Chapter Thirteen: The New Age

Manhattan wasn't that big without traffic. But with crumbling roads and no subway, it was slower. Rachel dropped David off at the Brooklyn Bridge, where the Salvage Crews were based, collecting metal to be reforged for use. Most of the time, the ruling was to just let time break it down, but Brooklyn was one of the few places that Witnesses were sentimental about, so they made an effort here. After returning David to his father, she had collected some climbing gear for her next job.

Driving back uptown, Rachel looked over the city. The Bronx Zoo was released, so was Central Park. Nature had already reclaimed the city in most places.

Rachel had only been here once, in the Old Days. She had made it eight blocks before getting her pocket picked. But part of her had wanted to live here anyway.

Her phone rang, and she hit the speakerphone. "I'm on my way."

"So am I." Kevin quipped. "But I'm betting you'll get there first."

"Hope so. I'm preparing the docking clamps for you." She quipped back. "I feel like I'm on another planet, though."

"Haven't been to New York in almost sixty-five years. How does it look?"

"When I got the Truth, I turned on my favorite TV Shows, and I suddenly felt like I could see through them. What had seemed fascinating and dramatic was suddenly an empty distraction." Rachel confided. "I felt that way about most things, actually. Money, politics, education, celebrity, even food. I was watching it, and it just felt like everything turned to glass. Like I could see what was inside it all the time, and I suddenly realized how… hollow it all was."

"Yeah?"

"The city feels the same way. This was The City in OS. This was the place where it all came to live. Money, culture, fame… I knew people, and they all said the same thing. New York was alive and powerful and the centre of the universe… Fifty years later, and I can see her bones, now. There's no magic here. No power. I feel like I'm looking at a skeleton."

"A lot of that going around." Kevin agreed. "I'm told there are a few communities still living in the old cities, but most of them just couldn't be saved; and after fifty years there's no real need to. Not any more."

"But the thing is… it's oddly beautiful." Rachel almost laughed. "You know something, KB? Back before I became a JW, I was desperately trying to warn the world that it couldn't last. I was picturing the end of megacities like this… And oddly enough, it looked a lot worse. In my view of the apocalypse, there was nothing green left. But now, animals have made dens in the overturned food-trucks; birds flying through all the skyscrapers where the glass used to be… It's a world where the city isn't needed, and life rules over death."

"Can't wait to see it." Kevin agreed. "But don't take any chances with the Empire State, alright?"

"A hundred and two floors up." Rachel quipped. "Please, anyone who's listening, tell me the elevators are working."

"There is absolutely no chance of the elevators working." He told her.

"I know, but I'm ready for that, I think."

~~/*\~~

"So, did you enjoy your time in the city?" Thorne asked his son.

"Uh-huh. But I don't recognize a lot of stuff." David said with a smile. "You think mom would like this?" He held out a necklace with several hundred diamonds circling a solid gold band. Even after fifty years without so much as handling spare change, Thorne let out a low whistle.

But David was already distracted, looking up with his jaw hanging open in wonder. "Look!"

Thorne looked up and let out another whistle. There was an Airship floating over the river, towards the old city.

~~/*\~~

The elevators weren't working. But the elevator shafts were fairly intact. Rachel left most of her gear on the ground floor, and climbed the maintenance ladders until they appeared too rusted out to be safe, and then let herself out around the fifteenth floor.

She took the stairs another twelve floors, and then noticed out the broken window how high she was. She then saw the airship approaching. She took a picture and smiled to herself and as she forced the doors to a freight elevator. It wasn't working either, but the elevator cables were still taut. They were meant to haul a heavy cargo. They could hold her, even if they weren't in peak condition. She set a safety line anyway, anchored to the floor she was on. The climbing gear she had collected let her harness herself, and then connect an ascension gear that she had designed herself. Hooking it to the cable, she was suddenly being dragged up the cable by her harness. Hands free, she tapped her device as she rose at a moderate pace through the centre of the old tower.

The answer came a moment later. "Hello?"

"Airship looks good." Rachel told him as she started climbing. "Like it should be on a postcard."

"You get a picture?"

"I did." She promised. "I'm not there yet. You may have to hover a bit."

"If you can get to the north side of the building, I can drop you a line, lift you the rest of the way."

