Ingaret Godlefe was part of the Teaching Committee. In the early days, setting up places to hold conventions and organizing communications between them took a lot of work. As the centuries passed, communications became reliable, even internationally. The Stadiums were built for conventions; and then refit to transmit the program to individuals as the populations grew too large.
The program material was decided years in advance. Ingaret had joined the planning stages because of her work at designing the Expo, now known as the Foundation.
"Back in OS, the teaching was all about preparation." Ingaret said to Rachel, via Holo. "Preparation for the teaching work, for overcoming problems; for making a defense of your faith… There hasn't been any of that on the cards for nine hundred years. The teaching now has been about leading people along until they've learned everything there is to teach them. The great thing about being a futurist is that the past is static. With a thousand years of study, you can glean everything there is to learn from the past."
"Nobody can say they haven't tried to teach us all they can." Rachel agreed.
"It's why they needed people from the Expo. Back when we started, our job was to take all the smartest, most innovative people from the last six thousand years, and catch them up on how the science had changed. That was centuries of catch-up learning… But as the ranks filled up, and the graves emptied, nobody needed a 'refresher' course. Remember?"
"I remember lesson plans became about demographics." Rachel nodded. "How to teach someone with a century of experience, versus how to educate someone who was just starting out."
"Well, those demographics are the same for the whole world now." Ingaret nodded. "They've been using a similar formula for the conventions all this time. How to teach people who have been here since A-Day, and not overload the people who just arrived a century ago. Now that the Return is done, and the birth rate has dropped to nothing… There'll be a moment very soon where nobody will be 'new' at this." She lowered her voice. "Rach, I shouldn't be telling you this yet, but the planning work is over."
"Over?" Rachel was surprised.
"The Teaching Committee's plans, the programs for the conventions, even the literature releases… All of them end at the Tenth Centennial. There's nothing after that. At all."
Rachel froze. "Well, that doesn't make sense." She said finally.
"It makes perfect sense, actually." Ingaret confessed. "Once the millennium is over, there won't be any need for a Teaching Committee. Possibly not for any committee at all."
Rachel bit her lip. "How's the mood there? With your guys?"
Ingaret let out a breath. "I don't know how to describe it. It was a job we were proud to have, and we thought we'd have it forever, and now we're closing up shop. That's why I wanted to talk to you, as a matter of fact. I'm going to wind up unemployed pretty soon. The Overseers give us the topics they want to talk about, and we develop them into talking points, talks outlines; articles… But that's all done decades in advance. With the new series of Conventions gearing up; there's nothing more for us to do."
"You're looking for a job?" Rachel grinned. "When the Ship launches, there'll be plenty of room at the Expo. A lot of us are going to be 'out there'; including me and Nick."
"I'd like to come back." Ingaret agreed. "In the meantime… Bit of a holiday, I guess. I know what all the talks are going to be about in the Convention Series; but who says it's any less interesting when you know the ending?"
Rachel didn't laugh. "I made the same observation about A-Day."
~~/*\~~
The next Convention was not an International, but as with all Conventions now, some elements were sent around the world. In the final part of the Old System, interviews and talks would be recorded and played at each convention site, with the audio dubbed into hundreds of languages. In Paradise, everyone spoke the same language; so the process was easier.
Grant had been back and Baptized for a while. Even so, Rika invited him to watch the Convention with her. Grant responded by returning the invitation, and Rika ended up watching the program from Melody's house. It was the first time Rika had met his mother. Melody was still quiet, a little more withdrawn than most people. Rika knew intellectually that she would come out of her shell in time.
When Melody busied herself in the kitchen, making a platter for the viewing, Rika shared these thoughts. "People bring everything about themselves with them when they're Returned. The world that hurts people is gone, but the people are still here. If your mom came back late, it's because she was resilient enough to be ready before the Thousand Years were up. Nobody goes into the endgame with a handicap."
Grant nodded. "I've looked up people I used to know. They're all 'better' now. More at ease, more… socially minded. I grant you, they were starting from a hard place, but they made their way to the 'Real Life' you keep talking about."
Rika tried to make her next question seem casual by hiding it behind a sip of her drink. "What about you?"
He shook his head a little. "Everyone I've ever met thinks I became a criminal out of greed, rage; or a complete contempt for authority."
Rika's head tilted. "But you didn't?"
Grant's face was unreadable. "In OS, I never found a single authority figure that I didn't find contemptible. It's not the same thing, is it? Guards in Juvie delighted in finding ways to tell their prisoners how worthless we were. Cops could kill people and get paid vacations. Nineteen year old Assistant Managers in &$%@* fast food restaurants would spit in the food of any customer they didn't like. School teachers always asked the kid who didn't know the answer, because the ritual humiliation was 'motivational'. And all of that came before I was eighteen."
Rika tittered a bit at the explicit words. Even baptized, Grant still let out the odd curse. A sign of youth, she decided; and let him talk.
"Then I got old enough to be charged as an adult, and I saw more of how the world worked. Politicians, Billionaires, Industrialists… The sheer number of ways they found to exploit and harm people who couldn't fight back was staggering. And people had to take it because they either say 'thank you sir, may I have another' or watch their kids eat from dumpsters. The only people who never lost their jobs were the ones who fired people. Hospitals could hit you with a dozen different bills whether you were healed or not; and let you die the second you had nothing left to pay them with. Clergy could get away with worse than murder. People in charge of the world weren't in favor of anything but winning, and weren't against anything but losing."
Rika shook her head with a hard sigh. "Every time I meet someone from those final days, I wonder how much of it they're making up."
"Trust me, Professor: We couldn't make it up if we tried." Grant said seriously. "I didn't become a criminal because I liked hurting people. I did it because I knew the Rules weren't fair, and trying to live honestly was suicide." He pulled his head in automatically; somehow embarrassed to admit 'reforming' to this young woman. "I guess I got baptized because I finally found an Authority that's worth trusting and obeying."
