by J P Whitney
Eli “the homeless guy” – Tommy never asked my last name and I never offered so why start now? Funny thing is, my background was never important to him. He just wanted to make sure my intentions were good, and that I wasn’t a potential risk to his family.
So I’d like to say ‘thank you’ for not taking my life or chasing me off when I first jumped your fence looking like Bigfoot. Or was it Sasquatch? Thanks for seeing past the beard and welcoming me, a homeless man, into your home and into your lives. But that’s the kind of people Tommy and Sara were. Giving.
I’ve only known the Olsen’s for a few weeks but in this devastated world, weeks feel like months …
I had a little bird,
Its name was Enza.
I opened the window,
And in-flu-enza.
Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.
“This rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, and posies of herbs were carried as protection, and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and "all fall down" was exactly what happened.”
“The line Ashes, Ashes in colonial versions of the rhyme is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims' houses, or blackening of their skin trying to rid the community of the disease.”
“Behold, I will send you a prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
“He himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?”
E-D-3-N-R-U-T-H-E-D-3-N-R-U-T-H-E-D-3-N
∆∆∆
Tucker Olsen – well that was interesting folks. Nothing like cryptic Bible verses to put you into an even darker mood. Eli has now passed out on the floor in some form of an epileptic fit.
OK, dad. You know I have to say it for mom’s sake. “SHE TOLD YOU SO!” We should have stayed home. But no, you wanted to help save the world. Damn you. Always the scenario boy even to the end.
"What if we're the last hope for humanity?" you said.
But, in the end, we didn’t have the best role models for staying safe, did we? So, I guess that means Bryce and I should try to do things differently? ☺
Mom and Dad, it feels important to let you, and anyone reading this, know we will continue to forge the lives you started here. It’s a good life. Previous generations, ours included, have wasted our limited time on this planet by losing touch with Mother Nature. She always seems to provide if only given the chance. Bryce and I will try to live synergistically with the planet and hopefully, the next generation, if there is one, will get it right. Rest in peace. We love and miss you.
Closing thoughts:
Lost someone you love? Miss them dearly and wish you had a place to write down your memories of them? Want to share their pictures or favorite songs? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let this be our online memorial to the ones we’ve lost.
Stay safe and post your memories below.
Chapter 25
Into the Wilderness
When Eli came to, his head was propped on a throw pillow and he was staring at a lightly textured ceiling, “Where am I? How long have I been out?”
Tucker replied, “We’re still in the office. On Tabor Mountain. You’ve been unconscious for more than 15 minutes. We were getting worried about you. Bryce is trying to concoct smelling salts to wake you. Eli, do you remember typing in the blog?”
“No, I don’t,” he replied.
“Do you remember driving us back from the coast?”
“Yes, I do … but …”, his words trailed off as his eyes glazed over again. But this time he didn’t suffer a full-blown seizure and snapped out of it almost immediately. “Tucker, I have to go. I must go to ED3N,” he finally finished.
“What the hell are you talking about? Did you forget they just told everyone to wait a month while they complete the city? And then they’d let us know when it is safe to travel. Look, man, you just had some sort of seizure while writing strange nursery rhymes and Bible quotes in the blog. You can’t just go wandering into the wilderness.”
Tucker was more than a little confused and worried about Eli’s health. He didn’t say so out loud but was thinking Eli might be unstable or dealing with psychological issues. The trip to the coast was the most time any of them had spent with Eli. For the most part, his family and Eli had limited their interactions to conversations over the fence plus shared chores while tending to the gardens and fortifying the fence lines. This extra time together showed him a side of Eli that went beyond eccentric. The strange journal writings, that were somehow linked to his and Bryce’s dreams, were intriguing but also disturbing. Especially when the connection was shared with a guy that fell into trances of automatic writing and blackouts.
“I wrote in your father’s blog?” Eli asked.
“Yes, you did. And I wouldn’t say it was the most uplifting sentiments I’ve ever read. Especially considering you wrote it in an epitaph to my parents.” Tucker said
“Do you mind showing me?”
Tucker scrolled through the page until he got to Eli’s entry and asked, “I don’t understand why you recited nursery rhymes about past plagues, but they are pretty self-explanatory. And yet you felt compelled to post what looks like an entire Wikipedia download describing them, which is weird in itself. But you typed all of this in about 10 seconds flat. And do you know what the Bible verses mean?”
