Travel Bug (43 page)

“The truth will set you free, old man.”

“Let them all die painfully!”

“Yes!”

“Kill the old…”

A mountain of… applause filled the eardrums of everyone present, even those two souls unfortunate enough to be caught up in this grim vision of future events……

“Kill the sick…”

Thunderous applause again!

“Kill the blind…”

Huge applause with an occasional questioning face but the faces of the questioning were at home watching television and not live. No one witnessing the event dared to divide the collective consciousness.

“Kill the crippled, the lame…”

No individual thought now, only mindless and collective applause.

“Kill the crazy, kill them first…”

“Yes,” the collective voice shouted.

“The really crazy ones, the really mentally ill, those who deny the people’s president and the people’s government…”

Harold almost fainted. Then he got himself together and quickly.

“Surely,” Flick continued, “Surely, you know of someone that the Civilian Socialist Volunteers overlooked, I mean they’re only human. We humans do often make huge mistakes…”

Profound laughter could be heard now…

“It’s up to each one of you to find a friend, neighbor, relative who is shall we say is not with the program…”

The audience laughed.

“Well, it’s up to us as citizens of this new and just order to make sure everyone is on the same page. Even if that page has to be made of human flesh and written in Homo Sapiens blood, the will of the leader be done…”

Ian smiled a moment. Standing right behind him was the people’s pastor and he looked like he had something to say.

“I want to add a few more words to this discussion. If it’s okay with you, Ian, I mean.”

“Well, of course, my friend,” Flick answered him.

The people’s pastor began to speak.

“Jesus Christ,” Harold said.

“No blasphemy at the moment, please, Harold.”

“Now this is the church Jesus Christ founded, a church of men who would give up their worldly possessions and would be willing to… lay down their lives for their brother.”

Huge applause…

“The scripture said there is no greater love than that and in liberation theology, there is almost no greater love! There is one, however,” continued very seriously. “The sacrifice of one’s own life for the people’s president is now the greatest love… in the world.”

The applause kind of died… and then before you knew it, hundreds of armed members of the Civilian Socialist Volunteers stormed the ones listening to the motivational speaker. A few looks of intimidation, a flash of a gun here and there and that was all it took for the many Pavlovian dogs to bark with amazingly loud applause and a nice standing ovation.

No more forced sign of fear, the people simply shook the hands and half bowed out of respect to the newly founded C.S.V.

“You see, Andrew, when the founders wanted the people to be armed for the next revolution, they knew absolute power would corrupt absolutely.”

“Harold, these people are the minutemen of tyranny.”

“Yes, Andrew, for the really first time the west is getting a taste of what many other countries have had forever. It’s a true order of super elites and tyrants with no room for any class of people in the middle. I think you’ve seen what the volunteers are for, they ain’t building low income housing. This society is for the super elites and them alone.”

“We’re lucky we fall in the super elite’ category,” I said.

“That’s not funny,” Harold said, laughing.

There was silence now and the C.S.V. was quieting down and slowly walking away from the terrified listeners, still trembling, at least most in their formerly comfortable chairs. The people’s pastor had something to say.

“Ladies and gentlemen may I introduce your leader…”

The people’s president entered, shaking hands and kissing the foreheads of those whom he favored to do his bidding. It was pretty easy to tell who his real minions were as opposed to those who wanted themselves and their families to continue surviving.

“Funny, he doesn’t look like he’s worth killing millions of people for.”

“He’s not, Andrew, no one is.”

Silence……

“My dear people, I am your president, thanks to you who serve me and also thank you to those who voted for me. Your concerns are dear to me, I mean you are my children and ultimately I am your father. The children love the father…”

“Yes,” shouted the collective.

“The children sacrifice for the father…”

“Yes,” said the collective, screaming beyond all comprehension.

“A father loves his children,” he shouted.

There was great applause.

There was, I believe, I observed, I felt a slight silence for a fleeting second of doubt in this president, the new messiah.

“I said the children will die for their father!” he screamed.

The moment of doubt was over and the people shouted in joy to the glories of their new master.

The darkest vision now…

“You owe me and the state everything you have. You will fight in wars; you will turn in the corrupt imperialist neighbor. You will give me all and carry your cross for me!”

The people were afraid of this president but were too frightened to say anything about it.

“You owe me everything,” he shouted, the president.

No applause, terrified silence.

“I came to collect and by God, you will give.”

The people’s president smiled, uncomfortably. Then he looked at all who would serve him and smiled once again. The people were frightened.

“You are my sheep…”

“Yes! They screamed.

“I am your shepherd.”

“Yes,” shouted the collective.

“My sheep hear my voice and they follow,” he said, softly.

Combination of applause and tears…

“We cannot defeat the horror of climate change for my children and…… yours without making an effort.”

Moderate, fearful applause…

“Sacrifices need to be made, my people…”

“Sacrifices!” screamed almost everyone.

“For the sake of what is holy, listen to me your leader!”

“Yes!”

Hell is a real place according to Muslims, fundamentalist Christians and Catholics prior to the second Vatican council in the 1960’s. Now the end of days, this end times, this world of the anti-Christ and new beginning of evil was nonsense to me. This was true even during my last two revelations of the future with theocracy. Well, or were they revelations, dear reader?

“My God,” said Harold.

“Harold, I know.”

“No, this sick society needs Christ,” Harold said.

Was there a hell? Was there a tribulation and end times so to speak? For God’s sake, we could not come up with a good answer for that one…

“Now many of you may recoil from your responsibilities,” the people’s president said.

