Lord Aali took the podium. The mob went crazy, the applause so loud and long that he couldn’t speak for several minutes. Everyone loved Aali. Even Thomas. The man was not only handsome, highly intelligent, and very articulate, but most importantly of all, he cared about humanity. Standing behind him to the right was His Excellency Gabriel Wolfe, and to his left one of the Tall Whites. He wondered if Landry was there, but he didn’t see him. A sudden longing to be back in the game tugged his mood into the toilet. What the heck was he doing with these Deviants?
Finally, the crowd settled, though several at the front had fainted from the excitement of being so close to the man…or god, as he proclaimed he was.
“Fellow citizens of Earth, I am here to make known to you an astonishing discovery I have withheld until now.”
The mob was silent, hanging on his every word as his kind eyes scanned over them.
“I know our planet and its people have suffered greatly in recent years at the hand of our enemy, the God of the Bible.”
Boos and hisses filled the center.
Tori lowered to sit, shaking her head. “He certainly isn’t hiding who he is anymore.” She placed Callie on her lap and bounced her up and down.
“But we will be victorious!” He raised his fist in the air, and the mob went wild again.
Thomas grew impatient. What was this great discovery?
“I’m talking about eternal life!” Aali leaned toward the crowd. “Would you like to live forever?”
Screams and shouts and words of praise answered him.
“I have developed a…well, let’s call it a supernatural technology far, far above anything Earth’s scientists could ever have developed. It will come with the quantum dot tattoo that bears my name. When you receive this tattoo and the vaccine that comes with it, it changes your DNA, melds Neflams technology with your human cells, and transforms you into an eternal being that will never get sick, age, or cease to exist!”
A stunned silence hovered over the mob as the meaning of his words sank into their souls. Then slowly, people began to shout, “All hail Lord Aali! Praise Lord Aali!”
Eternal life? Thomas could use some of that right now. Every muscle and joint in his body ached. But was it possible? He knew there’d been great strides in transhumanism in recent years, but this? Even so, the over-the-top response of the mob surprised him.
Aali raised his hands. The crowd grew silent. “And once we defeat our enemy and eradicate his followers from the planet, I will restore it to the perfection it once was, a true Garden of Eden, a paradise! Not a place with impossible rules set up by our enemy, but a world where we can all live free and do as we want.”
Tori huffed. “The motto of Satan. Do as thou wilt.”
“This is the future, the glorious future I offer all mankind,” Aali continued. “What do I ask in return? That you inscribe my name, my mark upon you, bow to me, and worship me!”
Music blared. Lord Aali moved from behind the podium as half-naked men and women came onto the stage dancing erotically. He strutted back and forth, smiling, and extending his arms to the crowd. And, again to Thomas's surprise, almost the entire group of people bowed before him.
“Turn it off!” Tori shouted, and when Sara, who seemed mesmerized by the display, didn’t move, Tori rose, handed Thomas the baby and snapped the control button.
“Blasphemy!” she shouted, anger flaring in her eyes.
On the contrary, Thomas had noted that Aaron seemed pleased by Aali’s speech, though he now pasted on a sudden frown.
“Eternal life?” Sara said, still in awe.
Brianna returned with Carla.
Tori faced the young girl. “It’s a lie, Sara. You know that. I’ve been over those Scriptures with you a thousand times. He will promise anything to be worshiped!” She pointed her finger at the girl. “Anyone who takes that mark of his will burn in hell forever.”
Sara’s eyes widened, but she nodded.
“So this is the Mark of the Beast you mentioned earlier?” Thomas asked as Carla once again slipped her hand inside his and looked up at him with a smile.
“He’s offering them eternal life.” Brianna took Callie from Tori. “And they can’t buy or sell anything without his mark. To a nonbeliever, it would seem a good deal.”
Thomas sighed. “See, this is what I’m talking about. Why would your God send someone to hell just for taking a tattoo that would enable them to survive? That seems cruel to me.”
Nodding, Aaron rose and moved to the window, staring outside.
Tori exchanged a knowing glance with Brianna before she faced Thomas. “Jesus came to save humans, those made in His image. When people take Aali’s mark, it changes their DNA and makes them nonhuman, and thus, not able to be saved by Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. In addition, when they take the mark, they pledge their allegiance to God’s enemy, Satan.”
