The men and women who patrol the border of Terrie 11 were given specific orders not to shoot anyone who would happen to cross bounds in the early morning hours of November 1, 2111. It had been suggested, in fact, insisted upon, that Walkers replace their bullets with blanks just on the off-chance forces beyond their control would manage to circumvent the very orders that had been iterated endlessly in the weeks prior to the first.
It is an uncommon practice to shoot anyone crossing bounds without first identifying if they are a threat and it had been months since another had even attempted to cross on foot. So the boys were already deep into their conspiracies as they escorted, a now unrestrained Lincoln, up the road towards Hill St.
“Maybe we should stop by Rec, get him cleaned up first before we drop him.”
“I was thinking that too, but I bet you they’d rather get eyes on him first given all the ruckus.”
“Yeah, probably. So anyway, finish your story, man.”
“So everything I told you about, just right now, my wife works up on Hill and she heard that it was Landon Garvey who was the one that told them.”
“Garvey? So they knew all about this years ago?”
“Yup, and the only thing they told us about was this his grandson would return. They didn’t say nothing about no…”
“Maaaaan, I thought we had gotten past all this. This the same shit we separated over. Our leaders telling lies or omitting facts. Don’t they think this is something we should know about?”
“Exactly.”
“So they didn’t ever say who it would be against?”
“Apparently they aren’t sure, but I bet you a birdie it’s with One.”
“You think?”
“Hell yeah! With Meeko missing now? There is no way Elder McKnight is gonna play about his son.”
“And I get that, honestly I do, but you can’t just disrupt thousands of lives going to war because your son goes missing. That’s bad leadership.”
“Yeah…”
“Like, part of being a good leader is pulling your personal emotions out of situations. We can’t just go invading a country because we think they are responsible for blowing up two of our buildings. I meeeeean, we all know how that shit turned out.”
“True. But don’t you ever just sit and wonder about shit like this, man?”
“Like what?”
“Like how he came to know things- these events. How he could predict what would happen.”
“Yea, me and my girl talk about these things some nights. It’s crazy what we know now.”
“Yet what we still don’t know.”
The voices grew muffled when the car door closed though Lincoln could see, from the back seat, that they were talking about which one would take him and which one would stay behind. It was quickly decided that it would be the one whose wife worked on Hill St., that would stay. So the one with the dreads opened the driver side door, started the car, and it drove off.
Lincoln remained quiet, mostly to see if Dreads would actually speak to him first without some sort of prompt. He did, briefly, just to tell him that he was going to take him straight to Elder McKnight. Lincoln thanked him for removing the cling wrap earlier and for offering to get him cleaned up first before the grand introduction.
“Can I ask a favor?” Said Lincoln shyly. “Can you turn on some music?”
Dreads shouted, "connect."
And a woman’s voice responded in sync, “connecting to Station Eleven.”
The speakers of the car picked up two distinct voices and all three screens-- the two in the back of the headrests and the one on the dash—laid bare whom the voices belonged to.
Station Eleven with Nina and Kevin, your Terrie’s only place for media, music and more. Coming up we got that five-at-five, and later, we are gonna hear that new Maxton single. But first, let’s gon ahead and show our sponsors some love.
Lincoln watched the heavy-set man honey into the low microphone near his lips and then the camera panned towards the attractive woman as she smiled just before the feed cut to a series of food-related images off the menu of a restaurant.
Lincoln paid no nevermind to the advertisements at first. It took the third ad, a bookstore they happened to drive passed called BOOKeem’s, before Lincoln realized all the commercials were for local businesses. Barbershops, oil changes, palm readings and tarot, even one for Eleven Electric, which was not so much an advertisement as it was a reminder that power will be temporarily disabled in the Fenton block from 9 p.m. Tuesday through 6 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The feed returned back to the station and the melodious voice of the heavy-set man echoed throughout the speakers welcoming him back as though he knew he’d return. He watched the woman unveil the five-at-five, which he learned was not the top five songs given in the fifth hour of the day, but actually, the top five announcements given every hour at five ‘til.
Number Five was an advisory that there was an accident near 35th and Wells and that people should use King or Douglass to avoid the slowdown. Number Four was a reminder about ballots which never were elaborated upon except only that they will be distributed directly following today's church and that they will be due one week from today. Number Three was a plea to elevate Elder and Mrs. McKnight in our vibration and a prayer for the safe return of young Meeko McKnight who has been missing now a little over two weeks. Number Two was some information for how to donate to Feast, the Fenton and East food drives that are happening all next week. Lastly, Number One, a proclamation about Lincoln.
Landon Garvey’s grandson is presaged to return sometime this week. It is the first forecast we’ve had in over two years from the Sociologist, Author and Philanthropist; and it is the prequel to a series of three prophecies in sequence set to kick off sometime in April, May and June of 2112. We will be holding a two-hour long open discussion on the coming revelations cause, as we all know, it is not a matter of if it will happen but when. So get your questions submitted as we dissect this karmic event, prediction by prediction, right here at Station Eleven on November the fifth. Now, stay tuned, we got that Maxton, we got that old school DVSN and later we will be broadcasting Church for all those unable to attend today’s sermon...
The car shut off along with the feed. Lincoln looked out the window to find a distinct black bricked building crafted in a familiar pattern he instantly remembered from his Junior High school history book. It brought a sly smile to his face that quickly dissolved with the shifting of the weight of the car at Dread’s swift exit.
Lincoln’s door opened and he slid out and followed the man ushering him up the steps towards the entrance. Lincoln detected a bit of dread in Dreads as he extended the envelope that had once been shrink-wrapped to Lincoln’s chest and whispered to the two men in suits guarding the door. There was some communication to a fifth individual located inside via wireless communication and then Dreads was thanked profusely for his service and released to return back to his post. Dreads nodded at Lincoln, which he had hoped meant good luck, as it was what he had intended when he returned a similar gesture in response.
A sharply dressed woman greeted him upon his crossing of the threshold and led him past a desk towards an elevator that would take them up to the 3rd floor. She used a skeleton key that unlocked a suite and, once inside, gave Lincoln a quick tour of the amenities before explaining that Elder McKnight will come down in half an hour. She offered a few more details Lincoln found helpful then started for the door. Then, as if she wasn’t sure she had already said it, she turned back to him and repeated that Chancellor McKnight would be down in thirty minutes and directed him towards the armoire for the appropriate clothes. Lincoln thanked her for her kindness once more and, when it was no longer rude, closed the door.
