00041

Chaplain Smith leaned back in his chair, his feet up on his desk, his eyes half-closed. He had to make another sermon for Sunday, and he was experiencing writer's block. He drew in a long drag of his cigar. Maybe he could do it on the evils of smoking, and how one should keep one's body in top shape. Maybe he could get some ideas from the chapel's Buddhist monk, and put a Christian spin on them. Eh, it didn't really matter. Probably the Governor would be too busy to attend services, as usual. For those people who did show up, why, he could repeat an older sermon, and more than likely, none would be the wiser. The government religious approval board certainly wouldn't know. He only half the time even submitted his texts to them. By now they had a pretty good idea that he walked the party line, and so just rubber-stamped his inspirational messages anyway.

Outside, the sun finally came out from the dark clouds, now that the day had nearly spent itself. Eh, no inspiration there... Why not recycle a message, save on scratch paper writing a draft...

Still, he liked to come up with something original now and again. But what? His eyes roamed around his office, stopping here and there to take in the title of some book or other. SERMON OUTLINES FOR THE PASTOR ON THE GO. He had used up most of those already. WHY THE BIBLE IS THE BEST WAY TO GOD. Maybe. But some people got offended when he preached that, out of all the ways to reach God, Jesus really was the best, and more than likely the way God preferred. But Gov. Bright threw a fit whenever he spoke about his personal choice of religion as being superior to any of the other faiths that also used the government worship hall for their own brand of worship.

Bored and at a loss as to what to talk about this Sunday, he took an old paper church bulletin lying on his desk, and he made it into an airplane, sending it sailing across the room.

His secretary blared over the intercom, "Rev. Smith, someone is here to see you."

"Is it an appointment?"

"No, but he says it is important.- Oh, excuse me, very important.”

“I'm right in the middle of my sermon!" Smith protested. Then, on second thought, he realized that maybe this was some form of Divine Providence, giving him an opportunity to hopefully get a sermon idea from the visitor, whoever it turned out to be. He quickly snuffed his cigar and hid it in a drawer, trying to wave away the smoke. "Ah, for crying out loud, I guess I better see him. Maybe he needs my guidance or something." He sprayed the air freshener while the secretary told the visitor to go on in.

Bro. Simon Kaul entered the office, holding a file folder. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Bro. Smith."

"It's Reverend Smith, if you please," he corrected him, holding out a warm hand to shake.

Simon shook hands. "I am Simon Kaul. Perhaps you have heard-"

"Wait a minute!" gasped Smith, in shock. "You- you're that preacher from the illegal church, the one who replaced Billy Boy, aren't you?"

"Yes, you are correct," smiled Simon, "except for the part where you said our church is illegal."

"Ha! It sure isn't approved by the Governor or his Religion Board!"

"Well, yes, that part is the truth," admitted Simon. "But, nevertheless, we worship God the Bible way, and how can that be outlawed?"

Curious as to why this "Brother" Simon should choose to come visit him, Smith waved him to a seat. "Sit, sit down, Rev. Kaul. Please, tell me what I can do for you? Ya want to join my church, get baptized here, heheh, what?”

Simon forced a smile at Smith's so-called humor. "No, not that, Sir, although I do feel joining some church is indeed very important."

Smith poured a small glass of wine from the bottle he kept on top of his  desk. "For my stomach's sake, eh? You understand. How's your stomach? Care for a glass?"

"No, I- my stomach's fine, thanks, Bro. Smith."

"Rev. Smith."

"Anyway, about why I came-" Simon  Kaul opened his folder and laid it out on the desk in front of Smith. "This is a partial list of some of the citizens of the World of Hope who have disappeared lately for no apparent reason. As you know, the rumor-"

"Will you look at that!" Smith marveled. "That sure is a lot of citizens!"

"Yes, it is," Simon agreed. "The problem is, we suspect many have ended up at the mines, and have themselves been converted into miners!"

Smith looked up from the papers and at Simon. "What? Who told you that? Did you ever see any of them there?”

“No, but we have a pretty good idea," replied Simon. "Some of us have heard it through the grapevine."

Smith closed the file back up and tossed it across his desk back to Simon Kaul. "Ridiculous. You know as a Christian, that you aren't supposed to spend much time listening to gossip. You know as a citizen, only criminals are sent there after receiving a fair trial. What's wrong with you, and why did you come here with your cockamamie accusations?”

