Episode 8: Candidate of the Apocalypse Part 2

"Ahhhhh!" The menacing faces disappeared and Charles found himself sitting up in bed. It had been a dream. He shook his head to clear it and discovered there was indeed a hand on his shoulder. His campaign manager had risen earlier from the other bed, and hearing his distress moved to wake him. A few moments were necessary for Charles to re-orient himself. What day was it? March 20th, 2011. Where was he? Redding, California. Room 225 in the downtown Holiday Inn. Looking at the clock he saw it was 5:55 AM. In two hours he was to speak at a breakfast get-together with the Redding Merchants Association. Afterward they would be chauffeured into the country for a series of seminars and question/answer sessions for the rest of the day.

"The dream again?"

Charles nodded. For the last few weeks he had been plagued with them.

"Man! That was intense!" Charles got up and paced around while he related a few details from the dream. Then he poured a cup of coffee and they ran over his schedule. It was a busy one. He was going to speak some five times that day-on different subjects. For each talk a folder had been prepared with the most up-to-date and pertinent information. Normally Charles preferred a more extemporaneous approach. His outlines were often just key words on a sheet of paper. But this was a conference and he wanted to have the documentation at his fingertips.

A few minutes later, he nodded. "This is very impressive! We're going to knock-em dead today." With that he rose to shower and get ready.

His manager nodded and shifted toward the computer. He had been working on their web site. It was puzzling. For some time now his goal was to use every internet tool possible to spread their message and promote Charles as a viable alternative to normal party politics. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, emails and the rest were his domain. He found that their 'no money' policy was a good hook, but now more was needed to keep interest in the cause. His web site featured a literal cornucopia of information and resources. There was a set of links to the best and most conservative sites. Both he and Charles wrote weekly articles about the role of government and law to a free society; and the consequences when these roles were exceeded. Both their blogs were updated daily with running commentary about the issues at hand. He recorded every talk Charles made and excerpts were posted on a regular basis. They had multiple areas for their followers to comment. One, called 'My Take', allowed individuals to offer their own solutions to everything from health care to tax reform. Needless to say, this was a popular and lively forum. The best of these ideas were featured prominently on the site. In fact, many of them were quite good. He had also set up the network to be as decentralized as possible. The sister and mirror sites were maintained and updated by volunteers, who had a measure of control over them. A bit of latitude was allowed to keep local groups focused and interested. It had taken quite a while for him to put all this together, and the rewards were beginning to show. Membership was increasing rapidly. Charles had garnered the attention of the Tea Party and became a speaker at their events. Everything was in place for the big push which would begin later this year. All in all he was confident of their chances. What was needed now was some nudge, a seminal event for Charles' candidacy to explode on the national stage. Were that to happen he would be unstoppable.

Yet he had to face a feeling that something wasn't quite right. This mood was unrelated to Charles' leadership or his abilities. He was a great boss. No. It was something external and cast a pall over every victory, every achievement.

When the threats began he supposed they were from some disenchanted individual or group. It was soon apparent they were not. And when he used his (considerable) programming skills to find the culprits, he found nothing but dead ends. The perpetrators, whoever they be, were pretty slick. But the demands of the campaign left no time to concentrate on some (hopefully) empty threats. However, they continued, becoming more and more specific as well as more violent. Soon they could no longer be ignored. He sought advice from law enforcement officers who specialized in cyber-crime, to no avail. Now he was quietly asking for plainclothes officers and off-duty policemen to attend their meetings and keep and eye out for anything suspicious.

As campaign manager he was rarely on center stage but always near it. That fact allowed him to be in a unique position. He could watch the audience and read their faces. While most of the people in the crowds were fully engaged, smiling and upbeat; a few started appearing with scowls and frowns. When he attempted to corner these individuals and find out what their concerns were he was met with stone faced silence. They were obviously being watched. But by whom? He could not tell. It was quite normal for politicians to keep tabs on their opponents; but this behavior had a sinister feel. In the past few days the number of threats had increased considerably. His gut was warning him that something bad was going down in just two weeks. All the threats pointed to Chicago.

