by J. R. McLeay
Fortunately, he wouldn’t need to test his story. The guard’s footsteps moved away from him as quickly as they had approached and began receding into the distance. Apparently, this was simply a routine inspection by the guard, one whose schedule had somehow escaped his earlier scrutiny. After hearing another beep followed by the opening and closing sound of the door, he waited a number of minutes in complete silence. He dared not even breathe as he strained to listen to ensure no one else was in the room.
After peering through a thin opening in the stacked barrels to confirm he was alone, he quickly set back to work. Retrieving the labels he had hastily stored between the barrels, he blew away the rusty dust and smoothed their wrinkled edges against his body. He’d brought with him twenty new labels and although still shaking from the unexpected intrusion, he set about affixing each label on the indicated drums, being careful to ensure the new labels precisely covered up the underlying original ones.
His last destructive step, designed to expedite and accelerate the contamination process, was to exchange the labels of three buffer drums with those of the drums containing the permeation-enhancing excipients. There could be no chance that this effort didn’t produce the intended consequences. For the saboteur, the stakes were simply too high.
Later that evening, comfortably ensconced in his apartment overlooking the Hudson River, he threw his surgical gloves and shoes in the building’s incinerator to remove any chance of tracing his body to the scene. Lying back on his sofa and enjoying the view of the placid harbor, he took a moment to reflect on how well his plan had come to fruition—and how soon its effects would be noticed.
25
As he’d expected, Calvin was released from jail on his own recognizance after his arraignment before a magistrate on Thursday. After he plead guilty to charges of disturbing the peace and threatening a police officer, the judge was satisfied he was not a flight risk in view of the fact his son was being held in protective custody. Calvin simply had to pledge not to make any attempts to contact Elias other than through official channels and to reappear for trial at a future date to be determined. Now, three days later, back in the sanctity of his Garden of Eden church, he was preparing to deliver a new sermon—one with a decidedly different tone.
Contrary to his promises before the judge, Calvin had no intention of acquiescing on the hypophysectomy issue and in fact had resolved to enlist the help of his congregation in stepping up pressure on the authorities. This latest development with Elias amounted to a declaration of war—and now it was personal. He was more determined than ever to use every resource at his disposal to fight the system and return his son and the rest of the world to its natural order.
As he watched his congregation stride into his church on Sunday morning like bees returning to their hive, he took a moment to survey the teeming assembly. Now was the time, he decided, to stir them from their complacency and mobilize for a new assault against the enemy. He would no longer be the apologist for his colony. Calvin believed they were just as guilty of blasphemy as any other juvenile and that some day they would all pay the same ultimate price for yielding to the narcissistic temptation of immortality.
Today, he would show them the error of their ways, and a new path to salvation.
“Children of God—” he began, sweeping his outstretched arms over the assembly, “you have all sinned.”
Pausing for several seconds to allow his words to sink in, he shifted his penetrating gaze from one surprised congregant to another.
“You have forgotten what it means to serve your master, for you have taken for granted what He has given, and surrendered to those temptations which He expressly forbade.
“How many of you even know what it means to sin?” he asked angrily.
Everyone in the assembly knew better than to answer his rhetorical question.
“In his covenant with Moses on the holy temple of Mount Horeb, the Lord laid down the laws by which everyone should live, in the form of the Ten Commandments. Who here can honestly say that he faithfully obeys each of these laws?” Calvin demanded, his voice beginning to rise in intensity.
No one dared utter a sound.
Calvin nodded knowingly.
“Apparently, you have forgotten your contract with the Lord—or chosen to ignore it. Today, it has fallen upon me to remind you of these universal laws, and the consequences for disobedience. Listen as I count down these Commandments, and you will see what happens to those who sin.
“Number Ten,” Calvin boomed, his commanding voice resonating off the arched ceiling as if delivered from an otherworldly source. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods. Yet how many of you lust after material things you do not possess? One need only witness the plethora of public advertisements all about this city to see how much greed drives humankind. When God created Adam and Eve, he provided everything they could ever want—a perfect paradise, loving companionship, and a limitless future raising a devoted family—but when they became greedy, they lost their immortality. And so shall you.”
Calvin paused once again for dramatic effect as silence filled the chamber.
“Nine,” he continued. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. Not only have you forsaken the sacred institution of marriage, but the egregious and widespread popularity of obscene pornography belies your unbridled lust and depravity. God slew Onan for spilling his seed, and so He will strike all others who practice self-abuse.”
Some members of the assembly shifted uncomfortably in their pews.
“Number Eight.” Each intonation grew subtly louder, bouncing off the rafters and echoing throughout the cathedral. “Thou shalt not bear false witness. Is there anyone here who has not lied or concealed something through deceit or secrecy? In the trial of Jesus, many bore false witness against Him, which precipitated his death. Only by confessing your transgressions and asking forgiveness from your Lord or his proxy, can you be cleansed of your shame.”
