The Auto had not been able to slow down fast enough to avoid a collision, so James and Dexter were seeing six of everything as they dragged themselves out of the wrecked Auto. But they had made it inside; ears ringing enough from the crash that they almost didn't hear the Gates shut.
James looked up blearily, and the first thing his eyes could focus on was his wife, who had been waiting near the door. "You do like to keep a girl guessing until the last minute, don't you?" Atxi said emotionally. "For the record, I wasn't worried for a second."
"Of course you weren't." James croaked, weaving a bit as he fought to his feet.
"Grandpa!" Another voice shouted and Rika plowed into Dexter like a missile. "You made it!"
"Thanks to you." Dexter said quietly, holding his granddaughter tightly. And to James. And to You. He prayed.
Megan came up behind her daughter, in no rush. Her look was… oddly serene, going from her daughter to the omnipresent Screens. With the Database online, they were getting feeds from every Sanctuary, broadcast live to all the different locations around the world. "The crowds are getting bigger outside."
"Like the sands of the sea." Dexter commented. He looked down and noticed that Megan was holding his free hand, and despite himself, he gave her fingers a squeeze; surrounded by family for the first time.
Megan almost smirked. "Who would have thought it? When this day happened, who would believe it would be you and me, watching the whole thing unfold, side by side?"
"I wouldn't have put money on it." He admitted.
"I have to check on the rest of the family, now that we've got the comms back up." Megan said to Rika; who hadn't pulled back from her grandfather. "Take your time."
Biggs was watching with a relieved smile. The doors had shut, and his family was on the right side of them. The answer to every prayer. Father Jehovah, my God… He prayed. With you, even a test as simple as 'go inside' can reveal the heart of every man and woman alive. Thank you for bringing me and my family safely home.
~~/*\~~
Lewis spoke at his Device for a moment, and then turned the screen towards Benedict. "The Database has a record of all written and spoken languages. It helped us translate old documentation and historical literature."
Benedict read the translation and immediately spoke to his own device. "Good. We have to move fast now." He turned to his people. "To Sanctuary! Bring everyone we can! We're going to make it known that we won't be sidelined. And the more of us there are, the less they'll be able to ignore us! Bring everyone we can!"
The assembled crowd didn't react like he'd hoped. Belle held up her device and the command was repeated in various languages. Little by little, the word got around, and everyone hurried to obey, gathering together everyone they could find that wasn't in Sanctuary already.
They were soon marching towards Sanctuary, gathering numbers as they went. "Should we be worried about the language barrier?"
"Fear not." Benedict assured her, more certain than he'd ever been. "The technology saved us."
~~/*\~~
Gathered outside Jerusalem, Zann and his crew were assembled. They weren't the only ones there, but they were the largest faction. It was a faction made up largely of people from the ancient world; where language was part of the culture. As a result, having the 'translation' miracle withdrawn didn't affect them too much; as they all spoke the same language during their time in the old world.
"I told you!" Zann declared, as though he'd just been named a prophet. "Our people are safe; because we're the only ones that can still speak to each other! Proof positive of who the Right people are!"
"Especially this place!" A voice said, and Zann didn't see who had spoken, but he agreed.
"As I told you, Jerusalem was always for people like us!" Zann turned to point angrily at the walls. "So why are they still in there, trying to keep us out?! Are we going to stand for it?!"
"NEVER!" Someone shouted.
Zann turned to face Sanctuary as the shout went up from everyone that had followed him this far. "We're going in there! And we're going to take our rightful place! The place they stole from us!"
The crowd roared behind him. Extending all the way around the City, the rest of the crowd gathered with them. They couldn't understand Zann, and very few of them spoke a common language with his faction, but they could see he had more numbers than the rest of them put together, and years of relying on the whole community drove them together.
~~/*\~~
When the Database came back online, those in Sanctuary went to work very quickly, trying to find each other. There were cries of relief, and some of horror as everyone started tracking down loved ones.
Megan had more people to call than most, searching out a lot of the kids that she had placed into new homes. They were all relieved to hear from her, and she was thrilled to hear from them. But while she was distracted, Grant and Biggs ran a check of their own, confirming what Grant had suspected when he'd noticed the plane was missing. A call to Isobel confirmed it.
