A Future History of the United States

After Tim’s remark about Elko, Nevada, Ron addressed the remaining bishops. “Lunch has been prepared for you in the dining room. The four of us will take lunch here as we have some critical business to take care of. The rooms you occupied previously have been made ready again. Clean clothing will be provided and three meals a day will be served while you are here. If there is anything you need, one of the staff will try to provide it. The four of us and Stephen will be absent for a few days.”

Once the bishops had departed Ron turned to Tim,“It’s time for some formal introductions;” Indicating Claude, “Meet Simon, Archbishop of the Los Angeles District;” Pausing a moment for effect, he motioned toward Dennis and continued, “And Barnabas, Archbishop of the Boston region.”

After the events of the previous few days, Tim had thought nothing else could shock him. With this latest revelation he sat quietly for a few moments trying to regain his composure. Ron looked at him and let out a chuckle. “You might want to close your mouth. A bug might fly into it.”

Snapping his mouth shut he turned to Ron, “How many other surprises do you have in store for me? I don’t think I can take many more.”

Ron just grinned. “A few.”

Just at that time the door opened and Stephen entered with their lunch on a tray. He placed the tray on the desk, “Dig in.” With that he pulled up a chair and joined them.

Noticing Tim seemed a little surprised at Stephen’s uninvited intrusion, Ron spoke up. “Another introduction is in order. Tim, meet Bishop Extraordinaire Luke Simpson.”

Tim was caught completely off guard with his mouth full of water. He was just able to turn his head aside in time to avoid drenching the other four as he coughed and sputtered in shock. All four laughed at his discomfiture. Finally recovering, he managed a weak, “I’m sorry. Next time give me a little more warning “

“Well, I told you we had managed to place a number of our people in top positions in the Church,” Ron said. “There are some others. You will meet them in soon enough.”

Claude, that is Archbishop Simon, spoke up. “Let’s eat, then we can get on our way to Miami. We’ll have time to discuss strategy while on our way in the Tube.”

After the meal, Ron led the way to what Tim was beginning to think of as the Tube Station. This time Tim noticed the capsule was sitting on a platform that seemed capable of turning in a full circle. He commented on this and received a response from the man he still thought of as Dennis, “That’s correct. Once we are inside the capsule we enter our destination into the on board computer. The system then automatically turns it to the proper tube and starts us on our way. The tube to Miami reaches a speed that will get us there in just over two and one-half hours.”

During their transit Tim learned that Archbishops Barnabas and Simon had somewhat similar experiences to what he had gone through. The main difference was they had not been brought before a previous Archbishop and charged with heresy before they were elevated to their current positions. Both had been priests in other regions before being transferred.

Neither had served as a bishop. Both had gone through the same procedure to purge potential opponents among the priests and bishops in their current districts. Ron had handled the meetings in Boston, while Luke had done the duties in Los Angeles.

Upon arrival in Miami, a short passageway led them directly to the Archbishop’s office. Upon entering the office they found four others already present. Ron and Luke greeted each man present by name. After this greeting he said, “Gentlemen, let me introduce our newest Archbishop, I give you Timothy Michael Roberts, Archbishop of St. Louis.”

Turning to Tim “I’m not going to burden you with all the names and sections they represent. It would just confuse you. You will have enough to remember without worrying about such things.”

Once again he addressed the group, “Now that we are all present we can get down to business.”

Tim looked around and counted, “I thought there were twelve Archbishops. There are only seven of us here.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted speaking.

Ron took no offense. Instead he replied, “You’re right, Tim. There are twelve, and here we have only seven. But seven is the magic number. In a conclave of Archbishops it takes a simple majority to make a decision binding on the Church. All twelve need not be present at a Conclave for the decisions to be valid if a total of seven votes favor the decision. If the seven Archbishops here vote together, any decision made will be final and binding.

“In a Conclave the Bishops Extraordinaire do not have a vote, but both must be present for a Conclave to be valid. Once any decision is made by the Conclave, they have the duty of enforcing that decision.

“The Conclave today has only one item on the agenda. The Archbishop of Miami called this Conclave for the purpose of considering removal of Prelate Titus II from his position due to corruption and conduct detrimental to the cause of Christ, and causing significant damage to the reputation of the Conservative Universal Church.

“Before we begin our deliberations, let us pray silently and ask God for wisdom, guidance, and courage to fulfill our duties to His Church.”

It was a good ten minutes before the Archbishop of Miami broke the silence. Standing he began, “I called this meeting out of concern for the extreme pressure Prelate Titus II has put on all Archbishops, bishops and priests to condemn people for heresy.

