Chapter Seven: "We Made It!"

Months passed. The parking lot turned into a community farm. The surface of the overpass was for water catchment, but the shady space underneath was being turned into public courtyard. The store was now a community centre. The open storefront was now a colorful family place. The bookshelves were still there, and used often. When someone passed through and kept a book to take with them, they'd replace it with another.

The kids had stayed. Sasha had adopted them and moved into one of the buildings in the row. The kids studied with Sasha, and were making progress fast. Almost everyone who had stayed for the community garden had some skills, and they all tutored the kids in various disciplines.

All told, the little community was about thirty people. The overpass gave them protection from the weather, and they took to all having their meetings together, outdoors.

The container garden spread to fill the whole parking lot. The first crop was growing so fast, it was believed they could get another whole planting and harvesting season before the weather turned, mild though the winter was expected to be.

~~/*\~~

"Well. Things have changed." Kit observed from the doorway.

Biggs saw his sister and moved to take her in a big hug. "Sis! Welcome back!"

Kit smiled into his shoulder. "I had a bet with myself that you wouldn't still be here. I hadn't expected you to have a whole town growing around you."

"I know, it's crazy." He agreed and led her over to a table. "The place is coming together, though. Pipes and black paint gave us solar water heaters, and the catchment fills up the water tower behind that subdivision now. That windmill will pump it up to the tower, gravity brings it back down to these buildings… And the windmill generates power, too."

Kit looked around as he pointed features out. "No solar panels?"

"We found a place, but there's a lot of demand for them. We found another way; we can wait." Biggs nodded. "I assume you're staying for lunch?"

"If there's enough to go around." Kit nodded. "Who built the windmill?"

"I did." Biggs said with a smile. "The place was under construction a year ago. I found some of the leftover construction supplies; and it suddenly seemed so obvious how to fit them together-"

Wruf! The dog apparently picked up Kit's scent and rushed over to welcome her back.

Kit pet him happily. "Hey there! You have a name yet?"

"About a dozen." Biggs laughed. "Everyone here has given him a different one." He regarded his sister. "How long can you stay?"

"I have to check in with the Mount Morgan Congregation." She told him. "I can be back by dinnertime. I have to inform them of a few things." She cast an eye around. "And with a team of this size, I'm sure some of the mail in my car is for these people." She gave him a look. "After that, I'm heading south. Mail Route. Why? You want to come along this time?"

Biggs started to answer, when two small voices rang out. "Uncle Biggs!"

Cara and Kyle were at the age where they got taller every day; and they ran in to see him. Sasha strolled in behind then, a little slower.

Biggs hugged the kids and made introductions. "Guys, this is my sister, Kit. Kit, this is Sasha, and her kids, Cara and Kyle. They've just moved to Mount Morgan themselves."

The dog just about wagged himself in half when he saw the twins, bouncing up on his paws, licking their faces happily.

"The kids wanted to help with the harvest. I sometimes wonder who they're happier to see; you or the pup." Sasha commented. "But I guess they don't know you like I do."

There was something in her voice when she said that to Biggs. Something that made Kit's eyebrows rise as she regarded this woman standing with her brother.

"Well…" Biggs said, a little awkward. "As it happens, I may be moving on soon."

Sasha reacted. "Oh?"

Biggs gave her the warmest, friendliest smile he could. "This place is pretty much everyone's. And the dog would probably prefer to stay with you and the kids, so… If you wanted to make it yours."

Kit drifted back, giving them space to make their goodbyes. She headed out to her car, to collect her mailbag.

~~/*\~~

One mailcall was the same as the other. Kit went to the middle of the community and started calling out the names on the letters. When there was a match, the audience would applaud and pass the letter over to them.

Once the mail was delivered, those present would have questions about what was going on across the world. Most of them she couldn't answer. Some of them she could, and everyone was thrilled to hear more about Paradise as it grew.

Then there was one announcement that everyone thrilled to hear. "My last delivery was an invitation to the first Convention; to be held on the first Anniversary of A-Day."

"Is that what we're calling it?" Biggs asked her quietly as the room applauded.

"That's the term I'm hearing." Kit nodded and turned back to the crowd. "First anniversary is only a few weeks away. They're broadcasting it. There'll be a signal relay sent here by the end of the day; and we'll have to find a way to display the program when it's transmitted-"

Sasha raised a hand quickly. "Oh! I know where to get a projector! We can have a tie-in right from here."

Kit nodded. "Almost three dozen people have moved into the place since I was last here. More than enough for a meeting." She smiled. "I'm sorry I won't be here. The need for Postmen is dropping as the relays spread, so I volunteered to help organize the broadcast. Only a few weeks to go, and there's a lot of work to do."