"Grant." Biggs said hoarsely. "Let me tell her."
Grant nodded. "You want me to leave?"
"No. You're family now." Biggs said seriously. He raised his voice a little to speak over the Holo. "And Izzy, I'd like you to stay on the line, to confirm this."
"I will." Isobel's voice answered emotionally.
"Should we bring Rika, too?" Grant asked. "She'll need everyone's support."
"No. Megan will want to tell Rika herself." Biggs could predict that much. "Give her a chance to process this before she has to tell it to anyone else."
~~/*\~~
Within Sanctuary, everyone was getting a completed list of who had made it, and who hadn't. The doors had all closed at the same moment. Even with the Elders now retired; they still had experience in consoling the survivors; and made one last attempt to make the transition easier for those who had lost people. The PA ran with heartfelt messages from them. "We will be heartbroken when the dust settles. We'll have lost people we knew. But I believe that we've spent a thousand years trying to think like Jehovah, and that we'll view the aftermath of this the same way He does: By finding our joy in the people who passed the test; and by rejoicing in the idea that there won't be another test to follow. An eternity of Paradise; and an eternity with the people who made it. Scripture says to 'weep with those who weep'. God Himself is included in that group now. But scripture says Jehovah is the Happy God. He knew the atrocities of the old world, and the needless tragedy of this one, on a level we'll never get to. But He thinks positively. He rejoices in the happy endings. And so will we. If we didn't, we wouldn't have God's thoughts on things."
Only half listening, Grant and Biggs came into the Alman's room. Megan was working her way through the list of people to contact. Biggs entered, and switched off the sound to the room; giving them quiet privacy.
"All the plans." Megan said ruefully when she saw her husband. "We had plans to get the whole family together and make an orderly journey. We were treating it like a camping trip."
Grant looked sickly at her. "Megan…" He began, eyes flicking to Biggs.
"I know, I owe you big time for getting us here. Especially given what some of us thought about you over the years." Megan nodded agreeably to Grant. "We will make it up to you, brother. If it takes another thousand years, we will."
"Not that." Biggs said seriously. "You should sit down." He took a breath as she did so. "Hugh and Kasumi aren't in Sanctuary. Not in any of them."
Megan stared. "No. No, that's impossible."
"I'm so sorry, Megan." Biggs said, holding her tightly.
"No, you've made a mistake." Megan said, voice thin. "They were the ones that taught me how to love God. I didn't even love puppies at that point, and they got me there! How can I be in here and they're just… not?!"
"I'm sorry, Megan." Grant said somberly. "It's not a good day, for a lot of people."
"No, I'm really asking." Megan demanded. "How can they, of all people, decide against obeying Jehovah God, on today of all days?!"
"Because that wasn't the choice they were given." A familiar voice said. The Holo was working again. "I was there."
"Aunt Izzy?" Megan turned to the call directly. "You were there?"
"I got the whole story on the way." Isobel reported miserably as Biggs tapped the Device to put Isobel's image in the room with them. "They were right there and they left Sanctuary, because they were lied to. They were told you were in danger of not making it."
Megan looked to Biggs. "Well. Not necessarily a lie."
"Once they left Sanctuary, they couldn't make it back on their own; so they came with me. By the time we reached… The mob was already surrounding the place. They thought it was too dangerous, and thought they should try for another-"
"But you went ahead." Megan interrupted, voice hollow. "You saw the mob and walked right through them."
Isobel nodded. "I figured the mob was nothing compared to being too late. Hugh and Kas wanted to find another way…"
"Fear of man." Biggs sighed in jaded awe. "After so long; fear of man."
Megan let out a bark of pure disbelief. "We had to face centuries-long grudges, hundred year revenge and rescue plans, planet-wide shutdowns; demonic whispering in our ears; attempted murders in multiple directions… And the thing that undoes my family is an angry crowd at the finish line that you walked through just fine."
"I'm sorry, kid." Isobel said again. "I'm so sorry."
