“Neither,” Aafre said. “I had already made that clear earlier. Now if you look in your planning folders, you will find that we are bound not to kill him and cannot harm him for three and a half years. He may not know it, but even if we shot him in the head, it would be like a scratch. He has his God’s protection. In addition, we need him to fulfill his destiny. When he and the other witness are through, there will be absolutely no one left to stop us from preparing the world for the final battle and the end of their God’s tyranny.”
The President of the U.S. came up on the screen and said, “Aafre, do you think we can turn him. I mean talk to him and make him understand that he is on the wrong side?”
“If we could, it would be a great win for us. Moreover, temptation of power is sometimes capable of making a good argument for turning. I mean, the Master did try with Jesus, but this person is not the son of their God. He is a man, but I think he still has free will to do as he chooses.”
Waldger thought about this some more, as he paused and said, “There may be something to it Stevenson. Because Jack does have free will, we might be able to turn him. Do you think you can get to him for a one on one talk?”
“Yes,” Stevenson said. “Our contingency can attend the rally that we were made aware of awhile ago and maybe set something up then or right after. If he sees we are there, he might feel compelled to talk to us or me.”
“See what you can do,” Aafre said, “then get back to me. We do not want to make the wrong move here, but there is always a possibility that with power and luxury, one’s mindset can change. I have noticed that Jack does not seem comfortable and he is somewhat timid most of the time. Let me know your plans Stevenson. Also, what rally are you speaking of?”
“We received a communication a few minutes ago that Jack South’s ad agency was setting up a stage in Kansas City for a rally on Thursday evening.”
“That’s interesting,” Aafre said. “Maybe we can use that scenario and hold our emergency meetings right after that on Friday and Saturday. Let me work on it.”
“Now, getting back to today, the next part of his interview is with a panel of religious leaders. This ought to be interesting. We know some of the people on the panel.. They have a Jewish Rabbi from the Center Synagogue in New York, a Southern Baptist from New York, and the Bishop from the Catholic Diocese in New York. Let’s see, a Hindu Priest who also was in New York on business, who actually is a high priest from Calcutta, a Buddhist monk we know nothing about, and Robert Jackson, an atheist who is quite famous in the U.S. Mr. Jackson is constantly suing the U.S. government over separation of church and state. There is also an Islamic Cleric, whom we know very little about. He is more Americanized than most Islamic clerics and is not likely to say as much as some more militant Islamic groups, such as some of the more radical ones found in Iran or Iraq.”
“Also note that we are concerned about the fact that Jack may cause some rioting in the world. I have a feeling that if he is cornered by the Islamic priest, then he may slip and say the wrong thing. In any event, we need to take anything he says and make it sound like he is trying to cause division, even if he is not. Our only offense with this person and his partner is to turn the world’s population against them. I doubt that will be hard. Fear is a great equalizer and when people fear something, they can no longer be rational. We have all of our creative thinkers working on this as we speak. We need to make this Jack person and the other witness the most hated people on earth. That is our only weapon against them for now.”
“Won’t rioting cause even more problems?” asked a representative from one of the world’s largest corporations in Germany, “Especially Muslims; they are prevalent in many countries outside the Mideast, particularly in Europe.”
Aafre hesitated before he answered, then he said, “It is like collateral damage in war. You expect it, you control it, and you hopefully only let it happen where it will do the least amount of damage.”
David spoke up and said, “They are coming back on, sir. We might want to tune back in.”
“Thanks, David.” Aafre replied. “We will have more to discuss after we see this.”
Chapter 30
10:40 AM EST New York - Bear News Interview Studio
During the break, I was handed a list of six people from various religious backgrounds, including fundamental Baptist, Catholic, Judaism, Islam, and Asian religions. There was also an atheist on the list. I was curious as to the purpose of the atheist. I supposed that they had prepared for all sides of opinions.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, which turned out to be Donald, the producer. As I turned to him he said, “We are about ready to start. The panel will be seated across from you on the couch they brought in a few minutes ago. It is sort of a face-to-face type meeting. Also, you will notice the cameras now surrounding both sides of the studio.” He waited while I looked around before continuing, “What will be happening on the TVs in the homes of viewers is that the screen will be split with you on one side and the questioner on the other. Therefore, look directly into the camera that is in front of you.”
“Will I be able to hear and see them okay?”
“Certainly, they are on the couch in front of you. It is just that it works better with the split screens for viewers. We can assure you that you will be able to hear them well.” He directed me to a table where they put an earpiece in my ear for the audio feed. I noticed that they did the same for everyone else as well. I looked down at the other couch they had brought in and saw Reverend Marks from New York. He was a fire and brimstone black preacher, known for his loudness and theatrics in his church sermons. I wondered how it was going to go with him. I walked over and introduced myself to him. We exchanged hellos and then I sat on the opposite couch waiting for John Roddenburg and the rest of the Panel.
