The Narrative- Last Days part d

30 years into the reign of the Roman Emperor Dometian, Christians were beheaded for not putting incense on their wrist or forehead and saying, “Ceasar is Lord”.  At first it was taboo, then you couldn’t buy or sell in the marketplace, and then you were beheaded.  It was a steady change that we look back on now and think, “how could they have gotten to that point?”  But I wonder how the future will look back on our time?  Also I wonder what the future holds.  Here is a continuation of what the Last Days could look like:

“You are stubborn in your dogmas and unwilling to learn.  I will return tomorrow.’  And he stormed out of the room, chair in hand.  Elizabeth prayed, but soon after the officer had departed, the room filled with the sound of Orenam’s voice.  Loudly from the speakers in the ceiling, recordings of Orenam’s speeches were played continuously for three days and nights, though for Elizabeth it all ran together under the light of a room and in a cloudy mist of confusion.

“’Nuclear weaponry has been disarmed,’ his voice would ring.  ‘A new age of peace has come and all is well.  Evolution has reached its zenith.  Old superstitions have faded away.  We are one; we are the world, united.  Nothing can stand in our way now.  The universe is ours to explore.  Think of it, friends.  Poverty has been eradicated, wars have ceased, a touch of gladness fills our hearts and even the religions of the world now live in peace.  When natural disasters come everyone helps restore the affected areas.  The schools are full to the brim; there is hope among the nations again, not just some, but all.  We have come to the summit of the mountain and now we can enjoy the landscape.  Think of it.  There is peace and love everywhere!’ Great applause roared over the recording.  And these kinds of speeches went on for days, one after another, all taken from Orenam’s speeches over the decades.

“At the end of the recording Orenam’s voice spoke the same phrase over and over again for many hours.  ‘What is the greatest command of God?  To love.  And God is love.  Whether Muslim or Jew of Christian or any religion, we all worship the same God and we are one with him and one with each other.’

“Finally the sounds ceased and the tall officer reentered soon afterward.  Elizabeth was sprawled out on the floor, desperate for sleep, too exhausted to weep and barely functional.

“’Elizabeth, what is the greatest command of God?’

“’To love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength.’

“’Excellent.  And the second command?’

“’To love your neighbor as yourself.’

“’Good; and God is love.  So simply answer yes or no.  Do we all worship the same God and are we all one with Him and each other?’

“’No,’ she managed simply.

“The tall officer stood up from his padded chair.  ‘Elizabeth, you are too stubborn and rebellious for your own good!  Maybe some hard work will help you see things more clearly.’  Again he stormed out of the room.  Suddenly the mist disappeared and Elizabeth immediately fell asleep.  She remained sleeping for two days.

“After she woke she found water in the tray having been boiled, but not drugged.  As soon as she picked up the glass and drank, a quiet beeper was set off.  In minutes a group of policemen entered the room.  When she had gulped her last, they took her by the arms and escorted her out of the room.

“She was again taken into a glider, which flew on for some time.  She was kept locked up in the back of the vehicle with an escort driving who she could only see the back of.  The escort took her to a steel factory that was located many miles and hours away from the educational complex, even away from the most populated areas of the city.  Although few places were unpopulated because of the overpopulation of the time, these areas were as close to rural as was still possible.

“The glider hatch opened, the escort gestured for her to come out, so she did and followed him towards the steel mill.  It was a huge building with smoke stacks that ran through filters to decrease pollution and turn the excess into oxygen and hydrogen.  As she entered the mill she saw men and women working tirelessly in the heat of the molten steel.  Guards looked on nearby the workers, having mental wave headsets for their own entertainment while they kept watch on the progress of the workers.

“Elizabeth was taught there to work in steel with cauldrons and factory machinery.  She was given small, prison-like quarters, rooming with nine other women, sharing an old-fashioned toilet, bunk beds and four walls.  The women had to speak to each other in whispers since conversation was discouraged.  But she did find that many of them shared similar stories, some Jewish, some Muslim, but most Christian, and some simply unwilling to submit to the new government.  A few of them had mild disabilities, but most held in common the conviction that the times were evil and the Messiah would soon return or come, depending on the religious convictions.

“One day Elizabeth noticed a woman speaking openly with the guards.  ‘I see it now!  We’re all one; we’re all a part of God.  I think I may have reached the enlightenment that Orenam has spoken of.’  The guards seemed very pleased.  They all smiled and one of them said, ‘It sounds like you’re ready to graduate, my dear.  Come with us.’  As they began walking away with her he asked, ‘Are you willing to be tested at an educational facility again?’  ‘Yes,’ she said.  ‘I think I’m ready.’   And they escorted her out immediately.

“One of the other women near Elizabeth whispered in her ear, ‘She will be actualized, Liz.  They’ll set her free and reinsert her identity chip if she articulates the Orenamian ideals properly.  She doesn’t believe it, Liz.  She just wants to be done with the work.’  A guard saw them speaking.  ‘Silence, back to work!’  They obeyed.

“Elizabeth looked around after pressing a button on one of her machines with sweat pouring down her forehead and neck.  These women were not of the ‘graduating’ type she could see.  Often they encouraged each other in whispers and close camaraderie resulted from their secret fellowship.  This only served to strengthen their convictions concerning faith and the evil surrounding them.

“In time their guardians noted this and separated them, forcing them all to room with mixed gender quarters.  This seemed to the police an effective way of helping them progress along the evolutionary track by decreasing gender distinctions.  Yet even here they flourished, since nearly every one of them shared common convictions.  Much honor was given between men and women.  They separated sleeping space between the two sexes, took turns at the toilet without peering at each other, and remained quite cordial in almost every case.  ‘Why don’t you all have sex with each other?’ one of the guards asked.  They gave no answer.  While this baffled many of the police officers, it did make for orderly living conditions, which made the job of the police even easier.  It was also a great witness of the faith, although the guards often could be heard saying, ‘It is due to our Orenamian style of teaching about proper working conditions.’

“In this way the men and women worked for a number of years.  In fact it had been thirty years since Orenam was named chancellor of the world union and soon afterward declared his divinity along with the divinity of all mankind.  To refuse to acknowledge the great divinity, especially Orenam’s divinity had been disdained in the beginning.  Within a decade it became a matter of needing reeducation.  In that next decade hard labor conditions developed for those who still refused the change.  Now, in the third decade since Orenam’s coming to power there was a new consideration before the world union council.  There was less willingness for tolerance toward those who ‘refused to evolve’.  After a speech demonstrating that he had kept every promise he had made, unlike so many politicians of the past, Orenam himself suggested that, ‘Tolerance is vital, but we cannot tolerate intolerance.  Our feet need to stand ground somewhere.  We cannot simply abide any behavior as acceptable.  When someone murders they go through rehabilitation, when someone incites hate for others they go through the same process because we have put Jesus’ teachings into practice in our government that hatred and murder are the same and must be dealt with in the same way.  But what should be done with those who refuse rehabilitation?  We have considered it merciful to painlessly terminate those with severe disabilities, old age, or mental illness.  Isn’t this refusal to acknowledge our obvious truths a kind of mental illness?  Wouldn’t it be merciful to do the same for them and for the sake of society as a whole?  They have become pariahs of our social structures in the same ways as those who are not evolved mentally or physically.  Why would it be different to help them and this present world by mercifully sending them into the next life?’

“There was some resistance to this and much debate ensued, but in the end Orenam’s words won the day.”

(to be continued…)