Category Archives: Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.29 From the Dust I Came

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Book III: Chapter 29
December 20

The Blackness overpowered me.

It suffocated me.

Painting by Antonio José Manzanedo

And just when I thought It was about to completely overwhelm me, in desperation my soul cried out for God…

I know that my Redeemer Lives!
Awake and rise to our defense!
Contend for us, Lord!
Contend for us!

Psalm 35

Immediately the Blackness left me.

For the time being nothing else happened.

I got a chance to breath again and gather myself together.

That’s when I realized that Bill Bates was still speaking, “…and in exchange, I offer you my hand, and the chance at a new beginning. Therefore, if you want to LIVE, join me.”

And that, my friends, was where Bill Bates made his fatal error!

Suddenly I was the one smiling – for in that moment, I had been granted the briefest of visions – a new revelation if you will – a gracious prophecy from my Lord that assured me that all would be well in the end.

(I wish I could tell you what I saw, but that would rather ruin the suspense. Sorry…)

Mistaking the grin he saw on my face, Bates nodded encouragingly, “Well it seems that one of you at least has some sense. I knew it would be you who came over to me first, John. You are a wise man.”

“But YOU are not.” I replied calmly. “And you never were.”

Taken aback at the affront, Bill Bates’ visage quickly changed into a scowl and he jumped up to confront me. “What are you talking about, fool? Enough of these games! Are you going to join me and live… or keep your misguided trust and die?”

“Don’t you see?” I stood up to the challenge — my back now tall and my shoulders straight — while my confused friends raised their heads to look upon their suddenly confident friend. “What you call ‘living’ is naught but an illusion. A fantasy world where all who remain are either forsaken in The Fiery Pits or are lackeys serving your every whim in a world without hope. But that’s not ‘living’ at all, is it? And don’t try to tell me that one of these options is better than the other – for we both know that you will eventually destroy all those who remain – for that is your nature, it is the essence of who YOU are.”

“Fool!” The Beast snarled, “If you fail to chose, then you will be smote back into the dust! Is that what you want?”

Now it was my turn to smile – for Bill Bates had just walked into my trap.

Gotcha!

“It is all I have wanted for over a thousand years — from the dust I came, and to the dust I shall return. That is MY destiny.”

Bates was confused. “But that makes no sense. How could you be content to simply rot away into Nothingness?”

“What’s done is done – all men must learn to stand by their deeds.” I was speaking not just to Bates but also to my friends – trying to inspire them take heart. “We three are no exception. And yet, while every man throughout history has carried within him the seeds of his own death – it hasn’t been the same for us. In spite of our successes, yea, and our failures, we have been forced to live on – it’s unnatural. We want only what all other men have been granted – no more, no less: we want a term to our lives. After all, every light has a shadow and every life a death. We have lived in the light of life for too long and now we merely want the shadow of death to finally fall where it should.”

My destiny

“But what about being reunited with your master?” Bates baited, trying a new tactic. “What if he rejects you?”

“I am not worthy.” I replied without batting an eye. “I never have been. None of us are. And yet I still stand by my deeds, for there is nothing left for us to do. All we want is for all of this to finally be over.”

Clearly not expecting this turn of events, The Beast looked towards Alan and Miriam; when he saw that they agreed, he was again confused – but only for a moment.

Grand Master that he was, he quickly displayed a smile and countered again, “My word. You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? Talk about making my job easy. Well, if that’s what you want, Joe and I will happily accommodate you.”

Keep Reading

30 – Faces of Death
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.28 Alekhine’s Defense

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Book III: Chapter 28
December 20

When none of us responded, Bill Bates tried again, “I realize it’s a lot to take in – the whole switching sides thing, but hear me out, for amazing as it may sound, you three still have a chance to save yourselves. Now please, for your sakes, don’t choose poorly again.”

Perplexed looks covered our faces, yet this time Bates did not explain further. Instead, it was now Benedict who stood up to speak.

The pope appeared to be using a great effort to control himself, as if tasting a long-awaited victory. “What The Beast is trying to say is that you can either accept the failure of your present fate, curse God, and join the rest of the Lost Souls who will be sent to eternal torture in The Fiery Pits… or you can join me and side with the winning team – all you must do is…” And here Benedict took a moment to make deep eye contact with all three of us in turn before advising…

“Worship… The One True God… upon the Day of Deliverance. Do that and you WILL be Saved.”

For the briefest of moments I got the sense that The Pope had just played a daring gambit on us all, yet before I could consider further he continued, “Oh, perhaps not the kind of saving that you’ve always envisioned, but it will be the opportunity for a new life nonetheless. Yes, my friends, choose to side with my team and you three will have a place in the next life!”

I noticed that even Bates was impressed with the passion in Benedict’s voice and he sat back for a moment to apprise his second in command. “My god, man, you inspire even me. How did I get so lucky to have you?”

“Preposterous!” I shouted, breaking the mood. “Even if we did believe you, Joe, we know you don’t care about us, and we’d be the ultimate fools if we trusted you now after all you did to interfere with our plans.”

It was Bates who replied, “Trust is overrated. You should know that best of all, John.” And with his eyes boring a hole into me, he added, “Did your trust in Jesus ever bring you anything but sorrow?”

Although I tried to call upon my newfound courage, truth be told, Bates’ low blow battered my fortitude. I was forced to lower my eyes and bow my head. I knew that I should have offered up a prayer in this time of need, but I was just too ashamed to do so – after all, none of this would be happening if not for MY blunders.

With that damn half-cocked grin, Bates then turned his attention back to Alan. “Regret. It’s written all over your face, Lazarus. Regret that you didn’t tell the truth long ago. You wonder how much different your life could have been.” Then leaning in close he said in conspiratorial tones, “You wonder if you had told the truth to the one person who mattered most, would SHE have loved you, neh? Had you—“

“Enough!” Miriam rose from her seat again. “Stop berating him. You have no—“ But her words were cut short when two of the dictator’s ever-present guards forcibly silenced her, ramming her back into her seat. Meanwhile another group ran up behind Alan and I to ensure we didn’t interfere.

