Still imprisoned in the glass cage with that thing which was nothing but an insubstantial projected image, I thought through everything that had happened. I realised that I had already learned a couple of things. Perhaps the most important was that The Presence was with me. He had shown me that what was happening in the world was related to something The Great One was doing. It was not something to be feared.
I acted on that one piece of knowledge in the only way I knew how. I spoke it out loud. I had been so locked into my own predicament that I had forgotten that my friends could see and hear everything. As soon as I spoke I could see that they had heard, and the correctness of my information was confirmed by the reaction of Ifficus.
He let out an almighty roar. I could no longer believe that he had no emotion. He knew anger.
While this was going on, my mind had been active in several different directions. I think I inherited this ability of functioning simultaneously in different directions from my mother. She is very clever.
Quickly I reviewed the knowledge that I had so far obtained from Ifficus. One thing was obvious. He was not interested in solving the problem of what was happening around us. I believe that he already knew what was happening. I was almost certain that he believed that what was happening around us was being initiated by The Great One and that we were in no danger. From this I deduced that he was deliberately trying to instil fear into us, or more specifically into me. Why did he need to do this?
The answer was obvious. He wanted to gain complete control. To do this he needed something more than what Davo had programmed into him. He needed access to human emotion and spirit. He wanted to programme into himself the things that made up my innermost being. That is why he wanted me to look into his eyes and make my mind blank. I did not know whether what he wanted to take from me would be a copy or whether he would drain me dry. I was certain that he did not care what happened to me.
There was something about that which still puzzled me. How could looking into his eyes achieve his purpose. He was just an image. He had no substance whatever. I could walk right through him. There was nothing in his eyes for me to fear. It was not the image I had to fear. It was Ifficus himself, the computer.
It was then I had a little, ‘Oh of course now I see it,’ moment. I think I owed that revelation to The Presence. I replayed the conversation with Ifficus about looking into his eyes and realized that if I ignored the image of Ifficus I would be looking directly into the top corner of the viewing cage. That is where all the computer sensors were.
I grew in confidence. For the first time I believed that I could be in control. Ifficus was still ranting on at me about how insubstantial my Great One was. I would ally myself with this insubstantial Great One and try to ignore Ifficus into submission.
I raised my arms as some of the more enthusiastic worshippers in many religions are inclined to do. I wanted there to be no doubt about what I was doing. I began to sing words of praise to The Great One, composing the song as I went. I wanted it to be my song.
As I sang I began to dance. I danced right into the space that was taken up by the image of Ifficus. I had decided that this was the safest place to be. I found it difficult to believe that the sensors through which he hoped to receive my emotion and inner awareness could pick anything up in the same space into which the image was being projected.
My dance took me all around the cage. All the time, I kept my eyes focussed straight ahead, never looking up to where I believed the sensors to be. My dance took me everywhere that Ifficus moved in his attempt to avoid me. I remained entirely in his space.
Then something began to happen to me that I had never experienced before. The words of my song changed in character. I began singing in a language that I neither knew nor understood. I knew that I was singing praise. My spirit was soaring toward The Great One and the song and music began to carry a cadence and beauty beyond my ability. I am neither musician nor poet. I became super-aware of what was going on around me.
I cannot describe what I saw happening to Ifficus. His rage seemed to be causing him to grow in stature while, at the same time, his frustration was reducing him. He was fragmenting.
On the outside of the cage I was aware of hope and a degree of excitement. I was very conscious of Dharwad. He was looking at me with a kind of awe. There were tears streaming down his face; they were not sad tears. I would have said he was recalling happy memories. It was that soft inner core that made him special. Perhaps he understood the words of the song I was singing.
Then something remarkable happened. Victory! Ifficus is gone! That was my first thought as I saw him disappear from the stage. Then I wasn’t so sure. I was picked up by some unseen force and thrown like so much garbage against the wall. I braced myself for a bone shattering crunch as I hit the wall.
I did not hit the wall. I went straight through it and went sliding helplessly across the floor where I continued to lie for a moment, regaining my awareness and quietly checking out all the bits of my body that I am supposed to be able to move. Everything worked. Scrivs and Miz were beside me asking if I was hurt. I shouted loudly enough to make sure Davo could also hear. He was shutting the computer down before it could do any more harm. “Of course I'm hurt,” I said, “My pride is damaged beyond repair. I’m fine thanks, everything works.”
Miz, practical ‘hold it all together Miz’ said, “I’m making the coffee, come.” She knew that we would follow. I could not think of a better idea.
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE- FOCUS ON JERUSALEM
We sat and talked. Talk seemed to be totally necessary and Davo needed to know every detail I could tell him. He had to do some serious reprogramming. The ability of Ifficus to interact with people had to be seriously curtailed if he was to fulfil his role as a museum centrepiece, where the public would be allowed to interact with him.
