The Broadcast

by Liam Fialkov

  The brother and sister were fond of each other, and most of the time they managed not to let jealousy come between them.

  When Michael played in his high school band, Lily admired her big brother. But much to her dismay, she noticed that there were girls who wanted to befriend her, just to get closer to her brother; the talented, handsome guitar player, the songwriter who won their hearts.

  When it was Lily’s time to pursue higher education, she chose to study biology, a decision that surprised her parents, who assumed that she would want to go to a performing arts school and make an attempt at a dancing career. Her parents, Ruben and Rose Evans, were amazed when she succeeded in getting accepted to the prestigious Duke University, in North Carolina. Although they were required to come up with very high tuition costs, they could afford it, thanks to the fact that Michael withdrew from his studies, and had found work as a researcher at the TXB network.

  Lily went to live in the university’s dormitories, and for the first time in her life, she found herself away from her parents’ house for an extended period of time, and there were many temptations. The beautiful, young student participated in many parties, where she drank a lot of alcoholic beverages. She followed on her inner craving to run wild, to go unruly and unrestrained. More than once, she drank until loss of consciousness, and she woke up in the morning in her bed—or different beds—with no recollection of how she’d got there.

  Her studies were a nuisance for her, and she found them far from exciting. Luckily for her, she had a roommate who turned out to be a responsible young lady, and a good friend, who didn’t let her avoid her responsibilities. She used to wake Lily up from her deep sleep and urge her to go to class.

  She hardly did her homework, and used to study primarily before exams. Before an important examination, she used to spend the whole night with a few classmates, cramming the material into her brain while drinking one cup of coffee after another. In the morning she would take the exam, usually pass it with a mediocre grade, go to her room, collapse on her bed, and forget most of what she had learned.

  She was not attracted to and was even deterred by hard drugs, like cocaine, which was offered to her every once in a while as a way to improve her studying capabilities and to prepare for exams. During parties, she smoked marijuana if it was offered to her, but she didn’t think it was a big deal; she thought that it is was a less dangerous drug than the alcohol she consumed in excessive quantities.

  After eight months as a freshman at Duke, she met and fell in love with Bradley Kirby, a third-year student of business management who was also a major player with the Blue Devils, the university’s football team. Kirby was a popular figure in the university life, a talented player, and also a party guy. Lily was attracted to his tough, charismatic, and authoritative image, and she thought she’d found the love of her life.

  He liked to spend time with his beautiful companion, but he wasn’t dedicated to her in the same way she was to him. He thought that their relationship was temporary, and that she was just another pretty girl who came his way.

  On one weekend, Lily suggested to Bradley that they would go to New York, to meet her brother who lived and worked in the big city. Bradley agreed, because on that weekend there was no game, and he thought that a trip to New York sounded like fun, and would be an opportunity to visit a few of his high school buddies.

  Michael was excited about the upcoming meeting with his little sister, after a long time that they hadn’t seen each other. He realized that Lily would be his first family member to meet Melanie.

  The two couples decided to meet for lunch at a restaurant that Melanie picked, located in Greenwich Village.

  When Lily saw her brother waiting for her near the restaurant, she ran toward him and cheerfully hugged him. Michael introduced her to Melanie, and he told Melanie that his sister was his first love, when he was about three years old. When Bradly arrived after parking his fancy SUV, Lily introduced him to her brother and his girlfriend. Bradley was tall and wide-shouldered, his eyes were narrow, and he had a very short haircut. He wasn’t handsome, but he had a masculine appearance that conveyed toughness and self-confidence. His nose was covered with a small bandage, probably to cover an injury he’d sustained on the football field.

  The restaurant was fashioned in good taste, and in a country style. The four of them sat and ordered food. Michael and his sister ordered fish dishes, Melanie ordered a vegetarian meal, and Bradley ordered a large steak and potatoes.

  “I’m a meat and potato guy,” Bradley said. “Without it, I wouldn’t be able to function on the field.”

  “What position do you play?” Michael, who watched football on occasion, inquired.

  “I’m the quarterback,” Bradly proudly replied.

  “And he is an excellent player,” Lily said, and affectionately looked at her boyfriend.

  “How did you meet?” Michael asked.

  “I waited for him after a game, after a few weeks of watching him play,” Lily answered.

  “We lost the game that day,” Bradley said, “but meeting Lily certainly improved my mood; I saw that she was a cheerful girl with a positive attitude.”

  The waitress brought the dishes they’d ordered.

  “I also study business management,” Bradley said while sticking his fork in the steak. “If you ask me, I view life in the same way that I look at a football game.”

  “What do you mean?” Melanie asked.

  “I mean that you have to be tough, and if you don’t crush your opponent, then he will crush you.”

  “So you are a very competitive person,” Melanie said.

  “Definitely,” Bradley confirmed. “I intend to be a millionaire and financially independent by the time I reach thirty.”

  Michael looked at his sister and her boyfriend and felt uncomfortable. Where did she find this character? he started to ask himself.

