Mark of the Beast (24 page)

 

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T
HE
V
ATICAN HAD BEEN
exceptionally silent since the news broke about HLA B66 and its association with criminality, predestination, and its possible connection to the number 666. Since Dr. Dickerson's pronouncements, there were massive increases in church attendance, especially in those of the Catholic faith. An Associated Press poll showed a great majority of worshipers were praying that they, or their family members, not be afflicted with HLA B66. At St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy, there was an unusually large throng of people wanting to see or hear the Pope speak.

Such was the case on Easter weekend as an unprecedented number of worshipers filled St. Peter's Square. At the midnight mass commemorating Easter Vigil, the Vatican police and the Swiss Guards had to turn huge crowds back for fear of overcrowding.

The homily given by the Pontiff was done in four languages, English, French, Italian, and Spanish. After wishing the worshipers a happy Easter and urging his followers to remember the reason for Christ coming on earth, the resurrection into a new life, the Pontiff, for the first time, addressed the issue of HLA B66.

He cautioned against what he termed ‘the rush to irrational judgment.' He noted that all scientific discoveries had to withstand the test of time. Therefore, according to the Pope, time was needed before conclusions would be subsequently accepted as part of human history.

He posed a question to those whom he described as being in haste for judgment, the same question a United States senator posed one month before on national television. “The question one should always ask himself or herself is this: What if my relative, sister, brother, or father tests positive, with no evidence of a sinful past or present? Would you judge him or her any differently, or should we explore other alternatives?”

He concluded the homily by urging caution.

*   *   *

“What other alternatives are there if one tests positive for HLA B66?” people asked on the radio and television call-in shows. “Is there a magic solution or pill that can cure them of this predisposition? Are chromosome transplants a remote possibility?”

A new debate dominated the HLA B66 issue. Since the disease, if one could call it that, had been identified, what could be the cure? Others argued that this phenomenon was not a disease, but that of predestination in a person already chosen.

Some proposed an immediate solution, stating that this was like a positive identification, a stamped image, a marker for the followers of the beast, and that there was only one cure: that of extermination, family relationship or not.

One of the supporters of the last theory was Dickerson herself, who in a very rare telephone interview to the KSD station in San Diego expressed that, “The Good Book clearly states that the stamped image was given by the beast.”

“By the stamped image, you're implying the number 666,” asked the famous radio station talk-show host Stan the Man. “Yes, I mean 666,” Dickerson replied emphatically, “and as I have stated, B66 and 666 may be considered one and the same if we think wisely and follow proper calculations.”

“What do you think about those who say that your theory holds no water?”

“They say the same thing about mystical apparitions and miracles,” Dickerson said. “I will bet you that if one of the famous prophets came down to earth and performed miracles, there would be those who would accuse him of faking them.”

“Maybe.” Stan feigned a laugh. “So help me to understand what it is that you're suggesting we do with the HLA B66s, or triple sixes, as the 3 P's call them.”

“My question back to you is this,” Dickerson said. “What would you do if you were looking the devil in the face and you had the mechanism in place to do something?”

“Being a quasi-Christian, and if I'm definitely convinced of what it is I am looking at,” stammered Stan, “obviously my inclination would be to destroy it.”

“That is exactly the rational thinking I was hoping for,” said Dr. Dickerson.

“But, by what means should we destroy it?” persisted Stan. “I guess what I am getting at is the new debate that's raging on, and that is, what is the best mechanism for the destruction of the so-called followers? A total annihilation? Or redemptive cures … kind of like exorcism?”

“I don't think exorcism is the answer, because these people are not possessed, but rather are the engraved followers and disciples. There are no supernatural powers here.”

“So then, you are in support of complete destruction or annihilation?” asked the seasoned reporter.

“To tell you the truth, I really don't know, because on the one hand, the Bible teaches that, ‘Thou shall not kill,' but it does not spell out who we should or should not kill. It simply states, ‘Thou shall not kill.' This is the dilemma that's waiting for an announcement from God.”

“That's deep.”

*   *   *

Next day, on the early morning shows, the television networks were showing a live feed from Sweden. They interrupted their regular programming to broadcast a news conference by Dr. Stefan Andersen.

Dr. Andersen, a Harvard-educated genetics doctor in the University of Gothenburg School of Medicine, had just finished his analysis of all the hard-core criminals in Gothenburg. The undisclosed study commissioned by the Swedish government had been ongoing ever since the news broke in the United States about HLA B66.

“Good evening.” Dr. Andersen greeted his audience in English laden with a heavy Swedish accent. “The HLA B66 experiment was commissioned by the Swedish government working in collaboration with the University of Gothenburg. We were able to analyze all our 932 hard-core criminals in the Gothenburg province.

“We defined hard-core criminals as those who had committed serial killings, multiple murders, crimes that defy imagination, unspeakable abhorrent acts, and cult killers. I cannot go into detailed description of all their crimes. A copy of their crimes can be obtained with permission of the government.

“Anyway, we analyzed all blood samples using the same chromatographic analysis obtained with the permission of the United States government. After careful testing and retesting we were able to find an eighty-nine point five percent positive correlation between these criminals and HLA B66. It is still a very high correlation, but not as high as that found by Drs. Abramhoff and Dickerson.

“Any questions?” concluded Dr. Andersen.

“Monsieur,” began a French reporter, “do you have an explanation as to why you were able to correlate only eighty-nine point five percent, while the United States had almost ninety-three percent correlation?”

“I would not classify eighty-nine point five percent as ‘only,'” Dr. Andersen replied. “Eighty-nine and a half, by any statistical analysis, is still a very high number. As to why that number differs from that of the United States, I can only infer that it might be in the selection process.”

