“Betty,” the reporter began, addressing the news anchor, “according to our exclusive Worldwide Insta Poll, taken over the last twenty minutes, the secretary general’s approval rating has fallen to an incredible new low — only 11 percent overall support — with even lower ratings among many segments of the population.” Decker listened in disbelief. A graphic appeared on the screen showing Christopher’s continuous dramatic decline in approval from 97 to 85 percent in the first week after the onset on the sores, to 71 percent after the second plague, to 55 percent after the fresh water turned to blood, to 35 percent after the heat, and now to his current rating of only 11 percent.
No less disconcerting than the polls was the steadily growing number of world leaders who were calling for Christopher to step down as secretary-general.
“The secretary-general has scheduled an address to the world on Sunday at 19:00 GMT,” the reporter said. Based on Decker’s point of access, the system calculated the scheduled time for the Eastern Time zone and flashed it on the screen: That would be three o’clock his time. “Until then,” the reporter continued, “we are told that neither Secretary-General Goodman nor Robert Milner will be granting any interviews or making any comments. No one seems to know why Goodman is waiting until Sunday evening before addressing the world, but some insiders expressed concern that the delay just feeds the fear that another plague, perhaps one even more deadly than the darkness, is coming. With that kind of concern, we could see Goodman’s approval rating drop to statistically zero.”
“One important note on the findings of that poll,” the anchor said as she concluded the segment, “is that while the poll shows a significant loss of support for Secretary General Goodman, there is no evidence of a corresponding switch in allegiance toward the KDP or Yahweh. Instead, many are cursing Yahweh and Secretary Goodman in the same breath.”
The story of Christopher’s drop in approval led the news for another hour and was replaced by a story that for the first time revealed the true extent of the loss of life from the last plague. One of the polling experts had thought to apply the methodology used in insta polling to the process of estimating the number of deaths. By having viewers report the number of deaths in each viewing household and then estimating the approximate number of deaths represented by the reduction in the total number of poll respondents in areas that hadn’t lost service for that day-part as compared to the previous weeks, a conservative death toll of well over 130 million was projected. The actual number would reach almost twice that.
News abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of an explanation from Christopher or Milner, rumors soon began to circulate that Christopher was planning to resign and that he was waiting until Sunday to allow the Security Council to determine how to proceed.
Sunday, July 11, 4 N.A.
After flushing away the solid waste he could scrape up, Decker dragged his mattress down the steps and out the back door to the patio. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but the smell was so offensive that he had to at least get it out of the house. Closing the door behind him as he returned, he collapsed in the first chair he came to. As he tried to catch his breath, he was startled by the sound of the phone.
The caller ID indicated it was Bert Tolinson. Decker exhaled in relief.
“Hello, Bert,” Decker panted. “I’m glad to see you’re okay!”
“Been better,” Tolinson replied. “Mr. Hawthorne, I’m afraid we’ve got a problem. I got a call from a Ms. Liston at the bank about the transfer of funds from your account. She said no funds can be withdrawn. I asked her why, and she said that the computer said that you hadn’t taken the communion. Can you believe that? I started to argue with her, but she said she couldn’t override the computer. She said that all your funds had been frozen and she’d be surprised if you hadn’t already been arrested. I didn’t want to push it any further because I know how important your privacy is, but you’re going to have to get this straightened out.”
“This is crazy,” Decker said with a little laugh, trying to sound convincing.
“That’s what I told her. I guess she didn’t realize who you were or she would have figured that out for herself.”
“Okay, Bert. I’ll take care of it,” he said confidently. “You did the right thing, though. Thanks for handling it with such discretion.”
“That’s part of what you pay me for,” Tolinson said. “You want the number for the bank?”
“Yeah,” Decker answered, though he had no intention of actually making the call. Tolinson gave him the number and Decker recited it back as though he was writing it down. “I’ll give you a call when I get this taken care of,” he concluded.
He put down the phone. The end had come. A decision had to be made. If he chose to return to Babylon, it should be easy enough to simply log on to the UN’s secure site and arrange for a limousine and passage on a UN flight; without the mark he couldn’t even get a taxi, much less get a commercial airline ticket. Otherwise, there was enough food to last at most for a week. Soon he’d be forced to abandon the relative safety of his home, to scavenge or steal what he could, and almost certainly to be discovered and arrested. He was too old. He wouldn’t last long. He rued having ever suggested the damnable mark.
But there was an additional problem. In a few days, Bert Tolinson would begin to wonder why he hadn’t gotten things ‘straightened out’ at the bank. At the least, it would mean that Decker would have to admit he could no longer pay him and, therefore, he could no longer depend on his assistance. It was also entirely possible and perhaps even likely, that Tolinson would contact the police. There was now a substantial reward for turning in people who hadn’t taken the mark.
Decker sat straight backed on the couch in front of his live-net monitor. Christopher was about to make what everyone agreed was a make or break speech, not only for his own position as secretary general, but for the very life or death of the New Age. Leaders of governments around the world were now openly calling for Christopher to resign his position, though no one had offered a plan of how to go forward from here. Decker was torn. With his heart he hoped the speech would be everything Christopher needed it to be. But still there was the nagging doubt that had kept him here on the other side of the world, fearing the very thing for which his heart hoped.