There was a brief moment when Lincoln thought about collapsing onto the bed in a sea of sleep before he was, for a third time, reminded that Chancellor McKnight was on his way, so he had better make himself presentable. He traipsed to the bathroom which triggered the light source, pushed the button to the shower and then tugged on the armoire doors. Suits, several of them in varying styles and patterns were displayed on velvet hangers. Lincoln quickly got the premonition that today will not be a day of rest.
Do you remember me?
It wasn’t long after the Chancellor’s arrival that the two of them were under police escort on their way to the Church. Lincoln, most probably due to the tenderness in which the hot water cradled his skin, was feeling much more observant than in his last car ride. The radio station in this vehicle, which was much larger, roomier and secure, was playing Station Eleven. All of the advertisements were still for local Black businesses. The police escort, the tram drivers, even the families he passed, whether in cars or walking the streets—mothers, fathers and children—were all neatly groomed and Black.
“It’s a different sight, huh?” Chancellor McKnight pilfered before Lincoln could formulate the thought. “Seeing us like this?”
“You don’t take any outside resources? Three? Five?”
“None. We have our own rehabilitation programs for our offenders. We have our own elder care facilities. We don’t accept any outside social media or technology. All of our media platforms connect via our radio app and were designed by our residents. You can go the movies and see local films shot right here. You can turn on Station Eleven and watch music videos from our artists. Anyone can submit creative works. If the public likes it, it will get played-- sometimes a bit too religiously, in my humble opinion” The Chancellor chuckled, “but ultimately it is just more money going back into your pocket.”
Lincoln’s awe allowed for Chancellor McKnight to fill the void of silence a little longer, “have you seen many other Terries, Lincoln?”
“Documen-Terries are becoming a thing now, in Two. They play at the big film festival every year. I feel like I’ve seen them all. I just came from One, their Terrie doesn’t have an original thought. Everything they have is manufactured from and produces income for other Terries. There are a few Terries I’ve never seen. Eleven is…”
“Notoriously private.” Chancellor finished the thought. “We don’t allow anyone to come into this Terrie, ever. There have been several over the years who have failed. It is very important for us to keep our autonomy. We don’t ever need to show the world how great we are; prove how nonviolent we can be, or whatever else they think about us in this great day of our Aquarian age. All we’ve ever wanted from this life was a fair shot and to be left alone to bask in our successes and reflect on the failures that happen to be our own.”
“It’s funny how much you think you know about this world,” Lincoln started, “until it reveals a bit more of itself to you in some way.”
“You are the bread when I am full…”
“The doubt when I am bull.”
“Oh just when I think I know everything there is to know, you open my eyes and reveal to me a little more of you and I realize there is so much more to consume. So I ravage and paw at your remains until nothing remains and as it happens again and again until I understand that it is not you who I have devoured, but I who you ingest. It is me you gore, and I see through the lining of your bowels, you jest that you still live on and I am nothing more as there is nothing left.”
“I remember you now.” Said Lincoln after some time.
“You do?” Chancellor McKnight said with a child-like excitement.
“I was in the back of a car. My grandfather was in the passenger seat and I remember those long fingers as you smiled and waved at me from the rear-view mirror and there was a girl next to me.”
“Leona.” The Chancellor smiled. “Welcome home, Lincoln.”
There was a standing ovation and riotous applause when Lincoln and Chancellor McKnight entered the church room doors. Lincoln could not tell at that moment if the ado was for him, but it wouldn’t have made a difference anyhow as its effect had him practically convinced that there could be no other reason for it to have happened otherwise. There is something about walking into a room where you know love exists. You can feel it in your pores. You can see it behind your neighbor’s skin. Love feels heavy yet bearable. Like you know you can’t even conceive of possessing it but that ultimately, somehow, you will.
Upon the elevated stage with the podium front and center lay two long wooden desks, one on each side with each side seating six Elders adorned in hand-stitched, silken robes in varying color schemes and textures. There was one long table across the front of the stage, along the floor, that had an older woman with a stenography instrument at its center and five teenagers in yellow shirts on either side. The audience lay before.
Lincoln and the Chancellor took a seat off-stage, just off to the side. Then, moments later, a man walked up from the back of the room and made his way to the podium. His robe was purple, so deep it looked black when he would move, and it had faint golden accents and trim that did its best to go hidden though couldn’t help but glisten every now and again. He paused before the microphone for quite some time. There was a smile emblazoned across his face like a scar and then the thundering of the applause filled the room for a second time.
Perhaps it was the hued sunlight that fell upon the room from the stained glass in the ceiling. Maybe it was the ethereal material of the robes. But for Lincoln, it looked as though God had visited this room once and had left a lasting impression and when the Pastor opened his mouth to speak, and the choir filled the middle aisle in song, Lincoln could feel deep in his bones that adventure was no more because he had been called home.
Pastor Hughes: And that we have thanked Him, now shall we honor Him. Let the record reflect the time as 8:24 am and that church has now begun. We will start with any outstanding issues from last month’s church. Madame Clerk?
Madame Clerk: (shakes her head)
Pastor Hughes: Let the record reflect there are no outstanding issues at this time. So we shall proceed into open forum. The current balance at present is $7,894,711.27 in church funds with $1,587,325.92 already allotted from the previous months. Press your buzzer and when called upon speak clearly into the mic. Mrs. Black we will begin with you.
Mrs. Black: There is a broken light on 21st and Landon.
Pastor Hughes: Is that the one across from Ms. Mabelline’s?
Mrs. Black: Yes.
Pastor Hughes: We are aware of this matter. We used a different contractor when we built that tract. It takes specialty bulbs and we’ve put in an order about…ohh, what would you say Ms. Clark?
Madame Clerk: About two months back.
Pastor Hughes: So they should be here anytime. And I will tell you a story on this subject since you have no place else to be at the moment.
Crowd: (Laughter)
Pastor Hughes: They are quite expensive bulbs and they take a bit of time to come our way but they last a heckuva long time. We built that project thirteen? About thirteen years ago now and it’s the first bulb to go out.
Mrs. Black: Glad to see quality making a comeback.