~~/*\~~
The crowd was frantic, getting vicious. Almost none of them could understand each other, and those that spoke a common language again quickly found each other. Hugh kept his wife close, though they couldn't understand each other anymore. He noticed one man had a pack; and a group that had banded together saw it, finding the wrapped food parcel within. They quickly took it for themselves, hungry. Hugh steered clear. The battle the mob was waging with itself was as dangerous as the one they were going to bring against Sanctuary.
"We deserve to be in there!" Someone shouted. "They're no better than us! We've known them all for so long! What makes them better than us?!"
It proved to be a popular thought; the cry rising angrily from the whole crowd. Nobody seemed to notice that of all the people in the crowd, this one rabble-rouser was the only one that everyone still understood.
In the middle of the crowd, the figure somehow found a way to rise a little above them, getting everyone's attention; all eyes turning to hear the lone voice. "If they won't let us in, we have to find our own way in there!" He shouted. "Our lives depend on it! Tear those walls down! Break open the Doors! We Belong In There!"
The crowd roared its agreement, as Hugh finally got a look at the agitator. It was The Boy. The same one that had led them out of Sanctuary. The liar that wore the face of a trusted friend.
The Boy made a moment of eye contact with Hugh, and his look was cunning triumph.
Then the sound of thunder cracked overhead, from a clear sky; and the Boy suddenly looked worried; but the rage was so much stronger.
~~/*\~~
Telling Megan was hard; but after that they had to tell Nick and Alec. The holo was back up; so all the extended family could share the news; even across the world; though most of them were closer than that, thanks to Grant.
Rika was there in person, and Megan had broken the news. Rika looked younger than ever; small and scared. She'd never lost anyone before. Never even considered it as something that could happen in her life. "H-how did this happen?"
"I wish I could tell you." Megan sighed. "I wish I understood how grandma and grandpa came down on the wrong side of this. It doesn't make sense to me; since I came right to the edge. If you hadn't been there, I might have done worse. And yet, somehow, I am here, and they aren't. I don't know why they left, or what they went through, but I can't imagine they went further over the line than me."
Grant and Biggs traded a look. "You sure you want an answer to that?"
Megan nodded compulsively. "If you've got one, tell me."
Biggs sighed. "My first day as a Witness, I was released from Prison. My first instruction was to voluntarily go back in. The choice was never to disobey God or not. The choice was to go running into my worst nightmare, or to go anywhere else."
"Or whether or not to leave your family behind, or take a chance on the people you love; even when you have to go alone." Rika added; thinking of Dexter.
"Or a choice between believing what you're told, or what you think for yourself." Grant gestured at the Screen, silently showing Ingaret's image.
"Or a choice between saving something you've worked and dreamed of for a thousand years, or letting it all go on a moment's notice, because something more precious is at stake." Nick whispered, thinking of the Foundation, and his wife.
"Or a choice between trying to console your own damaged, lonely heart, or caring more about the happiness of others." Isobel put in over the holo, thinking of her moment with Hugh. "Or a choice between trusting in Jehovah so much you could walk through a violent crowd of enemies, or deciding it's too dangerous."
"Or a choice between listening to your doubts; or listening to your faith; even when nobody understands what you're afraid of." Beckah said, with a glance at her husband.
Megan was crying a bit. "Or a choice between striking down an enemy you've hated all your life, or acknowledging that God has forgiven him, so you should too." She whispered, feeling Erica's shadow evaporate from her at last.
"Not one of us, in fact, lives with regard to himself only, and no one dies with regard to himself only." Grant quoted scripture. "For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah. For to this end Christ died and came to life again, so that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living." He looked away from the grieving family. "I never really appreciated the gravity of that verse until I started making choices with Him in mind." He reached out and held Megan's shoulder in a nearly crushing grip. "This won't help much right now, but every single person in this room… Maybe every single person in every single Sanctuary around the world by now… They all had to make a choice, and decide if they were going to decide according to God. We're all here because we made the right choice."
Megan sniffed. "It's not fair."
As much as I hate to admit it, it might be the fairest choice anyone has made since A-Day. Grant thought to himself, but he didn't say that part aloud. "Look, I haven't been a Believer as long as any of you. But what I do know suggests that if we're going to follow the commandments and principles… That also includes instructions about supporting the heartbroken and grieving ones."