Rika laughed delightedly. "My dad was worried you'd be trying to start an empire."
Grant kept his face unreadable. "So many people joined me because they hated everything." He said quietly. "I'm amazed how many of them made it when they got here. All the talk about how 'personal' the Final Test is. For a lot of the people I knew, their sin was Hate."
Melody came in at that moment. "Is it starting?"
Rika turned away from her conversation with Grant instantly. Melody didn't need to hear about that. "Yeah, just started."
"The night before he died, Jesus instituted what became known as 'the Lord's Evening Meal'." The Speaker told the audience over the broadcast. "When he passed the wine, he told his apostles about something new. 'The New Covenant'. Now, his apostles would know that word, as their whole nation was built on a covenant with Jehovah. Jesus was declaring the Law Covenant had done its work; and something new was about to begin."
~~/*\~~
"By now, you may have noticed that the Organization that God has for his people has always been bringing people together with God in a better, and more personal way. For example, as the Law Covenant explained how a nation would establish their relationship with Jehovah, the New Covenant was about how a congregation would. This group would not be decided by bloodline or by nationality. Just as with the High Priest under the Law Covenant, this new one had Jesus as a mediator between God and the people involved. A far superior arrangement, replacing an imperfect man with something divine. We find proof of this, at Hebrews 8, starting at verse 6."
In the audience, Biggs noticed that the Speaker didn't bother to look when he turned to the scripture himself. Memory was a sign of growing near-perfection; but he kept the Bible open when the audience watched.
"But now Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry because he is also the mediator of a correspondingly better covenant, which has been legally established on better promises. If that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second." The Speaker recited the verse. "This New Covenant was the completion of all the promises that came before. The Edenic Promise was to be brought to ultimate fulfillment, bringing the rule of the Wicked One to nothing, with Jehovah's promised Seed as the means. The Abrahamic Covenant was brought to a spiritual fulfillment, for as the Apostle Paul once wrote: 'If you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham's seed, heirs with reference to a promise.' Also the Davidic Covenant, because Jesus was the promised King, greater than any other. And the Law Covenant was to provide leadership and instruction for God's nation of people. The New Covenant did the same for the world; the living and the dead!"
There was a round of applause at that.
"And just as the Law Covenant had the central purpose of identifying the Messiah, so too did this New Covenant have a central purpose: To replace the Old World with a New One. For a thousand years, we've been restoring the Old World, and remaking it the right way. But perhaps nothing this world has done in its patient, thoughtful way can compare to that moment of history, which forever changed the whole world."
Biggs felt his jaw drop when he saw the familiar face walk out on stage, ready for the Speaker to turn to him and begin an interview.
"Here with us today, we have brother Christopher Wallace. A Tribulation Survivor, brother Wallace was present when the New Covenant took that extraordinary step; and he faced persecution for his faith in that Divine Leadership. Christopher, can you tell us a bit about it?"
Christopher spoke clearly, but with due gravity. The topic was unpleasant, but almost a thousand years behind them. "Everyone who was there remembers Tribulation perfectly. The attacks that came were varied, usually by country. Where I was, we were imprisoned. We had been directed to turn ourselves in; which seemed to defy common sense; but one of our Elders listed all the times that Jehovah's people were safest in the 'lions pit'. It turned out to be the safest place. The walls weren't keeping us in; they were keeping everything else out."
"Which is not to say that it was easy." The Speaker led him there.
"No indeed. We were protected as a group, but individually, there was constant pressure to surrender." Christopher explained. "Back in OS, I was a policeman, so being surrounded by violent offenders meant I was targeted constantly. The brothers made an effort to keep everyone together, but…"
"You were attacked?"
"Violently. My attackers made very sure I couldn't defend myself before they started punching and kicking me. But when they did… The most extraordinary thing happened. I couldn't feel it. I was being punched in the face repeatedly, and I could not physically feel any pain."
The audience started to applaud. It wasn't the first time they had heard this story. Such tales had come from early Christians, from the Second World War, from Ancient Times…
(Author's Note: When I was writing the GT sequences in 'Set Free', the hardest thing to decide was where to draw the line. Obviously, it was going to be a pretty brutal time for the world, but there's no way I was going to use these books to write a horror story, or to generate fear.
The solution I came up with was to limit the hardship of GT to things that have been done already. This had a second benefit, as it gave me an understanding of how times of hardship were handled by the brothers and sisters that went through it in the past. For example, in the February 22, 1994, Awake!, page 21; you can find the account of a brother locked up during WW2, and could not feel the physical abuse he suffered at the hands of the guards; which inspired this part of Christopher's story in 'Set Free'.)
"Christopher, you didn't feel the punches." The Speaker moved the conversation on. "I imagine you know why."
"Divine protection." Christopher nodded. "Something I still enjoy nearly a thousand years later."
"Without that protection, do you believe you would have been able to stand up to the test?"
"I was… kind of a mess, back in OS. We all were. The short answer is, if someone so… imperfect, could have handled it, then God wouldn't be smoothing the way for me."
"That's an important point to consider." The Speaker turned back to the audience. "Our Father has been giving us His support ever since we became His people. Back in OS, it was a basic survival necessity. None of us made it through on our own merits. For a thousand years, we've been reminding you that Jehovah never forsakes His faithful ones. There were instances where His Protection was pulled back from rebellious kings, and disobedient servants. But there hasn't been a serious example of that in almost a thousand years."
He's building to something. Biggs thought. If I was giving the talk, there'd be a major 'except' coming.
"But, that being the case, what need is there for the Final Test?" The Speaker continued. "Well, there are some examples of God pulling back his protective love from people who did nothing to deserve it. Today we're going to look at these examples. As with all things Christians do, Jesus sets out the path for us to follow." The Speaker picked up his Bible, and started flipping pages. "We read at Mark 15:34: 'And at the ninth hour, Jesus called out with a loud voice: 'Eʹli, Eʹli, laʹma sa·bach·thaʹni?' which means, when translated: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'." He set the Bible down as the crowd reacted to the verse he picked. "Jesus had unshakeable faith, but in fulfillment of prophecy, God abandoned Jesus to his enemies by taking away His protection so that Christ's integrity might be fully tested."
