The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (67 page)

There were some
told-you-so
chuckles from the
leaders who did indeed believe in alien life.

Ryan recorded the speech on a mini tape recorder. There
was no way that he was going to write down everything, and also no way that any
of the information could be lost. Victor would have his head.

‘There are some religions, Christianity, Judaism and
Islam to name but three; whose core foundations have come crumbling down
because of the recent alien attacks. This has left the followers feeling
conflicted and betrayed.

‘In the wider scope of things, this is not good. The collapse
of a trustworthy religious system could cause a rift in overall morale;
sparking a rebellion which no one, not even the world governments would not be
able to control and contain. This, my friends, we cannot allow.’

Everyone in the audience nodded in agreement. Ryan
observed that Antonio’s charisma and demeanour almost matched that of Victor
himself.

‘And it is for this reason that I have called you all
here today,’ Antonio said. ‘I have summoned you here to clear up this religious
conundrum and to show you the path to the
real
truth; the truth that you
can guide your flock to and enlighten them with. But first; are there any
questions?’

Hundreds of hands rose into the air at once, and people
began shouting their questions at Antonio. He hushed them by gently waving his
arms. ‘All right people; let us all consider one another. We will all have a
chance to ask our questions.’

Ushers moved down the aisles with long poles, each one
with a microphone attached at the end. Ryan thought that they looked more like
night club bouncers than ushers.

‘You sir,’ Antonio said and pointed to a man in the
audience. The man looked around and pointed at himself. ‘Yes, you. What is your
question?’

One of the ushers walked to his row, and brought the
boom mic near the man’s mouth. He cautiously took the microphone in his hand to
stabilize it and cleared his throat. ‘Erm...’ he said. ‘Where is the Pope?’

‘No one knows,’ Antonio said once the murmurs died
down. He appeared to be sad for a brief moment. ‘The Pope has been missing
since the attacks.’ He quickly composed himself. ‘The woman in the green
dress,’ he said and pointed to someone else. ‘What is your question?’

The woman waited for the microphone. She took it in her
hand and the people winced and covered their ears at the loud feedback
screeching through the speakers. She let go of the mike and the high-pitched
noise stopped. She leaned forward towards the microphone without touching it
again. ‘Where was God when the aliens attacked?’

‘Good question,’ Antonio said, wasting no time with his
reply. ‘But you have to ask yourself this question: which God? Allah? Jesus?
Brahman? Krishna? Buddha? Maitreya? Jehovah? Or even Zeus?’

Some within the crowd chuckled.

‘God, or whatever you call him, was here all along. It
was all part of his plan, as you shall shortly see. He didn’t prevent the
attacks from happening, but allowed it, for the greater good. He knows the
long-term plan, where we mortals cannot. He allowed the suffering to show and
teach us that united together, we can overcome any obstacle thrown at us, no
matter how large or severe.’

Another man raised his hand, and a mike was quickly
shoved into his face.

‘Yes, sir?’

‘Which one of these religions,’ the man said and
pointed to all the people seated around him, ‘is the true one?’

People started talking at once, and Antonio had to calm
them all down again.

‘The answer to your question, sir,’ Antonio said, ‘is
that they are
all
true.’

There was an outcry from most of the religious leaders
within the audience, and this time, Antonio had Ryan’s full and undivided
attention.

‘Yet at the very same time, they are all false too.’

The confused crowd quietened down to hear him out.

‘Think about it, people,’ Antonio said. ‘Allow me to
break religion down to the basics: almost
all
of us believe in a
Sovereign Being, right? Some higher form of divine power other than ourselves?’

Nods of agreement.

‘And almost all of us believe that this ‘Sovereign
Being’ made the Heavens and Earth, and created people; am I right?’

Some nods, some frowns.

‘We don’t all agree on the nitty-gritty details, of
course, but the basics are still the same. Some believe that we were created
pretty much the way that we appear now. Others believe that we have evolved
from something much simpler over a few millennia.

‘On the same scale, almost all religions believe in the
concept of sin to some degree or another. It does not matter how this ‘sin’ is
defined in the various religions, the basics of it is that our iniquities
separates man from his deity.’

More nods.

‘Man is thus required to make some sort of atonement
for his transgressions in order to close the chasm of sin and be reunited with
his divine maker. Some religions specify that an offering of sorts be made;
sometimes human and sometimes the sinner’s most prized possession. Some need to
say blessings. Others need to do good deeds to strangers. More common are the
religions that call upon a saviour; a Messiah.’

Many nodded.

‘All religions have some sort of afterlife belief. Some
believe in Nirvana, others in a Heaven and Hell of sorts. Some embrace
reincarnation, while others believe in a restored paradise on Earth.

‘Most of the religions that promote a Messiah, Saviour,
Christ, Maytreya, Prophet, Anointed One, or whatever you wish to call him or
her, believe that this person will come some or other time in the future and
reunite man with this God of his.

‘The Muslims believe that Imam Mahdi will come.
Christians believe that their Jesus will come back. Buddhists believe in the
coming of Maitreya Buddha. There are so many more examples that I can give you,
all with their own folktales, traditions, and flavours; passed down from
generation to generation.’

Antonio scanned across the audience to see if he still
had their attention. He did.

‘What I am trying to say is that when you break it down
to the basics, we
all
believe in the same thing. We just give it our own
names, change a detail here and there, slap a label on it, and selfishly try to
hog it for ourselves. Whether you use the Bible, the Koran, the Book of Mormon,
Tracts, or even special divine messages from the leader of the said religion,
it doesn’t really matter. At the core, they all point in the same direction.’