“Don’t worry, dear, I’ll get to you in good time.” Bates laughed, before turning back to Alan, “The answer to the question you have always wanted to know is… YES! Mary of Magdala would have loved you, and you would have enjoyed a happy, NORMAL life with her, raising a family of your own together… had it not been for the interference of your so-called friend Jesus.”

This time it was everything the guards could do to contain Miriam as she struggled mightily to get free, while Alan’s visage bespoke his horror and, of course, his terrible regret.

And still The Beast toyed with us. “Trust. It’s a funny thing — sometimes we don’t understand why we give away our trust so easily… or why others never seem to give theirs to us. So you trusted The Nazarene. Yet, Miriam never really trusted you because of the secret you kept from her. And yet, the ironic thing is that what you were guarding was never a secret at all, because Jesus had already told Miriam all about it – therefore, don’t you see, Jesus betrayed YOUR trust, Alan. And all the while you have tried to protect him, but for what? For what? Oh man, this is too rich. You can’t make this stuff up, you know?”

Biting on one of her captive’s hands, Miriam managed to break free enough to call out, “Don’t listen to him, Alan. You know the tru-“ But her words were cut off as the guard regained control of her.

Whether Alan ever heard Miriam was a moot point, since it was evident to all that he believed Bates’ every word – after all, The Beast was only telling of secrets locked deep inside Alan’s own mind.

Bill Bates thus succeeded in cracking Alan’s faith – just like he’d done to mine.

In fact, the guards barely had to put forth any effort to hold him, for he was awash with tears as his body slumped into his chair.

There was only one nut left to crack and I watched helplessly as The Beast turned his attention to Miriam. “And now to my little harlot. Please don’t try to pretend to be the innocent virgin to me.”

Anger and embarrassment flushed Miriam as she continued her struggle to break free and two more men had to come over to help contain her.

“I know the game you’ve been playing in front of Lazarus,” Bates goaded her. “You told him you were saving yourself for Him, right? Yet we both know the truth, Sister– you’ve seen more action than a group of navy men who’ve been at sea for a year!”

Pointing at Miriam as if she wore a scarlet letter, The Beast admonished, “Why the things you’ve done, Miriam, would have made Caligula blush! Oh, sure, you pretend to be the good girl, but all along, you’ve never told your friends about your true nature – about how you have defiled yourself in every conceivable way – all because you’ve blamed yourself for Jesus’ failure to return to you – because you believe in your heart that he could never love you and that’s why he is staying away! And so, you’ve rejected Alan… making him think that you’re saving yourself for a higher purpose, when in reality, it’s YOU who are the most despicable of all!”

Even before Bates finished, Miriam had already stopped struggling.

And when the evil one had made the crack about the lecherous roman emperor, I saw Miriam catch Alan’s eye – it was obvious that Alan believed The Beast.

Thus, by the time that Bates further stung her with his words about Jesus choosing to stay away from her, it was obvious to me that Miriam too was ready for The End.

Seeing that he had succeeded in crushing his enemies, Bates kept his smile to himself this time and added slyly, “So it seems we can all finally agree on something — you three have all been betrayed by The Nazarene. There can be no denying that. And yet, while I admire your trust in him, it doesn’t matter now, does it? Instead, what matters is ‘what have you done for me lately,’ or more importantly, ‘what can you do for me NOW?’ As I said, only through me can you have a place in this world going forward. And despite your previous attempts to destroy me, it is I who am the gracious one – for I don’t hold your tenacity against you, instead I give you credit for it. In fact…”

Although Bill Bates kept talking, I have no idea what he said next.

By now I was at the lowest point of my life – totally ashamed of my sins and ready to give up.

I felt a Blackness closing around me… again.

Keep Reading

29 – From the Dust I Came…
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.27 The Temptation

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Book III: Chapter 27
December 20

Alan and Miriam were still struggling to process what Bill Bates had just said about ‘possessing our souls for all time,’ but it was what The Beast said next that got to me.

“As you chew on the fact that you’ll soon be mine,” Bates smiled, “Consider this as well — it doesn’t really matter to me whether I eventually get EVERY world in creation or not. What I enjoy is the game itself. Don’t you see, my father and I, we simply don’t want the War to end!”

The Last Judgement c 1435 Stefan Lochner

I knew it was bait, but I took it anyway and played along. “You’ve got it all figured out, huh, big shot?”

“So…so this is all just… some kind of game to you?” Alan’s face was aghast.

Bates was all too happy to explain. “My friend. Let me let you in on a little secret – and outside of this circle not many people know this – but it seems our little Sef de Catadre here is right. Bravo, Lazarus, you’ve got me pegged.” And he made a show of patting Alan on the back before continuing his rant. “It’s true. I don’t want to win every war. Where would the fun be in that? Tut. Tut. Don’t you see? Can’t you understand? It’s the Quest for Souls that my father and I live for. If we had All and Everything, the challenge would be over, and then what?

An endless smorgasbord of souls

“Oh, you might think that we could rejoice in being able to torture all of the souls that your god created,” The Beast was on a roll now, “but in truth, there is very little enjoyment to be had there – once we win a soul and send it to the Fiery Pits – to use your metaphor – well really, there’s not much more to do. The soul is lost. And there’s not much fun in torturing a forsaken soul. We leave that to the lesser demons – let them get their jollies, right? It’s a bit like The Great Reset and Agenda 2030 – surely you realize those are just playthings for me right? I mean, it’s not like those were very hard projects to complete, although I do have to give you some credit here, John, since you helped Tony finally get his plandemic right by turning him on to that Covid scam – that was pure gold, man, and it allowed Klaus the time he needed to advance his plans. Plus it gave me something to do for a while as I waited for events to fulfill themselves, so that was a nice bonus. But regardless of that all…fluff…don’t you see, the Real Pleasure for me is in the Temptation.”

