Free Desecration: Antichrist Takes The Throne by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Page A

spooked by the change in the attitude of the crowd with the martyrdom of the dissident and the sudden mystery about Fortunato’s health. Without informing Carpathia, he has directed that armed personnel lead the way in taking the mark of loyalty. If you haven’t checked it out yet, connect with the Temple Mount and look at the chaos.
    So that’s what had Buck so exercised that he would use his phone to transmit a message to David’s computer. The official GC broadcast feed showed news anchors nearly beside themselves with glee. “Look at the hundreds and hundreds of military vehicles lined up for miles outside the Old City. They would clog the narrow passageways leading to the Temple Mount anyway, but these are mostly unmanned. Only a skeleton crew of, we would estimate, perhaps one uniformed Peacekeeper maintains custody over every four or five vehicles. We’ve learned that the ones left to keep an eye on the rolling stock are personnel who have already received the mark of loyalty. The rest are leading the way today, becoming patriotic examples to civilian citizens. Indeed, by the time the massive crowd followed Potentate Carpathia’s pageant through the Via Dolorosa and half of what is known as the Stations of the Cross from the now defunct Christian religion, the loyalty mark application site was already clogged with Peacekeepers and Morale Monitors.
    “Many citizens are less than happy about the delay, but the response from Global Community brass, including His Excellency himself, appears to be one of delight. Here’s the scene at the Temple Mount, where tens of thousands of GC personnel noisily jockey for position to receive the mark, and civilians, patient for the most part, are lined up all the way outside the city walls, awaiting their turn.
    “Here’s our reporter, Anika Janssen, with several civilians deep in the long lines.”
    The tall, blonde reporter exhibited mastery of at least the rudiments of several languages as she guessed nationalities and began the interviews in citizens’ native languages. Mostly she asked in their tongue if they understood English so translators would not be forced to employ captioning on the screen.
    “What do you make of this?” she asked a couple hailing from the United African States.
    “It is exciting,” the man said, “but I confess we expected to be among the first in line, rather than the last.”
    His wife stood nodding, appearing reluctant to speak. But when Ms. Janssen waved the microphone in her face, the woman proved opinionated. “Frankly, I believe someone in authority should insist that the soldiers make way. Those men and women are assigned here. Many of us are on pilgrimages. I do not mean to criticize the risen potentate, and I can hardly blame those who happened to have the privilege of transportation and could get here first, but this does not seem fair.”
    Other interviews unearthed the same attitudes, though most seemed almost bemused, or perhaps afraid, to complain publicly. “Oh, look at this special privilege,” Anika Janssen said. “Here is Ms. Viv Ivins of the potentate’s inner circle, working the lines, so to speak. She is greeting people, thanking them for their patience. Let’s see if we can get a word with her.”
    To David it seemed that Ms. Ivins had been directed to a spot where a camera crew would notice her. She was certainly ready with the party line. “I’m so impressed with the loyal citizens and their patience,” she said. “His Excellency was overwhelmed at the eagerness of his own personnel to become examples and role models of loyally.”
    “Though there is, of course, a visible, prominent guillot-”
    “Which we prefer to call a ‘loyalty enforcement facilitator,’” Ms. Ivins said with an icy smile. “Of course it represents the gravity of such a decision. In all candor, Anika, our intelligence reports indicated that we might face more opposition here, in the traditional homeland of several obsolete