God is in the Rain

by Bruce Burk

  The auctioneer started, “Who wants to bid on the chance to destroy this religious statue found in a cave nearby,” the auctioneer said. Do I hear 300 Bancors? 300 Bancors. I have 300 Bancors. Do I hear 400 Bancors? Can you give you me 400 Bancors? I have 400 Bancors! Can you give me 500 Bancors! 500 Bancors Do I have 500 Bancors. I have 500 Bancors do I have 600 Bancors. Can you give me 600 Bancors? 600 Bancors. Anybody 600 Bancors? 500 Bancors going once. Going twice. Sold to number 243!” The Soldier who won then came to the stage with his weapon. Simultaneously, Kaslov had made it to the front of the line and got to hold the new EMP weapon.

  “Ah, this is nice,” he said. “And what happens is I turn this lever hear all the way up?” Kaslov asked. “Sir, I advise you not to increase the power to that level … it could become dangerous. Kaslov took the cigar out of his mouth and said, “To live is to dance with danger.” With that he set off the EMP, disabling all the electronic devices in the entire Ice Palace, including the gun in the hands of the man ready to destroy the head of Stribog. The entire palace broke out into a brawl as Kaslov’s men pummeled and attacked the OSS officers.

  John and Sophia emerged from the icy cave and joined the fight. John punched various OSS officers and rather enjoyed seeing them. John dove for the Stribog head and was hit over the back with a chair by a rather large OSS goon. His swollen body barely rolled away in time from the goon’s fist as it smashed the icy floor.

  By this time, the EMP had disabled the generators downstairs and the Ice Palace was beginning to fall apart. The floor began to collet water as it feel from the walls and ceiling of the palace. John was able to throw an ice fork into the goon’s eye but then was pushed onto the ground again while the head of the statute broke into pieces and the second branch emerged. The goon raised his hand to smash John into oblivion. Suddenly, he was knocked over the head with a thick ice sculpture and fell to the ground. Sophia stood high above the goon and helped John up.

  “Ugh, men. You’d lose your heads without us,” Sophia said. John quickly picked up the branch, put it in his pocket and ran for the collapsing door that was the ice castle. Kaslov and most of his men had made it out and Kaslov had obtained the EMP device that he had so desired.

  “You save yourself my friend. We will recon later,” Kaslov said to John as they were separated by ice falling from the ceiling. John and Sophia ran from the collapsing castle however they were being chased through the snow by several other guards. John’s comlink had finally started working again.

  Gavin, are you there? Get me out of here! Gavin we need extraction immediately!” John yelled. The Thunderbird swooped down as they began to run towards an ice cliff. “We’re not going to make it!” John yelled. The EMP began to ware off and the blaster shots came flying past John and Sophia. At least twenty OSS guards were chasing them.

  “Jump,” John said to Sophia as they dived off the cliff. The world seemed to slow down as it does with all moments where it feels like death is imminent. The Thunderbird swooped down and did a nosedive following the two rebels. The ship flew directly under the rebels and caught them just in time as the ice castle fully collapsed. The Thunderbird flew away as the rebels were pulled inside, finally together again, and now with the second pieces of the natural law puzzle.

  “That was close,” John said at the table with Sophia and Clark. “We need to go over our procedures should our equipment become disabled again,” John said. He was finally able to see Gavin’s work in China. “This is great,” he said. “It’s been all over the Universal Database for the past 48 hours. The whole world is aware that we exist and what we’re capable of,” Gavin commented. “That’s exactly what we want. Dissent must be kept on the minds of the populous for as long as possible,” John said. He took out the second branch and laid it on the table. “This one almost did not make it … and I have a feeling this one will be very important. Clark would you please translate this one as well?” John asked. Clark analyzed the language of the branch and placed it into the holo-screen. The second natural law displayed on the wall of the ship:

  “Morality is defined by the conscious act or failure to act and is measured by the context and cause-effect nature of the act or omission. Only the Actions or Omissions of a human can be good or bad; institutions, objects, and people are not inherently good or bad. Truth shall be pursued. Expressing anything but the whole truth is wrong. Cheating is wrong. Committing adultery is wrong. Human life is sacred. Murder is wrong. Disturbing the peace of a person’s mind or body without cause is wrong. It is wrong to violate the natural rights of person without just cause.”