"He's right, love." Biggs hadn't left Megan's side by so much as an inch. "You'll always be surrounded by people who love you. Forever."
"Literally, forever." Rika came over to hug her mother from the other side. "When you finally told me about Erica, you also told me that investing so much time and love in healing is well worth the patience and effort, given that there are many thousands of millions of centuries to follow."
"This is True." A warm voice from Everywhere said to Megan gently. "I will be with you every step of the way. And if you ever feel like you're overburdening your family, then throw all this grief on Me. It is more than within My capacity; it's My privilege."
Megan rolled her eyes upward a moment, already getting used to the 'Direct Communication'. "I sometimes wonder if You find our problems laughable. Not this one, of course; but… Is there ever something You wish people hadn't come to You with?"
"If it matters to any of My children, it matters to Me." The answer came. "You know how that feels, don't you?"
"I guess I do." Megan nodded. "The kids in my Orphanage needed help with little things all the time. They grew out of it, or got comfortable asking their proper parents; but I never resented them for it." She sniffed. "I'm an orphan. Again. My mother and father, then Erica, then Hugh and Kasumi. It's the same cycle. Lots of talk about loving me forever, and then they're just gone. You'd think after seven hundred years, it would take."
"I pulled back enough to give you enough space to make the choice all by yourselves; and if you turned to each other for help, so much the better; because your Enemy preyed on you most when you were alone. Be proud of your achievements, Megan. Your family taught you to make smart choices; and they succeeded in you."
"But not for themselves."
"I know. I loved them both too. And I had, since long before you knew them. I loved them even when they were gone, asleep and waiting for me to bring them back. I knew they'd love to have you."
Megan chuckled a bit, despite herself. "Is that how You live with it?"
And then this feeling came over her, like the air was hugging her. "Megan, I'm a part of things every time a seed sprouts, every time a cell divides. Rika loves you. Beyond what you've done for her, and what you've taught her, she's grateful to you for bringing her into the world. I chose a long time ago to focus on the wonderful, beautiful, amazing things that happen when people decide to be creative, be generous; and above all else, to be loving. I'm sorry you were born into a world where goodness was in retreat; but now, thanks to your actions and your hard work, your daughter will live in a world where there is nothing but Good."
"I know. And I don't want to sound ungrateful-"
"You don't have to feel thankful that you're not worse off. I know you're heartbroken, Megan. But you won't always be. I'll be with you every step of the way back to joy."
"And so will I." Biggs said softly. "So will Rika."
"And hundreds of others, many of whom still consider you to be their original idea of what a real 'mom' should be." She was promised warmly.
Megan sniffed. "One thing more, Father?" She said quietly. "My dad showed me the verse in Isaiah 65: 'I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, nor will they come up into the heart'."
"That verse was true. I know, you don't want to forget Hugh and Kasumi, any more than you want to forget Erica. But time and help and love will heal this pain; as it has everything else. I promise, there will come a time when all you've been through will add up to things that will enrich your life, rather than reduce it."
"It doesn't feel that way right now." Megan admitted.
"I know. But when you were nine years old, you thought you'd never know anything but hunger and cold; and you weren't scared because you knew you could take it. The life you've had as an adult wasn't even something you'd dream about then. Let Me make you this promise, dearest: What the future holds for you now? It will be so far beyond even this Paradise that you can't see it coming. Not yet."
Megan sniffed, and snuggled into her husband tightly. "Well. I guess I'll find out, in time. I have time."
"Amen." Biggs murmured.
~~/*\~~
"It just doesn't feel right." Beckah said quietly to Alec. "When I saw you again, I felt… It was actually better than the Returning. I can't really compare it to anything!"
Alec hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I scared you."
"I've been going through the lists, and figuring out who made it, and I haven't done that since A-Day. I really hate doing it again." She kissed him softly. "I'm so glad you're here; but… I don't know, maybe it's the last little throwback from the days when life was short, but it doesn't seem right that we're outliving so many people who are so much younger than us."