“They have to have gone somewhere! What else could have happened to them? I am asking you to join with us, to stand with our church in asking Gov. Bright to address this issue. We want to know what has become of our loved ones."

Smith laughed at him in a mocking tone. "Hey, maybe they just wandered away, eh?”  He began to sing.

“I was a wandering sheep,

I did not love the fold;

I did not love my Shepherd's voice...”

Simon Kaul frowned but remained calm.

Chaplain Smith stopped his singing, after trying to remember the rest of the words.

“Maybe they didn't like living in Sparkle City and decided to become pioneers in the wilds, Rev. Kaul. It happens. How do you think people spread all over the face of our mother planet, Earth? Or, say, maybe they got kidnapped by aliens. Oh! I know! It must have been the Rapture!"

Simon tried not to lose his temper. "Mr. Smith, I thought, being a fellow Christian, or so you claim to be, that you would give this a more serious consideration than the way you are acting."

"Huh, what are you implying, by saying I 'claim' to be a Christian? Remember, Paul the apostle said to obey the law of the land. I'm not the one who holds meetings for an illegal church. I am not the one accusing Gov. Bright in so many words of kidnapping people and making them slaves in the mines. I think you are the one who should have a more serious attitude."

Simon Kaul didn't give up hope yet of talking some sense into Smith. "I am sure, if something were to happen to one of your loved ones, you would see the gravity of the situation."

"It wouldn't happen to one of my loved ones," Smith countered, "because everyone in my family is law-abiding. It's the people in this so-called church of yours who need to watch out. Let the evil-doer beware, for you never know when God will punish you.”

“I highly doubt that it is God who is punishing our missing loved ones. We strive to please Him and to do what is right. We follow the Bible the best we can. We honor Jesus, who said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me.'"

"You holier-than-thou hypocrite!" raged Smith. "You mean to tell me that you think you are better than anyone else because you think you have Jesus? Do you think you are better than the Muslims, or the Jews, or the Hindus? Why, I've known many folks of different faiths who are better than half the people I know who are supposed to be Christians, such as you, who think you are so much better than anybody else who doesn't worship God the same way you do."

Now Simon became angry. "That's not what I said. I know I am a sinner, just like everybody else. Jesus is the one who said, that unless we come to God His way, we will not be accepted. We cannot expect a holy and perfect God to agree to let us in His Glorious Presence if we have sin in ourselves. That's why Christ died on the cross, to take that sin away, so that we can come to God, and be with him when we die! We can't tell God we will do it our own way, and we will not follow low His way, and then expect Him to approve of our actions!”

Smith flipped out. "What? YOU are preaching to ME? You probably don't even have a clerical-person license! Who are you to tell everybody else how to worship? Didn't you ever hear, Judge not and be not judged?" He jumped from his seat, the most active he had been all day, and stomped across the room to throw open the door. "Get out of here, you pompous Pharisee! Go! Get out of here and never dare to come back!"

Simon gathered up his folder file and also stomped, right out that door. He felt like shaking the dust off his shoes. He tried to slam the door, but Smith beat him to it. Bro. Simon didn't even say good-bye to the secretary.

In his office, Smith fumed. He breathed heavily and took another glass of wine for his stomach's sake- he needed it after his upsetting visitor! Then he fished out his cigar to finish it in peace. Buzzing the secretary outside, he told her he wanted no more visitors for the day.

Well, maybe he could get back to his sermon. Yeah, at least now he had an idea. He grabbed some paper and began to scribble some notes.

“Being narrow-minded and intolerant in modern times. Misunderstanding Jesus' words. Did he really say that, even if it is in the Bible. And if he did, did he mean it? Did Jesus, being shaped by the old school way of thinking, not know any better when he allegedly said, he was the only way?"

Smith checked over his jots, pleased with himself. Obviously, he reasoned, today's enlightened people couldn't take some parts of the Bible too seriously anymore. If the Bible were to remain important to folks, it would have to be edited or it would have to be explained how some of those passages, supposedly by God, could have ever been written, and what they really meant. And Smith had a pretty good idea God approved, and even appreciated with a touch of gratitude, some of Smith's helping God to make his thoughts a bit more coherent for the little guy.

