The Atua Man: A Novel

Tony sat at the head of the large conference table in the boardroom waiting for the others to arrive. He finally felt the situation regarding Jason appearing out of the blue would get sorted out. With the revelation of the Baghdad episode in last night’s broadcast, he was confident that his agenda for curtailing Jason’s activities would pass the board’s vote. In addition, he thought that all board members would agree that the telecast was a disaster. It had opened the ministry to the kind of criticism and scrutiny he was trying to avoid.

Dorothy Delany arrived early and joined Tony at the conference table.

“I hope you now realize the gravity of our situation.” Tony stood as Dorothy took her seat. “We can’t allow Jason to put himself in any further situations that would violate the public trust or bring ridicule to our organization.

“The more you try to resist this, Tony, the more power you give it. It’s one of our principles. You should know that.”

Tony smiled smugly. “I’m sure you’ll vote for the best interests of the organization. You know that we’re greater than any one person, even Jason.”

Dorothy smiled back at him. “I’m aware of that.” Tony figured that Dorothy was in Jason’s camp no matter what.

Gary came in with Michael Condon, the Ministry’s treasurer. Michael had missed Tuesday’s meeting where the agenda was discarded because of the news about Jason appearing to the girls at Royal Marsdan Hospital. If he had known, he would have abandoned his meeting with a hedge fund manager who was only in London that day. He did catch Friday’s telecast of Jason trying to explain apparitions and getting gobsmacked by Theodore Spencer. There was no way he was going to miss this meeting.

Melanie and Barbara were right behind Gary and Michael, and Michael held the door for them. He gave Melanie a flirtatious kiss when she passed, but just nodded to Barbara. Tony watched, not liking the informality. He had carefully calculated the support for his plan to limit Jason’s activities within the Ministry, and he didn’t like surprises. He counted Michael firmly behind him and didn’t appreciate Melanie flirting with him. Then they sat next to each other whispering and then laughing. Tony figured Melanie to be the swing vote. Maybe Michael was bringing her to his side.

Barbara shared the latest figures from the ratings agencies for the television broadcast. They were stunning. Nearly one hundred and ten million people had watched Jason and the religious leaders, rivaling the Super Bowl in viewership. The numbers showed that many more people supported Jason than opposed him, even though Saturday’s headlines were screaming about Jason and Baghdad. Investigations were sure to follow. Barbara murmured that she wished she could have sold advertisements.

“Barbara.” Jason said, entering with Lillian on his arm, “You sound like you’re running a political campaign.”

“It’s important to know where we stand with the public,” Barbara took a seat next to Dorothy.

“Our standing with the public, according to the headlines, is precarious,” Tony responded.

Jason pulled out a chair opposite Tony at the foot of the table and Lillian took the seat next to Melanie, squeezing her hand. Tony looked at his directors, so many people on one side of the table and empty seats on the other. He hoped it wasn’t an omen as he opened the leather-bound portfolio in front of him. He looked at each person mentally calculating how they would respond to his proposal. His gaze rested on Jason. Every organization Tony had run was turned on a meeting such as this. He had restructured many companies in his business career, and the pivotal moment often dealt with telling the founder of a company that he had lost the support of the board and would be retired from day-to-day operations. In the case of Steve Jobs and Apple, that board actually fired him. Tony would love to fire Jason, except that he was the product.

“Do you have an agenda, Tony? I didn’t receive one if you did.”

“No, Jason, your behavior both in Marsdan and the rumors about Baghdad have prompted this meeting and that’s all we’ll be talking about.”

Jason looked at his board. Like Tony, he took a mental note of who supported him. “Let me say this, before Tony proceeds. Those who’ve been with me from the beginning…” looking at Dorothy, Melanie and Lillian, “… know that what’s taken place this week isn’t any more outrageous than the healing that happened at our early rallies. If Dave was here, he’d tell you how the press followed us into the ocean at Malibu after our first public demonstration at the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center. They kept yelling, ‘Is it true?’ while Dave and I were surfing.”

Tony cleared his throat. This wasn’t the time for Jason to reminisce.

“I get it, Tony. I just want all of you to really think about what you do today. People were just as shocked by that healing as they are about what’s being broadcast today. Please, listen to your inner voice.”

“This isn’t a hostile move, Jason. It’s about the future of the Ministry. Just look outside and think about your impact on the world. I understand there are demonstrations occurring outside our healing centers around the planet. You no longer have the luxury of doing what you want. You’re responsible for all those people who’ve embraced your message.”

“Wait a minute! You’re talking like a prelate of the Roman Curia. Are we a nonprofit organization or have you created a church? Is this a board of directors or the office of the inquisition?”

“Jason, you’re out of line and out of touch. You’re not just some televangelist…”

“I’m not even a minister!”

“You’re someone who has healed thousands of people. Are you so stupid as to think you can live a normal life and do all of that?”

“Where are you going with this, Tony?” Melanie asked.

“The mission of our foundation,” Tony continued in his most businesslike voice, “is to teach and facilitate inspirational healing. To that end, Jason has been instrumental, and his books and courses will be studied for generations. But at this moment, with what he’s been doing, he’s no longer an asset for our work.”

“Are you firing me?” Jason couldn’t believe he was actually enjoying this.

“I can’t fire you, but I can prevent you from harming our foundation.”

Tony looked around the table, assessing reactions from the others, but there was no response. “I propose the board restrict Mr. St. John in the following manner: no public engagements, no speaking to the press, and no more personal classes.”