Here, kitty, kitty

“You’re sick. You’re deluded.” Miriam spat.

Bates merely smiled at her patronizingly. Then leaning in close, he said in conspiratorial tones, “Here’s another secret – I enjoy it most of all when there is a chance that I might lose!” Seeing our disbelief, he averred, “It’s true. When I know I might lose a world, it gets me all giddy inside. It makes me excited about the mystery of it all. It actually makes me work all the harder. And… and… it makes me HOPE!” By now Bates’ eyes were literally glowing with the Fires of Hell and he’d gotten so worked up, he had to pause for breath. “Whew! So that my friends, wow, yes THAT is what I call Living!”

Alan, ever the professor, and now in more control of himself, tried to find a way to counter. “Hmm. If what you say is true, then why would you ever want to win? Why wouldn’t you let the temptation continue indefinitely upon each world? Why not enjoy your Great Reset society for awhile instead of moving towards a Doomsday like you are doing here on Earth?”

“An excellent question.” The Beast replied. “Thanks for asking. You see, every world eventually reaches its… what did you call it before… Moment of Truth? Think of it as if the world was like a nuclear reactor reaching a critical mass. After so many years of Temptation, countered by so many futile attempts to be Saved, why eventually the world can’t take it anymore and reaches a point of no return – this is when one side must step up and claim victory. As I said, it’s really just a formality in most cases – as it is now with your Earth. After all, surely you’ll agree that your world has become so full of debauchery that my victory has been certain for centuries. I’ve just been drawing it out a bit in order to squeeze out every last ounce of enjoyment and yes it’s true, I could let the United Nations finally have their way and rule the world but what would that accomplish? There’s no fun in the aftermath of the win, as I said, it’s the game itself that matters. And the time has come to finally end this game too, for as you know, tomorrow is the Day of Deliverance.”

“What does that mean?” I barked, knowing full well what he was driving at, but not wanting to believe it.

“Oh. I thought you knew?” Bates pretended surprise, humoring me. “John, you of all people should recognize what I’m talking about. Why, it’s the end of the world as you know it, but I’ll be fine.”

“Now before you three get all worked up,” The Beast smiled, “I don’t want you to worry. Don’t you understand. I’ll be fine after the Armageddon, and so will anyone who sides with me. So what do you say – wanna change teams? Eh?”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at least think about it…

Keep Reading

28 – Alekhine’s Defense
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.26 The Price is Your Soul

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Book III: Chapter 25
December 20

The moment lingered…

Someone or something was coming through the gate towards us.

Destiny?

Death?

Only God knew what it might be.

At last, forging through the gate came Pope Benedict, followed a moment later by Bill Bates in his Dr. Ma’bus regalia.

“Ah, I thought we would find you here,” Bates called out jovially, as he shuffled ahead to take the lead. Meanwhile a pair of servants rushed forward to set down two more chairs around our group, others set up a cabana to temper the afternoon’s heat, whilst still others emerged with an array of tempting delicacies to offer as refreshments. While all the servants were masked and gloved, neither the pope nor the technocrat wore virus protection since both knew Covid posed no real threat to them.

As our captors took their seats, Bates was all smiles, “Well, my friends, I’m sure you’re aware that tomorrow is your day of doom. Have you given any further consideration to the generous offer I made you?”

“Fool!” I lashed out at the would-be dictator. “Do you really think any of us would betray our Savior to follow a false god such as you? Hell, even if we contemplated such a mistake, everyone knows you wouldn’t honor your word.”

Although Benedict was beet red with embarrassment, Bates took it all in stride. He stared humorously at me for a few moments, before replying, “John, oh John, you were his beloved once, right?”

“I am his beloved still and—“

“Please.” Bates interrupted, holding up a hand, knowing I was not sure if I really believed my own words. “Save yourself the embarrassment. Everybody here knows the truth – the one you put your faith in has abandoned you. News flash, John, he’s NOT coming back. By crikey, man, I would think after two thousand years you would finally get it!”

“Whether it be two thousand or two hundred thousand,” Alan spoke up, “any amount of time is like a mere drop in the bucket to our God.”

“Ah, perhaps so,” Bates turned his attention now to Alan. “However, such is not the case for you three, eh? After all, while your lord may be able to ride out Time however he chooses, none of you can say the same. Each of you has had to endure every excruciating second of your miserable, do-nothing lives upon this forsaken world. You can’t hide it from me; it’s written all over your faces – you KNOW that in spite of all the time you’ve been given, in the end, you’ve failed in your mission. Two thousand years down the drain. All the pain, all the misfortune, and now all for naught. I can see how much that bothers you… and rightly so. You failed your master! What good are you to him now?”

“We will always have a place with our Lord.” Miriam replied, hands in her lap, eyes looking down.

“Ooohhh. And you say that with such confidence.” Bates scoffed. “Get real, sister. Nobody is buying your false hope and you shouldn’t be selling it. Look, the fact of the matter is that you really did have a chance to defeat me, but you failed. It’s that’s simple. I knew you couldn’t do it.”

“And why is that?” Miriam foolishly debated.

“First off, you made poor decisions. I mean, think about it – you were given a blueprint for success on how to overcome me and yet you couldn’t follow a simple set of directions! Instead you tried to do things your own way. Ah, news flash – that’s kind of stupid. Secondly, we all know that you three have never really been able to work together as a team. And worse still, you kept secrets from each other. How’s that for a start?” And here he paused to let each of us wallow in our shame, before adding, “Whatever you MAY have had with your god, it’s gone now. His time has passed. It’s MY time now.”

