Chapter 23
"Is it working?" Lucy asked watching the array of monitors at William's desk.
Shaking his head, William answered, "I don't know. We've only progressed ten years in the simulation. We've got another ninety to go."
"It's been running for twenty hours," Lucy said looking over at the clock. They had started the program the previous day at noon and it was now just a little after eight in the morning.
"That's right," William said woodenly. His eyes examined the curves of the various plots that appeared on the monitors. They all looked good, but he'd have to run further tests to validate the results.
"That's not good," Lucy commented. Ninety years of simulation time would require another hundred and eighty hours of real time.
"I agree," William said. There was a real sense of sadness to his voice.
"Can't you get a faster computer?" Lucy asked wondering if he was really that upset with the progress that he was making.
"That program is running on a cluster of a hundred computers, each of which is computing a part of the solution. Faster computers aren't going to help much," William said scratching his face.
"I guess I had better finish those transformations," Lucy said turning to look at the whiteboard and the equations scribbled across it.
"The equations are not complete," William said with a sigh.
"What's missing?"
"The rest of the world," William answered. At the moment he was running the simulation against historical data from Europe and Asia. His equations stopped at the borders of the United States. The predictions would start breaking down around World War II when the oil reserves of the Middle East began to have an impact on the international economy.
"Oh," Lucy said wondering why William was sighing so much. She stared at the equations on the board wondering what effect including external influences would have on their behavior. Although she could visualize the behavior of individual equations well enough, the total model was too complex for her to handle.
"Right. Oh," William said in disgust.
"Are you going to give up?" Lucy asked confused by his mood that morning. Something wasn't right and she suspected that it had nothing to do with the computer program.
"No," William said, "I'll have to make some approximations of the original set of equations and use them to predict behaviors overseas. It won't be accurate, but it'll be good enough for simple look-a-heads using the model."
"That's not good," Lucy said, "The program is going to take a week to simulate a single year."
"I know," William said playing with a pencil. He threw it on the desk in disgust at another setback in his work. He wasn't even going to mention the difficulties of including social unrest overseas dragging America into wars.
"What are you going to do?" Lucy asked.
"I'm going to visit the Druid College," William answered looking over at the calendar.
Nodding her head, Lucy said, "That's a good idea. I wouldn't have thought of getting some of the students there to work on it."
"That's not why I'm going," William said. There was a disturbing flatness to his voice.
"Why?"
In a voice filled with sadness, William said, "It is time."
"Time for what?"
William didn't answer. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Lucy looked at him and felt her heart break. There was only one other reason for him to go to the Druid College and that was the Carter Glade. All of a sudden the reason for his mood became obvious. She reached over and hugged him. There weren't words to express what she felt.
Barbara stared at William. He had taken her completely by surprise. It wasn't just the nature of the request, but the intensity with which it was delivered. It took her a minute to recover and then she asked, "Do you know how much it will cost to rent a 727 for a month just to have it sit on the tarmac everyday except for three flights?"
"No and I don't care. I just want it done," William answered. He leaned forward and said, "I also want a briefcase with a hundred thousand dollars on the plane, three floors of a hotel in Bermuda reserved for an entire month, an additional ten bodyguards sent there, and the house in Pennsylvania cleaned from top to bottom."
Barbara wrote down the instructions; her hand nearly cramping while trying to keep up with the speed at which he was delivering instructions. She didn't know if she could accomplish all of that within twenty-four hours. Looking up from her pad, she asked, "Anything else?"
"I want you to arrange some calls for me. I need to talk to my grandfather, Oliver, Jennifer, and the Guardian Angels," William said.
"What's happening?" Barbara asked. The list of people to call was beginning to make her wonder if something had happened to Oscar Meyers.
Shaking his head, William said, "You'll know soon enough."
"If I know what is happening, then I can perhaps make some suggestions," Barbara said watching William shift uncomfortably in his chair.
Looking around, he thought about it. Shaking his head, he said, "I thought I had another six months, but I was wrong. I've got one last thing I need you to do. I need you to make arrangements for a trip to the Druid College. I want to leave tomorrow morning."
"Oliver, I want you to send a couple of grief counselors to Israel. They need to be there tomorrow night," William said.
"What?" Oliver said sitting up at his desk staring at the telephone in his hand. He almost missed William's answer.
"I'm going to be arriving there tomorrow afternoon," William said.
"Does this mean what I think it means?" Oliver asked. He'd been waiting for a long time for William to begin his service. It had always been a foregone conclusion that William would serve the Two-Sided One.
"Yes."
"Hello, grandfather."
"Hello, William."
