Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital:
Two uniformed hospital guards stood outside the main entrance. They watched one man exit the cab and open an umbrella for a priest. The two hurried from the cab and were stopped by the younger policemen. "Visiting hours is over," he said
The priest spoke Italian to O'Looney who translated. "The good Father has come to give last rites. The cab will wait for us."
""We must check," the policeman answered.
"The patient's names are Michael Murphy and Charles Jordan," O'Looney said.
"The second policeman, a sergeant intervened, "What room?" He asked.
"Oncology department, in the name of St. Patrick, the Glorious Apostle of Ireland," O'Looney said.
"Check it out at the desk," the Sergeant ordered, and the younger guard entered the hospital.
"Have you something for me?" the Sergeant asked.
O'Looney extended his hand and as the grip was accepted he said. "Sons of Tyrconnell all valiant and true. Make the false Saxon feel Erin’s avenging steel. Strike, for your country O’Donnell Aboo!"
The Sergeant answered, "Wisdom born of the Irish people. May the God of our fathers, enable you success."
The younger officer returned saying, "They are expected. Should I pat them down?"
"I did that," the Sergeant lied. "Have the cabby park on the side."
The Sergeant led the Opus Dei gunman and O'Looney to the elevator where they were met by two Mossad Men." I just finished patting them down, The Sergeant said.
The priest stepped forward and raised his hands in preparation to be searched. "They're going to Oncology, The Sergeant said, "to give last rites. They'll be down in a few minutes. The cab is waiting."
The Mossad men looked at each other, one said, "Never mind. Put your hands down."
The elevator door opened and another Mossad man inside asked the two outside in Hebrew, "Be'saider?"
"Cain!" Was the reply.
O'Looney and the priest entered, "Oncology," O'Looney said.
"Second floor," the Mossad man answered and pushed the button. "When you come down, this is the only working elevator."
" Grazie tanto!" the priest said and followed O'Looney down the corridor to room eighteen. The two beds were occupied. One reading lamp partially lit the room.
"Gentlemen," the priest said, "we appreciate your co-operation."
The two men stood, removed the intravenous needles and tape from their arms. One forgot to close the flow control and some medication squirted onto the bed. "Not to worry," O'Looney said and closed the flow regulator. "There's a cab downstairs. The Hibernians and Opus Dei thank both of you."
"Ain't no need to fookin' thank us," the second man said. "We'd rather die with a broad in one hand and whisky in the other, than in this shit hole." The two patients exchanged clothes and hospital ID bracelets with O'Looney and the Opus Dei man. The two former patients used the stairs and walked out the hospital's front door into the cab. They were driven to the Ritz Carlton Hotel where two private rooms, women and an unlimited charge account awaited them.
In room #18 the two gunmen donned the hospital pajamas and robes. They affixed silencers to their Glock automatics and snapped a round into the firing chamber. The Opus Dei man fashioned a sling from a hospital towel for his right hand and held his weapon concealed ready to fire. O'Looney tried to put his weapon in the small of his back but the pajama bottoms wouldn't hold the weight. He jammed it in the right hand pocket of his robe punching a hole on the inside so the weapon would fit. Both men took the intravenous needles and taped them to their left arms, held the poles with wheels and medication bags, and they walked side by side down the corridor to the elevator.
The elevator door opened and O'Looney said, "Third floor please. We're going to the auditorium."
"Let me help you with that," the Mossad man said. "As he reached for the Italian's medication stand his eyes widened.
"Phhhtt! Phhhtt!" Smoke curled out of the sling and the smell of burnt gunpowder filled the elevator. "Close the door!" the Opus Dei man ordered and he dragged the dead Mossad man into the corner of the elevator. One bullet went through his right eye blew out the top of his skull. "He spotted your red whisky nose." The Opus Dei man said.
"I thought it was your infusion," O'Looney pointed. "You tapped it wrong. The needle is supposed to go up, into the vein."
"Merde!" the Opus Dei man growled and pressed the number three button. He and O'Looney exited the elevator, turned left pulling their infusion stands to the auditorium's stage entrance. One Mossad man guarded the stage door.