Rachel chuckled. "I never actually tried rock-climbing." She told him. "I've just climbed forty feet up a cable. I feel like I'm cheating."

"Back in OS, we had a few conversations about whether or not mountain climbing counted as an extreme sport." Kevin told her. "I don't know if we ever actually settled on one answer or another. By the way, I see what you mean. The City has changed since the last time I was here."

"To say the least." Rachel grunted as she pushed off the wall with her legs. "I had one of the ‘Apprentices' with me today. He couldn't figure out how the old world worked. He was right. The whole place was bonkers. I never understood how much. We lived in a world where anybody could say anything they wanted, as long as everyone agreed. Where seeing ribs and hipbones was considered sexy in women, and abuse in animals. Where someone was paid ten cents for making an outfit that sold for five grand. Where people valued honesty, but refused to take more than four seconds to get the facts."

"You're bitter today."

"No, not bitter." Rachel assured him. "It's just… I was trying to explain to this kid how a priceless treasure could be worth more if it was buried, and why violence was so entertaining to people. I lived in that world, and I just realized how much it didn't make sense. How do I, of all people, not have that idea sorted out already?"

"One of my students was a foster kid." Kevin told her. "He told me once that he was bounced around from one bad place to another. Then A-Day happened and he was bounced again with a thousand other kids. But an Angel personally made the introductions, and he found a good fit. He said he didn't understand what family was even supposed to be until then. He was so messed up he couldn't even tell the difference between a good home and a bad home; let alone which he was in."

"Mm." Rachel nodded to herself. "I guess that's the whole human race in a nutshell right now."

"And will be for a thousand years. The reason you're suddenly seeing exactly how bad the Old Days were, is because you've now lived three times as long in a world the way it was meant to be. We've got a lot of people to bring around to that way of thinking."

"I'm finally getting an appreciation of just how big a job it's going to be." Rachel agreed. "Talking with David, I suddenly realized how old I am. I mean, we wear it well, but we're Dinosaurs, KB. We're residents of another age. A Lost World, come to that."

"Rach, I met one of the Returned last week. He was one of the First Century Christians. He wanted driving lessons, because he intends to make his way driving cargo. Those ‘Relics' you're comparing us to? They all have a place in the world. For all we know, Dinosaurs will too."

"There's a thought." Rachel scoffed, and adjusted her equipment. "I'm at the right floor. You have the ropelines set up?"

"Ready to disembark."

"Then let's get you docked."

~~/*\~~

Rachel had brought proper anchors, and once she had reached the top of the elevator shaft, she could secure the gears properly, and create a pulley system. Her cargo raised up to meet her, and she pulled it out onto the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building. When originally built, it was meant as a docking port for Zeppelins, but as their time passed into history with the end of the Second World War, it had been changed into a tourist lookout.

Kevin Bagley had designed the first Modern Airship, and Rachel took ten minutes to secure some proper anchors for it, screwing down clamps and ropelines with a portable industrial drill; while the Airship Crew started tossing grapnels and ropelines. Between the crew, and her on the tower, the Airship was soon secured, and Kevin lowered a gangplank.

Rachel waved, with a big smile on her face. "Permission to come aboard?"

Kevin made his way down the gangplank, with a large box in his hands. "Permission to come ashore?" He paused. "Aground? A-Tower? I don't know."

Rachel laughed and helped him with the crate. "Solar cells?"

"For the elevators." He explained. "If the shaft is intact, and you've checked the works, all that's left is power and structural integrity. If the elevator cars are no good, I can whip something up."

Rachel grinned and pulled out her phone. "Brother Thorne? I just wanted you to know that the Empire State building will be powered up and ready for your teams to move in, once they clean up the rooms. If you want to transform New York into a garden, Uptown is a better base than the Bridge." While she talked to him, she went and got the Lockbox she had retrieved, and followed Kevin back up the Gangplank, waving to the rest of the Airship crew. "And we may have company for dinner."

~~/*\~~

Kevin looked carefully at his screen. The King James Bible that Rachel had uncovered for him was under glass; alongside other volumes of ancient manuscripts. He had set up a spectrographic scan of the cover of his latest, studying it carefully; when there was a light knock on the door. "Come in, Rachel."

