It's him!
He's letting them do it too!
They've got him all the way up. Now, someone's nailing the feet.
This looks about as close as we can get. Yohannan wants to get closer though.
We move up a bit at a time, squeezing passed people. We're smaller, so it's easier for us.
People are shouting things.
Now they're hoisting people up the other two stakes.
Someone's saying, 'Look! If you're really King Messiah, then come on down! We'll believe you.'
'That was my uncle!' Yohannan says.
He actually sounded sincere. Other people don't. They're saying things like, 'Yeah! Come down if you can!' 'You claim to save others, why don't you save yourself?' 'You still gonna build it back up in three days or what?'
Some of them are spitting.
I think this is about as far as it's safe for us to go. All the ones in front are the ones jeering at him.
But Yohannan is still working his way forward.
Suddenly, he moves to the right. He's scared of something.
I look. There, standing right there are Hanan ben Shet, and Kayafah.
Hanan is smiling broadly.
I can just hear him say, 'We won't be having any messiahs interrupting our agenda now, will we Kayafah.'
Kayafah stands still, staring at Yeshua, as though he's worried about something.
Some of the people are going away now. We're getting closer.
The gods! He does look ghastly! I never knew it was possible to look like that and still be alive. Blood's dripping down everywhere, more than just dripping in some places. He's covered with that, and people's spit, and bits of human manure they've been throwing.
The Roman soldiers are making a big joke of it. They've even got a sign stuck up in three languages. I can read the Hebrew. It's 'Yeshua of Natseret, King of the Jews'. The other stakes have signs like that too, with their name and what they did, such as terrorist, bandit, murderer, and that sort of thing.
He's being executed for being a king? At least someone's acknowledging it.
I wonder -- if they wrote that in Groki, if they'd hold off exterminating humanity?
I see the soldiers have got his clothes, and they're giving each one a piece. His overcoat doesn't have a seam and they don't want to rip such a nice garment. They're drawing straws for it. The one who won is taking it, and mockingly saying 'thank you' or something to Yeshua.
They have no idea!
Some of the people from Reb Yakov's house are here now. It's easier to get close now that the crowd is getting tired and thinning out a bit. The ones who didn't like him are probably bored with it. Those men we saw at Yohannan's uncle's house probably just want their money.
Yeshua's saying things to people. Just now, he said something to Yohannan. He's standing with Ima Miriam. I couldn't catch what he said.
Suddenly he's looking my way. He sees me, I swear it! But he's looking -- like he's asking me something with his eyes. It's not about the golden plates. It's the same look he gave me when whispered that Tsaphar was lonely.
I'm sure he's suffering more than I can even imagine. Yet, he manages to think about Tsaphar's loneliness!
Some other people get in the way. Now he's looking another direction.
* * *
I hear that Mordechai's voice again. I don't bother to turn my head. He's talking to someone -- some rabbi or other.
'... he just said, "What I've written, I've written." He won't change it.'
'But it makes it sound like his offence was being Messiah!' says the other man.
'To them, that is the offence. We spent all morning explaining that to him.'
'It took long enough.'
'I'll never understand the Romans! He was after his hide, like the rest of us, so -- why...?'
'I guess he would have preferred we stone him.'
'But what could we stone him for? The Jewish community's too divided. Half of them would turn around and stone us! This way, it's their problem.'
'He knows that, I expect.'
'Yes, I expect -- on top of that he goes and changes his mind at the last minute.'
'Changed his mind?'
'You know how superstitious they are. His wife has this dream -- tells him the man's good, don't have anything to do with putting him away. So, he starts throwing all this crap at us -- says he's had his men watching and listening. He hasn't found anything treasonable -- reckons we have more to fear from him than the Romans. There's nothing in what he's heard that suggests he'd try to overthrow the empire. Maybe he'd be another local king, like the Herods. If we want, send him to Antipas. He's in town. Maybe he'd be paranoid about a rival king.'
'But "Messiah" won't be just some local puppet king. Everyone knows that.'
'I know, but before we bring that up, he's already given the orders. We figure it might work for us anyway. I mean, God knows, the old man, Herod the Great, used to get tied up into knots over possible rivals. So we go to him. He just wants to see a sideshow. He doesn't get one, so he does one himself -- fixes him up in that get-up you saw -- sends him back -- Pilate laughs his head off. Finally, we had to turn on the mob. If nothing else gets him nervous, that does. We explain to him that Herod isn't afraid of him, because, to every Jew, "Messiah" means he won't just be Herod's rival, but Caesar's. Then we got our mob chanting like they're all true blue Romans -- you know -- fans of old man Tiberius, and if Pilate won't ...'
Now they're walking away. I still don't turn about. I don't care anyway -- the rabbi suddenly turns and goes the other way. I've seen him somewhere -- I think it's the same one we saw in the market, weaving tent cloth.
The king is still hanging up there! When's he going to call it?
23
clouds have gathered for a storm; the midday sky has darkened
as have the spirits of all who hoped for light
I've been doing nothing but sitting here, waiting. When's he going to do something? Is he going to let the world end?
