When Evil Wins (4 page)

Janus's alarm went off at seven fifteen, it was Saturday and he had to get ready to go to the spiritualist meeting and after that he would have to meet up with his father for a job in Hartingdon Road by one that afternoon.

Although the meeting wasn't due to start until ten thirty, he’d set his morning call for seven fifteen to remind him to turn off his mobile phone and put his landline on mute; just to make sure his dad could not try and change his mind. He knew his father was very much against this type of thing.

Janus arrived at the British Legion Rooms in Northview Drive, Westcliff; it was ten in the morning and he was thirty minutes early.

This was the first time he’d decided to go to a meeting of this sort, without backing out at the last minute.

Janus wasn't completely sure why he had so much reticence about going to meetings of this nature, but something had always stopped him in the past. It could be that he didn't want to end up with the thought that it was just a money spinner for con artists to take what they could from people in need. Or whether he would find out that there were other people like him and would have to explain to his dad that his mother had had a gift and he also had the same gift, or whether it was just the thought of upsetting his dad.

Arriving early meant he would be able to choose his seat and when the hall was full he wouldn't be noticed, or so he thought.

After handing his entrance ticket to the person on the door he was immediately directed to the room where the meeting was to be held.

He was surprised; the outside of the building belied the fact that the room was not very large, not large at all in fact; its capacity being only about twenty to thirty people.

Still, he stuck to his original plan and selected a seat near the back, next to the exit. If he felt this was going to be too much for him he could leave and hopefully not be noticed.

As soon as he had taken his seat and within a very short few minutes the room gradually began to fill.

He watched all the participants as they entered, interested in each and every person, and was struck by the fact that they all looked pretty much normal to him; there were the odd one or two who were dressed in what he could only call, an eccentric manner, but apart from that the majority of the attendees wouldn't have stuck out in any crowd.

Within thirty minutes of his arrival the hall had filled to capacity and a door at the front of the hall opened. John Gill, the organiser and an ordinarily dressed, shortish man, with long and thinly sparsed lank hair entered the room and at that moment a hush descended over the audience.

John Gill stepped up onto the small podium at the front of the hall, opposite the room’s entrance door at the back.

“Good morning everyone, and thank you for coming,” John Gill started his address. “I see, yet again, we are full to capacity,” he said looking appreciatively at the crowd. “For those of you who are here for the first time let me say this; we here at 'The Workings of the Spirit' do not believe that one’s spirit and one’s personal belief system are necessarily the same thing.

“Even without religion it is possible to be spiritual, but the both are also not mutually exclusive. Whichever faith you follow is, in our minds, your choice and separate from the natural spirituality of the self, if you want it to be.

“We have no rituals and are not directed by any dogma. You believe what you believe, you see what you see and you are what you are. As Nelson Mandela once put it '
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate… but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

“We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
’ and in this vein we in The Workings of the Spirit carry on.

“Today we have an interesting, to say the least, programme of speakers. We have a publisher whose interest in spiritualism is not unknown; we have a freelance writer who specialises in psychology and will demonstrate in his talk, the reasons why spiritualism should be dismissed.” At this point of John Gill’s introduction there was a collective gasp from the audience.

“Hold on a minute, people,” John Gill said holding up his hand. “I have not finished. And he will explain the reasons why we should believe in spiritualism. We are not a church and we should welcome all points of view. Let me say one thing, Jim Hapstread has not come to any conclusions, he has been invited to present his work for you to determine its conclusions.” John Gill paused for a moment, letting the audience settle.

“Finally we have Tony Stockwell who will be performing a short demonstration of mediumship and then, private readings a bit later on.

“Please remember, in the time we have he can't see everyone, so what I would suggest is that those of you who have not had a reading before, please approach him, for those that have, please allow the people who are here for the first time to get a chance.

“And now I would like you to show your appreciation as I invite Richard Jameson of Richard Jameson Publishing to the stage.” John Gill waved Richard Jameson onto the podium and the audience clapped. The tall besuited man, almost military in his posture, with greying short cropped brown hair, and serious eyes, took his position on the stage.

“Thank you, John Gill, and thank you also,” Richard Jameson said indicating the audience. “I think I have been invited here today as an affirmation that not all business people are dismissive of the possibility that there may be something other, something more than the line our mainstream scientists insist upon.

“My company, R.J. Publishing, has a solid track record in publishing the works of what mainstream scientists would determine as, crazy and misdirected people. But in my experience when I see the scholars that produce these ‘
misdirected
’ works, and read their outcomes, I am certain that not everything in this world is adequately explained.

“Obviously, on occasions, I do come across the odd lunatic, but in the main the papers which are submitted to me to publish have a real grounding in scientific study. And I pride myself on getting this information into the public domain. It is all too often that works of this nature are covered up and dismissed. We all ought to be more open to the fact that science, as we know it, is very young in comparison to man’s existence on this planet.

“I find it phenomenally hard to believe that healing as it
is
, we are told, has only come into existence since the late eighteenth century or so. I ask myself; what happened before? How did humankind survive and why are the beliefs that still exist in small pockets of society, in this twenty first century, still pertinent to those communities even now?

“My answer is simple; they do work. Perhaps not on all occasions, much like today’s medicines, but in the main they have and still do.