When we felt relaxed enough we returned to work. There was plenty waiting for us at our desks. But I had barely got my work prioritised when I was interrupted by the penetrating sound of a siren from somewhere outside the building.
Almost immediately Beetle’s P.A. system came to life. As usual Miz was on the ball and had us tuned to the National Emergency Channel.
A voice was now coming over the speaker. “A state of emergency has been declared for the whole of the State of Israel. A possible missile attack could be launched at any time with Israel as the target. Information is sketchy at this stage. Stay tuned to this channel for further information as it becomes available.”
We were all back in the coffee room which was the most convenient meeting place. When I say all, that is not quite correct. Scrivs had made a sudden change of roles from a slave of the Beetle to husband, father and protector of his household. He had a wife and family and wanted to be with them, whatever happened.
We stayed tuned. More information was being released. None of it made any sense. What we now knew was that there had been a catastrophic breach of security in the defence system of the United States of America. All computer systems that control the defence of their country had been simultaneously hacked and taken over by some organisation or group. No demands had been made and nobody had claimed responsibility.
The complexity of this attack made it evident that years of planning had been involved. It would have taken more than one person to achieve this. I tried to reassure myself with what I believed I had learned while talking to Ifficus. We were not in danger. The Great One was in control. Still, I could not find peace. I needed to understand.
How could I be sure that I had got it right? I tried to focus my attention on Saviour and The Presence to see if I could detect any Speaking. I am not very good at this. Any Speaking usually finds me rather than the other way around. I think everyone in the coffee room was seeking the same thing in their own way.
Maybe we were successful. In any case we all felt the same strong urge within us. We woul
d go to the old temple site, the site of the present day Islamic Dome. This was probably the holiest place for all of us. We would live or die there. I did not realise that we were being led by The Presence.
It seemed that half of Jerusalem had the same strong need to be in that place. There was a continually moving tide of people, all going toward where the temple used to stand. We could do little else but move along with them. As we entered the temple precinct more information began coming through on our mobile devices, which were constantly tuned to the Emergency Channel.
Catastrophic developments were taking place. The President of the United States was speaking, urging co-operation from all nations and making the extraordinary offer of the availability of all the resources of his country and its defence forces. It was hard to see how this would help with their systems so heavily compromised.
His distress was obvious in the difficulty he had controlling his emotion as he announced that whoever was in control their defence network had just launched six long range missiles toward an as yet unknown destination. Their trajectory would take them directly across Israel. Each missile was armed with a nuclear device. The next thirty minutes would decide our futures.
Every television channel and radio station throughout the world now had cameras and reporters focussed on the area. Israel was the suspected, but as yet unconfirmed target. The fact that Israel had been the centre of what was now firmly believed to be psychological warfare in the preparatory phases of this attack could not be ignored.
The world was watching. This afternoon and, for as long as it takes, events in Jerusalem would be the centre of the sole viewing available for virtually everybody throughout the world.
As the minutes ticked away it became increasingly obvious that Israel was the primary target for whoever was in control of the missile launch. Attempts had been made to intercept by a number of countries but it was becoming obvious that the American defence system was not the only system that had been targeted. There was only one possible end, total destruction. At least we would die together. Davo was holding me so tightly that we would die as one.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX- BIG BANG?
In spite of all the evidence, somewhere deep within me, there was still a conviction that we were not going to die. Against all odds, two things persisted and re-enforced that conviction. I believed The Great One. I still believed that he had said we would not be harmed. The other thing was more tangible. It was the obvious manifestation of The Presence among us. There was no visible sign of his presence but it could be felt just as strongly as it had been on that day, in this same city, when He first came with fire and an illusion of wind.
I said to Davo, “We are not going to die. Do you feel The Presence?” He responded with a squeeze. It hurt, but it was a good hurt. Held as tightly as I was in his embrace, I hadn't realized that he could squeeze any harder. He said, “I do not know if it is what you call The Presence but there is something very powerful around us. I can almost believe it is the presence of The Creator, the one you call The Great One. Maybe we will not die.”
I think everybody felt it at some level. Nobody moved.
The warheads were visible now, six tiny dots high up above the western horizon. They grew in size so quickly and silently that they were on us, almost before we could draw breath. Spontaneously, the crowd moved back a pace and gasped.
Then a totally unpredictable, impossible thing happened. It was as if all six warheads, tightly grouped together, suddenly ran headlong into an invisible airbag. We felt the impact as a large mass of air was displaced; then there was silence.
If I had not seen for myself what happened next, I would not have believed it. Six bomb-like objects were suspended close in front of us, glowing with re-entry heat. I thought for a moment we were going to fry but they cooled rapidly. They remained suspended a few metres in front of us and about four metres above the ground as if being held there by some giant, invisible hand.
I looked at Dharwad. He looked at me. We shook our heads in identical ‘don’t know’ motions.
