Damned!

Explaining Heinrich

From his office room that also served as his living quarters, Father Heinrich removed his priestly frock, getting ready to retire for the night. The events of the past week had overwhelmed him, irritating his soul. He had served in Medium Cruces for over thirty years. Although it took an initial culture shock to get used to, the fact that he had escaped draft during the war was motivation for him to count his blessings. He had found the native Gandan people peaceful and had enjoyed working beside them to build the church, learning their customs, some words, and watching the men and the beautiful women fishing in the river. In the summer months, the Gandan people shed many layers of their clothing and like the moon that comes into fullness at a certain time each month; he relished seeing the strength and fullness of the women's bodies, which he took regular advantage of by exposing a secret passageway in the confessional booth.

His relationships with women were complex. He would never force himself upon anyone, rather using a mix of manly charm to entice his relationships. As for the sexual encounters, he was cautious to use protection, although this was not foolproof. The mother of the offspring he did produce, he ensured was monetarily provided for; however, he never revealed true patronage to the boy out of loyalty to his Catholic vows. His religion had protected him throughout his own life.

He was older now and young women could not be enticed to enjoy his persuasions, but all in all he had built a comfortable life here. Many years ago, in his youth, he had envisioned being promoted upward to becoming the archbishop himself. Ten years ago, this dream almost became a reality when the previous archbishop passed. Heinrich excitedly put forth his interest in the job and met with the higher authorities in Spain. However, all his efforts had been forfeited when the rumors of his indiscretions were rehashed. According to chapel records, there had been a few complaints made years prior, but they were only brought to attention recently to exclude him from election candidates. Heinrich highly suspected the current archbishop but had no evidence to prove his theory. In effect, Father McNalster knew his days were numbered if he should disagree.

"You need to work with us, Heinrich. The capital cities are growing thirsty for water, what with the charge of bringing in new industries." Father Dominez' words about the Watershed Project echoed in his ears. The archbishop and the priest's last monthly meeting together in Medium Cruces had not been a pleasant one.

"So you take the cheap route? I have heard, if you would only repair your own waterways, there would be no need to dam up our river and disrupt the lives of the Gandan people."

"I don't know where you get your information, Heinrich. You are no expert in anything besides the church. As your archbishop, I am commanding you to work with the dam construction process."

Heinrich had not consented until the archbishop had threatened him, with the complaints of his indiscretions.... furthering his suspicion that Dominez had logged these details into a notebook to be used to his advantage whenever possible. In this instance, using them as leverage included the government's cruel way of ensuring Heinrich's support. He felt trapped.

He thought about his conversation with Ein. He had not lied to him. He was quite fond of his grandson, the child raised within the Catholic religion, who had come back to connect to him, often bringing him news of the capitol where he worked in engineering to confirm or counter news from the archbishop. Ein was shrewd and he never gave way to nepotism. He never revealed his connection to Medium Cruces. In this way, Heinrich knew his grandson to be of pure intent and trusted his opinions in conversation. So far there had not been a reason to vex Medium Cruces with government interaction, but the waterway plan had changed everything. Like Ein, he was distressed that this plan was conceived without his input or suggestions.

Again, Heinrich felt betrayed. He recognized he stood at the crossroads of comfort and devotion. If this was the way the archbishop would treat him after many faithful years of service, then he would never be truly safe. He just might be willing to risk it all. Although he sometimes played the coward, he did escape the draft and deny his bloodline, the comforts afforded to him through his religious practice had saved him. Now, one man was threatening to destroy it all. Noticing his anger mounting, he made the sign of the cross with his finger in silent prayer.