Calvin had consciously expropriated from the Catholic faith the perfect weapon of psychological control over his congregation: requiring confession with their cleric in order to receive forgiveness and absolution. He also knew that by establishing impossible standards of conduct, his followers would always be dependent on their spiritual leader for salvation.
“Seven,” he resumed. “Thou shalt not steal. Yet you have stolen that which is most precious to your maker. The Lord created mankind in his own perfect image, and by submitting to the mutilation of your body, you are debasing God Himself. You cannot reclaim that which has been taken from you—you can only prevent others from the same fate.”
Calvin had considered carefully how he would entice his assembly to rise up in a new, brazen attack on the enemy. The setup had begun. He would finish with a call to arms.
“Six. Thou shalt not commit adultery. God made Eve from the flesh of Adam, and in so doing signified that forever more man be united to his wife as one. By rejecting the sanctity of marriage and embracing the notion of free love, you have all sinned. In the book of Deuteronomy, we saw that God ordered adulterers be stoned to death. For your indiscriminate behavior, so shall the Lord indiscriminately smite thee.”
Calvin appraised his congregation’s mood as they sat in stunned silence. Like every effective commander, he knew the best way to build more obedient soldiers was to first strip away their false pretenses.
“Five,” he railed. “Thou shalt not kill. But you killed a living part of your very selves when you guillotined the very organ which gives you life, and which gives others life. The Lord asked you to be fruitful and multiply, but by this act you’ve willingly surrendered your God-given ability to reproduce. In this way, you’ve shown you don’t need God any more—and soon he will show He no longer needs you.”
Calvin could see his parishioners becoming increasingly restless and beginning to stir in their seats. He sensed they were nearing the breaking point.
“Four!” he declared, picking up his pace. “Honor thy mo
ther and father. Yet by your selfish act of self-abasement, you’ve disrespected your parents and sent them into the afterlife without you. You have sought that which was long ago sacrificed to God: everlasting life. Instead, your actions will only separate you from your loved ones, while you suffer eternal damnation in Hell.”
A few anguished murmurs grew from the assembly.
“Three,” Calvin continued. “Keep the Sabbath day holy. This means every seventh day you must worship the Lord and refrain from any type of labor. How many of you work from home or operate a business and stay open on Sunday? This day was meant to be devoted to prayer and relaxation of the mind and body. God accepts no half-measures, and if you want acceptance into His dominion, neither shall you.”
“Amen,” uttered a few parishioners.
“Number Two,” he raged, seeing the critical mass building among his assembly. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You must speak reverentially of the Lord, respect His name, and respect all your oaths to Him. It is not enough to have good intentions—you must act in accordance with the Lord’s wishes in order to show true respect. This means abiding by all of His Commandments and His instructions. For there is only one true and ultimate authority.”
“Hallelujah!” many cried from the pews.
Calvin could see the assembly hanging on his every word, begging him for deliverance.
“Which brings us to the first and final commandment: I am the Lord thy God, and thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
It was no accident that Calvin spoke in the first person for this final directive—he wanted to make it clear that he alone was vested with divine authority and that only he could provide legitimate guidance and instruction for his flock.
“Yet you have abandoned your God for worship on the altar of narcissism. Believing that medical science alone can save you, you’ve revoked your acceptance of the omnipotent power. You forget who made you—and who can save you.
Calvin paused for an uncomfortably long moment.
“You have failed your God!!” he suddenly thundered, his voice reverberating through the pews, literally shaking his parishioners.
“And unless you take drastic action, He will fail you. For your days on this earth are numbered, but your days in the afterlife are not. There is only One who can determine how you will spend them.”
As if on cue, one parishioner called out meekly.
“Tell us father, what we can do to save ourselves?”
“Yes, yes!” More cries slowly grew from the assembly, until they cascaded into a cacophony—filling the chamber with the collective din of fearful congregants, beseeching their pastor for salvation.
Calvin held up his berobed arms and immediately a hush fell over the room.
“Do not fear, my children. God wished for you to live forever in His Kingdom, and so shall it be. All He asks is that you lead a righteous life in observance of these commandments and that you respect His authority. I will take your confessions, and absolution for your sins shall be granted if you pray forgiveness and promise to amend your ways.”
Calvin paused.
“But your master needs something else from you to demonstrate your contrition and obedience.”
“Tell us!” his parishioners cried out. “Tell us, father!!”
For the galvanized congregation, at this moment there was virtually no separation between God in heaven and his earthly avatar standing before them. In their eyes, Calvin was God—and they were ready to follow his every commandment.
Calvin knew exactly where he wanted to lead them.
“The serpent beckons once more in our Garden of Eden, and Satan has once again gained the upper hand. One of our very own has been taken from us, and he is threatened by the forces of evil. Yes, Elias needs your help to save his soul. We need to take him back from the devil and I need your help. Are you going to stand by and allow another of your brethren be butchered and enslaved by the forces of darkness?!”
“No!” came a united roar from the assembly.