  The rebels were stunned by what displayed before them: The Universal Code of Moral Law. John held the cross around his neck. Only this time he felt his loyalty the symbol come into question. He felt the images of his Sunday School teacher tell him over and over how the Bible was the only true religion. He could feel his unconscious loyalty to Christ being pulled from every way. He read the laws that were in front of him and realized that they were basically indisputable. The thoughts of his readings in the other religious texts filled his mind. Like a bird who could see forest amongst the trees, he felt like he could see the universal moral code that carried through all the religions for the first time. “This is an incredible find,” John said. “I haven’t read scripture in what feels like ages. My soul is filled with joy the chance to see such divine inspired words,” he added.

  “Imbeciles!” Aiden said as he choked the life from a Chinese OSS officer. “And you! How could you let them take the EMP prototype! We were supposed to use that to disable their weapons,” Aiden said as he shot multiple officers that were tied up and hung to the wall. “1,000 apologies Commander … it will never happen … again,” One of the Russian officer’s said as he was shot. “I agree … it will not happen again.” Just then, Eidolon came onto the screen. “We are to move forward with our plans for the consolidation of power on Earth,” Eidolon said. “Yes my Lord,” Aiden said. “The people of earth are fragmented by languages which makes them more difficult to control. Some of these languages contain cultural symbolism and values that leave open the possibility of communicating ideas of dissent. We must consolidate these languages into one so that the population will be easier to control,” Eidolon stated.

  “Yes my Lord. Perhaps we should use English … it is quite a malleable language. We have made the most progress with the English language removing any kind of words of dissent or disapproval of the state from the Universal database than any of the other languages,” Aiden said. “Indeed it is a simple language. Why, one can speak tons of words without actually saying anything. No wonder their politicians were able to keep so much from the public, and justify so much war and atrocities. It can give the appearance of substance to a passing breeze. Very well convert all languages in the Universal Database and see to it that all anti-establishment viewpoints are quashed immediately,” Eidolon commanded.

  “It will be done,” Aiden said. Aiden then gave the commands to the managers of the Universal database as he was instructed. A very elite group of ex-military officers and technocrats within the inner party managed the Universal Database in secrecy. As one could imagine, a mass translation of all information throughout history done by a computer would be a sloppy affair. And it was.

  When any of the One State citizens would type things into their computers, unconventional words or thoughts would simply be replaced for you. When you searched for things, the database would often tell you what you were looking for. It would also organize information in terms of favorability to the establishment so that any information that was even neutral in regards to the state would not be found. One man typed the following phrase before being imprisoned for failure to use the approved state words and writing dissenting thoughts, “The One State (protects me and keeps me safe). I wish I could tell Eidolon (how grateful I am for his leadership). He is (protecting) my (security) and (strengthening) the world. I feel like I am in a cage like a (dog) and cannot ever fly a
way.”

  The population of the world who did not speak English was now forced to learn it, sitting at home with mandated lessons. If they chose not to learn it, their citizenship within the One State would be revoked and they would be exiled. In the One State, exile meant to be taken to camps and typically killed or put to work until you died. However, if they wanted to make a spectacle out of you, they would shoot you up into space on a rocket—you would be exiled in a truly literal sense. Not only was the rest of the world forced to learn English, but they were learning a distorted version of the language, free of any ideas or thoughts that would influence dissent. But it wasn’t just the language that was occurring it was the stories within the database. You see, people always understand things based on a preconceived narrative that they have decided for themselves is a verified and true explanation of their existence and their place in society. Before the One State, the stories within the database represented a myriad of different viewpoints and explanations for things that the reader could judge for themselves. Now, all the stories were pro-government, as expected. Both fiction and non-fiction were now streams of government propaganda.

