Shrouded Destiny

by Richard William Bates

  "Thomas Jefferson—I'm sure most of you remember who he was,” he smiled over his reading glasses, “once said, I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. Jefferson was right then ... and, as is generally the case when one has uttered a truth, he is right today.

  "What we have before us here today is a plan that has at its core a flawed unspoken fundamental assumption. Not only a flawed assumption, but an inherently evil assumption. That assumption is that people are incapable of taking care of themselves, that people cannot be trusted to do what is best for their own lives, that people are essentially children who must be told what to do, how to behave, and how to live a moral life.

  "This assumption offends not only my intellect, but every aspect of that which makes me who and what I am. It offends me down to the core of my soul.

  "We have watched this trend, which began around the turn of the 20thcentury, gradually infuse itself into our national psyche. In the name of protecting us, those in power have merely grabbed for themselves more and more power to direct our lives, all the while smiling at us and telling us how they do all of this for our own benefit.

  "We have been told we are too stupid to make choices. We are presumed to be incapable of choosing the best education for our children, the best way to plan for our own retirement, the best way to help our fellow citizens who need financial assistance, the best way to raise our children, the best way to better our own health. Behind all of these assumptions lies the cynical belief that, left to his own mind and his own devices, Man cannot make moral or intelligent choices, or choices that will benefit his fellow man.

  "Given that underlying belief in the incompetence of people to do the right thing, governments around the world have slowly encroached upon the individual sovereign liberties of each of us, again, all in the name of making life better for us.

  "My public life has been guided by two sets of principles, both of which have grown increasingly out of favor, specially with the political class. Those two principles are the Ten Commandments, and the Constitution of the United States, the latter, as written, not as it has been reduced to mush by the disingenuous collaborators of despotism who would twist its words to the point they mean the opposite of their intent. Over the past thirty years, I have found myself fighting that battle with fewer and fewer allies in my corner.

  "The lie that says we cannot be trusted to make our own choices has been hammered into us as an unceasing drumbeat—over and over and over again—until many of us have begun to accept this premise without question. Like cattle, we are being meekly led to the slaughter under the guise of being led to a life of ease and comfort with little effort.

  "And now, Jesus appears to us, the culmination of decades of research in biological science. From the tiniest cell from the Shroud of Turin, the body of Jesus has been regrown. He walks, talks, thinks, acts, and speaks. We see this and reason to ourselves it is surely Him, since it is from his own blood that he has been delivered to us. How could it not be him? He comes to us offering to give us so much ... to take away the drudgery of living ... to bring a way of life in which we toil no longer ... and to organize a worldwide government to ensure that life of ease and comfort for us all.

  "In these hallowed halls, and in the halls of our brethren the House of Representatives, the spirit of America has been whittled away sliver by sliver. People have elected us to serve them ... yes serve ... them. Today, so many of my fellow senators and representatives see election to office not as a call to serve, but as the first step in a guaranteed jobs program. The most important concern becomes our own re-election rather than the requirements of those we are elected to serve. So how do you seduce them to continue to vote for you? You make promises. Not promises to strengthen our democracy or to secure our liberties, but promises of what they can have for doing nothing other than casting their ballot for you.

  "A better life is the goal of every one of us. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Indeed, it is a worthy and honorable goal. The desire to better his station in life is one of the qualities which separates man from the beasts. To simply work for his own day-to-day survival is the death knell of the spirit. I do not fault my fellow Americans for wanting the better things in life."

  Harold's voice grew loud and forceful as he said, “But to desire a better life without being willing to pay the price for it is the way of the thief!"

  Murmurs of protest rose from the assembled senate once again. How dare he! Harold ignored them.

  "Yes, I said the way of the thief! Only a thief wants what he has not earned. Only a thief would expect others to work so he might enjoy the fruits of their efforts. A thief, however, knows he is a thief and does not pretend to be anything else. The thief who takes from others in the name of the ‘betterment of his fellow man’ is not just a thief, he is a liar, as well."

  Harold paused and took a sip from the glass of water at his desk, allowing his words to sink in. He surveyed the room quickly, noticing the hard looks he was getting from senators on both sides of the aisle. He looked toward Stuart, who nodded and smiled back at him. Harold allowed the slightest trace of a smile to cross his lips. He pulled himself fully erect and continued.

  "Gentlemen, I do not come here to belittle or berate the intentions of this noble body. I speak here today because I have become convinced we stand at a critical fork in the road. For decades we have gradually moved away from a society in which self-sufficiency and personal responsibility are the order of the day, toward one where we look more and more to government to do the things which our forefathers took for granted we should and would do for ourselves.

  "But in our haste to remove the burdens of life, we have failed to notice that to do so has required us to relinquish more and more of our individual liberties to the great benefactor, government. This has not been by accident or ‘natural political evolution’ as our friends of the political class would have us believe. It has been by design.

  "Recently, we learned, from the priest Angelino, of the existence of an international organization known as The Council of Most Highs. The intent of this organization has been nothing short of the ultimate control of the entire global economy, and with it, the control of the lives of the people."

  "Mr. President, point of order,” Barbara Raleigh stood to be recognized by the chair.

