Chapter 22
The Turning Point
___________________________________________________________________
Since the attacks, the media has toned down its adverse commentary on The Restoration but has also chosen to sustain from mentioning anything to the movement's credit such as the devastating losses its forces suffered defending the cities of Chicago, Detroit and Atlanta. Instead, something of a back door criticism has been implied such as that in a recent syndicated editorial.
"Within days after what The Restoration
described as a coordinated subversive attack by Chytinos, Indicos and foreign mercenaries,
its nationalistic ideology has set up a number of recruiting offices throughout
the country. In some instances, the same office can recruit a volunteer
and also register that person to vote. Both state and national political
leaders believe such a mass registration among those indoctrinated by Zani' rhetoric
may well result in an extremist skew in the next election that, combined
with the anticipated sympathy vote following the assassination of Joseph
Adamson, could produce a substantial voice among newly-elected candidates not in
the best interest of a diverse society that must recognize the numerous races
and cultures now represented in the United States. As further evidence of
this, a number of incumbents have used information released by The
Restoration to substantiate this fear. Of the newly recruited
volunteers, the average age is 52, and this fact is viewed as confirmation that The
Restoration movement is only enlisting a clearly defined segment of the populace
and perhaps alienating the remainder of age groups and races. This
viewpoint seems to gain credence when observing that among the same volunteers
and registrants, 87% is either Caucasian or Negro."
"When asked to comment on these observations, Restoration
adjutant and public information officer Melvin Rubenstein stated such a response is open to
several interpretations. Although not frequently acknowledged, a
motivating force behind formation of the party's activities is the supposed fact that
after decades of exposure to shallow values depicted by the entertainment
industry, an expanding drug culture and life style of the me generation, several
generations have undergone a mass psychological retro fruition resulting
in an overall attitude of freedom from responsibility to anything except the
casual lifestyles they prefer in pursuit of personal agendas. Rubenstein went on
to say such attitudes tend to discredit or even disclaim anyone should live by a
moral code such as that professed by any religion. He offered some
clarification in saying he didn't think the country was becoming one of atheists
but one that placed a moral code in more of a theoretical or storybook nature
rather than a life style that should be seriously pursued. When pressed
further, he cited loss of purpose and motivating force leading many into a
stagnated viewpoint of what type, or even if, a unified national purpose should
exist."
"Seeming reluctant to dwell on party nationalism, Rubenstein
pointed out its first step would be to place the volunteers with
state-of-the-arts communications equipment in a number of listening posts
throughout all major cities. Others will undergo a more long-term
training in small unit tactics and the use of various forms of weaponry with the
ultimate goal being the establishment of defense sectors in every city
sufficiently trained and armed to respond to acts of vandalism and terror of the
sort now running rampant in New York City. He referred to a "due
process" of this sort that would first establish national identity and
responsibility and contribute to nationalistic dedication to the country as a
whole."
"Still, there are many who question Zani' propaganda and
continue to believe the movement's only goal is to gain political power finally
leading to a dictatorship administered by combined Church and government."
"Several weeks after the attacks, the Majestic plants in all
cities have resumed production and are now operating at 75% of their original
output. After the attack, the stock plummeted but is now trading at near
the share price before the attacks. Most of the plants' material suppliers were not struck
by the insurgents, and their stocks have seen a slight gain in value.
Since the president's announcement following the attacks, New York City remains
under heavy vandalism and insurgent terror tactics due to the severely
undermanned police department that suffered high casualties during the
attack. The non-conclusive nature of the president's statement
opened an intense debate in Congress and most state governing bodies as to
precisely where the responsibility rests to defend against the terror tactics of
the insurgency. Finally, in a brief statement, the Zani' announced the
country could no longer wait for the wheels of a dysfunctional government to
take action, and it must move on its own. The precise application of that
statement remains uncertain."
________________
When Field Marshal Rolf Kesselring arrives in New York, he
is greeted by one of the very attractive female
reporters of a local television station. When she asks him what the Zani'
meant by "dysfunctional government," Kesselring snaps, "I'm a
military commander and not a linguist but what would you do if you were horney
as hell and your husband couldn't get up a hard?"
As best anyone can recall, that is the only public statement
Kesselring has ever made. As he and the command staff hurry to a waiting
limousine, there are many camera flashes when all the reporters notice the
commander and every person on the command staff is dressed in black
uniforms with white trim - identical to the Nazi SS of World War II, right down
to the thunderbolt insignias on their left collars. More cameras flash
when the staff reaches the limousine, and they all recognize one another with the
Nazi salute.
