Christopher had let the conversation go on without him long enough. 'Mr. Prime Minister, I am well aware of the significance of this day in your nation's history. It is Tisha B 'Av, a day of fasting, the day history records that both your first and second temples were destroyed. It was no accident that I chose today for this meeting. I chose it to offer your people a sign and symbol of hope for the future, that on this day of all days there is hope for all the people of the earth, if only we will cooperate and work together. What you see here, Mr. Prime Minister,' Christopher concluded, pointing with his open hand to the Ark, 'is the Ark of the Covenant. It is not a reproduction, it is not an imitation. It is real!'
'Mr. Ambassador!' the prime minister said, raising his voice, 'Do you take us for fools?!'
'We can prove that it is authentic,' Christopher answered emphatically, but without raising his voice.
'How?!' demanded the prime minister.
'By the Ark's contents.'
Suddenly the prime minister fell silent. The suggestion surprised him. Of course; they could look inside. The validation process would be so simple. So simple, in fact, that maybe there was something to the Italian ambassador's claim after all. 'Okay,' he said. 'Let's look inside.' Almost as soon as he said it, the prime minister realized that if this was the real Ark, it wouldn't be proper to do that.
'Oh no, Mr. Prime Minister,' Christopher said. 'That's not exactly what I meant. It would not be safe for just anyone to open the Ark. According to the scriptures, because the men of the city of Beth Shemesh looked into the Ark, 50,070 died.'
'Well, then how shall we see inside?' he asked.
'Only the High Priest should open the Ark.' The prime minister looked at the High Priest, who nodded, indicating that at least in general, Christopher was right.
'It does pose some problems,' the High Priest began in response to the question on the prime minister's face. He moved closer to the prime minister, Christopher, and Milner; leaving Bernley to examine the Ark unnoticed. It was all the same to her; she had no interest in what was being said. 'If it is truly the Ark,' the High Priest continued, 'then it should be opened only in the Temple. And yet if it is not the Ark then it would be an abomination to place it in the Holy of Holies to be opened, especially since we're not sure what's inside. Perhaps it could be brought inside the Temple but not… '
Suddenly a brief but blood-curdling scream filled the room. Behind them Alice Bernley's lifeless body crumpled and fell, her head hitting the carpeted floor with a muffled thud. 'Alice!' Milner cried as he ran to her.
'What happened?!' asked the prime minister.
The remaining attendant of the High Priest, who had seen what happened, looked as if he were in shock. 'She… she touched the Ark,' he answered.
The Italian ambassador to Israel, Paulo D'Agostino, who had stayed quiet until this point, ran to the door and shouted for someone to call a doctor.
Robert Milner, finding no pulse, desperately began CPR. A state doctor assigned to the Knesset was there within seconds. He began emergency procedures even as Bernley was being put on a stretcher to be taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. It would be another twenty minutes before she was officially pronounced dead.
As her body was taken from the room, followed by a weeping Robert Milner, the High Priest Chaim Levin quoted something from the Bible:
The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark
The prime minister looked back and forth from the High Priest to the Ark and to the others in the room. The Levite read madly through his Siddur, the traditional prayer book containing prayers for almost every imaginable occasion. He could find nothing for this moment. Christopher went to the Ark and carefully closed up the sides of the wooden crate to prevent anyone else from suffering Bernley's fate. Finally, the prime minister spoke, 'The High Priest will examine your Ark, Mr. Goodman. And if it is, in fact, the Ark of the Lord, you shall have your treaty and the gratitude of the people of Israel.'
Chapter 24
The Elect
Tuesday, August 13,2019 – New York
Over dinner in Decker's apartment Christopher brought Decker up to date on his trip to Israel and the events surrounding the death of Alice Bernley. Robert Milner had stayed behind in Israel to take care of the arrangements for Alice's body. Christopher explained that though there were still a few fine points to be ironed out, he was hopeful that the treaty with Israel would be signed in mid-September and would go into effect by the end of the month. Afterward Decker gave Christopher a detailed rundown of the efforts to choose a new Secretary-General. The two candidates, Kruszkegin from Northern Asia and Clark of the United States, had each tried to add to their support but without any success.
It was a very strange dance to watch. Since whoever was ultimately chosen would need the approval of every other member, neither man wanted to risk stepping on the other's toes as they climbed over the other, hoping to get to the top. Two days had passed with no change among the Security Council members, and then Ambassador Lee of China, who had thus far abstained, decided that she could not support either candidate despite her personal friendship with Kruszkegin. Acting quickly, the members who had originally nominated the ambassador from the Pacific Basin and then had substituted Kruszkegin to secure the votes of East and West Africa, again made a switch. Their new candidate was the Frenchman Albert Moore. Moore held the votes of those who had previously supported Kruszkegin and had added China, which considered the European the least objectionable candidate. India, which had originally supported Jackson Clark of the U.S., when faced with a choice between the American and the European, had decided to abstain. So as far as anyone could tell, the vote was now six to three in favor of Moore. Decker waited until after they ate before getting to the part about Moore. There was no reason to ruin Christopher's appetite.
Just then the phone rang. Decker answered and heard a familiar voice. It was Jackie Hansen from Christopher's office at the U.N. After her father's death Christopher had hired Jackie as his chief administrative assistant. The reason for the call was an unexpected request for an appointment early the next morning. Normally, Christopher got in at about 7:30, but he had planned to go in late the next day so he could catch up on some lost sleep. The circumstances of the request made him put his other plans on hold. Two of the top generals from the World Peace Organization, Lieutenant General Robert McCoid, Commanding General of the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), and Major General Alexander Duggan, recently assigned to WPO military headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, had arrived in New York without any advance notice and had asked to meet with Christopher as early as possible. Such a request was quite unusual, and for that very reason Christopher quickly agreed to meet them in his office at 6:45 the next morning.
Wednesday, August 14,2019
The two men were hardly noticed the next morning when they arrived to meet with Christopher, which was the way they wanted it. Jackie Hansen had arrived early to give the office the illusion of activity at the early hour; the rest of the staff would not arrive for at least an hour, and it didn't seem right to have the generals greeted by an empty office. Christopher and Jackie were both in the reception area when their visitors arrived.
As a rule generals can be very serious people but these two had something particularly sobering on their minds. They would have preferred to get right to the heart of the matter, but an issue of this magnitude had to be approached with great care.
En Kerem, Israel
Scott Rosen sat alone at his kitchen table eating his dinner. Outside, as the evening drew near, he could hear