  "The chair recognizes the senator from Virginia."

  "Thank you, Mr. President. The senator is as familiar with our rules as anyone, having served for over twenty years in this august body. He knows very well his comments must be germane to the bill we are debating. I fail to see the connection between this Council he speaks of, the existence which has hardly been proven, to the bill before us today."

  "Mr. President,” Harold said. “The bill in question stands to transform the role of the United States within the international community in a profound and far-reaching manner. Consequently, any debate on this bill must, of necessity, deal with equally broad issues, or else how are we to gauge the affects it will have on the citizens?"

  "The senator is seeking to delay a vote on this measure for reasons I'm sure I cannot fathom,” Ms. Raleigh countered.

  "That is not true,” Harold lied. “What I seek is a full examination of this bill, which seems to me to be a reasonable objective. If this bill is as good for the people as its proponents claim it is, I would think it would withstand a little debate. Mr. President. Fellow senators. The eyes of the world are upon us. The sessions of the Senate are being broadcast worldwide as we consider this momentous piece of legislation. Do we fear exposing this bill to the light of scrutiny? Are we to merely be stampeded into acquiescence on the crest of emotional manipulations of the advocates of this bill? I pray within this senate there still lies a hunger for truth and full disclosure. Know, however, if this senate does not retain that hunger, the American people surely do, and I most certainly do."

  "Mr. Presid
ent,” Ms. Raleigh began, but was cut off by the pounding of Jeremy Dale's gavel.

  "The chair will rule, now, Senator Raleigh. Thank you for your comments."

  Dale sat thoughtfully for a moment, his face grave and tense. Harold's comments were, as always, well within the framework of Senate rules. Barbara Raleigh new that, and he knew she knew it. Her point of order was not made because she seriously considered Harold out of order, but more to disrupt the flow of his remarks, a common tactic in senatorial debate. Sometimes this tactic backfired, however. Many senators were not very good speechmakers and the other senators’ minds would wander, never really focusing on the points being made. Interruptions tended to snap people out of their daze and return them to the discussion at hand, not always the desired outcome. Harold, however, was an effective speaker, so the tactic made some sense in this case.

  Dale understood what was happening here. Harold was going to filibuster this bill. Why, he did not know, but the intent was clear. It was apparently equally clear to Raleigh and other supporters of the measure. Knowing he was being watched by the international community, and equally mindful of his potential role as Crowley's successor, he hated having to make such a ruling. Weighing all of this in his mind, he decided he would profit more from a stance of statesmanship than by appearing opposed to open debate.

  "The chair rules Senator Bennett's comments are in order,” Dale decreed, slamming the gavel down to punctuate the ruling.

  "Thank you, Mr. President,” Harold nodded toward him. He took another sip of water and prepared to continue his remarks.

  * * * *

  "SO FAR SO good,” Ray said to Arnold, as they both watched the proceedings in the Senate chamber on the C-SPAN channel.

  Arnold nodded his agreement. He and the others had no illusions about the battle they were waging. They all knew they were fighting an elephant with a pea shooter, but it was hard sometimes to not succumb to the reassuring thought little David slew the mighty Goliath with nothing more than a sling and a stone. If the stakes were really as Angelino had presented them, then perhaps it was not unreasonable to hope for some Divine intervention. Clearly, without such intervention, there was little hope of winning this battle, let alone the war.

  "Do you think the other senators expected the filibuster?"

  "It's hard to say, Arnold, but I suspect they didn't. Everyone has been caught up in Jesus Fever, not really expecting any opposition to anything Jesus would propose. But I'll bet pretty soon, it will dawn on them they are about to be filibustered, and they're not going to like it much."

  "Well,” Ray added, “the good news is this is being picked up by almost all the major broadcast networks and all the cable news networks and is being beamed all over the world. When you have an audience of that size, you never know who you might gain as an ally."

  "Yes,” Arnold agreed. “But will that be enough?"

  "It had better be,” Ray said gravely. “We don't have much more than that in our arsenal. We are bucking not only the ultimate figurehead, Jesus, but the momentum of decades of political movement toward a unified world government. That's a hell of a strong tide to turn."

  * * * *

  THE TRAVELERS MADE better time than they had expected and it was mid afternoon when they approached the city of Indore. The day had been mild and slightly breezy, which had made the journey quite enjoyable, even for Monsignor Cassidy, who was grateful this leg of the journey had been downhill and had been quite vocal in expressing that appreciation, much to the amusement of the others.

  Susan had noticed Nicole remained very quiet during this last leg of their journey, keeping mostly to herself. This was quite out of character, as Nicole had earned the reputation of a chatterbox among the group. Susan suspected the others were grateful for the relative silence, but she wondered what was on Nicole's devious mind.

  As they entered the city, they were greeted by a smiling group of residents. Angelino walked up and was greeted warmly by all. They all knew him and regarded him with great affection, which was returned in kind.

  "Everyone, come on over,” Angelino called out. As they headed over to Angelino, he pulled one of the villagers out of the group.

