by Len du Randt
‘What’s this?’ he asked when a familiar face came on the television screen. Trevor turned up the volume to hear what Antonio Pascale had to say.
‘This holographic image of our Lord will represent him in every single aspect,’ Antonio said. ‘This will be our monument to him, to honour him, and to bestow our worship and love upon him.’
Antonio snapped his fingers, and a hologram of Victor Yoshe instantly appeared next to him. The hologram looked exactly like Victor, even down to the perfectly trimmed haircut. From what Trevor had seen before, it seemed as if Antonio and the holographic Victor were in the Holy of Holies inside the Jewish Temple.
‘The image of our Lord will be available twenty-four hours a day, and will have an entire television channel devoted to it. It will speak as our Lord, and will guide us in this dark hour until our Lord’s actual return.’
Trevor sat up straight. Lord Yoshe’s return?
‘Those who view our Lord through their television sets can receive blessings and healing by worshipping and touching their television screens as they do so. As proof of loyalty to the Empire, all Jews in Israel will be ordered to make a pilgrimage to the Temple and worship their Lord and Messiah. Those not willing to worship will prove that they are allies of the Messianic Jews and thus declare themselves enemies of the Empire; a crime punishable by death.’
Trevor’s mind was racing. Andrew’s claims about the return of Victor might be true. He had also heard about the worshipping of an image or hologram or something before. Norman spoke about it. It couldn’t possibly be, could it? He struggled to wrap his mind around the implications of the situation unfolding in front of him.
‘And to show you that I have the authority to make such demands, I will let you hear it from our Lord and master himself.’
Antonio motioned with his hands, and sprinkled some blood over the hologram. For a few seconds nothing happened, and then the apparition suddenly opened its eyes.
‘Good afternoon, Pope Alexander,’ the image of Victor greeted Antonio.
‘Good afternoon, my Lord,’ Antonio returned the greeting.
‘It’s him!’ René shouted excitedly. She could hardly contain her excitement. ‘It’s really him!’ She bounced up and down on the couch as she repeated herself over and over.
‘It’s a pre-programmed hologram,’ Trevor said, hoping that it would calm her somehow. ‘The real Victor Yoshe is dead.’
‘Ye of little faith,’ René said and crawled closer to the television. She rubbed her fingers gently across the screen. Trevor could only roll his eyes at how stupid she appeared.
‘Pope Alexander the Ninth has temporarily created a portal through which I can communicate to you from the other side,’ the hologram said. ‘Although my body is still very much dead, my spirit lives through this temporary vessel; and for that I thank him.’
Antonio smiled and nodded.
‘But rest assured,’ the image said, ‘that my death is only temporary and will ultimately allow my full authority and glory to be revealed. Blessed are those who see what I can do and believe. Before long, I will be with you again in the flesh.’
René squealed with excitement. Trevor just ignored her.
‘There is an element out there,’ Victor spoke in his new metallic voice, ‘that wants to disrupt the global unity that we have started to create. They are haters of peace and justice, and want to spread their anarchy through terror and violence. These hate mongers must be stopped, and I give you my word that when I return—and I shall return—I will make it my personal goal to bring those responsible to justice.
‘We need to establish order in the Empire. Without order, there is no safety. Without safety there is no freedom. Without freedom, there is no peace.’
Trevor had heard enough. ‘I’m going to catch a movie,’ he said and got up.
‘That’s a great idea,’ René said after she was satisfied that Victor wasn’t going to say anything else. ‘Mind if I tag along?’
‘Not at all,’ Trevor said and forced a smile. ‘Get ready. We leave in ten minutes.’
- - -* * *- - -
‘The European Empire is in dire straits about its former President, Victor Yoshe. No new leader has been appointed as yet, and a talking hologram is all that remains of the former Nobel Peace Prize winner. Most countries have decided to stay linked as the European Empire, while others have shown their visible disapproval of Mr. Yoshe’s claim to being God, and have retracted from the Empire and its legislations. They refuse to be associated with the Empire, and also claim that they would safely harbour any Jews in need of shelter from the coming ‘Loyalty Test’ instituted by N-Force.’
Andrew felt relieved. There was still a chance that the African Union would not merge with the European Empire. It was the report that followed next that twisted his stomach and made him turn pale.
‘In other news: N-Force Space Observatory has today announced that a giant meteor is in a direct collision path with Earth. It is determined that the meteor would strike Earth in less than a month unless something can be done to stop it. N-Force military units are devising methods of getting rid of the threat before it reaches four hundred thousand kilometres from the Earth’s atmosphere. That would translate roughly to two hundred and fifty thousand miles, and although it sounds far; it’s extremely near for a meteor of this size.
‘Should the meteor strike Earth, the damage would be unthinkable. All life would instantly cease to exist, and another ice age would follow soon after. N-Force has two weeks to try and deflect or destroy the meteor. The plan calls for proximity space mines and other nuclear devices to try and put a stop to the meteor’s relentless path of destruction, and if the plan fails, we would have just a little less than two weeks before impact. GMN will keep a close eye on the events as they unfold.’