Newspapers and television networks are
littered with pictures of the airport scene, the SS uniforms and Nazi salutes,
all side-by-side with archive photos of Hitler greeting various generals in the
same SS uniform as they all saluted him in the same manner. For several
days, reporting turns away from the insurgency crisis in New York City as a
number of documentaries are aired tracing the Nazi rise to power, the resultant
global war and crimes against humanity that were the unfortunate and idiotic
turn of a movement that had achieved an overpowering sense of nationalism never
before seen in the history of the world.
Kesselring and his staff are seated in the New York Police
Commissioner's conference room. Calmly, Kesselring says, "In Berlin
years ago, when planning some task, we had an expression - RTFP. Read the
fucking problem." He looks at the commissioner and, still in the calm
and diagnostic mannerism, asks, "What's your situation?"
The stress of combating the insurgency is obvious in the
commissioner's appearance. His face is pale, and his uniform fits loosely,
suggesting a stress-produced loss of weight. His voice and tightened mouth
quite obviously put across his resent and exasperation when he says, "We
lost 55% of our officers on the day of the main attack. Many on duty now
were wounded and can only handle limited assignments. We just don't have
the personnel to respond to multiple acts of vandalism. All the while,
we're losing more dead and wounded. The insurgents are growing stronger
and we're growing weaker by the day."
A staff officer asks, "What about the National
Guard?"
"The damn governor won't commit them to New York
City. He's got to watch his ass and keep them close to their homes to meet
any attacks there. There's as political risk in sending them here you
understand."
Kesselring asks, "How much air power and armor do you
have?"
"We've got about 10 obsolete F-32s in a hanger at a
National Guard Armory that was closed years ago and 5 Bradlelys in a separate
building at the same site. The god damn governor has deactivated a lot of
guard units and turned the armories into schools to teach the elementary school
grades Spanish and Oriental languages and customs."
For the first time, Kesselring's expression changes when he
says, "Times change." He looks at a staff officer and asks, "What
will the F-32 carry?"
The staff officer removes diagrams and specification pages
from his briefcase and says, "Eight laser-guided missiles and 4 500
pound bombs."
Kesselring looks back to the commissioner. "What
about pilots, maintenance personnel and Bradley crews?"
"We've got a number of retired Air Force pilots who
volunteered soon after the attack. Right now, they're just sitting at the
air field. We can't use the damn fighters and destroy half the city.
Even if we could, we can't get them to the sites of the terror attacks soon
enough. Hell, the fuckers can hear them coming, and they just hide in the
same damn buildings they're vandalizing. We've got a few airplane
mechanics that were laid off by the airlines and a number of guardsmen who were
highly pissed-off when their units were deactivated."
Kesselring hands a single sheet of paper to a staff officer
and says, "Contact Colonel Ferguson at the Philadelphia General
Depot. Get these armaments to the air field as soon as
possible." He hands another page to the commissioner and says,
"This equipment will be delivered to the air field this afternoon.
Here is the installation diagram and instructions. Have them mounted on
the airplanes. Do you know the starting points for the acts of vandalism
you're experiencing?"
"Hell yes, I know. The Grey Stone Apartments is a
complex covering a square city block. It's heavily occupied by Chytinos
and has been the site of much drug trafficking, even before all this
began. After the attack, we tried to get a warrant to search the
whole damn premises, but the judge said we had no evidence and that implying the
Chytinos were responsible was a violation of privacy rights and had a strong
connotation of racial profiling that could produce unrest among all the Chytinos
in the city that would make the situation worse."
"Is the area residential, commercial or what?"
Kesselring asks.
"It's fairly close to the Westend Mall. On the
other side of 34th Street, there's a number of blocks of row apartments occupied
primarily by Caucasians and Negroes. Much of the vandalism has been in the
mall and residential areas."
Kesselring asks, "Do you have a press secretary?"
"Yes."
"Good. Tell him to contact all the local
newspapers, radio and television stations with the announcement that a voter
registration and Zani' recruiting office will soon be opened in Westside
Mall. Get a few people together with tool boxes and paint brushes and
start work somewhere in the mall setting up the office. Take a few men and
set up communications listening posts all through that area. You'll need
to come with me on a reconnaissance mission this afternoon. For the next
several days, make only token responses to any acts of vandalism. We need
to give the bastards confidence and draw them out."
Again, the commissioner gives the impression he is near a
breaking point due to stress when he almost shouts, "Draw them out!?
