Celestial Kingdom

by Stan Mason

  Magester’s face looked even more serious. ‘How little you know about us,’ he related. ‘Do you not understand that the universe goes on into infinity. There are worlds without end. We Gods are responsible for all of them as well as the beings which live on certain planets. They are countless and we have to deal with every one of them. It has taken all this time to get back to Planet Earth. That’s why such a long time has passed. You do realise the meaning of the word ‘infinity’? How can you? Your mind doesn’t stretch to know its meaning. The universe goes on for ever!’ He halted for a moment and then shouted ‘Enough!’

  At that moment, a small beam of light flashed beside him and Xantha Vesta appeared in human form looking as beautiful as ever. The messenger stared at her in surprise wondering why she had come although he realised that she too lived in the celestial kingdom.

  ‘Mighty Magester!’ she greeted the ruler of the Gods. ‘I am the protector of this mortal. I’m his mentor and his guide. He belongs to me.’

  ‘Then why is there a delay in getting the people to pray to us?’ he boomed with an element of anger in his voice. ‘Many eons ago, the people on this planet prayed to us. They dedicated their lives, worshipped us, sacrificed to us. Now they’ve turned their backs on us. They refuse to believe we are here. Who did this?’

  ‘A man called Jesus Christ,’ cut in Warrior quickly. ‘He influenced people with his rhetoric about one single God. And then there was Mahomet some centuries later... ... ’

  ‘Silence!’ boomed Magester interrupting the messenger. ‘Why were these prophets allowed to spout their ideals? Which Gods supported them at the time. I want to know! That’s the trouble when we give lesser Gods an element of power. They abuse it!’

  The Goddess of Love smiled at the ruler warmly. ‘This mortal has done extremely well for the kingdom in a very short time,’ she told him. He is our messenger appointed to spread the word. If he continues to operate in the same way, we will gain beneficial results. I beg you to allow him more time to fulfil his task.’

  Magester stared at Warrior’s face for what seemed to be a very long time. ‘Hm!’ he uttered in due course. ‘I’ll allow him further time but he had better prove himself to get results!’ He picked up a wooden gavel and drove it down hard on the polished table declaring in a loud voice: ‘The God state it shall be so!’’

  The messenger retreated slowly, walking backwards out of the hall so as not to show his back to the ruler of the Gods, accompanied by the Goddess of Love. When they reached the outside of the castle, she placed her arms around his shoulders, moving closely towards him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Such love was of little gratification to Warrior who was forced to watch her actions from high up above. He called out her name at the top of his voice but the sound seemed to lose its volume in the clouds. As his soul began to rise towards his body, she waved to him and blew him a sensual kiss. If only he could spend a short time with her he would feel like a man again, especially as he was continually being rejected by his mistress in bed.

  Within a few moments he was whole again, sweeping through the skies over the mountain areas below. He was as light as a feather but there was concern at the back of his mind. Magester had reproached him. He didn’t know the reason why but it was clear that the ruler of the Gods had become inpatient. He was surprised that the Gods showed many human reactions such as anger, rage, good and evil. But then man was made in the image of the Gods so it stood to reason that many of the traits were exactly the same. He was delighted to have received the support of his protector, Xantha Vesta, She was a real gem... always there when he needed her. She was the Goddess of Love and he wanted to be with her all the time, however such an idyllic relationship was impossible despite the fact that he felt so deeply about her.

  Slowly, he floated back towards his home in his dream. He knew so much more about good and evil, the Devil and the Gods. He hoped that he could remember every detail about his journey when he awoke. Then, with a violent movement, he twisted his body, turned over, and fell off the settee to the floor. Waking up suddenly, he sat up scratching his head and stared bleakly at his wristwatch. It was only two o’clock in the morning and he felt as though he had been put through a wringer. His face and body were wet with perspiration and he felt nauseous. These dreams, or visions as he called them, were slowly killing him. There was the enjoyment of the feeling of flight and lightness but he always awoke exhausted. There was no way he could exorcise the visions from his dreams. He had been chosen by the Gods to do their bidding. He had been appointed by them and there was no way that he could resign. It would remain his responsibility for as long as they wanted it to last. However the intimations of Magester in his dream seemed to place a time limit on the schedule. What would the Gods do if they decided to curtail his mission? Would they simply erase his memory of all the visions he had experienced or dispense with him in some evil way? It was a worrisome feature that flitted through his tired mind.