“These charges are often brought with little or no supporting evidence. The accused is given no opportunity to question his accuser, or to even know exactly what action he has taken to warrant such a charge. Even if the accused cannot be made to confess, and confession is often brought about through torture, his or her property is confiscated by the Church and they are turned out on the street or, more often, put in prison.

“Those priests, bishops, and even Archbishops who do not process a sufficient number of heresy cases are threatened with discipline. Such discipline is usually removal from their position and being sent to a monastery for life.

“I feel this conduct by Prelate Titus II is sufficiently counter to the teaching of Christ to warrant his removal.”

Listening to this speech brought back the memories to Tim of his experience with Archbishop Rand in vivid detail. These memories almost caused him to cry out in anguish.

Without stopping to think about the appropriateness of the most junior member being the first to speak in response, Tim jumped to his feet and exclaimed, “I was the victim of just such treatment from Archbishop Rand. I was pulled from my bed in the middle of the night and dragged halfway across town to stand before him and be accused.

“I knew I had done nothing wrong. I was given no opportunity to defend myself. I was denied the right to question my accuser. My property was taken away. My wife and child were also imprisoned without cause.” Suddenly realizing he may be speaking out of turn he said softly, “I’m sorry. My emotions got the better of me.”

Luke spoke up, “Don’t be sorry. You relating your personal experience makes this even more real to us. We have all been in the position of being forced against our will to impose sentences on people we know to be innocent. We have done this in order to protect ourselves. We have, all too often, lacked the courage to fight back.”

Ron admonished him, “No, Luke. It’s not that we didn’t have the courage to fight back. We had to survive long enough to develop the numeric strength to fight back. We now have that. We also have Tim.”

Turning to the rest of the group Ron said, “So far only Tim, Luke, Simon, and myself are aware of what I am about to tell you. This news should make your decision easier. Tim is actually the identical twin brother of Titus Gabriel Roberts, also known as Titus II.”

The silence was complete. Everyone waited on Ron’s next words. After a long pause he continued, “We discovered some time ago that Titus had a twin brother. Archbishop Rand also discovered this same fact. He realized the potential trouble this could cause for Titus and his cohorts. He located Tim before we did. That is why he had Tim arrested.

“As an identical twin, Tim’s DNA is an exact match with Titus’. He can gain passage through the security at the White House with no difficulty, taking anyone he wishes with him.”

Tim spoke up. “If it really turns out to be that easy why don’t we just confine Titus and let me take his place. Since we are identical twins I doubt that anyone would notice, especially since you say he never goes out in public. We could then change the Church policies through decrees that I would issue.”

Luke responded, “we considered that Tim. It wouldn’t work. There are too many corrupt priests, bishops, and even a few Archbishops who would continue in their old ways. Without the technology of Son City notice would travel so slowly it would take months for any real change. There is also the danger that people would think the Church was divided and civil unrest could result. We need to make a big production of a drastic change.”

After some additional discussion Ron said, “It’s time to vote!”

The vote was seven in favor of removing Titus from office. None opposed.

Even as the Conclave was in progress, numerous people in the underground system called Son City were preparing the weapons needed for the coming confrontation.

Tim had been exposed to only a small portion of the vast network of tunnels, living quarters, commons rooms, power stations, and work areas. The complex extended from coast to coast, and border to border. Transportation between Seattle and Miami, or San Diego and New York City was possible in less than four hours without ever setting foot on the surface. Those on the surface lived in complete ignorance of what was going on literally under their feet.

Enough supplies to easily provision an army were stockpiled within meters of almost every church or public meeting place in the country. Once word was given, these supplies could be moved into position on the surface and put in operating condition in less than six hours. All that was needed was for someone to issue the order to deploy the troops.

Of those attending the Conclave, only Ron and Luke knew of the preparations already taking place. They both carried communication devices that gave the order for everything to be deployed. A simple press of a button would initiate action unlike any that had been seen in many decades.

Once the decision to remove Titus from his position as Prelate of the Church had been made, there were still many things to attend to before the decision could be enforced. The first item considered was deciding who would accompany Tim on his mission to the White House.

Some suggested that Ron and Luke be the only ones to go with Tim. Others said that at least one of these two should remain behind so they could remain in control of the Son City complex if anything went wrong during the expedition to Washington.

During a pause in the discussion Luke spoke up, “I am sure you all know, if something goes wrong none of us will survive. It would also cause a purge throughout the Church. Anyone even remotely suspected of assisting us will be executed. We have tried to prepare for any possible problems, but we may have overlooked something.