Hell, that's the last thing we want to do. If we have to respond to much
more, we're going to run out of officers. What the fuck will we do
then?"
Kesselring simply says, "We're not fighting a
conventional war. We've got to develop appropriate tactics and not
squander our resources on the enemy's terms."
After several days of top secret planning and reconnaissance
missions, the command staff is on high ground observing thick clouds of smoke
that mask many of the buildings around Westend Mall. Periodic explosions
from mortars and improvised explosive devices shake the ground, and there is the
constant sound of looting mobs. Kesselring's head jerks from side to side,
as though he were playing a video game, staring through binoculars at many
blocks of abandoned vehicles, broken store fronts and smoldering ashes.
Finally, he says, "The son of a bitches are trying to see what we
have. Don't commit a damn anything."
The sounds of gunfire and small explosions continue for some
while until there is a code 1 transmission on the emergency radio
frequency. "Listening post 5. There's a large number of
Chytinos outside the Gray Stone Apartments drawing arms from several deuce and a
halves." After a few moments silence, the report becomes more
stressed. "God damn. There's hundreds of them filtering in from
the side streets. They're headed straight towards Westend Mall."
Kesselring enters the frequency and orders, "Move the
Bradleys 4 blocks east of the mall. They're after the recruiting office
and probably will try to burn the whole damn mall."
Soon, the mob is seen entering the mall parking lot.
Many civilians are running from their vehicles but are cut down with automatic
weapons fire before they can reach the building. The mob begins launching
rocket propelled grenades into the store fronts causing explosions and fires to
erupt from inside the mall.
There's a strange, vicious smile on Kesselring's face as he
brings the radio microphone to his lips and calmly says, "EZ4, this is
EZ1. Response sequence 1."
The mob moves closer and closer to the mall, breaking car
windshields with their rifle butts as they advance. Soon, there is the
sound of jet motors in the sky. The mob stops and stares at a formation of
10 fighters coming in at low altitude and dashes for cover behind the parked
vehicles. The planes descend at a high rate of speed, fly directly over
the crouched mob but do not fire a single shot. They bank sharply and
begin a turn towards the Gray Stone Apartments. The mob ceases its advance
and stares at the airplanes. Soon, there is the deafening sound of sirens
from the airplanes as they begin near 90 degree dives, releasing laser-guided missiles
squarely in the center of the Gray Stone Apartments. Explosions shake the
earth under the mobs feet as large clouds of dense gray smoke shoot into the
sky.
Someone on the commissioner's staff asks, "What in the
hell is that siren sound?"
A staff officer says, "Kesselring had sirens mounted in
the noses of the airplanes. They're very effective in creating fear, don't
you agree?"
The other man asks, "You mean sirens like were in the
Nazi Stuka dive bombers?"
With sort of a chime, the staff officer replies, "That's
right."
The mob is panic-stricken and breaks up into several groups
that begin a headlong sprint out of the parking lot and back towards the
apartments. They're all running towards the higher ground to the west and
come to a gradual stop when the apartment complex comes into view. The
entire block is in smoke. The planes, with their sirens screaming, first
make sorties firing laser-guided missiles, sending building fragments flying
through the smoke and landing several blocks away. As they regain
altitude, screams can be heard, somehow prevailing over the cracking of the
fires and pounding noises from collapsing walls. The planes then come in
at still lower altitudes and begin efficient napalm bomb runs. The gel-like
napalm rolls down the streets like bowling balls, leaving trails of orange fires
behind. The screams are quickly silenced. The mob hesitates and then
begins an awe-stricken walk towards the devastation.
Kesselring is staring through his binoculars, still talking
to himself and mumbling, "How does it feel to see your own families go up
in smoke? You won't live to weep at the funerals." He calmly
walks back to the jeep-mounted radio and orders, "Bring up the Bradleys.
Get in front of them. Attack with flame throwers."
The mob is in several dazed groups, slowly walking down the
middle of several streets, hardly noticing the sound of the Bradleys turning on
the streets in front of them. The Bradleys approach but do not open fire,
causing the mob to think their mission is just to cause them to disperse.
They just jump onto the sidewalks, out of the path of the approaching vehicles
that suddenly increase speed and begin spraying flames igniting the first few
ranks of the attackers, sending the others into a stumbling, frantic flight from
the smoke, fire and smell of burning human flesh.
Kesselring shouts, "God dammit.
Helicopters....Helicopters now!"