For Decker, however, the importance of this speech wasn’t what Christopher would say. What he hoped for wouldn’t be spoken; it was the look in Christopher’s eye. When he came to Derwood, he had hoped that with time he would be able to think things through, to find some answers. Instead, after a month, he found himself just as confused as when he arrived. Thus it was that he had come to this point where his simple gut reaction to Christopher’s broadcast would determine whether he would return to Babylon to serve at Christopher’s side or flee into the night to live on scraps of garbage and fearing contact with any other human lest he be betrayed to the police for not bearing the mark — the mark, which he himself had argued for.
“Friends,” Christopher began simply, immediately setting the tone for the rest of the speech. “There has been a great deal of speculation as to my reason for waiting so long after the most recent plague to address you. The truth is simple: I believe that actions speak far louder than words.
“It is now Sunday evening in Babylon. It’s a bit warmer than I care for,” he said with a slight but sincere smile, “but, unlike the past five Sundays, the water has not turned to blood; there is no darkness seeping up out of the earth; there are no demonic locusts swarming overhead; no asteroids are heading in our direction; no nuclear wars; there are no reports of mass insanity, or murders, or suicides. In short, there are no plagues. And I pledge to you, there will be no more plagues!” Christopher pounded his fist to emphasize his point. It was a tactic he had seldom used in the past, which made it all the more forceful now.
“I have waited until now to speak with you,” he continued, “because I wanted not only to tell you, but to show you — so that you would be able to see f
or yourselves — that the plagues have come to an end. We who have survived have weathered the storm, and though the loss has been great, I am here not to admit defeat, but to declare victory!
“I fully recognize that this may seem like a typical politician’s ploy to obscure the ugly truth with unfounded visions of hope. It has not escaped my attention that according to the polls a large number — in fact, an overwhelming majority of you, including many respected world leaders — have lost faith in my ability to lead us through this crisis. And yet I am certain that few of you would prefer to allow the fundamentalists and the KDP to impose their totalitarian controls on your lives.
“Still, in all honesty, I acknowledge that there is every reason for you to doubt me, and I would not be so presumptuous as to expect, or even to ask, you to abandon your skepticism based merely on what I say here tonight.” Christopher had every reason to be concerned. His approval rating had sunk to just four percent. But there was no sign of desperation in his voice. Instead, his words and demeanor showed only calm and confidence.
“Again, I believe actions speak far louder than words. In a moment, I’ll present a simple proposal that outlines the actions I’ll undertake and the means by which you may be absolutely certain that what I say tonight is true and that victory is at last ours.
“First, however, allow me to take a moment to set the events of the past few weeks in perspective.
“Seven years ago, famines and drought struck India and Pakistan, which led to a long war that killed 4.5 million people. The war spread and ultimately resulted in a nuclear exchange between China, India, and Pakistan, in which an additional 420 million people died. While these at first appeared to be tragic but natural events, we later realized that the planet had come under attack from outside, by a spirit being known as Yahweh, and that he was acting in concert with and at the invocation of his human mediums, the men called John and Saul Cohen.
“Less than six months later, an asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere and, in a span of mere minutes, killed 175 million. Millions more were struck deaf — and would have remained so except for the healing results of the communion. Tens of millions were left injured and homeless. And one-third of the world’s forests, including the once vast woodlands of North America and most of the South American rainforests, were reduced to funeral pyres.
“The same day, on the other side of the world, a second asteroid struck in the Pacific, south of Japan, causing earthquakes, tsunami, and unprecedented volcanic activity that killed an estimated 206 million and left the ocean a blood red pool of death as it totally destroyed all marine life in the Pacific.
“The two asteroids had the additional effect of so profoundly displacing the ozone layer that all grains and grasses throughout the world were destroyed, resulting in worldwide famine and an additional 50 million deaths.
“A third asteroid, far larger than the first two and capable of eliminating all life on the planet, was destroyed while it was still a safe distance from the Earth, thanks to the cooperation of the member nations of the UN. But weeks later, as the dust of the third asteroid reached us, we learned that it contained a high level of arsenic — a metal that is a deadly poison to human and animal life — which polluted much of the Earth’s water supply and killed 20 million more. Altogether from the asteroids, more than 450 million innocent men, women, and children died. Again, this was no natural disaster, but rather the vile handiwork of Yahweh.
“The following year, insects, genetically mutated by the design of Yahweh, and whose coming was foretold by John and Cohen, swarmed over the Earth for five full months, causing havoc and horrible suffering, and bringing agricultural production and most industries to a virtual standstill. UN estimates of the secondary death toll from the resulting starvation are conservatively put at 155 million. While none died as a direct result of the locusts, the pain was so great that death would have been preferred by those who endured the excruciating torment of their stings. Many of you listening tonight experienced that pain firsthand.