  CHAPTER 16 - STONE

  The rebels watched the news from within the Thunderbird on a holo-screen. “Today, the OS has reconciled thousands of years of division between humanity. Today we are united by our language. One World. One Language. One Currency. One Culture. One State,” The anchor said. John turned it off, “I can’t watch it anymore,” he said, opening the Book of Secrets. The pages seem to turn hot with images of sand and ancient history filled the pages. “The third branch of natural law is in the cradle of civilization: Babylon,” John read. “That’s Old Iraq isn’t it?” Gavin said. Gavin had fought in WWIII. This war was a battle for survival between the United States and China over control of the Middle East. The superpowers of the world had failed to rid themselves over their dependence on fossil fuel and fought for several years over the control of Old Iraq, Old Saudi Arabia, Old Iran, Old Egypt and several other countries. Gavin’s memory flashed of the horrors he had seen in war: losing his friends to IIEDs, the countless civilians who were killed by drone strikes, and use of chemical weapons, and other horrors of war. Gavin still considered himself to be American despite the fact it no longer existed.

  “To Iraq then,” Gavin said. Gavin took hold of the controls and flew them towards the birthplace of civilization. John sat in his bed staring up at the inside of the ship as they travelled. He wrote with a quill pen on paper while everyone else slept. He knew he had to start positioning himself for the war that was sure to come. He dipped his quill into ink and dragged it across the small piece of paper he had acquired through the black markets. He wrote, “Dear Kaslov, the fog of war is upon us. We must begin placing our pawns. The inner party is crawling with power-hungry elites waiting for the One State to turn its back so they can stab it in the dark of night. We must create division amongst them. All is justified. Spread your men throughout the globe and begin seducing the men within the inner party. We will appeal to their lust for power, women, illegal drugs, and all other forms of vice. Contact me only by carrier pigeon. Down with the One State. Long live the Global Rebel Army. Sincerely, John Shepherd.”

  John rolled up his paper and placed it on the leg of a carrier pigeon. The Thunderbird had a special deployment system for these birds. They were covered in a protective casing so they could be deployed from high altitudes and high speeds. Sophia was also writing a letter from her bed, “Dear Elizabeth, Please contact me. I’ve been worried sick about you. I can’t imagine what they’ve done to you. I miss you. Even though our time together was without freedom, I still feel lost without you. Please don’t fall too far into the OSS’s indoctrination. Remember liberty. Remember standing up to the OSS officers. Remember your faith. Remember God is alive and Eidolon is evil. Please don’t show this to anyone else. I know there is still good in you. Sincerely, Sophia Nomani.”

  The notes were delivered by the rebel’s carrier pigeons. Elizabeth read the note and a tear came to her eye. While standing near a window high up in the One State Capital, the pigeon sat on the windowsill with its tiny foot up and open, as if it was asking for a response. The pigeon looked at her with curiosity waiting for its message. After a few days, Elizabeth finally wrote back, “Sophia, I’m sorry you have chosen to side with the terrorists. Eidolon has protected me and kept me safe. The One State is creating a world free of the divisions and freedoms that have caused countless wars, injustice, and bloodshed. We don’t have to be divided anymore. I no longer desire to be free. I desire the security of humanity. Please consider surrendering yourself before it’s too late. Signed, Elizabeth Bella.”

  The pigeon jumped into its flight suit and travelled back up to the Thunderbird, delivering the note to Sophia. Tears came to her eyes as she read the note written by the shell of her former friend’s self. The Thunderbird landed in the middle of the desert. The sun was beating down on the ship as it cloaked itself in the beige backdrop of sand. The rebels managed to find some camels and headed onwards into the desert. John read through the pages of the Book of Remembering while riding his camel.