“You are a fool, Ma’bus.” I tried using my anger to resist him.

“Am I?” Bates grinned at me. “If that’s so, then what does that make you? After all, you’re all here. I have your Nails. I have your sacred scrolls. In fact, you’ve basically done everything I orchestrated.” And seeing the look of confusion on our faces, he happily explained. “Don’t you see? I’ve been pulling the strings all along. Surely, John, you know that the assailants who harassed you for lo these many years were all sent by me, right? And, Lazarus, we’ve already discussed how Mystery was sent to beguile you – with much success I might add. And Mary, oh Mary, where do you think all your premonitions came from? Certainly not from Above. No indeed, I sent them to you. Although I rather love what you did with them – 1492 is coming for you? This is the way you tried to disguise your warning? By making a clever code with a reference to Columbus? Well, you might have added your own touch, but the information was still from me. It’s all rather comical, don’t you think?”

“I don’t believe you.” Miriam stamped her foot in protest.

“No matter. I can go on. Although I didn’t create the prophets, I can attest that they were sent back because of me – so in a way I am responsible for them too. And of course, there can be no disputing that I was the one who had them killed – after all, the world still views me as a savior for that, right?” Then, turning back to Miriam, he asked, “My darling, who do you think pulled you out of Acedia?”

Acedia

Caught off guard at this unexpected memory, Miriam blanched, unable to respond.

“Ah, don’t trouble yourself.” Bates cajoled. “I will let you in on a little secret – I rescued you and Lazarus. After all, I brought him into that world, so only I could really let him out. I just wanted you to come here so that you could take Lazarus back to John to be cured – that allowed us to further things along a bit. Are you starting to get the picture? Ah, good. I can see you are. OK, let’s see, so where does that take us – ah yes, Mary and Lazarus go to Rome, fail to show Benedict any courtesy by advising him you’ve arrived, and instead you secretly dig in the Vatican’s most sacred vault – and for what? A worthless letter to a popess who never should have been? Why did you work so hard to protect that? It told me nothing! So, score one for your side, I let Marrollo reveal himself in order to capture your treasure.  But no matter, for my plans proceeded regardless. You followed that old coot Marrollo like puppies – right into my hands.” His voice dripping with mirth, The Beast turned back to me, “And, naturally, John, you felt the shame that was to be expected for deserting your friends. I knew Gabriel Big-Mouth would warn you not to, but that you couldn’t resist coming to save your friends, could you? I figured you’d use one of your inane disguises, but The Baron? Again? Come on, John, you could do better than that. You’re making the game too easy for me – you’re taking the fun out of it.”

“You expect me to believe that you are omnipotent now?” I replied.

“Would you like me to go back further in time?” Bates slithered. “Shall we discuss… Tower Bay? Hmmm?”

The devastation that was Tower Bay

“You’ve made your point!” I snarled. “Wha—“

“You know you can never truly win!” Miriam yelled out, pointing at The Beast. “Regardless of what happens on this world, in the end, you are doomed to failure.”

“Oh, Mary, you speak of things so far over your head it’s comical.” Bates clearly enjoyed the banter. “You really don’t get it, do you? So I’ve told you about a few strings that I pulled concerning you three and this petty little world. But, can’t you see that the War is to be won with each individual battle? Of course, my father and I are not fool enough to believe that we will control all of Creation at once – in fact, we may never accomplish that feat. And yet, it doesn’t matter – not to me, and certainly not to you.” 

Here Bates’ smile twisted into such a fiendish grin that even Benedict was a bit taken aback.

And still The Beast crowed, “Here is the essence of it all… this world is all of YOUR existence, it’s all you know. It’s all you are. Yet once I take ownership everything in it becomes MINE. Mine to possess for all time – that includes you… and your eternal souls. “

Keep Reading

27 – The Temptation
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.25 Paradise Lost

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Book III: Chapter 25
December 20

“I just don’t understand.” Alan lamented. “Tomorrow is the big day, yet we are powerless to stop The Beast. Would the Lord really have brought us all this way, only to leave us at the very end?”

Alan, Miriam, and I were sitting under the shade of an olive tree, within one of the many interior courtyards of Bates’ palace – despite the earthquake that had occurred here in Baghdad after the death of Elijah and Enoch, amazingly (rather conveniently) Bates’ stronghold was still in good condition – and ever since our capture at Whitby Abbey this locale had served as our prison.

There was no longer any question in my mind about who was The Beast – it was Bill Bates’ Ghaz al-Ridwan Ma’bus. As for Pope Benedict, given his involvement in our recent rather unfortunate events, it seemed we had no choice but to conclude that he was The Second Helper.

Revelation Two Beasts
The Two Beasts

As you can imagine, this was not a happy time for us.

And yet there was nothing we could do but wait for our fate to unfold.

And while we knew that masked guards watched our every move, on the whole we’d been left to ourselves – thankfully Bates didn’t make us wear those silly face masks against the made-up virus and he let us venture most anywhere we pleased within our section of the palace and our every needs were met.

We simply could not leave.

On most days, we usually ended up in this little garden, debating our fate – there wasn’t much else to do and the garden was lush and beautiful. That said, none of us could truly take solace in these confines, as the beauty of the place only made Bates’ fast approaching victory all the more wretched.

For we three knew that when The Beast rose to power at last, all that was good and beautiful in this world would vanish forever.

Paradise Lost

“The Lord helps those who help themselves, Laz.” Miriam replied, her next words cutting like a knife into my heart. “In the end, it was WE who failed – not Him. Had we just been patient and stuck to His plan, everything would have worked out. It’s just like Gabriel always told me – we were given a choice. Unfortunately we made the wrong decision. As a result, Bates not only has all three of our Nails, but he also now possesses my Book of Life, and John’s sacred scrolls.”