Charles Krauthammer was speaking. "I return to the last statement by Professor Jobynski accusing religion of being an enemy of God. Father Klein questioned the validity of Ms. Connors and Professor Jobynski's special relationship to the Almighty."
"It's beyond that," Dotty Moxon interrupted. "There is no God. Both sides are deceivers. These two claim the existence of something that could create not only this universe but parallel ones? The religious ones build temples, churches and mosques to house this creator. Come on guys get real! How can your God who created everything from nothing fit into one of your tiny holy palaces?"
"You don't understand," Prince Jihad said,
"You're damned right I don't understand," Dotty Moxon said. "Explain it to me."
"It takes a lifetime of dedicated study," Father Klein said."
"To assign a specific home for the Divine is impossible," Kathy said. "The presence of God cannot be contained. Everything resides within the Almighty and God within everything. God is one.
"So how can the Jews claim God resided in Jerusalem’s Temple ?" Prince Jihad demanded."
"God did not say that," Jobynski said. "The Almighty ordered the Jews to, '…build Me a house that I may dwell within you.' God meant He would live in the hearts of the people. The temple was to be a focal point for all peoples. The Israelites are to be a light unto the nations."
"If that is true," Dotty Moxon said, "Why did God allow the temple to be destroyed and the Jews exiled?"
"For the same reason Israel and mankind is in danger today," Jobynski said. "The Jews turned their beliefs into idolatry. They blasphemed, teaching their children how to manipulate God."
"God resides in the mind and heart of the Pope, his emissaries and the Holy places," Father Klein said. "He who acts in accordance with the dictates of the Catholic Church will receive his reward in heaven.”
“Your Holy Father just resigned his position as official spokesman for God,” Dotty Moxon said. “These two think they’ve become God’s intermediaries on earth.!”
"The Almighty lives in the hearts of all Christians," Parker Wessels said. "Those who do not accept Jesus as their savior are damned to everlasting hell."
"You foolish infidels!" Prince Jihad said. "Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah. He is the last and greatest of the true prophets." The prince pointed at Jobynski and Kathy, "These two are nothing but fortune-tellers. They should be stoned in accordance with Sharia Law."
"Thank God," Charles Krauthammer smiled, "We don't have Sharia Law in America ."
"Your laws favor the criminal," the Prince said. "The accused have free legal counsel, victims do not. Your children cannot mention God in school. Adults cannot display moral teachings in public places. You legislate morality for the benefit of minorities. "The Prince pointed his manicured forefinger at Charles Krauthammer asking, "Where does the Jew believe God resides?"
Krauthammer stroked his lantern jaw, raised his thick eyebrows and said, "Wherever the Almighty desires, that is where He is."
"King Solomon himself questioned God," Jobynski said. "Solomon asked, "If even the heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built? Yet, God did abide in Jerusalem . The question is why?"
"I'm certain you'll tell us," Dotty Moxon said.
"God created order in the universe," Kathy said. "The laws of nature govern the universe. He gave man the Law at Sinai for the purpose of creating order in the human world. Being holy should not be an emotional response. Being holy means learning the laws of God and implementing them. There is an exact sequence written for man's moral actions and spiritual life. A particular plan exists in Mosaic Law for being holy."
"Mankind," Jobynski said, "is charged with creating order in the human universe."
"Why didn't your God just make us do what he wanted," Dotty Moxon asked.
"We'd be forced back into nature as one of the animals," Jobynski said. "Nature is programmed much like a computer. Trees will always do what trees do, animals and minerals too. Man has free will and the power to change the universe."
"To change the universe man must use science and technology," Charles Krauthammer said.
"Technology and science are creations of man," Jobynski said. "Its moral use depends on us not God. We are becoming zombies, allowing our tools to shape our lives to fit technologies' requirements. Man must use science, not be used by it.
The Page slipped a note to Charles Krauthammer. The note instructed him to announce a commercial break. He did. The producer with phone in hand attempted to stop it but was too late.
Krauthammer held up the note and pointed to the Page standing in front of the table facing Kathy and Jobynski.
"Ms. Connors, Professor Jobynski," the Page said. "You must give your final message now."
Jobynski looked to the auditorium clock, "We have forty minutes remaining."
"Much less," the Page said. "I have asked myself the question."