Pastor Hughes: And let the church say, “amen” to that. Do you have any other issues, Mrs. Black?
Mrs. Black: Not at this time, Elder.
Pastor Hughes: Okay be blessed. Who is next? Ah, Mr. Townsend, what do you have for us today?
Mr. Townsend: I want to bring to the church’s attention Mrs. Williams. Her husband died Thursday and he was the sole provider.
Pastor Hughes: Elder Abanu will you handle this one?
Elder Abanu: Yes. Is that Mrs. Williams on 3rd?
Mr. Townsend: Mrs. Williams on 39th.
Elder Abanu: Okay. We will organize the packages to be delivered. She has the two teenage boys right?
Mr. Townsend: Yes, ma’am that is correct.
Elder Abanu: Let the record reflect we will stop her mortgage payments for 6 months and we will organize and deliver the care packages that will commence Monday, November 2, 2111 and continue every week thereafter for three consecutive months. Has she decided on a burial plot?
Mr. Townsend: As of right now, no.
Elder Abanu: Okay. If you happen to see her, remind her we have our standard burial ceremonies that are free to our residents, but she is welcome to upgrade choosing anything she wishes. Dr Rashad? Please add Mrs. Virginia Williams to your list of visits this week.
Elder Rashad: I surely will.
Elder Abanu: She lives over in the Walkers. I’ll get you the address after church. Thank you, Mr. Townsend.
Pastor Hughes: Any other issues, Mr. Townsend?
Mr. Townsend: None at this time.
Pastor Hughes: Okay, be blessed. Ms. Haven?
Ms. Haven: I have a concern, Elder. Its about the next prophecy. I overheard my grandson speaking and he said the arrival forebodes war. I’m concerned about what this means for us and if I can be honest, Elder, quite frightened for our safety.
Pastor Hughes: Elder Martin?
Elder Martin: Yes ma’am. As you know, Landon Garvey left us with several of his predictions. One of them being the return of his grandson. Today, I am honored to introduce you all to Lincoln Garvey who travelled a very long way to be here.
Crowd: (Applause)
Elder Martin: For those of you old enough to have known Landon, you know he had a very special way. So I won’t sit here and pretend that this wont come to fruition. There is a very real possibility that we may find ourselves in a war. It will be the first for the new America. I am not sure how we are to tackle the logistics or even who it will be against. All I can tell you right now is that I know of no enemy foreign or domestic that would cause us to go to war. I have no details. I don’t have much to ease your worries at this time. But trust I am doing everything I can to ensure that we don’t, or that we are well-equipped to handle this circumstance and I promise I will keep you all informed. In fact, Ms. Clark, if you can please add this to next month’s church and we will address it every month first thing until it’s resolved. I apologize there is not more that I can say.
Pastor Hughes: Ms. Haven, any questions about your concern or any other issue?
Unknown: … this look like?
Pastor Hughes: I am sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Sir, if you could please wait for one of our volunteers, there are walking around wearing the yellow shirts, to hand you a microphone.
Mr. Wilson: I apologize, Elders. I understand, Elder Martin, that you don’t know what we are up against so you may not know logistics but theoretically, what does war look like for us?
Elder Martin: Well, according to our laws, a Terrie war is something that can possibly be mitigated with minimal loss. We have arsenal. We have weapons. We may lose some of our own. Our taxes may go up. Some families may have to temporarily relocate towards differing parts of town to be out of harms way. We have strategies. But, like I said, with no known enemy at this time it is difficult to say what we are battling and what this means for our populace.
Mr. Hughes: I understand.
Elder Martin: But if this is a world war, I don’t quite know how this would work. I do know we must send a percentage of our men, money and resources which means we will need volunteers to make supplies and some to fight. I think it will be hard. I think there will be sacrifices. But, I also think if you like the world that we have created then you do what you need to do to protect it. All I can say is trust in the Lord and his light. Keep your vibrations up. Pray for peaceful resolution. Wars have been happening since the beginning of time. The one thing we can credit to Landon is that now we are well aware of it in advance so this gives us an advantage that our opponents may not have. What I want to stress most emphatically is that whatever will be will be so let’s not make today a day of fear.
Mr. Hughes: Thank you, Elder Martin.
Elder Martin: Any other questions on this subject?
Pastor Hughes: What about other issues?
Nephew Hodges: I have something to share.
Pastor Hughes: Welcome Nephew Hodges.
Nephew Hodges: My name is Filly Hodges. Many of you know my story. But since the majority of you don’t, I would like to tell it again. I wandered in this Terrie years ago, looking for trouble and what I found, instead, was a helping hand. Elder McKnight took me in. Showed me the Walkers and the Landons, then took me down to East and said, “if you want to get to Landon, you gotta go through East.” Then he took me to Fenton. He told me Fenton is how I am living right now. Then he put me in East, gave me one year to turn my life around.
Unknown: Testify.
Nephew Hodges: I took Level 1 jobs until I could build up a resume that was worthy of Level 2. Then I moved to Terrance. I made it to Level 3, then moved to a nicer place with more space. Started driving nicer cars. Started earning nicer things. I recently invented something that will help Terries advertise their exports across bounds. It should be out next year. Elder McKnight says it has the potential to bring in 4.7% more wealth.
Unknown: Go on, brotha.
Nephew Hodges: I say all of this to say that the opportunity is there for all of us if we choose it. Especially, for those who want to contribute something viable to this world. I now mentor kids on East Street about this very fact and I try to show them how to navigate the ladders our grandfather’s left behind for us to climb.
Crowd: (Applause)
Nephew Hodges: I started from nothing. Now I am in Landon Square. It’s important for me to honor those that helped me by helping the ones who will come after. So, I am hosting a gathering on Easton Square for all East Street residents. It is free. There will be games, giveaways and prizes. There will be food and drinks. All free. I really want you all to come down. Those are your kids there and I really want to show all Eleven residents that you matter to me. I don’t need volunteers. Just come down, bring your family and have a good time. I want to honor your sons and daughters as a thank you for what you all did for me. I started my family here. I started my business here. And hopefully, one day far, far in the future, I will be buried here. Thank you all for raising me up and showing me that Black men can be unstoppable if given the right life chances. That’s all, Elders.
