Ethan said, “Concentrate on discovering what your responsibility to God is during those situations. And do that — it will be enough. Don’t worry about controlling the outcome, leave that part for God to work out. Don’t take responsibility for any offenses or injuries that may occur. Don’t attempt to protect or justify yourself or try to take revenge for wrongs done, in any way. Just do what is your responsibility in accomplishing God’s will on earth, and that will be enough.”
Mia bent her head down and thought about what he had said. Then she nodded and said, “That’s very good advice. I’ll remember what you said. Thank you.” She handed Ethan the hardcover copy of The Wind in the Willows she had been reading. “Have you ever read this book?”
He nodded and smiled. Keeping her page, he leafed through the inside the book. “In the middle of spring cleaning, Mole runs away from his home and finds a better life living with Rat.”
“Yes, exactly right,” Mia said. “I love this book, always have. That’s why I picked this up — so I’d be distracted and not think about what was going on upstairs. It worked because I really got immersed in the story. But I’d forgotten what happens in the end of the story. Mole and Rat and Toad all had to fight a battle to free Toad Hall from the stoats and weasels who took over while Toad was in prison. Made me realize I couldn’t just hide here for the rest of my life. I can’t allow everyone else to take the responsibility for fighting the evil that I’ve seen. And what you’ve said now reinforces that impression. I’m not thrilled about being included in this mission, and I don’t ever want to leave Ismarsettehka. But even so, I’ll help with your plan. I’ll do my part, even if it means returning to the HQ at iCon.”
Mia took the book back from Ethan, leafed through the pages. “There really aren’t any coincidences in life, are there.”
Ethan replied, “No, not where God is concerned there aren’t. Don’t worry about what you’ll be doing when you return to iCon. We’re not sending you alone.”
37 | Recall
Empty, lights off, the iCon HQ was quiet. Nearly all of the two thousand iCon team members normally working there were absent, attending a quarterly business meeting at the Darisford Inn located off the highway exit north of Barrow Heights with one thousand other team members from around the world who had flown in for the day, all shivering in a chilled and darkened ballroom (temperature turned down to 65ºF) listening to presentations on how much profit the company had made during the last quarter, the profit targets for the next quarter, the recall on defective tablet power cords purchased last year and its effect on their bottom line, the progress made toward earning their bonus in December. A crowd of team members who were soon to be disappointed that they weren’t at their desks. Because they all missed the mysterious occurrences captured in viral videos that took place in the air above the iCon HQ. For weeks, they all would be saying, “I work in that building, but I wasn’t there when it happened!”
Inside the now silent iCon HQ, Enoch traversed the walkway between the elevator and the executive office suite on the east side of the sixth floor. He was wearing a black leather vest, white shirt, and jeans with the addition of a sword and scabbard strapped across his back. The artificial lights in this area were switched off, but the light from the skylight set over the breach in the roof (each of the floors pierced with an opening looking down to the red grand staircase in the lobby below) and the additional light streaming in the long bank of windows facing west provided a strong backlight on Enoch’s white hair, creating a shining halo around his head as he walked past empty cubicle after empty cubicle.
He reached the open door where Chase Amunson, iCon’s Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations had his office next door to CEO Damien Cezary’s office suite. Staring at the parking lot with his back to the door, Amunson was seated at his desk in a black leather swivel chair with such a tall back that it looked like a throne. The head and shoulders of the auburn haired giant loomed above the top of his throne while most other people would have been completely hidden by its height. Without turning around, the giant auburn-haired man suddenly roared, “Fee, fie, foe, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman! Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread. Behold this food, good to eat, sufficient for my hunger!”
As Amunson swiveled his chair around, Enoch laughed drily. “You smelled me coming, Talmai? I would have thought you’d have seen me in the closed circuit camera monitors you have tied into your network feed. And you know I’m no Englishman.”
Talmai’s laugh boomed out of his office and across the empty suite of cubicles, but his black eyes were intensely angry. “Oh, Enoch, I’d know the aroma of your blood anywhere. I’ve been sniffing you out since long ancient days of yore.” The giant bared his teeth in something that almost resembled a smile. “Why have you decided to break into our securely locked building and pay me a visit today? What can I do for you?”
“You’d make my life considerably easier if you would voluntarily shut down your company and stop promoting research into transhumanism, stop trying to harvest human souls as a means to improve your virtual kingdom of the Geek Rapture. iCon must stop all its evil research and deceptions immediately.”
Amunson’s laughter boomed again another time. “But how would we make a profit then? I’m disinclined to acquiesce, so I will have to say no to your request. Reluctantly. We love earning the money we make from, in descending order of value, the selling of cinnamon, spices, ointments, frankincense, wine, oil, fine white flour, sheep, horses, chariots, and slaves — and least valuable of all, the selling of the souls of the children of men. We won’t cease our activities for so slight a reason. Anything else I can do for you?”
“No. That’s it. That’s what I came to ask you.” And with that, Enoch turned to leave.