“Four months after the locusts died, a follower of the KDP, without provocation, shot me in cold blood and endangered the lives of hundreds of bystanders.” Christopher paused to let those listening recall the tragic scenes of that day at the UN. The video of the assassination had been viewed so many times it was doubtful that anyone had not seen it multiple times. The black patch that Christopher still wore over his right eye socket and his crippled left arm bore further witness to the suffering he had endured.
“Within minutes of my assassination, a savage madness swept over much of the planet, which caused neighbor to kill neighbor, spouse to kill spouse, and parents to kill their own children. For three and a half days this madness continued unabated until, following my resurrection, I flew to Jerusalem and ended the madness by putting an end to John and Saul Cohen. In all, nearly 1.5 billion — a full one-third of the remaining population of the Earth — died because of the madness. Had I not stopped these two agents of Yahweh, it’s doubtful that anyone on Earth outside of Israel would have been left alive.
“When John and Cohen were themselves resurrected three days later, they left a reminder of their infamous destructiveness: an earthquake that destroyed 10 percent of the city of Jerusalem and killed seven thousand people. Fortunately that was the last we would see of these serial mass murderers.
“Over the next three years, under my guidance, our planet experienced a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity. And in this environment of peace, as we entered the New Age of Humankind, people throughout the world of all races, cultures, nationalities, and ages began to experience powers of the mind and spirit that had only been dreamt of before.
“Thirteen months ago, with the communion, the world witnessed the end of sickness, miraculous recoveries from injuries, and even a reversal of the aging process. Humankind was at last running full speed toward its glorious destiny.
“This brings us to the events of the past four weeks.
“Unable to control us any longer, as Humankind stood poised on the threshold of the New Age, Yahweh and his henchmen — the KDP and the fundamentalists — unleashed another set of plagues intended to frighten us into submission. First it was the lesions on those who had dared to make the first step into the New Age by taking the communion. Next he turned the seas and then the fresh water to blood. Each time, as Robert Milner halted one plague, a new one followed. Then it was the extreme heat, and finally the darkness. Altogether these last five plagues have resulted in an additional 510 million deaths.
“But that is over. I repeat what I said earlier: There will be no more plagues!”
“Yahweh’s forces are like a three-legged stool, made up of the KDP, the fundamentalists, and the Jews who inhabit Petra. Through the cooperative efforts of police and security forces around the world, the program to deal with the fundamentalist threat is working. We have splintered that leg of the stool and broken their power!
“There will be no more plagues!
“The KDP, the fundamentalists, the dwellers of Petra, and Yahweh have done all the damage that they can.
“And so, let the first proof that what I tell you is true be offered and confirmed on a daily basis. There will be no more plagues!
“But it’s not enough to remove one leg of the stool. We must complete the goal by dealing also with the KDP and those in Petra. If we do nothing, they will learn to stand upon two legs and they will do even worse, to the point of destroying all of Humankind.
“I have been criticized for not dealing more harshly with the KDP and their supporters. I will admit that I have always held out hope that the KDP would see the error of their ways and join us. I do not regret having had that hope. I do, however, regret the toll in human suffering they have caused as we have held out to them the hand of peace. It’s now clear that they will not travel with us. By their own choice, we must leave them behind. I know there may be some who fear that because of my patience with the KDP in the past, I may again be
persuaded to offer the olive branch. Let me assure you that that will not happen. The KDP and the rest of the Cult of Yahweh have shown themselves to be maniacal, intolerant, narrow minded fanatics, cruelly calling down plagues upon the Earth as if for their amusement. We must now deal with them with equal fervor.
“They have assembled themselves in the ancient walled city of Petra, and it is ironically fitting, for their religion is an ancient one — old and brittle and ready to crumble down upon them. So let it be that the legend of Joshua will serve as a metaphor for their own destruction. In that legend, all the people of Israel, under the rule of Joshua, gathered around the walled city of Jericho.[150] So let us gather at Petra. But unlike the people of Israel who called on Yahweh, we will call out to no one. Neither will we bring with us any weapon. For by the very power of our combined will and inner strength, all the universe will bear witness that no walls of stone or self proclaimed god can stand against a united Humankind. For just as the walls of Jericho in the legend fell, so shall the walls of Petra come down upon those who have rained terror down on us. Let us be rid once and for all time of Yahweh and those who would force us to our knees to worship him.
“That is my proposal.
“But I said also that I would provide the means by which you could be certain that what I have promised is at hand — the end of the plagues, the end of Yahweh’s dominion, and our ultimate victory.
“The proof that I offer will not be a miracle at the hands of Robert Milner. Nor will I, myself, perform some miraculous deed. Instead the miracle will come from you, from Humankind, by the sheer will and power of each of you. For let me assure you,” Christopher said, “that during these past three years since Humankind began experiencing the powers of the mind and spirit, evolution has not stood still.
“Within two weeks time, the first of three great signs will be given that will offer conclusive proof that Humankind has taken a giant step in the evolutionary process.[151]
The Christ Clone Trilogy - Book Three: ACTS OF GOD (Revised & Expanded) Page 25
