A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 60

Henri had called for one more break just before dawn the next morning. He had planned to allow Jane to sleep a little longer, so she could get some much-needed rest before starting what could be a day of great challenge for her.

They were going to eat after sleeping this time to mark the beginning of a new day, and the sun was just coming up when one of the guards was shaking Henri roughly on his small cot by the wall. "Wake up, wake up, He has risen. Come quickly."

Henri had just fallen asleep and is still in a daze. "What? What are you talking about? What do you mean risen?"

The guard is pulling on his arm aggressively. "Hurry, you have to see this."

Henri struggles to get up from the low cot and looks around the corner of the inner chapel wall to where Jane is. The scene before him is one his mind does not want to register right away. There, standing tall and holding Jane in his arms, is Christopher, still dressed in the blood-soaked robes. He ducks back behind the wall, shocked to his very core. He shakes the sleep and scattered thoughts from his mind and peeks around the corner again to see Christopher looking right at him, smiling. "Please come forth Henri and thank you for looking after Jane for me."

Henri moves on dream like legs as he tries unsuccessfully to figure out what has happened and stops beside the chair that Jane has been sitting in for the last three days. "How can this be? You were dead."

Christopher takes a deep breath and Henri can see the challenge it is for him to stand. "Please sit down. You look like you are going to fall if you don't," says Henri, as he slips back into looking after his charges interest again, pushing the absurdity of the situation to the back of his mind for the moment.

Jane, who had been half supporting her partner, helps Henri turn Christopher around, so he can sit down on the pillow that Jane has been using on the chair. He sits heavily and cringes from the pain of supporting his weight again after so long of not moving. Christopher lets out the breath he had been holding as the pain starts to subside some. "It seems that I am alive now, would you not say? There are some things I need to tell Jane about, and the timing of my death was very inconvenient. The only option was to come back, so I could tell her what is in store for her."

The explanation sounds so clear that Henri almost buys it but shakes his head to clear it from Christopher's influence before turning back to him. "But how? You were dead!"

Jane breaks into the explanation. "He was simply in a self-induced coma, so his body could heal enough to return."

Henri shakes his head. "But I checked you. There was no pulse. You were dead!"

"It only looked like I was dead."

Henri turns to Jane. "Did you know about this?"

Jane looks sympathetically at him. "Yes, but only after the shooting when he reached out to me for help. I was not sure that he would make it back. I had to assist him with the healing of his body first."

Henri looks from one to the other, before turning to the guard that came to rouse him from his cot. "Run to Pope Pius and inform him that Saint Christopher has risen and is waiting for him in St. Peter's Basilica."

The guard nods his head and runs from the Basilica. Henri watches him go before turning back to Christopher and Jane. "I hope the news does not cause Pius to have a stroke or something equally as tragic."

Saint Christopher shakes his head and smiles. "No, I don't think he will want to miss this moment. It is happening while he is the head of the Church and what better event to get your name in the annals of history." Christopher turns to Jane and takes her hand in his before looking back to Henri. "Can you give us a few minutes alone, so I can talk privately with Jane before Pius gets here."

Henri smiles and steps back from the chair. "Of course. I will have the guards keep the people back enough, so you won't be overheard."

Henri does as he promised and gives them a small bubble of calm in the sea of people trying to get as close as they can to their risen Saint.

The guard races through the hallways on his way to the small chapel on the end of the ground floor of the building that Christopher had stayed in his first night at the Vatican. Most of the Cardinals were staying in the residence, where they had commandeered the rooms of some of the permanent residents, just as they do during the time of Conclave, when a new Pope is elected.

The guard races to the doors and comes to a halt before barging in on Pius' morning prayers with his Cardinals on this historic day, which is about to become even more historic. He finds Pius on his knees in front of the statue of the crucified Jesus, as the other attendees kneel in front of their benches.

The guard respectfully walks slowly down the center aisle as the Cardinals look up to see him pass, almost as if they know something has happened by the mere fact that he is approaching Pope Pius during morning prayers.

The guard kneels beside Pius and waits till he acknowledges his presence. The Cardinals watch as the young runner for the Swiss Guard leans in to speak quietly with his Pope. Pius suddenly twists his head around to face the guard before almost losing his balance and falling to the floor face first. The guard catches him and helps him back up, and then to his feet.

Pope Pius stands still for a moment as he absorbs what the runner had just told him, before turning around and looking at the expectant faces of the Cardinals. He raises his arm as he shakes his head and smiles. "Saint Christopher has risen from the dead, three days after his death in front of all of us. Let us all go and attend to our Saint."

The Cardinals stare with open mouths and bulging eyes as they try to process this latest news. Pope Pius rushes down the center isle as the Cardinals all turn their heads as he goes by. They get up to follow him from the small chapel that was full to overflowing with all the Cardinals in attendance for the burial of Saint Christopher.

They rush through the courtyard in front of the residence along with crowds of people all moving in the same direction. Swiss Guards are attempting to provide a corridor for them in the sea of people, but the excitement level is so high that it is a daunting task.

Pius and the roughly two hundred Cardinals enter St. Peter's Basilica to see throngs of people being barely held back by the Swiss Guard. Sitting in the chair that Jane had been permanently attached to by choice for the last three days, is Saint Christopher, with Jane and Henri standing behind him; Jane to his right and Henri to his left, looking out over the crowd that has gone completely silent now that Pope Pius has entered.

Pius walks steadily towards the sitting Saint Christopher and drops to his knees awkwardly with the help of James, right in front of him.

The Cardinals also kneel behind Pius, to the sound of camera shutters clicking like crickets around a swampy area at dusk. Pius places his head to the floor at Saint Christopher's feet, with his hands outstretched to either side of his Saint's feet.

Saint Christopher looks to Pius for a long moment before looking to the rest of the Cardinals and the crowd filling every square inch of St. Peter's Basilica behind the line of Swiss Guards. The people all shuffle as they also drop down to their knees, leaving the Guards the only ones standing.

Saint Christopher returns his gaze to Pope Pius. "Lift your head, and gaze upon your Saint."

Pius does as he is told and looks to Saint Christopher. "My lord, what is your wish for someone who is not worthy enough to be in your presence?"

Saint Christopher looks around St. Peter's Basilica, and summons his voice, which is harsh from the trials of coming back from the dead. "You have all come here today expecting to attend my funeral. I will not disappoint you, for I am slipping back into death as we speak. There were things that I needed to bestow upon my chosen servants, but the shot that took my life prevented me from completing that task, so I have returned to fulfill my duty as God's Messenger."

Saint Christopher turns his attention to the guards and the crowd of people. "I thank you for your witness of today's miracle, but I must ask you to withdraw from this place, as I speak privately to your leaders of the Church, because I fear that my time here is short."