  He went into the bathroom to wipe the perspiration from his body with a dry towel. He had actually been to the celestial kingdom and had spoken to Magester, the ruler of the Gods... something no other mortal had ever been permitted to do. His mind turned to Xantha Vesta, his protector. Nothing would happen to him as long as he worshipped her. But he hoped there would be no more confrontations with the ruler of the Gods. It was a very frightening experience... even in a dream!

  ***

  Brendan Moses waited for Warrior in the same corner of the restaurant where they had first met. He asked the messenger to meet him there for an important discussion, only this time there was a sense of urgency in his voice. Thee was something he needed to tell Warrior and there wasn’t much time to spare. He glanced at his wristwatch for the sixth time in as many minutes impatiently keeping his eyes on the door. The messenger was not renowned for his punctuality but, on this occasion he was only five minutes late. Then the door opened and Warrior entered looking as dishevelled and unkempt as ever. His eyes quickly ran to the tracer and he sat down opposite the other man tiredly.

  ‘Your message sounded urgent. What’s up? Don’t say they’ve cancelled my appearance!’

  ‘It’s nothing like that,’ retorted Moses. ‘It’s far worse!’

  Warrior was quite bemused by the comment. ‘What could be worse than cancelling my appearance on the show?’

  The tracer hesitated for a moment. He had been so full of information to relate to the messenger that his mind seized up momentarily and he found himself unable to express himself.

  ‘It’s far worse!’ he repeated slowly. I shouldn’t be telling you this. Hell... I shouldn’t even be here talking to you. They played in your court in the last two programmes supporting your views, letting you have your right to free speech. There had to be some slight reaction but it was pretty negative.’

  ‘Trevor-Edwards did try to put me down. I’ll grant you that.’

  ‘Well it’s going to be different this time. Much different! Edwards has orders to come down very heavily on you. The sponsors of the programme don’t like the message you’re handing out and they’ve asked him to bring you down!’

  ‘So you’ve come to warn me about it. Why? I’m a big boy. I can handle it. You’re a tracer employed by the network. Your main aim is to find people with problems or subjects of interest to increase the ratings. Why come here and tell me this?’

  Moses hesitated for a few moment and then cleared his throat. ‘How can I say this,’ he went on awkwardly. ‘I’ve a great deal of sympathy for your message. I can see a lot of sense in it.’

  The messenger became more suspicious of the innocuous explanation. ‘Why should you tell me this? Weren’t you born and brought up as a Christian? Brought up in the Christian faith?’

  ’Of course,’ replied the tracer. ‘But if the truth were known I was always on the edge not sure whether there was a God or not. It always bugged me but
it wasn’t important enough in my life to worry about it.’

  ‘And my message has changed your mind. Is that what you’re trying to tell me.’ Warrior’s words were clear and concise.

  ‘It certainly has. You see I decided to try it out. Test the water, so to speak. I thought I’d play around with the idea just to check it out. I closed my eyes and opened my heart to the Gods in the celestial kingdom. As I doubted the single God in my religion my thoughts were honest and sincere.’

  ‘What happened?’

  The tracer looked directly into Warrior’s eyes. ‘It was the strangest thing. I saw visions of the Gods and Goddesses. At least that was what I thought I saw... and not only once... I saw them several times.’

  ‘A group of five of them came to you with Magester, the ruler of the Gods.’