“We’ll see.” I muttered, my anger having returned in the last few weeks – especially after Bates robbed me of the priceless Scroll of the Illuminated Angels – one of the keys he would eventually need to complete his Armageddon Rite. “Damn shame if you ask me. What a waste.”

“But is that really it?” Alan asked again. “Are we just going to give up and accept fate? Are we done fighting?”

No Mas

“Our Moment of Truth has passed.” Miriam replied. “We failed in our mission. If the world is to be saved, it will not be from our actions.”

“She’s correct.” I agreed, feeling small in my faith. “All we three can do now is wait it out. We’ve been reduced to mere bystanders. If there is still anyone left to help, the task of saving the world will become their job now.”

“But who could it be?” Alan wondered. “Is there anyone left who has the power to oppose The B—“

He was interrupted by some activity off to our right – the guards parted to allow one of the interior gates to open, but just then the haze of the sun’s rays beamed suddenly brighter, obscuring the doorway…

Who could it be?

As if Nature herself was contending the way.

Keep Reading

Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.24 Into the Fires

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Book III: Chapter 24
November 13

“What?” I blurted out – a bit too loud — after Miriam had just told me about Cardinal Marrollo’s seeming desire to destroy Bill Bates.

Immediately after my shout there was a knock at the door from the guards outside; one of them called in urgently, “Baron, is everything all right?”

“Yes, yes.? I ran to the door. “All is fine. Please, leave us alone for another minute or so.”

Turning back to my friends I hissed, “Finish the story, then we must leave.”

Miriam was now lost in thought so Alan took up the tale, “I don’t possess Miriam’s abilities, so I can’t vouch for what she saw in her mind. All I can say is there was something strange going on – as if we were part of History in Motion. Nevertheless, our Moment of Truth passed and suddenly Marrollo bolted out of the room – still carrying The Nail. But we hadn’t come all that way for him anyway – for the man we wanted was right before our eyes and finally we had him!

“Despite his flailing against us,” Alan continued, “Bates wasn’t much of a physical opponent. The two of us overpowered him and drove him back towards the cross upon which Mystery was still hanging. Her blood rained down upon Bates as we pinned him there – and yet, even then, I could tell he wasn’t really afraid of us.”

“Until we pulled out our Nails!” Miriam jumped in. “Then fear – true Primal FEAR – was suddenly evident in Bates visage. It was as if, for the first time in eons, The Beast knew he was facing Destruction.”

“Bill began to wail in some awful, guttural language,” Alan shuddered, “it was a dialect older than anything I had ever heard – Evil in every way. If I had to guess, I would say it dated back to Babel itself, or perhaps even earlier, say–“

“Alan, we’re getting off topic.” Miriam chided. “The bottom line is this — regardless of what Bates was saying, suddenly he KNEW he was facing Death. But we didn’t give him any more time to think of a way out – instead, Alan and I plunged our Nails into his chest!”

“But… but… this doesn’t make sense?” I was angry that I couldn’t understand. “I just told you Bill Bates is out there now in his full-on Ghaz al’ Ridwan Ma’bus persona; I just saw him with my own eyes.” And then, asking a question I thought I would never ask, with my faith nearly faltering, I whispered, “Didn’t your…Nails have any…effect on him?”

“Of course they did.” Miriam advised. “Or at least, we all thought they did – Bill Bates included! Because when we drove our spikes into him, Bates must have felt their <power>. His face became a mask of terror and he began to writhe so badly that Alan and I were driven backwards.”

After taking a moment to collect herself, Miriam continued. “Our Nails remained lodged within Bates’ midsection even as he fell to the floor and continued convulsing! By now there was naught we could do but watch… and hope.”

“John, I tell you I really thought we had done it!” Alan agreed. “I thought we had finally destroyed The Beast!”

“Well, obviously not.” I muttered. “So what went wrong?”

“All of this happened so fast, mind you. But, like I said before, it was as if a Moment of Truth, a History Opportunity if you will, had come and gone, and alas the result was another escape for The Beast – for though we witnessed the demon fall, so too did we see him rise back up – in triumph.”

Dr. Ma’bus celebrated in all his glory.

“It was awful.” Miriam lamented. “Even as we watched, Bates rose, as if from the dead, and of a sudden, he bolted up, full of power, and showing his true face. John, there is no doubt he IS The Beast!”

“We both thought we were done for,” Alan added, “but at that very moment the door to the room burst open again, and Marrollo came barging back into the room.”

“Everything was still in slow motion except for Bates.” Miriam labored, remembering, “As The Beast surged with power, our Nails that were lodged within him came bursting forth — they flew outwards, whizzing past our heads as we barely had time to duck.”

“And our nails slammed into Marrollo.” I surmised, as if seeing the scene unfold in my mind’s eye.

“How did you know?” Miriam gasped.

“It was inevitable, given the fabric of your story.” And trying to allay my fears with humor, “After all, I AM a writer, remember?”

“You are correct.” Alan replied. “Impaled with OUR nails, Marrollo slumped against the wall, even as Bates’ masked guards surrounded us.”

“Suddenly we realized that it was WE who had failed.” Miriam lamented. “For we tried to kill The Beast with only TWO of the Nails and our Folly was to try to accomplish our mission in our own way instead of waiting for you to join us again.”

Even as she said these words, I felt my spine tingle – knowing that I was presently committing the same hasty sin. (Oh, Lord, forgive me. But what can I do now? I’m here, so I have to move forward right?)

“But that wasn’t the worst of it.” Alan broke my thoughts.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Worse than anything was hearing Bates’ diabolical cackling.” Alan covered his ears at the memory. “It was triumphant, evil, and insane. And even as the palace guards apprehended us, Bill Bates stood there and kept laughing.”

“It was a sound I’ll never forget.” Miriam added, she too visibly shaken at the memory.

“Hehehehehahaha! Hehehehehahaha!” As if on cue, suddenly a cacophonous echo carried into the room through the door – a sound that caused all three of us to cower in fear!