"How are you doing?" William asked. His throat was so tight with emotion that it was hard to talk. Now that he had his grandfather on the phone, he didn't know what to say. The great impassioned discussion that he had played through his head suddenly seemed trite.
"I'm doing well. My arthritis has been acting up," the Reverend Leroy Jones answered trying to keep a light tone to the conversation.
"I'm sorry to hear about your arthritis," William said. There was enough sadness in his answer to let the Reverend know that William had other things on his mind than arthritis.
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Finally, the Reverend said, "You know."
"Yes, I know. Do you want me to tell Daddy Leroy?" William asked.
"No. I'll call him today. I should be the one who breaks the news to him."
"Okay," William said. He was silent for a long time and then asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"I'm an old man at the end of my time. All I need is the loving arms of the one I serve," the Reverend answered. There was a sense of peace in his voice.
William was on the verge of tears. In a soft voice, he said, "I love you."
"I know. I love you, too. You've always held a special place in my heart," the elderly man answered in an emotion packed voice. There was a long silence while he struggled to control his emotions. The Reverend said, "I saw the Arc of the Covenant."
"Tell me about it," William said settling into his chair for a long conversation.
Jennifer picked up the phone and, in a cheerful voice, said, "If you know who I am then you have the right number. Otherwise, please hang up now."
"Jennifer, it is time," William said.
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. In a much less cheerful voice, she said, "I'll leave for there now."
"Good."
"Gabriel?"
"Yes, sir," the man answered recognizing the voice on the other end of the line. After nearly five months of sitting around, the call had taken him by surprise.
"Oscar Meyers will be contacting you today. Do as he asks," William said.
"Is something the matter?" Gabriel asked. Since Debbie had left Israel, the bodyguards had not been doing anything. William was paying them to stay in the area without any specific instructions. They hadn't heard from Jennifer in months.
"What's happening there?" William asked.
"There have been some major riots here. Jerusalem is not exactly a safe town at the moment," Gabriel answered.
"Be prepared to have a ringside seat at the biggest riot of them all," William said.
Lucy set a cup of Lisa's hot chocolate in front of William. It was actually the kind that came out of the packet, but Lisa had made it and that was all that really mattered. William took a sip and said, "Thank you. This is just what I needed."
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked with a worried expression on her face.
"I've looked forward to this my whole life, but it has suddenly become a bitter-sweet moment," William answered.
"I'm sorry," Lucy said.
William took another sip of the hot chocolate while staring at the monitors. Less than half a year in simulation time had progressed in the simulation since they had examined the results that morning. The simulation was slowing down. He sighed and said, "Don't be sorry. I'll be beginning my service to the Two-Sided One soon."
There were two things that William knew since birth and a third thing he had known upon meeting Oscar. He was going to marry Lucy, he was going to serve the Two-Sided One, and Oscar was going to bring peace to the Middle East. The first had become fact and the last two were about to become facts. Lucy didn't know what to say to him. She slipped into his lap and said, "Please hold me."
"Nothing would give me greater pleasure," William said wrapping his arms around his wife.
Lucy didn't comment on the dampness that she felt on the back of her blouse where William rested his head. She was too concerned with the tears that flowed from her own eyes.
It was a quiet trip to the Druid College. When William arrived, he was surprised by the number of Druids in attendance. The guest quarters had been filled and some of the unused dorm rooms were opened up for their use. William stepped out of the limousine that had carried him and Lucy from the airport. Looking at the crowd that had gathered, he turned to Lucy and asked, "Why are so many people here?"
"I don't know," Lucy answered. She noticed his brother and sister standing among the crowd waiting. She couldn't see their spouses. She said, "John and Beth are here."
"Really?" William asked looking around for a moment before spotting them. He raised a hand and shouted, "John! Beth!"
His brother and sister came over along with their spouses. For the next few minutes, the discussion centered on greeting each other and exchanging hugs. Lucy couldn't put into words how much better she felt to find them there. She asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, the news got out that William is about to go to the glade and Oliver wanted everyone to be here when he came out. He's convinced that you're going to emerge a prophet and we want to hear your first proclamation," Beth answered looking at her little brother with fondness. She didn't mention that Oliver had sent out word that all Druids were to return to the college to watch Oscar's entrance to Jerusalem as well.
"Oh," Lucy said.
Beth's husband, John, said, "It has been a long time since there's been a Druid Prophet. The last one predicted that John Carter would become the first Grand Druid in a thousand years."
As they entered into the Druid College, Jimmy Lee approached and said, "I heard you had come here to enter the glade."
"That's right," William said.
"Happy Harry would be so proud of you," Jimmy Lee said.
"Yes," William replied getting a little misty eyed at the memory of Happy Harry.
