A Future History of the United States

Friday morning Thomas did not appear for breakfast. Tim ate alone and pondered his next move. Clearly Thomas was completely disenchanted with the current status of the Church. It was also clear that he knew much more about Church history than Tim had expected. His large library was a testament to his desire for knowledge. Some of this knowledge was what was now haunting him.

Thomas also failed to appear for lunch, but sent word by one of the servants that Tim could have full use of his office to prepare for the Sunday service. The servant told Tim that his exact words were, “Anything, and everything, in the office is available to you. No exceptions.”

Tim asked the servant, “Have you cleaned the office since Thomas and I were there yesterday?”

The response surprised Tim. “No, Your Excellency, no one is permitted in the office unless Thomas is there. He informed me that he is making an exception for you. If any of us ever tried to enter that room when he was not there, we would be turned over the Archbishop.” This last was in a very soft voice. He trembled noticeably as he said it.

Tim noticed that during this entire exchange the servant had kept his eyes directed at the floor. Whether this was from humility or fear, he could not be sure. Whatever the reason, Tim was beginning to feel more confident of his disguise.

Finishing his meal, Tim went directly to the office. Since he had Thomas’ permission, along with the assurance he would not be disturbed; he wanted to see what kind of books were in the concealed bookcase. He also wanted to determine if there was indeed a portal from Son City directly into the office. If so, this would provide fast, safe, and secure return to the bunker area.

Once in the office, Tim carefully locked both the door to the living quarters and the one leading to the church sanctuary. Satisfied he would not be disturbed; he walked slowly toward the wall behind the desk. Several steps from the wall the pendant around his neck began to vibrate. The closer he approached the wall, the stronger the vibration became. One final test remained. He took the disk that operated the portals from his pocket and held it before him. As if by magic, the wall seemed to dissolve, leaving an opening large enough for two people to easily walk through.

Tim stepped back. Almost faster than the eye could follow, the opening vanished. Once again, all that could be seen was a blank wall.

Satisfied that he knew his escape route following the Sunday church service, Tim turned his attention to the examination of the office. He was most interested in Thomas’ collection of books. Having observed Thomas reach for the side of the desk when opening the bookcase, Tim examined the area carefully.

At first he could see nothing. Going over the area inch by inch, he finally detected a tiny button. Only because he knew something must be there had he found it. He pressed the button and watched the wall folded itself back into the shelves of the bookcase.

Tim was anxious to see just what kind of books Thomas had collected. There were so many books he hardly knew where to start. When he reached the bookcase he noticed a number of small labels on the front of the shelves under the books. Looking at these labels he found the books were carefully arranged by topic matter.

The range of topics was amazing. There were sections for mathematics, earth science, biological science, physics, astronomy, U.S. history, ancient history, theology, world religions, church history, and many others. Scanning the collection, he estimated Thomas had close to a thousand books on these shelves.

Tim carefully pulled a book from the section labeled “Early Church History.” Gently he opened it, half expecting it to fall apart in his hands. He knew books like this had to be over seventy years old as the Church had banned them in the middle of the previous century. Claude had also told him, during one of his history lessons that printed books had virtually disappeared even before the Church ban as most people had access to books on their personal computers.

To his amazement, the book seemed almost new. It looked like it had just been printed. He carefully replaced the book in its original location and pulled another from a different shelf. It also looked new. Checking several more books satisfied Tim that it would be safe to read one. Grabbing a book on early Church history, he took it to the desk and sat down to read.

After just a few pages he noticed Thomas had underlined some passages and had made notes in the margin in other locations. Some of these notes were faded and looked older than the book in which they had been entered. Some entries were even dated! One in particular caught his eye. In the book titled Ante-Nicene Fathers, Book 1, Thomas had written, “If we could revive the teachings of these men, we could solve most of the problems in the Church.” He had dated this entry as “27 August 2061.”

Tim put down the book to consider what he had found. The books Thomas had collected were of almost infinite value. He knew he had to get them back to Son City. He had been instructed to bring Thomas back with him. To bring him back, along with these books, would surely assist Ron and the others. If they were successful in taking control back from The Church, this library would provide a foundation for restoring the knowledge that had been lost during the reign of terror under the control of The Church.

Picking up the book again he began to read the works of Clement of Rome. When he discovered this work dated to the very first century of the Church he was overcome with awe. To actually hold in his own hands teachings from the earliest days of the Church was overwhelming. Finally his stomach reminded him it was time for dinner. Almost regretfully he replaced the book and pressed the button to close the bookcase.