“We have always carefully screened anyone drawn into our group. However if someone has infiltrated any portion of our organization, Titus may be aware of some of our plans. We could be walking into a trap.”

Simon responded, “The longer we wait, the greater the risk. We can never be 100 percent certain nothing will go wrong. We’ve taken all the precautions we possibly can. We currently have operatives out in the various regions keeping track of those we think might cause some problems.”

Looking around at the group Ron announced, “Luke and I need to visit the five Archbishops who are not here and inform them of the action you have taken. Those Archbishops who agree to give their full support and backing will be allowed to retain their positions. Any who we cannot count on will find themselves in Elko, joining those who are already in exile. That way they will not be able to cause any problems once our plan goes into effect.

“While in each district, we will meet with as many of the priests and bishops as possible. We need as much support as we can get. I am afraid that the monastery in Elko is going to be a little crowded for a while. This may get a little messy but we think it has the best chance of avoiding massive problems once we make our move.”

No one spoke for several minutes. Finally Ron said, “One of the heroes of the Revolutionary War said, ‘We must all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately.’ I think we can safely say the same applies to us except we may burn together.

After considerable discussion someone said, “There were nine justices on the Supreme Court. There are nine of us. We have just acted as a Court in deciding the fate of Titus. I think we should all go. We will show him a united front. He may foam at the mouth with rage, but he won’t be as likely to use physical force with such a large group against him.”

The symbolism of the group being equivalent to the defunct Supreme Court appealed to everyone. They would all make the trip to Washington.

“Plans have already been made for special church services next Sunday. We need things as calm as possible in each district until then. You Archbishops are to return to you respective locations and continue normal activities this week. We will meet in the office of the Washington National Cathedral at 10:00 P.M. next Saturday.”

As the meeting was breaking up Luke said to Tim, “Since I have already been introduced to your staff as your secretary, I will be returning to St. Louis with you. Just be sure to call me Stephen when others are around. We’ll take the slower Tube on the way back. That way we will have time for a long nap. Since you don’t know your way around the Tube system yet, I will accompany you to Washington.” With that everyone left the meeting to return to their respective homes.

It was breakfast time when Tim and Stephen arrived back at the Archbishop’s residence. Martha and Will were seated at the table facing away from them. Tim slipped up behind Will, reached around and put his hands over Will’s eyes and said, “Guess who?”

Will’s squeal almost deafened Tim, but that was nothing compared with the look he received from Martha. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” she chastised him. “Sneaking in like that. You practically scared him to death.”

“No he didn’t, mom.” Will managed to get in. “I screamed because I’m glad dad’s home.”

“Well, he sure scared me! Gone all the time. Never knowing where you are or when you’ll be back…” Her tirade continued until Tim made an exaggerated display of placing his fingers in his ears.

Stephen, meanwhile, was doing his best to suppress his laughter. “Nothing like a wife to keep an Archbishop in check,” he finally said. “Next time some of the people out there get out of control, we’ll just turn her loose on them.”

This put Stephen in line of fire for her wrath. Turning to him Martha screamed, “And you, you go around here acting all uppity like you own this place. You’ve not even been here as long as I have, and that sure isn’t long. If I were the boss and had an employee like you, I’d have you down on your knees mopping the floors.”

“Dear, please calm down,” Tim finally managed to get in. “believe it or not, we have been out on some very important Church business. I can’t tell anyone right now just what it is, but if everything works out, you will find out during church next Sunday morning. For right now, I’ll be here for the next few days. Let’s make the most of our time. Let’s not fight.”

“I’m not fighting you, Tim. It’s just that with everything that’s happened these past few months, every time you leave I’m afraid you’ll never come back.” She threw her arms around him and broke down sobbing. “Claude explained some of what you are doing. I understand it’s important, but I’m afraid something will happen to you while you are gone.”

After finally getting Martha calmed down, they all enjoyed a filling, tasty breakfast. At the end of the meal Stephen said, “Martha, you will have to excuse me and Tim. We will be in the church office most of the day. We need to fill some vacancies among the priests and bishops. I will be making arrangements for Tim to interview some candidates over the next few days.”

“Most of this week should be a ‘normal’ work week.” Tim interposed. “We will have most of the evenings and nights together.” With that he gave Martha a kiss on the cheek, patted Will on the head, and headed to his office.”

Once secure in the office Stephen gave Tim a smile and, “That’s why I never got married.”

“Ah, but it’s worth it!” replied Tim.