(Author's Note: That last sentence is a direct quote from the 2011 Watchtower, 8/15: Pages 12-16, Paragraph 16. The paragraph also points out that this is in accord with prophecy, recorded at Psalm 22:1)
"So why would this happen? In all of human history, there were only three perfect people; before paradise. They each faced a test. Jesus faced a test to the full. Nobody could say that God 'smoothed the way' for him in the last days of his human life. Humility means that none of us can claim to be equal to Jesus ourselves, even this close to perfection. Which is why we're now going to turn to another example of a righteous man, having to undergo a major test of physical and emotional suffering, without Jehovah's full protection. It's a story we know well, about a man named Job."
Sitting in the audience, Biggs wasn't the only one to peer towards the front row. Job had been a fixture at International Conventions since his Returning.
"Job was protected by God, as all the faithful men are. Satan had made the charge that Job was only a faithful man because he was protected. Jehovah felt differently, and so He deliberately withdrew His protection. Job became the personal mission of the Devil himself." The Speaker paused long enough to let that thought sink in. "The first question every returnee ever gets answered is: Why Suffering? But Job was living through a very difficult test; and in his case; the answer was a little different. Back then, we wondered: would Job have been grateful to know the truth? That he'd been handed over to Satan, who was torturing him just to see how much he could suffer before he broke?"
The crowd murmured.
"Well, now Job himself is back, and we've all heard his answer to that question." The Speaker continued. "But Job did what Adam and Eve would not do: he maintained his integrity. Even at his lowest point, Job knew that the question of whether or not to serve God was never about us, and what we got out of it. Here in Paradise, it would be easy to think that service to Jehovah is about blessings and Prosperity, but almost everyone who worked on the Restoration can tell you: The world was not restored by miracles that nobody else could perform. It was restored by leadership. Good leadership."
And the crowd burst into spontaneous applause. He was right. This sentiment was shared by almost everyone who had worked in the Restoration for any length of time.
"Paradise is the other half of that great Courtroom Drama. Six thousand years of human misery has proven humanity cannot rule itself. A Thousand Years of peace and improvement has demonstrated what Divine Leadership is like. But even as the Old System fades, it's still the same challenge being answered; it's still the same point being made: Jehovah Is Vindicating His Sovereignty."
The audience burst into applause.
"Imagine how much easier it would have been for Job to hold on, if he'd had known at the time why he was being tested. And imagine how grateful he would be, even for the trials he endured, if he had known that Jehovah God Himself had stared down Satan, and said that He had faith in His human servant. Satan had challenged humanity's motives. Jehovah left it up to Job to stand against everything that evil could throw at a lone, imperfect, human man. The crowning achievement of Job's spiritual life was when he was childless, poverty-stricken, sick, and everyone around him was telling him to give up and pray for death. And Job never found out why he went through all that, until he was Resurrected, along with everyone he had lost. His faith was vindicated, and his actions justified, centuries after he had first gone to dust."
Hushed silence. Job was a known figure. He'd been on stage at many conventions, telling his story; including that part of it.
"Brothers and sisters, we have one last moment where we must live out the story of Job. In all of human history, there were only three perfect people. When our test comes, there will be billions. Billions of genuinely perfect people; who have something that Job would have loved to have: Prior warning; and an explanation as to why. Burn that into your brain; that as was done in the days of Job; our heavenly Father is putting His faith in us. And some of us are going to let Him down. It was prophesied, and 'Not One Word Has Failed'."
~~/*\~~
Rika glanced at Grant subtly. Even years after he was baptized, she still thought of him as a student, sometimes. The next part affected him on some deeper level than anyone else in the room.
"And as with everything that has come before, the New Covenant has an ending, to be replaced with the final, perfect connection between us and our Creator. We'll be speaking more about that at our next Convention, but for now; take this time to consider the blessings of Paradise. We've made no secret of the fact that the most miraculous parts of the new world are the things we could have had with the right Leadership. Ultimately, that's what all these Covenants are about."
Grant's face had changed. Rika gave him a look. "Something wrong?"
Grant looked at her seriously. "I know why I was brought back last. In fact, I've known for a while. Every now and then, the subject comes up, and I get reminded of it. The closer we get to the end of this, the more sure I become that I was right."
"Oh?" Rika was intrigued.
His head tilted. "If I tell you, you won't like it. And your family shouldn't know yet. They won't believe it. Might even have a problem with me."
Rika stared. "Tell me anyway."
Grant measured her. "It's because I know what you've all spent nine centuries trying to forget: Everyone has a price."
~~/*\~~
"We need to talk about Grant." Rika said quietly as soon as she returned to the Ryker family home.
Via holo, the extended family was gathered around the dinner table. Only Biggs and Megan were physically in the room with her, but with the Holo-Call open, everyone was present in a practical way. "Is he alright?" Hugh asked in concern.
"He's fine, obviously; but I think he's up to something." Rika said seriously. "Some of the things he said in response to the last talk of the convention has me concerned." She looked around at her extended family. "We're pretty much his primary peer group at the moment, outside the Service. Anyone know what he's doing?"
"Grant was always the type to be working to some master plan." Biggs said finally. "It made him a good crime boss, that he could keep it all straight in his head. It's why the feds never caught on to half the things he did. He had hundreds of people working on little bits and pieces, and even they didn't know why."
With this new perspective, everyone spoke up in turn. Hugh went first. "I haven't spoken to him since he passed his flight exam. I stopped giving pilot lessons after the Auto extended to flight. The only planes left are hobby planes and antiques like mine; but Grant knows how to fly one. He's even licensed to fly a manual control plane."
"He's not just licensed. He's building one." Rachel put in. "He had Nick approve the designs. He's built his own transport."
