“I agree, Ann. Is the Red Cross or a similar organization there?”
“No, not at all, John.”
“Thanks Ann, and we will talk to you later, probably in Baghdad right?”
“Yes, John. We hope so. This is Ann Davies reporting live from Basra, Iraq.”
John turned from the screen, and then turned to Chester Nichols, their meteorologist.
“Chester, do you have anything to add to any of what we are seeing and hearing?”
Chester moved to the weather monitor and a map of the Middle East and Northern Africa came up having the radar superimposed on it.
“As you can see, John; the rain just keeps coming and in strange patterns too. In addition, you might note that even though Iran is surrounded by falling rain they are completely clear. There is absolutely no explanation for any of this. I have talked to other meteorologists and they have said that this is impossible.”
“Yes, I agree. There are many things going on right now that could be deemed impossible. Chester, what updates do you have on Hurricane Alex and the other ones following.”
The map changed and the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean came up. Hurricane Alex was superimposed over the map.
“You may remember hurricane Katrina, John, but this thing is even bigger. Right now, the eye has just left Cuba and is headed almost due west. It covers an astounding four-hundred and fifty miles of water and land. It is already raining in Houston, Galveston, and Corpus Christi, but not hard yet. Winds are close to Enoch’s predictions near the center. Current models state that the actual stats are expected to meet or exceed his exact prediction. The Gulf is already starting to encroach on the coast. We are looking at a storm surge from Padre Island to Lake Charles in Louisiana, of maybe twelve to fifteen feet.”
“So would you say this hurricane will be the worst one ever in the Gulf?”
“Absolutely, John! In addition, this system is moving very slowly. When Alex hits it will stay for quite a while. This means that as the remains creep up the Ohio Valley, it will result in serious flooding.”
“Anything else to add, Chester?”
“Yes, John. Enoch’s other prediction was the increased temperature at the poles. This has held steady at plus twelve degrees above normal for both North and South poles. We are seeing rapid melting of some of the outer shelves of ice, especially in the lower areas of Antarctica. If this keeps up, some of our oceans could rise as much as a foot or more within a year, if not less. This will also cause major flooding along coastal areas.”
“The other hurricanes, Chester?”
“So far, we are tracking four of them. According to the National Hurricane Center, Bosner is shaping to be as fierce as Alex is. Current computer models have Bosner tracking all areas from New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, with the center tracking to Biloxi.”
“What you are saying then is that Enoch is right so far?”
“Yes, John; unfortunately, he’s absolutely, one-hundred percent right.”
“The camera then moved back to John as he said, “I can only warn you to prepare accordingly if you are in one of the areas to be affected by the storms. We can refer you to our website where we have set up some helpful tools based on Enoch’s predictions of when and where they are to occur. I suggest that you take advantage of this tool. If you are in an evacuation area please do so for these storms are biblical!”
“Now,” John continued, “Since we don’t have Enoch or Elijah here with us to comment on these storms, we have instead, Reverend Thomas Marks.” John turned to his left and the cameras captured them both.
“Reverend Thomas, what is your take on the news and these storms.”
“In my opinion, John, God is a bit angry, not only with America but also the world. The last time He was this angry he destroyed all but a few. As far as America being in His focus, look at what we have done recently as a government; especially at the federal level, with judges whose rulings usually went against the wishes of the people. It reminds me of the movie The Ten Commandments, when the Pharaoh in anger said that the name Moses was to be removed from every building, obelisk, and statue and so on. Well the federal government and their Judges did the same thing with the name of God and the name of Jesus. Even the Ten Commandments in front of a courthouse have been removed, and so on. They ruled to allow unnatural practices in the name of rights, and allowed and paid for abortions. So now, He is showing His anger. Unfortunately, John, I believe that before it is all over it will get worse. The good news though is that Jesus is coming soon and then this will all be over. Sin will be gone. Lucifer and his followers will be bound and Jesus will then establish his long-awaited kingdom.”
“That is a lot to consider, Reverend. I have on my right one of the non-believers, who is a self-proclaimed atheist and who has written several books about God being dead.” John turned to the other guest on his right and asked, “George, what is your take on this?”
“Well I grew up in Iowa and what I just heard the Reverend say, and have been hearing, is absolute hogwash. That is what we call stories that are just, well…not true, or stories shysters tell. The truth of the matter is simple. Because of global warming, Mother Nature is having a hemorrhage and humanity is paying the price for that. It is as simple as that. It will come and then it will go. All this God stuff will then be laughed at, like it has been over and over again in the history of mankind.”
“What of the predictions made by Enoch, George? They are uncannily accurate. It appears many find what Enoch did to be difficult for a man, or anyone, if not impossible.”
