Free Eternal Life Inc. by James Burkard Page B

temples. People who came back from the dead were soulless monsters, they screamed; they were possessed by the devil and the whole thing was a demonic conspiracy to destroy humanity. Then, they called for a new crusade, a just war, a jihad, to crush this satanic abomination.
    The only religious order that did not hop on the bandwagon was The Church of She. The Church was born in the Crash and worshipped the Goddess in all her guises as ruler of this earth. If New Hollywood had had a state religion, the Church of She would have been it. Its cathedral dominated the city’s skyline and a large proportion of the population favored it over all the other splinters of old-time ersatz Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, etc.
    In the conflict with Eternal Life, the Church of She maintained a neutral wait-and-see attitude, pointing out that the technology, far from being at odds with religious teaching, in fact supported one of its basic tenets, the existence of life after death in the form of a soul or ka. For this reason alone, the Church favored caution over condemnation, but its message was drowned out by the fear-mongering, demonizing scream pouring like raw sewage from an unholy alliance of business, politics, and religion.
    In the end, only Harry Neuman and the might of Roger’s New Hollywood media campaign stood between Eternal Life and destruction. When Harry died the first time, Roger’s media machine went into high gear, whipping up interest to a fever pitch.
    When Harry emerged from the rebirthing chamber with his boyish grin and thumbs up expression, Roger made sure the image was plastered all over the empire. And it worked! People went wild with enthusiasm. Not since Charles Lindbergh, in another age, flew alone across the Atlantic, had one man so captured the public imagination and transformed the spirit ofthe times. And Roger milked the story for all it was worth. Harry became the symbol of hope and courage for a new age.
    But it didn’t stop there. It couldn’t stop there. The pressure on Eternal Life was too great. Harry had to die again and again, and each time he walked out of the rebirthing chamber, joking and grinning with that irresistible, “aw shucks twern’t nothin,” Gary Cooper strength and humility, the world went wild and Eternal Life’s stock soared. The people loved him, loved his quiet courage and self-sacrifice, loved him for the fact that he was doing it all for his woman, that he was paying a debt of honor, gratitude, and love. It was old time Hollywood come true.
    And because they respected and trusted Harry, the people came to respect and trust Eternal Life. Roger, that old Hollywood wheeler-dealer, had gotten it just right. His choice of Harry, and the massive advertising campaign he built around him, won over public opinion and routed the forces that stood against him. By the end of that second year, he was finally able to give in to Jericho’s demands and ease the pressure on Harry.
    But by then it was too late. The strain had driven Harry over the edge. He became moody, irritable, depressed, at times almost psychotic. He began drinking again. His marriage began to founder. His drinking got worse. He and Susan fought constantly. He turned to other women, a whole string of other women, eager to comfort the great Harry Neuman. He got into ugly public brawls, beating his opponents senseless, and Eternal Life had to work overtime covering it all up and bailing him out. At last, Susan could take no more, and three years after his first death, she packed up and left. And surprise, surprise! Who should be there waiting with a convenient shoulder to cry upon, but good old Roger.

10
    Back from the Edge
    That was the last straw and it almost broke Harry. Over the next year he spiraled ever deeper into an alcoholic haze of violence and debauchery that even the best spin doctors at Eternal Life couldn’t cover up. He was becoming a liability for the company, and they began cutting back on his public