"Well there's nothing odd about that." Hugh commented. "With Auto-Tech and Anti-Grav; you can build anything from a drone to a flying locomotive, if you want to put the work in. It's the Paradise equivalent of an Airshow."
"Yeah, but this craft doesn't have Auto capability. It's why he had someone check his plans. It's designed to take a certain number of people; and have a single pilot."
"Odd, but not a concern." Kasumi said quickly. "Lots of people prefer to use a wood-fired stove, even after this long."
Beckah winced. "Ohhhh, I don't want to be part of this, but since it's apparently happening: At the last get together, he talked to me for over an hour about A-Day. He wanted to know everything. The warning signs, the surprises; the moments where we had to decide for sure, one way or the other…."
"Also perfectly normal. Every Trib Survivor alive has had to 'tell the story' a thousand times. If he wants to…" She suddenly noticed Nick, being very quiet. "What? What is it?"
"I set him up with a Printer." Nick said awkwardly. "A few weeks later, I checked on him, and noticed he'd somehow gotten himself a different one. He got an Expo Printer."
"What's the difference?" Rika asked, more concerned by his reaction than from the revelation that Grant had a Nano-Printer. Almost everyone did by now.
"The Expo models are… meant for more unusual designs. They have to be. Most printers create things that are available to the public. The Expo is all about creating something that's never been made before. He could… conceivably, use the Printer to make mods that aren't strictly… legal, anymore. He could create weapons, if he wanted to."
Heavy silence.
"Whoa, whoa! Time out." Rachel said swiftly. "Nobody has had a fight in over nine hundred years. Weapons are everywhere. Looking around this house alone, there's a baseball bat; several high quality kitchen knives, a fireplace poker, and half a dozen genuinely lethal blunt objects, before you even think about using the corner of a big heavy book. The world has been without violence, and it hasn't just been because of what weapons are available."
"Yeah, but what if Grant isn't looking at the world the way it is?" Biggs asked suddenly. "I got a look at his notebook. That paper one he's always got with him? He's been listing disasters. All the ways this world could be… well, brought down."
Megan stared at her husband. "What are you worried about, Biggs? You've known him longer than the rest of us."
"We've all been talking about the Final Test and trying to imagine how anyone could go 'off the rails' after a Thousand Years. What if someone helped it along? What if it was someone who hadn't been here as long? Someone who… was very good at working Paradise and Threat alike into getting loyal followers?"
Cold silence as everyone turned this thought over in their minds.
"Okay." Hugh said finally. "Let's all take a breath here. Grant was Returned. He was baptized. He is young again. He is not Undecided. Having gray hair turn black is a rather definitive sign, and it makes no difference what we think of him. Right now, the only thing we know for sure is that he's working on projects that don't fit with the current way things are done, and he's not being as open about them as we would be. Can anyone think of anything that isn't explained by the fact that he's one of the world's youngest people, and comes from a pretty rough background?"
"It's my background too." Biggs said flatly.
"And if I remember right, you decided to go walkabout less than a week after A-Day, without even saying goodbye to everyone." Kit shot back. "Look, can I make a suggestion? If you want to know what Grant is thinking, ask him."
Everyone looked to Biggs; and he sighed. "Right. I guess that's my job."
~~/*\~~
"Grant, back when you were new here, you were still looking for 'the catch'. You even asked me about it, but-"
"The world is close to total perfection and harmony." Grant said quickly. "Before I got baptized, I was looking at the books, tugging on the threads; and I couldn't find the 'unspoken secret'. I finally figured out that it's because there isn't one. But here's the thing: The only people who might have been able to help you with the next problem? They aren't here."
"The next problem." Biggs blinked. "For example?"
"You have former soldiers and generals who can tell you the folly of war. You have former world leaders and revolutionaries who can tell you the folly of politics. Same with money, religion, charity, celebrity, and pretty much every other way that humans have ever built any kind of authority. But in all human history, there have only ever been three perfect people, and the two of them who can tell you what to watch out for? They're not here."
"And the third is our King."
"In heaven. In less than a hundred years, The King will abdicate. And the One in charge then? His first order of business will be to go to war; one last time." Grant reminded him, and Biggs honestly couldn't tell if he meant God or Devil. "You've read the verse, Biggs. You all have. Where does 'the opposition' come from this time? Unless Satan can resurrect people; it's going to come from us."
"So what are you saying?" Biggs pressed.
"I'm saying that I wasn't in jail because of the cops. Getting around them was easy." Grant told him. "I was in jail because one of my people turned on me."
"You were in jail because you were a criminal."
"Granted, but the last time anyone went through anything like this was the lead-up to A-Day. Back then, you only worried about the enemy. You and me, Biggs: There was a time we both knew the people you had to really watch out for were your friends." Grant met his gaze head-on. "If I had lived a few hours longer, I would have ordered someone to make an example of you. Who do you think I would have picked to do it? I'll give you a hint: It wouldn't be anyone you'd watch out for."
It had been almost a thousand years since his cellmate had turned on him, but it still struck Biggs as a twisted surprise. "That was a different time."
"No, it was a different millennium. There's a difference." Grant said. "Biggs, you've forgotten how to be hungry. You all have."
~~/*\~~
"So he's Baptized, but his thinking is wrong on at least one point." Megan declared later on as Biggs filled her in. "He's right on the subject of God, and that's what counts; but I guess getting straight with the rest of the world takes longer."
"That's the thing; he wasn't talking about anyone in the world. Not specifically. The stuff he was talking about? He was right." Biggs admitted. "During GT, when we were all inside, the one that came after me wasn't one of the rivals, or sworn enemies. It was my own cellmate. Other than Kit, he was the only real human being I knew. Ten years living in the same room." He shook his head. "And then one day the borders shift, and suddenly he thinks I'm insane. He actually tried to have me killed."
Megan considered that and shivered. "So Grant is expecting us all to turn on each other. And I don't mean the family; I mean all humanity."
