"What the anti-Christ did not know was in our physical form, we could not have contributed to his defeat. He dwells in physical form because he knows he has no power here. His power lies purely in his ability to tap the baser nature of mankind ... a nature that has been nurtured and propagated by his agents on earth, led by the Exalted Council of Most Highs. By releasing us from the bonds of that plane, he allowed us to manifest the very thing he thought he was destroying ... Christ on earth. There is no evil that can overcome the Christ, which you carry within you, Susan. The seed has been planted, and it shall grow within you now.
"You, Susan, will give birth to the new Christ child, who will build a kingdom of love and beauty upon the ashes of the destruction which the anti-Christ has wreaked upon the earth. Indeed, before Christ could come again, the old way had to be laid bare so Christ could build anew. Your duty now is to protect and nurture the life which now grows within you, to guide it in its development until the time when the Christ spirit can be quickened within it.
"You have accepted that responsibility willingly and the domain of Spirit extends to you its deepest thanks and gratitude. Your days ahead will not be easy. You will be faced with severe temptations and grave challenges. The anti-Christ will soon know of that which you carry within you and will do all he can to destroy both you and the life you carry within. Darkness cannot coexist with even the smallest flicker of light. All the anti-Christ is will be threatened by the Light, and he will not yield without resistance. Remember all you have learned. The fate of all mankind ... of the world of Spirit, Itself ... rests in your hands and the hands of the child you shall bear.
"While our mission has been accomplished, our job is not yet finished. The Twelve Knights of the Ascension exist now to serve you and the Christ child you will bear. Call upon us as you need us.
"Go with God, now, Susan. Put yourself in His hands, and all will transpire as it must."
With that, Angelino and the Knights of the Ascension faded from view, leaving Susan alone in the temple with Raji.
Again, Susan felt woozy. She swooned, but regained her balance when Raji rushed to assist her.
"You will experience some disorientation for a little while, my dear,” he said. “Perhaps we should get you back to the house so you can lie down.” He led her out of the temple. She did not resist. She did feel quite exhausted and the idea of sleep was a welcome one to her.
So, it was accomplished at last, she thought through the haziness of her consciousness. What will it be like to carry a child, she wondered. So many women she knew had spoken of the experience with such joy and happiness. As she had told Angelino a few weeks earlier, she had never really given the matter much thought, but as she had contemplated her role in gestating the Christ child, she had thought about it frequently. Perhaps it was her biological clock, or maybe just the realization she would experience motherhood after all, but Susan looked forward to the experience with great joy and anticipation, even beyond the special circumstances that surrounded her pregnancy.
Raji led her across the village to their home. How different everything looked to her now. Nothing had changed, obviously, and yet nothing looked as it had before. There was almost a shimmering quality to the building and streets. All the people they passed seemed to be enveloped in glowing auras of multitudinous colors. The story of Joseph and his coat of many colors came to mind. Was this what the story was really referring to?
She was captivated by everything around her. She gazed upon it all with a new sense of awe and wonder. How had she been so blind to these nuances of physical existence before? It was all so clear; it was hard to believe she had been oblivious to it all before, yet clearly she had been. The torches that served as lighting for the streets gave off an almost-translucent glow. It was as if she had developed the ability to see the entire light spectrum. At moments, it was even hard to distinguish the physical outlines of each form, be it a building or a person, so radiant was the luminescence that surrounded each of them.
She understood she was seeing the inherent oneness of all things, although what she was seeing with her physical eyes was a pale representation of the actual manifestation at the spiritual level.
Susan remained entranced by the newness of the previously ordinary as they headed back to Raji's home. They entered the house. The others were waiting for them expectantly.
"Well?” Terianna asked.
Raji nodded. “It is accomplished."
"Wonderful!” she exclaimed, her face filled with a joy which dissolved many of her wrinkles away. “Please, my child,” she said to Susan. “You must rest now.” Susan still seemed a bit dazed and confused, but she followed Terianna obediently back to her room.
"I don't understand all of this,” Gertrude Goldstein said.
Raji explained the ceremony over which he had just presided. Gertrude's eyes teared up.
"You saw my Samuel?"
"Yes, Mrs. Goldstein. They all appeared."
"But how is that possible? He was destroyed along with the others."
"Sit with me for a moment, Mrs. Goldstein,” Raji gestured toward two chairs. Gertrude, seeming a bit confused, took one of the chairs. Raji sat in the other. He took her hand gently in his.
"No one was destroyed, Mrs. Goldstein. All of the Knights live on, transformed and elevated to a higher plane of existence, one which co-exists with our own, yet is not easily seen by most of us. It is there all around us, nevertheless."
"You mean my Samuel is here with us ... now?” she said, still attempting to comprehend exactly what Raji was saying.
A glow of light filled the room, and Samuel Goldstein stood within an aura of shimmering golden light. “I am here, my precious love,” Samuel said, his face beaming with a wide grin.
"Samuel!” Gertrude gasped, half in joy, half in terror. Her hand came up to her mouth. “Is it really you?"