"I know." Alec whispered into her hair. "Just a thought, but… You know what you could do with a problem like that?"
Beckah bit her lip and nodded. "Jehovah God..." She prayed softly. "I don't know if we're past the time of testing yet. The door is shut; and I'll still have this feeling tomorrow, so if I must wait for an answer…"
But the answer came swiftly. "It was a matter of days, between the Exodus from Egypt, and a Festival to a Golden Calf. Everyone in that crowd had been a slave their whole life. Not one Idol could save Egypt, or save Israel. Some of the older men witnessed their own children worship the image they made for themselves; fashioned from their own earrings. Some of those old men are here, right now; safe in My Sanctuary. And so are you, Beckah. And so is your husband. And so are your own children. It wasn't easy for you, but you're all here. We have eternity to make a life that is nothing but joy and fulfillment. Thank you, Beckah. Maybe some people didn't agree, but you did; and you vindicated My faith in you."
"Hugh and Kasumi were our friends." Alec put in quietly, and Beckah knew He'd heard it too. God Himself, part of the conversation with them both. "A huge part of what made eternal life wonderful was lifelong friendships."
"I know." And His voice was so heavy with it. "All My friends are here with Me now. I will never lose another. Neither will you. Look around at all the friendships you have yet to make, precious ones. I've been wanting you to meet some of them for centuries."
~~/*\~~
Outside the Sanctuaries, the sky was still dark. There was the sound of lightning and thunders; but they all came from far away. Nobody liked to think about what was happening outside; and none of them had to do anything but wait.
Safe inside Sanctuary, it wasn't exactly the standard they were used to. Most of the people present were on bread and water rations, in fact. Flatbreads were being served, in opposition to the usual buffet that could sink a ship. It made little difference, because most people had little appetite. The Sanctuaries were talking to each other, everyone locating everyone they knew and loved. In a world full of people with centuries of life experience, and perfect memories; dedicated to loving their brothers, everyone had a long list. For the most part, it was a reassuring search. There were a few heartbreaking surprises to go around.
The emotions hit Megan in unexpected moments. Biggs had finally been willing to let her go somewhere without him. He'd gotten fiercely protective and Megan was glad for it, willing to let him baby her, just this once. After a lifetime of being a parent to kids she almost never got to keep; she had forgotten how nice it was to have someone look after her. "He's never killed an angel before." She said suddenly.
Her husband blinked. "Hm?"
"The demons are just fallen angels. Even the Devil is." Megan offered, sounding exhausted, but her mind wouldn't rest. "They've been abyssed for a thousand years, but they're loose now. It occurs to me that we've never heard of a Demon or an Angel being 'destroyed'. Only cast out, exorcised… I remember a story from the Gospel, where Jesus cast out a demon that was too strong for any of his Apostles to expel. It struck me that demons aren't faceless or identical. The War in Heaven was a Civil War; brother against brother. They have names, histories… Jesus was instrumental in their creation too. After thirteen billion years of the universe's existence, seven thousand years of opposition… today is the first ever recorded instance when a spirit creature is actually being executed."
"Interesting thought." He frowned. "I wonder when they knew it would come to that." He murmured. "I mean, we weren't given details on when exactly Satan started to turn. I wonder if the other Angels warned him, pleaded with him… I wonder when the Devil knew he was going to die. I mean, actually cease to be."
"Maybe he never thought it could happen." Megan yawned. "My parents clearly didn't, or they'd have forced themselves through the crowd."
~~/*\~~
Nick woke up to find Rachel beside him. She had kept him in their private room since they found out Hugh hadn't made it in; and kept everyone else out. They hadn't spoken much. They'd prayed, held each other, slept often, eaten little. It was a typical response to grief. One or two friends had come by to offer condolence, and support.
With the Database back online, Rachel was able to hide in her work again. She'd recreated the designs for the Chariot Project from memory. It was Nick's dream project; and she wondered if giving it back to him would somehow make him feel better.
Nick lay his head in her lap, watching her stylus dance across the Device like a blur. "Fear of man is one of the oldest tricks in the book." He said so softly that he wasn't sure she'd hear him. "You and Alec? You both had to walk through a mob on A-Day, to get inside the Hall; knowing there'd be no way back if you went one step further. You did it a thousand years ago. Hugh and Kas couldn't do it yesterday."
