“Certainly, all that we see won’t be pleasant; indeed, much will be dark and corrupted. But we’ll also be able to see beyond the corruption to its root. And as we understand what has made each of us what we are, we’ll quickly lose our hatred for one another. We’ll come to realize that understanding others is just as great a blessing as being understood.”
The excitement in Milner’s voice grew with every sentence and it was contagious. Opening the Bible that Christopher had set on the coffee table, he continued. “The Apostle Paul put it beautifully in First Corinthians.”
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.[14]
Milner put the Bible down and continued. “As we learn to speak and listen with our hearts, true cooperation will begin. There is no end to what we’ll be able to do when we really work together![15] But even this is only the beginning! Merely the foredawn of the glorious New Age!” Milner was nearly out of his seat.
“As the transcendent dawn becomes full, we will grow beyond the realm of our physical bodies. To call that form ‘spirit’ would not be inappropriate, but that term is limited by what we can now imagine; and it’s so much more! The solar system, the galaxy, indeed the very universe, will be ours! We’ll do things and travel to places, times, and dimensions unimaginable!”
Never had Decker imagined the awesome magnitude of the promise this New Age held. In that brief moment, he swore himself to its fulfillment.
“And yet,” Milner continued, his tone now changing to one of caution, “all this could be torn from us. The next few years will determine whether we boldly enter the glorious light of the New Age or retreat into the darkness of our hatred and fear. If the latter course is chosen, on that day we will surely begin to die as a species, and eventually, man will certainly destroy himself and the Earth with him.”
“‘Man must evolve or perish,’” Christopher said, introspectively. “That’s what my father told me in the desert: ‘Man must evolve or perish.’”
“Even as we see the emergence of so great a promise as the New Age,” Milner continued, “we also see the specter of a hideous and macabre threat. History, it has been said, is the record of man’s inhumanity to man. Our recent history certainly bears grim witness to that: the destruction of Russia, the China-India-Pakistan War. And even where there is no war, there is individual brutality. Violent crime has risen dramatically each year since the Disaster,” he said, referring to the day seventeen years earlier when nearly one-fifth of the world’s population had suddenly and mysteriously died.
“Does the Disaster have something to do with all of this?” Decker asked.
“What I’m saying is that as the New Age approaches, the old age struggles to hold on. It’s not that the age in itself has any power, but rather that humankind, sensing the coming of something new and unknown, foolishly grasps onto what it knows, no matter how self-destructive it may be. We cling to our past like a man holding to the mast of a sinking ship rather than swimming to a nearby lifeboat. By appealing to this fear of the unknown, John and Cohen have perverted the KDP.”
“If the KDP is just misled,” Decker reasoned, “then the real threat is only from John and Cohen!” Looking at Christopher, he asked, “Can’t you just do something like you did with Albert Faure? If they’re really going to cause all that destruction, then surely it’s justified for you to take some kind of preemptive action!”
Milner answered for Christopher. “Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Entry into the New Age must be a conscious choice. No one can be forced or dragged into it. Evolution, as the world has experienced it to this point,” Milner explained, “is ‘material evolution.’ That is, the force of evolution has caused physical changes, with creatures progressing along divergent paths of advancement. There was never any choice involved: Those species that adapted and evolved survived; those that did not, perished. The path of material evolution has achieved its full realization; the next and final step is not material but spiritual evolution. That’s why there must be a choice. Choice is both the impetus and catalyst to allow the change to begin. We must each choose for ourselves either to enter the New Age or to remain in the past.
“Eliminating John and Cohen wouldn’t facilitate a correct decision; it would simply remove the possibility of choice. It may seem ironic, but without the option of choosing to remain in the present age, it’s impossible to enter the new one.”
“So you’re saying, in effect, John and Cohen are a necessary evil?”
Milner nodded. “I admire your succinctness,” he said. “Had it not been John and Cohen, it would have been someone or something else. The ‘evil’ is necessary for the ‘good’ to emerge.”
“But if choice is required, what about the KDP? They’ve obviously made the wrong choice, yet they’ve already entered the New Age.”
“Just because the manifestations are most evident in the KDP,” Milner countered, “doesn’t mean they have entered the New Age. No one enters the New Age apart from everyone else; the threshold must be crossed as a species, not as individuals. The choice is still theirs to continue to follow John and Cohen, or to follow Christopher. The same choice will be offered to everyone.
“I don’t know the exact timing,” Milner continued. “The opportunity will come only when the world is ready to decide. I do know that until then, John and Cohen must be allowed to do their worst. Only in that way will humankind be prepared to take the step of volition that is required.”
“So, basically what you’re saying is that Christopher can’t give the world the choice to stop beating their heads against the wall until they’ve so bloodied themselves that they’re willing to stop?”
“Uh . . . yes,” Milner said, with a hint of a smile. “Once again I compliment your ability to cut to the heart of the matter.”