‘I should have gone to the movies with them,’ Andrew said softly to himself as he continued watching GMN. He knew that the end of the world was not prophesied to be a meteor strike, but the book of Revelation and Trevor’s book both told about a giant star smashing into Earth. According to Revelation, the damage was tremendous. A nervous knot tied in his stomach and he felt dizzy. Let’s try to focus on something else, he thought as he pressed a random button on the remote control. It was the channel dedicated to 24-hour coverage of Victor’s holographic image.
‘Many questions have been raised about the two false prophets in Jerusalem in the wake of their recent alleged resurrection,’ Victor’s hologram said.
‘They have been alien spies all along. It appears that we haven’t completely rid ourselves of the alien threat, and would have to tighten security measures to prevent another disaster like the one we had a little over three years ago. The only way to distinguish between humans and aliens without a doubt is the Shield. It has been designed to only work on human DNA. If an alien was to receive a Shield, the technology would kill it instantly, and that is why they would refuse to receive it. My urge is for all in the Empire to accept the Shield as soon as possible to avoid any inconvenience when N-Force starts cracking down on the invaders from space.’
Andrew switched off the television and rubbed his temples. Even being armed with knowledge about who Victor was and what the Shield represented didn’t protect him against the urge to consider the Shield as Victor’s image spoke. There was an evil of unimaginable power at work, and he realized that it was only a matter of time until he, Trevor and René would finally submit to it.
- - -* * *- - -
Jerusalem: Three Days Later
The first Jews lined up at the Temple steps for the ‘Loyalty Test’ that Antonio had called into action. They all received Shields, and then entered the Holy of Holies one-by-one to kneel down to the hologram Victor and to declare him God. They were then free to go.
A small group of Jews revolted against the idea, and started rioting at the Wailing Wall. They threw rocks at N-Force officers as they shouted anti-Victor slogans.
At Antonio’s command, they
were captured and executed in public as an example to those who would dare oppose the Empire. Antonio made a public statement, saying that N-Force would show no mercy to aliens or their followers, whose sole purpose was to disrupt the peace and annihilate the Earth’s population. Victor’s hologram ordered those killed to be decapitated and their heads impaled outside the Temple and the entrance to the Holy of Holies as a stern warning against anyone who dared oppose or defy the Empire .
‘Next!’ an N-Force officer yelled to the line of people in front of him. A Jewish man nervously entered the Holy of Holies and let out a little gasp when he saw the huge hologram in the place where the Ark of the Covenant used to be. The Ark lay smashed against the floor. Victor’s eyes followed the man as he approached. Close to the image the man fell on his knees.
‘Who say ye am I?’ the hologram asked in its metallic voice.
‘Lord Yoshe,’ the man said and sobbed.
‘Who say ye am I?’ the hologram repeated.
‘God...the man said and buried his face into the ground. You are God.’
‘Get up,’ the hologram ordered. There was a slight humming sound from the machinery that created the image.
The man instantly obeyed and stood up, wiping the tears from his eyes with his dirty sleeve.
‘Well done my good and faithful servant,’ the hologram said totally devoid of emotion. ‘Go now, in peace.’
The man nodded and slowly walked backward from Victor’s hologram, careful not to turn his back as a gesture of respect. When he was out of the Holy of Holies, he had an N-Force officer sign a ‘pardon document,’ and as he left, a shiver crawled down his spine when he looked at the impaled heads next to the entrance.
The N-Force officer stared at the man as he walked off and shook his head. He made a registry entry, then looked at the next Jew in the queue and shouted, ‘Next!’
.XIV.
Resurrection
One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal head wound, but the fatal head wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast
- Revelation 13:3, NIV
‘Do you like it?’ René asked and extended her hand toward Trevor.
‘The ring?’ Trevor asked as he studied the ring on her finger, hoping that he wouldn’t have to give an honest answer.
‘No silly,’ she giggled. ‘Look closer.’
Trevor looked at the ring and then at the remaining bare fingers. ‘I don’t see what you’re talking...’
She turned her hand slightly and he almost choked. On her hand, on the soft patch of flesh between her thumb and index finger was a stain. It appeared to be a stain at first glance, but what Trevor was looking at was state-of-the-art technology merged with human flesh. ‘That...that’s...’ he said as he pointed at the purple circle on her hand.
‘The Shield,’ she shrieked excitedly. ‘Isn’t it just lovely?’
Trevor never thought that seeing the Shield in real life would have such an impact on him. It was slightly larger than he thought that it would be, yet still small enough to look elegant. He didn’t particularly believe that the Shield was the Mark of the Beast that Andrew spoke of, but his friend did have many theories that were sound enough to convince him to avoid it for the time being.
‘It’s...nice,’ he said. The words coming from his mouth had a rotten taste to them.
‘You really think so?’
No, Trevor thought, but only nodded lightly. A sense of relief flooded him when someone knocked on the door. Trevor opened the door and greeted Andrew with a grim expression on his face.
‘Are you okay?’ Andrew asked as he entered the apartment.
Trevor only twisted his face and rolled his eyes in the direction of René.
