could not govern India if Indians refused to be governed by them. It’s the same thing here, today, and everywhere. All we have to do is withhold our consent to be governed. If enough people decline to participate in the economy, the system will collapse.”
Chapter 77: To Del Rio
Burrows heard the announcement from Colonel March, ordering everyone to report to the main hangar. If recent experience taught him anything, it was not to take such instructions at face value. He had no intention of reporting to the hangar. He made straight for the base perimeter. In the darkness, he only had to lie low twice to avoid being spotted by one of the Morningstar mercenaries. They were rounding up everyone as a routine matter, and thanks to the cooperation of Colonel March, weren’t meeting any resistance.
Burrows was able to walk right out of Laughlin, and onto route 90. It was only about five miles to Del Rio, he reasoned. He walked through the night, getting off the highway when he saw the approaching column of heavy armored vehicles. They had come through Del Rio, and continued east on route 90. He arrived at the door of his cousin Jenny at dawn, and was supremely relieved when she opened the door and hugged him tightly. “We heard about your disappearance, and assumed the worst. Especially with what happened to Jason.”
“I escaped from a base in Mexico and went straight to Laughlin to report what I’d seen. The CO there jailed me for doing it. They were invaded, and surrendered.”
Jenny welcomed him in, and woke her husband, Tony. Burrows filled them in on everything he’d seen, including the invasion currently underway. “Did you hear the rumbling all last night?”
“Yeah, what was that?”
“It was the mechanized army from San Gustavo on the move. The United States is being invaded as we speak.”
They turned on the TV, and saw the horrific news of the Pentagon massacre, which served as a backdrop for news of ports being taken over, air bases falling, a possible EMP strike on American forces in Taiwan, and massive highway closures all over the country. They stayed tuned through breakfast, when the coverage was interrupted by an address from the President. They saw Torres deliver his last address and slump down in his chair, presumably dead.
“Cam, I’d like you to come with me to a meeting of former Guard troops I’m attending today,” said Tony. “If this is what I think it is, we have to organize ourselves, align with other groups around the country, and plan a defense. We can’t count on our troops overseas. You have information that needs to spread across America.”
“You’re on, Tony. I’m done with official channels. From now on, it’s going to be the people fighting for America, independent of our institutions.”
Chapter 78: Basel II
“President Torres was hardened against launching the strike,” said Hanna Morgensen. “It dawned on him that we were manipulating him, and the visitors we let in to see him were of no help. Instead of pinning it on the Chinese, they too decided it was manipulation. Since Mr. Connolly reported to me, I take full responsibility for our handling of Torres.”
“One can never quite rely on elected leaders,” said Councilor Three. “We can pre-select them all we like, but, in the end, they’re never as trustworthy as our people. The Council absolves you of the blame. But our situation is now problematic.”
“The lack of a nuclear strike has complicated matters for my administration,” said Derek Ellis. “The Chinese government won’t recognize me. They won’t even speak to me. They think I’m the one who tried to launch the strike. Instead, they’re calling for their soldiers to return home with complete amnesty. My control is tenuous at best. I implore you all to press upon the world’s governments the need to prevent American soldiers from leaving. If they return to America in large numbers, their oath to the Constitution will make commanding them impossible.”
“Mr. Ellis, your task became impossible when the strike failed to occur,” said Councilor One. You will not be able to maintain control of America in the long run. But you can still work into our plans.”
“Yes, Councilor.”
“You must appear to be doing everything to maintain your control. Take a heavy handed approach. Arrest bloggers and other dissidents. Execute a few, or even a lot. Deport entire towns to FEMA camps if you even suspect they harbor terrorist sympathizers. The economy is already beginning to disintegrate. Push it along a little. Nationalize a few industries. Shut down others. We want you to come across as nothing short of a tyrant.”
“May I ask, Councilor, how that will advance the plan?”
“We’re close to appointing the Seventh Councilor,” said Councilor Four. We’d like the United States to disintegrate economically, while suffering under an oppressive dictator. Europe will bankrupt shortly, when we order the end of the rescue packages. Chaos will follow. We’ll introduce the Seventh Councilor into this environment. He’ll take a public leadership role, will stabilize Europe, and liberate the United States. With the economies destroyed and debt overhangs reduced or eliminated, there will be an economic boom. The Seventh Councilor will take credit for this. We feel this will give him all the credibility he needs to govern the world. We’ll see to it that you’re evacuated from the United States at the right time. You will be richly rewarded.”
“I understand, Councilor. You may count on my cooperation,” finished Ellis.
“There’s still the problem of China,” said Councilor One.
“Inflation in China is a serious concern, Councilor,” said Yu-Xin Zheng. “You control the Chinese central bank, so raise interest rates. Collapse the money supply. With the American economy collapsing, China’s export markets are shrinking rapidly. If Europe follows, so much the better. Act now, and the Chinese economy will be a shambles within three months. Follow this by having your corporations close their Chinese operations. Within six months, there should be societal chaos. Your problem will be solved from within.”
“Are you concerned about the government taking control of the Chinese central bank, Mr. Zheng?”
“It’s irrelevant, Councilor. By the time it did, the process would be too far along. You could add some insurance, however. An attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure would ensure there was no recovery. China is incapable of quickly replacing Iran’s oil, from a logistical perspective. If Mr. Ellis could do this, it would eliminate any chance China could weather the storm.
“Excellent suggestion, Mr. Zheng. Mr. Ellis, can you arrange this attack?”
“Yes, Councilor, it should be a simple matter. I presume you’ll send an envoy with the precise timing, once that’s determined?”
“Yes, Mr. Ellis. We will keep you fully informed.”
…
Once back in the United States, Ellis called Ian Rennson for a meeting. “They’re asking me to take the fall, Ian.”
“What fall, Derek?”
“You can see for yourself how everything’s falling apart. They want me to be their Hitler. Completely destroy the economy, the society. That way their new golden boy can swoop in and save everyone from me.”
“Did they promise you safety?”
“Sure. Just like they promised it to Milosevic, and Ceausescu, and the rest. The list is long. But you can be absolutely sure that they always lynch their whipping boy in the end.”
“So what are you going to do? Play along?”
“Yes, for a while. But I’m going to give them a little surprise when they least expect it.”
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