"Yes, it is me, Gertrude. Jacob is well, I see."
"Oh my God! It really is you.” She turned and called out. “Jacob! Jacob, come here. See your father."
Almost instantly Jacob ran into the room, followed by Rashi Omani.
"Papa!” He exclaimed, his eyes as wide as silver dollars. He ran toward his father, but Samuel put out his hand to stop him.
"I'm sorry, Jacob, but we cannot touch while I am in this form."
Young Jacob was momentarily confused, but his joy at seeing his father again overcame his disappointment at not being able to jump into his arms. “How come you are glowing, Papa?” he asked, noticing the bright aura around him.
Samuel chuckled. “Everyone here glows like this, Jacob. We are in a very special body made out of very special material."
"Are you dead, Papa?” Jacob asked more seriously now.
"There is no death, Jacob. There are simply different places we go once we are done on earth."
"I don't understand."
"It is like when you go into a different class each year at school. First you had kindergarten. Then after you had learned all they had to teach you in kindergarten, you went into first grade. Remember?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is like that with life, too. We keep on learning and going into different classrooms. Someday, you and your mother will be in this classroom."
"I think I understand,” Jacob said.
"I'm sure you do. You're a smart boy.” Samuel then spotted Rashi. “Rashi,” he said kindly. “I have a message for you from your mother and father."
Rashi did not speak. He stood staring at the image of Samuel Goldstein, still somewhat awed by the sight of him.
"They wanted me to tell you they love you very much and they are sorry they did not get the chance to say goodbye. They are very proud of how brave you have been."
Rashi's eyes began to moisten, but he remained stoic, not yielding to them. “Can my parents come and see me like you can, Rabbi Goldstein?"
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Why not?"
"It is not allowed for everyone, Rashi
. Someday they will be able to, but not now. But pay attention to your dreams. Sometimes they can visit in your dreams, and they will do that as often as they can. They will always be nearby, though, even though you cannot see them. They are here with you now."
Rashi nodded his understanding, but could not conceal his disappointment. “Rabbi Goldstein?"
"Yes, Rashi?"
"Tell them I love them ... and that I miss them."
Goldstein smiled. “They already know that. You just told them."
Rashi lowered his head and said, “Thank you, Rabbi Goldstein."
"You're welcome. I need you to take care of Mrs. Goldstein and Jacob for me. Do you think you can do that?"
"Yes, sir,” Rashi replied, somewhat proud he would be asked to undertake such a responsible task.
Goldstein then said, “I know Susan is probably very tired, but I need to speak to her for a moment. Would someone get her for me please?"
Maribella went into Susan's room and emerged with her a few moments later.
"Rabbi Goldstein!” she said with delight. “This is a pleasant surprise."
"I just wanted to personally thank you for what you did for my son and Rashi. I am grateful to you for that."
"I only did what had to be done, Rabbi."
"Yes, I figured you would say that, but I wanted to thank you personally nonetheless. I could not do that at the ceremony, so I wanted to do it now."
"I was glad to be able to help out,” Susan smiled.
Goldstein then said to his wife, “Gertrude, I wanted to let you know you do not need to grieve for me. I will not be able to come to you often, but I will come as often as I can. You and Jacob are in very good hands here. Jacob needs you now."
Gertrude's eyes filled with tears. “Yes, I know that now, my husband. Thank you so much for coming to me. I could not bear the thought of being without you. I will be okay."
"That's my girl,” Goldstein smiled. “I must go. Remember, Gertrude, Jacob ... I am with you always, as is my love for you both."
With that, Samuel Goldstein faded away in a blaze of golden light.
* * * *
SIX MONTHS PASSED as the anti-Christ's society was quietly and methodically constructed. With Angelino and the Knights of the Ascension eliminated, he could proceed without any interference. Television and radio stations were reconstructed and modernized. The internet was dismantled. It was not good to have such a forum for free expression. In its place was put a series of servers that were closely monitored by Armand Mathias's Bureau of Political Standards, an agency formed as an adjunct to the Department of Education. Slowly, the World Coalition Government was being established. Jesus knew this would have to be done gradually, and so, while the central leaders, consisting of the existing national leaders who had sworn their loyalty to Jesus and the six Council members, met regularly to draw up the structural organization, reconstruction of the infrastructure was underway.
The United Nations building in New York City was a logical choice for the World Coalition Government Headquarters, as it was already set up with the necessary translation network and other accommodations for diverse nationalities. It had the further advantage of already being psychologically associated with unified governmental efforts. That was more important to consider than many might have realized. The anti-Christ understood he had to build upon the familiar and the comfortable. It was much more efficient to slowly shift existing institutions to his design than it would have been to totally create new ones from the ground up.
The one exception to this was the economic structure. Societies did not move from free-market, capitalist economies to managed economies gradually. More accurately, the gradualness of such transitions, such as those that had occurred in Europe and America, was too slow. Jesus did not wish to wait for decades or longer for the economy to drift toward a central authority. It had to be done in one stroke. That was why he had initiated the massive destruction that had swept the world six months earlier. Only in that way could he seize control of the means of production and direct them according to his will.
