A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapter 61

The people out of respect for their newly risen Saint file out of St. Peter's Basilica, before the guards close the doors and seal them behind them. Saint Christopher spreads his arms and calls out to the Cardinals. "Please come closer, for my voice is weak from my return."

The Cardinals all crowd in close around the chair and the table that Saint Christopher had lain on for three days, before returning to speak to them. Saint Christopher sits as straight as he can in the chair. "You are the leaders of the Church, and I charge you with spreading the word to the people throughout the world. Tell them that through their desire to help and uplift others less fortunate; then will they receive the salvation and glory of heaven in Christs name. The one that comes after me will not upset that which has already been set in place but will be the glue that binds the people together and brings them back to the faith in God and the Salvation he gives freely. This day will herald in an age of renewed faith in the Church by the people, so be prepared to accept the people into the fold of the faithful."

Pius places his hands together before him and bows his head. "It shall be done, as you request. May a humble servant ask when the Chosen one will arrive for us to honor?"

Saint Christopher leans forward slightly. "Open your eyes and look upon me as you hear my words." Pius looks up to him. "The one you await is already among you. In honor of The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost, his presence will be known to you in three years, then three times that period to mark the Three Days Grace period, will he then enter the Church, to learn the ways of his Father. The final stage will be three times that number when he will be appointed as a leader in the Church. The position he is given will be based on his word and ability to lead the people."

Pius nods his head. "It shall be done as you have decreed, my lord."

Saint Christopher looks out over the sea of Cardinals. "Have you all heard my word and will follow your leader in his dedication to the coming Messiah?"

The Cardinals, as one, speak. "In God's name, it shall be done."

Saint Christopher spreads his arms wide and looks up to heaven. "Oh Father, I have delivered your message, as you have commanded, may I now return to your embrace?"

Saint Christopher continues to look up to the richly appointed ceiling of the Basilica as he smiles and nods his head as the answer comes to him. He looks down on the still kneeling Cardinals. "My time is almost at an end, and I have one more duty to perform, so may I request that you leave me alone with Jane Dolts and her protector Henri de Salis, as you go and get ready to carry out the funeral that you had planned for me this day."

Pope Pius with tears in his eyes stands with the help of James and backs away respectfully, along with the rest of the Cardinals, till they have exited the Basilica, leaving Christopher, Jane, and Henri alone.

Christopher slumps back in his chair. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on. The damage from the bullet was more than I had anticipated. I almost did not make it back, I guess I should have saved a couple more Nanos for the task."

Henri looks around the interior of the Basilica. "The cameras and listening devices are still here, so you may want to be careful with what you say."

Jane smiles at him and places her hand on his arm. "We know, but they don't seem to be working right now for some reason."

Henri looks from one to the other, as they both at the exact same time tap their heads and smile. "Oh, I see I still have a lot to learn about what these Nanos can do."

Christopher turns serious. "OK, I need to tell you both this. Wong and I started many years ago experimenting with the Nanos we each had. I took as many from him as I could and still allow him to remain sane. Unfortunately, it slowly drove him into a reclusive state, but it was his idea and he would not listen to me, when I wanted him to take some back. He said that I needed them to become the greatest motivational speaker in the world, so that I could gain access to the Church, which is the largest organization in the world, with the most dedicated followers. It was his plan to have me impersonate a Saint, so that I could set the stage for the next generation of Nano enhanced humans."

Henri turns to Jane. "You are pregnant with Christopher's baby, and already have most of his Nanos to continue the line of enhanced people."

"Yes, I suspected that I was pregnant but did not know for sure until Christopher reached out to me after he was shot. The Nanos in his head were not enough to repair the damage, so he needed help from mine that he had given me that night a month ago at his estate in Nevada, along with his sperm for the baby growing inside me. That is why I had to stay very close to him all those hours."

Henri walks around the front of the chair and stops by the table still sitting there with the fresh flowers arranged around the three sides. "So, it was Wong that dreamed all this up, and that was why he had to die. He could not survive without Christopher, but why the fire?"

Christopher replies slowly. "When I took the Nanos from him, he was able to remember what he had done when the Nanos had almost driven him insane. He then remembered that he had set fire to the factory that I had worked at, which had made specialty chairs for high-end stores, along with five of my closest friends. He did all that to drive me into a sense of hopelessness, so that I would give up my Nanos to him, which he knew would counteract the ones he had been given and that would have eventually killed him."

Henri shakes his head. "So, this was all a ruse to get the Church to support you and your child."

Christopher stands weakly but must sit back down again before speaking. "Is it? The world has lost faith in not just the Church, but almost everything that our ancestors held dear to their hearts. There is a large movement to bring back the values that made mankind what it is today, because a lot of people see us losing our way. The Nanos allow us to see things in a whole new way; a way that could save humanity from destroying themselves in the next hundred years. I believe that God works in mysterious ways, and we are starting the next stage in mankind's evolution."

Jane walks around the chair and stands beside Henri. "I will not use any of the influence on you that I have learned from Christopher's Nanos, but I need to ask you now if you will aid us in our cause to help mankind from this point forward."

Henri puts his head down, and thinks for a moment, before responding. "I don't know if this is the proper way to do it. Quite frankly it scares me to think about a group of humans who can do things the rest of the population would even have a problem understanding, but I have no other solution. The talk among the guards and most people I know as knowledgeable and sincere, talk of the same thing. The world is starting to unravel as values start to slip away. If you are convinced that you can stop that slide, then count me in."

Jane gives him a hug. "Thank you," she says before turning back to Christopher. "Is there anything else?"

"No, not that I can think of, other than the last act of course. You will need the Nanos left in my head." states Christopher softly.

Henri turns to Jane, looking at her questioningly. "How are you going to get the Nanos from Christopher? We don't have a lot of time."

Jane smiles at him, before turning back to stand in front of Christopher, leaning down to hug him, as she kisses his ears and cheeks before tilting her head to kiss him deeply on the lips. Henri turns away to give them their last moment of privacy.

Jane slides down between Christopher's legs as he spreads them for her. Henri glances around the chair he had stepped behind to see Jane lower her head. He quickly turns away again. It is not long before Christopher moans slightly and slumps back in the chair. Jane raises with tears streaming down her cheeks, and kisses Christopher one last time, as his whole body goes limp in death.

Henri moves around the chair and helps Jane to stand, and the two of them head for the doors to St. Peter's Square, and the waiting crowd.

They enter the sunlight to see Pope Pius and the Cardinals standing in a semi-circle, holding the crowd of people back. Pius looks up to Jane, who nods her head, before she speaks to the gathered crowd. "Saint Christopher has gone to be with the Father, but he has left us with a task to carry out like his own, which was to be God's Messenger and proclaim the coming of the Messiah to the people. A duty that we must follow in his name, and that of our Father who Art in Heaven, Hallowed be his Name," as Pius and the Cardinals together say "Amen".