Biggs nodded. "I wonder if he might be right. Maybe the reason he came back last…"
"To give us all the Mobster mentality?" Megan teased. "I always thought I'd make a great Moll."
Biggs laughed. It didn't last.
Megan pushed him back on the couch until he was reclined flat. She lay against him, snuggling up to her husband tightly. "How can we show loyal love and brotherhood to everyone, knowing that we can't keep them all? How do we show obedience to our leadership, if we don't know where the 'opposition' is coming from?"
"I know, love. I know." Biggs said softly. "I love you. And whatever comes, I always will. Whatever happens, it happens to us both."
That's kinda what I was afraid of. Megan thought distantly. "Rika's been talking about moving out. She's old enough to have her own place." She bit her lip. "I don't want her to go yet. It's not just being her mom. I want… I feel stronger in the Truth when I'm talking to her about it. Does that make sense?"
"I was part of the witnessing work for the length of exactly one tract campaign; and I sucked at it." Biggs said lightly. "There are people who do best under pressure, and there are people at their best during peacetime. You're at your best with kids to look after."
Megan shivered. "The Returning has stopped. The Foundation says there hasn't been a pregnancy in years. By the time the Final Test starts, there won't be any kids left. Nobody too 'young and innocent' to make their choice. I know it's right, but it scares me. I've never lived in a world without kids."
"They'll be back. After." Biggs promised her.
"After." She agreed. They cuddled together for a moment, when something dawned on her and she sat upright quickly. "Where is Rika?" She asked. "Grant was her first Bible study, and she was the one that put us onto this. Where'd she slip off to?"
Biggs hesitated for a second. "She's visiting some people. She'll be back in time for dinner."
Megan studied him for a moment. He's hiding something. She thought. Not lying, just keeping something else back. Something relevant.
"It's okay." Biggs promised her. "You want her to stay with us until the Test is over; she'll agree to that, I believe. We can talk about it at dinner tonight."
Megan rolled her head back to look up at him. "Maybe we should talk to her about the other thing, too." She said carefully. "About what he said."
"We can do that." Biggs nodded easily.
"At dinner tonight." Megan repeated casually.
"Yeah. Good idea."
Megan kissed his nose lightly. "Honey, how long do you wanna pretend you're not hiding something from me?"
"Ideally, until she gets home." Biggs remarked lightly. "But I don't think I have that kind of time."
Megan casually got up and went to the Terminal.
"If you're doing what I think you're doing, please stop doing it." Biggs warned. "If you're trying to track your daughter's movements… She's not five years old anymore. And it's not like she's in danger."
"Rika tells me everything. So do you. Whatever it is, it's something you're both hiding. And while I don't wish to…" She trailed off when she saw the screen. When she looked up at her husband, her face was halfway between ashen horror and white-hot anger. "She's there. She's there right now. With him."
Biggs let out a breath. "Megan…" She was already calling an Auto. "Meg, she's his granddaughter. And… she's been visiting him for a while."
Megan spun on her husband. "Whaaaat?" She blurted. "And you knew. You knew about this?" She didn't even wait for him to answer. "I have to get over there."
"Megan, what exactly do you think is going to happ-"
His wife was already out the door.
"Oh, boy." Biggs gave chase.
~~/*\~~
Dexter Knowles opened the door… and nearly fell over. Megan pushed past him; barely looking at him. "Rika!"
"Mom?" Rika sounded surprised. She came out of the kitchen and found her mother ready to attack someone. She hadn't seen Megan like that before. She hadn't seen anyone like that, in fact. Violence simply wasn't a factor in the world. Automatically, she started drifting back, closer to her grandfather. "What's going on?"
"Get away from her!" Megan barked at Dexter.
Dexter obeyed. He looked sad.
Rika was confused, more than anything. "Mom, what's wrong?"
Megan pulled her daughter away forcibly. "You stay away from him!" She told her daughter. "Just trust me on this."
Rika sent a look back at Dexter as Megan pulled her from the house. He wasn't saying a word to try and stop any of this.
~~/*\~~
Megan was implacable, all the way to the Auto. "You should not have hidden this from me!" Megan snapped. "Our family has history with that man-"
"You have history with that man. Dad's never met him; and by blood he's my grandfather, so don't talk about 'family business'." Rika insisted. "Mom, what do you think is going to happen? You were the one that taught me that violence wasn't a possibility. And hasn't been for nine hundred years."
"There are other ways to hurt someone, daughter of mine." Megan said harshly. "And he knows it."
"He told me what happened to Erica. And why. He told me more about it than you did, in fact." Rika fired back. "I seem to recall dad was in jail for violent crimes when A-Day came."
"If anyone wants their kids to avoid us, I'm fine with that." Megan snapped.
They both fell silent as they reached the Auto. Biggs was waiting there, holding the door open for them. It was clear he'd heard that. And it was clear he was stung.
~~/*\~~
Rika summoned another Auto back to the family house for herself, wanting to let things cool. Biggs and Megan still had their own, waiting until she had left for home ahead of them. They hadn't spoken until they were moving. The silence was charged.
Finally, Megan couldn't take it. "When I said 'avoid us', you understand what I meant, right?"
"When we met, I was helping out at your Orphanage." Biggs said quietly, looking away from her, out the window. "If I tried to volunteer at a halfway house in OS? I never would have been able to. Not with a prison record. You never had any trouble leaving me with the kids."
"You left that life behind centuries ago."
"And Erica's father? How old is he now?"
"Less than that." Megan offered, though it was clear she knew that meant nothing. "I just… I know he can't hurt anyone. I know he feels bad about his old life. But I kept Rika in the dark about her pedigree for a while, and I dread to think that the first time she hears the whole story… What if he's only telling her half the truth? Or worse, the whole truth, spun differently?" Megan looked scared. "What if he says something that… What if he manages to turn Rika's thinking? Erica can't defend herself; so I have to."