Pastor Hughes: What a powerful story, Nephew. Look for him next year as he will be petitioning for your vote as an Elder Council member.
Crowd: (Applause)
Pastor Hughes: Any other issues?
Crowd: (Silence)
Pastor Hughes: Let the record reflect it is 9:47 am and there are no more outstanding issues or concerns at this time. Let the Elders portion commence. Elder Devine, we will start with Spirituality.
Elder Devine: I have no needs for this month’s ballot, but I do have a few reminders. It is important we keep our vibrations up. Join yoga in the park, it is free to you. Meditate. Be good to each other, so that we may also receive good in return. Our crime rate has always been low, but we are trending especially low this year. It is working. Every glance, every thought, every action, every act comes back threefold. You get what you give. Continue to be cautious of what you are putting out into this universe. We really have an amazing unit here, I must say, and somehow our popularity is spreading. We get so many applications for new residents, but we just can’t accept them all. More people mean more interpersonal issues, perhaps more crime, perhaps more costs, perhaps more traffic. These are factors we consider when adding to our group. But what we have here is something special. Keep doing what you are doing and thank you all for your spiritual contribution.
Pastor Hughes: Family?
Elder Abanu: We are putting together a few initiatives with what we gathered from input from the last two churchs. The one on the ballot this month regards bringing back the summer camp for the 2112 year. There are two options that require your vote: the overnight and the daily. Both will be running for five consecutive days at a rate of 125 kids per week with a total of 8 sessions. There are several pieces that require your vote so please be sure to complete each portion of the ballot. Also, we have attached the memoranda that explains each balloted point in detail and how we’ve calculated the cost. Our proposed cost amount for this initiative is as follows: 1.2 million for the overnight and $750,000 for the daily option. This will accommodate an estimated 1000 kids aged seven to seventeen. $250,000 is designated out of church funds already and we have plans for three options for fundraising hoping to bring in another $200,000. Please keep these numbers in mind when voting. And just as an aside, I am still meeting all of your wonderful families. It’s been great seeing you at the community events and please keep the issues that are affecting your families coming so that we can try and seek remedy for you. I have a few emergency actions I will meet with the other Elders about this week and thank you all for your contributions towards your family.
Pastor Hughes: Mental Health?
Elder Rashad: As you know, Fenton Street is one of our most at-risk population. My team has been working nonstop to help get counseling available to those who need it. At this time, we don’t ship out very many of our population to other Terries. Fenton Park is comparable to Terries 3 and 5. We have one-time offenders. We have drug abusers. We have people with disabilities. At this time my need is volunteers but if I don’t get them, this need may escalate to a level 1 job which might mean increased taxes. It’s not the easiest of tasks but its important that we remind ourselves of our blessings. On the ballots, there will be a place to volunteer. Give an hour. Give a day. You could be saving someone’s life. This is your community and you voted not to contract with other Terries to do this job so we really need you guys to step up. To our local businesses, take a day off and have your staff come down and give back. This could be your mother, your brother, your son or daughter one day. Let’s not forget who we are and our foundations. Thank you in advance for the fifty new faces I will see this month.
Crowd: (Laughter)
Elder Rashad: Also, I’ve added Mrs. Williams to my list and I will make first contact tomorrow. Thank you again, Mr. Townsend for bringing that to our attention and thank you all for your contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Service?
Elder Myles: Our employment rate of our working populace is 96% with 2.7% being parents still on their one-year baby and bonding time. So, we are doing amazingly well. We are working in conjunction with Elder Rashad trying to get some of our recovering population work. Please continue to submit your open positions as they become available so that we may post them on the site. We don’t have a need this month. We appreciate you working. We appreciate those of you who take on Level 1 jobs, in addition to your regular duties. We recently implemented our 4-day work week schedule in all Level 3 positions or greater. From what I am hearing, the balance is better than the traditional five day with shortened hours so we will continue along this path for now. Please keep in mind that our 5th day was not intended just to be open. You all voted that you would spend more time volunteering. We have hundreds of jobs on our site so pick one and get that charity going. Um…I am not sure where I heard this before…but I hear Fenton Street is looking for volunteers?
Crowd: (Laughter)
Elder Myles: Thank you for your contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Finance?
Elder Bryant: Our budgets are holding with the recent adjustments that were made. We are always taking donations for church but as you know they are not required. Your taxes go a long way to keep everyone afloat. There are a lot of free resources we give to each house per month including the one free month in December when no billing payments are due. In addition, we are able to keep the struggling families afloat until they can get back on their feet. But I do want to remind you that all of these wonderful initiatives you all propose each month do cost money and everything you ask for is carefully calculated by our Elders and put to a vote each month by you. Every house must submit their one vote by the second Sunday of the month at noon. Please be sure you are voting and please understand that these additional programs may cost funds. So that money will either come from increased taxes, which we hate to do just as much as you hate to hear us ask, volunteer donations or fundraisers. So please continue to give back wherever you can. Whether your time, your money, your excess food. This is what keeps us strong. We appreciate you. Thank you for your financial contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Courts?
Elder Curtis: There will be 7 new legislations proposed this month. We have talked about each of them in detail over the previous months so I will not go over them today. Please thoroughly read the attached memorandums as to each proposal and FAQs as they do touch on a majority of the balloted points listed within the proposals. I do want to highlight #6 on the ballot. That is the Tate case. He is expected for release in about three months. We must vote on whether or not he will reenter our Terrie or if we will contract with Terrie 3 to await rehousing. So please read the facts and vote. We haven’t needed jurors lately so we don’t require volunteers this month. But I will begin asking for volunteers in December’s church as we do have the Perry case coming up in February. I just want to add, I have never been more excited to be a Judicial Officer in this world. My days are not filled with senseless crimes. I can’t tell you how amazed I am at this community. Each and every time you resolve things on your own means matters aren’t being tied up in the Courts. I am free to write law proposals and teach classes. I am so proud to belong to this Terrie and whatever it is you are doing, please don’t stop. Thank you for your contribution.
Pastor Hughes: Elder Lewis?
Elder Lewis: 2112 is a grand election year meaning we will be voting on all positions. The Elders, the School Administrators, the Judges, the Youth Council positions-- our Nieces and Nephews—and of course, our Chancellor. Expect campaigning to commence March which means your entry packages are due January 15th. I will talk more about this in December’s church. Thank you all for your political contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Charity?