She came in with a light smirk. "How did you know it was me?"

"Who else would it be? You're the only person who stayed onboard. My crew of volunteers is kissing the ground after the flight."

"You had to test the thing under the most extreme examples of weather you could find. You think they aren't glad to be back on terra firma?" She paused. "Terra Firma is Latin. If all languages are being translated miraculously now, why didn't that transform into English?"

"I don't know." Kevin said easily, still focused on his work. He gestured at the book, in its sealed glass case, open almost dead centre, supported by a frame. "When I removed the air inside, it actually flipped a page."

"Was the vacuum seal part of the case I found it in?"

"No. But I'm trying to preserve it a lot further than even the last owners ever imagined. The pages are… old. They're ancient." Kevin rubbed his eyes. "I can't believe you managed to track this down, Rachel. Less than two hundred left, even before Tribulation. I can't imagine how it survived the Purges." He looked over at her. "I tested the paper, the ink, the cover. They all match. It's a genuine, 16th Century King James."

"I'm glad you like it." Rachel told him. "I know I'm a futurist, but I respect History as much as anyone who's planning to welcome the people that attended the death of Christ."

Kevin looked into the case, and the illuminated words. "Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

Rachel smirked a bit. "Y'know, the Millennial Translation we got that first year? It's the best one ever, now that the language barrier between us every spoken language ever, going back to Aramaic, is broken. But I have to admit, when I started studying; there were a few verses that had better poetry in other versions."

"Mm."

Kevin returned to his screens. "If we can figure out new methods of preservation…" She shook her head and waved at the sealed case to the far left of the table. "Look at this one, Rach. It's Vellum. Actual sheepskin. Hand-scribed. It's been here since the 11th Century."

Rachel looked. "Plato?"

"Not everything that endured for a thousand years had God's Signature." He drawled. He was scratching his chin lightly; thinking out loud. "I've been talking to Brother Mendoza. He's teaching some of the congregation how to bind their notes, their journals… Turn them into long-life reference books. If I can figure out how to preserve actual pages; or even recreate them exactly? That'd be something that would be useful forever. I mean, I know we'll never lose the information anymore, but… I want to hold onto something forever."

Rachel considered that. "My most used tool of the last half century has been my pen. I've refilled the ink five times. That's not sentimental value; it's our pledge to not waste anything. But if I get a new pen tomorrow, I'm not going to weep for this one."

"I know." Kevin sighed. "You always look to the future, Rachel. It's a quality that I admire in you, but you do tend to get blinders on.

"You're a Futurist too, Kevin. Or at least, you were; back at the Conference." Rachel said, as though reminding him.

"True, but we were raised in a world where the majority of children couldn't identify a fresh vegetable; because they had no idea that such things came from farms instead of freezer aisles. We now live in a world where people grow a lot of their own food. We live in a world where Plato and Albert Einstein will be able to compare notes one day." He gestured to her books with one hand. "This is how information was kept for a thousand years." He gestured with his Device in the other hand. "You put together the way people will do it for the next thousand. I resolved a long time ago that I would always keep one foot in each world."

Rachel smiled, nostalgic. "Those were good days, fifty years ago. We were just trying to keep up with all the things we were doing. Now, everyone's gone home. The Conference is already half the size it was, and I don't… I don't want it to stop."

Kevin hesitated.

She realized instantly, sagging a little. "You're leaving too?"

"There's no need for it anymore. We aren't doing half as much as you might think. The Conference was never about Tech. It was a Committee made up of a dozen Committees. When the job is done, the Organizers stop meeting."

"When we first met, you told me that you always dreamed of ‘a beautiful city, full of people. Artists, thinkers, philosophers, prophets, architects... People who create things'."

"And we've done it, Rachel. Look around the world sometime. Every community is like that now. Or at least, it's on its way."

"The job isn't done!" Rachel raged. "Not by a longshot!"

"It is." Kevin warned her. "You just have a different idea of what The Job was. The work is still going on. The Governors and The Judges are still churning out Literature, new material, talk outlines… The Logistics Division is still rebuilding communities, improving transport and communications…"

"I know." Rachel said stubbornly. "I can think of a dozen upgrades we can make to this Airship alone, KB. We could redesign the world all over again!"

