The Teacher

The Teacher: Part III Day of Declaration, Chapter 54

CHAPTER 54

HOLDON ORDERED ALL HIS SECTOR ministers to attend an emergency meeting in Versailles. There was no state-controlled media coverage of the terrible defeat at the Valley of Megiddo, so no one who wasn't actually there knew what happened. Unable to set aside his allegiance to the Guardian, or give up the fight on behalf of the Guardian to destroy Christianity and all believers, Holden's plan was to buy some time and look for another strategy to regain the offensive.

Holden opened the meeting by playing down the defeat, one of such catastrophic proportions that it would literally be remembered for the rest of human history.

"I know you all want to know what happened to your legions. Well, we suffered a setback. The Christians can't be overcome with force. We need to come up with another approach. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Hearing of the defeat for the first time, the mood of the ministers turned ugly. The minister of Russia was first to voice his upset.

"What do you mean, setback, didn't you have over 2,000,000 men to throw at a force of less than 100,000? How can that be? Does this mean we no longer have an army, that we're defenseless?" he bellowed in utter anger and disbelief.

Holden turned to consult with his advisor before answering.

"As I mentioned earlier, force is not effective against them. To answer your question, I'm afraid there were no survivors and for the moment we are without an army. I would order another draft, but that isn't going to solve the problem of the Christian insurgency," Holden responded, feeling like a rat on a sinking ship because deep down he knew he had nothing to offer but unjustified optimism that something would present itself to restore the Guardian's Legion to its former greatness.

The ministers didn't share Holden's obsession to go down with the ship, at least in the cause of chasing the Guardian's obsession against all reason. The minister of China took the floor.

"Most of those 2,000,000 men, over 250 legions, came from China. This is terrible news, but in my country many millions more have perished from famine and disease as a result of the earthquakes and storms that have ravaged the land. And, what may be worse, you seduced my people with the promise of powers beyond their wildest dreams. Where are those powers now? Most of us are as weak today as we were in the days before accepting the Guardian's gifts!"

The minister of China's brutally honest statements emboldened others to speak up.

"You want ideas for a new strategy...let's all admit we made a terrible mistake when we encouraged our people to follow the Guardian. If we give up this fight, we can turn our dwindling resources, manpower, and energy to surviving the devastation every country on earth is experiencing right now. I call for a vote on a proposal to disband the Guardian's Legion as a political entity and go back to..."

Holden couldn't allow the minister from the powerful European Union's defeatist sentiments to spread. He was gagged, a black hood put over his face, he was handcuffed, and forcibly removed from the chamber. A few seconds later, a muffled shot was heard.

The terror on the faces of the other ministers meant that Holden had achieved his objective, which was to silence any more treasonous outbursts against his sacred cause.

"I have another urgent matter to attend to right now, so this meeting will resume tomorrow morning. I suggest you all consider what I've asked you to do and present some useful suggestions at the next meeting."

Holden retreated to his secure personal chambers to lick his political wounds. Forcing all of his staff and servants to leave, he began his nightly meditation hoping to be overshadowed by the Guardian, but his normal connection to the Guardian ended on the day the Colosseum was destroyed. After a long, distressing night Holden prepared for the resumption of the meeting with his ministers.

THEY WERE ALL WEARING THEIR SENATORIAL robes, heavy black silk with scarlet rope ribbing, and only worn when the Security Council was meeting. Having dismissed his attendants and bodyguards at the beginning of the evening, Holden was alone while walking down a cavernous hall leading to the senatorial chamber.

Despondent at being so disconnected from the source of his power, as he paused to reflect on an imposing 20-foot bronze statue of the Guardian four senators stepped out from behind the massive casting and blocked Holden's path forward. They were joined by two more, then, six more coming out from behind several other statues until all the ministers surrounded Holden.

"What's the matter...get to the chamber...it's time to continue our meeting...now, step aside and follow me," Holden barked, completely oblivious to the obvious pain, anger, anguish, and desperation displayed on their faces.

Without saying a word, the minister from China pulled a foot-long dagger from its sheath on his hip, walked up behind Holden, and drove it deep into his back. The minister from Russia was next, burying his blade into Holden's stomach. The rest followed until every senator had participated in the slaying.

Holden, doubled up in pain and bleeding profusely from his wounds, and like the other Disciples was no longer invulnerable to physical injury. Laying on the floor, grimacing in agony, his life-threatening lacerations didn't heal—and the blood did not stop flowing out of his mortally-wounded body. He instinctively reached out to hold the minister from China's hand before speaking for the last time.

"We...could still have...won..."

LIKE MANY DESPOTS AND DICTATORS, Holden dismissed the welfare of his followers and blindly pursued a selfish cause. Though the ministers had been seduced by the Guardian's Lie, each of them had come from a faith orientation that did believe in God.

After Holden's brutal killing of their colleague, they vowed to take some action to protect themselves and their countrymen. During their discussions trying to understand what was happening to Earth, they came to the conclusion that the planet was cursed because the Disciples had turned their backs on the Creator.

THE MINISTERS HAD REGAINED ENOUGH of their humanity to realize that the cause was lost, and the only hope for mankind was to band together, recognize the Creator, set about the great task of recovering from the planetary destruction going on all around them, attempt to rebuild civilization, and establish a global, tolerant, inclusive faith system that would serve both the needs of all people and our planet.