A loud thunder rattled the windows, making Smith jump. He chuckled. “Woo! I thought the storm was over!” Back to work on the sermon.

Throwbacks like this Bro. Simon bewildered Smith. How anyone could believe the whole Bible to be so literal in this day and age- Of course, Smith believed the Bible, too... Well, at least most parts of it, the useful ones, like love your neighbor, unless he was intolerant and dogmatic like that Simon. But, come on! All people are sinners?

What is this sin stuff, anyway. Didn't modern psychology show sin was just a maladjusted childhood problem or something? And weren't other types of so-called sin really things like chemical imbalances? Sure, and probably to someone so judgmental like Simon, Smith could be accused of practicing unlawful fornication, and occasionally adultery. However, Smith reasoned, that all stemmed from an overactive libido. Was it his fault he lusted so much? What could he do but go from one moonstruck parishioner to another? Besides, the women liked his philandering; they felt flattered by his attention, being the focus of love from a holy man of God.

And then, to make matters worse, Simon had dared to complain about Gov. Bright. Touch not God's anointed. Well, God must have chosen Xavier Bright to lead this planet, so how dare Bro. Simon question some of his ways? But that assumed his unsubstantiated complaints were true. Smith found it arrogant to even think and believe such things about the Governor. As for Smith, he never gave those rumors a thought. It was none of his business. He was here to give spiritual guidance to the masses, well, at least to the few who showed up for his sermons. He taught them why it was necessary to honor and obey the leader, and he showed them how to live for themselves, besides concentrating on this obedience to the Governor, without feeling guilty for choices that were made, whether others got hurt or not. Hey, the world wasn't perfect. Sometimes you can't help but hurt others by what you want to do, especially if what they wanted and needed conflicted with your aims and goals. If they stood in the way, well, who were they to stop you from being happy? Wasn't God's chief reason for making humans, and His chief aim for them, to be happy? But, God couldn't please everyone at the same time.

Unable to get over this irritation Simon had caused him, he decided to do something about it. Smith called on his landline phone to the Government Religion Board. Phone service and cell service left much to be desired on the World of Hope, but at least efforts were made to make sure the important people had means of communication.

"What can we do for you today, Rev. Smith?" the Board's operator asked.

"I have a complaint. I hope the Board will pass it on to theGovernor. It's about this illegal house church that goes on meeting in the inner city. You know, the one that fosters lawlessness and insubordination. I mean, how can it not, if the church itself is illegal? Do you know that the leader, Simon Kaul- talk about someone who's divisive!- visited me this afternoon, and do you know what he had the nerve to propose?" And on and on Chaplain Smith talked, getting it out of his system.

(c) drk 2012

00040

Osmo Martin splashed through the puddles dotting the track during his warm-up of several laps. The sun never came out this morning. Security Leader Clyden watched him from the sidelines, under the comfort of an umbrella. Torrents of rain poured from the grey-green sky.

It must be a mess at the beach today, Osmo Martin thought. Not that I have any time for that these days.

He completed his last lap and braked near Sec. Ldr. Clyden to await further sadistical orders which constituted his training to become a Security Agent. Yep, sadistical is the right word, Osmo told himself.

Sec. Ldr. Clyden pointed to the top of the high post firmly planted in the ground. A platform perched atop the pole, forty feet above, with the only way to reach it by the dangling rope hanging from the platform. Sec. Ldr. Clyden said, "Up. Let's see how long it takes you, punk."

Osmo Martin saw how the roost, whipped by the rain, illuminated by the bright lightning flashes, swayed in the heavy wind. He hesitated, narrowing his eyes when he studied Tretl Clyden's face to determine if he was serious. What's up with this guy, anyway? he wondered silently. Surely, he can't still be taking it out on me because of the parking spot incident...

“Well, come on, let's go!" snapped the Security Leader. "Are you waiting for the bus?"

"Is that wise to climb up there, Sec. Ldr. Clyden, considering all this lightning?"

Clyden huddled under his umbrella, not offering to share it. He gripped it tightly against the gale. "I think the local Enviro-Gen is on the blink again. I hope they get it fixed by the end of the day. But a good Security Agent doesn't let a bit of rain and thunder frighten him and keep him from doing his job. Sure, the weather is pretty intense today, but don't let that stop you. A Security Agent doesn't shy away from danger!"