Ryan used Antonio’s pause to change the tape.

‘It is our own selfish natures that have caused religious
crusades and wars to plague the Earth. Religious hatred. Over what? The same
thing!’

The crowd nodded in agreement to what Antonio was
saying.

‘You’re finally getting it,’ Antonio said. ‘The ‘truth’
is that God is in all of us. We are all in God, and thus we can safely gather
that we are all, in some way, Godly in essence.’

More nodded now than would have a few short weeks ago.

‘But the fact of the matter is that we are all subject
to an even greater being. This being, our Messiah, will unite us with each
other in order that the rift in the Godhead be closed and that we be restored
to the Godliness that we had in the beginning before time.

‘Through the differences in all the religions, the
Godhead had been torn apart. Religion stood up against religion, all fighting
and killing each other over the same thing. And now, for the first time in
history, do we have a chance to restore order and Godliness in the Godhead.’

A man raised his hand and Antonio gave him an
opportunity to ask his question.

‘Why should we believe you?’ the man asked.

‘If you do not believe my words,’ Antonio said and
raised his hands into the air. ‘At least believe in the miracles. Would you
care for a demonstration?’

Everyone nodded and clapped.

‘Fine,’ Antonio said. ‘I have performed two already,
but I shall do one more.’

Antonio smiled at the confused gazes from the audience.

‘Yes,’ he confirmed. ‘Two miracles.’ He held up his
index finger and said, ‘The first one was my entrance. I can assure you that
there were no wires involved.’

A few chuckles. Ryan
still
wanted to kick
himself.

‘The second,’ Antonio said, ‘and I do not blame you for
not picking up on it, for it is subtle indeed, is that every person here today
is hearing me speak in his or her own native language.’

The crowd buzzed and Antonio smiled. ‘Yes, my friends,
there are many people here today that do not understand anything other than his
or her home language. Some here can only speak English, while others can only
understand African or Asian languages. Yet, all can hear and understand me
perfectly in each of their own dialect. This is very similar to what the
Secretary General of the European Union, Victor Yoshe did immediately after the
aliens had attacked us.’

People in the crowd spoke to those from different
cultures and races seated next to them to confirm that what Antonio was saying
was indeed true. They found that it was.

‘But to show you that I have the authority to make
these claims, I ask that everyone with a form of sickness or deformity please
stand up.’

Most of the people stood up from their seats, all
willing to test this man and see if he had what it took to rid them of their
doubts.

Antonio scanned the crowd for a few seconds, slowly
pacing up and down the stage. He stopped. ‘People!’ he shouted loudly and
suddenly. ‘Leaders of the Godhead...
be healed!
’

At first there was no reaction from the crowd. Then
someone shouted, ‘Hallelujah! My broken arm is fine again! I’m healed!’ Another
did the same. ‘Mine too!’ Still another person, a woman, shouted bewildered,
‘My arthritis...it’s gone!’

Antonio smiled triumphantly as everyone shouted at
once, all trying to show off their healed arms, legs, and wounds to the people
around them. Those who had not been able to stand due to the confinements of a
wheelchair jumped up and ran around, hugging those around them as they cried
with joy.

Antonio allowed this to continue for a few minutes,
proudly admiring his handiwork.

‘All right, people,’ he finally said. ‘Please settle
down. This is merely the beginning. If we unite into one religion, and obey our
Messiah, we will restore the Godhead again, and what you have just seen will be
common occurrence.’

An elderly woman raised her hand and patiently waited
for the microphone. The ushers were efficient and well trained.

‘Who is this ‘Messiah,’ this one that is supposed to
reunite us with God?’ she asked.

‘I cannot tell you who he is yet,’ Antonio said. ‘But I
can tell you this: he is here on Earth and is with us right now, embodied in
human form. He is guiding us and will shortly be revealed as our Messiah.’

Most people in the audience buzzed excitedly. There
were more questions, all of them about details of various existing religions.
‘We need to condition our followers and prepare them for the coming Messiah
instead of just thrusting him upon them.’

What about Jesus Christ?
The person didn’t wait for the boom
mic, but instead just shouted it out.

‘What about him?’ Antonio answered with a smile. ‘But
seriously, Jesus is a figure of the past. To progress from our current state, we
need to look toward the future. No advancement can be made until the ties with
the past have first been severed. We have to look toward the future for our
survival, and Messiah is just the person to lead us into a better tomorrow.’

But isn’t Jesus God?

‘Jesus is no more God than you and I,’ Antonio said.
‘He needs the Messiah just as much as we do. Messiah will lead us into the
Godhead that
we were
before time so that we can
all
be God again.
Why should just one man be God when all can be?

‘Jesus wasn’t the Anointed One. The time wasn’t right,
and so he failed and was cut off, making way for another to come and fulfil
what he had started.’

And Krishna?

‘Krishna is a representation of what we can be if we
join together. This goes for
all
the other religions. We
are
Allah. We
are
Gaia. All the various names for God are merely a faint
glimmer of the truth. The key has always been there. We just needed to turn it
in order to unlock the secrets and knowledge that you will all immerse and
rejuvenate yourselves in.’

After many more questions, Antonio finally looked at
the people and stretched out his arms.

‘Join together, people,’ he said. ‘Do not let
tradition, bias, or racism stand in the way of us attaining what is within our
grasp: our Godliness.