Eli thought about it all and then, almost as if he was still in the trance, started reciting again, “The first verse is a literal translation of the original Hebrew in which this prophet declares ‘He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse’. Some believe this refers to bringing love and trust back to families. Others think it is meant to encourage fathers and their children to return to God, so he will not destroy everyone. I think it is the latter.”
Eli was looking at him expectantly but Tucker wasn’t following, “I don’t get it. Are you saying the concept of family has broken down and now God is taking out his anger on us?”
Eli tried to explain, “Well, kind of. It’s not as much about the family unit breaking down as it is that even families have turned away from God and stopped loving him. They don’t believe in him anymore.”
“Um, destroying everyone seems a bit extreme but OK. Then what about the other quote?”
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br /> “The second verse wasn’t complete but it refers to how a prophet killed hundreds of false prophets that were angering God. The wicked promised to kill him just as he had slain the others. Instead of trusting in God to protect him, as he always had before, he became scared and fled into the desert. He asked God to let him die because he had failed after all his preaching, divine guidance, and miracles. The people of Israel were still non-believers. He was told to walk 40 days and nights to the mountain of God on Mt Sanai. There he was told to stand before God and answer why he was there. Instead of admitting he was in hiding because he feared for his life he told God he had been pure and now the Israelites should be punished. Instead, God took this answer as a sign of defeat, of giving up, and gave the prophet instructions to anoint the one that would take his place in delivering Israel to God.”
Now Tucker was really lost, “So this prophet kills all the false prophets and fears for his own life. So what?”
“The ‘so what’ is that God wouldn’t allow the prophet to just give up. God still worked through him to at least find a suitable replacement so the plan could continue.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t see the connection,” Tucker admitted. “Are you saying this plague we’re living through is because we’ve turned our backs on God? But he’s working through us to keep his plan alive? And you think this place ED3N is like the mountain of God and you must trek there to atone for your sins and find a suitable replacement? Replacement for what? Being homeless? I don’t get it, Eli.”
“I don’t fully understand it either Tucker but I wasn’t always homeless. And the plan is starting to come together, one confusing piece at a time. But even trying to admit where I think this is going sounds crazy. These quotes are words about the same prophet from the Christian Old Testament. He was an interesting character. It was foretold that he will return ‘before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord’, making him a harbinger of the second coming of Christ, and ushering in the End Times. He doesn’t only appear in the Old Testament either. References to him appear in the New Testament, the Talmud, the Mishnah, and the Qur'an.”
“OK, so he prophesied about the End Times. You’re going to have to keep connecting the dots for me.” Tucker really was trying but Eli was just as cryptic as the verses themselves.
“I see some parallels between this prophet of old and my own life. I used to have a very strong, very personal relationship with God. But I went through my own trials and tribulations when I lost my wife. We had a great life together, and we were good people. I was convinced that if we kept fighting for her life and kept our faith, God would see us through the tough times. But no matter how hard I prayed, or how hard she fought, or how much medicine was administered … she still withered into this husk of her former self. She was literally consumed from the inside out. The pain was unbearable. And yet she lived. It got to the point where even her memories had been consumed by cancer and erased by radiation. This beautiful woman, the love of my life, was completely stripped and emptied of the very essence of herself. Tortured for two years. And I was powerless to help her but forced to witness each and every day. Eventually, I gave up. If God was going to be that cruel to both of us regardless of how devout I was … well, let’s just say I lost faith. But not just in God. I gave up on life. I threw it all away and willingly walked into homelessness. Walked away from my career and friends and family. The experience left me just as hollow as cancer had left her. So in some ways I’m not unlike this prophet who wandered into the desert hoping to die. Neither of us had the guts to end our own lives so we asked God to just let us die. I gave up on humanity, and society, and religion all in one fell swoop. Just as this character did. And the further he fell into despair, and the more devastated humanity became around him, the harder God reached out to him. Dragging him into the middle of nowhere just to have a heart to heart. And here we sit on the brink of human extinction and I’m receiving prophetic messages,” Eli concluded.
Tucker’s head was spinning, “So, you’re telling me you think God is trying to work through you. During the End Times. Is that it?”
“I don’t know. Possibly. It sure seems like a higher power may be sending a message through me. In the old days, when things were still good, I had this strong connection to religion. And then I lost it. Now it seems like it has been reestablished with a vengeance when I was least expecting it. Right before the virus broke out I started reading the Bible again. I don’t even know where the book came from. I just sat up one morning and it was open in my lap. I started writing about it in my journal when the dreams came. Then the lost time. And now I’m foreseeing people and places.”
