A Future History of the United States

Archbishop Rand was so physically and mentally exhausted he slept until shortly after noon. Mark checked on him several times but had been hesitant to wake him. Early that morning the cook had asked Mark to gets some provisions from the local grocery, but he declined saying, “I need to be here when the Archbishop wakes from his nap. I’m sure he will have instructions for me.”

Somewhat miffed, the cook had remarked, “I guess I’ll have to go myself, but don’t complain when dinner is late!”

When the cook returned he found Mark, “What’s going on in town? Everyplace I looked there were crowds of people just standing around talking. When I got near any of them someone would recognize me and everything would suddenly get quiet.”

“Did you manage to overhear anything?” Mark wondered if the same things he had heard the night before were still making their way around town.

“Well, I did hear someone say some wild man had busted up a church service last Sunday. Said he was shouting that all the priests were actually serving Satan. Someone else said, ‘we need to all stay together and not let anyone be turned over as a heretic.’ Someone else said Jesus had come back and was walking around town, blessing everybody.”

“That’s the same kind of talk I heard last night,” mused Mark. “Something out of the ordinary happened at one of the Churches yesterday. Just what, I don’t know!”

Mulling over his own experience, and learning what the cook had heard, Mark was tempted to wake the Archbishop right away. At the same time he recalled once waking him from a nap. By the time the Archbishop had calmed down Mark had felt as if he had been skinned alive. He certainly didn’t want to repeat that experience. He was still trying to decide what to do when he heard the Archbishop call his name.

Hurriedly, Mark responded. He found the Archbishop once again standing by the window looking at the peaceful scene in front of the mansion.

Noting Mark’s presence he said, “Have we heard any more about yesterday’s disturbances? Have we had any visitors?”

“No visitors, Sire! The cook was in town this morning and he reports hearing more comments similar to what I heard last night. No one seems to know exactly what is going on. Everyone has a different story, and all of them are preposterous.”

Archbishop Rand turned to look at Mark, “What time did the gatekeeper say those men tried to get in Sunday?”

“I believe he said it was around 6:00 P.M. He wasn’t very exact, but it was sometime around then.”

Speaking as if thinking aloud Rand said, “If they came straight from church that means a six hour walk. We don’t know if they stopped along the way or even if they started right after church.”

He turned back to Mark, “How many churches would you say are within a six hour walk from here?”

Studying a map hanging on the far wall, Mark finally replied, “For a person walking fairly fast, I would say fifteen.”

“Send out messengers to all of those churches. I want all of those priests here in my office by this time tomorrow. I will see you tomorrow morning with some additional instructions.” With this he turned and walked from the room.

Mark was stunned. Where could he find fifteen reliable messengers on such short notice? The entire staff for the estate only numbered ten in addition to the Archbishop. He turned to study the map again. After a few minutes he developed a plan allowing two, and in one case three, churches to be reached within a reasonable time by a single messenger.

He made his rounds through the estate collecting the staff. As he located each one he informed them an emergency had arisen and they were needed for a special project. Cook, dishwasher, housekeepers, gate keepers, janitors, etc. were soon gathered in Mark’s office.

Getting their attention, he announced, “Something very out of the ordinary happened in one of the churches Sunday. We don’t know just which one. It has the entire city in turmoil. We need more information.

“Archbishop Rand has ordered that the priests from all churches within a six hour walk from here meet with him in his office at 1:00 P.M. tomorrow. You will take this message to them. You are authorized to use mechanical transportation to get to these churches and summon the priests. That means you can use bicycles if you can find them. It also means that, if necessary, you can commandeer a cycle from anyone you see. The priests are also authorized to use such transportation to assure they arrive here on time.”

He handed each of them a sheet of paper, “Here are your assignments. Report to me when you return no matter what time that may be. Time is short so get going!”

Once the messengers were on their way Mark returned to his office to consider the information he had.

The men the gatekeeper had turned away Sunday evening said a bishop had conducted the service at the church they attended that morning.

These same men said that the bishop’s message was one that could lead to revolt by the entire city.

They had also insisted that any delay could be disastrous.

His experience at the pub confirmed that something significant had indeed occurred. Exactly what this was he could not say.

The cook’s experience was very similar to his own.

As he reviewed what he had heard, and what the cook had said, it was clear that some of the rumors were clearly impossible.

There was no way he could believe Jesus was walking around the city.

For a magician to claim to be a bishop and take over a church service was also beyond belief.

Even the idea of flames settling on a bishop’s hood was equally unbelievable.

Some of the population were saying the world was coming to an end.

Mark thought if things couldn’t be cleared up soon the world as we know it might end, but not the way the rumor was claiming.

The only things that seemed at all believable were that someone claiming to be a bishop had conducted a church service; that man had spoken in such a way that people believed he had authority; and he had used quotes from the Bible in a way no modern day priest of the Church would ever consider.

Even this did not make much sense.