Elder Lawrence: We need volunteers. Remember some of our positions are paid. Those are our Level 1’s but they do go fast. I encourage you to please choose our free positions if you don’t need the money. Some of our Level 2 workers look for extra work around the holidays. If you need the money, by all means, take those positions but if not let someone else have them. You can talk to any of our yellow shirts that walk around your neighborhood. They are usually fixing something or serving something or dropping something off. We are organizing drives for Fenton and East. So, if you can donate or volunteer, please do so. You can find on this month’s ballot a list of goods that we are requesting at this time. It has been such a pleasure to meet you newer faces and especially when you bring out your young ones. That is what this community is all about. Thank you for your charitable contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Commerce?
Elder Carter: We are working on trying to contract with other businesses to get some of the exotic foods and goods you are requesting but I do encourage you to continue to buy in-house. Keeping our dollars here means we aren’t netting loss. Continue to promote your businesses on our site. Remember to monitor your pages frequently as people do request orders through them. Also, it is imperative you meet our guidelines for food and other spoils. Inspections will begin again starting January, so expect those letters to arrive beginning December with your appointment times. Over 50% of our total households own their own business. I can’t tell you how amazing those numbers are. Continue to grow. Continue to thrive. Continue to meet the needs of your community. There is a list in today’s package of frequent requests. So, if your particular business can take on a few of those needs, the less we have to contract and pay other people outside of our Terrie. That’s more money in-house. Thank you for your contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Exports?
Elder Wallace: I am pleased to announce with all thanks to the Franklin family’s contribution with Gypsy, we are going to see some amazing changes over the next few years. We have tripled our exports from the last three years in October alone. We will be making a quadruple payment to the United States Government December the 15th. We will be the first Terrie to be free of dues.
Crowd: (Riotous Applause)
Elder Wallace: It is hard to estimate and we do still have a ton of need but expect over the next three years to see wages increase, new diverse jobs being added, a new tract of homes on acre plots of land. We will be putting together these initiatives for a vote in the coming year. A lot of our programs we had to cut a few years ago will be brought back. It’s still in the early stages and we made a lot of cuts in the past that we must remedy before we can really see how much of our revenue we will actually net. But I am very proud of you all. Terrie 11s creation was a rocky start and we almost lost it all a few times over the years. We have had a lot of hardships, but we have weathered this storm. I think, for the first time, if we continue this trend, we are going to be secure for the next decade to say the least. So many thanks to each and every single one of you for your contributions. We could not run without you.
Pastor Hughes: What a blessing this is!
Crowd: (Cheers)
Pastor Hughes: Media?
Elder Mavis: Advertising space is available. We have an open billboard on Fenton. We have a board on Walker. We have a board on Hill. We have tons of video and print space. Please continue to submit your requests so that we can get your businesses on the Weekly Wobbler. We do have quite a few paid positions for writers on the Weekly Wobbler. On the ballot this month is actually a really neat request presented by on of our Walker High students. The memoranda is uploaded on today's ballot. Its about having a dedicated time of the day, probably around noon, where new artists can submit their original songs on the air. Then you viewers can request your favorites in order to get them into the regular rotation so that artists can begin getting paid per spin. Its also a way for our young populace to earn cash or share their work. Apparently what was happening, was we were integrating new songs in between seasoned artists and they were getting lost in the mix. This is a free initiative. It is similar to our writer’s initiative that was implemented last year where every day at 4pm you can hear the next chapter in a short story collection from one of our young authors. We will be hitting the High schools next year for those kids who are interested in a career in media and entertainment. So look for us. Continue to volunteer. Give back. Thank you for your contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Any more updates, Elder Martin?
Elder Martin: So, I pretty much spoke on what I had to present earlier. Again, we will be monitoring and reporting back any news we receive. I submit for now and thank you all for your contributions.
Pastor Hughes: Let the record reflect the time as 10:45 am and the Elder’s portion has closed. Now, we will conclude today’s church with a final word from our Highest Elder, Chancellor Ronald McKnight.
Elder McKnight: I want to take a moment to introduce you to Lincoln Garvey who has finally made his way back home to us. When you see him in town be sure to make him feel welcome.
Crowd: (Applause)
Elder McKnight: And now on to the part I dread. It is with a heavy heart that I announce this term will be my last. I’ve been your Chancellor for 10 years. I love this job but I think its time we get a new voice with a fresh way of tackling the issues of the day.
Crowd: (Gasps) (Applause)
Elder McKnight: I want to say to our youth who are in the room that it is important for your voices to be heard. Please join Youth Council. Work your way up to Elder. We have 12 Elder positions in 12 areas of interest. Choose one or choose ten. I started as a Nephew and went on to become an Elder and I am proud to say I hold the record—which is 7 by the way, but who's counting? Toot. Toot.
Crowd: (Cheers)
Elder McKnight: I hold the record of 7 positions held. This is a reminder that you only need to hold three positions to be considered for Chancellor. Begin submitting your applications. Start campaigning. We need new leaders because as you may have heard those famous Garvey words: “Time will always prefer the youth. This is really your world. I’m old. Time is not and can never be on my side in this war. Time has always and will always move towards the youth. You must make the rules that you will follow. You must decide the wars worth fighting for. You must figure out how to feed, govern, save yourselves. So be sure you stand for something.” And that’s really all I have to say for now.
Unknown: I am praying for your son.
Elder McKnight: Thank…Thank you to whoever shouted that. I am sorry. I wasn’t going to mention my son. I didn’t want to bring the energy down. I appreciate your prayers. Your kind words. The cards you leave for me and Mrs. McKnight at Mr. Malik’s Mail.
Crowd: (Applause)
Elder McKnight: Many of you know Meeko. He is such a level-headed boy. He wanted to be an Elder. Lord, did that boy want to be an Elder and I will say as much as he wanted that, it came second. Most of all, he wanted to earn it first. As you know, we encourage all of our high school graduates to move out on their own. They are given their own apartment that is free in East and they can start college which is free for the first four years or work until they figure out their way. We want them to follow their path and figure out how to navigate this life as adults. East Street apartments are tiny studios. And when you start earning money you can petition for Walkers and then Nipseys and then Landons until you’ve saved up enough money to buy your house. Eleven is notoriously against loans of any kind. No credit cards. No mortgages. So it takes a little while to save up enough.