  “Bradley is honest and straightforward, and he doesn’t pretend,” Lily said, “And I admire this quality of his.”

  “And what I love about Lily,” Bradley responded, “is that she is sweet, she knows how to have fun, and she has inner and outer beauty.”

  Lily smiled at Bradley, who was busy with his meal.

  “Tell me,” Bradley turned to Michael, “I heard you work at TXB. Do you have any connection to The Broadcast?”

  “No,” Michael responded, “I work on a news magazine called Around the Clock.”

  “I liked The Broadcast in the beginning, when they solved police cases,” Bradley said. “I don’t know why they changed course and started to show boring history programs.”

  “I prefer the history programs,” Melanie said. “Watching them, you can see and appreciate how fortunate we are to be living in the United States in the twenty-first century.”

  “I also prefer the history shows,” Lily said.

  “Because these are girl’s shows,” Bradley said, while drinking the beer he ordered.

  “I told you that he is straightforward,” Lily said. “Bradley doesn’t hide what he thinks.”

  “Only when doing business,” Bradley smiled.

  Michael was perplexed and disappointed. It was evident to him that he was unhappy with his sister’s choice; and Melanie, while observing Lily and Bradley, recalled a previous relationship she had when she studied at Stanford.

  After the meal they separated, as Bradley wanted to visit his old buddies.

  “Take care of yourself, sister,” Michael whispered in Lily’s ear when he hugged her goodbye.

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” she responded. “I’m a big girl now.”

  Michael and Melanie drove home in his car. “The truth is,” Michael said, “I didn’t see this coming. The Lily that I knew would never be attracted to such a selfish person. Our parents brought us up with ideas of cooperation between people, and not such a competitive and aggressive approach.”

  “She is in love with him,” Melanie said, “which is why she is blinde
d and doesn’t see him as we do.”

  “True,” Michael said, “And he is in love with himself. I should have kept a closer connection with her, and from now on that’s what I’ll do.”

  “You should give her the space to make her own mistakes,” Melanie said. “That’s how you learn and grow up; I also made some bad choices in the past. If she has a good and solid foundation, she will grow and come out of it as a more mature individual.”

  “I just hope that the learning experience won’t end in a cruel way,” Michael said. “I must be there for her.”

  Chapter 42

  The Broadcast

  Walter Lindsey’s press conference received favorable reviews. When asked, most of the reporters who were present at the meeting, as well as viewers at home, perceived the producer as an honest person who talked frankly, and not like someone who was plotting conspiracies. They did not receive answers to all the questions, and mainly not to the ones about the source of the films. Still, most of them agreed with Lindsey’s argument, that he must remain faithful to his promise and protect the confidentiality of his sources.

  The Broadcast continued its journey back in time while the controversy contributed to its popularity. Reporters and cultural reviewers were amazed by the phenomena of a TV program that look at historical events, attracting so many viewers.

  “Good evening,” Susan Riley smiled at her viewers at home and presented her guest, Professor Charles Boyd, of Oxford University in England.

  “Today,” the host said, “we will use our technology to broadcast films from previous centuries, and we’ll start with the First Crusade, which took place in the eleventh century.

  She turned to her guest. “Good evening professor. Thank you for coming all the way from England, to be with us here this evening.”

  “Good evening, Susan,” the professor nodded. “I’ve been following your remarkable show ever since you embarked on the historical journey, and it’s an honor for me to be here with you this evening.”

  Professor Boyd described the background of the crusade, which followed the call by Pope Urban II to liberate Jerusalem from the Muslims.

  “The Crusader army was sized at about twelve thousand men, after it significantly shrank during the journey to Jerusalem,” the professor said. “Following a vision by a priest, the Crusaders tried to take the city as in the biblical story of Joshua and the siege of Jericho. They fasted for three days and then marched in a procession around the city walls while praying and blowing horns, but the walls didn’t fall.”

  The professor showed the Crusaders’ procession which was led by priests carrying crosses followed by army personnel, knights on horses and infantry. They were seen marching by the walls while blowing different wind instruments. From the angle of the TXB footage, it was hard to discern details of the musical instruments. “After that,” Professor Boyd continued, “the Crusaders tried to take the city by more practical means. Five weeks after the beginning of the siege, they managed to break into the city. It had happened on the fifteenth of July in the year 1099.”

  Another film was shown, and the professor accompanied it with his explanations. Viewers could watch the mighty siege tower that the Crusaders had built. From the tower, they managed to extend a bridge to the wall of the fortified city, and over the bridge, a group of crusading soldiers penetrated the city. The invaders then opened one of the gates, through which a large Crusader force entered and captured Jerusalem.

  The professor said that after the conquest, the Crusaders committed a cruel massacre of the city’s residents, Muslims and Jews. They killed the soldiers and had no mercy on civilians, including women, children, and old people.

  “Following their success,” the professor concluded, “the Crusaders founded ‘The Kingdom of Jerusalem,’ and ruled the city for about a hundred years, after which the city fell again into Muslims hands, led by Salah ad-Din.”

