The young man ran out of the Atrium, tears in his eyes. All those memories came back to him, connecting in a long chain from the past to the present. He was given a new name by Swamiji. He was told to sever himself from the vestiges of the past. He threw away his old clothes and belongings, except his glasses. He immersed himself in the mind-numbing meditations and rituals, eventually attaching himself to Swamiji and his teachings. He performed duties without question. As the years went by, he became thoughtless and ruthless; only his belief that his guru and the order's teaching would liberate him from the cycle of reincarnation. He carried out orders, threatened, and expelled members. Eventually, he graduated to maltreating those beneath him for their own spiritual good as well as for the glory of the order and Swamiji. And then he committed murder.
Murder?
Yes. He had killed several people already, all under Swamiji's orders. A female sannyasin who maintained her purity only to discover later that receiving an energy transmission meant being ravished by the master, a long-time member who was already starting to doubt the order's teachings... there were at least three, he remembered.
And now Swamiji ordered him to kill his own father?
If by the transformation of Manila into a ghost town, Swamiji was referring to Operation Trebizond -also known as the Takeover- that would mean that he had lied to the young man. The Takeover had transformed the Philippines. In those areas that weren't under EOGC control, everything was the same: corrupt officials, poverty and backwardness. In those areas under EOGC control, it was different: the old political dynasties were overthrown, unemployment virtually disappeared, the economy was booming and people were apathetic to the government and the government in turn was fearful of corruption from within and the people from without. Traditional politicians were virtually extinct. Those elected to office were more afraid of the people who elected them rather than their political patrons and the voters were not gullible. Even the employees of the government were unable to commit abuses. All this was made possible because of the Takeover. The EOGC stood over the whole system, making it work -at times with force. But the benefits exceeded the negative side-effects. And overseeing this gigantic system was the young man's father.
The young man ran, not looking for a place, not thinking of where he was going. By late afternoon, he collapsed face down from exhaustion on the grass in a park.
He awakened to the sound of bells ringing. Looking up, he saw the cathedral's tower. It was early evening now and the bells were announcing the last masses for the day.
The young man got up and stumbled toward the Archbishop's Palace. He was trembling and panting. The guard at the gate seemed to recognize him and let him in without a moment's hesitation. He was crying again, and he could not control the tears.
He entered the chancery. There, too, the secretary seemed to recognize him and didn't ask him any questions.
Cardinal Zhang had just completed a meeting with a group of foreign priests and opened the door of his office to usher them out. When the last priest had left, the cardinal found himself staring face to face with Maximilian Ong. "Uncle," the young man sobbed and sank to his knees.
Immediately, the cardinal caught him by the arms to stop him from falling. "Maximilian!" he exclaimed.
The cardinal led the young man into his office and seated him on one of the chairs before his desk. He called for Sister Cathy and had her bring in some coffee for Maximilian to drink. The cardinal listened patiently as the young man related everything that had happened to him ever since he left his family. Maximilian even pulled out the gun that had been given to him and placed it on the cardinal's desk and told him of the plan.
The cardinal looked at the gun, then at Maximilian. He smiled warmly and leaned back down on his chair. "Do you still want to return to your family?" he asked.
"I do," replied Maximilian. "But I don't know what's going to happen. I'm ashamed to face my father."
"Your father has never given up on you," said the cardinal. "Sure, he's still angry at that group, but that doesn't mean he loves you any less."
He took out his cellphone and dialed a number. "Hello Eric," he said. "Your son's here. Yes, he's back. And he wants to come home."
Eric lowered the cellphone. He was in his study in the manor. Sinking to his chair, he leaned back an closed his eyes. He sighed.
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