The Children of Eternity (38 page)

“But against who?” asked Christopher, “Against Tim Monroe?”

“Not necessarily,” said Lilly. “What is happening must happen. But we will be there to…how shall I put it? Adjust the course of events.”

“You’re suggesting that we go to Hell?” asked Jonathon, who seemed genuinely surprised.

“If it comes to that,” confirmed Lilly. “There is another war coming, and it will have as far-reaching implications as did the War in Heaven. Hell cannot remain as it is; it must change, evolve.”

“And we’re going to change it…the four of us?” asked Jonathon.

“No,” said Lilly, “but we are going to guide the direction of those changes…influence those who will.”

“And the Father will guide us,” deduced Christopher.

“Yes,” replied Lilly. “As I said, Hell must change.”

“You wouldn’t care to elaborate on that, would you?” asked Jonathon.

Lilly turned to him and smiled. “No, not at this time, and no, you’re not going to discover what it is through the Jedi mind trick.”

Again there was a round of laughter, which eased the building tension. Christopher was glad to be back together with these two friends, but he wouldn’t feel complete until they were a foursome again.

They spent a little bit of time catching up on each other’s lives. Apparently, time had honed their skills. Christopher could now proudly boast that he could levitate several tons, perhaps even a dagger if it came to that. He also spoke of his precious reunion with his parents. Now, at last, his life was almost complete.

Jonathon, of course, spoke more about surfing with his great-grandmother than of any new skills he may have learned. In addition, he now had his grandparents to keep him company. They had arrived out of the tribulation along with the rest of the saints just a few months ago. They hadn’t been at all surprised to find him in Heaven. Indeed, they knew of his exploits before he even told them.

That was especially true of his grandfather, whose abilities as a prophet rivaled Lilly’s. And Jonathon’s grandfather had his own stories to tell too. He spoke of the discovery of the comet that dealt so crippling a blow to Earth. Indeed, he had been present on the night of its discovery. He was the one who had urged Jonathon to come here today, saying that it was part of God’s plan. He also mentioned something about adventure. If it was to be an adventure, you could count Jonathon in.

Lilly spoke of the honor of studying with one of the greatest spiritual figures in all of Heaven, but she spoke little of herself beyond her joy of being reunited with her own mother and uncle. It was so much like her. She hadn’t changed.

“Well,” said Christopher, “I think I should head back to Bedillia’s home. I really need to tell her what we’ve discovered.”

“Tell her what we’ve learned about Jerry, but not about what we know about Tim Monroe,” said Lilly. “That must remain between us for the time being.”

Christopher shook his head. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.”

“It is important,” assured Lilly. “For things to go as the Father would wish, this is the way it must be.” Lilly paused. “You disagree?”

“It’s being deceptive,” objected Christopher. “After all, we’re all on the same side.”

“You’ve done it before,” continued Lilly, “during the War in Heaven, remember? You had a word for it: plausible deniability. It is the same thing here.”

Christopher felt as if the tables had been turned on him, and he didn’t particularly like it. “OK, Lilly, I’ll go along with it.”

“You will understand why…and soon,” assured Lilly.

Christopher said his goodbyes and gated back to the far north. Hopefully Chris would be back and they would know more of what had transpired. It would be difficult to keep this secret, but he would do it.

Jerry walked with Karl down long, rocky corridors so nearly rectangular in form and so very smooth that they didn’t look like subterranean tunnels at all. Large and very regular shaped crystals imbedded in the ceiling that glowed with a steady white light provided the illumination. Additionally, metal ducts along the ceiling with large vents kept the fresh air circulating. There were also conduits that looked like electrical cables. In the background Jerry could hear the distant sound of machines running.

“After serving as a U.S. Marine in the Pacific during World War Two, I was a mechanical engineer back on Earth,” explained Karl. “Believe it or not, this excavation work was all done without the use of machines and with relatively little manual labor. Our small creatures, the ACs, have teeth with surfaces rivaling the hardness of diamond. Thousands of them cut the existing tunnels to a regular but rough shape. Then teams of workers took the rock dust they left behind and made it into a sort of plaster to fill in the low spots.

“Finally, we use a technology we borrowed—or if you like, stole—from the demons: the ability to produce small and precisely directed fireballs. These fireballs fuse the wall’s surface, making it perfectly smooth and very hard. We currently have nearly eighteen miles of tunnels, all constructed in this manner.”

“Remarkable,” said Jerry, as they made their way through the rather busy passageway. He noticed that intersecting corridors had numbers, not names, and along them were doors, which were all labeled.

“We derive our power from a reactor that converts the energy within power spheres that we imported from Heaven into usable electricity. That energy is derived directly from the Father’s own Holy Spirit. It is an energy that pervades the entire universe, except for here. That is why we are dependent upon our supporters in Heaven to provide it to us. It is a technology we borrowed from our good friends in Refuge. It drives the fans that circulate the air and generates the radio frequency that excites the crystals in the ceiling to glow,” said Karl.

They passed a pair of armed sentries and made a turn to the left into a corridor of glistening walls. They passed through a great dome-shaped cavern room and into another great hallway. At the end of the hallway stood a pair of massive metal doors the color of brass guarded by two more sentries.