The Federal Reserve had been initiated under the influence of the Council, nearly a hundred years earlier, in order to accustom the people to a central banking and monetary authority. It had tested its wings by covertly manipulating the Great Depression of the 1930's and then by publicizing its role in the economic recovery that followed. Only a few economists had ever recognized this and they had easily been controlled by a campaign of vilification and ridicule which painted them as extremists and crackpots in the eyes of most of the world. Once economists who represented this view were discredited, it was easy to convince people that the opposite must therefore be true. So, once the free market was undermined by deliberately imposing regulations and restrictions upon it, which by their very design widened the gap between rich and poor, it had been an easy matter to persuade the people a central managed economy would ensure a just and proper distribution of wealth to them—the technique of the Big Lie once again being employed with lethal effect.
Nobody ever bothered to define exactly what “just and proper” meant. In fact, the more vague things were the better. Naturally, each person or group was concerned with only the rewards they themselves would receive, never stopping to consider the influence their gains might have upon their fellow citizens. All were left to dream of the better circumstances that awaited them, if they could just be a little patient.
Thus were the people primed for manipulation. It was a simple matter to convince one group of people some other group was benefiting more than they were. The discontented group would then be appeased at the expense of another. When the second group grew discontent, it was appeased at the expense of yet a third group. This pattern of discontent and appeasement prevented any chance of unification between the groups and kept them confined to their own parochial concerns. The timing was critical. You could never allow any one group to get too discontent, or there was no way to predict how far it might go. Nor could you be too generous in your appeasement, in the event the other groups rallied into a united front in protest. This manipulation of one special interest against the other could be done infinitely, but required remarkable skill and efficient response from the central planners. Which meant they could not be distracted by political squabbling over things like individual liberty and freedom. Society was more important than any individual. If society collapsed, then what did the individual gain? Hadn't they already seen what happens when society collapses, just a few short months before?
No. The people wanted no more of that, so they were happy to surrender their individual wants for the collective good of society. They had learned their lesson the hard way and would not soon repeat their error. The governmental body existed more as a conduit of information for Jesus and the other leaders than as any meaningful legislative body. Jesus was able to measure the political winds with astounding accuracy through legislative sessions, but only that legislation which he approved ever found its way into law. His word was final. There was no appeal process, nor any veto power for the General Council, as the governing body was now called.
From time to time, pockets of resistance would spring up—not everyone was equally willing to surrender to central authority. These were easily defeated by the troops Jesus had assembled under the banner of the World Coalition Government. None could hide from Jesus’ psychic senses, so they were always quickly rooted out and destroyed by the Coalition Forces. Armaments were becoming increasingly difficult for rebels to acquire. The sale, possession, and manufacture of all firearms by anyone except the Coalition Army had been made illegal and a capital offense. This had been Jesus’ first official decree. Knowing that they were safe, that they were in the hands of Jesus, most people willingly surrendered their arms without protest. Those who resisted were rounded up and dealt with swiftly and mercilessly, albeit quietly.
It had not taken long to flush out and destroy the resisters. They lacked coordinated leadership and were often
nothing more than bands of malcontents who would have resisted any kind of authority. These were easily dealt with, since they did not possess the patience or cleverness to wage a protracted painstaking guerrilla war. They fought in the open and were overcome by the sheer force of power possessed by the Coalition forces.
Within a matter of months, in a perverse manifestation of reverse Darwinian selection, only the meek and acquiescent remained, the strong and the independent having been annihilated. It had been done with a speed and efficiency that would have been the envy of every despot who had come before him.
Still, rumors persisted of a band of rebels who had defied detection somewhere in the mountains of Colorado. They could only be rumors as no one could escape detection by Jesus. Yet, such rumors were troubling reminders not all were content with the current order. Even Jesus could not fight rumors—they were too ethereal—yet they were always a threat to the new order since even Jesus couldn't know exactly what might trigger a wave of widespread rebellion. An unarmed populace would be easy to subdue but the cost in manpower and productivity would be unacceptable. These human creatures were an unpredictable lot. He could opiate them with promises of future prosperity and by providing them will all their material wants. But how long could that be maintained before he would have to tighten his grip upon them more ruthlessly?
The anti-Christ was not concerned for them out of any sense of humanity, since he himself was not human. He simply understood the more he could maintain the illusion they were cooperating voluntarily for their own benefit and the benefit of their descendants, the more productivity he could extract from them. He had imprisoned the people within a gilded cage of their own self-interests and he preferred to keep it that way. But he would shackle them in irons if he had to, without so much as a blink of his eye.
* * * *
SUSAN STEPPED OUTSIDE the cabin at Serenity and breathed in the fresh mountain air. The sweet aroma of abundant life permeated the mountains this time of year. It was only fitting to return here to nurture the final days of the gestation of the life that stirred within her. She looked down at her protruding abdomen and smiled as she ran her hands over it slowly. The life within her kicked strongly.
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