Unknown: Talk to us, Chancellor.
Elder McKnight: Meeko packed his bags the day after his 18th birthday and gave me and his mother a kiss goodbye. I didn’t have time to protest. Not that I would’ve. He didn’t ever want anyone to ever think we gave him anything. I am proud of my son and I still hold out hope he will find his way home to me. Now I know, a lot of you parents didn't agree with our decision to let him go. I shouldn’t have let him be a runner. I shouldn’t have let him live in East. Listen, I get that, and now that he is gone I question every decision I’ve ever made in regards to that boy. But all I can say to that is: what message does that send to you?
Unknown: Tell em!
Elder McKnight: That my son is worth more than your son when we both know in God’s light and the law we are all the same. If you want corruption, look no further than outside these bounds. We built this community for those who were tired of things being unfair. You all knew my son well. Many of you watched him grow up. You knew I couldn’t stop him anyway. He lived in East Street like all other 18-year old’s trying to make a way. I wouldn’t ask you to send your sons and daughters away at 18 if I couldn’t do the same for myself. Thank you for continually uplifting the McKnights in your prayer and thank you all for your contributions.
Crowd: (Applause)
“Do you mind if we walk and talk? I think I need some air.” Chancellor McKnight asked a still enthralled Lincoln.
“Not at all, Chancellor, but is it safe?”
“Ohhhh, they won’t let me get too far away.” Chancellor McKnight signaled to the two men in suits following a short distance behind them. “So, tell me Lincoln, how did you like church?”
“I’ve never seen or heard anything like that before. I feel like this is what Grandpa Landon meant—this is what he really wanted.”
“We’ve worked hard to ensure this is a place he would be proud of.”
“Do you ever think about the times before the seccession?” Wondered Lincoln.
“Yes. Every time I get some young kid who talks about opening our borders and blending. Or begging for media so they can show off their dance moves to some girl they never met. Every time a shipment of 500 iWhat’s-Its mysteriously show up on our bounds with trackers and listening devices implanted into them. When instead of inventing something novel, they kidnap our sons to they can siphon some of the profits we finally figured out how to generate on our own. Each time I remember what we’ve suffered, I think to myself enough is enough. We didn’t ask for the division, but I’ll be damned if I am going to sit back and let it end.”
“I noticed your building on the way in.”
“The Black House?” Chancellor confirmed with a chuckle to a nodding Lincoln. “It is the only remnant of the old world we kept. They thought it would be symbolic to build it using blackened brick, but I think it’s foolish.”
“We’ve had such a difficult history here haven’t we?”
“Did you know we used to breastfeed their children?” Said the Chancellor.
“I didn’t.”
“We were less than animals in their eyes. Dogs were more revered. We weren’t even counted as a whole person. They refused to allow us to read. They beat the God out of us. They called us stupid and worthless. Gave us their leftover pig parts as sustenance. Yet, we could be trusted to nourish their young, to cook their meals, to care for them. We could’ve poisoned them. We could’ve starved their children. But what did we do instead?” The Chancellor paused briefly for effect, “we loved them. Our oh so Great Grandmothers raised those kids like their very own; right alongside the ones that were a product of their rapes. We never got a chance to mention those things, to talk about them, to get closure from them because it was too painful for them to hear.”
“I don’t know how you ever get over something that refuses to go away.”
“It's hard to remember the times back then. In those days so long ago when we Blacks were free. We tracked the moon. We tracked the stars. We submitted to nature in all of its violence. We understood our place in this universe and we were fine with that hierarchy. We have always been spiritual. We have always lived in one with the divine. Even now, we know, when we find ourselves walking outside of God’s light that we are living wrong. Because it feels wrong. We feel things very powerfully.”
“In 500 years, we’ve never wanted to be better. We never asked to have more. We never even thought about reciprocating the atrocities that have been trespassed against us. Even the Native Americans got some land and the right to govern themselves.”
“We tried over the years to start our own community of just us too. Prior to the secession.”
“What happened to them?” Asked Lincoln.
“They were burned. They were shot up. Hell, they even sent in the National Guard. To this very day we still get people who try to infiltrate or destroy our community from the inside. We get Terrie 10s who come under the guise of research, who want to do “studies.” We get shipments of mysterious goods from other terries that turn out to be poison. Our people get approached or emailed to film our gatherings and report back for mediocre sums of money. We get threats because we refuse to use their media or devices. They’ve killed three of our Elders. They’ve burned parts of our land. Eighty- seven percent of us have never set foot outside our terrie, yet we still seem to be the target of their rage and no one on the outside even has clue because we don’t go around broadcasting every bad thing that happens to us.”
“I am sorry.”
“No, I am sorry,” paused Chancellor McKnight with a rift in his voice, “but I don’t think I can continue if I don’t ask, is my son still alive?”
“He is not.”
“What do they want?”
“A single meeting. They wouldn’t tell me what for but if its any consolation, I trust their son.”
“I have to remind myself that we weren’t the only ones who grew tired. In those times there were just so many of us – hundreds of millions—and we each had a motive.”
“I think the separation was the only way for each of us to get a bit of what we want out of this life.”
“It was my son who wanted to be a Lego.” Said the Chancellor changing the subject again, “Thought he could move up the ranks quicker if he had more money.”
“What is a Lego?”
“Whatever your passion is, no matter if that passion is hatred, there is a piece of land out there where you will belong. Blacks used to spend our lives in jail for selling weed. You would be surprised to know what people can legally sell these days. Before we discovered Gypsy, we used to provide certain goods to certain terries for profit. Bootleggers which became Leggers which became Legos, transport said goods across bounds.”
“I see.”
“I never claimed to be perfect, Lincoln.” Said the Chancellor with intent, “What is legal may not always be what is right. There is nothing in this world you cannot do. There are lands where you can quite literally kill your neighbor. Anyone who finds themselves in prison these days its their own damn fault. Anything under the sun you can do but if you find yourself enforcing your will onto another piece of land where it doesn’t belong you will go to jail and for once in this miserable land you will have deserved it.”
“So you sell drugs?”
“Drugs, guns, even meat; whatever is banned we will supply. I can tell you for a fact that our government, back in those early years did the very same thing but I am also wise enough to know that it doesn’t make it right.”
