A Future History of the United States

After his outburst, Tim laid his head on the desk. Ron watched silently as Tim’s body was visibly racked with sobs. After several minutes the crying stopped. Tim sat up and looked at him. “I’m sorry, but I really cannot take any more of this stress. There must be a million men out there who are better qualified than I am for this job. Find one of them and leave me alone.”

Ron sat quietly for some time, allowing Tim to calm down and catch his breath. Finally he began, “You’ve been through a lot, Tim. Let’s review what’s happened so far.

“You were living in you own home; minding your own business; taking care of your family. One night, in the middle of the night, you were rudely pulled from your bed and dragged before Archbishop Rand.

“You knew that this kind of thing happened, but not to people like you. You had a very modest house. You had no substantial amount of money saved. All you owned was contained within that house. Things like this were much more likely to happen to someone who was well off financially. You thought you had nothing to fear from the current version of the Inquisition.

“When you were brought before Archbishop Rand, you were, effectively, found guilty of heresy. Nothing you knew of in your background could account for this charge. You were put in the ‘Rehabilitation Facility.’ The Archbishop hoped that would convince you to confess to something of which even he knew you were not guilty.

“If you had confessed, it would have been a simple matter for him to have you confined for life. This would have removed you from the scene, and made life much simpler for him and others like him. You were a danger he could not ignore. Because of this, he would have had you tortured until you would have confessed to anything. Whether you were guilty or not was of no consideration. They just had to get you to confess.

“During all of this, we had also located you and knew the threat you represent to all they hold dear: namely, power, money, prestige, social status, and other such worldly treasures.”

At this point Tim interrupted, “But why am I so important. Why am I so dangerous to them? Why ME?”

Almost without pause Ron continued, “We will get to that when the time is right. Right now, let’s keep reviewing what has happened.

“When the Archbishop dismissed you the second time, his words were strictly for you. He had already instructed his minions to take you directly to the torture chambers. By indicating they were to take you back to the ‘Rehabilitation Facility,’ he was hoping you would not make an attempt to escape from your captors. He knew the threat of torture would have caused you to resist to the point of death.

“They could not have you die without making a confession to heresy. To do so would have created an unsolvable problem for them. You see, they already knew who you really are.” Seeing Tim was about to interrupt again, Ron held up a hand to restrain him. “More about that in a few minutes.

“When I took you out of the custody of those two thugs, they thought I was taking you to the torture chamber. That is why they did not raise a fuss. Another bishop was waiting outside to be your escort. When you ‘disappeared’ he was afraid to let Archbishop Rand know about as he was afraid he would be executed. At the time of his death Archbishop Rand was still waiting for your torturers to bring you before him with your confession.”

“Another bishop.” Tim’s voice was full of scorn.He stood up and was on the verge of walking out. “As if you are a REAL bishop.”

“I am, Tim.” Ron said quietly. “In my ‘other life’ I answer directly to the Prelate. All the Archbishops know me in that role. That is why I am able to move about the churches so freely. That is why Archbishop Paul was not surprised at your visit. I had told him you were coming with an important message. That is also why he made no attempt to delay your departure.” He walked over to Tim and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Tim reluctantly sank back into his seat.

“In the church hierarchy, there is one other man who holds the same position I do. We have also managed to place one of our own in that position. You have met him, but have never been told his name. That secrecy was necessary in case we had some breach of security. You would not have been able to expose him.

“To continue with your story. Your training has actually been a very compressed version of the training all Archbishops receive. You have really received far more instruction in some areas. Because of this, you are fully qualified to be an Archbishop.

“The Prelate trusts me implicitly. He has given me authority to fill any vacancy in the ranks of the bishops or Archbishops. That letter I presented to Mark was the real thing. I signed the Prelate’s signature, just as I have signed every other appointment of bishop or Archbishop in the last five years. You are, by the full authority of the Church, Archbishop Timothy.

“Your visit to St. Anthony’s church and your trip to Dallas were both a part of your training. Your experience here will help qualify you for the position you will hold in the not very distant future. A position that you, and you alone, will be able to fill.”

Tim impatiently interrupted again, “I never asked for any of this! I know you saved my life and the lives of my wife and son and for that I will be eternally grateful. But you keep saying that I am the only one that can do certain things. When are you going to tell me why?”

“All in due time, Tim, all in due time. I promise you, you will understand and everything will make sense. But you have to trust me. For now, we need to concentrate on the current mission. Thinking too much about the future would hamper our, I should say your, efforts now.”

“What if I refuse?” Tim challenged him, standing up again. “You can’t force me to do anything more! What if I just quit?”

“You could do that, Tim, You have free will just like anyone else. But, as you will come to understand, you really ARE the ONLY one who can do what must be done. Everything you have done so far, you have done through faith. I just ask that you continue in that faith a little while longer because, as you will see, it is not an exaggeration to say the future of the Church and the Country really does rest on you.”

His head reeling and the room spinning around him, Tim had no choice but to sit down again and accept the glass of water Ron offered him.

Patting Tim on the shoulder, Ron looked pointedly at him, “Are you ready to go on?”

Tim nodded, first weakly, then with more determination. “OK, go on.”

Ron took a deep breath, “The next thing on our agenda is the meeting with the priests tomorrow morning. A few of them have arrived already. After seeing Rand die right in front of them, they were hesitant to go too far from the Cathedral. They witnessed your approach today, and contacted Mark even before you completed your speech to the multitude.

“At this meeting, Thomas will be present. The other priests will be surprised at his attendance, as they still think he has been kidnapped. I am telling you this so you will not show any surprise when he walks in. You will simply ask him if his mission was successful.

“As we planned before leaving Son City, you will reinforce your comment to the general population concerning the suspension of punishment during the period of mourning. You will tell them clearly that you will hear no charges of heresy during this period. You will also tell them that when they go back to their congregations they can pass on the word that some persons previously charged are having their cases reviewed, and announcement of the decisions on those reviews will be made as soon as reasonably possible.

“When the bishops arrive, I will be in charge of that meeting. They all know me as the representative of the Prelate. In that position, I actually outrank our Archbishops. This is known to some of the bishops, but not to the lower ranks of the church. As far as someone like Mark is concerned, I am just another traveling bishop.

“I will introduce you to the bishops in your new capacity of Archbishop. There will be very little need for you to speak during this meeting, but be sure to keep your eyes and ears open. As I said before, some of them think they should be where you are now. They can be dangerous. Assassination attempts, even during meetings, are not unheard of in our world today. That is why the priests were so upset when Rand died as he was leaving their meeting. They were afraid one of them would be accused of killing him.

“Once I complete the meeting with the bishops, I will be gone for a while. I must pay the Prelate a visit and inform him of Archbishop Rand’s death, and your appointment to replace him. Things should be fairly calm here while I am gone. The news of suspension of heresy trials will mean the people have less reason to worry and show their anger.

“When I return, I will take you with me to Miami. There you will meet some people who will also play a major part in our next move. Things here should be well advanced by then. Your absence for a few days will fit the normal pattern for a new Archbishop. By Monday evening a telegraph message concerning Rand’s death and your appointment as his replacement will have been sent to the other Archbishops. This will fit quite well with what you told Archbishop Paul.

“As you can see,” Ron grinned at him, “you can’t just give up and walk out. Archbishops don’t resign!”

Almost as an afterthought he added, “Remember how I identified my self when I rescued you from Archbishop Rand?”

After a moments thought Tim responded, “Of course, it was Bishop Leber.”

“Try spelling Leber backwards, Archbishop Timothy.”