“What do you mean by that, monsieur? I thought you were more selective than they were,” retorted the reporter with a follow-up question.

“No, actually the researchers in the United States were more selective than we were,” Dr. Andersen stated. “We had to practically empty our long-term jail population, but in the United States, they only tested a very small fraction of their prison population.”

“What do you make of the high correlation between these criminals and HLA B66?” asked a reporter from Stockholm.

“It's like any discovery in science,” answered Dr. Andersen. “There is a high incidence of HLA B66 among hard-core criminals. Presently, I am not at liberty to make any further interpretations.”

“I guess what I am trying to ask is,” continued the reporter, “do you think that HLA B66 is a sign of predestination for criminal action, as Dr. Abramhoff stated, or are you of the opinion that HLA B66 is synonymous with 666?”

“Looking at it purely scientifically, you would have to agree that HLA B66 does indeed tend toward criminal behaviors,” Dr. Andersen pointed out. “Looking at it religiously, one cannot help but wonder why these HLA B66 individuals have these devilish minds.”

“Based on your studies, would you suggest a mass screening on behalf of the Swedish government?” a local reporter asked.

“There are more qualified government officials than I to make that determination,” Dr. Andersen answered calmly.

“Have you had any communications with either Dr. Abramhoff or Dr. Dickerson?” asked a British reporter.

“As a matter of fact, I have,” Dr. Andersen said. “At the initial phase of the study, they were instrumental in the logistics of the setup.”

After Dr. Andersen's interview, the United Nations International Science Committee had a three-day emergency meeting about HLA B66. A communiqué, issued after the meeting, stated that a joint international study had been agreed to by Britain, America, Singapore, Italy, Canada, and Sweden. It would be labeled “the BASICS Study.”

The United States and the rest of the countries were to select teams of doctors who were research-oriented and familiar with, or had experience in, HLA typing. They would all agree to share information on a regular basis.

Each country was required to finish the selection process in three weeks, and the first meeting of the scientists would be scheduled at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

 

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S
ABRINA
M
ARLEY BUZZED
A
BRAMHOFF'S
line through the intercom.

“Yes?” answered Abramhoff, disconnecting the earpiece to the Dictaphone.

“It's Dr. Dickerson calling, sir.”

“Put her through,” Abramhoff said.

After pushing down the third blinking button, Abramhoff greeted, “Hi, Regina.”

“Hi, David,” Dickerson said, realizing that this was one of those rare occasions when he called her by her first name.

“Did you have a chance to watch Dr. Andersen's news conference?”

“Yes, I did.” Dickerson sounded elated. “What did you think?”

“I think that if they had not emptied their prison cells, like he said, their result would have been the same as ours,” Abramhoff said.

“If he was more focused and/or more selective, you mean?”

“The surprising thing, however, is that he did get a very high correlation.”

“Which argues, then, that the HLA finding is not an American phenomenon only?” answered Dickerson as she sneezed.

“Bless you,” Abramhoff offered.

“Thank God for HLA universality, because I recently read that America is being referred to as the harlot, Babylon,” Dickerson said, borrowing a passage from the Bible.

“Where did that come from?” Abramhoff asked.

“I guess you didn't read the Book of Revelation after all?”

“Not at all.”

“That's nothing,” Dickerson said. “On a more serious note, have you heard about the St. Louis, Missouri, project?”

“I did, peripherally. What was that all about?”

“Do you know Dr. Alexander Hill, of the old Deaconess Hospital?”

“Yes, isn't he the one who discovered the allogenic transplantations theory?” Abramhoff's forehead furrowed in thought.

“That's him,” Dickerson said. “It appears that he has been conducting his own HLA B66 investigation with a generous donation from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation.”

“I wonder what his findings will be,” said Abramhoff, letting off a loud grunt.

“Are you okay?”

“Just stretching, go ahead.”

“Well, he is supposed to have a news conference next week,” Dickerson said.

“It's beginning to look like that's the quickest way to get on television,” Abramhoff said with a twinge of envy.

“What do you think about the BASICS study proposed by the United Nations?” Dickerson asked.

“Why?”

“I am just a little skeptical.”

“When you conduct international studies like that, egos get in the way, and turfs emerge from out of nowhere,” answered the politically savvy Abramhoff. “It goes without saying that they have to assign some leadership role there.”

“Let's hope that's the case,” Dickerson said, knowing in the back of her mind that Abramhoff desperately wanted that position. “Have you been contacted about that?”

“No, but the governor informed me that the State Department is attempting to set up diplomatic status for the doctors in general before informing them,” Abramhoff said, hoping Dickerson would let him take that leadership role.

“What's this I hear about California and HLA testing?” Abramhoff asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

“I strongly believe that the governor is poised to announce statewide HLA testing,” Dickerson volunteered with great reluctance.

“Wow, you guys are ahead of everyone else on this issue. I have to notify Governor Roderick about this.”

“Don't quote me, please, because the information I have is still unofficial,” pleaded Dickerson.

“One second, please,” Abramhoff interrupted.

In the background, Sabrina's voice could be heard saying, “Dr. Achampi is here, sir, to see you.”

“Tell him I will join him soon in the conference room,” Abramhoff instructed.

“I can call you back later,” Dickerson said.

“Oh no, that's okay. You were saying something about the California initiative.” Abramhoff's curiosity was piqued. “This much I know, if California goes ahead with mandatory testing, the news will dwarf the BASICS project.”

“You think they'll probably ask us to join the American team for that project?” Dickerson asked, moving away from the California discussions.

“I would certainty suspect so,” Abramhoff said with great authority.

 

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