A Future History of the United States

Claude, having returned from his mission of mischief, was sitting at the luncheon table with Ron and Tim when two priests entered the room. Tim thought this unusual. He was use to seeing his fellow co-conspirators dressed as bishops, but he could not recall seeing any of them dressed as simple priests.

As they sat down at the table, he recognized one of them as the instructor he knew only as ‘A.’ Looking closely, he recognized the other as one of the infrequent visitors at meal time. They seemed rushed and out of breath as they turned to Ron. “We have some extremely important news! Is it O.K. to speak in front of him?” ‘A’ motioned to Tim as he spoke.

“Perfectly all right,” responded Ron. “He’s a full fledged member of the team now. If it involves our plan, he needs to hear it first hand.”

Reassured, ‘A’ blurted out, “The Archbishop is dead!”

Total silence followed his remark. Everyone but Ron seemed stunned. After a brief pause he continued, “He died right in our presence. He had summoned priests from fifteen churches to his residence yesterday. Only fourteen showed up.

“We knew that Thomas was here with you, but the rest of them thought he had been kidnapped by some mysterious bishop. I had a hard time controlling my face when everyone was talking about that.

“We stayed overnight at the Archbishop’s mansion, then had a meeting with him this morning. When we arrived at the meeting, he told us that last night a mob destroyed the statue of President Degan that stood in front of the Cathedral.

“This angered him to the point that he was going to send us on what would have been a suicide mission. He wanted us to go out with our flogging rods and immediately punish anyone who would not cooperate in determining who was in that mob. When we didn’t leave immediately to obey his order, he became even more violently angry.

“At that point, he screamed at us to go obey his order, turned to walk from the room, and collapsed. He was dead by the time we reached his side. He must have had a stroke.”

Ron seemed unruffled by the priest’s story. Turning to Tim he said, “Things are moving along a little faster than we thought a few days ago. Your trip to Miami will have to be postponed. Instead, you and I will go into St. Louis tomorrow morning.” He paused, pulled something out of his pocket and looked at it. Turning to Claude he said, “Get your bishop’s robe on, you need to go meet with Mark.”

He then turned to ‘A’, “You will find Carl sitting in front of the Cathedral. Bring him back here as soon as possible.”

He turned back to Tim, “We have to get you ready for your next assignment. You will be leaving with me at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Come with me to my room where we will get your new wardrobe.”

Tim had never been in Ron’s room. He was surprised to find it was virtually identical to the one where he had spent so much since arriving in Son City. With Ron obviously in charge of the operations in Son City, Tim had expected his room to have much more opulent furnishing. Once they were in the room, Ron began pulling robes from a chest that sat against one wall. When Tim saw the way the robes were decorated he exclaimed, “No! No! I really can not do this.”

“Sure you can, remember, in some of your early sessions with us you were told that by the time we finished with you, you would be qualified for the position of Archbishop? You are ready, and now is the time for you to assume that position.” He calmly continued sorting the various parts of the Archbishop’s outfit.

“Tomorrow morning I will escort you to the Archbishop’s estate. A pedicart will meet us on the edge of town. We will get out of it right in the middle of town. You will make a grand entrance by walking from there to the Cathedral. During this walk you are to make a point of greeting and waving to anyone you see. Be sure you have a smile on your face.

“If anyone approaches close enough, you will say, ‘God be with you. He has sent me to bring peace to your town.’ If anyone kneels before you, say ‘Arise, I too am only a man.’ Pause only briefly for any of these interruptions.

By the time we reach the Cathedral we should have a fairly large following. Before we enter, you will turn to the crowd and say, ’I will be making an important announcement before the altar of the Cathedral at 2:00 this afternoon.’ We will then enter through the front door of the Cathedral.

“We will be met inside by the secretary of the late Archbishop. His name is Mark. I have a letter to present him. It will introduce you as the new Archbishop of St. Louis.”

Tim’s head was spinning. This was happening too fast for him to comprehend. HE was going to be an ARCHBISHOP! Surely the people would see through this act. Certainly Mark would be able to tell he was a fake! He started to object, “He will know right away that I’m not a real Archbishop. He…”

“No he won’t. Besides, you are more of a real Archbishop than Rand ever was! The only religion he really believed in was the religion of his wealth! Unfortunately, too many current leaders of the Church worship at that same altar.”