Helicopters had never been mentioned during the
reconnaissance but within moments, several attack helicopters appear and begin
low-level Gatlin attacks but after only a few moments, Kesselring shouts,
"Cease fire. Break off all action." He' s looking through
his binoculars to confirm the attack has been broken and finally moves back to
his jeep. Just before motioning the driver to return to police
headquarters, he says, "We want enough of them left to pick up their
dead."
The jeep stops beside a staff officer, who renders the Nazi
salute, and Kesselring says, "Wait until twilight and begin attack sequence
2."
Hours pass and there is relative quite as rows of bodies are
laid side-by-side through the smoldering ruins. The warm afternoon sun
beats down on the rubble, and there is the stagnant odor of concrete dust and
ashes throughout the city. All that can be heard is the weeping sounds of
those who are gathering their dead.
Just before nightfall, a small convoy stops at the top of the
steep hill leading down to the apartments. A number of men casually unload
55 gallon drums, removing the caps on some. Presently, they begin rolling them down the hill, making a terrible rumbling sound as those still alive on the
burnt premises are stunned and stand perfectly still, watching them as they
begin striking the jagged edges of the fallen walls, spilling gasoline that is
immediately ignited in the smoldering ashes. Rows of bodies begin to
burn. The insurgents scream and begin running in a disorganized pattern,
some stumbling over bodies and rubble.
Once the fires are renewed, the Zani soldiers cease taking
off the caps but continue rolling the drums down the hill. They all come
to rest somewhere in the complex and after remaining in the fires for some minutes, begin to explode,
hurling many into the air and making loud crashing sounds as they crash back
into the ruins. For hours, the drums roll down the hill, and the night skies are
lighted by the large additional fires that ensue after each explosion.
Daybreak deprives the attackers of the fear tactic offered by the uncertainty of
darkness, and the attack ceases. There is again a morbid stillness only
offering a few muffled moans and cracking sounds of the remaining fires.
Just as casually as it had arrived, the convoy departs after having taken only a
few moments to survey the total devastation below, much the same as some
financial report denoting a highly profitable year.
________________
Rubenstein's mastery of manipulating the
press has improved over the months, and he makes only a brief statement to the
news media. It increases the mystery and suspense of the moment and far
exceeds any screenwriter's ability to achieve the same mood through sordid tales
of marital infidelity, crime, violence and alternate life styles. His words offer little room
for numerous modifications as demanded by developing political events.
"The Zani recognizes the task ahead
and has modified its tactics accordingly. Any attack against law-abiding
citizens will be met with retaliation of equal fear and much greater
force."
The political impact of recent events is
open to interpretation and most effective usage by political office
holders. Shortly after Rubenstein's brief and to the point statement, the
Georgia governor holds a press conference and makes his opening statement.
"I am shocked by recent developments that have seen the citizens of this
state take up arms against one another. Equally shocking is the debate at
all levels of elected government as to just whose responsibility it is to meet
the insurgency and restore law and order. With me I have the speaker of
the Georgia State Legislature and commander of the Georgia National Guard.
We agree we can't join the debate and now must act to punish crimes against
humanity at the hands of the Zani'. I have ordered the National Guard to
arrest John O'Frailey, the so-called Leader, and all the members of The
Restoration Inner Circle to be placed on trail for the brutal acts they have
very carefully planned and carried out in order to achieve a crisis of fear that
will assist them in their quest for power. I call on all the citizens of
this state to exercise well-advised restraint for that is the essential first
step in restoring security which can only come from authorized law enforcement
and elected officials - not self-appointed storm troopers. The speaker and
general have statements."
The speaker assumes the podium and in a very deliberate and
reflective tone, begins, "I have called myself a Republican before I
reached voting age but in recent years, I have become quite concerned about the
turn towards states rights and overall direction of the country. With this
concern, over and over, I've asked myself the question what can I do? The
very events to which the governor just spoke finally convinced me. If my
experience in state government, which extends over these last 30 years, can be
of any benefit, I must resign as speaker of the Georgia House of
Representatives, withdraw from the Republican Party and join The Restoration.
I can no longer support or remain a member of a failing political system that
not only refuses to take the needed action the country so desperately requires
but also fails to acknowledge such a condition even exists. I yield to the
commander."