"You already redesigned every Smart Device on the planet." Bagley smiled at her. "You can't be looking to make your mark. Between that and the Comm Towers-"

"I'm not looking to make a name for myself, or make my fortune." Rachel shook her head. "But… I don't know. I told you once that The Conference was my dream come true."

"Yeah, but only your piece of it." He pointed out. "You didn't like sitting in on meetings that you had nothing to do with."

"It takes all kinds, there's nothing wrong with that." Rachel told him. "But if there aren't enough people still hanging around, at least…"

"Rachel, you told me once that more things were invented in the Dorm Rooms than the laboratories."

"I know, but… I miss it. I miss all of us gathered around a table, bouncing ideas, troubleshooting plans…" Rachel bit her lip and her voice dropped. "I miss you."

Silence.

"I miss you too." He admitted. "We talk fairly often, but…"

"Yeah?" Rachel was surprised, and suddenly realizing she was on more solid ground than she thought. "We never talk about it, but…"

"But." He agreed. "You're the only one I want to talk to about my projects, Rachel. In a lot of ways, you're the only one I can talk to." He hesitated. "I think… I think we want the same things. For ourselves."

Rachel looked over in surprise. Kevin's mouth had become a thin line. This conversation was on the edge of forbidden territory, and she knew it. After losing his kids during The Day, Kevin hadn't expressed any desire to have more, and Rachel was one of the few people he'd shared that with. With his next words, Rachel knew that he was thinking the same thing. "I heard you played ‘mom' for awhile today."

Rachel blushed. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I have to admit, I forget that I'm in triple digits sometimes. My temporary assistant loves the Airship, but he couldn't come. He and his father were arguing about bath-time." She proceeded carefully. "That kid is going to grow up without any idea why we…" She trailed off, seeing she was losing him. This was a horribly raw nerve for him, and she knew it. "Sorry."

"I have my students." Kevin said roughly. "I have my work. I have eternal life, and I-"

"You have me." Rachel offered suddenly. It was unplanned, and a left her a lot more exposed than she was comfortable with. "As a friend, I mean."

There was a beat that seemed to last for a million years, before he took her hand and held it over his heart for a moment. "You'll always have me, too."

They went back to work after that. He was smiling. She wasn't.

I shouldn't have said that. Rachel prayed, pointedly looking away from him. Please, God. Don't let this happen...

~~/*\~~

What Paradise Means To Me:

I didn't want to be a Witness. I thought that Religion was a force of hate, far more than love. The publications, the literature, the website? None of it convinced me. It figured it was all just advertising. I knew that the JW's were sincere. Either that, or they were always 'on' every second, every day.

I met a JW. He was a coworker. It was the week of the Superbowl, and I had a tip on the Quarterback's knee. So I was trying to get every coworker to put some money down. This guy didn't gamble, of course. But he did make a bet. If I lost, I would take the Bethel Tour with him.

Well, I lost, and was only too eager to take the tour. Part of me wondered if I could claim Sanctuary. I owed money to a lot of people.

When I came to Bethel, it was so peaceful and quiet and happy. Everyone was laughing about things. I noticed how much work people got done, but nobody seemed stressed or overworked. I'd been trying to build a workplace environment like that since I became a manager.

When I came home and turned on the TV, it was like a concussion of noise and vitriol and fury. I never realized what a noise the world generated, and I don't mean the sounds of traffic. It was a chorus of just... frustration, in every direction.

The idea that the whole world can have that sense of easygoing, peaceful efficiency now is a prayer come true.

~~/*\~~

"By the way, I got a call from Benedict while I was in flight." Kevin mentioned. "He wants a few people back."

Rachel's eyes flashed. "Really?" She couldn't hide the blatant longing in her voice.

"Yeah, apparently there are a few new questions that need answering. Something about one of the new Returnees being out of sequence." Kevin nodded. "We can head back together."

She nodded. "I'll put some things together." She promised. She paused for a few moments. "So, Thorne's talking about holding a movie night." Rachel said quietly. "Someone found a stash of DVD's. One of the stores that got looted when it went bad. People were killing each other for food, they didn't care much about the movies."

"Want to be my date?" He guessed with a smile.