Shaking his head as if to get rid of some unpleasant thoughts he continued, “The education you have received since you joined us, the quality of your character that we have observed, and your concern for those less fortunate than you, all qualify you for this position. You won’t have to act. Just be yourself.

“Some of the current bishops in Rand’s territory will be envious. They will feel they should have been selected as his replacement. Others will be relieved. Some of them feel overwhelmed by their current responsibilities. With your position as Archbishop, you will have the power, and the responsibility, of decreeing both punishment and reward. This is the power you must exercise to begin turning the Church back to its real purpose.

“This is a small step. It may seem like a large step to you, but it really is only a small one. There are greater things ahead; things that only you can accomplish. Now, let’s see how these things fit.

Early Friday morning the pedicart occupied by Tim and Ron stopped about 1,500 meters from the Cathedral. Tim was attired in his new Archbishop’s robes. Ron wore his usual bishop’s robes.

The ride into town had caught the attention of some of the population, so they already had a sizable following as they stepped down to begin their walk. Most of the people remained a respectful distance behind, but a few ran forward to confront them.

One man stopped directly in front of Tim, spat at his feet, and snarled, “Go to Hell, you bastard.”

Seemingly unperturbed, Tim said in a quiet voice, “May God bless you and be with you. He has sent me to bring peace to your town.”

This shocked the man so much he stood as if rooted to the ground. He had expected to draw an angry response. One that he hoped would spur the crowd to violence against these two Church officials.

Tim and Ron stood quietly for a few moments. Then Tim, with a gentle look and smile on his face said, “May we pass, sir? I have important business in the Cathedral.”

The remainder of the crowd stood restlessly behind them, ready for action upon the least provocation. They were too far away to hear Tim’s remarks. When their leader suddenly stepped quietly to the side, a murmur of surprise swept through their ranks. Then the man knelt beside Tim. This was completely unexpected.

With the rising noise from the crowd, the man barely heard Tim’s quiet, “Arise, I, too, am only a man.” In his shock, he was on his feet and walking back to the crowd almost before he realized what he was doing.

As Tim and Ron continued on their slow, stately walk, the one who had confronted them was trying to explain to his friends what had happened.

“When I spat at his feet, I was ready for him to slap me and tell that bishop to take me into custody. He acted like he never even saw what I had done. When I told him, ‘Go to Hell.’ and called him a bastard, he actually called for God’s blessing on me. I don’t know where he came from, but I hope he is here to stay.”

This report left those in the crowd confused. For years Church officials had ordered floggings, or worse, for lesser offences than they had just witnessed. For an Archbishop to ignore such blatant insults was unheard of. For any Church official to actually ask God’s blessing on such an offender was simply beyond belief.

The crowd continued to follow Tim and Ron on their walk toward the Cathedral. After hearing what had happened to their leader, a few of the more adventurous rushed ahead to kneel where they knew the two would pass. Each time Tim gently repeated, “Arise, I, too, am only a man.”

Some people had rushed off to inform others of the unusual events taking place in the middle of town. By the time they arrived at the Cathedral, several hundred had gathered behind them.

Mounting the steps, Tim turned to address the throng. Even he was surprised when the speakers mounted in the wall behind him amplified his voice so all could hear as he said, “I will be making an important announcement before the altar of the Cathedral at 2:00 this afternoon.” Turning back to the doors, he and Ron swiftly entered the Cathedral. Tim was surprised when Ron pointed out that it was not yet even 9:00 A.M. It had seemed much later to him.

Once inside, Ron made his way directly to Mark’s office. It was obvious to Tim that Ron was very familiar with the interior of the Archbishop’s complex. Ron knocked on the door and waited patiently until someone called, “Come in.” He turned to Tim and said, “Wait here, I will bring you in after I speak with Mark for a few minutes.”

Entering the room, he found Mark in a virtual state of panic. His hair was disheveled, his clothes rumpled, and his eyes red as if from crying. Recognizing Bishop Leber he started to sob. “I didn’t know what to do. I got out that thing you gave me and pushed the spot on it in desperation. The Archbishop is dead. I think he must have had a stroke yesterday morning. He was in a meeting with some priests and just collapsed. He was dead by the time they got to his side. His body is still in his office. What can we do?”

