Celestial Kingdom

by Stan Mason

  He continued in this vein for another ten minutes ignoring all opposition, until a technician at the side of the set waved his arm in a circle a number of times. Immediately, Trevor-Edwards raised his hand to stop the flow of rhetoric.

  ‘I’m afraid we have to take a break here,’ he interrupted, ‘but we’ll be back shortly. Don’t go away!’

  ‘Filibuster and irrelevancies,’ muttered the messenger to himself, recognising that half the programme was already over, before the presenter tore into him.

  ‘What the hell are you playing at, Warrior!’ he ranted irately. ‘This is my programme not yours! It’s my programme! I don’t ant you to say a word in the next session. Do you understand?’

  Warrior glanced at his wristwatch. Only twenty-eight minutes to go! He wasn’t sure that he could last out. ‘Hey, play the game!’ he countered sharply. ‘I was the last one to be called on the show this evening, There has to be a level playing field!’

  ‘And there will be,’ returned the presenter curtly. ‘You’ll have your chance.’

  ‘Well I hope you can afford me five minutes at the end of the programme,’ ventured Warrior as he contemplated the plane which had formulated in his mind.

  ‘What for?’ inquired Trevor-Edwards with a frown appearing on his forehead.

  ‘I have a guest I want to bring on,’ the messenger told him bluntly. ‘I hope you won’t mind. I assure you it will increase the ratings by fifty per cent.’

  ‘I’m afraid I can’t allow you to do that,’ came the response. ‘Every guest on this programme has to cleared by the network first.’

  ‘We’ll see what happens,’ returned the messenger, ‘but, as I said, your ratings will rocket.’

  Warrior stared at the bishop and the other two guests but they shunned him entirely nursing their damaged egos at his previous attack. He was the last person they wanted to talk to either now or in the future.

  Shortly, the commercials ended and the programme continued. Trevor-Edwards welcomed back the viewers warmly and then started to turn the tables on the messenger.

  ‘Tell me, Mr. Warrior,’ he began complacently, ‘in ancient times, when people prayed to the Gods and Goddesses, they were required to offer sacrifices. Some of these were food and fruit, some were songs of praise, but others were blood sacrifices. The sacrifice of young virgins or children. Do the Gods and Goddesses in your celestial kingdom require blood sacrifices?’

  Warrior paused for a moment recalling the incident with Xantha Vesta and Rebecca, whereby Magester had insisted that his mistress should be sacrificed. Then he cleared his throat and began to speak. ’The Gods and Goddesses in the celestial kingdom do not want sacrifices. It was the whim of the priest who created such rules. That’s always been the problem with religions. It’s not the Gods who make the rules but the priests who sit around thinking them up in their spare time. For example, in communion last week, the priest told the congregation that those who had been confirmed would receive the bread and wine of Christ. Those who were not should merely bow their heads at the time when receiving the bread and wine. Did Christ actually preach something like that. I know he didn’t. You know he didn’t. It’s simply something devised by a priest. And so the changes go on in religion created by the priests and not by the Gods.’

  ’I have to say that’s irrelevant,’ countered the presenter. ’I asked you about blood sacrifices and I must hold you to that.’

  ’Yes,’ cut in the bishop. ’You were asked about blood sacrifices. Why don’t you stick to the point?’

  The messenger allowed a smile to touch his face. ‘Oh, you want to talk about blood sacrifices,’ he went on enthusiastically. ‘Let’s take the first sacrifice mentioned in your Holy Bible where your single God allegedly put Abraham to the test. It is written that he said: “Take please your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and make a trip to the land of Moriah and there offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall designation to you.” Why didn’t he want him to kill his son where he lived? Why did he have to travel all the way to Moriah... on one of the mountains? It wasn’t a holy place. It as never used again for anything to do with your single God. In any case, if it was a test, why make Abraham travel to some distant unknown place to carry it out? A little further on it states: “Abraham put out his hand and took the slaughtering knife to kill his son.” Why did he produce a knife? His instructions were specifically to offer his son to God as a burnt offering... not to slaughter him with a knife! And then, when Abraham was about to carry out the deed, an Angel stopped him. So your single God sent Abraham all he way out to a mountain on Moriah only to stop him at the last moment. Admittedly there are many holes in the story but it doesn’t deny that sacrifices were carried out in favour of your single God.’