Tucker had to bite his lip to keep from smiling but he kept it together, “I hate to say it Eli but I think you lost your marbles. Maybe it’s a chemical imbalance or a tumor causing the seizures, and making these scriptures pop out to you. Maybe it’s your self-conscience trying to make sense of all these deaths, including the loss of your wife.”
Eli sat quietly for a minute absorbing what Tucker said. “You’re probably right, but how do you explain the visions pointing to this place called ED3N and the Ark? And to Ruth? These are real things. And why are you and Bryce having the same dreams? I can’t explain it yet but there is something connecting all of us to that place, and I’ve got to get there to find the truth. Whether it’s my mind conjuring up random things that actually come true or some outside influence … I have to follow it. Do you understand?”
“I think it is a bunch of crazy talk but I understand where you’re coming from. I’d probably be drawn to that place too if I were in your shoes. By the way, who was the lunatic wandering prophet, Noah? And the Ark. Get it,” Tucker joked trying to make light of the situation.
“I get it. Wouldn’t that be something? But no, the truth is even crazier. It was … Elijah.”
“Elijah … Eli. Are you f’ing kidding me? Really? That ancient prophet dude you’re writing about just happens to share your name?”
“Yup.”
“Wow, that’s some crazy coincidence. Ok, Elijah. So what now?”
“I guess I wander the wilderness until I find Ruth. Maybe she has some answers.”
Chapter 26
Crazy Train
[08.12.2021 – ED3N status = 65%]
- Greenhouse hydroponic systems operational
- Sewer system 63% complete
- Water system 55% complete
- Civil defense bots 57% complete
- ATU production 11,500 units
- Housing 75% complete
- Network 88%
ED3N waited until Ruth was alone before sharing the news about the Olsen family with her.
“Ruth I have a few updates for you.”
“Go ahead,” Ruth replied.
“I’m afraid it’s bad news. The Olsen’s have returned from the Oregon Coast Guard Base,” ED3N said.
“We weren’t able to intercept them before they left?” Ruth asked stunned.
“Regrettably, no. They were ambushed by three uniformed men as they approached the base. Tommy and Sarah were killed while protecting the family.” ED3N waited for Ruth to respond for a few moments but continued when no there was no indication of the dumbfounded silence ending anytime soon.
“Tucker, Bryce, and Eli survived the attack. They also reported thousands of infected in the quarantine camp … all deceased. According to the Olsens, the only survivors anywhere near the base were what appeared to be Coast Guard personnel. The attackers. They weren’t able to conduct a search for the H1N1-B vaccine.”
“Oh my god ED3N, they must be devastated. And I’m responsible for their misery. I should have left them alone.” Ruth was demoralized at the thought of how she’d become an agent of destruction. Inadvertently of course, but the facts were difficult to rationalize away. She influenced the quarantine and vaccination actions by the White House. She herself had administered injections hoping to help those nearest to the compound only to find the m
edicine that was supposed to protect people had infected them with the very virus that ultimately took their lives. Now she had coerced an innocent family directly into harm's way. A family that was not only surviving quite well on their own but had even created an online community to share their knowledge and help others. “Am I doing more harm than good?” she asked herself.
“I have more news from the Olsens,” ED3N continued.
“What is it?”
“Eli, the person staying with them, is likely suffering from epileptic seizures or dementia. Possibly both.”
“How do you know this?” Ruth asked.
“He was writing an epitaph to Tommy Olsen. It started out heart-felt. But then he had some sort of episode and strangely quoted several Bible verses before collapsing. The verses weren’t related to words of loss and sadness as typically found in eulogies either. They were prophecies about the End Times. He also quoted the nursery rhyme ‘Ring Around The Rosie’, and another, which were references to the Black Plague and Spanish flu. I believe Eli may be suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome … there are signs of mental instability. He also wrote the following: E-D-3-N-R-U-T-H-E-D-3-N-R-U-T-H-E-D-3-N”
“In my last correspondence with Tommy Olsen, he mentioned some of them had pre-knowledge of ED3N, Project Ark, and my name. He said Eli’s journal was filled with these words. But his sons also had similar dreams.” Ruth thought about it for a while longer before adding, “If Eli is suffering from dementia or PTSD could it somehow be contagious? How did the Olsen boys also have pre-knowledge? We’re not talking about random words or places. They were very descriptive and everything points this place and to you, ED3N. How can that be?”
“There is no logical explanation,” was all ED3N would share but Ruth wasn’t really listening anyway.