Rather bluntly, the commander says in a loud and condemning
voice, "If any member of the Zani' is to be arrested, then arrest
me first, for it
is I that ordered Guard equipment into action to meet the recent attacks by
foreign mercenaries and those presumed citizens of this country who feel their
agenda can only be put forward by acts of violence. Many times within the
past, the country has seen peaceful descent to express some opinion or proclaim
some injustice. I cannot say I was always in agreement with the philosophy
or motives of such demonstrations but I agreed in general with the concept -
especially if a dysfunctional government offered no meaningful action towards
legitimate grievances. We are now at the time we must take further steps
to restore unanimity among the public towards a sustained and worthy national
purpose through peaceful action that must begin in the election of candidates
with recognition, will and purpose. Express your will and determination
through volunteering in one of The Restoration's crusades. Register
to vote and begin the long process of restoring true America. This
restoration must first exist in your hearts, then by your actions and sustained
by a determined dedication to Church and country."
They both depart the building. The press chases after
them as they enter a jeep and appear headed towards Restoration
headquarters.
Within moments, large groups of people begin to gather
outside the State Capital. Others appear at City Hall. Still others
at Restoration headquarters. They all have hastily prepared banners
and are shouting, "America....America....America!"
Concurrently, shouting mobs of foreign mercenaries begin
assembling a few blocks from the Gray Stone Apartments, or at least what was
once the Gray Stone Apartments. They're all carrying rifles and grenade
launchers and seem about to seize the opportunity to inflict large body counts
from the inviting targets of the congregation of people at several places
throughout Atlanta. Several fighters appear from nowhere and seem to have
emerged from some pre-planned circling pattern to meet any overt act. They
begin strafing sorties over streets still soaked in gasoline from the previous
night's terror fire drum attack. There is a single flare fired from
somewhere on the hill leading to the apartments, sending flames running straight
into the mercenaries. The fires again erupt, and the few remaining 55
gallon drums of gasoline begin exploding. Again, there is the scent or
concrete dust and burning human flesh until all falls quiet.
________________
Several days of calm follow with no
insurgent activity. There are no attempts to arrest anyone at Restoration
headquarters, and Rubenstein feels such conditions are favorable to dramatize
another press conference. With growing and obvious confidence, he says,
"The will and determination of the Zani has been met with growing will of
the people, and we must now look to the next step in restoring America through a
number of Crusades that speak to pressing needs long fallen victim to political
expediency. New York City suffered the worse damage from the recent
attacks, primarily because insufficient police, Restoration and loyal
military forces existed to meet the overt insurgency. This city will now
become one of occupation but this occupation will not be one of military force
but one of a corps of religious and medical volunteers. After all efforts
to this point, now is the time to begin the spiritual restoration of the
nation. Volunteer priests have been on the scene since the day of the
attack. Masses have been held among fallen buildings and in the
streets. During these masses, when people face one another, extend their
hands and say, 'Peace be with you,' there is a new expression and determination
in an emerging will and resolve that can only come from one faith and one
government that no longer can remain divided. The insurgency, however,
cannot be defeated overnight. Civil Affairs and Military Police units,
especially in New York City, are setting up defense sectors, training citizens
in the use of weapons and developing pre-planned response measures for any
future attack as well as establishing a 24 hour armed patrols of every
residential and commercial neighborhood to prevent random vandalism."
"I must emphasize one point. These efforts are not
for The Restoration to seize political power, and there will be no
attempt to depose any elected official. This can only be done at the will
of the people through lawful elections. Regardless, there are pressing
needs that now must be addressed and will not permit pointless and unending
debate among political bodies as to what branch of government has the
responsibility to look after a number of issues that have been permitted to go
unattended for months and years. A case in point is the New York Hospice
and Pain Management Center, a member of a group of such facilities throughout
the country. When that facility became one of exclusive
pain management, all operating rooms were closed and most of the surgical staff
was terminated. Citing legal considerations and non-recognition of many
insurance companies, including Medicare and Medicaid, of recent medical advances
made by The Restoration, this facility has denied access by medical
volunteers. I won't comment as to the motives in
remaining a facility of exclusive pain management other than to refer you to its
financial statements for the past 3 years showing a 34% decrease in overall
operating expenses and a 51% increase in profits. During this period, the
average length of time a patient remained in pain management before death
decreased from 6 to 2 months. During the same period, there was a 28%
increase in stock value for the nationwide group of hospitals."