Shaking his head, Jimmy Lee thought about what William would be missing while in the Glade. Oliver had announced that Oscar Meyers was expected to visit Jerusalem at about the same time. The whole world was waiting to see what would happen when Oscar got there. He said, "From what I understand, Oscar is going to Jerusalem about the same time you'll be entering the Carter Glade. It's a shame that you are going to miss that event. It's going to be real interesting to see what happens when he arrives there."
"Interesting?" William asked. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't think I would call it interesting."
Jimmy Lee said, "The Voice of the Gods is going to the religious center of three of the most important religions in the world and you don't think that the results will be interesting? It is going to be one of the most significant events in history."
"Significant is a good word for what will happen there," William said in a sad voice. Lucy, knowing what William meant, hugged him.
Lucy asked, "What do you think is going to happen there?"
"I figure that Oscar is going to give some speech that is going to change the world. His words are going to change all three religions in some significant way," Jimmy answered.
Shaking his head, William said, "I don't think so."
"Every news service has set up cameras to cover this. Thousands of people have gone to Israel to watch him speak. Everyone is saying that Oscar Meyers is about to bring peace to the Middle East. Even your Grandfather is there to spread the message," Jimmy said making reference to the news feeding frenzy that rumors of Oscar's pending trip to Jerusalem had triggered. He added, "While your entrance to the glade is big news, most of us are here to watch the television coverage of Oscar's trip. Can you imagine that it is a Druid who is going to bring peace to the Middle East?"
William stared at Jimmy Lee for a moment and then said, "You don't know, do you?"
"I don't know what?" Jimmy asked puzzled by the question.
William stopped and looked around at the party atmosphere created by the Druids. They were laughing and talking about Oscar. There was a high level of excitement at the idea of what was going to happen in the next few days. For them, Oscar's trip to Jerusalem was a major advance in the public acceptance of their pagan beliefs. Frowning, William said, "No one knows what is going to happen."
"This isn't good," Lucy said imagining how they would react when events unfolded.
Jimmy frowned at William's lack of excitement about the events in the Middle East. Wondering if William knew something that he didn't, he asked, "What's the matter?"
"I need to talk to Oliver," William said.
"Hello, Dad. I didn't expect to see you here," William said upon entering Oliver's office.
"Hello, William," Ed Biggers replied pleased to see that his presence had surprised William.
"Hello, William," Oliver said.
Irritated at what he had seen outside, William turned to Oliver. With more than a little anger in his voice, he asked, "Can you tell me why everyone outside thinks they are here for a party?"
"That was my idea," Ed said looking over at William.
"I thought that you were a servant of the truth," William said staring at Ed.
"I am. It was my suggestion to bring everyone here to witness two historic events," Ed said.
"I know all about one of the historic events. My friend, Oscar, and my Grandfather are going to die in what is probably going to be a very violent and horrible manner. What's the second historic event?" William asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at his father.
"The establishment of a new Druid Prophet," Oliver answered.
Pretending to look surprised, William failed miserably. With sarcasm evident in his voice, he asked, "Who might this new Druid Prophet be?"
"You."
William jabbed a finger in Oliver's direction as he asked, "What makes you think that I'm going to be the new Druid Prophet?"
"You are going to get your ability to see the future back," Oliver answered wondering why William was so angry. He glanced over at Ed and could see that he was just as confused.
"What makes you think that I'm going to be a Prophet? Maybe I'll be the first Druid Doomsayer," William said.
"Why would you say that?" Ed asked worried about William. There was more than a hint of truth in his comment about being the first Druid Doomsayer.
William looked at his father and asked, "Who was it that told Happy Harry that he was going to die? Who is it that knows that Oscar is going to die? Who is it that knows my Grandfather is going to die? Me, that's who!"
"You're not the only one who knows that," Oliver said trying to get William to calm down a little.
William looked back at Oliver and said, "From what I've seen outside, no one outside of us knows about it."
Oliver leaned forward and, in a soft voice, said, "And no one should learn about what is going to happen until the event occurs."
"Why?" William asked folding his arms across his chest.
"Because it could undermine Oscar's sacrifice," Oliver answered.
With tears in his eyes, William said, "At this moment, my friend and my Grandfather are sitting somewhere knowing that on the Winter Solstice they are going to die. No one appreciates the bravery of those four men. They can escape certain death by walking away, but they won't. The idea that people will watch them thinking that they walked into death unaware of what lay in store for them makes me want to scream."
William looked at his father and said, "I want people watching those
four great men face the mob to ask themselves, 'What magnificent men
are these who give their lives so that others can live in peace?' If it
is not to be the Druids who say it, then who will it be?"