  “The third natural law lies between the two rivers, in the cradle of culture,” John said. Hours passed as they crossed the desert terrain. Suddenly, a group of speeders approached them from up ahead. “Clark!” What’s going on?” John asked in hostility. “They've hacked our location! Run!” Clark said as he shot an EMP blast into the sky, disabling the drones that were flying above. Several predator drones fell from the sky and crashed right in front of the rebel's. The speeders shot over the downed drones and the rider's somersaulted through the air into attack position.

  “Aiden!” John yelled as he took out his matter sword and leaped into the air, clashing swords with his sworn enemy. He had his dark marines with him: elite troopers with special skills who had all been trained to use matter swords. Gavin was quickly surrounded by Dark Marines. Their eyes were black. They had extra human strength, and had also been trained to use Dark Matter Swords.

  Aiden swung his sword towards John’s head, nearly missing him as he ducked. John kicked sand into Aiden's face only to be kicked by him. John was sent falling down a sand dune. Aiden leaped down towards him and his matter sword stuck into the sand as John rolled away just in time. “Come at me dark scum!” Gavin said as one of the marine's lunged for him. He put one of them in a headlock and deflected several blows from his attacker’s swords. One of the attackers aimed to shoot Sophia and John through his matter sword to run them through. Aiden swung at him. “Always needing to be the hero amongst fools,” Aiden said to John as he swung at him. John kicked his sword from his hand and Aiden grabbed a hold of John’s neck. “I will send you to your God,” Aiden said as he tightened his grip. “And we will finally have unchecked control to enslave the human race. I want to see the light leave your eyes!” John stared into the sun as if dancing on the line between life and death. Sophia then blasted Aiden in the shoulder. He fell off of John and down another sand dune.

  Gavin, surrounded by dark marines, attached his matter sword to a rope and quickly threw it sideways, swinging it around in a circle and striking all the remaining attackers. “That's what happens when you mess with me,” Gavin said as he taunted. Aiden took off on a speeder. “He’s getting away,” John said as he hopped on a speeder and took off after him. They sped through the desert and John was able to lock onto his speeder with a missile. John fired straight for Aiden. Just as the missile was nearing the dark leader, a specialized drone flew down and plucked him into the sky. The speeder he was on blew into dozens of pieces on the desert sand. “Damnit,” John cried.

  The other rebels caught up to him. Everyone stared at Clark. “So I guess we had a little ... defect in our security protocol,” Gavin remarked. “Hey, look, the GSA has a swarm of people that is after us right now. I can do my best, but it’s impossible to provide one hundred percent anonymity in this day and age. There will always be a c
hance that they will find us,” Clark replied. “We need to get out of here as quickly as possible before we get surrounded by drones and the OSS,” John said.

  “Wait, look at this,” Sophia said. Some of the sand had shifted from their battle and a large statue of Nebuchadnezzar lay slightly buried in the sand. John opened the Book of Remembering to see the next drawings were of that Babylonian King. Pictures of hanging gardens and old Biblical imagery filled the pages. John pushed in the palm of the statute. Suddenly, the sands below their feet began to shift. A ziggurat formed beneath them. It was like a fortress with long ramps leading up to the top of it. “Now I've seen everything,” Gavin said. “Look around for a door or something,” John said. The rebels made it to the top of the stone ziggurat and found a door with a strange symbol on it. “Look, that's the symbol of the Iam tribe,” John said as he consulted the Book of Remembering. The Knights entered the top of the ziggurat and the sand's around the stone structure shifted again to hide it under the sand. They headed down a tunnel of ancient images of carvings. “This place must be thousands of years old,” Clark said. The passageway finally changed into a bright light. “My God,” John said as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon came into their view. Gorgeous temple structures, filled with plant life and water lay before them. The Knights continued towards the top of the highest temple. John grazed his hands across a group of Stargazers as they climbed to the temple heights. “How is all this lit up if we’re underground?” Clark asked. “Who knows,” John said. John opened the Book of Remembering. “To get access what is self-evident, you must first pass through the gates of the language of the universe,” John read. “The language of the universe is math,” Clark said. “The language of the universe is math,” Clark said. “Or I guess it could mean reason because reason is merely math applied to language,” he added.