"You!" Kathy said. "You receive answers?"
"Yes, please sum up quickly!"
Simultaneously, Kathy and Jobynski asked themselves, the answer was instantaneous, "Conclude now!"
Jobynski rubbed his forehead to stimulate his thoughts. Kathy discarded several typed pages of notes. Jobynski nodded, "You start. I need time."
Kathy stood, faced the patients in the audience and said, "Our universe had a beginning. If there was nothing before creation, then time, space and matter did not exist. Something had to be present. A non-existing force cannot form something from nothing. Man desires to know what God is. That is impossible. God cannot be encompassed in thought. The Almighty exists as knowledge. The age old scientific theory that every physical event was caused by a previous physical incident has been disproved. Quantum Mechanics has evidenced physical events being influenced by non-physical occurrences. Scientists hypothesize miniscule particles and waves are representations of thought, information and or wisdom. For mankind, God can no longer be envisioned as the benevolent Minister of Health and Welfare. The only way to understand God is to experience His reality. To do this we must emphasize the correct way of life, Imatatio Dei. The imitation of God. Human learning and action should be a form of prayer. Our study of God's Law will lead to the proper way of living."
"Buddhists, Hindus, some Jews and Taoists teach this," Dotty Moxon said.
"People aren't living it," Kathy said. "Mouthing words, hymns and prayers are only important if they stimulate moral action. Correct performance is more important than the proper thought. Islam, Judaism and Christianity stress prayer. Followers of God, Christ and Mohammed should emphasize deeds. You associate the love of God with belief in God. It's time to learn the reality of God. Man is not born as a blank slate on which religion can write a text contrary to the realities of life. The child is born with instinctive knowledge. The human soul is not evil."
"That," Reverend Wessels shouted, "is blasphemy! Man is born in sin."
"I disagree!" Dotty Moxon said, "Man is born with an innate knowledge of truth. You people force parishioners to adapt religious beliefs that go against instinctive knowledge. Human nature becomes confused and unstable. Animals must live in harmony with nature or die. Man adapts to his situation because he evolved from the animal. Mostly he changes the environment to his needs."
"It is true, the soul of man causes a dichotomy," Kathy said. "There arises in humankind a separation between what is instinctively known to be true and what must be proclaimed as truth by religions. This conflict between nature and human nature is the cause of man’s dilemma. Mankind stands with one foot in the animal kingdom and one foot in the realm of the spirit. The soul differentiates man from the animal. Man’s instinctive sense of adapting has diminished. The animal who doesn’t adapt to nature, dies. Man changes the environment, creates historical fiction to explain his situation . This forces him backward in the evolutionary process. The earth is our environment. We have overpopulated and over used it. It is time to move on.”
“Where do you expect us to go?” The Prince asked.
“To other universes.”
"You know space travel is impossible,” Dotty Moxon said,
“Are you familiar with the term Quantum Entanglement?” Jobynski asked.
"Vaguely."
"It refers to particle physics, attempting to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything including parallel universes?"
"Aren't they also called Alternative Realities?" Father Klein asked.
"Yes," Jobynski said, "but Alternative Reality carries a different connotation. Parallel universes can be separated by as little as one photon or by all the laws of nature."
"How many of these worlds do you hypothesize?" the Prince asked.
"They are infinite." Jobynski answered. "And it is no longer a hypothesis. Man will travel these universes by choice rather than in the course of death."
"Are you claiming our after-life is in some other universe?" Reverend Wessels asked? "If so where is heaven?"
"In whichever world you make it," Kathy replied.
"At what distance are these parallel worlds?" Dotty Moxon asked.
"Some are located in the space between you and me," Jobynski said. "Others are millions and billions of light years from earth."
Incredible!" Dotty Moxon said, "You sit there telling science fiction fairy-tales and don't even crack a smile. You're both insane! How can man possibly travel between the stars?"
"Read Zulu history," The Page shocked everyone with his interruption and the timbre of his voice. His presence suddenly commanded attention. He made eye contact with the panelists. Cameramen focused on the Page's face and increased the sound to project the young man's voice to the world. "There are Shamans in Africa who still know how to travel between the stars," the Page said. "We have forgotten."