"Yes, Sir, you're right, Sir,” Osmo Martin agreed unenthusiastically.

And so, up he scurried, the cold rain blasting his face and running into his eyes with a stinging ferocity- up, up toward the platform atop the pole. Below, shielded from the rain by his umbrella, Clyden checked his stopwatch.

A small grounds cart pulled up to Sec. Ldr. Clyden as Osmo’s climb neared the top. Also under an umbrella held by a robot, Gov. Bright and Sheila exited the cart, wearing comfortable rain gear.

Clyden turned to them and greeted Gov. Bright.

The Governor glanced up at Osmo Martin, struggling to clamber onto the overhead platform, slipping but not falling. Finally the young man stood up on the wet, slippery platform in victory. He gave a whoop and did a little dance.

Clyden nodded and put his watch away. "Not bad, punk. Now stop dancing and come back down before you get zapped, you fool!"

"I see you are bearing up with this weather very well," the Governor commented.

“Yes, Sir," Clyden acknowledged.

Sheila Bright complained, "Don't you see how the lightning is so bad today, Sec. Ldr. Clyden?! Do you want Osmo to get electrocuted on that aluminum platform?"

"Sheila, if Osmo is going to make it as a Security Agent, he must be prepared and willing to face danger," Sec. Ldr. Clyden told her.

Gov. Bright nodded. "True, very true. A thunderstorm is no reason to skip training for the day."

Osmo slid back down the rope to the ground.

Gov. Bright asked Osmo, “You don’t think the weather is too inclement for training, do you?”

“No, Gov. Bright," Osmo Martin replied, not as sincere as he sounded. "I have no problem with this weather-" At that moment, a terrible peal of thunder boomed, making them all jump.

Gov. Xavier Bright smiled. "You keep a good attitude, Osmo. I didn't make a mistake asking you to join our Security Team."

"Thank you, Gov. Bright,. No, you did not make a mistake," Osmo assured him. Inside, he felt a bit guilty, wondering if Gov. Bright actually had made a mistake. He felt guilty for not telling about that strange black communications device he had found the other day- the one Mrs. McCleer had used to speak with Earth behind the Governor’s back... Whatever happened to that representative the folks back on Earth said they would send? Did the Earth Leaders change their minds? It seemed nothing came of the matter, anyway, so why should he feel bad about it, as if he had betrayed Gov. Bright?

The Governor’s niece worried about the bad weather. "Well, at least take care, Osmo, and try not to get hit by any lightning."

He laughed. "I'll do my best, Sheila.”

Sec. Ldr. Clyden asked the Governor, "Such weather- Am I correct to suppose there is a defunct Enviro-Gen that needs fixing?"

"Yes. The techs are working like mad to find what is the problem and to get things back on track."

"Another typical day on the World of Hope- some important system amiss, as usual ," Sheila Bright sighed. "Osmo, I hope your Dad can persuade the Council to send some much-needed equipment to keep the generators running more smoothly."

Sec. Ldr. Clyden focused his attention back on Osmo. "You go run more laps, while I am busy here.”

“Yes, Sir." And off he went to jog some more around the wet track, Sheila watching.

Tretl Clyden asked, "Then you came by to get my report on Generator S112?"

"Why yes, very good, Sec. Ldr. Clyden. I did. I want to see who to demote because of this matter. Maybe I will even send somebody to one of the Enviro-Gens on the farthest fringe of our Earth-type zone."

"Report’s in my office. I'll go get it.”

“Oh, you already have it prepared, eh, Sec. Ldr. Clyden?"

"A good leader is always prepared. Isn't that what you always tell me, Gov. Xavier?" Sec. Ldr. Clyden began heading toward track office building across the field. Gov. Bright with Sheila followed. The robot kept pace, still holding the umbrella over the Brights

Sheila Bright found it surprising when she saw that Mita Morgan waited in the Security Leader’s office. Mita had been standing by the window, watching Sec. Ldr. Clyden training Osmo.

“Hi, Sheila, Gov. Bright,” Mita Morgan greeted.