As he entered the living quarters the tantalizing aroma of the evening meal greeted him. Making his way to the dining room, he found Thomas had emerged from his self imposed exile. As Tim entered the room he stood up, “I feel as if a great load has been lifted from my shoulders. I have spent the time since I last saw you in the most heartfelt prayer I have ever experienced. God must have sent you to me. Even while I was pouring my soul out for you to see, I was thinking, ‘What am I doing?’ If I had told my story to my regular bishop, I am sure I would now be tied to the stake!

“While I was talking, you never once gave the least indication you condemned my actions. Your face told me you understood and really felt my pain. When you said I must look to God for answers, you awakened a spot in my heart I thought was forever dead.

“During my time in prayer, it seemed God kept telling me, “I have a need for such as you. Do what Tim tells you to do. He will help you fulfill your destiny.’

“Many years ago, when I was a young Pastor, I often felt God’s presence during my prayers. I don’t know just when that feeling left me. For years now, I have felt my prayers were nothing but empty words. I know it sounds trite to say it, but your comment has led me to feel closer to God than I can ever remember.”

Tim was stunned by this outburst. He had never expected to have this type of effect on Thomas. Searching for suitable words the only thing he could think to say was to repeat the comment he had made at the end of Thomas’ confession. “Truly, God does work in mysterious ways.”

Indicating the table, Tim said, “Let’s sit down and enjoy this meal. I don’t like to discuss business during mealtime. We can talk about the future after we eat.”

During the meal Tim managed to get Thomas reminiscing about his youth. Having been born before the Church gained enough political power to drastically change society, Thomas had attended public schools. Subjects such as history and science were presented without the distortions later introduced by the Church. Children were encouraged to ask questions, and do research in the school library to find the answers to these questions.

The school library was stocked with books on every subject imaginable. If the student couldn’t find the answer to their question in library, they had access to computer terminals where they could access almost every book that had been printed in the previous three hundred years.

His parents had been faithful members of a small church that emphasized teaching and preaching from the Scriptures. The pastor of the church often said the church had “no book but the Bible and no Creed but the Christ.” Thomas said he had once gotten up the nerve to ask the pastor just what this phrase meant.

Thomas said he could still quote the pastor’s response, “Some churches have lost sight of the truth of the Holy Bible. They have written entire books of questions and answers about their religious beliefs. Many of these beliefs have no basis in the Scripture. Others distort the simple words of the Lord. They have also tried to condense their beliefs into a ritualized prayer they call a Creed.

“Once you start relying on books other than the Bible to answer your spiritual questions, all kinds of problems creep in. When you have a question about God, go first to His Book to find the answer.”

“My pastor also emphasized that the Bible is about Spiritual truths and about God’s relationship with man. He said the Bible didn’t try to be a science book. He told me God gave man a brain, and He expects us to use it to find out about the tremendous universe He also created. The way he explained it was that science and religion are two sides of the same coin. Just as a coin has two sides no matter how thin you make it, neither science, nor religion, standing alone can give you a complete picture of God’s Creation.

“I took that to heart in my younger days. I never found any real contradiction between science and religion. Later, when The Church began banning the study of science and history, I accepted this as simply a part of a fundamental religious belief. I never expected things to go as far as they have. I have often longed for the days when one could go to a library and find a book on most any topic. It seems those days are gone forever.”

After this, Thomas was quiet for some time. Toward the end of the meal he said, “One of the things I miss most from my younger days is the technology we had then. We had small, hand held, devices we could use to communicate with each other. These things also could be used to research just about any topic you could think of. The Church soon began calling them ‘tools of Satan’ since much of what you could find on them contradicted the Church teaching. Soon after that, they were banned completely. Anyone caught using one could expect severe punishment from their local priest. Of course there were protests, but the authority of the Church prevailed. I won’t go into detail now about all the things the Church did to enforce this ban.

“There were a lot of other things the Church banned too. Any thing that might lead one to question the truth of Church teaching was forbidden. Since I had been a student of history, I could see the Church leading us into a repeat of the ‘Dark Ages’ of the early second millennium. That was when I began collecting books.”

“Thomas, it’s a good thing dinner is almost over. You are getting too close to talking business. Let’s finish our dessert and go to your office. I have some things we really need to talk about.”