~~/*\~~

A delivery from town was made soon after. Kit addressed the people again. "The Conference came up with this design a few months ago, and sent the plans out to everyone." She reported. "Communications are being restored as fast as possible for the 'Now On Earth' International Convention. As I said at lunch, the program is extensive; so much of it is being transmitted, instead of outlined and given to local brothers. By Day One, pretty much everywhere in the world that still has people will be back in contact. The good news is that once the program is finished, the towers will remain up. The Conference says they'll keep working for years, since there's very few moving parts. It'll just run, on its own; until it gets an upgrade."

"The plans are here. They're churning out components in town as fast as they can." Biggs added. "So we've gotta assemble the tower within the next two weeks."

"Something you'll learn about Paradise, bro." His sister said with certainty. "It's organized."

"It is." Biggs nodded. "Y'know, I still haven't actually been to a Convention yet. I hope this is a good one."

"Best ever." His sister promised. "At least, assuming I do my job right."

~~/*\~~

It only took them a day. They put it on top of the overpass, giving it range, and a clear line of sight to town, where other towers were going up. It looked like a cell tower with a solar panel wrapped around the top of it.

As it was raised, Kit and Biggs made their plans for afterwards. "The Store doesn't really belong to me. Passing the room upstairs over to anyone who needs it is simple enough, given that…" He faltered.

"Given that you don't plan to come back." Kit finished for him. "You told everyone?"

"I'll leave after the convention." He nodded. "Most of them know. In fact, a lot of people come and go from this place. Aside from me and the dog, there isn't one permanent resident since we started here. Sasha and the kids live in town now..."

Silence.

"I've never gotten into your love life." Kit said quietly, making sure that she and Biggs were alone. "Mostly because in the Old Days, you dated idiots. Then you got locked up for most of your life and dated nobody..."

"You can imagine what went through my mind when they locked the women up with us." Biggs agreed grimly. "You think I should stay."

"Or take her with you. Even with the kids… Okay, maybe not. But she seemed interested to me." Kit offered. "You could have taken her up on it." His sister smiled at him. "I think it's fair to say you two are the same Religion, and all."

"You are-you were- in about four Twelve Step Programs." Biggs told her. "They tell you not to make any big choices when you get clean, right? You get a sudden rush of being able to do things like a person; and it goes to your head?"

"I guess that's true." Kit yawned. "I guess I'm feeling it too."

"Sasha doesn't really know my history. After the dust settled, I left the others because I wasn't ready for people yet. I spent years in prison, only to go back voluntarily as the whole System came down around my ears. This place… It's been good, letting me get acclimated. Now that I've done that, it's time to move on."

Kit looked at him. "Uh oh."

"What?"

"You're starting to get comfortable here. You're starting to care about the people, and you're starting to be cared about. Personally, I mean. Not in the 'all men are brothers' kind of way; but in the 'my kids miss you' kind of way. And you're running again."

Biggs paused. "There may be something to that." He admitted. "But for now, it's gotta be that way."

"Why?"

"It's… hard to put into words."

"Give it a shot."

Biggs was silent for a moment. "As bad as it was, Prison was a lot better than a lot of places in the Old World." Biggs admitted. "I know, because some of the old-timers wanted to stay instead of get parole. The world was too scary and different. Some of the short-termers wanted to stay inside because they were scared they'd start drinkin' again if they were set free." Biggs waved a hand at the screen. "I've been 'paroled' for a year, and I'm still scared to death that I'm gonna say the wrong thing and get hit with a bolt of lightning."

"So… what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I haven't left that cell yet." Biggs admitted. "And if that's happening to me, what's happening to all the people who had it worse than life in prison? You said it yourself a million times; the old days kept people distracted, beaten down; and so exhausted from trying to stay fed that they didn't know what day it was; let alone figuring out the meaning of life."

Kit suddenly realized. "And when those people come back; and find out that things have changed now, you figure most people won't know how to handle it."

Biggs waved that off. "You know the real reason I didn't take a car when I left the Camp a year ago? It's because I couldn't remember how to drive. I haven't been behind the wheel for most of my life. I haven't had a straight job in longer still. I've never had to get my own toothbrush, or make a sandwich, or any one of a thousand things that actual people know how to do." He gestured at the others. "Everyone is trying to find their feet in a world where their jobs are gone, and their health is perfect… But all of those people know how to do things that people should know how to do. First time I made a sandwich was for Sasha; and I nearly lost it when she said it tasted good."