“Predictions are not unusual, John. Right now, this Enoch has been lucky. He will soon fail, and then you will see that he is a charlatan. It is just a matter of time. You see John, there is no God, and there are no prophets. There is only life, death, and taxes. Enjoy what you have now and let this supernatural hocus-pocus be what it is, hog wash.”
“Thank you for your views, George.”
John turned back to the camera and said, “Stay tuned, we have a lot more to show you and tell you. We will be right back.”
John stood and walked over to a snack table and grabbed bottled water. Everyone left him alone for they all knew the wheels were turning. This was only a hundred and fifty second break so he had to get back on the desk.
Don came over and handed him some papers. “Next we will cover the Vice President’s death then the Pope’s. That will bring us up close to the new President’s inaugural speech at 8:00 AM CST. We will use Mary Ann and Geraldo for the Israel-Iran crisis at the Mount. In addition, what is Elijah doing there? I need you to focus on reporting about the new President and what we know about him, following his speech.”
“Thanks Don, I need a break. The atheist rather rubbed me the wrong way. He does not look at reality, but then, many of them don’t, do they?”
“No they don’t, John, no they don’t. I have to go, the show must go on.”
Chapter 71
9:15 AM Saturday, Aafre Waldger’s suite, Center City, Kansas City, Missouri
Last night Aafre’s assistants had removed the judge’s body from the floor and put her into one of the bedrooms, for the time being. They used the resources they could control before making the death public. When they were sure they had the right persons to cover this up the police were called in. Once the coroner had removed the body, which would be immediately cremated, Aafre said to David, “I need this room cleaned up. It smells. We need it ready for tomorrow.”
David called on some resources he had and found a crew to sterilize the room after he had met with the police.
Originally, Cain was to make a speech right after the swearing in, but it was decided they would defer the President’s message until the next morning. This way, press releases could be sent out when it would be aired. Most Americans would be tuning in to hear the new President’s speech, especially on a Saturday morning. Unfortuna
tely, to Aafre’s dismay, per federal laws, all networks would carry the speech. Therefore, The Network had to produce the feed to everyone, including Bear. That would change in the future Aafre had said.
In the meantime, David met The Network crew at 6:30 AM and they set up more equipment than they had the night before for the swearing in. They set up a superimposed picture of the White House in the background and the Presidential Seal on a new desk that was brought in. This would be Cain’s introduction to America as its new President.
At 9:30, Aafre showed up with Cain, and then Jamal. Robert Jordan came in a few minutes after and they all huddled over in a corner drinking coffee and going over some papers that David assumed to be Cain’s speech.
At 9:55, the lights went on, and then the countdown started. The Network’s hidden announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen of the United States and the world, this is a special report following the inauguration of Robert Cain as President of the United States. In light of the issues facing not only the United States but the world, our new President has decided to speak to you this morning about the situations at hand.”
The live performance was on a 4-minute delay, so the feed actually began on all the other networks at 10:00 AM.
The Special Report graphic faded away and President Robert Cain was shown from the top of the desk up, He was sitting with both hands folded together on the desk looking directly into the camera. What the viewers saw was very unlike his predecessor. He was a Democrat not a Republican and had caused much discomfort to the previous administration. He was described as six foot two inches with a full head of blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, olive skin, and about 180 pounds with little or no body fat. He was 46 years old and he was not married.
Early in his career he had immediately become a force to be reckoned with in American politics. Since being elected to represent the 14th District in New York his popularity in the House had continued to rise. He was now in his third term. He had been elected Speaker following the last national elections.
His mother had died at birth in New York City and his father, with the help of various nannies, had raised him during his early years. His father had dual citizenship in both Great Britain and the United States. He was a philanthropist, and resided on an estate in rural England. They know very little about him.
Robert Cain had been educated in private boarding schools on the East Coast. He attended Princeton then went off to Oxford in England for graduate studies. He returned to Harvard Law School where he graduated at the top of his class. He was admitted to the New York Bar, right after graduation. He then worked several years for the New York District Attorney’s office. Eventually he turned to politics and won the election in his first campaign for public office. He continued to ascend the rungs of power and as Speaker, was a powerful presence.
The Network producer got everyone’s attention and the countdown started.
Robert blinked as the red light came on the main camera. Looking directly into the camera with no papers in front of him or a teleprompter, he began speaking.
“Today is a very difficult day in not only America but also the world. Today, for the first time ever, the Speaker of the House has taken the office of President of the United States due to some very unfortunate circumstances. We all know about the unfortunate accident involving the late Vice President. Therefore, as my first order of business, I send my sympathy and express my sorrow to the survivors of Vice President Alvarado’s family. I also commit, right now, to all Americans, that we will look into every possibility as to what happened to his plane over the skies of Wyoming. I assure you, we will not rest till we have answers.”
