Chapter 15: The Sacred and Profane

[Jumala Keitoleinen]

Keitoleinen takes the card and decides to head to the kitchen for leftover mammoth and unicorn meat from the party. The meeting of the Blessed was long, but at least some things were decided. He fixes himself a plate of meat and sits at his small kitchen table. He makes some phone calls and has decided upon a construction company to repair the mansion. He calls them and tells them they can start as soon as the investigation is over. Otherwise, he feels bored. He nibbles the meat and reflects on the party.

[Heikki Toivonen]

Heikki hears yet another knock at the door, so he takes a moment to excuse himself. This nihilist meeting is the largest they have ever had. It means that Null is growing, and that excites him to some degree.

Heikki walks to the door and notices a guy he thinks he has seen before. Perhaps around Bonifaz's office.

"Hello, are you here for the meeting?" He asks politely.

[Durante Dushkriti-Fahid]

Dante's surprised by the firm handshake from such a petite woman. But he's used to not judging people, so he won't look like an idiot when he underestimates them. Alter demanded respect without saying anything, she wasn't like the yelling and spitting drill sergeants who demanded respect by slamming your head into the ground. When she smiled at him, he felt more comfortable almost immediately. Maybe she was more fun then serious? He wouldn't hope for too much, this was a serious job he had to focus on.

Dante nodded his head, rubbing his shoulder and secretly itching his skin between the collar when Alter gave Keitoleinen her card. His hand dropped as soon as Keitoleinen left the room, and he glanced around the house, waiting for Alter to dismiss him or otherwise tell him to go investigate the room. One thing he knew about the military was that every inch of you didn't belong to you anymore, you weren't you anymore, you weren't a special individual, and you did what you were told.

So, he waited.

[Archer Aylmer]

I nod slightly and rub my eyes with one hand. Very slowly I walk past this man and take seat on the couch inside. It's very warm and I close my eyes in satisfaction. I smile to myself and rub my hands together. They're very cold still. It feels like I've been traveling forever.

I look absently around the room at the other people gathered and make observations to myself. My stomach growls loudly and I frown.

"Could I get some... Food?"

[Alter Grossman]

"Right, let's begin. I don't know if you have heard of my reputation, but anything you heard is probably true. I am, as the Americans say, a 'hard ass,'" Alter says crisply. She carefully enunciates the expletive, as it isn't something that she is used to using. It's always easier to swear in one's native language.

"On the other hand," she continues, "as long as you follow orders and do a good job, we will not have any problems. Good? Let's start examining the blast sites," This introduction is still gentler than the one she usually gives.

Alter doesn't really understand why people are forced into the Invisible Hand. There are plenty of ex-MI5, ex-Mossad, ex-CIA ex-whatever that willingly work for the organization. Alter made her contract with the Devil by choice. She pities Dante because he did not have a choice.

[Heikki Toivonen]

"I made strawberry shortcake and there's some left." Heikki says to the emaciated man. He helps him into the TV where the others are sitting and talking. He quickly fixes him some shortcake and gives it to him. He offers him the seat he had on the couch. "I'll make you something else if you like." Heikki offers. He is concerned for the man, since he seems so poor and tired.

[Li Violette]

After the meeting of the Economic Council, I leave to give a speech on M TV about the meeting. Of course, the speech will not talk about the actual content of the meeting, but will tell people what we would like them to know. It is propaganda, but, it is something I am useful for. If I were not useful, I would not be kept around.

So, I appear on M TV and give the following report.

"The Banquet of the Blessed was a wonderful success. For three days the greatest people in the world gathered at Keitoleinen's mansion, where they talked about important issues and celebrated their superiority. This year, there are more Blessed than in any other year previous. I think this is quite encouraging since it goes to show that the human race is advancing in large numbers towards perfection. Perhaps some day, we will have to raise the standard of the Blessed, and this level of wealth, beauty and power will be tomorrow's idea of mediocre." I say with a light laugh.

"After the Banquet, there was a meeting of the Economic Council. Consumer spending is up slightly from last quarter and we are optimistic that people are going to spend even more now that Manala Mas is approaching. The Moderator gives you warm, Manala Mas greetings and encourages to show how much you care for each other through gifts."

"And now, for your viewing pleasure, a Manala Mas Classic."

The screen changes to "A Manala Mas Carol" the story of a wise, frugal man who saves his money and the family of mooches who try to turn him against his wealth. He almost donates to charity until he is visited by three Manala Mas ghosts who show him that the family is poor because of their own bad choices..having too large of a family, not spending money wisely, not working hard enough, and accepting mediocrity. The frugal man learns that he has made the right choices in life, which is why he has money, and learns to regret nothing. He fires the mooching father of the family and hires a better worker who values money and hard work. The movie ends with everyone working hard on Manala mas while the bewildered poor family freezes in their shanty...refusing to find other work or better their living situation.

