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THE DAY OF THE RAPTURE!
We Hoped for a Better World... From the Testimony of Scott Stiles, the Super-Savior!
See Our Previous Story: Lateran Speaks! www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/lateran.txt
You know I'm the super-powered ex-basketball player usually called the "Super-Savior". I founded the Church of the Super-Savior because I wanted to give credit to something beyond me for my powers. We've saved the Earth once. (www.eilertech.com/stories/2004/journal_hear.htm) Today we had to save it again.
At the Church of the Super-Savior, I talked with the staff. "Let's review the plans. We're doing this, why?"
"When the Earth's orbit changed, it had nearly seven billion people. Of those, a few hundred million have either died, gone into suspended animation with the Trillions, or entered alternative ecologies. There's a zombie culture emerging in the Midwest... Anyway, the estimates say Earth can support at best five billion people now. So the tribulations have just begun."
"Okay. So we have to save people. Are you still sure the transfer is going to work? I don't want to be one of those people who announce The Rapture and then nothing happens."
"You know The Rapture actually worked once. Ellipsis announced one in 2004. He took scientists. We're doing it the same way, but we're taking our own." (www.eilertech.com/stories/2004/politics.htm)
"Ellipsis had a place he was sure of on the other end. Are we that sure?"
"We're as sure as we can be without actually putting 144,000 people and all their personal belongings through an inter-dimensional portal."
"Why just that many?"
"We have our limits. And there's Biblical significance to that number. In the Book of Revelations, it's the number of saints that God has saved."
"What about everyone else who contributed to the Rapture Fund?"
"They knew the rules. Only that many get saved. You insisted on publicizing that."
"How can this portal get us all without us all being in the same place?"
"We've got beacons implanted in each of the faithful, plus all their baggage."
"Where are we going?"
"To an alternate universe. We've found another Earth which has a climate better than ours. Almost all of them do now. But we can only get to this one now."
"Why?"
"There's some sort of interference. If you think of all the possible Earths like they're balls in a pool, we're in a pipe with one Earth on either side. On one side, there's a very strong barrier. We have to go the other way."
"And this other Earth won't just laugh at us and make us their slaves?"
"Not with our resources. Their tech level hasn't made it to our World War 2 yet. And their leading world power is Turkey."
"Any superhumans?"
"None. And we'd know. Superhumans always make the news somehow."
"Then between our security forces, me, the New Sentinel, and, um, Brother Lateran, we should be able to prevail. Let's do it."
"All right. Still on schedule for 12 noon U.S. Eastern time."
"11 am for me... I'm still at home. So I've got half an hour to get one last corn dog from home. With cheese sauce. See you at noon."
I didn't have a lot of baggage - just a backpack. I took it with me to the hot dog shop. Most restaurants are out of business, but there will always be hot dogs. Sausage is the original survivalist food, because no one cares what goes in it... At 11 am I disappeared from the hot dog shop.
But somehow I got stuck! It was like being in some tight tube, with lights passing and bouncing back!
Then I heard the New Sentinel's voice. "No! We have to make it!"
Then I popped through.
I collapsed onto a field. Others were there, fallen on the ground like me.
I looked up. We'd planned to arrive out West, so we could get organized. But instead we were looking at Manhattan! It still had Twin Tower skyscrapers - but these were crowned with prayer towers with balconies! Minarets! How powerful was Turkey here?
I still had my backpack. But the others who'd arrived there were looking around for their piles of stuff. Those weren't anywhere nearby.
Then the New Sentinal landed next to me. He said, "I did it. I got us here." Then he went unconscious!
Then a loudspeaker spoke from behind us. "You are welcome to the domain of the Sultan Hope Springs the Seventh. Prepare to obey."
I turned. There were grandstands behind us! We'd landed right where they could expect us! There was one stand with what looked like royalty. And an army all around.
A bunch of us were supposed to have guns, but I couldn't see any. I also couldn't see Lateran around. But his power was just for support anyway. It was all up to me.
I jumped up to the royalty stand. Before I landed there, I got five arrows through me! Arrows?!
This didn't kill me, because I have the super gift of the real Super-Savior, whatever that may be. And the arrows couldn't change where I landed: on the most royal-looking guy there, like I'd aimed. But I really couldn't do much when I did.
He shoved me off him, onto the floor. His guards held swords at me, one at my throat. Swords?! Ceremonial guards, I supposed. But they still had me.
Another guy in the royalty was Western. He said, "O Sultan. Spare this one. But find two others. One is where this one jumped from."
The Sultan (if that's what he was) said, "We have him already."
"Then find one other. He may hide. I can describe him..."
But Lateran called out from the arena. "Great Man of God! I can see your power and your righteousness. I pledge allegiance!"
I croaked, "Lateran! He's defected!"
The Western royalty said, "What do you bloody expect."
The Sultan said, "Shall we do as we planned with them?"
"Yes, I'd still recommend that. The best shall be your newest Janissary slave division. Though I wouldn't expect much from this lot... The rest shall breed your next slaves for you, when you treat them right. New Bosnia in these suburbs should do for resettlement."
"I thank you, Chancellor Ferguson." The Sultan bowed.
"I thank you, Sultan Hope." The Chancellor bowed. "I'll admit, I used some technology to redirect the packages these invaders would have used to attack your world. But without your own action here today as I asked, these invaders could still not have been contained. They were aiming for your allies in Montana, with the power of an army corps. Thank you for trusting me."
I looked up at this Chancellor. "You! You've betrayed your fellow Americans! Christians! Westerners!"
"Oh? You're trying to find the right tag for me? Good luck. If I ever find one, I'll give you that tag. And I guess I'll have the chance some day, because we've spared your lives. Oh, joy."
... So here we are, in our new world. But I don't think we'll like it very much.
Author's Notes:
I am starting to abandon the "World Journal Monthly" model of journalism, wherein the story comes from someone watching within the Superhuman World. This story obviously comes from some other source, which is assembling its own records. cough Chancellor cough
I would have loved to have this faction led by an unrepentant villain. But no. Scott Stiles, the "Super-Savior", is a pre-existing character already leading the Church of the Super-Savior! (www.eilertech.com/stories/2004/journal_hear.htm) He has come to be a leader of villainous Christians who want to ignore their world and seek something better. His own motives are intentionally ambiguous. I kind of like him... If I were half an hour away from the Rapture, I might want a good Chicago corn dog too. I think enough of the motives came in to make this story eligible for the "Behind Blue Eyes" High Concept Challenge. That makes two entries for me. As far as I know, there's no rule against that.
I think we can rule out militant Christians in the Superhuman World 2011 from now on. Over one hundred thousand of them have signed up for the Rapture! They and all their resources are gone now. Superhuman World 2011 now has fewer villains. But there's now a place in the multiverse which has more villains...
The Earth where Turkey predominates, and its relationship to the Superhuman World, is an old plot element from www.eilertech.com/stories/2005/after.htm#turks .
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