Kit nodded. "I admit, I hadn't thought of that."

"Right now, there is only one division left in the human race. People who know what's going on, and people who don't. I may be a brother; but I still think I'm in the second group." He looked to the open road. "So I'm… I don't know, I'm looking."

"For what?"

"Hard to tell, but I hope I find it soon; and that I know it when I see it."

There was a long silence, and Kit finally nodded. "In the meantime, you've set up a nice spot. This little freehold of yours? Or whoever's it is."

"It won't last." Biggs admitted. "I doubt we'll be using the highway for long. Certainly not forever. The only thing this place has going for it is location. In another year, none of these people will bother to stop here."

"But for now?" Kit probed.

"For now, for a guy that needed to ease his way into a world full of people, and feel like he can have his own space… It's been a great start." Biggs admitted.

"For I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand." Kit quoted.

"Isaiah 41. I've been reading." Biggs nodded. "What brought that to mind?"

"You. You were being led by the hand." Kit smiled. "You weren't ready for people. So you started out walking alone, then a dog came along and insisted. You could handle a dog. Then a guy came in and dropped off some books. You could handle a visit. Then a single family unit that needed to sit and study. Then a garden growing. Then a farm. Then a community. You weren't ready for a huge family, so God gave you a smaller one, adding a person at a time. Until you had a whole congregation, and didn't notice." She smiled a bit. "And somewhere in there, you learned how to make a sandwich."

Biggs smothered a smile. "My sister. Took me almost eight months to realize what took you an hour. You always were the smart one in the family." He stood up. "I have to get moving. Me and Rossi are going to scrounge up a screen to project the convention on."

"I'll go with you." Kit jumped up. "If you're running again, I may not see you for a while."

~~/*\~~

The Screen was a highway billboard, painted white; and stood against the supports for the overpass. The members of the small freehold were all gathered in front of it, waiting for the program to start.

"When the program is finished, we plan to secure the screen there. I'm guessing there'll be more broadcasts, now that the transmitter is up."

"Gotta say, part of me thought you'd be agoraphobic." Kit observed. "That's the word, right?"

"That's the word." He nodded. "And I guess I am, in a way. But I have spent almost a year in a room I could leave at will, and it had a window that I could see the world outside through. Now I'm ready for a little more."

"I'm hearing it all over the place." Kit nodded. "Everyone wants to know what the priority is. I've seen the Program. This first convention is more than just prayer and Bible study. It's organization. When the Convention is over, they'll keep transmitting. How to build communities, how to set up sewage, water, food. Schools are being set up all over the place; and not just for the kids. We're starting the whole human race over again. Every culture, every country, every part of civilization. It's all just... starting again."

"The twins haven't seen a school in a while, and I've only ever been to a school with metal detectors and bars on the windows." Biggs admitted. "Everyone took turns teaching them things, including me. Maybe I learned a few things too."

Kit nodded, as though that made total sense. "I was thinking about what you said, about how you need 'person' lessons. Biggs, none of us know what we're going to be. Or how to get there." Kit smiled at herself softly. "None of us are farmers; none of us have built houses before. For that matter, none of us have been healthy before. Even the 'healthy' ones have no idea what perfect health is actually going to be like. None of us have ever lived in a world without Satan's influence; and for that matter neither has any other human being in history. We're going to have to learn a lot about how people really are, without that on us."

"Except we're not looking for a clean slate." Biggs countered. "Clean slate means starting with nothing. When I got here, this place was a huge parking lot with boarded up buildings, and an abandoned overpass, unfinished, extended thirty feet in midair, nowhere near the highway. Turning the Earth into a Paradise is going to be a big job. Turning everyone back into whatever God's view of 'normal people' looks like? That's going to be a much, much harder one." Biggs nodded.

Kit chewed her lip. "I remember saying something similar to the sister I studied with. She said that when she first got the Truth she decided she was going to save everyone in her family, and all of her friends; and show them Eternal Life. Well, she's here without any of those people. And after a while, she knew it would turn out that way. She said to me: 'It's okay if you only save one person. And it's okay if the only person you save is yourself'."

"You saved me too." Biggs looked down, flushing a little. "You're not wrong, though. We have no idea what the world is about to become. Or what it will look like when someone decides that. I mean, where are we going from here, seriously? That verse about building houses and planting vineyards? I have no idea how to do any of that."

Kit was about to answer, when the projection came on; showing a stage with a podium. The first image projected was the theme of the convention: "Now On Earth." They could hear the local audience applauding and joined in. "We better get our seats."