"In a Crusade that will be adopted nationwide, volunteer
Restoration lawyers have visited every patient at New York Hospice and
Pain Management Center and prepared living wills confirming each one's consent
as to what treatment he or she wants. National contributions in the
medical assistance crusade has billions in audited resources; and as the Crusade
advances, we can expect it to enlist the growing will and concern of all
citizens for the sick and those the system has abandoned as hopeless in pursuit
of progressive statistics that first must consider stockholders' return
on equity. Again, this will not occur overnight. The mass
psychological retro-fruition required decades to reach its present level of
moral indifference and governing attitude of non-obligation but hearts and minds
can be restored only through a strong feeling of nationalism and dedication
towards Church and country."
"It's probably necessary to mention now that euthanasia
will not be considered in treating any patient. Such a practice, although
ultimately necessary, can only be enacted through legislation by Church and
government that allows each individual patient to determine when life, as he or
she would have it, ends and death is the will of the patient to end suffering
beyond the capacity of existing medical knowledge. Do you have questions?"
A reporter boldly speaks up and asks, "Now and at many
times in the past, you have mentioned Church and government as one body and that
dedication to a common belief is essential in building nationalism. How can you expect the people to take you seriously when you
are Jewish and The Restoration is a Christian movement?"
Such a question has come up infrequently in previous press
conferences, because subjects at the time made for
greater controversy and consequently, greater advertising costs in television
newscasts. In a cold stare and with squinted eyes, he asks, "Do you imply
any Jew doesn't care about the interests of the country, the unemployed and care
for the sick or any non-Christian should declare himself exempt from any
responsibility in restoring the American spirit? One of The
Restoration's central religious beliefs is that redemption isn't something
that comes like a bolt of lightening or an on-the-spot Protestant rebirth.
First, someone must see a good and worthy cause and have it speak to his
heart. Some will see the good and want to become a part of it but still
others will turn away and chose to remain a prisoner of mass psychological
retro-fruition in pursuit of their own personal goals and nothing
else. Every religion teaches kindness, love and concern for others and
demands a dedication through what means each person may possess - not only
obligatory contributions every so often but through volunteering time and
talents towards a common goal. Any Jew or non-Christian should bear this
in mind and yes, it is the policy of The Restoration that it is the sole
representative of Christ in this country. That doesn't mean everyone else
should turn away from these concerns taught by his own religion, become a bigot
and confine himself in the closed mind implied by your question. Many
times, The Restoration has said a religious movement must first be
preceded by efforts to feed the hungry, find work for the unemployed, find
shelter for the homeless and heal the sick. When those of other religions,
through kindness and love restored in their own hearts, who can say where that
will lead?"
________________
A convoy of some 20 medical vehicles is
escorted by jeeps with mounted .30 calibers through the streets of New York City
and enters the New York Hospice and Pain Management Center parking lot. The convoy
stops close to the main entrance, and a large number of persons, all clothed in
various sorts of medical uniforms, begin unloading boxes and stacking them in 5
neatly arranged sections in the parking lot. A group of heavily-armed Zani'
soldiers assumes the file formation and advances towards the hospital as stunned
employees and visitors look on. The soldiers enter the large, sprawling,
one-story building and begin striding down the main hall. Many patients
are too sick to get out of their beds but try to lift their weak bodies to look
into the hallway. There is the strong scent of urine and feces in the air,
and other patients with canes, in wheel chairs and with walkers weakly make
their way towards the doorways to the various wards; and as the procession
passes, they begin a fragile plea, "Help us please....I'm in pain, and they
won't do anything....They want me to die."
The soldiers stop and take positions along the hallway with
their weapons at port arms. All those in the central chart room gape at
the blonde, blue-eyed man in the black uniform of the Zani' slowly walking down the hallway with his hands behind
his back. He stops at the nursing station; and with the most condemning
expression and tone, says, "Get out!"
The staff hurriedly begins a cautious walk and then
modified jog towards the front entrance.
As one of them passes, the Zani' officer grabs him by the
arm and says, "Get over to those god damn computers and give them the
passwords or anything else they need to access patient records!"
Zani' volunteer medical personnel come down the hallway at a
near sprint towards the chart room. A number of doctors begin powering up
the computers and sending various groups throughout the building. No one
is standing still, and there is the overtone, "Inventory the
pharmacy....Set up the ORs....Get those patients over there out of their own
urine and change the linens....Throw everything in that fucking kitchen away and
restock from vehicle 7....File the living will for each patient."
The patients in the hallway and wards shout profanity at the
staff as it departs the building. Close behind the pain managers are
details of priests and nurses. As they extend their hands to the sick and
dying, the most loving smile comes across the faces of the terminally ill, long
lost and forgotten in the system.