Inter-Magisteria Cooperation
by Patrice Stanton
Mel Dobson’s a demon who’s used to flying solo, particularly when on a time-travel gig. He’s been stood-up by his assigned IMC-partner from the heavenly realms; been stuck all week doing KP in the culinary bowels of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. No surprise then, that days ago his attitude had already taken a nose dive of hellacious proportions.Now, Mel “to hell with cooperation” Dobson’s devised his own plan.But why would the lowliest of Afterworld operatives risk going off script, risk taking his assignment into his own two suddenly very pudgy hands, especially - for starters - the potential wrath that could rain down from the powerful angel that he’s expecting to land, any moment, in D.C.?Simple. Because even demons like Mel know things about this particular IMC target, a former U.S. President...one Abraham Lincoln. He knows things that most egotistical earthbound humans, even in the Information Age, don’t. Unless, that is, those humans are part-time Sherlocks. And go off their usual spoonfed earthly “scripts.”Mel knows, for example, from the early 1850’s onward ol’ Abe held his mentor Henry Clay’s view on emancipation: that both the Union and the black slaves throughout it would be best served by “re-colonization,” and not simply to their homeland – Africa – but specifically to Liberia, the country created decades earlier by freed American blacks. Now, he’ll make use of that knowledge and more.No surprise that a demon with a discipline problem would go out on a limb to accomplish his and his heavenly partner’s assignment...and with a most unexpected political twist.