It was getting close to 11:00 a.m. and I was getting both tired and hungry. Nevertheless, I felt alert. I wondered how Jesus had felt when he faced this same situation thousands of years ago in front of the Sanhedrin court. I really wished that Gabriel and Ariel could be here. I was not sure how well I was going to do.
The other panelists all started to file in and I was introduced to each of them as they arrived. I had not heard of any of them before, other than Reverend Marks. No one showed any signs of anger or coolness towards me and they all seemed quite cordial. This was going to be one heck of a panel I thought to myself. They were probably hoping to crucify me in front of the whole world if they could. I just hoped, that as Gabriel had told me, whenever I needed the answer to a question, I just had to think about it, close my eyes, and then the answer would be there. I was to trust my instincts and that God would give me the right answer. I was not to get angry, but just sit back and give the exact answer as it came to me, he had said. This meant that God was in my presence and would guide me as necessary. I had to really turn up my faith at this point. That would be the only thing that might save me from these people.
“Mr. South?” a page, trying to get my attention said, “we are ready now. Mr. Roddenburg is coming back in.” He must have noticed I was daydreaming again.
Chapter 31
10:40 AM EST New York - Bear News, John Roddenburg’s Dressing Room
John was in his dressing room. He was still having difficulty dealing with the first part of the interview and was concerned that what had transpired with Jack and his predictions were so farfetched that it was almost unbelievable.
However, he kept telling himself that this guy had so far been one hundred percent accurate, down to how long the earthquake would shake, to the second. Now, with these new predictions, if he were right about them, it would make Jack the most newsworthy person on earth. John knew that if that were the case, then he would be spending a lot of time with Jack in the near future. John had wanted to avoid asking the direct question of whether this was the start of Tribulation. Had the clock started ticking on the last segment of life and man’s rule on earth, as he knew it? He felt the panel would
ask the question, so he did not.
In college, he had been part of a study group that took apart a best seller from a fundamentalist writer. It was about the end of the world as we knew it and the wars between Gog and Magog on the plain of Megiddo; and other horrible things that were to happen in scripture. John had a feeling that the events of that book were now about to come true. He had actually thought about having someone go to his house to get the copy he still owned. However, there was enough time to read it when he went home.
The problem he had with all of this was that Jack was not a bearded Jewish hothead, but a normal American older person who did not seem to fit the stereotypical witness one would expect. But then, there was no physical description of the witnesses, other than that they raise havoc on earth and its population and are dressed in sackcloth. John had looked up the definition of ‘sackcloth’ and found that it really meant ‘clothing of the people’.
His door opened and the page said, “John, the panel is seated and they are waiting for you.”
John got up and thought to himself, “I really hope this does not go bad. This is uncharted news reporting and anything can go wrong.” He crossed himself and walked out the door. He was also Catholic.
Chapter 32
10:50 AM EST New York - Bear Network Interview Studio
John Roddenburg walked back in and sat in the interview chair. It had been moved to the center, at the end of the two couches. He then simply asked the panel “Is everyone ready?” Then he turned to Jack and asked also, “Are you ready, Jack?”
“Yes,” they all replied, nodding their heads in affirmation.
John stretched his neck and leaned over to me, and whispered. “I will try and control the conversation so it does not get out of hand, but you have seen these before I’m sure, and sometimes the questions become difficult, so you may well end up in the hot seat.”
“I understand. It will be fine,” I responded.
John then straightened back up, stood, turned his focus to the panel, shook each person’s hand, and thanked them for coming. He then sat back down and addressed all of the participants.
“Gentlemen, we are in uncharted waters here and we want to be as civil as possible in this interview. It is important that we keep to some facts and only ask pertinent questions. I will be moderating the conversations as they occur for all seated here. If I change the subject, then the question is closed. In addition, I have the ability to stop taping if the discussion becomes too heated; and will not continue taping again until the situation cools down. We are on a four-minute delay on the taping. That means everything we say does not get broadcast until four minutes later.”
“The other thing is that we do not have enough time to have a complete dialogue on religion, so please keep your questions to a minimum and hopefully more yes and no questions that Jack can answer. Hopefully, we are all in agreement.”
The members of the panel all nodded their heads in affirmation and muttered yeses. I could see though in their individual expressions that they were calculating how far they could go with me before being cut off. The advantage of being in sales for thirty years was that you learnt how to read facial expressions. At this moment, considering the looks I was getting, I pretty well assumed I had six Pontius Pilots in front of me. I was nervous, but as I closed my eyes for a moment, I realized this was my destiny and this was my time, and I relaxed. I opened my eyes and looked at John, then the panel, and smiled. I was ready.
John Roddenburg looked up and saw the countdown. He eventually began speaking.
“Ladies and gentlemen of America and the world, we are in part two of our conversation with Jack South. In our earlier interview, Mr. South made clear to the entire world that God is taking a hand in our affairs and has outlined several serious calamities that will start occurring by tomorrow and even the next month. This is in addition to the carnage we have already experienced in California. We would also like to bring you up to date, if you did not see the earlier interview. Mr. South, so far, has accurately named every event with one-hundred percent accuracy down to the seconds of shaking, which was exactly 422 seconds, with his prediction of the earthquake in California. He also, predicted the exact number of casualties, injuries, property damage, and details about the earthquake. And according to our sources, he is very, very close to being accurate based on current estimates of the death and injury tolls.”