Tretl Clyden self-consciously explained, "Mita was kind enough to bring me my lunch today. I asked her to wait in here until I got here for lunchtime, instead of out there in the rain."

Gov. Bright raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You are a lucky man today. It seems you shall have a good, warm meal on this messy day." The Governor took the report which the Security Leader handed him. Gov. Bright opened the door to leave. "Thank you, Sec. Ldr. Clyden. We need to get to work immediately checking over these files. I hope you will help me in this matter, please, Sheila."

"Of course, Uncle.”

“And one more thing, Sec. Ldr. Clyden," said the Governor.

"Yes, Gov. Xavier?"

"When you go back outside to resume Osmo's training for today, lead by example."

"I always do," bragged Clyden.

"Good. Then, give me your umbrella."

"Um, okay." He handed it over to the Governor, who gave it to his robot to carry. He and his niece went out and returned to the cart, the robot continuing to keep them as dry as possible with its original umbrella that it carried.

Still in the dry office, Mita Morgan shook her head, unbelieving. "You just gave him your umbrella, no questions asked, without even arguing, so that you can stand around in the rain watching Osnmo training?"

"Yeah, like I'm gonna argue with Gov. Xavier."

"Why not? You should've told him, Rank has its privileges. You are the Security Leader! Did you notice his robot carried an umbrella for him- He doesn't want to get wet! Tretl, I think I am beginning to see why he hasn't made you his Lt. Governor yet."

"Yeah? And you can just stuff it! I'm not his Lt. Governor yet because I didn't ask him yet. And I didn't ask him yet, because I am still warming him up to the idea, and the time just isn't right yet. Unfortunately, I don't get much time to even work on him about it these days, what with my regular duties, and now I am stuck with training this Martin punk. And Gov. Xavier is so melancholy these days, I hardly ever get a private moment with him anymore. Him and his dumb crush on some college sweetheart!”

Mita Morgan pointed out, "There will never be a right time! But whatever kind of time and opportunity you do have is fast slipping away. The way he likes Osmo, I wouldn't be surprised if he makes him his second-in-command by the end of the week!"

"Aw, knock it off!"

She peeked out the window once more. "Osmo's still doing laps. I presume you told him to do those until you return. You better hurry back, before he falls down already from exhaustion.”

Clyden opened the door. She stopped him. "Wait, don't forget this." She gave him her own umbrella. He took it and went outside.

Mita Morgan watched through the window and giggled as Tretl Clyden continued his taxing training for Osmo Matin out there in the downpour.

(c) 2012 drk

00039

Nina McCleer found the late night worship service to be of comfort, and she derived some spiritual strength from God through it. She prayed to be able to find out the truth about what had happened to George. Did he actually die in a cave-in? Or... Either way, she believed at least in the end he’d be okay. He had made peace with God long ago through God’s Son Jesus. Or, better, God had made peace through Jesus, and George had accepted that peace.

After the service, Kelli O’Mally, Albert Zoeniga, and Jane Ashton sat and talked with her. Nina McCleer told them, "If George were here, he would like the worship service, too. I know that I drew strength from God through it tonight.”

"That's very good," said Kelli, "Remember to be careful for yourself, since you stay at the Governor's House, and he is not very fond of our house church."

"He doesn't like anything if he can't be in control, including, apparently, even worship services," said Nina McCleer. "Believe me, I know.”

Albert Zoeniga asked, curious and concerned for Nina's well-being, "So, what did you tell this butler robot, so that they don't know where you are?"

"I told X-9 that I couldn't sleep, and I didn't want to be alone, but that I wanted to get my mind off of thinking about how much I miss George. So I said I wanted to catch the new Buster Keaton computer generated comedy down at the theater."

Brother Simon finished saying good-bye to the last of the leaving congregants, and then he joined Nina's small group. "I trust you were tactful about our location, Mrs. McCleer, so that Gov. Bright doesn't come visit us. Not that he would not be welcome, if he actually came to worship with us, instead of that state church at the chapel."

Jane told Bro. Simon, "Don't worry. Mrs. McCleer told the robot butler that she was going to the movies, and then she met us at the beach stand from where Mrs. O’Mally brought her here ."

"Oh, I see," said Simon Kaul.