  The phone rang in Walter Lindsey’s office. On the line was the network’s CEO, Colin Ingram, who summoned him to come to his office. Lindsey, who was busy corresponding with one of the advertisers, finished the line he was writing, got up, and made his way to meet the CEO. He hoped the reason for the unscheduled meeting was a routine issue and not an unforeseen threat to the continuation of the show.

  “You can enter, they are waiting for you.” Amanda, the CEO’s dedicated secretary smiled at him, and he opened the door.

  “Walter, thank you for coming on such short notice,” the CEO cordially welcomed him. “I would like you to meet Father Thomas Shelton, who has honored us with his visit. The priest got up from his chair and shook Walter’s hand. He wore a black robe, and on his neck there was a chain from which a large cross was hanging. He was an elderly man, bald and wearing glasses, who smiled at Walter while examining him with a penetrating look.

  “To what do I owe the honor?” Lindsey asked after sitting down in a chair.

  “I understand that you are the producer of a program called The Broadcast, Father Shelton opened.

  “That’s true,” Lindsey confirmed.

  “As I’ve already told Mr. Ingram,” the priest continued, “we understand that you are broadcasting historical TV programs that go back in time.”

  “True,” Walter responded.

  “I also understand that in some way, you are in possession of remarkable technology that allows you to air films of previous eras, much earlier than when humanity had cameras.”

  “Until now that’s all true,” Lindsey acknowledged, and turned a questioning look toward the CEO.

  “I was sent here by the Archdiocese of New York,” Father Shelton calmly continued. “We are concerned regarding your plans for the upcoming shows.”

  “What do you mean?” the CEO asked somberly.

  “If I understood correctly,” the priest said, “and excuse me for not watching the show; I don’t watch television at all, and I prefer to dedicate my time to prayer. Anyway, it has come to our attention that you intend to continue the series until the year zero AD.”

  “That’s the plan,” Walter nodded.

  “Do you have any intention to broadcast films from the life and death of Jesus Christ?” Father Shelton asked, and turned his investigative eyes toward Lindsey.

  “The truth is that I don’t know,” Lindsey replied, “I do not dictate the content of the films, I just ask for footage of specific events, and I give the operators of the technology the approximate time and place of the occurrences.”

  “Interesting,” Father Shelton said, and it wasn’t clear whether he directed his remark at Walter and the CEO, or perhaps to himself. “Anyway,” he continued, “we prefer that events that are written in the Holy Bible will remain in the theological realm, according to the teachings of the holy Church.”

  “The truth is, sir,” Lindsey responded, “it’s unlikely that we’ll see events from the life or death of Jesus, because even if that was our intention, we don’t have specific dates of his actions and crucifixion. As you know, crucifixion was a common practice at that time, and a way by which the Romans executed many of their prisoners.”

  “The problem is,” the priest politely smiled, “that even if you’d broadcast films of that time without showing Jesus, it could still hurt the important message by which Jesus gave his life for us. Because what is that period without Jesus of Nazareth?”

  “So what are you saying?” The CEO intervened. “Are you asking us to cancel the show?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying,” Father Shelton patiently said. “The archbishop is asking that you won’t broadcast films of the land of Israel at that time, especially not from Jerusalem.”

  The CEO wrote a short memo in his notebook and seemed to contemplate whether to say a few words. “I want to be clear on something,” he finally uttered. “I am a devout Christian, I go to church regularly, and I hold a strong belief in the Lord and Jesus Christ. I don’t see how a TV show that may or may not show our Savior could be a threat to the Church.”


  Father Shelton looked directly at the CEO and said: “I appreciate your sincere words, and I’m glad that you are a believer. But there are several considerations that you might not be aware of, and I’m not at liberty to discuss them at this time.”

  The CEO glanced at the clock. “We will consider your request,” he said to the priest. He then got up from his chair to accompany his guest to the door. “Thank you for visiting us,” he said, “it has been an honor.”

  Lindsey got up as well, but the CEO signaled him to stay.

  “What do you think?” the CEO asked Walter after the priest left.

  “It is strange,” Lindsey answered. “I would think that people who hold a strong belief would not be disturbed by a TV program that shows past occurrences. On the contrary; why wouldn’t they be glad to see the most significant events of their religion with their own eyes?”

  “And still,” Ingram somberly said, “we must be attentive to their worries. The last thing we need is a large group of Christians—rich, powerful, and influential—who feel that we pose a threat to their faith. I’m mainly concerned about the Evangelical Protestants of the Bible belt.

  “Good evening,” Susan Riley opened a new program. “This evening, we continue our journey back in time to the seventh century, and we’ll turn our attention to the religion of Islam, which was founded and started to expand at that time. With us in the studio is Professor Kadir Sankar from the University of Istanbul, who was already on our show not long ago. Good evening Professor, and thank you for agreeing to be with us for the second time.”

  “Good evening, Mrs. Riley,” the Turkish professor politely nodded.

  “Professor,” the host said, “is it true that here in the West, we don’t know much about Islam and we hold mistaken notions about this religion?”