“Oh, must you leave so soon? Allow me to offer you my hospitality, for a little while anyway. I actually have a question I’d like to ask you. Or to be precise, I would like to ask you once again for the favor I’ve already mentioned several times earlier. Take our plea for an independent existence to that Throne of Divine Ostentation you’re allowed to visit in the Celestial Realm that some call the Third Heaven. What can I say to convince you? It’s a fair and rational request. Think about it — we’re volunteering to live a diminished life in reduced circumstances, to be confined inside a digital universe in exchange for our pledge to never to afflict the inhabitants of this world again! Certainly that is an outcome worth making some sort of trade for.”
Shaking his head, Enoch said. “If you will recall, your request has already been turned down. You have already received your final answer and know why — the King of the Universe will not allow any realm to exist that is independent from his rule. And are you truly promising to end this push promoting transhumanism? It seems to me that you have several long-term schemes in the works, schemes to ensnare humanity, and I doubt that you would leave any of your plans half-finished.”
Shrugging a shoulder and looking away, Amunson didn’t reply to him.
Enoch said, “You can tell your fathers The Watchers that although they once were citizens of Heaven, they do not understand all mysteries. This gap in their knowledge means that your plans, all your plans, are doomed to failure. You cannot hoodwink God into giving you a protected sanctuary while you plot his overthrow, hoping to gain rule and reign over Earth and all its people.”
Scowling more and more during Enoch’s reply, Amunson abruptly wiped the angry expression off his face and put on a beaming smile instead. “Enoch. Enoch. Enoch. I have never understood why you don’t share our attitude of disgust toward the rest of humanity. Even though they — and you — are made out of ordinary dirt taken from the ground, humans are designed to possess mighty powers and talents. But what do the so-called ‘sons of God’ do with these powers and talents? Nothing! Are they truly clever? No! What have they achieved fo
r themselves? Nothing on their own. All their myths acknowledge it was the gods and demi-gods who taught them how to benefit from fire, spin and weave thread, grow crops, master metalworking. The angels who descended to Earth in your father Jared’s day taught them every one of the advancements these humans imagine they deserve credit for developing.”
The artificial smile disappeared as the giant sneered, “For many decades now, humanity has totally accepted the paradigm we have taught them — that any lowly human born in the last two hundred years is superior to any and all of their ancestors. Smarter, braver, taller, stronger, faster, more creative and talented, more tech savvy, more resistant to superstition, chakras open and more spiritually advanced. Of course it’s not true, but humanity wasn’t hard to convince! We taught them to imagine themselves to be mentally superior and then diverted them into the swamp of positive thinking. It was so easy to persuade them that they have the mental capability for controlling reality! Blue aura vishuddha powers? What a sarratum joke! These advanced cognition hassu think that they can influence the outcome of the entire scope of the entire universe, and yet, they have no concept re: the true extent of the unseen realms! All they want, all they have ever wanted, is to sit back and do nothing while experiencing pleasure — life without pain or struggle, never thinking of anyone but themselves.”
Enoch said, “I’m not surprised that you totally misrepresent the nature of the fallen angels’ contribution to humanity. The Watchers didn’t make humanity wiser or more enlightened and elevated. The angelic influence made people become more twisted and evil. Rather than improving human life, your fathers have multiplied curse upon curse upon curse! The two hundred angelic beings who descended to Earth overstayed their mission and compounded the corruption of sin, intensified the misery and suffering that evil brings. Adam’s sin led to the murder of one man. In my day, The Watchers were busy teaching humanity the art and technology of war, and that compounding of sin has led to the slaughter of millions in just one of the multiple military campaigns history has been plagued with. In this time period, you are sharing the secret knowledge behind the spectacular advances in technology that are needed to launch the Geek Rapture. Will this tech provide the helpful benefits for humanity that you like to brag about? No, Talmai, your plans benefit no one but yourself. This is just another way to multiply the fallen angels’ evil one final time, murder billions while you steal the souls from an entire globe, the multitude you plan on deceiving. Once captured by your deceit, their souls’ destruction could never be undone. The Geek Rapture must be opposed.”
Amunson snarled, “You say you want to oppose the Geek Rapture? Save billions of people who would otherwise be uploaded and then deleted? Why?! The universe would be better off without these humans seeking a digital nirvana. Zero squared is still zero. You should thank us for cleaning up the planet, not try to stop us.” He took a moment to hide his anger. “But no matter. If I must accept that ‘No’ is the final answer to our request, then I must accept it. But let me give you glimpse into all of our plans for humanity, show you what we would do if we were given complete control over them all. You will see for yourself why our ideas are better. Listen to me outline the situation and then hear our proposal for a solution. See if I can’t persuade you, help you to see the genius of our plans. Once my presentation is completed, I’m sure you will change your mind and help us after all.”
Talmai leaned back in his tall black chair, put a pleasant smile on his face, then launched into his sales pitch. “Any person with even a small talent for observation would have to admit that your antique deity’s experiment with the human race is a failure. Who knows why Heaven won’t admit to the breakdown of its rule and call it quits. I certainly don’t. Take a look around, what do you see? Poverty, violence and murder, hatred, inadequate natural resources, ignorance, pollution, famine and starvation, the extinction of numberless species. These are the massive problems that no one is able to solve. A new radically different approach is now needed.
