She fell silent, and Alan said, “I see. But as Christians, you must know that we are new creatures in Christ, and there is no sin, there is no guilty stain that is so deep a shade of crimson that it cannot be forgiven and forgotten. All of our sins are washed away by the blood of Christ.”
They both began to shed tears. Grace reached out, and they clasped hands.
After a minute, Alan said, “I have a confession of my own.” He took a deep breath and then went on. “You are the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever met. You have a wonderful personality, you have an obvious depth of intelligence, and it’s abundantly clear that you are a Christian who genuinely cares for everyone around you. I see it in your eyes, and I see it in the way that you interact with everyone from the legation. Oh, and I must say that your mastery of so many languages has absolutely stunned me. Honestly, what I’m feeling right now is a mixture of both love and lust. So please help me control the lust part of it.”
She nodded. Then Alan concluded, “And speaking of being forward, I want ask you something: May I court you for marriage?”
Grace smiled and said, “Yes, Alan, you may. I promise to seriously consider you as a suitor for marriage. Now, in recognition of your self-admitted lust, I suggest we move back to the row of seats with Timur. I have, after all, read all about Perfidious Albion. You Englishmen are not to be trusted.”
They each laughed and nodded. Alan repeated the words, “Perfidious Albion, indeed. But thanks be to God, I’m an Ilemi now.”
Landing at Tulloch Field came as a shock to those who just a day before had been in wintery Kazakhstan. It was 35 degrees Celsius (95F). Since the solar farm was still under construction, the airfield only had limited power. There were only two air-conditioned rooms: the mobile RLST control tower and the communications/server room. Even though they were painted white, the interiors of the portable chemical toilets were at least 43 degrees Celsius (110 F).
Four days later, they were surprised to see Dr. Darzi arrive in Solus Christus, riding as a passenger on a tanker truck full of diesel fuel that was arriving from Lokichoggio.
He told Alan, “The more I thought and prayed about it, the more I realized that it was my destiny to come here. I am forever in your debt, and I am now at your service, Mr. Pilcher.”
Alan shook his head and said, “No, here in the Ilemi, no man is a slave to another. No tax slaves. No regulation slaves. No debt-interest slaves. Each man earns his own living, with pride. And with no taxes levied, we keep all that we earn, so that everything we choose to tithe or give charitably is strictly between each individual and God. We reject the redistributionist schemes that are used by nearly all national governments. Nothing can be ‘given’ to another by a government unless it is first taken from someone else. And whether it is taken with a tax, tariff, fine, or license fee doesn’t really matter, because they all come down to force exerted by a monolithic state, with a penalty attached in some form. We would be honored to have you work here as a doctor. Welcome to the Ilemi Republic, fellow Citizen.”
Chapter 15: Own Goal
“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” -- Matthew 16:2-3 (KJV)
Edinburgh, Scotland -- February, Four Years After Declaration of the Caliphate
The agent had been well-trained at the WIS-MOIS academy. He was one of the academy’s top graduates. Born to Yemeni parents who were resident in Germany, he held a coveted EU passport that allowed him unrestricted travel throughout Europe. EU passports were accepted by the Scottish government for tourists to enter the country without a visa. After landing at the Edinburgh airport, he rented a car and drove directly to the Iranian Embassy in Edinburgh. There, he picked up a six-kilogram package that was wrapped in three thicknesses of Jenners Department Store shopping bags.
When he left the embassy it was 7 p.m., so he had several hours to wait.
After each stop on his planned route, he erased the memory of the car’s GPS, in accordance with his training.
He went to dinner at Kebab Express and then drove to the Odeon Edinburgh Lothian Road cinema, where he bought a movie ticket to a Bollywood musical movie. He thought that Bollywood actresses were hot, but he disliked the fact that there was never any kissing in their movies. After watching that movie, he theater-hopped for the next four hours and ended his evening with a midnight showing of a French mega-action film that included a lot of Parkour stunts. That film ended at 1:30 a.m. He waited an hour in his rental car, playing first-person shooter video games on his Smartphone. At 2:30 a.m., his phone’s alarm sounded.
He drove to an address three blocks away from Rick Akins’s cottage in Fairmilehead. There, he again cleared the GPS system’s memory and removed the package from the car’s trunk. In the top of the package, there was a pair of nitrile rubber gloves and a Pincher LED flashlight that he could hold between his teeth to keep his hands free while he worked.
It was 2:50 a.m. when he approached Rick’s parked car. He confirmed its license plate number and started his work. The 24 year-old was thin and able to squeeze his shoulders underneath the front of the car.
Wiring the Iranian-designed and Syrian-constructed IED to the frame of the car was straightforward. All he needed to do was strap the bomb to the frame with cable ties, clip the ground wire to the frame, and then connect the other wire to one of the cables leading to a headlight. Wired this way, the car bomb would detonate as soon as the car headlights were turned on. The bomb was positioned just forward of the driver’s seat. The leads were then fed forward along the frame, toward the front bumper. His MOIS bomb instructors had always stressed the need to do a “clean installation” so the insulated wires were cable-tied to the frame or other wiring in several places along their path and would not dangle.