"Love to." She nodded. "I mean, if you think it's okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He was waiting for the part that she was apparently nervous about.

"A lot of things got wiped out That Day." Rachel reasoned. "The pyramids are even gone, given that they're tombs for self-appointed gods. But books and movies and such? I haven't heard if anyone's cataloging what's left... But if the DVD's still exist, doesn't it stand to reason that they're okay to watch, since they weren't wiped out?"

He gave that some thought. "Well... I haven't heard anything on that score. I don't imagine trashy romances are anyone's top priority at the library right now..."

"I don't like the idea of having to eliminate stuff ourselves." Rachel admitted quietly. "Salvaging construction materials from wiped out cities, I get that. But if we have to figure out which novels are just saucy and which ones are actually indecent..."

"You're picturing us holding a book-burning?" He seemed to laugh at that.

"On a genuinely spiritual level, I hate that idea." She admitted. "I didn't read any of the dirty mags or anything, but it's downright visceral with me: I hate the thought of destroying books and artworks, just because I don't agree with the content."

"What about God's view of the content?"

"God wiped out an entire world that he deemed wicked." Rachel said firmly. "But he held back at softcore dime novels? Or hardcore ones? Or Renaissance-era nude paintings, come to that?"

"As I say, I don't know. I've been looking in other directions just now." He looked at her sideways. "But why don't we talk about what we're talking about?"

Rachel held his gaze for half a second. "I like movies, KB." She confessed. "I love movies. And the idea that... I mean, I get that our tastes are fairly tame by the standards of what we've left behind, but... Take 'Casablanca' for example. The most loved, most famous movie ever made, by most accounts. That deals with love triangles, war-zones, murder, espionage, nationalism... Is every copy vanished from the world?"

"I don't know, I haven't heard anyone mention it, and frankly, I haven't asked."

"Neither have I, but... What exactly do we do for 'fun' now? Happiness, I get. Joy, certainly. But... Not everyone views playing with animals or running around with a ball to be recreation. The people who want to sit and watch a movie, or read a book... What's 'acceptable' now? Because it wasn't like we had a checklist. Everyone drew the line in a different place back in OS. There were guidelines, suggestions, even warnings. But everyone made up their own mind. Frankly, I liked that about the JW's. Do we still get to make those choices for ourselves? Because frankly, I wanna watch Casablanca again."

"To say nothing of the fact that Bogart and Bergman will be back one day."

"Oh man, I hadn't even thought about that!" Rachel exclaimed.

Kevin laughed. "So. Movie night?"

"Movie night."

~~/*\~~

What Paradise Means To Me:

I told my wife that we shouldn't have kids because we were so close to the end. Turns out I was right, but that's not the reason why. See, before I became a JW, I drank, like my old man. And I had an anger problem, like my old man. But I never hit a kid. And I swore I'd die before I even let the possibility happen. I don't think anyone noticed, but I've never so much as had a conversation with any of the kids in my Cong. It's not like I was expecting to lose control. Hadn't had a drink in almost twelve years; and everyone in the Cong was a friend. I've never been mad at any of them. But aside from my baptism and my wedding vows, it was the only oath I'd ever sworn.

Now it's over. I don't have to fear being like him. Or at least, I don't have to see him again, or worry about him being in a room with any kids of mine. He's gone, and he's never coming back, and I don't have to check every knock on the door, every caller ID on my phone. It's over.

It's just over.

I am so glad this is anonymous.

~~/*\~~

Movie night had ended, and Rachel was walking back to her room with Kevin. His quarters were on the Airship, so he had a much longer walk ahead of him.

Kevin smirked. "You know, Rachel… You've never liked the time you were living in. You're always trying to think two centuries ahead of everyone else. Sooner or later, something will happen to bridge the gap in your head between the distant future and the distant past. I don't know what it will be, but I had thought it was me. Apparently not."

Rachel blushed a little. "KB, I know the past is important, if for no other reason than because we'll have those people all walking around…" She paused. "Actually, yeah!" She pulled out her Device and tapped at the screen a moment. "Note to self, bridge the education gap."

"Education gap?"

