part 11

Good evening. Or whatever time of day it is where you are. At least as good as it can be under these devastating circumstances. We find ourselves once more in the wake of a pogrom, the nature of which is unprecedented in human history. This catastrophic nightmare has left the entire population of this planet in mourning for the loss of either friends and family or public figures we have taken into our hearts, and plunged the world into social and political chaos. I have spent the better part of two days now in discussions with President Laird and other political leaders from around the world. They have asked me to address you at this time in the hopes that we may be able to stem the rising tide of disorder that has followed this tragic event. Because of the unique nature of my relationship to the machine that has committed this crime, no human face is more recognized than mine, and I have been persuaded that I am the best focus for a global effort to bring about the most widespread cooperation. To that end I’m willing to participate in this endeavor, however I need to make it known at the onset that I have no authority of any kind. I am not the agent of any government, nor am I the agent of the entity known as The Avatar, who is himself I believe, the agent of an unrevealed entity I refer to as God. I speak for myself alone. I will report what I consider to be pertinent information from government sources, however I offer no guarantee as to their sincerity or accuracy . . . So. As you may already know, most nations are currently operating under martial law. There is some ambiguity with respect to how your particular government will implement this. I recognize that some of you live in areas where there is disagreement regarding who is the legitimate authority. In most places the military agencies charged with maintaining order are reluctant to enforce it, particularly with weapons, for obvious reasons. I leave it to you to make local determinations as to their actual intent. I would encourage you to respond with a reasonable degree of tentative cooperation as I would encourage any members of the military to think of intervention as an opportunity to engender cooperation. In light of recent events I suggest that attempts to impose one’s will on others by force is . . unwise. I have been given to understand that from the embers of this latest savagery has emerged a worldwide political consensus for immediate action to see that those in need are provided for. There appears to be a sound basis for optimism in this. The majority of the world’s personal assets have become . . disassociated from their owners. The heirs of these assets may likely have little interest in the bulk of their potential inheritance. I have been told that at this very moment, discussions are underway between nations all over the world to determine strategies and tactics for directing these resources to where they are needed most. I am also pleased to hear that in this reborn spirit of public service, members of many governing bodies, including the three branches of US government, have expressed interest in making large donations to these efforts from their personal fortunes. Details of the first preliminary efforts to implement these policies should be forthcoming over the next few days . . . Now, I’d like to address some more immediate concerns. This bloody rampage has generated responses ranging from fear and uncertainty to panic and hysteria. To make matters worse, demagogues of every description have leaped into the media spotlight to advance any number of crackpot schemes and apocalypsi that feed on human fear and confusion. I won’t tell you what to believe, but I’d suggest you approach this kind of lunacy with caution and skepticism. Any value in content probably exists in inverse proportion to the volume in decibels of the message. I’d also suggest you keep this in mind: The principle targets of this attack were almost entirely people whose professional function was to decide long term strategy and make policy. The people who actually do things, who carry out the daily activities that make every nation function, have been virtually untouched. If all of us simply return to those duties, there’s no reason we can’t continue to operate just as we did before this happened. Go back to work. Go back to school. Drive trucks, sell insurance, treat patients, arrange flowers, whatever. The decisions that were being made by those who are no longer with us will be made either individually or collectively by whoever remains and is most able or appropriate. I know I’m making a very complex and difficult situation sound vastly simpler that it is, but ultimately that’s how things are going to work out, particularly if we make honest efforts to make decisions based on reason and insight as opposed to greed and self interest . . . Which leads me to the next subject . . . Because of my position, people from the beginning have looked to me for guidance, for instructions on what to do, how to behave in order to comply with whatever standards satisfy the Avatar. Until now, there has been little legitimate need for this since those standards have been relatively clear and unambiguous. He waged his campaign against those who commit crimes of violence. Now that he has acted on a new criterion, all that has changed and everyone has the same questions. Will he return? If so, when? And most horribly, what will be the basis for his judgement? I’m sorry, but I don’t know the answer to any of these questions. Whatever you may think based on what you have heard me say over these last few months, neither God nor his agent communicate directly with me in any manner. l have no conduit to their attitude or intent. I do not suffer voices or visions. I do not read signs in the heavens. I do not know what will come or when. As much as I wish I could, I cannot help you in this way. It’s likely I can’t help you in any way. All I can do is speculate based on what he’s already done and most of you are going to come to the same conclusions anyway. We all expect him to return, and it seems reasonable to assume we’ll see him in a matter of days or weeks. Who he’ll pick on this time is anybody’s guess. Obviously you are all anxious to know what you need to do to avoid a death sentence. Even if I had some insight into what might next provoke him, there appears to be no fail-safe methods that ensure survival. The blameless have always been among the victims but during the last assault died in even greater numbers than the accused. For this reason I think the preoccupation with identifying his next target is a wasted enterprise. I don’t think we can spend the rest of our lives in a constant cycle of reaction to his attacks, trying to anticipate his next move, trying to dodge the next bullet. I think the only thing we can do is chart the best course we can, and live, or die, with the consequences . . . To that end, I make the following observation. The Avatar is an equal opportunity executioner. He has never discriminated on a basis of race, sex, religion, age, or national origin. He doesn’t seem to care about your sexual orientation or whether or not you shave or wear a veil. In fact, it doesn’t seem to me that he really gives a shit one way or another about much of anything you are or choose to do that only affects you. His principle interest seems to be in how what you do affects other people. I think the key to everything is to keep this in mind. I remind you that we are all children of the same God. He wants us to treat one another decently, it’s that simple. You don’t need to study the rantings of zealots who lived millennia ago and thought the Earth was flat to know what’s right and wrong, we all know. Don’t harm one another. Don’t lie or cheat or take things that don’t belong to you. Share what you have with people who need it. It’s none of your business what they think or wear or who they choose to spend their time with. Live and let live. You’ve heard it all a million times. Use it. If the Hammer of God appears, so be it. You can’t control what he does or doesn’t do. Be a decent human being and stand before him without guilt or shame. In the end it’s all any of us can do . . . Good luck to all of you.