The sentries opened the doors for Jerry and Karl, and they entered into what may best be described as a fantastic throne room. Rectangular in shape, the room had walls adorned with great tapestries depicting all manner of natural scenes, including tranquil forests, mighty rivers, and peaceful meadows. The floors were so smooth that they glistened. Here and there, Jerry saw small porticoes built into the walls, and around and within them numerous ACs gazed at the approaching visitors. From the small size of some of the creatures, Jerry figured them to be juveniles. On the far wall was another closed metal door, which was also guarded. Near the middle of the chamber, on an elevated circular stone platform, were two stone thrones adorned with gold and jewels.

Upon the left throne sat a brown-haired young man in a purple robe who appeared to be no older than Jerry, perhaps even younger. Jerry noticed that an AC was perched on his shoulder as well. The young man’s brown eyes scanned the pair as they walked toward him.

To his left was a young, blond-haired woman dressed in a white, Grecian-style dress, who also had one of the tiny creatures on her shoulder. Her blue eyes also followed their visitors with interest.

“Lord Monroe, here is our visitor from Heaven,” said Karl. “His name is Jerry Anderson. His mother has been taken to the recovery center. It may be some days before she is able to meet with you.”

Tim rose to his feet, a beaming smile on his face. “Oh yes!” he exclaimed. “Welcome to my home, Jerry. I so rarely get to entertain guests, especially ones from the Father’s realm.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Monroe,” said Jerry.

“Oh, no, no, not Lord Monroe. Let’s forget the stuffy titles. My name is Tim. You are welcome to this island of sanity and reason amid the craziness and pain of this dismal world.” There was a pause. “Oh, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce you to my queen, my wife, Megan. She makes my life make sense; she keeps me focused.”

Megan rose to her feet. “Welcome, Jerry,” she said in a distinctly Australian accent. “We rejoice with you at the rescue of your mother—a very brave and selfless act.”

“Thank you, you’re very kind,” said Jerry.

“Oh, and allow me to introduce you to another member of my immediate family,” said Tim, motioning to the AC on his shoulder. “Without him I would still be groveling in a dark cave, shivering and frightened. His name is Goliath, like the giant. He may seem small, but he is a giant in my eyes.”

Jerry was surprised when Goliath did a sort of bow to him.

“And this is Cindy,” said Megan, motioning to the AC on her shoulder.

“It is so very wonderful,” said Tim. “Cindy was the second of our guardians to enter my life. She is the mate of Goliath and has bonded telepathically to my beautiful wife. Together we make quite a family.”

“Yes,” agreed Jerry. “You can see the hand of the Father in it all.”

There was a momentary pause in the conversation. Jerry wondered if he had just made a serious blunder.

“Perhaps,” replied Tim. “One can never know about such things.” Again there was a pause. “Yes, but you must be hungry and thirsty after your long voyage. I want to hear about all of it, Jerry. Let us get better acquainted. I’ve taken the liberty of having a meal prepared in your honor…” Again there was a pause. “Karl, I’d like it if you could join us, if you have the time.”

“Yes,” replied Karl, “thank you.”

The group retreated through the door at the far end of the throne room and into a dining room. To say the least, Jerry was amazed at what he saw. He had expected to find some sort of stone dining room table and stone chairs. After all, stone was Hell’s primary building material. Instead, his eyes fell upon a long and finely crafted wooden table and wooden chairs with velvet upholstery. An ornate glass chandelier hung above the table, while the floors were composed of the finest tiles.

Upon the table were fine china dishes and crystal glasses. The courses included oranges, apples, and a variety of vegetables.

“You will need to excuse the nature of our diet,” said Tim. “We are all vegetarians here. Taking the life of any animal, after what we have been through, is simply not appropriate.”

“No, that’s fine,” said Jerry. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to see a dining room like this here.”

“Oh,” chuckled Tim, “well, I have quite a number of supporters and benefactors in Heaven. Many of these things come from there. However, we are slowly growing an ever-greater percentage of our food right here. Of course we are not required to eat, but old habits are tough to break. I lived on Earth for fifteen years before coming here. But I understand that you never lived on Earth at all.”

“Yes, that’s right,” confirmed Jerry, “I’ve lived all of my life in Heaven.”

Tim motioned toward several chairs with plates and glasses already set on the table before them. “But please, make yourself comfortable, eat and drink. Then tell me about your life. I do want to hear of your adventures. I understand that you were very involved in the War in Heaven. I want to know all about it.”

It seemed to Jerry that this Tim Monroe already knew an awful lot about him—more than he had expected, and more than he should. Something wasn’t quite right here.

During the dinner Jerry seemed to do most of the talking, answering one question after another, but he did get Tim Monroe to give him a little bit of information between questions. Tim spoke of the settlement of Monrovia and how it had developed. He also spoke of his fight for freedom. Still, he spoke in generalities, shying away from any specifics. He talked a lot, but he didn’t say very much. It was when Jerry asked a few questions about the nature of Tim’s benefactors that Tim finally opened up. This seemed to be a matter of pride with him.

“I have an entrepreneurial spirit,” began Tim, “nothing wrong with that. On Earth it is considered a good trait. Specifically, I provide a needed service that no one else in Hell is currently willing or able to provide. Since the War in Heaven, there has been an awakening in Heaven. I suppose you know about all of that.

“All of a sudden people were becoming aware of their nameless loved ones in Hell. It was nice to have one’s existence acknowledged for a change. It is so depressing to be suffering for all eternity only to realize that not a single soul realizes it or even knows that you exist. Those in Heaven knew that they would be separated from these husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers forever. This they could not change. But the thought of them being tortured, in pain forever, was unbearable. That could be changed, and I’m the one who could change it…” Tim paused.