What the agent did not anticipate was that the Audi E14 had the latest-technology “smart” LED cluster headlights. These included an active overhead streetlight photocell detector mounted on top of each headlight to reduce battery drain when traveling on streets that were lit with streetlights. When he touched the bomb lead tab to the headlight wire connector, he brushed it momentarily against the “hot” light sensor wire. The bomb detonated instantly.
Investigators were unable to find any body parts larger than the terrorist agent’s legs. His feet had lost their shoes and socks in the blast. That afternoon, his car was found parked three blocks away. Not only was his rental car agreement in the car, but his passport as well.
The Edinburgh bomb squad investigator summarized the incident dryly. “I think that we can safely chalk this one up as an ‘own goal.’” This was the British football term used to describe a player accidentally kicking the ball through his team’s own goalposts.
Hearing about the car bomb incident put a scare into Rick and Meital. They resolved to no longer store any of their possessions outside of Solus Christus. And having to warn their family members in both Texas and Israel to keep watch for suspicious strangers or packages was troubling. When Rick did go back to Scotland to clear out his possessions from his Fairmilehead cottage, he took the precaution of having the bomb squad clear the building for him just before he planned to be there. A bomb technician entered the cottage through a side window in case the door lock mechanism was rigged. There were no devices found, but Rick still felt slightly anxious as he sorted through his clothes and books and boxed them up for shipment to a storage company in Tel Aviv.
The majority of Ilemis were Second Reformers, so they rejected both Easter and Christmas celebrations. Because they considered both holidays flawed and tainted by their origin as ancient pagan holidays, they substituted Resurrection Day to coincide with Passover (Pesach), and Advent Day to coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles. They also celebrated Hanukkah as Conception Week. All three of these holidays were considered more in alignment
seasonally with the historic conception, birth, and resurrection of Christ. A Beseeching Statement from the Council of Elders stated: “We shun Easter (Ishtar) and the Druidic winter solstice ritual that became ‘Christmas’ for both their commercialism and for their calendar connections to ancient pagan holidays.” While never an official policy of the government, the new holiday schedule was widely adopted by the Citizenry, and the IRDF adjusted their training and operational calendars to match it.
There was a great diversity of Christian beliefs in the Ilemi, but most of the new residents were members of Protestant or Messianic denominations. Many categorized themselves as Neo-Reformists or Neo-Puritans and therefore they shunned ecumenicalism, watered-down gospels, easy-believism, “inclusiveness” that tolerated sinful behavior, and the nearly two-century-long retreat from effective internal church discipline.
One significant divide among Christian Ilemis was in their observed Sabbath days. The Saturday and Sunday Sabbath crowds were about equally divided, and this became an ongoing polite “we agree to disagree” issue. One positive unintended consequence of this disagreement was that some militia members would be available on another’s Sabbath to handle security at border checkpoints and at the planned airports.
As was noted at the main Ilemi Republic web page, applicants for Ilemi Citizens fell into several categories:
1) Persecuted refugees from all walks of life who wanted to reside in the Ilemi.
2) Tax refugees and Perpetual Travelers (adherents to W.G. Hill’s Five Flags Theory) who wanted to reside elsewhere but who want the benefit of an Ilemi passport. Many of them were not Christians, but they were willing to pay for a passport: The appeal of holding a passport from a country with zero taxes was tremendous. These constituted 80% of passport applicants.
3) The New Pioneers -- People from ostensibly still “free” countries who wanted to make a fresh start living in the Ilemi. These were mainly cattle ranchers from South Africa and the southwestern US and Messianic Israeli greenhouse farmers who were willing to move to a stark, inhospitable climate with minimal infrastructure. Many of these had been moshavniks or kibbutzniks.
4) The Ten- Hectare Ghosts -- Wealthy people worldwide, predominantly Class G Citizen Christians, who bought land in the Ilemi Republic with no intention of moving there except in the event of a future crisis.
After the first year, which was dominated by Israeli and South African immigration, less “spiky” immigration patterns emerged, showing that the new immigrants were:
- 66% Protestant Christian (of various denominations or nondenominational)
- 28% Messianic Jews (of those, about half were from Israel and half from the United States)
- 2% Secular
- 2% Other Faiths
The small native population (542 people, according to the first online passport census) was:
- 85% Christian (of various denominations)
- 12% Animist or Christian/Animist
- 3% Secular or Other Faiths
Of the first 2,000 new immigrants, 5% self-identified as pacifists, and of those nearly all who were of military service age filed for Conscientious Objector (CO) status. More than half of these COs opted for military service as Medics or Chaplains. The remainder fulfilled their national service requirements as unarmed Border Protection Agents (unarmed and non-patrolling, at airports and border checkpoints), or in various private, for-profit, or charitable programs such as the Ilemi Republic Voluntary Education Fund (IRVEF) elementary school or public health programs.
One controversial IRDF policy regarded armed medics and chaplains. This was later settled in one of the first national Referendum votes that confirmed that medics and chaplains could be armed with pistols, PDWs, or pistol caliber submachineguns (with or without suppressors) for their self-defense if they chose to do so, but that they must pledge to avoid shooting during any advancing fire and maneuver tactics when attached to a military unit. They pledged to shoot only in self-defense.