“Now, I would like to speak with you about private citizen Stevenson. I understand that sometimes the stress of leading a country in crisis can be more than one can handle, which seems to have been the issue here. I do know that there were issues regarding his mental health. Since taking the oath of office, I was made aware that President Stevenson had serious mental issues that go back to his childhood. As a child, he had been abused, and if not for help from others, he would have had a different course in life. Evidently, these issues resurfaced. President Stevenson’s doctors are of the opinion that the events of the past few days have taken their toll. I was made aware just yesterday evening that his personal White House physician was close to recommending that, he step down for health reasons. This same doctor had spoken to other members of his staff regarding Stevenson’s stress levels and saying he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The diagnosis of Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior. Common symptoms include false beliefs, and unclear or confused thinking. This is exactly the behavior he displayed in his resignation speech. This, according to his doctors, was combined with acute paranoia.”
“It appears that Stevenson decided that he could no longer perform his duties. He made the right decision, for America needs strong leadership at this time. Members of his staff have informed me that the doctors who cared for the President over the past few months will release additional information regarding his mental state soon. I will be reviewing this information to try and understand what happened to such a dynamic man, who many of us not only respected, but adored.”
“These issues cannot be helped. We need to change our focus to the future and issues needing response immediately. Right now, America has to be strong.”
“Confronting us loom disaster after disaster, or so it seems. The California earthquake and the utter destruction of one of our great cities are, yes, biblical in scope. However, based on our history, this natural disaster may well be no worse than other disasters we have weathered in the past. The American people have pulled together repeatedly, time, and time again. As a nation, we pulled ourselves up and moved forward to tackle, respond, and repair the damage. Each time we had to do this we have always grown stronger. We do this, for Americans are strong and able to beat back adversity when it needs to be done. We will do so again.”
“We are also facing an unprecedented weather system coming towards the United States, all along the Gulf and East Coasts. This extends from South Padre Island along the entire shore line of the US Gulf Coast and rounding Florida, all the way to New York.”
Cain paused, it seemed, to collect his thoughts, and then said, “Once again, we will survive this. To assure the American people that we will prevail I would like to share some things that I have been working on the past few hours. But before I tell you our plans, I would like to remind you of some things that you may not have thought of.”
He cleared his throat then continued, “In human history, the earth has hit us with disaster after disaster. Recently, some that come to mind are Katrina, the 2010 Sumatra earthquake tsunami, the 2010 Chile earthquake tsunami, and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami, to name just a few.”
“With each disaster, something wonderful happened in the world. What happened is its politics were set aside and the world came together. The world always comes together to deal with these unfortunate incidents. Aid from other countries rallied to bring in supplies, resources, technology, and capital, to stabilize the areas then rebuild them. In each case, repeatedly, the result was that it was better than before. This is the spirit of humanity.”
“We have several hurricanes of biblical proportions heading towards America. Rains in Northern Africa and Southeast Asia are also devastating the countries affected. Nevertheless, I can assure you, it is not biblical. The reality is that many governments and scientists worldwide have been warning the world about global warming. These warnings have been either ignored, underfunded, and out rightly declared to be bad science. The reality is that earth and Mother Nature are hemorrhaging. When we as humans abuse her then she hits back. You see, America and the world, it is ‘Mother Nature’ that is punishing us, not prophets from God. It is as the scientists are saying, ‘as tragic as these storms are going to be they are self-inflicted because of our misman
agement of our world’.”
“Now we need a plan. I alluded to this a few moments ago. Since I took office last night, I have signed several executive orders, which I will explain to you. We have also lined up resources from our allies worldwide to help us recover from these disasters quickly.”
“The first of these is that I have assurances from our allies that they will help us weather this storm, or in this case, storms. This help will come in the form of capital, supplies, and professional resources to help rebuild America once these storms have passed.”
“Prior to my swearing in, our government has been even evacuating entire areas that have been or will be affected. This is millions and millions of people. However, we are doing it. You see, we can rebuild the infrastructure but our people are our most important asset. Save the people, and they will build again. This is what we are doing.”
“Now we need your help; each and every one of you. Here is what we need you to do.”
Text now replaced the image of the White House super imposed on the screen. The screen was split with Cain on one side and the text on the other.
“The first thing I need you to do is if you have family located in the affected areas, call them and invite them into your home. Share your space; share your food, and whatever else you can provide. Maybe they will have to sleep on a couch or on the floor. However, every family that can provide private help makes it a bit less difficult for those without family and makes it easier for FEMA to manage resources.”
The first text line looked as follows:
What Can I Do…?
Invite your relatives and friends from affected areas to share your home.
“The second thing we need you to do is stop driving, unless it is an emergency or for work. Use public transportation if you can. Turn off non-essential electrical devices. This will help, for unfortunately, electricity and fuel will be at a premium during these disasters.”