  "I'd like you all to meet Eli.” Then he guided a second man out of the group and said, “And this is his brother, Bartholomew. They will be joining us on our journey."

  "It is good to meet you all,” Eli said, smiling broadly and shaking hands with all of them.

  "Welcome to Indore,” Bartholomew said warmly. “We do not get many visitors, so I hope you will forgive the curiosity of our neighbors."

  Susan noticed the group of people behind Eli was growing larger as more and more of the villagers got wind of visitors. All seemed delighted to see them.

  Angelino stopped suddenly. His eyes locked with those of a beautiful woman with long, flowing black hair. She stood tall and proud, almost regal, Susan thought. A broad smile covered the woman's face. “Punji!” she called out, and moved toward him, her arms outstretched.

  "Punji?” Susan said to Cassidy with a grin. He smiled and shrugged in response.

  Angelino moved toward her and took her hands in his tenderly. “Maribella, you look as beautiful as the last time I saw you. How long has it been now ... twenty years?"

  "Thirty,” Maribella corrected him playfully. “It is not polite for a gentleman to leave a lady waiting for his return for so long a period of time,” she beamed.

  Angelino laughed heartily. “Indeed, it is not, my dear. I have had a few things I needed to do which have kept me busier than I would have liked."

  "Father is looking forward to seeing you again, Punji,” Maribella said happily. “Oh, here he is now."

  A small, frail old gentleman shuffled through the crowd toward Angelino. His face lit up as if it were his son he was welcoming. Angelino's face took on an expression of deep respect and affection as he embraced the old man.

  "Raji, my old friend,” he said affectionately. “You look well."

  "I look nothing of the sort, but it is kind of you to say so,” Raji laughed gently. The two gazed into each other's eyes for a moment. The old man's eyes sparkled with joy. “I have anxiously awaited this day, my friend. Welcome back to Indore. We have missed you."

  "It is good to be back,” Angelino said, his voice thick with emotion. “Everything seems as it was the last time I was here.” Angelino surveyed the village.

  "There has been little reason to change what has always served us happily,” Raji said.

  "God, I love this place,” Angelino sighed. “I do not think I was ever happier than the time I spent here."

  "May Indore continue to bring you as much happiness during this stay,” Raji said.

  Angelino snapped out of his reverie. “Where are my manners? Let me introduce you to everybody. This is Monsignor Cassidy.” Angelino tapped Cassidy's belly and added, “We're working on reducing that a bit. Over here, the big-guy mountain there is Billy Red Deer, Sioux shaman. The little guy with the big smile is Imahoptec of the Aztec nation. And this little one here is Nicole Chambleau. She's not really sure why she is here yet, but she's figuring it out."

  "And this...” Maribella walked over to Susan and took her hands in hers warmly, “this must be the one we have been waiting for."

  The one? Nicole was shocked by that reference to Susan. What did they mean by ... the one? It had a reverent sound that made her feel uncomfortable.

  Susan immediately felt affection for this woman. Her deep brown eyes were filled with wisdom and love. Her face was round and smooth. Susan guessed her to be about thirty, but then with a jolt realized that couldn't be. Angelino had known this woman thirty years ago, so she must have been considerably older than that, at least in her fifties. Life in the valley obviously agreed with her.

  "Maribella, you are very kind,” Susan finally responded. “I must say, you are a bit of a surprise to me."

  Maribella looked toward Angelino and smiled. “So our Punji has not spoken to you of
us. I guess I should not be too surprised. He has always liked to keep his little secrets. It was a habit we could never quite break him of."

  "Now, now, Maribella,” Raji interceded. “We must not be so critical of our prodigal son after so long an absence."

  What a wonderful place, Susan found herself thinking. She had been in the village for no more than five minutes and already she was feeling a sense of belonging, as if there were some primal link between her and this place. She noticed the others seemed equally at ease here.

  "Thank you, Raji,” Angelino chuckled. “I have never been a match for her. It has always taken two or more to be her equal.” Susan was seeing a side of Angelino she had had been unaware of. There had always been a playfulness beneath the surface with him, but here he seemed to be able to let down his guard entirely and just allow himself to be young and uninhibited. It was easy to forget that outside of this village was a world in a dire struggle for its soul.

  Susan got right into the spirit of things. “Well, it is nice to see somebody give Father Angelino as good as he dishes out."

  Maribella laughed. “Who do you think taught him how to dish it out?"

  "Come,” Raji gestured. “Let us eat. You must be hungry from your journey."

  "Now you're talking,” Cassidy grinned.

  Even the stoic Billy Red Deer found himself laughing at Cassidy's comment.

  "Terianna will be so glad to see you again,” Raji said to Angelino as he placed his arm over his shoulder and began leading them to his home. “She has not been able to stop talking about you since we learned you were coming. She has prepared your favorite curry dish. How long has it been since you've had some authentic Indian cooking?"

  "Too long, my old friend,” Angelino responded nostalgically. “Much too long."

  * * * *

  "I THOUGHT YOU told me the bill would be passed without a fight,” Jesus demanded. “Does this look like ‘without a fight’ to you?” He pointed at the television display in the Oval Office of Harold addressing the Senate.