It was dark by the time the messengers began returning. One by one they came to Mark’s office to report success in their endeavors. After confirming that each priest had agreed to be present by 1:00 P.M. he asked if the priest had said anything about the discord in the city. In every case the answer was virtually identical. The priest professed no knowledge of what had happened, and expressed concern over the sudden lack of respect they seemed to be getting from their congregations.

By midnight all had returned except the cook. He had been sent to St. Andrew’s church. It was the farthest from the Archbishop’s estate so Mark had expected him to be one of the last to return. When he had still not returned by 1:00 A.M. Mark was becoming concerned. The man had very little experience riding bicycles. Could he have been involved in an accident? Could he have been attacked by some of the population?

Mark did not believe this was likely, but with the mood of the town, as shown by the experience of the two priests, it was certainly possible.

By 2:00 in the morning he was ready to wake the Archbishop and face his wrath at being disturbed. Just as he started out of his office, the cook came rushing in.

“I could not find St. Anthony’s priest! When I got to the church his office was locked and no one answered when I knocked. I located a janitor, but he had not seen the priest since early Sunday morning.

“When I told him the Archbishop wished to talk with priest, he took me to the private living quarters behind the church. The cook and housekeeper were there, but there was no sign of the priest.

“When I questioned them, they told me they had a bishop visit last week. He conducted the church service Sunday, but since neither of them attended that service, they could not tell me what the sermon was about. They did say Thomas had informed them that he would be accompanying the bishop on a mission and would be gone for several days.

“I went around the neighborhood trying to get some more information. Every time I would tell someone the Archbishop had sent me, they refused to answer any questions and walked away. I don’t know how many people I tried to talk to, but I got the same reaction every time. What’s going on?”

“I wish I knew,” responded Mark. “But maybe we’ve finally found where it all started.”

At exactly one o’clock Wednesday afternoon Archbishop Rand entered his office. Looking at those assembled he saw Mark, fourteen priests, and his cook. He looked at Mark, “Where is Thomas?” referring to the priest from St. Anthony’s. “And what is he,” motioning to the cook, “doing here? This conference concerns confidential Church business.” Turning to the cook he said, “You may be excused.”

Looking extremely uncomfortable the cook arose to leave. Mark grabbed him by the arm and turned to the Archbishop, “Please, Your Excellency, he has something to say that all present need to hear.”

Upset by Mark’s interruption, Rand, his voice trembling with anger said, “Is that so? The two of you will regret this action unless his testimony is pertinent to this conference.”

Mark frightened by the Archbishop’s anger responded, “It is, Your Excellency. Please let him talk.”

When Rand gave his permission the cook began to speak. He repeated what he had told Mark about his attempt to locate Thomas. At first his voice was soft and tremulous. As he noticed all were paying close attention to his every word, his confidence improved. It took some time for him to complete his story. When he finished he started for the door.

He was stopped by a chorus of questions from the assembled priests. Turning to face them he said, “I’m sorry but I have told you everything I know. I would like to have the answer to a lot of questions myself.” Turning to the Archbishop he bowed, “May I get back to my duties, Your Excellency?”

Obviously deep in thought he replied, “You may go.” With this the cook hastened through the door. It closed silently behind him.

Everyone waited for Archbishop Rand to speak. They did not want to believe the cook’s story, but with everything that had happened since Sunday morning, they found it hard not to believe him. It was obvious that something had started that could only be described as a rebellion. Could one of their own actually be a part, possibly even a leader, of such a revolt against the authority of the Church?

Finally he began, “These last few days have begun a trial such as the Church has not witnessed in many decades. I am sure you have all heard the rumors that have been circulating these past few days. As with all rumors you can disregard much of what is said. In most rumors there is a grain of truth. This truth must be discovered in order to counter the falsehoods that surround the facts.

“We know that Thomas could not be found. He left without giving me notice. That makes me wonder if he left of his own free will, or if he was taken by force. According to the testimony we just heard, a bishop spent some time with him late last week and then conducted the church service Sunday morning.

“This is an extreme breach of Church rules and etiquette. Any bishop coming into my territory from another region is required to meet with me upon arrival. They must present their credentials and state their business. The most frequent reason for such a visit is to question some prominent heretic we have in our custody.

“The details of that Sunday morning service have thus far eluded us. Whatever happened has caused a great disturbance in the entire city.

“Two of you met with me yesterday and told of your experience with one who had previously agreed to expose a heretic. Your treatment by him, and the people supporting him, was totally unacceptable. Those responsible must be punished.

“Our first, and most important, goal is to find out exactly what happened during that church service. The only way we can do this is to find someone who was present and question them. We will use all means available in this questioning to get at the truth.

“I will be giving you letters of authority before you leave here. These letters will state that you have my full backing and that anyone who refuses to answer your questions will be immediately taken into custody and subjected to all punishments normally reserved for heretics!

“To enforce these sanctions, you will also have a letter authorizing you to gather as many men as necessary, and take them with you as you go about your task. This letter will inform all that any disobedience to you will be considered disobedience to me and will be dealt with severely. Whatever is going on out there must be stopped.” Turning to Mark he commanded, “Go prepare these letters.”