Chapter 16: Fair Exchange
“I’m a freeborn man of the traveling people
I got no fixed abode, with nomads I am numbered
Country ways and byways were always my ways
I never fancied being lumbered.
There were many spots where a man could linger
For a week or two when time was not his master
Then along I’d jog with my horse and dog
Nice and easy, no need to go faster
Come on you freeborn men of the traveling people
Come every tinker, rolling stone, or gypsy rover
The winds of change are blowing, old ways are going.
Your rambling days will soon be over.” -- Excerpted from the lyrics to the song Freeborn Man, as sung by the band Lau; lyrics written by Ewan MacColl
Solus Christus, The Ilemi Republic -- March, Four Years After Declaration of the Caliphate
Local industries and trades: Mining, beef cattle ranching, dairy cattle ranching, goat herding, farming (open air and/or greenhouse), road construction, various contracting trades, firearms manufacture and gunsmithing, firearms suppressor manufacture, integrated aquaculture and fish farming, natural gas and water drilling, PV/hydrogen farming, telecommunications (mostly cell phone tower construction), brewing (near-beer, under the Kudu label), and precious metal minting.
Growing up in parallel were a panoply of service industries: banking and vault storage, restaurants, air transport, ground transport, retail sales (including the ubiquitous mobile Tinker Trucks), healthcare, fuel stations, vehicle repair and tire sales, private mint security, intrusion detection system installation, off-road vehicle customizing, cottage fabrication of web gear, weapons, and vehicle painting with camouflage RAM coatings, barbers and beauticians, and so forth.
One notable niche in the Ilemi economy was filled by men who called themselves hotshot truck drivers. These independent drivers were mostly natives of South Sudan, Kenya, or the Triangle itself. They specialized in quick delivery hauling runs to Juba, Nairobi, and Mombasa. Usually operating hydrogen-powered pickup trucks with fifth-wheel trailers, they hauled natural gas field equipment, appliances, and light vehicles (either new vehicles from dealers or vehicles for major repair jobs). Although it was difficult for them to match the per-pound rates advertised by TAT for small parcels, they could handle cargo that simply would not fit in the 3.4-meter wide rear clamshell door of an IL-76, but that were not big enough to justify using a large truck. That was their niche. One example was the standard four-meter diameter white HDPE plastic water cistern tanks that were ubiquitous for Ilemi homes and ranch houses.
Another unusual part of the Ilemi economy was the advent of four HEMTT Tinker Trucks. These were essentially general stores on wheels. A large number of Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs) were sold off as military surplus in the 2030s. These ten-ton eight-wheeled military cargo trucks could handle the roughest roads and were often driven up dry wadis to reach remote settlements.
The Tinker Trucks were typically assembled by bolting a 20-foot CONEX shelter onto the back of M977A4 and earlier model cargo trucks. These CONEXes were equipped with multiple spinner ventilators on top and packed full of retail merchandise that was carefully strapped down to prevent shifting and damage on bumpy roads. The CONEXes were emblazoned fanciful names for the tinker enterprises: “Dave’s Dragon Wagon Buy–Sell–Trade”, “What’s In Store – General Mercantile”, “Katie and Jim’s Deluxe Junque”, and “Oshkosh Emporium – If We Don’t Have It, You Probably Don’t Need It.”
Most of the HEMTT Tinker stores were owned and operated by young husband and wife teams. Because of the relatively high cost of fuel, they would stay two days to two weeks at each stop, depending on the local population density, with the longest stops at large settlements. The variety of merchandise that the tinker trucks carried was amazing.
Most of the native-born inhabitants remained in their home villages, but a few moved up to Solus Christus. One enterprising n
ative, Robert Lomuro, owned and operated Big Bob’s Kabobs. This restaurant started out as a roadside stand, where he grilled goat and beef kabobs over a barbecue fabricated from a horizontal sectioned half of a 200-liter fuel drum. His roadside stand did a flourishing trade with both locals and tourists and eventually grew into the largest restaurant in the country. It was often said, “No trip to the Ilemi Republic was complete without a dinner at Big Bob’s.” His restaurant also served beer and near-beer, but most of those drinking the alcoholic variety were tourists. That fact was, given the sensitivities of the typical Ilemi, drinking beer with more than 1% alcohol was not particularly popular.
Because the Ilemi citizenry would be entirely self-policing, one section of the Constitution guaranteed the right of any adult citizen to demand to inspect the border crossing card, passport, or resident alien ID of any adult inside Ilemi Territory. This right was in recognition that as Sovereign Citizens, each had both the right and duty to personally defend the territorial integrity of their nation. It follows that in the absence of a police force, as is typical in other nations, it falls upon the Citizens to insure that their nation’s infrastructure is not overwhelmed by an influx of illegal aliens.
The resident alien ID cards had expiry dates printed in tall red text. And like Ilemi passports, the cards had anti-forgery features including holograms and seals that showed up when exposed to ultraviolet light. IRDF border posts and patrols always carried compact flashlight with UV filters.
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