"Erica can't be saved. And that man back there hates it as much as you do. When you kicked his door in just now, did he say one word to defend himself?"
"No." Megan admitted.
"I'm going to say this just once; because I think it needs to be said." Biggs said carefully. "My record was a lot longer than his when I got the Truth. You married me. Rika got the last Green letter, for the only man in my past that I was actually scared of. You were fine with her taking on that assignment after one reassuring conversation with your parents. Could it be that the issue with Dexter Knowles is less about Rika, and more about you?"
Megan set her jaw. "I didn't even know he was in Europe. Last I heard, he was in Michigan. When I called him for that DNA sample, he was here, practically a neighbor. Him and his wife. And our daughter's been visiting him. Without telling me."
"She's an adult. He is her grandfather. And you didn't tell her about that either."
"She's been visiting with him without me knowing it. Him, his wife; and his granddaughter. A bonafide family unit." Megan said again, nearly vibrating. "And I only knew half the story with Erica. But whatever the rest of it was, she died rather than be on the same planet as him again."
Biggs set his jaw. "If one of the kids in our Orphanage said the same thing about a relative of theirs?"
Megan hesitated. "I… I think I'm going to stop talking for a minute now. We are very close to having an argument, and I'm not angry at you." She paused. "Oh wait, yes I am. How long have you known he was talking to our daughter?"
Biggs didn't answer that. "You know there's no chance of Rika leaving our family to become part of his, right? Blood isn't what makes a family anymore."
"I know." Megan confessed. "What is she going to want? Is Dexter Knowles coming to Family Dinner? Is he going to sit with us at Conventions?" She gave him a desperate look. "I don't have to welcome everyone into my home, do I? Just because it's Paradise? Can't there be one person out of billions that I don't want to spend time with?"
Biggs sighed sympathetically. "I'm going to call Grant and let him know he's going to have to find a new place to stay while the Corps is in town this weekend. I don't think any of us are in the right frame of mind to talk to the 'new guy' about how well he's embracing forgiveness and Agape love right now."
Megan forcibly made herself calm down. "Good idea."
~~/*\~~
Biggs called Grant and told him the guest room wasn't available. He wasn't sure exactly how Grant had led him there, but he had also detailed why. He'd told Grant about the argument, the reunion; and at least enough of the background that Grant understood the emotions involved.
"The rules are different where family is concerned." Grant didn't even sound surprised. "We see too much of ourselves in our relatives. We see too much of what could be, what should be. Things we forgive in strangers."
"Speaking from experience?"
"Am I wrong?"
"No." Biggs admitted. "The thing about perfection is that it's not just physical. It's mental. It's emotional. A person with a perfect memory still has to be taught things. A person with a perfect understanding still has to reach that understanding. A perfect heart… This is a very intensely personal pain for Megan. And the only way to heal it is to… To do the exact opposite of how she has been handling it for centuries."
"Rika means she can't avoid him anymore. Think that's deliberate? I don't know who this 'Erica' girl was, but as I understand it, the Returning isn't random. When I came back, I was met by one of your family, so we had to confront our own past with each other fairly quickly. Your kid could have been Returned to anyone. She came to Megan."
"You think it's for the same reason?"
"I'm hearing talk about people being tested in another hundred years." Grant commented. "If I may, literally, play devil's advocate for a moment; I wonder if I'd try to exploit the old weakness, or if I'd be looking for a new one? If people have spent a thousand years trying to scrub up their souls, maybe the old weaknesses are bulletproof."
"Interesting thought." Biggs murmured. "It would be so easy to assume we know better now. Except that we can't. That's prophesied." Biggs gave him a look. "Anyway, your plans for the weekend-"
"Of course. Tell Rika I'm available to talk again at her convenience." Grant nodded. He waited silently until the Holo disconnected, and then drew out his small notepad, taking notes.
Rika = Dexter Knowles. Megan hates him. A very old grudge, because of a third party, who will never return. (Permadeath?)
Biggs and Megan Ryker: Shatterpoint = Rika with Dexter.
~~/*\~~
"I can see the Sanctuary from here." Kasumi commented, peering into her telescope. As high as they were in the Arcology, there was a great view. There was even an observatory, high above the light pollution. "Of course, on a clear day, I can almost see India from here."
Hugh came over to stand beside her. "Is it me, or is Sanctuary really ugly?"
Kasumi laughed. "Notice the dimensions? The proportions are a lot bigger, but the ratios are all the same."
"Yeah. It's like Noah's Ark." Hugh nodded. "But Eben doesn't like it. He's been trying to get The Tower reclassified as a Sanctuary site."
"As much as I'd like to try waiting out the Final Test in my own home; I can see why they haven't done that." Kasumi commented. "It's a Test. Not much of one, if we stay in comfort the whole time. This Tower has all our needs met. We stay here, it's like treating the Final Test as just another day."
"Eben doesn't disagree, but his argument is that the Tower is a landmark. Easily found, and can hold more people." Hugh explained. "I was on the call. He's trying to sell them on the idea that the Tower was designed to be self-sufficient for a huge population."
"And it didn't work." A familiar voice called. They both turned to find Eben fetching himself a cool drink, and joining them at the table. "Their counter-argument is that the Tower creates a certain level of 'class-distinction' between the residents and the rest of the Region. I'm not so sure they're wrong. People live, play, work; and worship, all on one level of this tower or another. Those that have family and friends here have almost no reason to ever go outside." He shut his eyes for a moment, resting them. "The final word is that the Organization isn't designating Sanctuary locations, they're just relaying the locations from the Higher Authority."
"And we're not on that list?"
"We are not. Sanctuaries are being built new, to specific requirements." Eben nodded. "In fact, of all the cities and towns in the world, only one existing city has been designated a Sanctuary."
"Just one? A whole city?" Kasumi blinked. "Which one?"
"Jerusalem."
