Solomon's Porch (49 page)

But the President did not stop with asking for the world, he added the moon and the stars. He called for the creation of a new American health care system, one based on “the maximum application of Christ’s mercy, not upon material greed.”

“The right to receive quality health care is a basic human right,” the President said. “Anyone arguing that it is not should be ashamed of himself and fear his day of judgment before the Lord.”

The President signed an Executive Order forbidding any U.S. law enforcement officer from “pursuing or apprehending” any of the estimated four hundred thousand inmates that were able to leave American prisons during the restriction. For the federal felons who walked off, he issued a blanket clemency. For state and local prisoners whom “God paroled,” as he phrased it, he threatened states that refused to pardon them with “any and all monetary sanctions at my disposal as President.” He called for a commission, to be jointly chaired by Tim Austin and Gail McCorkle, to “review all aspects of our current criminal justice system, from statutes to bureaucracies,” and to offer “concrete proposals to the President for reducing the number of incarcerated persons, increasing educational, vocational and spiritual training options throughout the prison system and to provide practical ideas to bring our criminal justice system more in line with Christian values and by doing so, create conditions that will minimize criminal conduct and reduce recidivism.”

“I know full well how these proposals will be received in some quarters,” the President said, as he wrapped up his nearly hour long speech. “I will be called a madman, a dreamer, a threat to the social order. So be it then. I stand on the idea that the time has come for us to move closer to Christ, both as individuals and as a society. We must do so boldly and with faith. I ask you to pray for yourselves, to pray for your country and to pray for your President.”

In a separate press release, not desiring to mix his positive message with an unpleasant task, the President called for the immediate resignation of his Vice President. He cited “not only serious personal and political differences brought to the surface by the restriction and related events” but also “significant ethical lapses by the Vice President better left unpursued in the interests of national harmony and Christian forgiveness.”

Working together with the President and using the resources of the White House, Peter Carson announced that at six p.m. tomorrow, June the twenty-third, he, the President, and the disciples would be present at RFK stadium in Washington to “celebrate the Lord’s miracles.” The event was to be a culmination of Holy Thursday, and a rallying point for God’s faithful. It would also serve as the beginning of a global ministry for Peter and the disciples. Solomon’s Porch was coming to the four corners of the earth.

“It’s almost too good to be true, my friend. Perhaps you were right, I am too pessimistic. Those fools are delusional to hold such a public spectacle right after the restriction. We could not ask for a more perfect scenario.” Some sleep, tranquilizers, and an unhealthy dose of single malt scotch had calmed the President’s former first advisor over the past eighteen hours.

“Everything is set. The assets are in place in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They slipped into the harbors last night completely undetected.” As he spoke, the President’s second former senior advisor was busy operating a small bank of computers set up in the conspirator’s makeshift war room.

“And our assassin, he is ready too? No problems?”

“No problems. He’s staying at the Watergate under the name of Mustapha al-Elyan. He’s posing as a trade minister from Oman.”

“And his assassin?”

“That’s the least of your worries, my friend. He’s guarding the President.”

“My, my. Nice of you to tell me about that interesting wrinkle. Don’t trust me?”

“Of course, I just thought you would enjoy the surprise.”

“Not as much as the President will, I’m sure.”

Twenty-Seven

There was no way to know precisely when the restriction would end. Some guessed ten p.m. sharp, others swore it would be ten o’two, o’three, or o’five. It was simply impossible to determine the exact moment the blessing began.

The ten o’clock sharp prediction proved to be accurate.

Dr. Howard Simms, now working through the Office of the President, coordinated an extensive network of resources whose purpose was to report on the immediate post restriction response of individuals and groups. In less than twenty-four hours, Simms put in place thousands of “special observers,” as he called them, across the globe that had objective criteria they applied to record and categorize everything they measured and witnessed.

In a few months, Simms intended to publish “The Report,” a massive tome detailing all the raw data collected about the restriction and its aftermath. He also planned to offer analyses and conclusions at that time, but certain post restriction activity was “significant” and “merited immediate comment,” in Simms’ view, so he issued a brief statement to the press shortly before noon on the twenty-third.

For about two hours after the restriction ended, a wave of “pent-up frustration,” as Simms labeled it, was “released.” Assaults, murders, fights, basically all categories of measurable personal violence, rose well above pre-restriction norms. Some in the media jumped on this early eruption of hate and predicted a widespread return to “worse than business as usual.”

But they were wrong.

According to Dr. Simms, “the effect of being forcibly restrained from committing acts of violence caused many millions of persons across a variety of societies to reassess their personal values and their relationship with God.” As the morning of the twenty-third of June progressed, less and less violence was being reported. Despite the initial violent surge, the “early post-restriction trend is clearly toward more, not less, peace.”

Of course, all of Simms’ data was preliminary. Extrapolating any long term trends from a few hours worth of activity would be foolhardy and Simms made no attempt to do so. He merely described and summarized what his small army of “special observers” reported to him.

Calling it “opinion and informed speculation,” Simms was willing to climb out a little bit on a limb. He said “the restriction has altered attitudes and expectations, but for how long and to what ultimate degree remains uncertain. However, it seems undeniable that a significant step in the right direction has taken place. The social environment is not the same as it was seventy-two hours ago.”

On the political front, about ninety percent of the invitations issued by the President to the global peace summit were accepted and confirmed by noon on the twenty-third. The impossible now seemed tantalizingly within reach. More and more people were beginning to believe that the President might actually pull off a miracle of his own.