“My God, that’s the laugh!” Alan gasped.

“Lord, save us!” Miriam’s face was white as snow.

<BOOM!> The door to the room burst inward.

“Hehehehehahaha! Hehehehehahaha!”  Bill Bates’ laughter filled the room as he stood in the doorway, followed closely by Pope Benedict and my little friend Colonel McGubbins! “Hehehehehahaha! Hehehehehahaha!” 

Even as that snitch McGubbins gloated over me, I knew my failure had more to do with my actions than his – although that knowledge didn’t make it any easier to see the little twit preening in delight.

Quite frankly I wanted to knock his block off. 

And so the consequences of my sins continued…

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25 – Paradise Lost
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.23 Out of the Frying Pan

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Book III: Chapter 23
November 13

At the revelation of my rescue attempt, a newfound hope was evident on the faces of my friends – therefore I repeated my earlier question, “Are they safe? Do you still have The Nails?”

The Nails of Jesus

At that point the smiles fell from Alan and Miriam, and I didn’t need to hear them answer to know that it wasn’t good.

Even still, Alan advised, “After we left you, we went to Rome. We found Miriam’s Letter from La Papessa. Unfortunately Cardinalate Marrollo found us.”

Cardinal Marrollo

“He forced us to see Benedict.” Miriam took up the tale. “We thought Marrollo gave The Pope La Papessa’s letter and that Marrollo was working for Benedict.”

“The good news – at the time anyway,” Alan added, “was that Benedict convinced us that he was NOT The Second Helper and that all of his overtures to support Bates in the world spotlight were just a ruse – meant to allow him to keep tabs on Bates. Sort of a keep your friends close and your enemies closer type of a deal.”

“Well, given what went on out there tonight, I’m not sure we can trust Benedict anymore.” I replied. “This is a VERY private meeting and he would have had no reason to show his support for Bates’ Ma’bus persona… unless he really meant it.”

“That’s what we feared.” Miriam agreed. “We could hear all the shouting when they were sentencing us.”

“OK. OK. But what happened with you and Benedict?” I tried to change the subject.

“Naturally he wanted our Nails.” Alan answered. “We told him we would go get them and bring them back, but after we left him we chased after Marrollo instead. For although I could do nothing to stop him, I realized that Marrollo never gave La Papessa’s letter to Benedict but instead used a slight of hand to slip him a worthless re-creation.”

Marrollo’s slight of hand was good but not this good, eh?

“So you noticed that ruse too, eh?” I smiled. But when he didn’t understand how I could have know about the trick, I added, “Never mind, please continue.”

“So anyway, when we learned that he did not in fact give La Papessa’s letter to Benedict, we surmised that Marrollo was actually in league with Bates.”

“And we reasoned that if Benedict was not the Second Helper, then Marrollo must be!” Miriam added.

“So we chased Marrollo to Baghdad.” Alan continued. “Miriam used her mind tricks to help us to infiltrate the infamous Dr. Ma’bus’ palace. She tracked down both of our villains and then we stormed in upon them in one of Bates’ private chambers — ready to send The Beast and his Helper back to the Fiery Pits! But then…”

A long pause.

“And then?” I prompted (now regretting the fact that my power of Sight had been taken from me!)

“To this day, I still am not sure what was really was going on there.” Miriam eyes were distant. But it was a scene I will never forget…”

“Well, did you find Bates in there or not?” I asked urgently.

“Oh, we found Bates…” Alan explained, “And Marrollo… and they were indeed in the Chairman’s chambers. Furthermore, they were quite… distracted – which allowed us to sneak in on them. But they were not in fact alone – Mystery was there too.”

Mystery

“Mystery, but why?” I asked.

“Because Marrollo was crucifying her to an upside down cross right there within Bates’ bedroom!” Miriam blurted. “And all the while, Bates was looking on… and laughing.”

Ma’bus or Jafar?

“Oh how Mystery writhed in agony upon that cross.” Alan closed his eyes tight against the image. “Regardless of the fact that she was an evil wench, the sight itself was horrible. The blood… the screaming… her eyes…”

“Yes. Yes. I get the picture.” I replied anxiously. Then, running back to the door to listen, I urged my friends, “We’re running out of time here. What happened next?”

“This is where it gets confusing.” Miriam answered. “As we barged in, Bates was handing Marrollo the case that held Alan’s Nail. Marrollo was wearing some sort of glove that apparently allowed him to pick up The Nail and he grabbed it just as Bates turned around to face us. And then it was as if we all got caught up in a sea of… er… emotional mystery.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Alan said. “Mystery was barely alive and when she saw us barge in, for a brief moment, a ray of hope crossed her face. But when she recognized us, and especially when she laid eyes on Miriam, she knew we would NOT be saving her from her fate.” Here I noticed that Miriam couldn’t help but smile even as Alan spoke on. “As for Bates, he stopped laughing and instead began to rain down curses upon us.”

“But none of this sounds too surprising to me.” I interrupted. “They reacted just as I would have expected.”

“Let me finish. You are correct — Mystery and Bates didn’t do anything that surprised us.”

“It was Marrollo!” Miriam couldn’t resist. “As he was holding The Nail, and while Bates was facing us — with his back towards Marrollo – I caught hold of the cardinal’s eyes – if only for a moment. And… I caught a glimpse into his mind… and the <thought> I saw there was amazing!”

Nobody said a word as Miriam took a moment to collect herself, “I would swear on my life that, in that moment, Marrollo was contemplating using The Nail… to stab the demon that has become Ghaz al Ridwan Ma’bus!”

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24 – Into the Fires
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.22 The Rescue

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Book III: Chapter 22
November 13

“What are we going to d—“ Miriam stopped short as their door to her cell opened and a trio of Brothers entered in upon her and Alan.