“Okay,” Decker said, “just one more question . . . for now anyway.”
Milner listened.
“How do you know all this stuff?”
“That’s a very long story. Suffice it to say that we can be sure that despite John and Cohen’s powers, there is at least one thing they have claimed that is patently false: Saul Cohen doesn’t come in the power and spirit of the prophet Elijah . . . I do.”
“Meaning what?” Decker prodded.
“You remember that Alice Bernley had a spirit guide whom she called Master Djwlij Kajm or sometimes ‘the Tibetan.’” Decker nodded. “When Alice died, her spirit guide came to me. During the sixteen months I was in Israel, before you and Christopher arrived, I went through a period of preparation under Djwlij Kajm’s guidance. At the conclusion of that period, in a process that’s a bit difficult to explain, I received into myself the spirit of Elijah. We are both here.”
Decker cocked his head, still bound by his skeptical propensities.
“Jewish prophecy,” Milner explained, “says that Elijah, who was the greatest of all of the Jewish prophets, would return.[16] According to his successor, Elijah didn’t die, but was taken up alive into heaven.[17] That’s why Saul Cohen claims that he comes in the spirit and power of Elijah. He intends to counterfeit the return to the Jewish people. But, in fact, that is impossible because the spirit of Elijah dwells here within me. We are one. I am his mouth and he is my eyes.”
“So, you know everything that’s going to happen?” Decker asked.
“The knowledge is within us,” Milner said, referring in the plural to himself and the one who possessed him. “But there is a veil beyond which I have been forbidden to look. I suspect that Elijah is protecting me from something. When the time is right, the veil will be lifted.”
Decker exhaled through pursed lips. “So where do we go from here?” he asked.
“Do we just sit and wait while John and Cohen wreak havoc?”
“Not at all,” Milner answered.
“Then, what? Do we reveal who Christopher is and put the religion of the New Age on the fast track, or what?”
“No,” Christopher answered. “The New Age isn’t about replacing one religion with another. In fact, it’s just the opposite. This is about humankind coming to rely upon itself, upon the god that’s within all of us.
“Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people, but he was wrong. Religion isn’t the opiate, it’s the incendiary of the people! Never is evil done so well as when it’s done in the name of religion! Never is cruelty so absolute as when it’s empowered by self-righteous anger! Never has so convenient an excuse as religion been found for one man to rob or murder another! Hindus murder Muslims, Muslims murder Jews, Catholics murder Protestants, Buddhists murder Hindus . . . there’s just no end.”
For a moment there was profound silence as Decker pondered, amazed that he had never considered these things. Now it all seemed so obvious. It was, after all, religious differences that had served as the line of demarcation in the war between India and Pakistan and as a key factor in China’s support of Pakistan.
“In answer to your question, Decker,” Milner interjected, “what must be done is not religious. It is rather, political. The first step is Christopher’s election as primary from Europe. We require the votes of eighteen countries in the European region. Much has already been done toward that goal, and I believe he has that many votes already.”
The news caught Decker by surprise. “Can you be sure?”
“Over the past week, since our return from Israel, I’ve met with many European members. They’re quite impressed, as are most of the members, with Christopher’s handling of the situation with Faure. But even more important,” Milner continued, “has been the magnificent way Christopher has stepped into the position of acting-primary. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were elected unanimously.[18]
“At the proper time,” Milner continued, “the second step will be Christopher’s election as secretary-general. Much of the foundation has already been laid through years of work by myself and by the Lucius Trust. I believe we can already count on the support of more than a third of the general membership and at least four members of the Security Council.”
“All those people know about Christopher?”
“Only those in whom I have the utmost trust. The rest have only nebulous imaginations of the New Age and a vague knowledge that a mighty leader of that age is coming, one whose right and destiny it is to rule the Earth as a benevolent and compassionate sovereign.”
Chapter 2
Closed Circles
Nine weeks later
New York
The waiter at the Wan Fu Chinese restaurant on Second and Forty-third near the UN brought the check and four fortune cookies. As was his long-time habit, Decker waited to take the last one, as though that might increase the odds that the fortune he got was actually his and not just the result of hastily grabbing the wrong cookie.
“Mine says, ‘You’ll soon be embarking on a long journey,’” Jackie Hansen said.
“Mine says the same thing,” said Jody MacArthur, one of the secretarial staff who worked for Decker.
“Great!” Jackie replied. “Where shall we go?”
“Well, while you two are off on your journey, I’m going to be here spending my winnings from the lottery,” said Debbie Marz, Decker’s lead administrative assistant.
“Why? What does yours say?” Jody asked.
“It says, ‘A small investment could result in major returns.’ And my horoscope said that today is a good day to take a risk. It sounds to me like it’s a perfect day to buy a lottery ticket.”
“I’ll go with you,” Decker said. “You don’t mind if I play the same numbers?”