"What?" His tone made Nina suddenly concerned and she felt guilty. "Is it because I lied? Is it wrong to lie to a robot? Is it unethical, if a robot isn't even alive? I mean, he's a good robot, but must I worry about always telling the truth to a robot?”

Bro. Simon shrugged. "Who knows? I know the argument has been made that, since their cpu's have been built neuro-chips on a matrix model derived from the brains of rats, that maybe they are alive. Anyway, I hope you won't lose any sleep over it."

"Don't worry about that. I assure you, that's not a problem for me. I have much bigger problems that keep me up at night."

Simon Kaul nodded understandingly. "I am aware you recently lost your husband. My sympathies, Mrs. McCleer, and may the comfort of Jesus Christ help you through your hard time."

"He is some comfort to me, to some extent," Nina McCleer confessed. "Still, like I told Mrs. O'Mally not long ago, I must know if George really died in a cave-in, as the governor claims, or if he has been forced to become a miner, like so many others."

Kelli O’Mally patted Nina's shoulder. "Not a day goes by that I don't pray we find out the truth of Billy Boy, also."

"And yet, your church group also prays for the Governor," marveled Nina, "even though you suspect he had a hand in your church pastor's disappearance."

"The Bible says we should pray for our leaders," Bro. Simon reminded. "Who knows, maybe Gov. Bright will one day repent, and then release some of his prisoners- the ones that did nothing wrong to deserve being put in the mines."

Albert Zoeniga wondered. "How can anyone be so.. so .. How can Gov. Bright justify- to himself- so much of what he does, but in particular, getting rid of the house church folks, and those who honestly have legitimate gripes against him, and those who tell him why they think he is wrong. Does his conscience not bother him?"

"Xavier Bright hates to be wrong, and he hates even more to be contradicted in public," said Nina McCleer. She seemed to see things a bit more clearly now. The church service helped her focus better. "Xavier's way is the only way. Just like with his state-approved church. He probably figures his thoughts of how worship should be done are the best, the only sensible way. So I suppose that helped him to view Billy Boy as an enemy, because he was someone who disagreed with him about how a church should be run. Yes, he hates being wrong, or even just to be perceived as being wrong. And now that he is older, it seems he has gotten worse. And he might even reason that, because he is so much smarter than anyone else, he is entitled to expect to be followed without question, and he probably thinks he has a right to take out those who would oppose him, just because he is like a king or something in his own mind."

"He is his own number one fan," Kelli O’Mally said.

Nina McCleer considered an idea. "What if all the unhappy citizens decided to hold a protest demonstration against him? A peaceful protest, of course. What then? What would he do? He can't send everyone to the mines.”

“But he would hate the bad publicity. He especially would hate the tourists from Earth seeing it. Then, he might change his ways. He might give in a bit, compromise, before the Leaders on Earth take him away from his post. That would be an awful blow to his ego, because he seems to actually believe he is the best person to run the World of Hope. He hates when Earth, on those rare, and not nearly enough, occasions, decides to actually meddle with the way he does things here and pushes for him to follow policy procedure."

The minister cautioned, "Gov. Bright might not punish everybody, but he might punish those who organized the protests, Mrs. McCleer. Do not think about such things. Do not add to your own grief and sufferings by ending up in the mines or on the farms.”

"Oh? I will suffer more if I do not do anything and everything I can, to find out the truth about my husband!”

"Your suggestions sound good to me, Bro. Simon,” said Kelli O’Mally.

"No, no, let us try to reason first with Gov. Bright," Simon Kaul insisted. "Let us be plain and ask him where are our family members, our friends, who have vanished in the middle of the night. Perhaps we can get to him, reason with him, reach his conscience."

"How will you do that, Bro. Simon?" asked Kelli O’Mally. "He never gives you an audience, to discuss the matter with you. He ignores all attempts you make to communicate with him. Bro. Simon, I love you like a brother, but, forgive me, you are too naive."

Nina McCleer volunteered, "Since I am staying at his mansion for the time being, maybe I can get you an audience, Pastor Kaul, even though I wouldn't expect much to come of such a meeting.”