~~/*\~~
Grant had been building Sanctuaries exclusively with the Corps for a while. It was slow work, by modern standards. The Printers were forbidden, as was the Preserver-Tech. Each part and component had to be made new. The plans had been sent to all communities, and most of the communities were encouraged to comply.
"They're just making more work for us." Agnes commented during a lunch break. Agnes had been around for centuries, and her time in the Rotation had come up. "I get why the Local brothers want one built around here, and why they want to help. Showing loyalty is important, given expected future events, but it's not like we're going to finish."
Grant blinked. "How do you figure that?"
"For one thing, they're building a much larger Sanctuary in New Provence. And that's less than twenty minutes away; so there's really no need for a smaller Sanctuary here. The numbers aren't even round figures. The one here has room for over five thousand people. How does that make sense? Especially when the one in New Provence has room for three times that number. Someone just crammed as many beds as they could into the floorspace, and it's only got room for half the locals anyway. I'm taking this as seriously as you are, Grant. But let's not pretend this is anything other than it is: We're showing loyalty, not building an Ark."
Grant bit down hard to keep his first response polite. "First Aimes, now you." He said to Agnes. "The local brothers can't 'request' a Sanctuary to 'show the flag'. The locations are all set in advance. Is there nobody in the world who still prepares for the worst case scenario?"
"Grant, I'm happy to do it the way I was ordered, I'm just saying it's unnecessary work." Agnes said. "Which is fine. Back in OS, the order I had joined required us to scrub the stone floors of the Abbey with a shoe brush every morning. It was meant to teach us piety."
"Did this world give the same assignment when you arrived?" Grant asked her, knowing the answer already. Sure enough, she shook her head, and he gave her a look. "So why would that change now? Nobody is given pointless busy-work in this world, at least not that I've seen."
"I'm not saying they've changed policy, only that they're getting far more people involved than are needed. Using newer techniques would get the same amount built in a quarter of the time. But the Final Test is individual, and that means the rules are different. Which is fine. Nobody here is going to go on strike or anything." She gave Grant a sideways look. "You've only been back for so long. There's a thousand years behind us now. Nobody ever added to their lives by rushing."
Grant gave her a look. "There was a brother named Aimes, who made a similar point about Sanctuary when we first got the blueprints. You aren't wrong, about the other Sanctuaries being so close, and better equipped."
"But?" Agnes knew there was more.
Grant lowered his voice. "The organization has 'the buck stop' with Christ himself, right?"
"Until the Thousand Years are up."
"I haven't been studying for nearly as long as everyone else, but I know that Christ could prophesy the future. Isn't he the sort of person who would know exactly how many lifeboats a ship would need on the day it sinks?" Grant spread his hands wide. "You were right, when you said that the Sanctuary we're building isn't big enough for everyone here. What if it's exactly the right size, and we just don't know it yet?"
Agnes stared at him. "No." She said finally. "I don't buy that. God wouldn't be so cold after hundreds and hundreds of years of unfailing love."
Grant knew that was her last word on the subject, so he let it go, but he was sure she was thinking about it the rest of the day.
~~/*\~~
The Sanctuary Project was completed ahead of schedule; even with the outdated methods. The message of the literature and the regular broadcasts changed to emphasize the urgency, and the need for everyone to keep themselves spiritually strong. There were several supplementary studies dedicated to deconstructing the information they had more carefully.
The Final Centennial was announced as being held a few weeks before the Anniversary of A-Day. The first time the schedule had deviated from the pattern for a thousand years. The extended family was in attendance, all in person this time; Grant included.
The Final Talk was unusual. Every Convention was full of barely restrained applause. This time, there was something else. The Speaker broke down the arc of the Convention Series with gravity, and everyone was still, listening for hints of more.
"Some years ago, we discussed the First Covenant between Jehovah and Man. The Messianic Promise." The Speaker declared. "If Satan had waited until after Adam and Eve had raised children before tempting them, what would the world be? Very quickly, those that broke God's only Law would have aged and died; and those that refused to disobey would have lived forever. Satan knew that; which is why he made his move when humanity was a very small number. Consider that every single Covenant made from that day until our Paradise has been upheld by only a minority of humans. Imagine if Adam and Eve had not sinned. They would still be alive today, with thousands of millions of their offspring all here to honor them.
"Imagine if Israel had kept to the Law Covenant. A theocracy that would never have been conquered by Rome, or any other nation under Pagan Gods. Jesus would have been identified as the Messiah as soon as he arrived, and welcomed by the Religious Leaders. All the Kings designated to rule over this world would almost certainly have come from Israel.
"Jesus founded the New Covenant, and made the way to Salvation under 144,000 Kings available to people from all nations of the world. Imagine if everyone had accepted the offer of Salvation that the Witnesses proclaimed to anyone who would listen. Billions of people instead of millions. A-Day would have come with hardly any casualties.
"For the last Century we've been talking about all the ways Jehovah has given His faithful servants a place on Earth. Be it a nation, or a Congregation; until finally a Paradise Earth. For the last Century of conventions, we've been examining how those Covenants detailed what Jehovah promised us, as opposed to what Satan was offering. We have now had almost a thousand years with Jehovah God, and his Appointed King in charge of humanity.
"During his time on Earth, Jesus foretold the Tribulation, and said it would be something that had 'never occurred before, nor would ever occur again'. So we know Jehovah won't allow the world to come to the brink of apocalypse again. The Restoration will never need such a global undertaking. We have finished a great cleanup for the world, and the only question left is who we feel should be in charge of it. We make our decision by where we stand. With a thousand years of evidence, and everyone who suffered in the Last System present, now assured of God's Great Love for us; we now get to make the most informed choice of our lives.
"At each of these Conventions, we've also discussed other ways that Jehovah has shown how He has faith in us. By allowing the Old System to play out long enough for everyone to declare their intentions under pressure, and by withdrawing His protection and support in certain examples. The story of Job shows Satan is a liar. We're finally in a position to properly answer this question: What if Satan brought his fury to a world that had already universally rejected him?