Amazement turned to awe as the warheads slowly rotated until they were facing upwards, away from earth. I expected to see them rise again and disappear back into the sky leaving us safe.
What happened was more remarkable.
The six warheads moved in unison like some kind of aerial synchronised swimming team, slowly lowering themselves to the ground. They stood there, proudly united, forming a passageway about four metres wide.
As we watched, they changed in character. They lost their menacing appearance and gradually changed colour, being transformed into glowing rocket shaped columns of green and gold. When I saw this, I knew that The Great One was doing something very significant here. My mind went back to the time when, as a young girl, I had been in Jerusalem and the Presence had first been given. At that time, I had witnessed the amazement of the crowd as they each heard the announcement of the enthronement of Saviour in their own native dialect. I wondered if something like that was happening again. Was everybody seeing this new event in their own national colours, as I was.
The ethereal glow being given off by the warheads was constant and un-mistakenly significant. That glow reminded me of something else I had witnessed. I had to think. This was important. It took a little while for my brain to click into place, but then I knew what memory was being triggered. That glow was the same as that which had composed the royal robes of the man and woman in the First Kingdom when The Great One had placed them in control of all he had created.
I knew that we were in the presence of something momentous. This was just as clearly an announcement that a new Speaking of The Great One was taking place, as were the flames of fire and sound of rushing wind on that day in Jerusalem when The Presence first came to be with us.
The whole crowd stood in stunned silence, holding their breath for whatever would follow.
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN- CONCLUSION
The silence that followed did not last very long. A great shout rolled back through the crowd, “The Golden Gate is open!”
All eyes turned toward the gate. Dharwad whispered in my ear, “It is the gate through which the Messiah is to come.” Expectation was high. The watching crowd knew that somebody, or something was about to come through that gate.
When it happened, the entry did not take place through the gate, but rather from its direction. A large, luminous ball of soft light appeared high up beyond the Golden Gate and came toward us. Its approach was not as rapid as that of the warheads. It stopped, directly over the now open gate, and something rolled out from within it. What came from it took the form of a staircase that reached down to earth, just in front of where we were standing. Its base rested on a platform, high enough to give the whole crowd a clear view of what was happening.
The whole thing was glowing with that same green and gold, royal luminescence. Again, I wondered if everybody saw their own national colours and knew that this event belonged to the whole world.
Three figures stepped out of the glow at the head of the stairs and began to make their way down in royal procession.
Leading the group was a man of slightly less than medium stature, dressed in ordinary street clothing but somehow exuding an aura that identified him as being of royal lineage. Slightly behind him and on either side were two figures which I immediately identified as being Messengers, in the same way as Alias had been. These were obviously of much higher rank than he had ever been.
The three of them took their place on the platform provided. The one of royal lineage raised his hands in a gesture of greeting and said one word, “Peace.” As he lifted his hands in royal salute it was obvious who he was. There were nail prints in his hands.
A great gasp went up from the people, a unified shout of recognition. “The King has come. He was dead and is alive. May he reign for ever, Saviour, King of all nations and peoples.”
The general rumble
of voices that followed this event was interrupted by a spectacular demonstration of authority. The two warheads nearest to the platform suddenly crackled and disintegrated in a brilliant shower of glowing particles which fell to the ground like a carpet. Then the rumble of a voice came from above us, “His name is Immanuel.”
That voice held the authority of every Speaking that had ever occurred.
The remaining warheads stood tall and unified. Then the Royal Attendant who stood to the right of King Immanuel raised his voice in a royal declaration, “The promise of The Great One to Abraham is fulfilled. Children of Abraham, of Ishmael and of Isaac, receive your inheritance.” The two warheads nearest to the platform immediately shattered and joined their companions as a carpet of glowing fragments on the ground.
Our eyes were fixed on the two remaining warheads which stood tall as if waiting. If they were indeed waiting, their wait was not for long. In a sudden blaze of glory, they too disintegrated and fell in fragments to the ground and the voice of the other Royal Attendant rang out with authority, “All you who are children of Adam; his Kingdom has been restored. Enter into the joy of your inheritance. Celebrate the faithfulness and victory of The Great One.”
At the sound of this pronouncement, the whole mass of glowing fragments which had formed a carpet, were flung out, as if by an unseen hand and spread across the land in an ever-widening circle. As it spread, a faint glow of the Royal Presence was left emanating from the land. They seemed to be telling the earth itself that its time had come for renewal. The message was clear. This was an event that would involve the whole of creation.
The final scenario was yet to play out. It was as if the whole of the glory of the heavenly realm was revealed. A voice which could be no other than that of The Great One said, “The one you see before you; he is my Son, my only natural-born son. I love him with a love that is beyond measure and am immensely proud of all he has achieved. I give him authority to rule with all the power and authority that is mine. He will reign until the end of the age. Behold your King.”