“It just makes the job dangerous.”
“And one we don’t advertise. Most of our residents don’t even know about that part of our world or how close we came to losing it all without it.”
“Did you ever think about advancing Meeko? Say he didn’t want to earn it himself.”
“I never had to really wonder. He was always like that. He thought he could work his way up on his own. He wanted to be an Elder, but he didn’t ever want people to think I pulled a few strings. He knew being a runner would separate himself from me in their eyes because it was something, I could never condone for myself. What's funny is that I was so proud of him for that decision. Although my shoes were mighty giant, I wanted his toes to be crushed when he went to put them on.”
“Woe the shadow whose dying wish is to feel the sun on his skin.”
“You sound like him, Lincoln.” Said the Chancellor with fondness. “I think he would be proud of some of the work we are doing now.”
“I am interested in this subject, Chancellor McKnight, but I get the sense there is something else bothering you.” Lincoln warned, as the Chancellor continued without heed for the opportunity to unpack his chest.
“There is a symposium we participate in once a year. One of the few events with other terries we involve ourselves in. We are all like-minded leaders. Meaning, we share similar ideals about how we choose to lead. We come together and discuss our work. What we are developing. When it will be available. There is of course a healthy competition, a playful rivalry that has developed between us, but more importantly there is dialogue. We as leaders discuss how we handle particular problems that arise—lack of funding, keeping people motivated so that they produce, how to better serve our communities, how to transition our youth into functioning adults. There have been quite a few techniques we have learned and that we have shared along the way.”
“Sounds like something Grandpa Landon would’ve loved.”
“A few years back, Terrie 4 pilfered a few of our inventors. Three or four of us leaders had technology that was going to revolutionize the world. Some of us just months away from marketing when our inventors filed dissolution papers and rehoused themselves under Terrie 13. Obviously, we spent quite a lot of time and money investing into these people. None of them were rich when we found them. We funded everything.”
“What did you do?” Asked Lincoln.
“You have to remember this is a business, our terries. The reason why we can have free housing and food and shelter available for our residents in need is because we make or sell what we have developed to outsiders. So, although we were compensated, quite heavily; long term, the equation that is gains and losses goes unbalanced. The symposium brought us together as level-headed leaders and we bounced ideas off each other about how to prevent this from happening again.”
“I watched a documentary about the music industry all those years ago. How do you keep a mega-popstar musician from taking the music you helped them cultivate and the fanbase you helped them build and leave you with nothing?”
“You own them.” Said Elder McKnight.
“You own them.” Confirmed Lincoln. “Steal their music, their image.”
“So that they must now leave how you found them.”
“With nothing.”
“We didn’t want that.” Began the Chancellor, “What I admire about each of us is that we are trying to be better than what we’ve always been. Our conclusion was to incentivize. We do own a small percentage of these inventions so that now we get some of our investment back if our developer decides to leave. Frankly, as rational beings, I am okay with a small cut.”
“I think that is fair.”
“We all agreed we didn’t want to stifle anyone’s creativity and we didn’t want to blatantly steal anyone’s work. We want our terries to be filled with people who love it here, raise their families here thereby investing here. We don’t want to own you. We don’t want to force you. We would rather you leave than be unhappy. Unhappy means unruly and we very much like our peace.”
“And the patterning, how is that going?”
“We’ve completely overcome the astrological plateau that had long plagued astrologers in the field for centuries.” The Chancellor started with a renewed attention. “We can now reproduce how he calculated life goals and purpose, recommended career path, ideal mate factoring in past life karma, even dates of significant life events up to and even including death. We can tell a man under which moon his barren wife will get pregnant but where we continue to fall short is on whether or not we should.”
“Should?”
“Every resident who comes to us wishing to know themselves is given a heavily diluted version of their outcomes. These are your possibilities, Ms. Maybelle Jenkins, though it doesn’t mean that you are too old to still achieve your dream of being an astronaut farmer at 95. It just means these outcomes are the most likely.”
“I see.”
“This is a brave new world we find ourselves venturing into when it comes to the field of astrology and quite frankly, I don’t think we are ready. We finally have the ability to can. We’ve completely moved out of the realm of whether or not it was plausible, soared past the realm of whether or not it was even possible and the realm we find ourselves stagnate in is, of all things, if whether or not we should.”
“Early astrologers didn’t have to face the dilemma of telling another soul their possibilities are finite and quantifiable." Said Lincoln matter-of-factly.
“Even after all this time, it is still very much human nature to believe a person can achieve anything they put their mind to.”
“To exist in this land is to live with limitations. You can manifest only that which belongs to you and nothing better, bigger or brighter.”
“One might think that it was their choice to choose the stable one over the wild one—the cautious one—and commit yourself to a boring life of wedded bliss, and you will, but for only as long as it takes for the wild one with the squares to your nodes to come into conjunction with those furthest planets in our existence and upend you from your marriage like a pickpocket at a farmer’s market.”
“In short,” Lincoln succinctly stated with a smile, “the science has advanced beyond the capacity of its users.”
“If I can’t sit down with a person and tell them that in one years’ time they will be dead without them leaving behind a trail of 364-day chaos, we are not ready for what we’ve achieved.”
“It's hard for people to accept they don’t have free reign and that their will is only as free as it was in its initiation. Of course we can choose any path that lay before us but people don’t quite yet see that with time we find that upon its selection, path B bleeds right back into path A and all roads will eventually converge towards the one you were intended to be on in the first place.”
“And that each disruption yields disruption.” Added the Chancellor principally.
“Choosing path T for instance, now means roads B through S must bleed.”
“If you’ve ever seen those old videos of rush hour traffic which always induces a sense of cringe into me when I do.”
“I can imagine the chaos that one must endure to get back on track.”
“The truth is, Lincoln, we’ve been living off your grandfather’s predictions for quite some time. Your grandfather had an uncanny way of inferring, or as I am beginning to understand that it perhaps was knowing, the capacity of another living soul. He knew how much of our political affairs to share with our populace and which details to omit so as not to engender fear.”
“Grandpa Landon believed fear handicapped a society.”
