Upon his transmogrification and first return to Mother Earth, Three-Rivers had found it necessary to summon some of his friends, two of whom—Bruco and DeathSong—he had referred to as demons, flesh demons to be exact. Now, although he no-longer accepted the notion of demons in so far as their gross physical manifestation, but only, as the Oneness within had informed him, in the metaphorical sense, he still clung to the idea. He was finally a healthy teenager, after being a sickly boy. He therefore longed to frustrate adults—few of whom believed in demons—and also longed to make manifest the beliefs of his childhood, which he had left but reluctantly behind.
Well, My Omniscient Beginner, if I am to be the Messiah of the Natural People of Mother Earth Against the Whiteman, than the notion of demons does further a purpose. For now though, the notion of disciples seems to be the wisest choice for a fostering of belief. I shall save the demons for another day.
He mused for a moment, over his childhood antics, during which he convinced many intelligent people that DeathSong’s insanity and warrior prowess were clear evidence of his being a demon. He had even put on what Sunset people would call a ‘circus act’ on various occasions to demonstrate this ‘truth’ and his—‘prophet’s’—power over the demon called DeathSong. However, the A.I. matrix inhabiting The Sunken Star Ghost-house and Mother’s information called psycho-genetic protocols within him had made it clear to him that his insane friend’s terrible abilities were in fact due to his being a creation of the medicine-woman Society of Further Sunset known as MotherCorp. Furthermore, even his insanity was a manifestation of this unfortunate means of creation.
Oh, Friend, I have used you—to good purpose—but still used you. And I shall use you again. Father named you The Beginner’s Broken Arrow and I must loose you when necessary. I hope only, one day, for your forgiveness…
The people all about were rapt with attention, a silence he perceived before his waking mind was able to process the sounds that came from just before him. His ever widening mind’s eye expanded until he was once again gazing upon the tiny slice of the world he occupied as sound returned to him in the form of Mister Gerald Hicks the Sunset squirrel’s admonishment, “Loog junky I’d appreciate id if yo upidy ass didn’ nod out when I were perched on some sweaty White sombitch who were dodoin’ on ‘iself!”
Before him shivered the kneeling Black Robe Society medicine-man named Elzear, dripping with his own unsavory effusions, with Gerald squatting in a domineering fashion upon his shoulder, little squirrel arms crossed upon his sagging chest.
Oh my, I drifted into communion.
Reassert control over the proceedings.
“Gerald, I will be firing up momentarily. I think you should climb the pole and perch atop it. This will do much to elevate your status among my people.”
The squirrel wasted no time scampering to the top of the sacred pole as Three-Rivers prepared to acquire one disciple by summoning another. First he accessed Mother’s database on American Christian denominations and selected Mormonism, reviewed the Book of Mormon and the complete extant Theological Archives of Brigham Young University as catalogued by Life Science Ministries in 2316 by Layman Cyril Green—all in the blink of an eye—and then blinked down into the eyes of Elzear, soon to be the first White Minister of the Church of Hiawatha and The Latter Day Saints.
He spoke in Latin to the Black Robe, “Elzear, your Son of Man came also to the people of this land with the Ten Commandments in the form of Hiawatha. I began as his humble prophet in the year 1528 after taming the Fury of God in his name. Now, when I hear his name spoken I turn my head as if I have been addressed. I now travel the worlds spreading his Message of Unity among Natural People, and wish you to carry his message across this land, in this Time, besieged as it is by your kind. This shall be your penance before God.”
Elzear swallowed hard, “My Grace, I cannot blaspheme.”
You are pretending to be Jesus Christ Son of Man and Hiawatha Son of Thunderer. The Beginner shall certainly exact a price for this sublime sin.
So be it. I am forfeit. I act only for the good of the Natural People.
“And, Elzear, you shall not. You shall teach the Scriptures and the Gospels as well as the revelations of my acts and words—that’s the ‘Latter Day Saints’ part.”
In the past, when summoning people across Time before those he sought to impress, he made what the Whiteman would call a ‘big trade’ out of it. But he was beyond dressing up his actions. He wanted now only to assert his power over Time, to flex Thunderer’s mighty arms. He simply leaned back and looked into the sundrenched leaves above and inhaled, as he thought deeply, Moon Beaver, come to me…
A small red-centered cloud appeared above as his Oneness reached out across the spiral bank of clouds and into the maw of The Sunken Star and out the other side. His mind’s eye of a sudden expanded within the campfire that Moon Beaver gazed into at Allpeople Town-on-wheels at Point Pleasant. When the boy’s eyes became wide he was sucked into the Oneness and raced at imperceptible speed back down the stardust arm of cloud into the bowels of The Sunken Star and thence back to Mother Earth…
Three-Rivers could see the world clearly before he opened his eyes and the lightning bolt that turned into Moon Beaver struck his hand to the gasps of all around and the letting loose of Elzear’s bowels beneath his already reeking robes…
He looked down across his shoulder and along the lengthened sweep of his arm—I seem to have grown some—into the round smiling face of Moon Beaver.
“Moon Beaver welcome back to Mother Earth. Before us stands Elzear, formerly an ignorant Christian. See to the expansion of his mind in preparation for his education by George Silver. But first, take him to the riverbank and clean him.”
He then turned to Elzear and spoke in Latin, “Elzear my disciple Moon Beaver will take you now for your purification prior to your journey. He shall answer your questions. Please, let your robes float down the river, and live as the naked saints of old until you arrive at my Sacred Towns where you shall be clothed anew.”
Good, you played to his sense of austerity and have offered to see him on the path to sainthood; a temptation that a catholic clergyman is unlikely to resist.
Yes, Mother, I thought you would approve. Back to the archives now, you are corrupting my serenity.
Oooo!
He heard Mother’s hard spiked heels marching angrily away through the depths of his mind’s eye.
He then turned to Feather Foot. “Please elder, conduct us into town…”
He knew that he was falling, though he could not sense it. He knew it only as he knew so many things; through the wisdom of the Oneness contained within him like a thousand medicine-men stuffed in a sack.
Feather Foot’s voice seemed somehow distant as he called for warriors to carry Three-Rivers’ fallen body into town. The world passed him by slowly as he seemingly floated on strong hands and eased his way backwards and headfirst toward Father’s hometown.
I thought Bringing increased my strength?
Perhaps this is The Beginner’s price for playing God?
Oh my, her voice is so beautiful!
Who…where…when…is she?
Oh no, seducing Sleep, stay away! Back to the abyss within...below…beneath…
…Auntie, why does Mister Shakoto tie me up? Aren’t I pretty enough? Is it my singing? The poodle, the pink one… Can I have a fresh—new I mean—cat?
… Mine died. Get away, away! What a wretched timeframe! How did people ever live like this?
…Yes darling, every man in the world wants you. Unfortunately there will not be enough play dates to liquidate them all. Are you certain you want to upgrade your labia? You are set for termination in seventeen months…
No!
Yes, My Dear…
…How does she sing so clearly across the ages? Those are ages—those pauses in the chorus—aren’t they?
I wonder, is she as beautiful as she sounds?