Nominal applause at best…

“We have a new program… free government cremation…”

The people’s president kept on preaching…

Climate change and government funding…

A mountain of skulls…

Universal health care…

A mountain of skulls…

Free government cremation…

A mountain of skulls…

Sacrifices for fearless leader…

A mountain of skulls…

Hell on earth…

A mountain of skulls…

The end times…

A mountain of skulls…

The Rapture Woman…

The ultimate mountain of skulls…

Cremation…

A mountain of skulls…

Hell’s creation…

A mountain of skulls…

“The sick and the old and the feeble, the mentally ill and the mentally retarded should not be traditionally buried,” the people’s president said.

Dead silence, then applause but fearfully clapped hands kept making the noise.

“Cremation means we got to get rid of some bad things,” said the arrogant leader.

Huge applause among those who didn’t want their sons and daughters gang raped in prison.

“We must make choices and these choices cannot ever be made lightly,” he said, damn near self doubtingly.

Huge applause now…

“What a bunch of fucking robots,” Harold said.

“We are merely spectators.”

“This was the land of the free…”He grimaced at his own words.

“It was, to some extent.”

“It wasn’t the land of the fucking robots?”

“No, it probably wasn’t.”

“Fair enough, Andrew.”

The people’s president spoke once again…

“These life and death choices are not made lightly…”

“No!” shouted the collective.

No political system is unbroken even with the best of man’s intentions…

Free thought…

A mountain of skulls…

Free love…

A mountain of skulls…

Free love…

A mountain of skulls…

Free stuff…

A mountain of skulls…

People are sheep…

A mountain of skulls…

No free elections…

A mountain of skulls…

People are robots……

A mountain of skulls…

Why was I here? When did the End Times really happen and is there or was there truly ever an Anti-Christ?

“Andrew?”

“Yes?”

“Are you ready to fight this future?”

There was a pause.

“I am. Are you, Harold?”

“Hell, yes, this one, the other two and anything that bears even a remote resemblance to them!” shouted my great grandfather.

The education received by the students, there was an elementary school of about six hundred all together at John Reed Elementary, were at a very particular school assembly. Their teacher, a middle aged woman dressed in camouflage and who had very dark glasses was about to speak. Her name was Sister Louise.

“Good afternoon, young ones,” she said.

It was a very attentive or rather captive… classroom.

“History, our American history is precious,” Sister Louise said.

“Yes,” answered the young ones. This was once again answered in creepy robotic unison which seemed unnatural for human beings.

“We need to understand where we come from in order to truly comprehend where we are now as a nation, as a people and perhaps most importantly as part of the new global political system.”

The kids were alright, I mean they paid attention.

“You see,” she said, scratching her left ear almost obsessively, “I love the young people and I demand that you love me as well.”

The children were as silent as the grave.

“Damn this bitch is creepy,” said Harold.

“I agree, Harold!” I grimaced. “She sure is.”

Dear reader, what a terrible future these children would have unless Harold and I put a stop to the totalitarian madness.

“Who can tell me about George Washington?” Sister Louise asked the children.

The kids were alright but they were apparently afraid to speak up.

“Come on now, there must be one brave little soldier,” she said.

Dead silence and fear, kind of like when a certain pastor spoke in this new America.

“He was our first president,” said a shy girl in the front row, an honor student.

“Yes,” Sister Louise answered her.

“Yes and he never told a lie and he used to be the symbol on quarters and one dollar bills until recent history, Sister Louise.”

“Well, that is the traditional version. Would you like to hear the truth?”

The young audience filled the gymnasium with violent applause.

“Very well,” she answered, still scratching like a lunatic at that ear. “That was old news but let me please give you the enlightened, educated version of events. Washington was a slave owning, racist, homophobic, sexist, Islamaphobic.”

“Okay…” she said.

“The poor child,” said Harold. “She deserves more…”

“Harold, I agree.”

“You see I am a doubting Thomas but there are times when I wish righteousness on wickedness. This is one of them. I wish for divine intervention to strike her down for her dark words against God and America.”

“Well said, old man.”

“We will talk about miracles later, Andrew. For now, let the cunt continue…”

The dark woman laughed at her many, many students.

“You know nothing of American history, little ones…”

No result, no reaction, basically, nothing at all.

“The people’s history is a proud one,” she said.

“Agreed,” answered the assembly, with both fear and trembling.

“I love you,” Sister Louise said.

“We love you, too,” they said in creepy unthinkable unison.

The darkness was overwhelming now… for us. The torture, the pain, the embarrassment, the Catholicism, the obscene wealth, the e.s.p., the dark and torment teaching lessons by a very, very old bug…

“This country is full and had been full of many great individuals. Folks who would stand up for the sake of the people and rise up against, the fascist imperialist who loved capitalism and money,” she said.

“That’s right,” most of the classroom cried, emotionally.

“We need to separate the myth of American from the real America, the real, terrible nightmare of those who live to make a profit, the unlighted, living in greed and being fearful of the beautiful teachings of Marx and Mao.”

The students clapped…

“What will this lead to?” Harold asked.

“A mountain of skulls,” I answered him.

School was still in session…

“Didn’t the founding fathers want to make all men free and be able to have the right of the pursuit of happiness?” a brave and foolish young boy asked in the back row.

“Well…”

“Yes, teacher?” the boy asked her.

“Were you not listening to me before about George Washington?”

“Yes but…”

Was this sleeping giant, the real one world government, the new world order that was allegedly prophesied by the ones who claimed to follow the bible literally? However, not one verse ever said anything about Stalin, Mao or Marx. Not one word, not even one that used the word communism in the entire book of Revelation. So why despite my deep doubts about fundamentalism Christianity, did this seem like it was… well… in the ball park of their unholy predictions?