‘Hey,’ Andrew said and greeted her with a hug. ‘How have you been?’
‘Okay,’ she said excitedly and stuck out her hand. ‘Do you like it?’ she asked. ‘Trevor does.’
‘Do I like what?’ Andrew asked, and then he spotted it. He shot a glance at Trevor who only stood there, grim faced. ‘It’s ah...it’s...is it real?’
She nodded like an excited child.
‘What’s going on?’ Andrew whispered to Trevor as they entered the living room.
‘Don’t know,’ Trevor shrugged. ‘Just found out about it now too.’
René was about to switch off the television when Trevor stopped her. ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Turn that up.’
The three of them watched the GMN newsreader report: ‘It has been two weeks since the first strikes against the meteor, and N-Force has informed us that they have assaulted the giant rock with everything in their arsenal.
‘Unfortunately, everything they had was not enough.’
Trevor looked at Andrew who just shrugged and turned his focus back to the television.
‘While unable to destroy the meteor, they did manage to deflect it off the collision path with Earth.’
‘That’s not bad then,’ René asked, ‘is it?’
‘Don’t think so,’ Trevor said. He caught himself eyeing the circle on her hand.
‘However,’ the newsreader continued, ‘a large chunk of the meteor had broken off and is still headed straight toward Earth. Once the new, smaller meteorite hits, there will be tsunamis and other incalculable reactions to the impact.’
Andrew whistled softly. ‘This is bad.’
‘Scientists believe that the splinter rock might strike somewhere in the Pacific Ocean within the next three weeks, and everyone should try to move as far into the mainland as possible.’
‘I’m scared,’ René said and wrapped her arms around Trevor’s arm.
‘We all are...’ Trevor said, and then faced Andrew. ‘Your parents, what are they going to do?’
‘Not sure. They’ll probably stay with friends in St. Lois in America. I believe that they’ll be fine.’
The newsreader continued giving instructions and a few ‘Space Specialists’ gave their opinion about the predicted damage. The three of them just sat there, stunned by the reality that their lives were going to change drastically in three weeks.
- - -* * *- - -
‘I’m afraid, my love,’ Mary said.
‘It is human nature to be afraid,’ Malcolm tried to comfort his wife despite his own fears. ‘But we have to remember that we are protected during this time of Jacob’s sorrow, and that no harm will come to us.’
‘I know it’s true,’ she said, feeling slightly better. ‘I believe it with all my heart. But that doesn’t make it any less scary.’
‘At least we’re together,’ Malcolm said and held his wife tightly. ‘At least we still have each other.’
- - -* * *- - -
Ireland: One Week Later
The picnic was going according to plan. The two girls giggled as they chased after their little brother on the green slopes of the park while the husband and wife enjoyed a prize vintage wine. They had decided that the news of the meteor was not going to interfere with their sixth year anniversary.
The children giggled and screamed with delight as they rolled on the grass. They were too busy having fun to notice the change in the weather. It was subtle at first: only a slight draft, a few clouds piling up, and a subtle change of colour in the sky. It was only minutes before what was once clear blue had changed to dark purple. The wind picked up and ripped at their blanket and it was when sporadic lightning bolts streaked across the skies like bony fingers that the husband realized something was wrong; very wrong.
‘Everybody, get to the car!’ he shouted.
Trees jerked around violently and thick dust swirled through the confused family.
‘Get in!’ the father shouted above the howling wind. The mother and children got into the car and the father slammed the doors shut. He covered his face from the stinging dust and sand and as he climbed into the driver’s seat, he paused for a second. Something in the distant caught his eyes. A fiery substance was slowly falling from the skies. The girls star
ted crying when the first chunks of hail and burning rock struck their car.
‘Get us out of here!’ the wife screamed frantically, clutching her son tightly in her arms.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The husband turned the ignition, but the car didn’t want to start.
Thunk! Clang! Clang!
‘Mommy, we’re scared!’
The windshield cracked.
‘Get us out of here,’ the wife shouted again, the fear not hidden in her voice.
‘I’m trying!’ He turned the ignition again. This time it took and the car sputtered to life.
Thunk! Thunk! Crack!
‘Drive, Liam!’
The husband sped down the dirt road. All around them trees and grass were on fire, and soon, everything would be consumed in smoke and flames.
‘What’s going on?’ his wife sobbed above the shouts and cries of the children.
‘I don’t know,’ the husband said, ‘it might be another alien attack.’
He sped the car around a bend in the gravel and almost veered it off the shoulder of the dusty road.
Thunk! Clang! Thunk!
Finally they were on the main road. The husband’s stomach constricted when he saw that the burning rocks and hail were everywhere for as far as the eye could see.
‘Mommy,’ one of the girls cried. ‘We’re scared...’
‘I know honey,’ the wife tried to reassure her child through her own tears. ‘Daddy’s going to get us out of here. We’re going to be—’
A tire that had caught fire suddenly burst from the heat and the husband lost control of the car. It veered off the road and crashed into a tree. The car hissed loudly, but even the hissing was muffled by the overwhelmingly loud Clang! Clang! Thunk!