Simon Kaul shook his head. "I think I have a better way than for you to get involved, Mrs. McCleer. I will enlist the aid of the government-approved chaplain. He will stand with me in the matter, if he has any desire at all to please our Lord. Together we will present to the Governor the grievances of the people. He won't refuse to hear his own chaplain, will he? I suspect, if both he and I encounter Gov. Bright together in private, he will not lose face, and so he will not be so quick to say No- not with the state-approved chaplain also desiring to see him clean things up. It will not be as hard for him to then give clemency for his political prisoners and return them to their people- if we do not make it a public confrontation."

"You think he will do that because you ask him?" scoffed Nina McCleer. "No offense, but Mrs. O’Mally is right about you being naive."

"We can at least try," he said. "As the saying goes, You can catch more bees with honey, than with vinegar... Why choose to confront and embarrass him on our first effort? That will force him to become more stubborn, the way I see it. And if he already told you the truth about Mr. McCleer, he will most certainly be offended, and fight back, and refuse our requests to tell us regarding the others."

"I don't know..." Nina McCleer sounded very skeptical.

Kelli O’Mally thought about it. "I am willing to try it your way first, Bro. Simon. I am not as optimistic as you are, but I think it is worth trying, at least."

"So do I, although I don't think we can really trust the Governor." said Albert Zoeniga.

Jane Ashton also felt it was not likely to produce results, but at least it was an attempt to work with Gov. Bright, instead of immediately antagonizing him.

Nina McCleer rolled up her eyes. "Okay, so I will wait until you try it your way, Bro. Simon."

"Good," he said. "This will be a chance for us all to practice patience and restraint. If I have no success, next I will visit Earth to lodge a complaint against him. Oh, and Sis Jane, we are all glad you decided to stay with us on our little world.”

“Thank you, Bro. Simon. Despite the troubles here, it really is a nice place to live.”

(c) 2012 drk

00038

Albert Zoeniga swept the floor as Kelli O'Mally shut down her trailer stand for the night. The two moons showed several couples lingering on the beach, refusing to leave the Sea of Fun, but Kelli's watch showed it was past closing time, and now she planned to relax a bit before the church house meeting later that night.

Jane Ashton stood nearby, waiting for Albert to finish up. This young couple had only recently come to the World of Hope, and already they became a part of it. Like Mrs. O’Mally, they would be attending the meeting.

The young man smiled at the young woman as he continued sweeping. "I can't believe you decided to stay, rather than go back to Earth for a few weeks to finish up business there. I hope your parents didn't get too excited about your decision."

Jane Ashton said, "Oh, no, not my folks." She and Albert both laughed at that. "But, like you, I felt that if I went to Earth, I might not ever see you again in this life. I am not sure what it meant, but I am not taking any chances.”

Kelli O’Mally made coffee for the four of them, including Nina McCleer, who sat with Kelli O’Mally at the counter. Nina tried to not look as depressed as she felt. "Thanks for inviting me to your house church tonight. I followed your suggestion and came here for the directions to the place. With George gone, I don't know what to do, or where to turn."

"You can always turn to God when you need His help, Mrs. McCleer," Kelli assured her new friend.

"I hate spending my time at the Governor's House, just moping. Lot of good that does me. Or George, if he is still alive. I hope I am not putting you out by coming here at closing time, Mrs. O'Mally."

"Not at all. And I can certainly understand you not enjoying Gov. Bright's company," said Kelli.

From where he worked, Albert Zoeniga said, "I second that thought, Mrs. McCleer."

"Me, too," said Jane. "We saw a few things and heard a few things that tell us the Governor is not as great as our poor confused friend Osmo Martin has been led to believe."

"I- I think my George is alive, but yet, since I can't be sure, it drives me crazy! If he were really gone, I would know it, wouldn't I? In my heart? Oh, I hate not knowing!"

"I understand, Mrs. McCleer," Kelli said soothingly.

"I don't trust Xavier. Not anymore. I don't want to believe he did this to me, that he took George from me- They were roomies at college! But the rumours say how it's becoming a habit for the Governor, to take away people's loved ones and stick them in the mines. How terrible- it frightens me, to think Xavier may have fallen so far. I mean, even in college, he had a terrible ego problem. But to do something like this- He seems the same Xavier that I always knew, but I know people change over time, and not always for the better. Before George went with Xavier to inspect the mines, I tried to convince my George not to go, because I worried that Xavier might try something like this... I hated to think that Xavier could be capable of it, but I forced myself to see him objectively, and I worried for my husband then!"

