THE PLOT
G.M. Brown
Copyright 2013 G.M. Brown
The Plot
The room, already quiet due to the clandestine nature of the meeting, fell into a deeper silence when he entered. He took his seat at the place of honor and scanned the faces of those around him. What a casual observer would have noticed is that all of the men in the room were young, very young, but all exuded power either through the garments they wore or the indefinable aura around them. The silence lengthened as Joseph continued to look into the eyes of his fellow patriots (others would have called them plotters), examining each for a sign of weakness or uncertainty. What was reflected back was a satisfying mixture of confidence and unwavering resolution. In a time of spies and treachery this was most necessary.
No servants were present to serve the men gathered and the nature of the meeting precluded a lavish setting. Each man had a small carafe of wine and some bread to satisfy any desires. Few had touched anything, nerves perhaps Joseph mused.
“So here we are, for what should be our penultimate meeting”, began Joseph. “The next time we gather we will either be in a position to rejoice or console ourselves with failure. Let us pray that it is the former.”
“Pray is perhaps the wrong word here” said Ben; a tall solidly built youth seated to the right of Joseph. “After all are we not relying on what the Greeks call science to aid us through? To put our faith in God has not done our people, or us, much good to date has it? Isn’t this why we are gathered here?”
“Well put young Ben” replied John, the most well known scion amongst them. “What you say is true to some extent, although the Lord God will definitely be playing a part in this, more as the playwright than the performer. It is left to us mortals to act out His play.”
“Enough for now!” remonstrated Joseph. “We need to keep this as short as possible. The more time we spend together the more likelihood we will be discussed by wagging tongues. I believe now all the plans are in place and the sand is even now moving on quickly. We now have 2 months to initiate according to the Egyptians calculations (this choice of words always brought wry smiles to those present). Our patron amongst the Romans has set the plan in motion by having the census scheduled for later this year, so it is now or never. Are we agreed on this course of action?”
The men seated round the table nodded once, and with each nod a burden seemed to settle on their shoulders and the veil of youth was lifted from their faces forever. They became men.
“So it will be. Let us run through the plan one final time before I announce the name of the candidate, selected for us by our learned counterpart from the temple.”
Joseph addressed John first. “The women have been selected?”
“Yes Joseph, we have four young women in mind,” he replied. “Their families’ background has been researched thoroughly, the girl’s patriotism and their families patriotism has been examined and none found wanting. They fulfill all the criteria as laid out by the scholar. The, ah, initiators, are all primed, so to speak.”
“Thank you for your diligence John. Some might say you have had the easier and more pleasant of our tasks. I myself have been researching the reliability of our Egyptian friend, and have found out that his predictions with regards to astrological and celestial events are 100% accurate. I am still unsure how he does it, but the facts speak for themselves. We can use his predictions to add legitimacy to our candidate. Ten years ago he made forecasts for the following 50 years, and I have been able to either observe myself first hand these events come to fruition or get first hand witnesses to those I have not. The most recent of these events happened last month, and as you will recall, it produced mayhem amongst the people of the city who were caught unaware. The events he predicted could be enhanced with a few man-made devices to heighten their effect if desired. Although this is the factor we have the least control of, well actually, no control of, we will have to put our faith in what Ben calls science. So Ben, what about your area of operation?”
Ben then began to outline his work. “As you know I will be responsible for the shaping and education of our candidate. This education will be extensive to say the least. We are lucky for the scriptures have provided us with plenty of time to prepare our man. There will be time to educate him thoroughly in the scriptures, time to train him so he will also attain the physical attributes he will require, and most of all time for him to become intimate in the techniques of our most powerful and respected illusionist.” He paused at this point and addressed Joseph directly.
“I most confess though, I have elicited the help of someone outside of this room though to aid us in this cause.”
This statement brought Joseph quickly to both his feet and his anger. “You fool!” he hissed. “Our success depends on keeping the numbers involved down to those in this room. How dare you risk not only the whole plan, but also the lives of us, our families, and possibly the existence of our nation? Who is this person who is so important, so integral to the plan that you place our lives at your risk?”
Unfazed by Joseph’s outburst, Ben actually began to smile. He looked into Joseph’s eyes and said “The keeper of the Ark.”
Stunned Joseph sank as quickly as he had risen. The faces of the others regarded John with similarly stunned expressions. Then the questions flew.
“But how can this…” “I thought it was lost when…?” “Where did you…?”
Ben raised his hands to signal he was ready to answer their questions.
“As you know the ark disappeared around the time when the Babylonians sacked the Temple of Solomon. Theories abound as to what happened to the Ark. Some say that it was then destroyed along with the temple, others say the Babylonians took it as booty to place before the statue of their god Marduk. Others say it was smuggled away to the lands of Sheba by the son of David & Sheba, long before the conquerors came. I have long been personally interested in the Ark from a historical perspective, mostly curious about its’ great powers and its’ ability to keep in power those who could harness this power. My research has been tireless, and before Joseph enlisted my help in this plan, I was on the verge of a break-through. Once embroiled in our current scheme I realized how important this artifact could be to advancing our candidates cause. If our candidate could use the power of the ark either covertly or overtly, we would almost guarantee ourselves success. I am pleased to announce to you I have not only located it, but have negotiated its’ safe return to our city. It now lies hidden in the grounds of one of my properties, guarded by it’s keeper who believes it was his holy mission to secure its’ return to the temple from its place of concealment.”
The others remained dumbfounded. Was this a heaven sent opportunity or a complication? All turned to Joseph.
After what seemed like an age Joseph spoke.
“I take back my anger, as I now see this could be the seal of success. Well done Ben. But I still rebuke you as you should have consulted us.”
Ben, now with some of his enthusiasm dampened said, “I did not want to distract us from our original plan Joseph. It would have been so easy to become caught up in the thrill of locating the ark as opposed to carrying through our original plan. If I did announce my intentions with regards to the ark, and then not located it, I may have unduly cast a pall of gloom over our plan. As it now stands, I have located it and its possession can only be seen as a boon.”
The others regarded Ben with new respect. It was little wonder they had delegated him the responsibility of educating the candidate in both scholarly and tactical concerns. He had just demonstrated that the faith in his ability was well placed.
Once again the floor returned to their leader.
“You must learn as much as possible about the power of the ark and its dangers. All that
has been written about it must be studied in detail, we cannot let the arks potential go untapped. As with all matters surrounding this plan, its’ existence must be kept in the strictest secrecy.”
All agreed without any further discussion still somewhat silenced by Ben’s revelation. A real sense of energy and purpose now had the room in a thrall. The time had now come for the master plan to be unveiled to all, as only Joseph had the complete picture.
Joseph began:
“In 12 months from now, according to the Egyptian Abaaner, an event will occur in the northern sky. What it actually is will be the