Ron responded, “The first thing we need to do is get his body out of there and prepare it for a decent funeral. The position he held demands that he be buried with full honors. I know this is a shock to you, but it is not unexpected. We have been surprised he has lived this long. He has been in much worse health than you realized. The situation was such that the head of the Church had already made preparations for this event.

“Word had already reached me concerning his death. One of the priests present at that meeting contacted me as soon as he left here. I bring you a letter from the Prelate.” With this he handed Mark a large envelope. It was sealed with a spot of wax bearing the Seal of the Prelate of the Church.

Opening it, Mark carefully extracted a single sheet of heavy paper. Carefully centered, and ornately written was the following:

To the Entire Membership

Of The

Conservative Universal Church

Who Look to the

Archbishop of St. Louis

For Guidance

Due to the untimely death of

Archbishop Rand

In the year of Our Lord

2121

I, Titus II

As Prelate of the

The Conservative Universal Church

Of the United States of America

Do Hereby Elevate

His Excellency

Bishop Timothy

To the Honorable Position of

Archbishop of St. Louis

He is to assume

All Duties, Honors, and Powers

Of this position immediately

Signed:

His eminence

Titus II, Prelate

Mark carefully laid the paper in the middle of his desk and looked at Ron with an expression of near reverence. “I had no idea you…”

Ron stopped him, “Not me, I am Bishop Leber. I have brought Archbishop Timothy with me.” Walking to the door, he opened it and motioned Tim to enter. Turning back to Mark he said, “May I present His Excellency, Archbishop Timothy.”

Mark stood up so rapidly his chair fell over behind him. Rushing around his desk, he fell to his knees before Tim with his head almost touching the floor. Tim gave Ron a questioning look and observed him subtly nod his head ‘yes.’ Turning back to Mark he said, “Arise, I, too, am only a man.”

Mark stood up, uncertain of just what his next move should be. He had expected the new Archbishop to establish his authority in a dictatorial manner, just as Rand had upon his appointment. Instead he found his new superior to exude a gentle spirit, completely different from what he was use to.

Tim, seeing Mark’s confusion, continued, “As my first official act, I request you have the body of my predecessor removed from the office so I may prepare to greet the people of St. Louis. Gather as many of the rest of the staff as you need for assistance. You will also need to send someone to summon all of our priests for a meeting with me tomorrow morning.”

To his surprise, Mark found himself respecting this new Archbishop. He had refused the symbolic worship of kneeling, and now he “requested,” rather than ordered, the removal of Rand’s body from the office. As he left the room to accomplish his task, he was wondering, “Just what kind of man is this new Archbishop?”

After the door closed behind Mark, Ron, with a grin on his face, slapped Tim on the back, “Excellent, Your Excellency. Things have gone even smoother than I expected. The way you handled the man who spat at your feet turned the entire crowd in your favor. The slightest mistake there and I might have been forced to use this.”

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a device similar to the one Tim had been issued for his visit to Dallas. “Would that thing really have gotten us away safely?” Tim asked.

“Sure would have,” Ron replied. “It causes an effect similar to a minor seizure. It blinds people to some things around them, and causes them to forget other things. I never like to use it, but once in a while it can really be a lifesaver.”

Mark soon returned and told them the church office was ready for their use. Leading the way, he escorted them to the office, opened the door, and stood aside for them to enter. As he started to leave, Tim turned to him, “Please gather the staff as soon as possible. Have them meet with me in my office. I have some things I wish to say to all of you.”

The door closed behind Mark, leaving Tim and Ron safe in the privacy of the office. Tim took a deep breath, exhaled audibly, and turned to Ron. “Whew, I’m glad that part is over. I was sure he would question me arriving so soon after Rand’s death.”

Ron replied, “Fortunately, he has been aware of Rand’s health problems for some time. I’ve managed to get some hints to him, through some of our other personnel, that the Prelate had someone in waiting, ready to assume control whenever something happened to Rand. Advance planning usually pays off.

“What we’ve done so far has been the easy part. The people have been conditioned to accept anyone in clerical garb without questioning their bona fides. Mark is still in shock over Rand’s death. Convincing the area Bishops may be a little more difficult. There are a couple of them who expected to put on the Archbishop’s robes when Rand was no longer around. They could be a problem.

“Also, since most of them see the Archbishop only rarely, they may think his sudden demise is suspicious. They will wonder at an outsider taking over so quickly. You will have to put on a very convincing display for them. For now let’s just take one step at a time.”