  The bishop rose to the bait immediately and he was almost shaking with anger at the attack on the Holy Bible.

  ’How dare you attack the Holy Bible!’ he raged. ‘Of course God sent Abraham a long distance away, Why shouldn’t he? He wanted to put Abraham to the test. What better way to make him travel a long distance... to remove him form his normal environment. As for the burnt offering, many sacrifices were made by killing the person before burning the body. There’s nothing wrong with the story. It’s a commitment of faith.’

  ‘Really!’ snorted the messenger. ‘And how many human sacrifices were made in those days?’

  ‘There were none,’ claimed the holy man. ‘The blood sacrifices were animals. Goats sheep, oxen or cows and it was customary to burn them afterwards to prevent disease.’

  Trevor-Edwards tried to take control of the programme by interrupting but he was cast aside by the two opponents. Worse still, from his point of view, time was running out.

  ‘If your single God was such a loving God, why did he insist on a human sacrifice? Come on... admit the truth. Your Holy Bible’s a book of fiction. Beautifully designed legendary tales which cannot be confirmed or denied. If your religion is so pure, why are there so many divisions such as Anglican, Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Mormons, and so many others. didn’t Christ open up religion to everyone? Well I can answer that one. It’s the priests changing the rules to suit themselves. Quite honestly, Christianity is a simple religion but the priest have made it totally complicated and the people need to realise it. I say pray to the Gods and Goddesses in the celestial kingdom and receive their protection. There are no division when you do that!’

  The two of them crossed swords for a while, much to the torment of the presenter. Time was passing by and Warrior was filling the programme with a series of arguments and irrelevancies. Before anyone realise it, the advertising commercial came on to herald that the programme was three-quarters of the way completed. Trevor-Edwards was furious. He had been practically cut out of his own programme. The argument between the bishop and the messenger had been so strong that he had been unable to check either of them in their flow. He had allowed it to continue for fear of destroying the essence of the dialogue but he was uncertain as to how his sponsors would react to his silence. There was one last session of the programme and he intended to take full control of it.

  Warrior glanced at his wristwatch again. He was holding out very well. There was just over ten minutes left and he had not been taken to task... not yet anyway. When the commercials ended, he wasted no time in ploughing into the bishop again.

  ‘The Holy Bible is a tome of fictional stories,’ he went on stopping any interference from the presenter. I wouldn’t insult the intelligence of the public by asking them to believe that the world began with two people, Adam and Eve. It’s just the beginning of fiction in the book. And the stories go on and on. I’d like to bring your attention to the ten plagues of Egypt mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Do you know there’s no record in Egyptian history that mentions them and there’s good reason for that. It didn’t happen as mentioned i
n your Holy Bible... not one after the other in a short space of time. They occurred over a period of some two or three hundred years, mostly from natural causes, not from your single God! The plague of blood in the Nile was caused by algae which killed the fish. This particular algae, which has been evident in North America, attacks their tissue, causing them to bleed, and their blood made the Nile turn red to some degree. The dead fish normally eat masses of the spawn of frogs and toads. As there were no fish to eat them, frogs and toads proliferated and invaded the land. As they did, their carcasses drew midges which plagued the people. Those three incidents occurred together. Many years later came the disease in cattle which happens in most countries on occasion. A very natural occurrence. The hail came decades later while locusts, which are the common enemy of farmers, came some years after that. At one time, a three-day sand storm put the land into darkness but this is not unusual in Northern Africa. These are the inaccuracies with regard to the plagues. They were ordinary events that happened over a long period of time which is the reason why they are not recorded in the annals of history of Egypt. It was not your single God who arranged them!’