Rachel nodded. "Hugh was a pilot during your War. The only crowd of enemies he had to face was the ones he saw through a bombsight. He'd never faced opposition up close. Followed by a thousand years where he wasn't afraid to crash if he flew with his eyes closed? Fear is a hard thing to face for the first time."
Nick looked at the Device in her hand. "I wonder, if I had spent more time with my brother instead of a Spaceship that never flew anywhere, would I have more relatives alive right now?"
"We went through the same questions after A-Day." Rachel said quietly. "The What-if's will make you crazy if you let them."
"I know." Nick yawned, and kept his eyes shut. "I very nearly made the same mistake, you know."
"I got the truth pretty close to the end." Rachel commented. "Close enough to feel like I was on rollerskates when I walked into that Hall; but long enough to have hard, angry discussions with practically everyone I knew and loved. But when I learned about Jehovah, and about the future, it was like I could see through my world; and suddenly I knew what really mattered; what was really happening. It was… a Revelation. I really can't think of any other word for it. The blindfold fell off my eyes, and I could behold a world I didn't realize was being hidden from me." She stroked his hair. "The Old System was designed to distract you. Sometimes with frivolities, sometimes with major, important events. My Generation had more than enough of both."
"The Final Test is a masterpiece." Nick said simply. "In ways we didn't expect, or prepare ourselves for; everyone in the world has been tested with a straight up choice; and it revealed so much. This wasn't about imperfection. Adam and Eve were perfect, but they still made a bad choice for their own reasons. The same choice everyone was given: To obey, or not." He bit his lip. "Still… Does it seem possible that thousands of millions of people all went through something as personal as the people we know?"
"Everyone who should be in Sanctuary is here." Rachel said seriously. "Ask me how I know."
"How?"
Rachel turned her Device over and presented him with the original blueprints. "We've got room for everyone. There's no overcrowding. The other Sanctuaries report no supply shortages or empty chairs at empty tables. We wondered why there weren't 'round numbers' on the blueprints; and why 'capacity' was the only thing not uniform in construction from one site to another. Now we know. We thought it was odd that we would have so many sites, some of them so close together; but it turned out to be the perfect arrangement for people to get to on foot, without overfilling any of them. And I believe that is a pretty clear message being sent."
"I would too." Nick agreed. "It's a message being delivered; that the One in charge now is ready for everything the future brings."
~~/*\~~
The doors to Sanctuary opened finally. It was a beautiful day outside. Nobody was in a hurry to leave.
"A thousand years have taught us patience." James said to Atxi. "And if I'm honest, I'm a little nervous to go home. I know for a fact that some homes have been vandalized while we were away. It feels like going back to our lives is…"
"The last hiding place before we look out at whatever's left?" Atxi quipped. "What's left includes you. Anything else I can start over. We've done it before."
"We have." James admitted.
But eventually, everyone filed out of the Sanctuaries. The air outside was completely still, completely silent.
Beckah and Alec came out, hand in hand. "You hear that?" Alec said softly.
Beckah smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. "Peace on Earth." She murmured. "Reminds me of the morning after A-Day."
"Me too." Alec nodded. "I wish we had known each other then. I would have liked to have shared that day with you."
Beckah kissed his cheek. "Well, it seems we've got every other day ahead."
The Trib Survivors came out and looked around as if waiting for something. They were the only ones to go through this before. Alec and Beckah looked expectant, with each other, and with the world. The morning after A-Day, there had been angelic choirs, elaborate feasts… This time, there was nothing; for several minutes.
Then they heard the song again; though they saw no sign of the singers.
Shout in triumph to Jehovah, all the earth.
Be cheerful and shout joyfully and sing praises.
Sing praises to Jehovah with the harp,
With the harp and the melodious song.
With the trumpets and the sound of the horn,
Shout in triumph before the King, Jehovah.