It's been dark since about noon. Not just dark like during a storm, but really dark. It feels as though Adonai has forsaken us.
Suddenly, Reb Yeshua shouts something. I don't catch what he's saying.
I look up. He's looking at the sky, and suddenly, his head sinks down.
Is he dead?
It's suddenly getting even darker, like an eclipse or something. Lightening's flashing.
Oh the gods! The ground's shaking!
I've heard of earthquakes. Some planets have them. I've never been in one before. I don't know what to hold on to!
It's happening! It's the end!
I'm trying to stand up.
It's starting to rain. People are running down the hill.
Lightening is flashing really close by, as though it's going to strike us all.
Even the soldiers have suddenly turned sober. One of them just exclaimed something loudly in Latin and he's looking up at Yeshua like he's shocked.
People are screaming. Some are running for their lives. It's pouring now.
I can hear somebody laughing. I look about.
It's Hanan. He's just standing there, laughing like a mad man.
Next to him, is Kayafah, looking terrified, covering his head with his cloak. Suddenly, he turns and runs down the hill. Hanan is left by himself, still laughing and laughing.
He doesn't even sound human! I think even if he knew it was up for humanity, he'd still be laughing.
I take one more look at the hanging corpse. I'm off down the hill. At least I'm going to find some place dry to sit and wait for the planet to be engulfed in flames.
I can still hear that madman's laughter.
Wait -- forget being dry! Reb Yeshua got me thinking about Tsaphar, like it's his last wish. It'll be my last chance...
* * *
Tsaphar sat under the doorway of the foyer leading into the courtyard. Someone told her once that a door is the best place to sit during an earthquake.
Keeping dry was a different story. Some of the rain was blowing straight through from the front door, where Zakkai did his best to stand guard, all the way to the courtyard.
Zippora had told her she had never seen weather like this.
The sky had turned black. Tsaphar suspected an eclipse. Lightening was striking everywhere. There were screams, and sounds of trees falling in various places.
News came earlier that Reb Yeshua had been condemned and was on his way to be executed -- nailed up as though he were a terrorist. Was this the beginning of the end of the planet?
She could barely make out voices through the sound of the rain. Some men had taken shelter under the front door and were talking to Zakkai. He was telling them the High Priest wasn't in. He had gone to the execution.
The people came in and waited.
Their clothes were drenched, but they looked like Temple officials. They were talking excitedly among themselves.
Then, they turned towards the door. Kayafah was back.
Kayafah didn't look very well.
'Sir,' said one of the men. 'You need to come to the Temple. A most unimaginable thing has occurred.'
'What now?' he said, looking as though he'd already seen the worst.
'You'll have to see it to believe it!' said one.
'A miracle of the -- er -- diabolical sort -- a bad joke by the divinity, if you will,' said another.
'What?' demanded Kayafah.
'The Inner Sanctuary. You can see right into it from the door to the Outer Sanctuary.'
'The curtain, all three layers, has torn from the top, right down to the bottom. None of us dares to go in to fix it. You'd better come.'
Kayafah grabbed his forehead in both hands. 'On any other day but this, I'd swear you were joking with me.'
'We are certainly not joking, Sir.'
Kayafah let out a sigh. 'So, we've killed him.'
'Who?'
'King Messiah, son of David. He came, and we killed him.'
He followed the others out.
Tsaphar followed them to the door.
Just beyond the door, as the other were exiting, she saw Eetoo, peeping in. She simply followed the others out as though she had been asked to go along. It was just as well she had Eetoo's bag with her.
'We're going to catch cold in this rain,' she said as they walked in the direction of the gate.
'What does it matter? The world's going to end anyway. I just want you close when it happens.'
'Oh Eetoo! Does it take the end of the world to open your heart?'
'I'm sorry...'
24
Heptosh couldn't believe what he was seeing. The sky above Nephtesh was full of ships. Three of them had begun to descend.
Reports were arriving from all the planets in the new network that the same was happening all over. Most of them thought it was the Tekneshi forces coming to retaliate for the infringement on their sovereignty.
Heptosh didn't think they looked like human ships at all. Neither did Shan.
Though the space port was now serviceable and staffed, and was blinking out messages insisting that the newcomers hold to the accepted protocol, the three began to land, instead, in the open area about the pyramid.
Heptosh walked towards them, followed by Shan, Dr. Taknen, Rov and some of the others.
The doors opened, and out of each ship, came two Groki.
Heptosh held his hand up and made the recognised sign of peace.
The Groki made no sign at all.
Heptosh ventured, 'Our space port is serviceable. Why did you not follow the recognised landing protocol?'
'We do not recognise you as being the legitimate inhabitants of this planet,' said the first Groki.
'We have the permission of the king. Go to the royal palace yourself and ask him.'
'There has not been a king of this planet for four hundred years.'
'Was this not a human planet? We are simply returning to live where our forefathers once did.'
'You did not request permission to travel within this sector.'
'These people will not be doing much travelling. I understand your concerns, in light of the evils committed by the ancient Nephteshi empire. Each planet will be independent of the other, so this does not constitute the revival of any human empire.'