“I must admit I was naive because I truly believed that given enough time and enough study, we would eventually get that good. That it was only a matter of time. I am ashamed to admit to you now just how mistaken I was. He knew the endings, or more appropriately, the outcomes of events. The what is, not the what could. He could pick up an infant not more than three hours old and know that the boy, at age 23, would spend the rest of his days in jail. To this day we still cannot calculate with certainty 23 years in the future with a single glance. He knew which life events corresponded to a particular season or tide. He knew which babies born under which moons would not rebel against the ideals of Terrie 11 as they tended to align more spiritually with our beliefs. It was like he could look at you and decide right then whether the detail he was on the brink of divulging to you would aid you in this quest or would considerably delay you from your intended life goal so much so that nature would never be able to restore you back to balance in time before your demise.”
“The universe always finds away to restore balance. If you are living a life freely it will insist upon you a way to live your life more confined. We know this to be true. You will never live thirty years unchanged.” Said Lincoln.
“We also learn while traveling along this journey that the things we come to know, certain events, even people can push us off our path temporarily.”
“Sure! We get distracted. Off falling in love when we really should’ve been studying.”
“Mothering when we should’ve been working. Saving when we should’ve been giving back.”
“Delays happen. But timing is of all things symbiotic, Chancellor, and can best be articulated as divine. So we must trust in that.”
“Telling or even divulging something from someone on Monday that can save their life on Friday is the alchemy your grandfather knew almost instinctually how to manipulate.”
“He did have a way.” Confirmed Lincoln.
“He was the difference between a drug and a cure, the sun and a light bulb. We have been trying, ditheringly, to replicate something only a true divine could do and in like all things artificial there can never be syzygy.”
“What keeps you up these nights, Chancellor?”
“Our populace is growing younger by the year. The ideals of my parents, your grandparents, are changing. It was their generation that pushed America to grow into the first truly inclusive country it has been. It was our generations that pushed this science, and God only knows whatever other sciences are being developed with like-minded souls sharing in its creation.”
“Not to mention science for the sake of wisdom, not money-driven, narrative-written science to produce the fastest, cheapest cure without causality or cause for the cancer it induces in response.”
“Everything being produced now has a certain quality that hasn’t existed in hundreds of years.” Began the Chancellor, “We are more capable than we have ever been. Not only in production and value of goods, services and ideas but in the ability to accept the things we most greatly fear. Before, the idea of a depression would cripple societies, now we are coming up with innovative ways to survive the inevitable. These last 90 years have been some of the richest pieces of history ever written. For the most part, we are thriving. The technologies, the inventions, the art, the literature, the strategies for coping. Everything has improved. Every area significantly impacted. We have three patents pending this year alone that our Terrie members developed that could revolutionize this world.”
“So then I ask you, for a third time, what is troubling you, Chancellor?”
“Leadership is pure domination. You have to be somewhat narcissistic to even take the reins. It is why good people, pure people, have never been leaders. Never.”
“There is always somebody willing to accept something that a good person wouldn't.” Lincoln said fondly.
“So power can never be had by anyone honest. I think now that each Terrie can govern how they want, it allows for a few good ones to stand a chance. I like to think I am one of the good ones. But I can’t help but wonder how it is possible not to project my vision of how I want this world to be on to you and still be good. How do I get to decide what my Terrie sees? What they hear? What they know about? And what I keep hidden to protect their well-being?”
“You can’t.”
“The ones that live in blind bliss are pleased with my omissions. But the others, who fucking know better, the ones 100 years ago would’ve been labeled crazy—how is that fair to them?”
“So tell them everything.”
“About the war? About the tainted food? About being short on supplies this month? About the enemies who want to watch us burn? The infiltrators who come from other terries hoping to destroy us? And then what? Now there isn’t any distinctions at all, blind or crazy. Everyone is the same—scared. Scared people don’t work. They don’t produce. I hate the fact that even in a perfect society there is corruption. I don’t like it, Lincoln, I don’t like it one bit.”
“It’s almost too much for one man to bear.”
“When I’ve had a bad day, I come home, I kneel by my bed and in compassion I pray that God will forgive our government for the things that they did all those years ago—the things I am sure they still do to this day.”
“You are not them, Chancellor. Far from it.”
“They tried. I really believe that, Lincoln. I think they really tried to be unbiased. They tried to be impartial. But they were comprised of nothing more than humans. And humans do what other humans do. Their weaknesses were exploited. The usurious were bribed. The lustful were tempted. The defiant were blackmailed. Good, honest, hard-working people never stood a chance. It was never your government who hated you. It was the people you trusted. The ones you bought cars from. The ones you paid bills to. The ones who supplied the things you thought you needed.”
“Just say it, Chancellor.”
“I fear the following generation's stagnation will be the catalyst that slinks us back into a depression. A return to the old way. I’m talking pre-separation.”
“So, then the question can only be why it bothers you so much if you won’t be around to witness it?”
“I don’t know. It is the question I find myself pondering most of all these days. I feel like I had a hand in my reality for the first time. I feel like of all my incarnations this is the one I most belong in. And I feel sorry that if this all goes away there will be some little girl or little boy who grows up in a world that wasn’t ready for them to be born.”
“Dr. King in the 1980s means Dr. King would not be Dr. King.”
“I know that, Lincoln. But the consolation I like to believe in is that maybe he wouldn’t have had to dream because he could’ve just lived.”
“I understand.”
“I think that is why he could be how he was—Landon. Maybe because he knew he wouldn’t live long enough to have to be expected to lead. So he could pick up a baby and just accept them for what they were despite what they would become.”
“Maybe.”
“If it isn’t obvious by now I want you to stay. I want you to make Terrie 11 your home. I want you on Council. I want you at the symposiums. You would make an ideal Chancellor. I think you deserve that. I think you will preserve our foundations long after I am gone.”
“I hope you don’t think too highly of me, sir.”
“What I don’t know is whether or not I will finally give in to my corruption and place you there myself. Or, if I can hold onto my faltering goodness for a little while longer and force you to earn it on your own.”
“Since it has already been written, soon shall we both find out.”
“Goodbye, Lincoln. Tell Leona I will call her tomorrow. She will be the last door on your right.”
“Good bye for now, Chancellor. McKnight.”
“Oh and Lincoln, tell the Roses I will oblige a single meeting and to bring my son’s body when they come.”
This work is created by, written by and belongs to Aecko and shared here for entertainment.