  This account brought a storm of resentment from the three priests. Warrior was delighted at their reaction... the seconds were ticking away! They were using up valuable time on television defending irrelevant matters. Then he realise that only five minutes were left. It was time for a surprise that would blow their minds. He held up his hands to stop everyone speaking until there was silence on the set.

  ‘On the previous programme,’ he announced, ‘I was asked to produce proof of the existence of the Gods and Goddesses in the celestial kingdom. I couldn’t do it then but I can now.’ The bishop guffawed with laughter and the two priests turned away from him in ridicule. ‘I’m serious,’ he told them earnestly. I can give you and the viewers absolute proof that they do exist.’

  ‘If you can do that we’d be delighted to see it,’ uttered Trevor-Edwards hopeful that the man would fail. ‘Please go ahead!’

  Warrior closed his eyes and thought of Xantha Vesta asking her to come to his aid. Within seconds, the human form of the Goddess appeared on the set by his side. A hush fell over the audience who felt that it might be a magician’s trick.

  ‘Where did she come from?’ enquired the presenter with awe.

  ‘This is Xantha Vesta, my protector, from the celestial kingdom,’ he explained. ‘She’s going to prove her powers as a Goddess.’

  ‘How will she do that?’ asked Trevor-Edwards with an element of fear in his voice.

  ‘Do you recall the body found in St. Michael’s church. The one burnt on the altar. Well she did it. And there was also a body burnt in a car near to my home. She did that too.’ He turned to the vision of the Goddess of Lover. ‘You are my protector, aren’t you?’

  ‘I am your protector,’ she repeated wistfully.

  ‘He pointed to Trevor-Edwards. ‘This man is my enemy. He’s been instructed by his sponsors to denigrate the cause. H’s an enemy of the Gods. Dispose of him in your usual way!’

  Xantha Vesta raised her arm and pointed her finger towards the presenter. A beam of light flashed from it and the presenter burst into flame. Within a few seconds he had been burned to a cinder in front of the eyes of the studio audience and many millions of viewers. Warrior stood up as Xantha Vesta vanished and stared directly into the lens of the camera. ‘Now you have the proof! You’ve seen one of the Goddesses and witnessed her power, knowing that she will protect me at all costs. Pry to the Gods and Goddesses of the celestial kingdom and gain their protection! Do it now! Do not delay!’

  At that moment, the programme ended and the titles came up on millions of television screens. They really had something to think about now. He had played his trump card and it was now up to them to decide what they wanted to do. Anyone in their right mind would follow his example although there were still some people who considered that he had tricked them with the vision... that it wasn’t real! Nonetheless, details would appear in the national newspapers on the following day confirming the event... especially the death of Trevor-Edwards... and it would be there for all to see!

  Chapter Fifteen

  The incidence of Trevor-Edwards’s death at the television studio, and the revelation of the other two murders by the messenger, were not taken lightly by the authorities. Within tow hours, the police arrived at Warrior’s home ready to cascade him with a multitude of questions. Three murders were more than sufficient fort them to instigate enquiries in an attempted to find the culprit and determine exactly how the deeds were done. Warrior was just about to climb into bed when there was a loud rapping on the front door. He opened it to face two police officers in plain clothes and invited them inside.

  ‘I’m Detective Inspector Parradine and this is Detective Sergeant Briggs,’ began the first officer before they say down in the lounge. ‘Firstly, we’d like to ask you some questions about the death of Mr. Trevor-Edwards on the set at the television studio this evening. What can you tell us about that?’ The Detective Sergeant withdrew a pen and notepad from his pocket to take down any statements.

  ‘Certainly,’ answered Warrior, unperturbed by the presence of the two police officers. After all, he wasn’t the one who had killed the presenter so he had nothing to fear from the police.