“I say to myself; why is it that today’s corporations want to erase any wisdom that is not of their own making? And to my mind, the answer is clear; it’s pure greed. They can’t accept that there is another way and because another way can’t be proven conclusively by today’s scientific standards, then that is that.

“But behind this dismissive philosophy, I believe, there is something much more simple; it is a fear of this ‘
other way
’. It’s becoming abundantly clear that, in this day and age, these dismissive corporations try to curtail this older knowledge by hiding behind science or, even, hiding behind the mainstream religions that have made it their unwritten goal to eradicate anything that does not conform to their scriptures. These companies know that if they don’t do this then they’ll lose out because it’s something they can’t control; there will be no money in it for them, because the
other way
is prior art and in patent terms this means no revenue.

“Never do these corporations think that the science they believe in, has not yet attained the level to perform to the degree, what I would call the old science, has achieved over the many millennia it has been in use.

“To back up what I am saying is very simple; if you ever have the chance to compare a psychical study’s metrics to a study on a new drug you will be able to note that, statistically speaking, the psychical study is more proven than any drug trial before the drug is made available for the general public. But will the psychical study ever be accepted? No. This is a bias we need to overcome. How? I don’t know. But, for me, publishing the '
cranks
' work is a step forward.

“I hope in my life time there will be an eventual acceptance of both ways; the two hundred year old science way and the six thousand year plus, old way.

“Thank you.” As Richard Jameson finished his talk the audience stood and began to clap.

John Gill got back on the stage, clapping Richard Jameson also, “Thank you, Richard, for your most interesting and apt insight. I don't believe that there is anyone here today who thinks differently from you.” John Gill directed Richard Jameson from the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, after that incredibly interesting introduction to our meeting we will have a short break. Drinks are being served from the hatch at the back of the hall. If you need refreshments please make your way there. The next talk will be in about twenty minutes.”

Janus was over-awed by Richard Jameson, he was a powerful speaker. But to hear the things he said that weren't dismissive of phenomena outside the explanation of science, and him being an industry leader, made Janus feel that turning up for this meeting, this morning, had been the best thing he'd ever chosen to do. Janus felt an overpowering need to talk to the man.

Unlike most speakers Janus had seen, mainly political ones at the Cliffs Pavilion, Richard Jameson didn't disappear as soon as he had finished his talk. Jameson had made his way to the hatch at the back of the hall and was surrounded by people wanting to query him further.

Janus got up from his chair and made his way to join the crowd who were now standing around Richard Jameson. He didn't know what he wanted to say but just to talk to the man would be good enough for him.

Time ticked on and gradually the crowd surrounding Richard Jameson dissipated as they checked their watches, wanting to get back to their seats for the next speaker.

To Janus's surprise Jameson made no effort to leave. He seemed to be genuinely interested in the next presentations.

Before Janus could open his mouth to address Mr Jameson, the man had turned to him. “What do you think about this?” he asked.

“Errm,” was all Janus could say.

“Sorry, I've been rude,” Richard said. “My name is Richard Jameson, though you've probably gathered that already.” Richard offered his hand to Janus.

Shaking his hand Janus said, “Good to meet you.”

“And?” Richard asked.

“And… and… I think it's intriguing,” Janus finally finished.

“You've not been to one of these things before then?” Jameson asked.

“No… no, this is my first time.”

“What made you come then?” Richard paused for a second before carrying on, “Sorry for the questioning, but I'm always interested in why people attend these things. I know why I come and I know what I think, but understanding why other people do is very important to me.”

Janus was at a loss, should he speak up about his ability and his need to discover other people with the same talents or should he keep quiet to avoid any ridicule. In the end Janus opted for a non-committal stance. “I thought I'd just take a look to see, that's all.”

“I know where you're coming from — sorry, you haven't told me your name.”

Janus squirmed, feeling foolish that he hadn't completed the introduction, “My name's Janus, Janus Malik.”

“Well, Janus. Why are you here?” Richard said, still curious as to Janus’s reasons.

Janus didn't know whether to be totally candid or give a cut down version of his reasons. “Well, let's just say this, on occasions, with no deliberate intent, I sometimes see things.”

“See things! That's interesting. I take it you don't mean seeing things as much as you are seeing me now, and here?”

“Er — yes. Let's just say that,” Janus said.

“Well, Mr Janus Malik, let me say this, if you do, as you’re intimating, then it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Richard said, his instinct telling him that there was something special about the young man he was talking to. “I don’t know,” Richard continued, “if you will ever need or use this, but here’s my card anyway.” Richard Jameson passed Janus his business card.

“Thank you, Mr Jameson,” Janus said utterly surprised, taking the card. Before Janus could say anything else John Gill got up onto the small stage.

“Can everyone please take their seats now as I have great pleasure in introducing, Mr Jim Hapstread.”

The audience started clapping and Richard Jameson's attention focused on the stage and the new speaker.

Janus, feeling overwhelmed by the unwarranted attention of Richard Jameson, took the opportunity to leave, holding Richard Jameson’s business card reverentially.

As soon as he had got out of the meeting hall Janus turned on his mobile phone, it was only eleven thirty and he didn't expect any messages, but the flashing ‘message received’ icon told him otherwise.