  Moses eyes widened with surprise. ‘Yes... that’s right. A group of five. I was partly asleep so I wasn’t sure whether it was a dream or not. I told them I would pray to them whenever I needed their help. They appointed a God to protect me. The God of Communications, Raalatar. He’s my protector. It’s just as you said. They protect those who pray to them.’

  ‘Well I’m glad someone listened to me,’ responded Warrior with a broad smile on his face. ‘I sometimes wonder whether I’m spitting in the wind. How do you feel about it?’

  ‘Elevated! I can’t believe it’s actually happened,’ declared Moses, shaking his head slowly. ‘I now pray to a multitude of Gods after being practically an atheist all my life. It’s unbelievable!’

  ‘All our ancestors prayed to them until prophets such as Christ and Mahomet came along with their own versions. The trouble I have is proving to the people the religious beliefs that have been changed throughout the centuries.’

  ‘I can’t tell you that. All I can say is that I’ve come here to warn you about what they intend to do. They’re after your hide, Stephen. The church is very annoyed at your message, you’ve become a thorn in their side. They contacted the sponsors and this time there’ll be a bishop and two senior priests on the programme. They’re going all out to try to nail you.’

  ‘How can they do that? I have the Gods on my side. My protector, Xantha Vesta is always with me and she’ll come whenever I need her, like Raalatar will for you.’

  ‘Well you know more about that side of it than I do,’ admitted Moses mournfully. ‘I’m new at this sort of thing. I know that when I need help I have to think of Raalatar in my mind and he’ll come to me.’

  ‘Has he shown himself yet?’

  ‘Not yet. I haven’t needed to call him. Will he appear to me in human form?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ returned the messenger frankly. ‘He’ll also have powers unknown to mankind.’

  The tracer pressed his lips together thoughtfully. ‘If I had thought I was going to have this conversation with you the first time we met, I’d have considered that I’d lost my mind. But now it’s all different and I have to thank you for it.’

  ‘Glad to hear it. You obviously have a feeling of confidence now. A sense that you’ll succeed in whatever you do.’

  ‘Indeed,’ said Moses. ‘All the confidence in the world. I mean I have a protector now. It’s a tremendous feeling to know that someone’s guiding you... looking out for you.’

  Warrior’s eyes searched the face of the other man. ‘Is there any other reason why you came to warn me?’ he asked bluntly. ‘After all, I knew that Trevor-Edwards would throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at me this time. It’s obvious!’

  ‘But you didn’t know that he was under instructions to demolish you. That’s the most important thing.’

  ‘Who told you about it?’

  Moses shrugged his shoulders aimlessly. ‘We had a meeting late yesterday to discuss the show. Trevor-Edwards told us that the sponsors were very displeased about your third appearance but they would accept it provided you were brought to heel. End of story!’

  ‘Well thanks for the information,’ Warrior told him gratefully. ‘I appreciate it. But don’t concern yourself about me. I have a few tricks up my sleeve which I hope will work. This is my swansong on television. I won’t get another chance. Believe me, I’m going to make the most of it.’

  The tracer stared at him with a sorrowful expression on his face and glanced at his wristwatch. ‘I hope you’re right,’ he concluded. ‘Look, I’ve got to go. Good luck tomorrow. Just watch your back. Remember... they’re out to get you!’

  The messenger stared at him with an element of distrust. He wasn’t sure whether the other man was telling him the truth or not. Moses got to his feet and nodded before leaving the restaurant. His conscience was satisfied; he had done what he had to do.