At that moment David barged into the boardroom with Sir William Boyd, the trust’s solicitor. “What do you want him to do, disappear?”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Tony shouted, losing his composure. “This is a closed meeting!”

“Nice to see you again, Tony,” said David sarcastically. “Do you think all those people are out there because of the board of directors? I bet most of them don’t even know you exist.”

Melanie shoved her chair back, rushed into David’s arms and gave him a longer than appropriate kiss. Michael watched with an amused look. He was the newcomer here, though he’d known Melanie since Harvard Business School. She was the one who had persuaded Tony to hire Michael when Tony became CEO. He thought it funny Melanie had never mentioned David in a way that warranted such a kiss.

Lillian smiled at David like she would to an old lover and took hold of Jason’s hand. She squeezed it and gave her husband a kiss.

David freed himself from Melanie and gave Jason a warm hug. Jason couldn’t help enjoying Tony’s loss of composure.

“Thank you, my friend.”

“You could’ve called sooner.”

Sir William addressed the board: “According to the foundation charter, David Walker has a permanent seat on the board. Nothing can change that. If he quits and wants to come back, he can do that. You should know that, Mr. Bass.”

Barbara motioned for David and Sir William to sit. David sat next to Jason wondering why it had taken so long. Seven years meant nothing. And that it took a crisis to get the two men back together was just stupid.

“We asked David to return and resume his seat on the board,” stated Lillian. David couldn’t help staring at her. Jason noticed, but made nothing of it.

“Shall we continue the meeting?” Jason asked.

“I don’t think it would be productive after such a dramatic entrance.” Tony had cooled down a bit. “Perhaps we should reschedule for…”

“A year from now?” Jason interrupted. “I think we need to put our cards on the table. You were proposing to forbid me from appearing in public, speaking to the press, and there was one other thing I didn’t get.”

“Teaching,” Dorothy said.

“We’re trying to preserve the St. John name and what it stands for. I think the board has every right, no—a duty—to do all it can to maintain the credibility of the foundation. To do anything less would be a breach of our responsibility as officers of this trust. Jason, I’m sorry to say, you are longer relevant to this ministry.”

Jason burst out laughing.

“And how do you propose to enforce this, Tony? Lock us up in our flat?” Lillian asked.

“It’s nice to see you participating after all these years, Mrs. St. John.” Tony’s sarcasm was softened with a genuine smile. “But this is about Jason, not about you and Alex.” Tony looked at the old group—the four people who had been through so much together, and his resolve hardened. They all had to go. He couldn’t do anything about Melanie at the moment, but he could the others. “Before we formally entertain the issues before the board, I move that Lillian St. John, Jason St. John, and David Walker be recused from this vote. They have not participated in prior discussions and are not fully informed of the issues.”

“We’ve been living the issues.” Lillian’s anger flared.

“Do I have a second?” Tony looked around the table. Gary seconded the motion. “All in favor?”

Tony, Gary, and Barbara put up their hands. “All opposed.” All the others raised their hands. “I guess the measure is defeated,” Tony admitted.

“I have a proposition for the board.” Jason nodded to Lillian who handed out written copies of what Jason was going to say. “I will resign from this Ministry if the following conditions are met: The board will transfer to me ten percent of the assets of The Foundation. If anything should happen to me it will endow Lillian and Alex a lifetime income, the amount to be decided upon when the other conditions have been met. Neither the board nor The Foundation will interfere with my work from this point forward, and any benefits from that work will be solely mine. The Foundation will provide me and my family adequate security for us to live freely wherever we choose until it is mutually agreed that the security is no longer needed. And finally, my whereabouts will be kept confidential.”

No one said a thing. Lillian and Dorothy closed their eyes in meditation. Melanie looked around to see how her colleagues were reacting. Tony glared at Jason.

“Otherwise,” Jason continued, “I’ll go back to my regular schedule and our Ministry work will continue as normal.”

“As if there’s anything normal about Ministry operations after what you’ve done,” said Tony.

“I’ll leave that up to you. I’ll recuse myself from that vote,” Jason told them.

“I won’t,” Lillian announced.

“It’s a long flight from Honolulu to London,” David began, “and before I left, I had Sir William fax me the charter for our little group here. Our mission statement is very clear: ‘To explore the mystical nature of reality and reveal the natural healing capacity of those in touch with their transcendent Self.’ It also states that a director can be removed by a two-thirds vote if their actions are shown to undermine the purpose of the foundation.”

“This is ridiculous!” Tony shouted. “If you think any of us here are trying to undermine the foundation, you’re off your rocker, David! It’s Jason who’s putting the Ministry in danger; we’re trying to preserve it.”

“I move we postpone the vote until Monday,” Melanie said. “And I’d like to say something. Jason’s work is evolving, as it should. He has always stretched the boundaries of conventional thinking, and it’s easy to ride into the future on what’s been done in the past. But you should know that’s not what Jason, or this foundation, is about. We’ve never been in the healing business. If we as an organization think we can heal, or that the world needs healing, we’ve missed the point.”

She nodded at Jason, and he smiled. “We’re in the revealing business. Our whole mission is to reveal the spiritual nature of life. Then we let Spirit take over. I’ve seen things with Jason that none of you will ever know. In the South Pacific I told him I’m an atheist, and maybe I still am. But I’ve seen what this other dimension, this invisible reality can do if people get out of the way. Tony, you’re really getting in the way of Jason’s next step. Again, I move we postpone this vote until Monday.”