  ‘We’ve seen a video of the programme,’ continued Parradine. ‘From the look of it, a woman appeared suddenly on the set... some kind of an illusory trick. She was a youngish woman of about thirty wearing a silver dress and a tiara on her head.’

  ‘A diamond tiara!’ corrected the messenger, eager to help the police with their enquiries.

  ‘Do you have any idea who would create such an illusion or how she came to be on the set so quickly?’

  ‘She came from the celestial kingdom. That’s where the Gods and Goddesses exist.’

  The Detective Inspector glanced briefly at his colleague and screwed up his face. He had heard stories about the messenger but discounted them as he had not religious convictions. ‘Do you know anything about this woman?’

  ‘She’s my protector, Xantha Vesta. She’s the Goddess of Love.’

  ‘I’m being serious, Mr. Warrior,’ returned the policeman with a tinge of anger in his voice.

  ‘The Goddess of Love,’ repeated Parradine in disbelief with a frown appearing on his forehead. He had experienced a very frustrating day and Warrior wasn’t helping to make it better. ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘Because she’s appeared to me on many occasions. In fact we had sex together in the bathroom in this house recently but that’s another story. She’s a real Goddess.’

  The policeman writhed uncomfortably on the settee. This enquiry was never going to be easy, he could see that from the start. ‘Did you witness her setting fire to Mr, Trevor-Edwards while you were on the set?’

  ‘I actually commanded her to do it. She’s very good at that sort of thing, you know. Lethal!’

  ‘The video showed you saying: “He’s an enemy of the Gods. Dispose of him in the usual way!” Do you admit having uttered those words?’

  ‘If it’s on the video I must have done,’ commented the messenger freely. ‘But I wasn’t responsible for his death. I mean I didn’t pull the trigger.’

  ‘Ah... there was a firearm used to kill him, was there?’

  ‘No... it was just an expression!’

  ‘But you were the one who ordered her to kill him!’

  ‘She’s a Goddess, dammit! She vanished the moment she killed him. It was her choice whether to kill the man or not.’

  ‘But how did she appear on the set and what did she use to kill Mr. Trevor-Edwards?’

  Warrior stared at him bleakly. He was becoming bored with the conversation. It was typical of the police to inundate him with a host of questions ignoring the truth when they heard it. ‘I told you she’s the
Goddess of Love who exists in the celestial kingdom. She can come and go as she wants, turning herself into a human form if necessary. It’s no magician’s trick. As far as her powers are concerned, all she has to do is to point her finger at someone and a beam of light emerges which sets them on fire.’

  ‘You’ve seen it happen before then!’

  ‘Once... to a man in St. Michael’s church. The one found burned to death on the altar.’

  ‘Would you care to give me the details about it, sir?’ asked the police officer politely although he firmly believed that the messenger was insane.

  Warrior told him the story about how he had gone there to hang a banner and that he had been attacked by Saunders with a knife. He went on to tell them how Xantha Vesta had saved him and how the man came to be cremated on the altar.

  ‘You saw it happen,’ accused Parradine. ‘Why didn’t you report it to the police?’

  ‘It had nothing to do with me. I mean the man tried to murder me and because of that he died himself. I told you that the Goddess of Love was my protector. It would have been no use for me to contact the police. The man was dead. No one could do anything more for him.’

  The policeman stared hard at the other man hardly believing his ears. ‘So the same woman has killed before today!’

  Warrior’s face twisted in anguish and he blew out his cheeks. ‘She’s not a woman... she’s a Goddess!’

  ‘Alright... the same Goddess killed before today. How did this Goddess get into the church?’

  ‘She comes to me when I call for her. That’s how she got into the church. She comes from the celestial kingdom.‘

  ‘Where is that place?’ asked the policeman flying a kite. Sometimes the oddest question became the catalyst for producing the solution to solve a case.

  ‘It’s up there in the firmament somewhere,’ came the reply. ‘I went there once. I flew a long distance one night to reach it.,’