“You?” Alan spat in disgust when he saw The Brother in command. “What are you doing here? Did you just come to catch a glimpse of us because we are doomed? Or are you going to experiment on us? Is that it? Well, let m—“

“Alan,” Miriam interrupted, “do you know this man?”

Before Alan could reply, the Brother in question (that would be ME as The Baron) turned to the two guards and advised, “Leave me alone with them please. Don’t worry; it’s quite alright. Yes, please just go stand outside the door. And remember, we are not to be disturbed.”

After the door closed, I turned back to face the captives, yet before I could explain, Alan answered Miriam’s question, “Although the world at large has probably never heard of him, this man is well known among the Brotherhood elite. He specializes in genetic engineering…. more like genetic atrocities! Miriam, let me introduce you to… Baron Von Bodenwerner.”

Miriam eyed me rather curiously and I could tell she was making an attempt to infiltrate my mind. I worked hard to keep her out of my mind. After a brief pause she asked, “What are you doing here, Baron?”

For my part, although I was overcome with emotion at seeing my friends again, the facial alterations made possible by my alchemy covered my real expressions, thus a stoic silence was the only reply I gave them at first.

At last, I whispered urgently, “Are they secret? Are they safe?”

Perplexed by this mysterious question, Alan replied, “What in the world are you talking about?”

“Lazarus! Miriam! It’s ME – John!”

Both Alan and Miriam took a step back at my strange revelation, but I moved closer to them within the cramped room, “Stop. Listen. It’s me, John of Salome. I’m in disguise. This is merely one of my identities.”

“What are you talking about, Von Bodenwerner?” Alan was unamused.

“Shhh!” I motioned to the door. “I use alchemy to alter my appearance. I have a number of different identities that I use to infiltrate The Brotherhood… and other organizations — but that’s not important. Listen, what matters right now is that I’m here to rescue you.”

Unfortunately my friends didn’t buy it.

“Are you honestly trying to coax us into believing that you are THE John of Salome?” Alan scoffed. “That’s preposterous. I don’t care if you are claiming ‘disguise.’ The fact is that I’ve known you as Baron Von Bodenwerner for decades. You’re a scoundrel! Why the horrible things you and Dr. Flipflop have done. As waylaid as John was, even he wouldn’t have overseen some of the ghastly experiments that I’ve heard YOU and Flipflop were responsible for. What you did at Tikrit back in 2004 and then with the Wuhan Lab why it’s—“

“Don’t believe everything you’ve heard. Most of those infamous discoveries were just propaganda I fed the Inner Circle – to throw them off track on developing the real thing. Come on, man, think! Haven’t you ever wondered why Flipflop never got a superbug that could provide the Brotherhood with total control of their New World Order?”

“Er?” Alan stammered.

“Because I was the head man in charge of everything! Why, I’ve been misleading the Brotherhood scientists like Flipflop for years. It’s only because of me that he and his teams keep getting FARTHER away from the truth. Indeed, left to their own devices, the Flipflop’s genetic engineers would have profiled a DoomsDay Bug long ago. Lord knows they had their chances with Swine Flu, AIDS, H1N5, and Covid.”

“But, wait a second,” Miriam jumped in, “If you really are John that doesn’t make sense either. I mean, why are you here? John made it pretty clear that he wanted nothing to with us… or Jesus.”

“Exactly.” Alan added, “So what’s changed?”

I lowered my head in shame and took a moment to answer. “The cords of death entangled me and I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.” Here I looked to them for understanding, “But then I called at last on the name of our Deliverer and proclaimed, ‘Oh Lord, save me!’ And in my hour of need, He replied, ‘Be at rest once more, John. I am with you always.’ So I asked myself, ‘How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?’ And the answer was clear – by finally fulfilling my vows to Him and uniting with you to do his work; thereby glorifying his name.”

Before either of them could process my professed transformation, I continued, “Lazarus, Mary, I’ve repented of my sins. I was wrong. You were right. Gabriel reminded me of my mission. I’m here now and I’m going to rescue you.”

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23 – Out of the Frying Pan
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.21 The Coming of the King

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Book III: Chapter 21
November 13

Was my cover blown?

It sure seemed that way because the Pope was pointing towards me and talking about finding a traitor and all eyes were suddenly turned my way.

Luckily for me, I did not get a chance to try to defend myself, for in my shock I did a most ignoble thing – I actually spit out my beer!

Now this is one occasion where drinking alcohol clearly saved me – for even as I tried to recover my wits, a waiter was already beside me with a towel, cleaning my robes and helping me to save face.

As it turned out, I need not have worried too much – for the crowd was not looking at me, nor was Pope Benedict really pointing at me.

(Heck, I don’t think anyone even noticed my faux pas with the beer).

In reality, they were all looking at the wall behind me – or more specifically at one of the many dark hallways that were carved into the stone wall…

As it turns out, the one indicated by The Pope just happened to be behind the section I was sitting in.

(Gee, I guess I have a guilty conscience, huh?)

Joe’s next words then uncovered the mystery, “My Brothers, down that particular hallway is a room which holds inside it two… rats.” Here he paused for effect. “And one of them is our former Brother — Professor Alan Zarus.”

Gasps went up from the crowd and I too tried to act surprised (but surely you know by now this was the REAL reason why I was here tonight, right?).

“With him is his… girlfriend – Miriam Magdala.” The Pope spoke on. “If you don’t know her, don’t worry – she’s not important.” And then with an ominous snicker, “And she won’t be around much longer anyway.”

A Brother at my side, one Colonel McGubbins, prodded me with an elbow and a wink, smiling knowingly at the pope’s dark humor.

Colonel McGubbins

For my part, I ignored McGubbins (he always was a bit of a lout) and instead turned inwards to my own thoughts.

If Lazarus and Mary really were in some makeshift holding cell here in Whitby Abbey, then the fact that they were on site while a Brotherhood meeting was taking place was more than enough to seal their fate.