[Durante Dushkriti-Fahid]

Alter Grossman. Alter Grossman. Dante repeated the name in his mind before he realized something. He'd heard something about a hard-ass commander, but he thought that Alter was guy from the reputation that yipped at her heels, and the rumors that flew around camp about her. Surprising. Again, he mentally kicked himself for assuming that Alter Grossman was a guy. When she enunciated the word “hard-ass,” he couldn't help but find her accent cute. He remained silent.

“You got it, Commander,” Dante declared with his reassuring smile, “I won't let you down.” The blast site was upstairs, so he turned on his heel a little less gracefully then he would've liked and led the way towards the stairway Mr. Keitoleinen had passed on the way to the living room. For a moment, he thought of what he should say to break the silence. He sniffed at the air absent-mindedly, hoping Alter didn't hear him. Sulfur. Chemicals. Plastic. Silence was good sometimes, sometimes speaking was nessecary, but he had a hard time with it. He'd lived with it for so long... silence, and then screaming and yelling—he hated both.

“So, what do you think of the situation, Commander... just a normal everyday psycho clown-faced rebel, or a terrorist trying to change the world and make a point?”

[Archer Aylmer]

I shake my head and take the strawberry shortcake. I would like some more food, to be sure, but I don't like to feel pitied so I sit in silence and eat my cake slowly. It takes me a long time to finish eating and when I do I set the dishes down on the ground carefully.

I sit for a while staring at my shoes, which are worn and ugly, before looking up at the others.

"Are we discussing something?"

[Annette Rosenthal]

to Bambi

Annette would have liked to go public with the terrorist event, and blame it on communists. She is angry that no one takes her seriously. She doesn't care about some clown psychopath, but she does feel paranoid about labor organizations. She shakes her head and tries to accept the resolution, since it had some good points.

She has other things to worry about.

She turns her attention to Bambi and decides that she had better check up on the Manala Mas party.

"Bambi! How are things coming along with that party? I hope that by now you have some things organized, but if not, I do have some ideas." Annette snaps at the poor woman. Annette crosses her arms and bites her bottom lip. "Well, how is it coming along? I do expect this event will be perfect. There can be no mistakes. And...certainly, none of the horrible things that happened in Helsinki."

[Heikki Toivonen]

"Well, I think the point of the meeting is to figure out if Null is going to do something for the Manala Mas party. But we have not gotten that far yet. Most everyone here has just arrived." Heikki explains.

"So...who are you then? I am Heikki Toivonen."

[Archer Aylmer]

"I am no one, like everyone else."

I yawn and stretch out on the couch, putting my feet up for the first time in what seems like forever. I cough a little, but am not too concerned about it. Despite the way I live I rarely get sick. I think about how warm it must be in some parts of the world right now, and it brings an intense rush of emotion to me. I run my fingers through my hair and feel content.

"That's my favorite show."

I say, of whats playing on the tv, which is nothing because it's off.

[Alter Grossman]

Alter doesn't make small talk often. This is because most of her coworkers are afraid of her. Alter enjoys silence. She thinks most people talk too much anyway. Still, she feels compelled to make small talk with Dante. She thinks he must be very alone. Alter is also alone, but she doesn't mind it. Dante strikes her as the sort that minds being alone.

"I think most terrorists don't have a point. They only think they have a point. Really, they just enjoy making people suffer because they themselves have suffered. We have to make the terrorists suffer even more. Perhaps this will make them stop. That's the way it is. There is a great poet named Yehuda Amichai who says this is a circle with no end and no God. Maybe he is right. I don't know. I was Mossad before joining the Invisible Hand, and before that, Israeli army. I've been dealing with terrorists for a long time."

Alter reaches into her briefcase and takes out a pair of disposable, sterile latex gloves. The way she snaps them on is reminiscent of what happens before an incredibly unpleasant cavity search.

"So, you give the orders this time. I'm not an explosives expert. What would you like me to do?"

[Heikki Toivonen]

Heikki turns to the TV and sees that it is off. But, with the mental health of many Null members, he is not sure if the stranger is aware of this or not. "Hello, nothing, I'm nothing too...it reminds me of a poem I think I heard somewhere." Heikki says. Now that there is quite an assembly of people, he decides that he will ask this crowd how they feel about Manala Mas.

"So, I know we aren't the sorts to celebrate..but, what do you suppose we should do for Manala Mas?"

[Archer Aylmer]

"You can or cannot call me Archer."

I wasn't going to tell my name, but the comment about the poem bothers me, so I finally tell him. I stare up at the ceiling but after a while it strains my eyes so I cover them with one hand.

"I want to party."

This is the last thing I want.

"We can all go into different rooms, and play different music, and video tape it. Then trade the video tapes."