“Elias is pure—he is without sin,” someone shouted.
“We will save him!” exclaimed another.
The congregation was standing now, chanting and stomping their feet in unison on the cold stone floor of the shaking chapel.
As Calvin regarded his assembly with pious satisfaction, he caught the eye of another member, standing perfectly still in the side shadows of the transept. A silent nod between them signaled their battle had formally begun.
26
Tuesday morning outside the United Nations headquarters on First Avenue was crisp and chilly, as the one hundred and ninety-two flags of its member-nations fluttered noisily in the late autumn breeze. Walking south along the avenue on route to a meeting with Tian Yin, Rick tried to identify each of the ensigns bordering the long strip of international property, starting with Afghanistan at 48th street and ending with Zimbabwe at 42nd street. After recognizing each flag up to Guinea’s, he turned east and headed into the main entrance of the compound under the domed General Assembly Hall.
Upon returning from his long weekend exploring the alpine hinterlands of California, Rick felt recharged and ready to face another busy week in the bustling city. But to his surprise, he’d received a message from Tian asking if he could meet with her urgently. After their last meeting a few weeks ago, everything seemed to be going smoothly and other than some concerns about her ailing father, Tian had sounded fairly upbeat. Rick wondered if she was calling him for medical consultation or if it had something to do with the scheduled switch to the international outsourcing of hormone patch production.
As he entered the soaring lobby, bright rays of sunlight streamed in from the giant stained glass window on the east wall, designed by Marc Chagall. Crossing the white polished floor of the atrium, Rick stopped briefly to track the movement of the famous Foucault Pendulum, swinging rhythmically on a gold-plated sphere suspended from the seventy-foot ceiling. Providing visual proof that the earth rotates around its axis, the plane of the ball appeared to shift slowly clockwise about eight degrees every hour, as it swung inches above a large orbital ring. Following Newton’s first law of motion, the ball itself actually moved in a fixed plane—it was in fact the table beneath it that was moving together with the building attached to the rotating earth.
All is well and proper with the world for another day, Rick affirmed, before heading toward the elevators.
At the thirty-ninth floor, Rick announced himself to Tian’s secretary, and she directed him into the Secretary-General’s office.
“Good morning, Madame Secretary,” he announced, clasping her hand warmly when they met. “You look as lovely as ever.”
“It’s good to see you again, Rick,” Tian said, her eyes lighting up as she kissed her friend on the cheek. “It always seems so long between our meetings.”
“Perhaps that’s a good sign that everything is working as planned,” Rick mused.
“Well, you know how I feel about resting on your laurels,” Tian said, referring as much to Rick’s continued professional demeanor as to the frequently guarded attitude of her multinational constituents. “Complacency leads to apostasy.”
“In my world, we have another saying: a rolling stone gathers no moss,” Rick affirmed, extending the metaphor with his favorite botanical reference.
“Speaking of which—it looks like you’ve been on the move. You’ve got some fresh color in your face.”
“I just came back from an alpine getaway to a remote region of California. I’m not sure if you’re seeing more sunburn or windburn.”
“That sounds like an intriguing place for you to take a vacation.” Tian said, wondering if the color in Rick’s face might be from some other stimulus. “What was the attraction?”
“Mostly, the trip was to conduct some research and collect some new material for my home arboretum. I’ve cultivated an interest in bonsai over the years, and there was one particular species I wanted to add to
my collection.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in the art of bonsai. Did you know the word originally came from the Chinese word pentsai? In China, trees have long had a spiritual symbolism and were considered to be the link between heaven and earth. For many centuries, it was customary to plant long-lived trees on graves to strengthen the soul of the departed and to save the body from corruption.”
“I didn’t know that,” Rick admitted. “That’s quite fascinating.”
“I’d love to see your collection sometime.”
“I’ll bring one of my special pieces for your office the next time I see you.”
“I’d like that,” Tian said, disheartened that once again Rick had rejected her advances.
“What’s on your mind today?” Rick asked. “Your message had a tone of alarm.”
“Actually, I’m becoming concerned by the increase in protests that I’ve seen around the city pertaining to the Global Longevity Initiative. I’m not sure I like the pattern.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it, Tian,” Rick suggested. “From my experience, these protests seem to be contained to a relatively minor group of religious zealots operating here in Manhattan.”
“Normally, I’d agree. But yesterday there was a larger, much more boisterous group set up outside our main entrance, and they wouldn’t even let me pass until I called for security. I found it quite disconcerting.”
Rick suddenly remembered the second message he’d received upon returning to New York—from Mount Sinai’s Chief of Staff.
“Well if it’s the same group I’ve encountered, I think they’re fairly harmless. Except for their leader, Calvin James. He may be especially volatile, in view of the fact that his son is scheduled for a hypophysectomy later this week.”
“Yes, he can be frightening at the best of times. Thankfully, I didn’t see him this time.”
“Are you worried about anything in particular?” Rick asked.