The God Experiment

Chapter No.7. First Contact.

Chapter No.7. First Contact.

Back home, Robert assumed that he had time to relax before the next incident, but what happened was not what he expected.

Janet didn't like the fact that her house was too quiet. Usually, her son would have his stereo blasting away with the latest rock group.

"James!" she yelled. After a few more tries she became concerned, "I told him not to leave the house," she told her husband.

"He's not here," Robert said. "I might be able to locate him."

After several minutes, Robert had a fix. "He's in a house on Bellflower. I think this is another test."

"What do you mean?" Janet asked, her panic and anger obvious.

"He, whoever he is, has imprisoned James to taunt me. I will have to go there and encounter him."

"You're not going without me!" she demanded with a scolding frown.

Robert held out his hand and she accepted it. In an instant they were standing in a basement of a house staring at their son who had been chained to a wall.

James cried out to them, obviously deathly afraid and in pain.

"He has explosives attached to a triggering cable that encased around his neck," Robert said. "I'm not sure how the asshole that did this thinks this would work."

"What do you mean?" she blurted.

"The idiot doesn't realize that I can simply make the explosives disappear and release him, but even if I couldn't, I could resurrect him." Robert waved his hand, and his son was released unharmed. The explosives simply disappeared.

Janet embraced her son. Robert placed his hand on both of them and they were instantly standing in their living room.

"They broke into the house," James cried. "I couldn't stop them."

Janet turned to her husband. "This means that he knows where we live."

"I assumed that he would, but I don't think he realizes what power I have."

They stared at him with wide-eyed amazement.

"I don't believe he can fool me easily. I can detect any danger and I have the power to stop any attack. I believe that he doesn't quite realize that he can't defeat me, at least not in any conventional manner,

Neither Janet nor James could understand why he was so confident. They were extremely frightened by what had happened.

Nothing happened after that. Robert and Janet decided to go to the 11:00 AM mass at St. Peter and Paul's.

The instant they entered the vestibule of the church, Father Johns descended on them. "Where have you been. I've been inundated with inquiries about you."

"By whom?" Robert asked.

"I believe they were law officers, but I'm not certain. They didn't provide identification."

"I believe that they are the purveyors of evil," Robert said. "They kidnapped our son and tried to use him to confront me."

"Is he okay?" Father asked, his right eyebrow shooting up.

"Yes."

"Did you go to the police?"

"No. It wouldn't have done any good. The law is incapable of handling them."

"How could you do anything to stop them?"

"I'm not sure, but what they don't understand is that I have been given God-like powers. Now, such powers would be extremely dangerous in the hands of a mere mortal like me, but I think that God tried this before and it failed. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so in my case he inserted fail safe exceptions. I can save people and reverse evil, but I cannot do evil, and that's the dilemma. I have to come up with an effective way to stop them without killing anyone."

"You were in the Marines during the Iraq War," father said. "How do you reconcile that?"

"I was a medic. Most of my time was spent patching up wounded soldiers well enough to get them transported to a field hospital. I only had to use my rifle when we came under heavy attack."

Robert took Father Johns' hand. "Did you know that you have a lung tumor. I'm surprised it isn't affecting you breathing."

He frowned. "I assumed as much but haven't had time to see a doctor."

Robert smiled. "well, you won't have to do that now. It's gone."

Father wasn't sure how to respond so he offered a cautious smile. "Thank you."

"No problem. As I've said, I can cure anything. I just can't figure out how I'm going to stop this fool."

Father Johns rubbed his jaw. "Maybe it's possible to lure him into self-destruction."

Robert stared at him with a quizzical expression. "I'm not sure how that would work. I don't know if he could be destroyed."

"You have God powers but can still die, right?"

"Yes,"

"That means he can die. Only God is all powerful."

"So, what are you suggesting is that I lure him into a trap?"

"No, but you could trick him into thinking he has you in his control in a situation that would be dangerous."

Robert thought about it before replying. "Yes, it might work but it will require just the right situation."

"I'll leave that to you. All I can do is wish you luck and God's blessing."

Robert knew that he was going to need more than that if he ever hoped to outwit his evil opponent.