  Despite his casual attitude to the tracer, Warrior was deeply concerned with the information afforded him. He asked himself whether he could trust Moses. Did the man have a separate agenda? He worked for the television network and it was probably in his interest to start rumours, spread dissension and create an atmosphere which would increase the television ratings. That’s all they seemed to care about! What was really in the man’s mind when he said that Trevor-Edwards had instructions to bring him down this time? Was Moses really on his side, stating that he had seen visions of the Gods and that he was praying to them? He had mentioned Raalatar, his protector. He knew that much. It was so easy for him to make up a story but what was the benefit to him? Therefore the odds were that he was telling the truth. Consequently, Warrior realised that he might be in for a roasting when appearing on television again. They intended to make him look foolish in front of millions of people. The presented would have no qualms in making it anathema for the messenger and he would be delighted to do it for the popularity. The trouble was that if he was made to look stupid, people would regard him as either a fool or a charlatan and his words would fall along the wayside. In effect, a seriously bad television programme could destroy every vestige of all his hard work. Well he had been warned in advance and it was up to him to devise a strategy to combat them. Fortunately it was a live programme so that nothing said could be cut from the recorded tapes. But one thing was certain... he had to overcome all barriers and hurdles one way or another... otherwise he would not survive!

  Chapter Fourteen

  That night, the evening before the next ‘Hot Shot’ programme, Warrior’s visions deserted him. He lay on the settee in the lounge twisting and turning without being able to sleep or see the visions that he normally witnessed. He kept closing his eyes but every twenty minutes he opened them to rouse himself from falling into a light slumber The night soon began to become tiresome and tedious. Eventually, he sat up scratching his head and rubbed his eyes. It was far better to stand up and walk around than to lay on the settee torturing himself throughout the night. He went into the kitchen to make himself a hot drink, stumbling into the small room. He turned on the tap to fill the kettle with water but as he went to place it on the cooker, he felt a sensation that someone else was in the room with him. He swivelled round to find himself staring directly into the face of Xantha Vesta.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asked tiredly. ‘I didn’t call for you.’

  ‘I’ve come to talk,’ she told him softly. ‘It’s time we spoke in depth.’

  ‘In depth! What does that mean?’ He put the kettle down as he turned towards her fully.

  ‘We need to talk about something serious. But first let me tell you what’s going to happen on the television programme tomorrow.’

  He leered at her, ogling her beautiful face and figure. As tired as he was, she still aroused him sexually. ‘Tomorrow is today,’ he corrected, glancing at the clock on the electric cooker. ‘It’s three o’clock in the morning.’

  ‘I suggest you use the tactic known as filibustering,’ she advised him, ignoring his comments. ‘It’s the use of obstructional tactics such as making very long speeches or t
he introduction of irrelevant material for the purpose of delay. Irrelevancies! Do you understand what I’m saying? The programme is broadcast for just over forty-five minutes when one takes away the advertising commercials. If you use your wits and skills as a talker, you’ll overcome the opposition by such methods.

  ‘What sort of irrelevancies?’

  ‘Anything to make the opposition take their eye off the ball and to help you waste time. That’s exactly what needs to be done... waste time!’

  He pursed his lips as he thought about the idea. A filibuster! That was all very well but what was he going to talk about for the best part of forty-five minutes. More importantly, would they allow him to do so. If he introduce irrelevant material, he might be made to look a fool if he lost control of the situation.

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ he told her uncertainly.

  ‘If you can find another solution I’m ready to support you,’ she told him sweetly, ’but I doubt that you will. The only alternative is not to appear on the programme. If you do that, you’ll lose by default. Your reputation will be torn to ribbons by all and sundry. It’s important that you take your place and fight it out.’

  ‘Don’t get me wrong,’ he countered amiably surprised at her negativity. ‘I’ve every intention of going. Don’t you worry. I’ll be there. You can tell Magester that.’

  She smiled uneasily. ‘I didn’t come on the orders of Magester. He has his doubts about you. I don’t know the reason why. You’ve shown yourself to be an obedient servant but he’s still unsure of you.’

  A crowd of hostile thoughts permeated Warrior’s mind as anger overcame reason. ‘Why should he think that way?’ he retorted. ‘I’ve done nothing to displease him! Quite the reverse! Everything I’ve done has been for all of you. Doesn’t he realised that?’