"Historically, only a very small percentage of the human race was able to read, let alone anything else." Rachel explained. "I'm sure the Education Committee is on it, but if I could invent something that could scan words and read them aloud…" She trailed off when she noticed Kevin smiling a little. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"You're right. I'm always in six different places in my head."

"There's nothing wrong with being able to multitask, Rachel." He reminded her.

"I know. And I spent enough time apologizing for it." Rachel said with a little scorn. "People thought I was ignoring them. I wasn't, I was just thinking about other things too. It made people uncomfortable in OS." Her voice lowered. "Dominic Bradshaw for one, stupid jock."

Kevin laughed. "I've been thinking about what you said about movies. The answer is, I don't know. But movies and shows aren't just to entertain. Before I became a Witness, the closest thing to a bible study I ever did was watching Heston playing Moses in The Ten Commandments."

Rachel laughed. "I liked that movie. All four hours of it."

"There was a scene right at the end, where the demoralized, defeated Pharaoh collapses on his throne and gives the last word about Moses: ‘His god, is God'." Kevin shrugged. "That line struck me, because I suddenly realized that was the whole point of the movie; because Egypt had a hundred gods and goddesses and the Plagues showed them all up. I went to Sunday school, and I never understood why Ten Plagues were needed. If God could do anything, why not just teleport his people a hundred miles to the left? That movie taught me something about God that all those nuns couldn't."

"Yeah, but… We're going to have the actual Moses back soon. A few years, if those algorithms are right. What do you think he'd make of Heston's performance? Sooner or later, we'll have him back too! Heston and Moses, having the Ten Commandments on for Movie Night."

Kevin laughed. "I would love to be a fly on that wall." He looked around. "Is it my imagination, or have we walked a long way past your dorm?"

"I decided I'd walk you home, instead of the other way around." Rachel teased. "You didn't notice?"

"We were having a nice conversation." He defended. "My home right now is the airship; you sure you want to go all the way Uptown just to chat for a little longer?"

"Sister Rachel!" A familiar voice called before she could answer that.

Rachel looked back and found David running towards her, with an envelope in one hand. "This came for you!"

Rachel took the envelope. "Thank you. David, this is Professor Kevin Bagley. KB, this is David, my apprentice for a day. He helped me get that book for you."

"Ah." Kevin nodded gratefully. "I'm told you did well, young man. What did you think of New York?"

"Smelled funny." David waved that off.

"You should have seen it when there were still people around." Kevin chuckled, and he turned to Rachel. "That from Benedict?"

"No, it's a Gold Letter." Rachel observed. "Ingaret Godlefe." She let out a low whistle. "Bit of a mouthful."

"Not a modern name." Kevin observed. "Not a Greek or Hebrew name either. That's a name out of the 16th Century."

"Really?" She bit her lip. "Well, that's interesting."

"Why is that interesting?" David asked cluelessly.

"A hundred years after Christ, the last of the Apostles died out, from simple old age." Kevin explained.

Young David nodded.

"What followed was a time when the rules changed." Kevin continued. "A lot of human traditions and pagan beliefs got mixed in with what Jesus said, and suddenly ‘Christianity' became ‘Christendom' with the Church setting the rules. The bible still existed, but for almost a thousand years, it was impossible to get. The bible was kept written in languages that very few people spoke. And most people couldn't read anyway. That was just how the world was back then. In the year 1436, a man named Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press, and suddenly people could have books. Books like the bible. And so, the Church ordered that the bible must never be translated. They didn't want people to read it."

"Why not?" David asked.

"Well, that's another lesson for another time. But what Rachel is wondering, is how this woman Ingaret is coming back now." Kevin explained. "This woman predates our organization by centuries, and came long after the Apostles. Somehow, in the vastness between, when the Truth was forgotten and before it was brought back to light; this woman was able to be counted as a true worshipper." He glanced at Rachel. "And all this, in spite of the fact that she was female, and given the timing of those Returned so far, likely to have been around in a time and place where there'd be no access to scripture, or education in general. If she'd ever read the bible, she could have been charged with a crime."

"Sounds like an interesting woman." Rachel agreed. "Can't wait to meet her."

~~/*\~~

"Do you need more trucks to get the Pre-Fab kits to South America?" Alec asked.