'Not a human empire, you say?' said the second Groki. 'We now count six planets, including this, located well outside the Noofrishi Sector, populated by your so-called Federation of Indigenous Nephteshis. Now, we've just repelled a horde of your ships all the way from the Zuyun galaxy. We had earlier been following the course of that craft there,' he pointed towards Heptosh's ship, 'and its presence here is proof that your "independent planets" are, in fact, part of an intergalactic human empire.'
'On the contrary. Amanhep's imperial ambitions have nothing to do with me. My job is with the sector's Department of Human Affairs.'
'Though, I understand you enabled him on his first conquest. And, you're certainly not here on sector business.'
'I was duped by him, as were the others in our Sector Council. I've been prevented from returning to my own sector because of the misunderstanding that resulted, so I'm here, engaged in a project entirely of my own. As for the Tekneshi ships, I must thank you for repelling them. We've just rescued all these people from their grasp, so they were undoubtedly here to retaliate. These are all victims of the same human oppression that gave the Nephteshi empire a bad name. They shouldn't present a problem, as they simply want to live and support themselves peacefully, and wont need to do any interplanetary travel.'
There was a pause. The three Groki appeared to be discussing something among themselves.
Finally, the first Groki said, 'They will, indeed, henceforth not be a problem. The time of humanity has, in fact, ended. Apart from defending our own sector's sovereignty, we are also awaiting confirmation of the destruction of humanity's home planet. When we have received it, we will proceed to clear the cosmos of humans, beginning with this planet, moving right on throughout the galaxy, to the Zuyun galaxy.'
'How will that confirmation come?' asked Heptosh.
'We have drones plying the galaxy that are capable of detecting any explosion on a planetary scale. When such an explosion occurs, we will send ships to the area and collect asteroid samples. If no such evidence is found, we then await evidence that the planet yet exists. It will be up to the human species to provide that proof.'
Heptosh, after a pause, said, 'We, likewise, are awaiting confirmation that the time of humanity has been extended.'
'So, we wait,' said the Groki.
So, they waited.
25
Tsaphar noted that the planet hadn't been engulfed in flames, although, she suspected for a while, it would be destroyed by water again.
It had been sunny enough to recharge the power cell for the computer. Eetoo put it on the roof before they both took a long nap downstairs. Tsaphar had woken up from that and noticed Eetoo reading what they had recorded .
He read some to her. It did say that the earth would be destroyed by fire if the King didn't redeem it. Maybe it was just a matter of time. Maybe the earthquake and the eclipse were only a sign, not yet the real thing.
There were some people in the front room. Tsaphar recognised Yohannan's voice.
She went out. There was Ima Miriam along with some other women. Most of them were weeping. Yakov had his arm about his mother's shoulder.
'Who, Again?' Yakov was saying.
'Yoseph of Har Mattia,' said one of the women. 'Rabbi Nicodemon assisted him, and we followed them, so we know the place. They didn't have time to do a proper job of embalming him, but I thought we could take some more oils and spices after the Shabbat.'
'Indeed,' said Yakov. 'The sun is already setting for Shabbat. That means we can't do anything until the first day of the new week. You would need to buy the ointments, though.'
'I have them already,' said another of the women.
'Oh Miriam
, you have such presence of mind!' said the first woman. 'I would have never have thought of that, the state I've been in!'
'Nor I,' said the third.
Tsaphar noted that the other one was called Miriam as well. One was from Magdala, the other, the sister of Lazar.
Yakov said, 'Yohannan, you're welcome to stay here close to our mother. You are a good choice of a man to care for her, as you were especially close to him as well, and she'll be wanting to travel back to the Lake Galil region after the holiday season. Lazar's house might not be a good place right now, as they could come looking for you there. On the other hand, most of the Qumram people will be leaving shortly, so there will be plenty of room for all of you here.'
'I think the others are going to stay at the room we rented for the Passover Seder,' Yohannan said.
'That's probably a good place.'
'Yakov might come here though.'
'What about Shim'on Kefa?'
'I don't know. No one's seen him.'
Mother Miriam said, 'Why don't you go and inform them now? I'll be okay for now.'
The other women went into the kitchen. Yohannan went out. Ima Miriam was alone.
Tsaphar went up to her quietly.
'Were you also Reb Yeshua's mother?'
'Yes. In fact, he was my only naturally born son.'
'Eetoo told me what happened, but I still can't believe it. Reb Yeshua was such a wonderful person!'
'He was an uncommon person. I just hope it isn't over yet. I hope against hope.'
Tsaphar looked about and noticed Eetoo had joined them.
'Did you know that Ima Miriam was also Reb Yeshua's mother?'
'No! It's horrible, what happened! I really feel like an orphan now. I don't know what to do, but I'm sure you're the saddest one of all if you were his mother.'
'But perhaps, I'm not. I still have hope,' Miriam said.
'Hope for what? The world's going to end.'
'Is that what it says in the golden tablets?'
'Yes. Reb Yeshua told us where to find them, and there they were.'
'What else did he tell you?'
'To go to meet him in four days at the very last place where I saw him. He'd give me something to take back.'
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