"And they too will forget," the Prince said. "Once they learn the Holy Koran."
"No!" the Page rebuked the Saudi Prince. "Mankind is about to learn the reality of God in this His Eighth Day of Creation. The Almighty will offer mankind a covenant. Those who keep their vow shall live. They will learn to mutate one gene on the chromosomal helix enabling thought to project their souls to parallel universes."
The producer tuned beet red, his eyes bulged until the whites popped. Spittle collected in the corners of his mouth. The announcer and Mossad guards restrained him from running onto the set and pummeling the Page. Charles Krauthammer slammed his fist on the table, his curly hair stood on end. He lowered his head between his shoulders, "Where," he growled, "did you get the right to interrupt this forum?"
"From God," the Page said.
"You mean God spoke to you too?" Krauthammer demanded.
"Yes."
"Holy Shit!" Dotty Moxon said.
Father Klein put away his pill box and in a beguiling gentle tone asked, "What is this new covenant God wishes, my son?"
"For all peoples to obligate themselves to the Ten Commandments," the Page answered.
"Protestants and Catholics preach and teach them," Father Klein said.
"You teach your own versions, not God's" the Page said. "They are misinterpreted. You present them as individual commandments. They are meant to describe categories of the Law. Muslims have no reference to them."
"The commandments are implied," the Prince said.
"We voluntarily incorporated the Ten Commandments into our religions," Father Klein said. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"The commandments existed fifteen hundred years before Christ and twenty-one hundred years before Mohamed," The Page said. "You altered them because circumcision was painful and the Sabbath, caused the loss of one days work in seven. All mankind will now be given the opportunity to enter a covenant with God. Man must swear to obey, teach and live the Law."
"What's the quid pro quo?" Dotty Moxon asked, "Each party must receive something for giving something. What does man get if he takes this oath?"
"The right to serve God," the Page said.
"You mean if these suckers believe you, they will be slaves forever?"
"Servants of God," the Page said. "Man must learn to imitate God by giving without the will to receive. Good deeds should be done not for rewards in this world or the next but because it is the correct thing to do."
The cameras focused on Jobynski. He stood and said, "Religion must become all inclusive. It should prod people with sparkling ideas and a sense of common identity. There is only one God. God must become the center of man's moral universe. In this way the mutated gene for intergalactic-transportation will mature on the human helix. People who study and live the Law will influence the genetic transformation that will allow them to journey to other worlds without dying."
"And what of those who cannot or will not learn?" the Prince asked.
"God will put His law in your minds and write them in your hearts," Kathy said. "The individual has freedom of choice to accept or reject them."
"We will now take a commercial break, Krauthammer said.
The Page approached Jobynski and Kathy. He whispered, "This is your final opportunity to convey God's message. All mankind will hear.
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After the Commercial:
Kathy adjusted her lapel microphone, stepped out from behind the table and faced the audience. Cameramen scurried for new angles, technicians attempted to modulate her voice. The sound apparatus did not respond. Frantically they spun dials, pushed levers and pressed buttons. The producer was about to intervene when Kathy's voice was heard perfectly modulated on air and throughout the auditorium. Everything that happened thereafter was broadcast throughout the universe. People without radios, TV or loud speakers heard her voice in their language. Whether in the air, underground or in the sea, every man, woman and child on earth heard her say; "The only truly free people are those who study God's Law and keep His statutes. Mankind exists to serve God. His Laws advance man's search for truth, knowledge and independence. You will learn to love your neighbor as yourself only after you learn to love yourself. At this moment, time has stopped. Airplanes hang suspended above the earth, traffic at a standstill from London to Timbuktu. The sun, moon and stars are motionless. Look around you. The animal kingdom and all of nature are frozen in time. Every person in the world hears my voice repeating God's words. The almighty offers you a covenant." Kathy paused and said. "Until now only Israel was responsible for all the laws. Others were judged by the Seven Laws of Noah. Forty years hence, those of you who fulfill the covenant made this day with God, will begin the journey to outer space. Each couple will settle one of the trillions of universes. Every man, woman and child was made in God's image. You are about to experience God from this time forth. You will be held accountable to Him." Kathy returned to her seat.
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