“He was able to win two lotteries with the exact same numbers with a payout of almost a half a billion dollars, after taxes, which Mr. South says is to be used to get his message out for his “ministry,” as he calls it. So now, we have three instances of his abilities and probability that the things that he has predicted will actually occur. So far, although the odds have been zero, he has been right in each instance; the two lotteries, and an accurate prediction of the earthquake in California.”
“Mr. South has also stated that he is a messenger from God. He says he is one of two witnesses as described in the Book of Revelations. God, he has stated, has sent him to us to warn us of things to come. So believers, if they choose, can prepare for these calamities. The other witness, we do not know where or who he is at this time.”
“In addition, in the earlier interview aired a few minutes ago, Mr. South has warned us in the U.S. of several hurricanes that are to hit the Southern and Eastern Coasts of America starting in eight days. Coupled with that, in one day, or Tuesday, tomorrow morning, torrential rains will fall upon the Sahara Desert, the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia. This rain will be enough to turn most of the Sahara into an inland sea, which is what it was thousands of years ago. He also claims that starting today, at both poles, the temperature will rise eight degrees, melting parts of the ice sheet. These predictions begin today and end in a month. All of these things predicted are unprecedented, and according to our meteorologist, Chester Nichols, are also close to zero probability. But as we said, Mr. South has not been wrong thus far and his predications may well need to be taken seriously.”
“Quickly, before we begin with the panel, we will turn to Chester who is monitoring the weather at the poles and in the Atlantic, and see if Jack is getting it right.”
“Thanks, John,” Chester said. He brought up a temperature reading from 6:00 that morning at the North Pole and compared it to what it was now, at almost 11:00 a.m. He then stated, “Indeed, the temperature of both poles has already risen six degrees above normal so far today and that was not forecast earlier by us. Cloud cover and precipitation in both areas of the Arctic Circle and the North Pole does not exist. It is all clear skies. This activity is unprecedented I can assure you. Now, since the temperature was rising in the poles, cooler air that normally comes off the poles from the jet stream, is warmer from the northern and southern hemispheres. So we are seeing higher than normal temperatures across the globe within only one hour.”
He then turned his attention to the Atlantic where a disturbance was forming off the coast of Africa. “About a half an hour ago, the National Hurricane Center notified the public of a new tropical depression that was developing and currently had thirty-five mile per hour winds with a seventy-five percent chance of formation within the next 24-48 hours. There are also cloud formations starting to occur across most of northern Africa, but no rain now. In addition, today is, I might add, the first day of hurricane season, June 1. As new information becomes available, John,” Chester added, “and the experts analyze the detailed information Jack gave us earlier, we will be able to better calculate the percentages of his chances of being right, as well as the precise time tables, more accurately, and then be able to notify the world as to the current status in their regions. So far, John, Jack is one hundred percent accurate.”
“Thanks, Chester,” John said as the camera focused back on him. “In the second part of our interview, as we have promised our viewers, we have a panel of religious leaders, representing several religions around the world, which has questions for Jack.” John then proceeded to in
troduce the members of the panel.
He turned back to the camera and continued speaking, “Also, I want to let our viewers know that all of this has come about quickly. It was only less than three hours ago, that Jack interviewed with The Network here in New York and that interview was, stopped. What that means is that today’s interview was not planned or rehearsed in advance. So bear with us and we will try and make the best of it and get the world some concrete answers.”
He turned toward the panel and said, “In advance, I want to thank all of you up front for your immediate response and participation. And also you, Jack,” as he turned towards me.
I looked at the Bishop from New York as I saw one camera pan towards him and the other, towards me. “So we will start with Bishop Ronald O’Keefe, from the Diocese of New York.” John nodded at the Bishop and said, “Bishop?”
“Thank you John,” he paused for a second and then looked up at me. “Hello Jack, I am Bishop O’Keefe from New York. I would like to thank you, and also John, for inviting me here to represent the millions of Catholics worldwide and help put some perspective on your claims.” He smiled and looked directly into my eyes.
“For now, I am the Pontiff’s eyes and ears regarding this new development about God and His plans, as you describe them. Therefore, I have only a few questions. The first, are you God yourself?”
“No, I am not.”
“Then are you Satan?”
“No, I definitely am not Satan, Lucifer or any other names associated with him.”
“Have you spoken to the Archangel Gabriel?”
“What I have said Bishop, is that I spoke with a messenger from God who calls himself Gabriel. I do not know if he is the same angel in the Bible named Gabriel, or another Gabriel. I have no way of knowing.”
“Did you ever leave earth like Ezekiel or Elijah and get your revelations in heaven?”
“No, Bishop, no chariots of fire took me anywhere. I have already stated how I was chosen and the circumstances.”