Alec had seen angelic choirs before. This was something else. After A-Day, and at the Centennials, the Angels sang for them; or at least in their presence. This was the first time Alec felt like the Angels were singing to them. It reminded him of the stories about Angels singing around Jehovah's Throne, day and night. It felt like he was standing in the Throne Room now, listening as the Angels sang their praises, as though the Throne was sharing this moment with all His subjects.
And they were sharing in it, Alec and Beckah and everyone else in the world were all singing along. Our voices have improved after a thousand years. He admitted to himself.
Let the sea thunder and all that fills it,
The earth and those dwelling in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the mountains shout joyfully together
Before Jehovah, for he has judged the earth.
He has judged the inhabited earth with righteousness
And the peoples with fairness.
It faded, and everyone was smiling, tears of awe on their faces. They all knew someone who hadn't made it, but right now, all they felt was awe and devotion.
~~/*\~~
Grant sat on the grass. The songs of praise had gone on for hours and hours. He wondered if they were singing through all the Psalms, or if there were new songs to sing. Finally, the music came to an end. Grant had heard that after A-Day, there had been an Angel delivering a message; but not today. There were no mediators, no messengers. Nothing but them, and God, speaking directly. His voice was excited, exultant. What He was saying, He had wanted to say for a long time.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty. Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in loyal love and truth, showing loyal love to billions, eradicating error and transgression and sin!"
"Amen." Everyone responded, unbidden. Grant wondered how they all knew to speak at that moment.
"You have endured trial and loss. You have rejoiced in the hopes fulfilled, and the promises of times yet to come. You have made a defense of your faith, and of Me. And all this, so that people may know that I AM JEHOVAH; and that I Am the Most High over all the Earth." The Declaration was like a roaring thunder; and a rushing river at the same time. "For you, the last thousand years have been Paradise. By My design, they were merely the 'recovery' of what was lost. When you need to restore something that was broken, who better to call than the one who was directly involved in the original construction? My Master Worker was My instrument to create the universe. And when something went wrong, he volunteered; eager to Ransom and Restore a creation that had been torn apart by suffering and malice. But My Son was not meant to be the King over Eden. I was. With the world restored to its original intention; My plan for the Earth and its people can finally begin in earnest. Surely I say to you, filling the Earth and making it a Paradise it is only the very beginning. The reality of 'superabundance' is so much more."
~~/*\~~
In a Sanctuary far closer to the Foundation, Rachel and Nick were hearing the same words.
"The beginning of what?" Nick wondered. "I've always wondered what happens to the 'Heavenly Class' when the Covenant is over."
"I guess we'll find out." Rachel smiled.
"You were each created with free will, moral independence, and personal judgment. At any point in your lives, both before this time of Restoration, and in the Old System of things, you could have chosen to stand silent, even after learning the Truth. Instead, you chose to follow My commandments, and trust that I would make the world a wonderful place. And now, for all time; it will be." The Voice was so happy. "My Name has been sanctified. My Kingdom has come. My Will has taken place as in Heaven, also upon the Earth. Your debts have been forgiven, as you have also forgiven your debtors."
~~/*\~~
Megan couldn't help the glance at Dexter. Forgiveness had come almost too late; but she felt lighter for it.
"You will never again be brought into temptation, as you have been delivered forever from the wicked one. The wicked are no more. You will look at where they were, and they will never be found there again. But you, as My meek ones, will possess the earth, and find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace."
"Amen." Everyone responded, unbidden. Ingaret couldn't help but marvel. God Himself was leading the world in prayer.
"And so I ask you now; for once, and for all eternity ahead: What Is My Name?"
"Jehovah!" The crowd shouted.
"This is My name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered from generation to generation. I have sanctified it to times indefinite." The Voice boomed across the sky. "By showing this wisdom, you make My heart rejoice; and gave Me a reply to the one who taunted Me. I was right to put My faith in you. Well done, good and faithful servants. I accept all the sons and daughters of Earth as My cherished possession; and here I am making a covenant: Before all people, I will do wonderful things that have never been done in all the earth, and all the people living eternal will see the work of Jehovah! I am a God, not of the Dead, but of the Living. Since the creation of the world, I have longed to have you all with Me, living eternal as I am. And now, at last, you will be!"