But he had a few tricks up his sleeve, too.

A Quick Thought on Creation

The watchmaker argument is still a good one. I was reading a skeptic blog some time back and it seems that someone asked a RSG (really smart guy - ie, a scientist) about it. He replied (and I'm paraphrasing) that it didn't seem like much to compare a watch to the universe. My reaction was, "of course!" It is kind of trivial to do so. I find it quite sad that an otherwise brilliant man can look at a watch and know it had a designer and then that same guy can turn around, look at the universe which is, what, a trillion times more complex, and say it had none.

Episode 8: Candidate of the Apocalypse Part 1

"The Dream"

Flashback: January 2013

It was a beautiful, crisp morning. The sun was just peeking over the trees that lined Pennsylvania Ave and a slight breeze stirred the few remaining leaves on the ground.

"And now without further adieu, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, The President of the United States!"

The crowd rose to their feet, clapping and cheering wildly. Many of them were waiving flags at the same time. On the Capitol steps the scene was equally jubilant. Smiles were everywhere. Charles was beaming as he stepped up to the podium. But he didn't stop behind it as he was instructed by the Secret Service. Rather, he stepped beside the podium and acknowledged the adulation of the crowd. The roar got even louder as he stood and raised his hand in a gesture of victory. A full four minutes later he waved for the last time and moved behind the podium. It took a few moments for the crowd to fall silent while Charles shuffled the sheaf of papers which were his speech. He cracked his neck and cleared his throat before he began.

"Members of the Senate and House of Representatives, and citizens of the United States - and honored guests - welcome! The tide has turned! (cheers) This past November you spoke loud and clear. You said no to a particular ideology and yes to another. This is what you said 'no' to. Big government! Ineffective solutions! Higher taxation! Unending regulation! The results of that ideology you know very well. Our nation has experienced the lowest levels of growth and the highest sustained levels of unemployment in it's history. And we are drowning in debt. The high place we enjoyed among the nations of the world has been threatened. Needless to say, this presents quite a challenge. Perhaps the greatest one we have ever faced. But I have faith in the resourcefulness of the American people. After all, weren't we the ones who defeated the best navy in the world at a time when our Navy was non-existent? Weren't we the ones who fought a civil war and emerged from it even stronger than before? Weren't we the first to fly? Haven't we sent a dozen of our number to the moon? By every measure our country has been and continues to be greatest nation in the history of the world.

So what makes us to special? To former administrations the answer to that question would be government. They could not be more wrong. We are great because we place you above government. You are in fact more important. If I may quote from our foundational document, the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator, and by Creator I mean Almighty G...."

But he could not finish. Something had happened. A gust of wind, much stronger than the others ruffled the papers in his hand and stung his eyes. Startled, Charles wiped away the tears and composed himself to continue his speech, but no words came. His mind was disconnected from his body. He looked down, hoping to regain his bearings from his notes, only to see them turn to ash and crumble in his hands. The dried and broken pieces were swept away in the rushing breeze. Empty palms stared back at him for a few moments while he strained to make sense of it all. At long last he looked up to apologize to the waiting crowd but they had - vanished! The street which moments ago was filled with people was now deserted and littered with blowing debris. There were no cars within his seeing. The howling wind swirled around with rising ferocity. A shadow fell before his eyes and he looked up to see the bright sun disappear behind grey forbidding clouds. But the clouds were not the only things in the air. Birds, black crows were flying everywhere. But no. They were not birds. They were helicopters circling around. Ropes were cast from them and men in black slid down to land in front, beside and behind him. Something inside Charles' mind was yelling for him to run but no movement came. He was completely paralyzed and helpless. His podium dissolved into dust before his impassive eyes and blew away. By now the black-suited, faceless men had surrounded him. Still he did not - no - could not move anything except his head. Their gloved hands were reaching out for him. He was going to be taken away, but where? Why was his happening? He knew not. Suddenly one of his attackers grabbed his shoulder like a vice. His paralysis left him and the next instant Charles was fighting for his life....