The “Day of Fasting and Prayer” was also having an impact. In their homes and in public gatherings, hundreds of millions of souls fasted for all or part of the day and asked God to help Peter and their political leadership. Roger Stone led this effort from his home in Wisconsin, hourly conducting a prayer service that was televised worldwide.

Hope was rapidly supplanting fear. The belief that God had spoken, that the Creator of the universe had delivered a positive message of love for His children, was taking wide root, blossoming, and bearing fruit.

Then Satan struck back.

Two ships, both non-descript cargo vessels, exploded simultaneously in Los Angeles and San Francisco harbors. It was ten a.m. Pacific Time on June the twenty-third.

Each ship contained a nuclear warhead manufactured by the former Soviet Union and stolen from its Ukrainian owners by a radical Islamic group. The weapons had actually been missing for years, although they had supposedly been accounted for in one of the many desultory international weapons inspections of the Ukraine in the post-Soviet era.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of people were vaporized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to lethal doses of radiation. Billions of dollars in property was destroyed and, far worse, two of the largest cities in America and their environs were contaminated and made uninhabitable for decades to come.

Those pursuing peace suddenly not only looked naïve, but recklessly dangerous as well.

Peter was sitting in a small office in the White House going over his sermon for the RFK event when he heard the terrible news. He watched as shocked faces hurried up and down the corridor. Many of them looked in angrily as they passed by, their eyes accusing him of somehow being responsible for bringing the unthinkable horror of a nuclear attack to American soil.

“Many will blame you,” Bishop Kallistos said, as he strode into Peter’s office and closed the door. “People, how you say, expect you can end all evil by yourself. Through lies like that and fear of death, Satan will tempt them. This is horrible tragedy, but as I told you, Panos, tragedy can be part of God’s plan too. Are you ready? Time has come for you to face the enemy.”

Peter was listening, but not responding. He was deep in prayer asking God to help those in California who were suffering and to give him the strength to do what must be done.

Twenty-Eight

“Peter, do you know how much I love you? How important you are not only to us, but to Julie and Kevin and to the millions who have heard you and believe?”

“Yes, Gail, I know these things.”

“Then don’t be a damned fool! I do not believe that God encourages suicide, and that’s exactly what you’d be committing if you go to that stadium.”

“Gail, my sister, please listen to me. I know that you mean well, I know that … ”

“You heard those Secret Service guys. Do you think they’re stupid? They are pros, Peter, they know what they are doing. How can you and the President just ignore them?”

“I’m not ignoring them, but I answer to God, not to man.”

“Honestly, I don’t get it. Aren’t you the one who taught us that Satan has very real powers, that he is a most formidable adversary? Why are you making it so easy for him?”

Logically, Peter knew Gail McCorkle was right. As were the Secret Service agents, and the entire President’s inner circle. Any sane man would cancel the RFK event, hunker down, and ride out the storm.

But men of God are not such men; once called, they can never turn back. They are required to keep their “hands on the plow,” as Christ commanded.

“Gail, I know that I probably cannot convince you that we are doing the proper thing, but stop and listen to me. Just for a minute.”

Reluctantly, Gail did.

“The President and I must not show any fear. We will stay the course and not back down, not one bit, from God’s call to end violence. We have no choice but to be even stronger now in our convictions, more bold. Satan offers hate and fear, as messengers of God, we must meet this challenge with mercy and love.”

“What are you going to do, forgive the psychotic bastards who nuked Cali?”

“Yes, that’s it exactly. We intend to pray for them and to ask God to be merciful when He judges them.”

“Peter, I hear what you are saying, God knows we all need more merciful hearts, but … ”

“But what, Gail? If we do not show mercy to the worst of sinners, how can we claim to be God’s messengers? Who do you think the Master died on the cross for? Just those who love Him?”

“Peter, brother, I hear you, but be sensible. We cannot just lie down and do nothing. Whoever did this committed an atrocity on a scale that’s beyond … ”

“Beyond what, Gail? Beyond God’s unlimited grace?”

“You mean we have to let these evil monsters kill us all? We cannot fight back?”

“Of course we can fight back, Gail, but it’s how we respond that defines us. What we must do is let God fight this battle for us. He says we can no longer return death for death, hate for hate. If we obey Him, how could you possibly believe He would let the evil one destroy us?”

“We win by giving up?”

“No, we win by refusing to play the devil’s game. We say enough. We let God protect us.”

“Which means?”

“Which means the President and I go forward as planned. We are obedient and ask for obedience from them. By now, sister, I really thought that you understood.”

“Help me, Peter. Help me to understand this madness.”

“I am nothing more than an example. So is the President. So were all the prophets and the saints. For that matter, Gail, so are you.”

“Peter, brother, I do not have your strength. I know how useless it is to lie; God sees all, so He already knows what I think. If it were up to me, I’d hunt down the maniacs that did this and dismember them. Forgive me, but I do not have your ability to be so kind. Not now, not after all this slaughter.”

“If they do not repent, Gail, you know very well what will happen to them. They will spend eternity in hell. You know what that looks like; you’ve heard Saul and Kenny testify. What could be worse?”

“I don’t have a heaven or hell to put anyone in, Peter, that’s for sure. But I’d take great satisfaction in sending those filthy scum to the devil for processing as quickly as possible.”

“Gail, don’t you see it? Isn’t it obvious?”

“I see thousands upon thousands of dead people in California and the world turning against us.”