The Teacher

The Teacher: Part III Day of Declaration, Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

WHEN NEWS OF THE VATICAN feeding station raid got back to GLSF headquarters in Europe, his global base of operations at the Palace of Versailles in France, Holden was livid. So far he'd contained the information about the Jasper rebels' victory over GLSF forces by executing every Disciple who had first-hand knowledge of what had happened. He did the same thing with all the witnesses after I escaped my execution during the Final Solution ceremony at the Colosseum. With the news of the feeding station break-in and rescue, Holden knew this Christian rebel insurgency was potentially serious and spreading. He called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to plot a strategy for containing them.

"The time has come for me to inform you of a small band of insurgents that has come to my attention. In a remote province of Canada a group of rebels overcame a GLSF battalion of storm troopers sent to wipe them out. Also, the rumors you may have heard, about what really happened at the Colosseum, were true. A weapon's system malfunction did not destroy the building, and the last Christian, the traitor Fallon Ford, escaped without so much as being scratched by our firepower. Only a few days ago the Vatican feeding station was raided by rebels who freed the drones and captured one of our Disciples. I'm sure you have many questions, but together we need to come up with a plan to combat this insurrection. For far too long the problem of isolated rebel groups has gone unattended," Holden began, opening up the floor for discussion.

Hoping to focus on his agenda, Holden wasn't prepared for the other concerns brought up by the members of the Council.

"Mr. Chairman, I'm sure what you've just shared with us is accurate, but with all due respect there are other matters much more pressing that threaten everything we've built, and accomplished! I realize that most of us are barely aware of it since we all spend so much time in our vPods these days, but the world is physically coming apart at the seams," the head of the Eurozone said, voicing what everyone else in the room was thinking.

Next, the head of the East Asian sector was recognized.

"The weather has gotten so bad that the mortals can no longer grow enough food to feed themselves, so they're dying off and with no one to take their place, all the services they perform are going unattended. It won't be long before the simple nourishment that we require will no longer be available."

"That's right...we're having a similar problem. We all know we can't go a whole month after our full-moon feeding, but so many of our drone technicians have died that from lack of proper maintenance many of the feeding station hosts have also died. In my cities there are lines of desperately weak Disciples extending for blocks waiting for an energy infusion," the head of the Middle Eastern Gulf states shared.

Next, the head of North America spoke.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but these earthquakes and other natural disasters have destroyed or severely damaged close to 50% of the buildings and infrastructure we use for our government offices and residences. With fewer and fewer drone slaves available, repairs are proceeding at a snail's pace. And where's the money going to come from to pay for all the rebuilding? We've used up all the money we stole from the mortals and we neglected building up an economy based on the goods and services Disciples need. Something has to be done about all this!"

THE DISCIPLES WERE DRUNK WITH POWER and unable to control their impulses to compete in a cutthroat fashion. They were after advantages in the business sector and in the arena of political influence. After all, wasn't it the Guardian's Prime Directive for the Strong to Rule the Weak? If their plotting, planning, subterfuge, and backroom deals didn't work, they weren't above using violence to achieve their goals. Wall-Street based financial hit men created toxic investment products, then, bet on them to fail with only one goal in mind—to make money, regardless of the effect on investors.

They created the next investment bubble by driving up the price of fresh water, which had become a scarce global resource because of all the geologic upheaval. They drove the price up with speculation, then, betting on the fall made money as the price sank. As a result of all their selfish schemes to achieve wealth without really working to produce anything worthwhile, and lacking any moral conscience or any sense of promoting the greater good, most of society's institutions, the foundations of the global economy, and the world's financial system, in particular the World Bank, began to implode.

The representative of Russia was given the floor to respond.

"Why hasn't anyone mentioned the problem I'm having...or is it only happening in Russia? After the earthquake that struck Moscow last month it was reported that a Disciple's physical wounds took days to heal and their other powers were declining as well. Personally, I've started falling asleep at night and I seem to be losing my vitality. Hasn't anyone else observed these problems?"

Everyone in the chamber nodded in agreement, reluctantly resigned to the changes taking place. As if all of this wasn't bad enough, the younger Disciples were stronger than the older ones, so many were killed in vendettas stemming from business deals gone wrong or personal insults. Like the duals of old using swords or single-shot pistols, Disciples would meet at dawn, turn and direct lethal levels of their weapon-grade powers at each other, with the loser being disintegrated and sent off into space, essence intact, but without a body. Compounding their problems, because sex was no longer satisfying the Disciples were neglecting to procreate, so there were no families to carry on the Guardian's legacy into the next generation.

Having heard enough, Holden finally stood up.

"I was not unaware of the issues you've raised here today. I regret to inform you that upon taking all of these concerns to the Guardian just now, I've learned that these are things that must be and are beyond even his power to control. He suggested we hunt down and kill the insurgents while we still have some of our powers. Are you prepared to vote on a proposal to assemble the attack legions on each continent and charge them with the task of finding and eliminating these insurrection groups before they have a chance to make any serious inroads? I believe there is still time to turn this around, so let me see a show of hands. All in favor?"

Desperate, each representative supported this initiative to degrade the forces that were chipping away at the once formidable Guardian's Legion Empire. Immediately Holden sent the order out over the telepathic military channel, no longer as strong or secure as it was in the heyday of the inception of Cloud 10.0, but still in operation for basic communications.

BASING THEIR MILITARY AFTER THE Roman Empire, each legion had around 6,000 soldiers. The legions were broken down into smaller units called cohorts. The GLSF storm troopers were not really battle-tested, as their confrontations with rebels had always been so one-sided. That was about to change.

As the legions began to assemble all over the globe, scouts were sent out to identify and locate the many Christian insurgent groups that had evaded capture because of their remote locations or because they were wearing the shielding copper helmet if they had migrated near the cities.