"Well, in a very short time, we will find out the answer to that question for certain. Because as with the Edenic and Law Covenants… The New Covenant is coming to an end. And after a Thousand Years of showing us that our faith in God has been justified… His first step will be to demonstrate the faith He has in all of Us." The Speaker took in the muted reaction of the audience, and made his final point. "This is to be our last Convention before the Final Test, when the New Covenant comes to an end. So we would normally be using this time to give instructions for the next few years… But we have no further instructions for you."
The audience was reacting, processing. After this many years, most people had developed a sense for when they were building to an announcement; or even a warning. This was something else. The words seemed like he was building to an announcement, but his tone suggested he was winding up the talk.
"Instead, we feel it's appropriate to hand over the last talk of the Convention to someone more appropriate."
And with that, The Speaker turned and walked off the stage. Nobody else stepped forward. The stage remained empty. The audience was patient. It wasn't impossible that someone had just been delayed for a moment.
And then it happened. It was hard to tell where the voice came from for a moment. It was too clear and too certain to be coming from their own minds; but there was no sound that they could hear with their ears. It was like the air was speaking, but there was no direction to it. It came from somewhere else, and it spoke to them so intimately that everyone looked to see if their neighbors were hearing it too.
And as the voice spoke, it was so full of power, and wisdom, and warmth that they all knew instantly where it was coming from. Jehovah God Himself, speaking to everyone on Earth.
"Beloved ones, I have been waiting for this even longer than you have." He said, with a smile in His voice. "My Messengers have been doing a wonderful job of speaking to you all; delivering my words to you as needed. They are to be commended. But now, my Son has handed over the Kingdom to his God and Father. He has brought to nothing all government and all authority and power; and has ruled wisely as King until I put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy, death, has been brought to nothing. I have subjected all things to my Anointed One except for Myself. As ruler of all things, My Son has now subjected himself to the One who gave him his ultimate Authority; that I may be all things to everyone; once again."
(Author's Note: The last part of the preceding is paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. The Study notes for those verses say: "And because Adamic sin and death will have been completely removed and mankind will have been redeemed, the need for Jesus' role as a Redeemer will end" and "When Christ turns all rulership over to his Father, Jehovah will once again rule directly over all his creations. Perfect humankind will have no need of a subsidiary government, the Messianic Kingdom, to repair the damage done by the rebellion in Eden. There will not be any further need for a ransom, a mediator, or a priesthood. As sons and daughters of Jehovah, humans will enjoy great freedom and direct communication with the Father."
Additionally, the 10/15 2000 Watchtower (Pages 15-20, Paragraph 19) quotes the same verse, and says: "The Kingdom's accomplishments will endure forever. Christ will be honored forever because of his role in working for the vindication of God's sovereignty. But since sin and death are then completely removed, and mankind has been redeemed, this ends the need for him as a Redeemer."
Also, the most uncertain part of planning out this story was the sequence of events at the end of the Thousand Years. There is surprisingly little detail on the order of events in other publications. In particular: Would Jesus hand over authority before or after the Final Test? The Revelation Book, Chapter 40, par 24 says: "When the rebels under Satan attack those faithful ones, the Lord Jesus regards it as an assault on him", but that doesn't say he's the one to make a defense. In comparison, the 'Pure Worship' book, Chapter 22, par 21, opens with the words: 'Jehovah will then do something extraordinary, something that expresses his great confidence in his earthly subjects. He will direct that Satan and the demons be released'. It's the most definitive statement that I found, so in my story, Jesus has relinquished Authority before the Final Test begins.)
"Only one thing remains; and that is to make a reply to him who has been taunting me since the moment he entered the last place I called Paradise. To make that reply, I will send… You."
Biggs had tears in his eyes, awestruck. Even after years of getting these lessons, there was nothing to prepare them for this. It was like the first time he had heard an angel chorus after A-Day. The descriptions in the scripture and the literature were all hollow things in comparison.
"You have spent a Thousand Years learning about Me; and receiving evidence that I keep My promises. But you have also been learning about The Enemy. Satan cannot create. He only corrupts things made by Me. As a result, his tricks and temptations haven't changed either. Not since the Original Sin. So now I direct you to consider how you've overcome those attacks already. Be ready for them to come again. Satan has charged humanity with only serving Me out of selfish want. All Satan can see is your weaknesses. He has no respect for your strength in overcoming them. And you have all overcome them, some of you before this world, most of you when you arrived.
"I understand you may be concerned; as you've learned now that I must allow the Final Test to play out, as it did with my servant Job, and even my Son. But to pass the test is well within your capacity. After all, millions of you have already succeeded once, a Thousand Years ago. And you have all, each and every one, learned the most important lesson: That what comes after is worth enduring any trial. I cannot protect you through this, because that is the whole charge Satan has brought against you.
"Nonetheless, I have provided what is needed most: A place of Sanctuary. We will speak again, and forever and ever, once the test is over. All you need to do is be inside one of the Sanctuaries provided when the Test concludes. And once you enter Sanctuary, do not leave. By doing so, you prove yourself loyal to Me, and you prove that you are not leaning on your own ability. I will not be slow, respecting this promise; but I will give you all the time you need.
"I have granted you centuries of life, centuries of preparation, and a solution to all suffering and loss. Armed with the knowledge that there is nothing the Enemy can do, which is beyond my ability to make right, and reward in a large way; I leave the final question of my Sovereignty in your trained and capable hands; and I leave you with my blessing… and My unfailing Love."
"Amen." Everyone said suddenly. Biggs jumped when he heard it. There had been no signal, and yet everyone spoke clearly.
And then the music started, bringing the convention to a close.
~~/*\~~
Nobody said anything for several minutes on the way home."It… feels too easy." Megan said finally. "Just… be in the building? That's the Final Test?"
"That's how it sounded to me." Biggs admitted and found he was looking at Grant.
Grant was writing in his notebook for the entire trip home.
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