“Here’s my proposal for solving these problems. To make up for God’s deficiencies, we’d like to take our turn. You must admit we deserve to be granted a opportunity to rule over his so-called “sons,” the descendants of Adam. Our rule and authority will do better, so much better for every one of them! The key to the solution is keeping a closer eye on these unruly clay-brained kelbehi, better manage their tendency to run wild. We would introduce on a global scale several principles that we have developed over the millennia. Principles that will solve all the problems facing humanity. Principles that have also worked well managing iCon’s herd of bison.
“Here’s how our plan would work.” Amunson ticked the governing principles off the fingers on one hand.
“Principle 1. Herd all the population into centralized locations, warehousing them in micro-apartments — think of livestock stalls — after putting an end to all private property and commerce. In this way, the mindless activities human engage in can be more efficiently monitored and managed, to ensure there are no stragglers who escape supervision and cause disruptions within the herd. Also, we would introduce a new universal language as a unifying factor in our homogenized and pacified society. After this, the sky would be the limit, and we could do anything with them that we could imagine.
“Principle 2. At the proper time, quickly reduce the population size to more manageable proportions. In the near future. Considering the entire globe and the store of viable resources, a permanent cap of five hundred million more or less would be optimal.
“Principle 3. Permit only the best of the herd to breed. Eliminate the capability of the remainder of males to take a mate or produce children, primarily through chemical and behavioral modifications. And at the same time, promote female unwillingness to produce children. But we aren’t against sexual fulfillment. As a substitution, we will promote unlimited indulgence in every other sexual inclination. No restrictions, no taboos.
“Principle 4. To create a self-managing herd, we will mandate conformity of thought to established standards, reward anyone willing to rat out a friend or neighbor who strays from prescribed thought and behavior norms. We’ve gotten off to an excellent start in this regard, through the principle of political correctness. People are being shamed, losing their jobs and businesses, incurring fines and jail time. In the future, we would go further. Non-conformity in thought would result in expulsion from our society. Which would mean homelessness through denial to housing and starvation due to a denial of the privilege to buy and sell.
“Principle 5. Soon after, hardwire every mind to the cloud. This would permit the download of commands as well as the upload of all thoughts for inspection. Thus, harmony achieved through total and unyielding unification.
“Principle 6. Get rid of all current forms of government and unify the globe under one government for all people in all places. We will entice people to cooperate with the new world system by using a mixture of charm, intimidation, and governmental force. This power that will put an end to all other national governments will be wielded by one unique and enlightened man who will rule like a Roman god — remote, exalted, with absolute power. War and squabbles over who’s right, who owns what — even the notion of law itself will become obsolete. No appeal to a higher authority or principle will exist, since there will be nothing higher than this world ruler, the planet governed by every word issuing from his throne as an exercise of his absolute authority. As the highest expression of power on Earth, this perfected man will unite all religions, putting an end to petty bickerings, imposing peace through the culmination of true unity. And of course, in return, this final days czar and emperor can expect worshipful devotion, as would be his just reward for unifying and pacifying the planet. All will be required to channel the spirit and generative power of The Illuminated Master, welcoming his presence into their very soul, reverence due him out of the respect for his status and position as the most elevated human ever.”
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Proud of his plans, Amunson took a moment to admire the gold rings on his hand. “And this would be the benefits of our plan. Allow us unhindered administration of these concepts, and there will be nothing but endless peace and justice and safety and prosperity throughout the four corners of the planet, the human race finally perfected, all chaos put to an end. Contented and provided for, humanity will be living worry- and struggle-free lives. Every gardener pulls up extra weeds and seedlings, prunes and cuts plants back to permit the best of the rest to achieve perfection. That is our goal, humanity’s ultimate perfection. Pruning, culling, eliminating the weak, until at last through our management, every human will be fit to achieve their true potential. This perfection the result of our guidance, of course.
“So, what do you think, Enoch? Will you help us? Have I persuaded you that our plan is both workable and an improvement on current administration? Would the God you obey choose to voluntarily leave the Earth and let us take a turn running the globe? Certainly, we couldn’t do worse than he has done already. You must agree that our agenda will create a glorious and unparalleled Utopia. What a marvelous achievement it would be. What an enviable future for humanity. Peace, safety, and contentment everywhere.”
Pointing his finger at the giant seated behind his desk, Enoch said, “Talmai, stop trying to sell me something! Stop trying to deceive me! The attitude of the Fallen Ones and The Watchers is well-known — you make falsehood your sanctuary and conceal your true self with deception. You Nephilim have never had respect for the earth. Your so-called compassion for humanity exists only in your rhetoric, because your corruption has destroyed your ability to abstain from violence. Do you really expect me to believe you want what’s best for humanity? You’re planning to cull what you call the ‘excess population,’ the ninety percent, the six billion plus people who would disappear through one kind of death or another. On top of that slaughter, you would devolve the remainder of humanity into a herd of domesticated animals, unthinking and constantly monitored Beast worshippers. What you want is their religious devotion for yourselves and care nothing for them beyond that.”
No Geek Rapture for Me_I'm Old School Page 47