Yet even as I began to plot how to rescue my friends, Joe soon began reading a list of my friend’s so-called “Crimes against The Brotherhood” – with the crowd catcalling in reply.

When Benedict finished, Bill Bates as Dr. Ma’bus again took the stage. I was not surprised when he recommended that Alan Zarus be impeached, nor by the loud cheers that answered him.

“They’re taking a vote.” McGubbins’ lascivious anxiety was showing as he gave me an unnecessary commentary between his own applause. Then, after only a short pause, “It’s unanimous!”

I watched as the crowd looked to Ma’bus for further guidance.

McGubbins smiled and pretended surprise, “Oh my, how unfortunate for Brother Zarus — Ma’bus just flashed a thumbs down!”

I wondered if my friends could hear the jeers filling the room?

Yet, more importantly, I wondered what Ma’bus had in mind – could he be contemplating another bout with the Chairs of Woe?

By now, the crowd was working itself into a frenzy, and as we reached the height of our blood-thirsty passion, Pope Benedict again took the stage.

“Brothers,” the Pope raised his arms, “I know you are anxious to destroy these traitors, however let’s not forget the REAL reason why we are gathered here today.”

We waited with baited breath – what else could there be?

“We have the privilege to witness a sight never before seen upon this earth.” Joe proclaimed. “For today – TODAY! — we shall see the birth of Our Savior!”

Now The Brothers cheered even more wildly than before.

“The Coming of the King.” McGubbins babbled out. “Hallelujah!”

“That’s right, good sir.” The Pope acknowledged McGubbins, causing the fool to get an even bigger ego, yet before the latter could puff himself up further, Joe bellowed, “Halleluiah indeed — for I call you all to bear witness to the Coronation Ceremony of Ghaz al’ Ridwan Ma’bus as… EA Incarnate!”

At that I nearly spit out my beer – again.

This is unprecedented!

I’ve been a Brother off and on for nearly 1,700 years, yet I’ve never actually seen anyone crowned as EA Incarnate.

EA Incarnate

Truth be told, I always thought it was just a made up rank, for the moniker that Joe proposed for Bill Bates was the equivalent of calling him a god on earth.

According to my knowledge of Brotherhood lore, the last known EA Incarnate lived more than 5,000 years ago – yet no source ever revealed who this early persona might have been and some said it was a being from another planet (do we have any Alien Astronaut theorists in the house?)

EA Incarnate? I silently mouthed the words. Oh no. This is not good.

Even still, I kept my wits about me and used the commotion of the wild celebration that followed to leave my seat and make my way down that dark hallway where (I hoped) my friends were being kept.

Unfortunately I didn’t know that Colonel McGubbins followed me.

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22 – The Rescue
Book III Table of Contents
Book 3 Golgotha Revisited

3.20 Busted!

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Book III: Chapter 20
November 13

Now, I think it’s important to point out that all along during Dr. Ma’bus’ speech I had dutifully been rising at the appropriate times with the rest of my brethren and rattling out the necessary chants and replies…

But on the whole, my mind was wandering around the room as around me sat powerful, high-ranking world leaders. Some of the the plutocrats were regulars in the public eye like Presidents Xi and Putin, others chose to do their work behind the scenes like the World Economic Forum’s Klaus Schwab, yet regardless of their fame or lack of it, none were known to the world for their associations here – for membership within these ranks was only for the select and privileged few.

Lifting high my bejeweled stein in response to a toast, I gladly took a long pull on my beer — smiling inside as I glanced at a pair of conspirators who sat to my right.

Mortal enemies, eh? Looks to me as if they’re tittering schoolgirls! I snickered as I watched two well-known world adversaries eating with one another like long-time friends. Ah, but The Brotherhood knows no political bounds.

Yet I wasn’t here just to hobnob with handful dignitaries. Instead, I took the trouble of disguising myself as The Baron for three very important reasons:

  • I knew that Bill Bates would be here and I wanted to know what he was up to.
  • As I rightly guessed, Pope Benedict was also in attendance – in fact he was presently seated at the head table, just behind the dais upon which Ma’bus was still orating.
  • And most importantly of all, there was another hope that had brought me calling – to learn the fate of my friends. As yet, this was a hope unfulfilled, and worse yet, it was not one that I could safely inquire about.

And so, with naught else to do, I prepared to relax into the Baron’s persona and let the events of the evening unfold. Yet, I didn’t get a chance to relax for long, because just then Pope Benedict arose and stepped forward next to Bill Bates.

“An incredible speech, as always, Brother Ma’bus.” The Pope patted his friend on the back. After a nod of thanks from the dictator, Benedict addressed the crowd, “And now, Oh My Brothers, let’s get down to business. As you know, big things are afoot tonight — EA Himself will be joining us in the flesh!”

The crowd erupted at that news – for this was momentous indeed!

Before I could process what was happening, The Pope spoke again, “My friends, I wish we could proceed forward with our Main Event, but unfortunately we have a minor housekeeping matter to attend to.”

I look another sip of my beer (not too much mind you, just enough to be sociable), as I thought, Well, this is interesting. What’s Joe driving at?

Just then a servant came and cloaked Benedict with a red velvet robe.

Now that really made me sit up and take notice!

Since you’re not in The Brotherhood, I’m guessing you don’t know what the clothing change signifies, right? Well let me fill you in – that red velvet cape is known to the Brethren as The Cloak of Red Death!

Someone’s in big trouble, I thought.

At last the Pope continued, this time in more ominous tones. “My friends, I realize this may come as news to more than a few of you, and while it pains me to say it, I must hold true to our values and ever speak the truth. Therefore it is with a heavy heart that I advise you…we have a traitor in our midst.”

And he pointed in my direction!

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21 – Coming of the King
Book III Table of Contents