"Transportation isn't the issue, Brother Ducard." The answer came over the phone. "We're receiving shipments all the time. The problem is storage. Our storehouses are full to bursting with everything. Food, Cottons, Lumber... Pre-Fab kits are being put in everywhere we can find space, but there's just not that much room left."

"Why are you stockpiling food?" Alec asked. "It's not like there's a shortage. Or will be again."

"It's not foodstuffs, exactly. But we're one of the few nations where coffee grows abundantly, and we're getting orders from all over the world."

Alec winced. "Right. You can't ship stuff in until you ship stuff out."

"Exactly." His opposite number said from the far side of the world. "Hence the logjam."

My first decision as an Elder and it has international consequences. Alec thought. "Tell you what, you've got people on the move, just like we do, right?"

"For the Welcoming Ceremonies, you mean? Sure; more than two thirds of our community is coming and going this week. But cargo is shipped on different transport to people."

"Bundle up your supplies in smaller bags, and have the people who are moving deliver them to wherever they go. If nothing else, we can spread around the demand, reduce some of the strain. If you tell them not to open the packages and skim for themselves, they won't. It's not like the Old Days."

"Believe it or not, that part will actually be pretty simple. Transport for people includes a certain amount of personal cargo, but in this part of the world, we came into the Kingdom with nothing but the clothes on our back, and changing that hasn't been a priority around here. But someone has to keep track of who has what. When it's all in one place, that's easy..."

"I have a friend who was Tech Division at the Conference." Alec assured him. "The Database will be expanded to include goods and services in a year or less."

"Good. That will help."

Alec was about to respond, when his phone rang again. He made his apologies and switched to the other call. "Hello?"

~~/*\~~

"It's me." Rachel said. "I'm freakin' out."

"Well... Stop." Alec returned earnestly.

"They really train Elders to handle the details these days, don't they?" Rachel scorned. "Look, I'm heading for my first Gold Letter, and I don't know anything about this woman. Me and Kevin put our heads together, and we think she's a Heretic from the 16th Century!"

"And you're worried you won't have anything in common?" Alec deadpanned.

"I have no idea why this letter came to me." Rachel sighed.

"Last time we spoke, you mentioned that you had very few Funerals to attend, given the time you came to the truth. Whoever this person is, she's coming back after the Modern Bible Students, and before the First Century Christians." Alec reasoned. "We know that there were a few who kept the flame alive, if only in a small way. Whoever this woman is, she has no congregation, few teachers, likely little access to the truth. But her heart was in the right place; and she wasn't suckered by the lies. A woman with few connections to this world, in need of education that would have been long denied to her? I can't think of a better person to meet her."

Rachel took a breath. "Does it bother anyone that I'm not as sure?"

"Just you." She could hear him smiling. "Same thing I thought when I was named an Elder."

"Great." Rachel sighed. "Hug Beckah for me."

"I will."

Rachel disconnected the line and sighed, checking the clock for the fifth time in as many minutes. Please God, She prayed. Don't let me ruin this...

There was the sound of a gentle breeze, like the air was gathering for something. Rachel turned, as she heard the sound of a breath being taken in, and sighed out at the same time…

And she was no longer alone.

"Ingaret." Rachel said under her breath. "Okay, here we go."

The woman sat up, blinking like she'd just woken from a long sleep. Which she has, Rachel supposed. She looked at herself carefully, checking her hands first, then her face, before finally yanking her simple footwear off, as if searching for something between her toes.

Rachel took the opportunity to study her. She was European, maybe mid-twenties, with ashen blonde hair. Clothing was provided for Returned ones, just simple tunics which were impossible to place in any timeline; but they never wore out. People came back without scars or callouses; so her lifestyle was hard to determine.

There was nothing else for it. "Hello."

Ingaret was up instantly, startled.

"Ingaret Godlefe? Welcome." Rachel said brightly. Please don't hate me. Please don't be scared. Please don't run away. Father God, how did Max and Amelia do this at every door for forty years?

Ingaret looked over Rachel. Tall; young-looking, beautiful, with pale flawless skin and distinctive platinum hair that almost shone like a torch in the direct sunlight.

"An angel." Ingaret breathed… before throwing herself prostrate at Rachel's feet in abject worship.

Oh. Rachel thought. This is much worse.