~~/*\~~

"Is that Benedict?" Biggs commented to his sister.

She nodded. "I guess we know what he's been doing at The Conference."

On the screen, Benedict stepped up to the podium. "So." He said with a smile. "We Made It!"

Everyone cheered and applauded, including Kit and Biggs.

"We made it for one reason only, and that is because Jehovah God, in His great love for us, made our survival a matter of His sovereignty." Benedict continued grandly. "The Bible says that 'All who called on The Name of Jehovah would be saved'! He was under no obligation to do that. First and foremost, His rule had to be vindicated. He could have let humanity wipe itself out; and just started again. But He chose to remember the love we showed for His leadership! First and foremost, before anything else we do, we want to show our thanks and our trust in That Name."

The applause came again. The crowd was so hyped up that it barely managed to quiet down enough to hear him speak.

"So, it's appropriate that the first thing we do at this International Convention is take a closer look at what The Name means for us now, in this New World. We know that the name Jehovah means 'He Causes To Become'. He revealed that meaning to Moses. Very quickly He made Moses, an exiled, disgraced shepherd with a speech impediment, into a leader of his Nation, and a prophet during a time of test." Benedict declared. "We can all say something similar, because whatever we were, and wherever we came from, we were Caused To Become the start of a whole New Earth."

The crowd roared again, and it suddenly occurred to Biggs that everyone everywhere was cheering and clapping at the same time.

"Exodus chapter 31 speaks of how Jehovah would build His centre for True Worship, starting with nothing. He Caused To Become. Bezalel, a man who had likely spent his life making bricks, was trained by direct Holy Spirit to be a master Artisan! No matter what we're directed to build now, God can Cause Us To Become. Without qualifications, Noah built an Ark. Without a sword or armor, David slew giants. From a prison cell, Joseph became Administrator of a world power. Without an Army, Gideon won victories against overwhelming forces. And all because they were 'Caused to Become'."

Another roar of delight. Benedict was hitting a point that they were all thinking about.

"Jehovah can equip us for every good work, through miracles if he has to." Benedict declared. "Have no fear about what we're going to do, or what our assignment might be. Everything we needed to fear was wiped out a year ago. Over the next few days, we're going to be exploring what comes next, and how everyone can contribute, in preparation for Eternal Life. Don't let fear of being unqualified hold you back, or even give you a moment's pause. Because we have all 'Become' more than once already; in His Name. And He will do it again."

Kit traded a look with Biggs, and burst out laughing. "The windmill!" She enthused. "I thought it was strange that you could build one."

"I had no idea where it came from." Biggs admitted with a laugh. "I was feeling pretty pleased with myself about it until just now."

"Y'know, a few years ago, I mentioned to Benedict that sometimes the Watchtower articles were on subjects that I was just thinking about." Kit observed. "I wonder how that'll expand now that God is running the whole show?"

"Don't know, but I can't wait to find out." Biggs admitted.

(Author's Note: Bezalel was mentioned by name in Exodus 31. Jehovah said he would 'fill him with the spirit of God, giving him wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of every kind of craftsmanship'. Similar promises were made about Oholiab. The publications do not say for certain if either of these men were trained in these fields beforehand, or if Jehovah literally 'downloaded' the knowledge they needed into them from scratch. Either is possible. But the Tabernacle they built was still in use five centuries later, so it was unquestionably a quality job.)

Kit regarded him. "You're still leaving?"

"This place was good for finding my feet." Biggs nodded. "But spiritually, I feel like a toddler learning to take his first steps. Now that I can walk, I think if I want 'The Real Life', I gotta go looking for it."

"Prison made you a poet, Bro."

Biggs chuckled. "I remember thinking once that we had opposite problems in OS. You were never able to 'settle' and I was never allowed to move. Maybe we can both get started by fixing that."

"There'll be far less need for Postmen with the lines of communication set. I guess I'm looking for my place too." Kit bit her lip. "I know you have to 'get moving', but I feel like if I don't go with you…"

Biggs shook his head. "When I was inside, you were a lifeline. A life preserver, really. But you use a life preserver when you're drowning. Now that we're on solid ground, maybe it's okay. You've been trying to get me into this world since you became convinced it was real." He tried to smile reassuringly. "We have eternity, Sis. We'll always be there for each other. Even when we're in different places."

Kit hugged him. "Jehovah God," She prayed in his ear, not breaking the hug. "Thank You for my brother. Thank You for his life; and for seeing him safely here into Your world. I don't know what he's looking for; but I know You can provide it."

"For all of us." Biggs returned. "Amen."

***

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