“What, and have to split the winnings? Sorry, sir; you’re on your own.”
“What does yours say, Decker?” Jackie asked.
“It says, ‘You like Chinese food.’”
“No, really,” Jackie laughed. Decker handed her the fortune and she read it. “He’s right,” she told the others.
“Well, it was you who picked Chinese,” Debbie Marz concluded.
The weather seemed particularly agreeable as they left the restaurant. The bright sun gently coaxed the air to a delicate early spring warmth. Birds flew overhead and pecked at crumbs on the sidewalks around them. Street vendors peddled sunglasses, neckties, pepper spray, New York City souvenirs, and flowers. It was hard for Decker to imagine that the events predicted by John and Cohen would actually occur. For a while it had been all he thought about. For several nights after Christopher’s election as Europe’s primary member on the Security Council, Decker had hardly slept because of persistent nightmares. Now, two months later, the thought of worldwide destruction seemed unimaginable. Perhaps, he thought, the damage would just be localized. It’s a big planet. Maybe it would happen somewhere else, not here. A little distance could make all the difference in the world. After all, even the China-India-Pakistan War, as bad as it was, had only marginal effect on life here in New York. Sure, there was a lot of work going on at the UN aimed at rebuilding the affected countries, caring for the sick, and providing life completion services for those suffering from the most serious radiation-related illness, but such discussions took place in comfortable meeting rooms where the worst that had to be endured were the stories and photographs of other people’s suffering. It wasn’t that Decker didn’t care about those directly affected by the war, it was just that as he looked around on this beautiful spring day the thought of such things seemed so remote. Today, right now, there was only spring.
As frequently happened when left to own his thoughts for very long, Decker began to think of Elizabeth and his daughters. The years since their deaths in the Disaster only seemed to intensify his longing. Elizabeth loved spring. They met in spring. That had been forty-four years ago, but thinking back, he could feel every emotion as if it were occurring only now.
Just ahead on the sidewalk, there was a noisy commotion as a small crowd gathered around a bearded man. Jackie, Jody, and Debbie all slowed to look. Decker — pulled back from his memories — did the same. Just as he became aware of what was happening, the bearded man turned and looked directly at him. The man’s forehead seemed covered with blood. Decker recognized the marks.
“Religion is not the cause of evil, Mr. Hawthorne,” the man began. “But evil men use religion to disguise their deeds in a cloak of righteousness. As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives, he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but would rather that they turn from their ways and live.”[19]
“Keep walking!” Decker pressed his companions as he reached out, quickly gathering them up and herding them along.
On the sidewalk in front of the United Nations they saw two more KDP, both with small groups of curious listeners gathered around them. As Decker soon learned, all but a few thousand of the Koum Damah Patar had left Israel and spread out to countries all around the world. Their primary targets appeared to be cities with large Jewish populations, and New York had one of the largest.
Two months later
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sitting alone in the lab at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, University of Mississippi graduate student Mary Ludford rubbed her eyes and took another swallow of lukewarm coffee from the cup she had owned since she was fourteen. It was her only souvenir of her father, who had abandoned her and her mother eight years before. Her mother had sold everything else that belonged to him to make ends meet, and what they couldn’t sell they burned, smashed, or threw away. Her mother never understood why Mary kept the cup, and Mary wasn’t quite sure herself. She had bought it at an antique store for her father on Father’s Day a year before he left. On the cup was a panel from Calvin and Hobbes, his favorite comic strip from when he was a child. It was an unauthorized rip-off of
the comic’s trademark, as counterfeit as her father’s love. Of one thing she was certain: If not the caffeine in the coffee, then the bitterness of the memories the cup held would always drive away the sleep. At this moment, however, her mind was far from her hatred for her father.
For several hours she had been studying computer-enhanced images on the ultra-high resolution monitor before her, plotting the positions of some of the galaxies most distant from the Earth. The images, captured by electronic detectors sensitive enough to register a single photon of light, had been taken from the 120-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in California. As part of her thesis project, Mary Ludford was analyzing the amount of redshift registered from a number of the galaxies in order to calculate their rate of recession away from the Earth. The redshift effect, discovered by astronomer Edwin Hubble, results from the fact that as the universe expands and other galaxies recede relative to the position of the Milky Way, light from those galaxies is either more or less red depending on their distance from the observer. As a result, the amount of redshift is used as a kind of cosmic tape measure to determine both distance and speed away from the Earth.
Mary confined her study to a small region on the edge of one of the voids of space located by the naked eye in the constellation Boötes. As she moved to the next image, she found something unexpected. Three points of light appeared not to be moving away from the Earth, but toward it. Quickly she skipped ahead to two other images of the same area that had been taken two and four hours after the first. Both of them had the same three points of light. There was only one logical explanation, but when she checked a recent update of the Astrological Survey she found that no known major asteroids should have appeared in the area.
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