would oppose him. He blessed me with the power to give speech to the statue so we could hear his own heart. This confirmed in me the desire to serve him as my god for the rest of my days, and I shall do that for as long as Nicolae Carpathia gives me breath.'
'Thank you, my beloved servant,' Nicolae said as Leon sat. 'Now, blessed comrades, I have written assignments for one and all. These were prepared just before my demise and now will make more sense than ever to you. First, one of my oldest and dearest friends, a woman closer to me than a relative, shall explain something to you. Ms. Ivins, if you would come.'
Viv Ivins, prim and proper, her blue-gray hair piled atop her head, made her way to the head of the table and embraced Nicolae. As she passed out file folders with each director's name inscribed on them, Nicolae said, 'Many of you know that Ms. Ivins helped raise me. Indeed for many years I believed she was my aunt-we were that close. She has been working on a project that will help me put in place certain unfortunately necessary controls on the citizenry. Most people are devoted to me-we know that. Many who were not or who were undecided are now decidedly with us, and, you will agree, for good reason.
'But there are those factions, primarily the two that I have already mentioned, who are not loyal. Perhaps now they have seen the error of their ways and will henceforth be loyal. If so, they will have no trouble with the safeguards I feel must be initiated. I am asking those loyal to the Global Community, specifically to me and to the unified faith, to willingly bear a mark of loyalty.'
Walter Moon stood. 'Sir, I beg of you, allow me to be the first to bear your mark.'
'Let us not get ahead of ourselves, brother,' Nicolae said. 'You may just get your wish, and while I am touched by your sentiment, how do you know that I will not brand you with an iron like a head of cattle?'
Moon spread his hands on the table and bowed his head. 'As you, my lord, are my witness, I would endure it and bear it with endless pride.'
'My, my,' Nicolae said, 'if Director Moon's sentiment is shared by the populace, we shall need no enforcement measures, shall we?'
David peeked at his packet and fanned the pages until his eye fell on a startling word. 'Guillotines?' he said aloud before he could stop himself.
'Now we are ahead of ourselves,' Nicolae said. 'Needless to say, such would be a last resort and I pray it will never be needed.'
'I would gladly offer my head,' Moon rhapsodized, 'if I should be so foolish as to deny my lord.'
Nicolae turned to David. 'You are responsible for technical purchasing, correct?'
David nodded.
'I do not imagine we have an adequate supply of immediate-response mechanisms for the reluctant. We must study the expected need and be prepared. As I have said, my loftiest dream is that not one would refuse the loyalty mark. Ms. Ivins, please.'
'The first page of your folders,' she began, in a precise and articulate tone with a hint of her native Romanian dialect, 'long before you reach the guillotines-' she paused for the chuckling, in which David did not join-'is a listing of the ten world regions and a corresponding number. It is the product of a mathematical equation that identifies those regions and their relationships to His Excellency the Potentate. The loyalty mark, which I shall explain in detail, shall begin with these numbers, thus identifying the home region of every citizen. The subsequent numbers, embedded on a biochip inserted under the skin, will further identify the person to the point where every one shall be unique.'
Suddenly, as if in a trance, Leon rose and began to speak. 'Every man, woman, and child, regardless of their station in life, shall receive this mark on their right hands or on their foreheads. Those who neglect to get the mark when it is made available will not be allowed to buy or sell until such time as they receive it. Those who overtly refuse shall be put to death, and every marked loyal citizen shall be deputized with the right and the responsibility to report such a one. The mark shall consist of the name of His Excellency or the prescribed number.'
With that, Leon dropped heavily into his chair. Viv Ivins smiled benevolently and said, 'Why, thank you, Reverend,' which caused all, including Leon, to laugh.
David was afraid his crashing heart and shaking hands would make him conspicuous. What if someone got the bright idea to apply the mark to the inner circle that very night? He might be in heaven before Annie knew he was dead.
'We have settled on the technology,' Viv continued. 'The miniature biochip with the suffix numbers embedded in it can be inserted as painlessly as a vaccination in a matter of seconds. Citizens may choose either location, and visible will be a thin, half-inch scar, and to its immediate left, in six-point black ink-impossible to remove under penalty of law-the number that designates the home region of the individual. That number may be included in the embedded chip, should the person prefer that one of the variations of the name of the potentate appear on their flesh.'
'Variations?' someone asked.
'Yes. Most, we assume, will prefer the understated numbers next to the thin scar. But they may also choose from the small initials-no bigger than the numbers- N/C. The first or last name may be used, including one version of Nicolae that would virtually cover the left side of the forehead.'
'For the most loyal,' Nicolae said with a grin. 'Someone like, oh, say, Director Hickman, for instance.'
Hickman blushed but called out, 'Sign me up, Viv!'
'The beauty of the embedded chip is twofold,' she continued. 'First, it leaves the visible evidence of loyalty to the potentate, and second, it serves as a method of payment and receipting for buying and selling. Eye-level scanners will allow customers and merchants to merely pass by and be billed or receipted.'
Several whistles of admiration sounded. David's head throbbed. He raised his hand. 'Director Hassid,' Viv said. 'What are you looking at in the way of timing?' 'Worried that your head won't take any more invasion just now?' she said, smiling. 'I had an IV in the hand too.' 'Not to worry,' she said. 'While the potentate and the former Supreme Commander see value in employees serving as examples to the world, you will have thirty days, beginning tomorrow, to fulfill your obligation.' 'I'll do it tonight,' someone said, 'and I'm not even Hickman!'
A month, David thought. A month to get out of Dodge. What would become of him and Annie and Mac and Abdullah? And Hannah Palemoon?
Viv said that over the next few days she would be sure each director knew his or her part in the rollout of images of Carpathia and the application of the mark of loyalty. Meanwhile, she said, 'His Excellency has a closing comment.' ^ 'Thank you, Viv,' Nicolae said. 'Allow me to tell you just one story of a family I met today, and you know I met thousands. We have such a nucleus of loyal citizenry! This was a beautifully loyal Asian family named Wong.'
David fought to maintain his composure. 'Their daughter already works for us at Buffer in Brussels. The parents are well-to-do and great supporters of the Global Community. The father was quite proud of his family and of his record of loyalty. But I was most impressed with the seventeen-year-old son, Chang. Here is a boy who, according to his father, loves me and everything about the world as we see it today. He wants nothing more than to work for me here at the palace, and though he has another year of high school, would rather bring his talents our way.
'And such talents! I will arrange for the completion of his schooling here, because he is a genius! He can program any computer, analyze and fix any procedural or operational or systems problem. And this is not just a proud father talking. He showed me documents, grades, letters of recommendation. This kind of boy is our future, and our future has never looked brighter.'
That boy, David thought, would die before he took the mark.
SIX
As Rayford followed the wheelchair down the hall, barely able to breathe, his mind reeled with his mistakes. Were it somehow possible to extricate himself from this, he would be the most decisive leader the Tribulation Force could imagine.
They repaired to an office even smaller than the original. Pinkerton Stephens opened the door and neatly pivoted his chair so he could hold it open and leave room for Rayford and Albie to enter. He pointed Rayford to a
