Volume XI, Issue XIV
He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.”
-- Daniel 7:25
Explain THIS!" said the surly border agent on the Siberia Highway. He held up the well-worn copy of Notes to Priscilla and Aquilla, now much annotated by Fred and the Bible that accompanied it. A routine inspection at an A2 checkpoint was going sour as the two travelers had been chosen for a 'random' inspection and agents were opening their duffles. Charles watched in horror as his companion was wrestled into cuffs, but he never stopped thinking. As the scuffle ensued, the young man quietly picked up the book and slid it when the agents were not looking into the springs of the van's driver's seat. He knew he was taking a risk by hiding evidence, but somehow he felt that might help his friend.
The agents announced that Fred was being detained indefinitely and that Charles could be detained as well... or simply move along. Charles panicked. Surly the rumors were just rumors... the ones about beheadings, he thought, but the Middle-Eastern men who suddenly had been elevated to law-enforcement positions by WORLDSTATE seemed quite capable of dispensing 'instant judgement' if they wanted to. Certain 'Religious' books had been linked to the disappearance or abduction of billions of people and possession of them was cause for detention. A dusty Bible on a shelf was no cause for concern... as it was simply a 'Cultural Artifact,' but if it was well-worn and marked, and accompanied by other texts suggesting its application in one's life it suggested a lack of respect for Worldstate's important work in preserving order.
It had been several months since the disappearances, the war and the ascension of Mátyás Corvinus to world leadership. Roads had been reopened and it was time for Fred and Charles to go home. Fred's family had been among the missing but Charles still had an Aunt in Virginia and so the young men decided it was time to go home. They were about out of funds anyway. The great fair no longer had any attraction for them. Big Diomede now held no friends and family, but they still had to pass through it on their way. Now Charles had a bitter decision to make. The agents decided to make it simple for him. Detaining him at gunpoint by the van, they escorted Fred around the checkpoint building. The next thing Charles heard was his friend's screams, followed by a deep 'thud.' Presently an agent rounded the building with a bloody axe. Charles was again given his options. Shaking, he repacked the van.
Mátyás Corvinus was speaking on the radio as he started the van: "Citizens of WORLDSTATE, it is quite clear today that there are pockets of resistance to our important work of returning the world to stability and prosperity. No doubt, the Zionist state is largely to blame, but there is a deeper 'homegrown' terrorist element who claim allegiance to a power somehow 'higher' than worldstate. They are most dangerous to our work of restoring peace to the world. We are compelled to use every means at our disposal to stop them."
Corvinus smiled. Indeed it was a stroke of genius to have enfolded the most vile of terrorists as 'enforcers' in the new world order. Somehow Corvinus' smooth dialogue had convinced them that he indeed would help usher in the new world order THEY sought. In any case, a certain amount of chaos and fear served them both, terrorist and would-be leader of the world. But chaos must not be allowed to run unchecked for too long. A new refocusing must take place before Corvinus' TRUE work could be done. People's hearts and allegiances were still focused in too many places. A new world order required mankind to adopt a singular focus for their devotion, yea even their WORSHIP! Mátyás Corvinus gazed into his mirror... and he smiled.
The Siberia Highway in Winter.
(to be continued) [click to read]
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