"You knew Gov. Bright in college, then, Mrs. McCleer?" Kelli asked.

"Way back in our college days, we went together for a time. Xavier was always so loving to me then. Heh, he even stopped being such a flirt with the other girls while we saw each other. He used to send me roses all the time. Still, he had an ego like no other. But he was always so loving with me. I don't know whether he really did love me, but I guess at this point it no longer even matters- not if he made George a prisoner at the mines!"

"I should say not," agreed Kelli.

"But why would he do that to George- and to me, especially, if he ever did love me? How could he do such a thing? You don't think it's because I married George, instead of him, do you- like he would still be angry, after all these years-"

Albert Zoeniga found the story so interesting, he paused, forgetting to sweep, until Kelli scolded, "Hey, I don't hear the broom-" Albert quickly resumed his work.

Kelli said, "I have no idea why he would kidnap Mr. McCleer, or the dozens of others as well which have gone missing."

Nina McCleer took some more coffee. "Maybe Xavier figured George would submit a bad report about him, and the way he ran your world. The Earth Leaders sent my husband here so that he could rate the job Xavier was doing, and to recommend whether to keep Xavier here as Governor, or to replace him. George had worried how Xavier would react, if George had to give a bad rating of his old room-mate. I guess now we know. Huh... Something has to be done about Xavier's bad deeds!"

"Hmm. What did the people on Earth who sent Mr. McCleer on this mission have to say about the matter, if you don't mind my asking."

"When I met you at the rocketport, I was there waiting for a representative from Earth, who was supposed to come and investigate the matter, to get to the bottom of this."

"But nobody showed up," remarked Kelli.

"Yep. When Al here mentioned that his pal Osmo Martin had been offered a position working for Xavier, I put two and two together. I think Xavier convinced Osmo what a great guy Xavier is, and so, in turn, Osmo convinced his father, Gunther Martin, who is very influential with the Committee that oversees how this place is run. They must have concluded that there was no real reason to investigate this so-called accident, and they just took Xavier at his word about it."

Jane Ashton nodded, also listening. "Makes sense, Mrs. McCleer. Gov. Bright's niece, Sheila, once even admitted to us that her uncle invited Osmo here, so that it would positively influence Osmo’s father, and then the Leaders on Earth. Sheila said Gov. Bright is always trying to get more supplies, adequate supplies from Earth, for the World of Hope. I must admit, Gov. Bright seems right about that, that not enough help is sent here, so the people can make a decent living.”

“Hmph!" huffed Nina McCleer. "Xavier must've saw trouble coming because of the very convenient 'accident', so he headed it off by giving Osmo a job. Xavier is like that..." Nina shook her head, thinking about the whole affair, frustrated. "I am really looking forward to going to that house church service tonight and hopefully the singing and worship will help me to be able to carry this burden, until I get some answers..."

Kelli had something to say. She hesitated, then spoke. "Mrs. McCleer, you might want to be careful. Gov. Bright does not like our little state-unapproved church. With you living right there at his mansion, you could be putting yourself in a bad spot."

"Oh, I will be sure to be discrete," Nina replied. "Before, I drew strength from George and from God. Now, I don't have George. I still have God, though. And maybe tonight I can also draw strength from the fellowship of all of you tonight."

"I hope so, Mrs. McCleer," said Kelli. "The service starts in a quarter of an hour. I hope you will not be missed at the Governor's House.”

“Well, much of the time I am in the guest suite, anyway. But I already gave the robot butler an excuse for not being there. I have a question, though- How is it that you, a member of the house church, can run this beach stand so out in the open, and not be hassled by Xavier or his Security Leader Clyden?”

Kelli O’Mally shrugged. "I suppose the Security Agents have not yet connected me with the church. Must be the grace of God."

Nina McCleer nodded. "I see. Good, good."

Albert Zoeniga put aside the broom and announced, "Okay, done.”

“Let's split up, then, and all head for the church services by different routes. I got directions for you, Mrs. McCleer," said Kelli. "See you all again in a little while."

The others left first, one by one, and Kelli O’Mally, after turning out the lights, was the last to go.

(c) 2012 drk