A New Race of Humans

By Richard L. Cederberg

A NEW RACE OF HuMAN'S is a powerful and meticulously written narrative that follows the lives of Grant Callarman (the Christian), Peter Pegarian (the plagiarist conman), Haddon Hathaway (the Humanist), and Professor Wilmington Jonah (the doubting intellect) as they experience the shocking global translation of the Saints, Daniels 70th Week, and the Kingdom Age, in which all four men are predestined to meet once again.

Unless otherwise specified, all poetiprose, flash fiction, and poetry, (used to enrich or clarify the narrative) was composed by richard lloyd cederberg.
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12: 36-37

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665574068

Richard L. Cederberg

Richard L. Cederberg was born in Chicago Illinois. His family moved to San Diego California when he was eleven. Presently he and his wife, Michele, reside in Rancho San Diego, California. As a writer and a poet, Richard understands the power of meticulous narrative as being the most effectual way of transporting readers into the realm of imagination. He contends that there is an inescapable and humorous irony associated with pursuing authorship and poetic invention. One must be deeply introspective to reveal the gift, ferociously disciplined to develop the gift, diligent and fearless to display the gift, and forever hopeful that upon the revealing there is understanding and acceptance. Richard is also an internationally published poet who uses the nom-de-plume, richard lloyd cederberg. Richard’s poetry has been published on various American and international websites, and in over 30 anthology’s, compendiums, magazines, and e-zines.

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© 2022 Richard L. Cederberg. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  10/19/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7409-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7407-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-7406-8 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

DEDICATIONS

FORWARD

PART 1: THE BLESSED HOPE

1    A SCANDAL AT CADMAN UNIVERSITY.

2    THE FOLLOWING WEEK. A WAVE OF DESTRUCTIVE LAWLESSNESS DESCENDS ON CADMAN UNIVERSITY.

3    THE LAST DAY OF THE SEMESTER.

4    GRANT CALLARMAN, PETER PEGARIAN, HADDON HATHAWAY. THE LAST THREE STUDENTS…

5    WILMINGTON’S DREAM

6    HETEROGENOUS SPIRITUAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL MINDSETS.

7    IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE.

PART 2: DANIEL’S 70th WEEK PETER’S JOURNEY

8    AFTERMATH

9    ISRAEL’S FALSE MESSIAH. PROPHECY FULFILLED. GRANT CALLARMAN’S POETIC VISIONS. PLANET EARTH IS JUDGED.

10  THE IMPOTENCE OF MAN TO HINDER ANYTHING GOD HAS PROCLAIMED. WHEN LIGHT IS REMOVED, DARKNESS FLOODS IN. FEAR AND MONSTERS.

11  SUMMARY

12  PETER’S JOURNEY. UNDER A WOODEN BRIDGE. AVIDAN: SERVANT OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. A POT OF SAVORY CHICKEN STEW.

13  TRANSFORMED. CALLING TO MIND KING DAVID. ASTEROID. HURRICANE KELAENO. PETER’S VIVID DREAM. NORTH.

14  WOODLAND FRIENDS. DISSECTING MOTIVES AND OBJECTIVES. FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN. THE CLAN IN THE WOODS.

15  A SAFE PLACE. PETER PONDERS HIS CIRCUMSTANCES. SHARING INFORMATION. SMELLY OLD BOOTS. AN UNEXPECTED GIFT.

16  AMELIA & PETER BOND. EVAN’S EAST COAST FRIEND, GRANT. PETER’S DREAM. PREPARING TO LEAVE. A LONG EASTERN TREK BEGINS.

17  SPIRITUAL GROWTH. TRIALS AND TRAGEDIES. KLARA. GROWING IN GRACE. FAITHFUL IN PRAYER. HEALING.

18  PETER WALKS BACKWARDS. MEDICINAL LAUGHTER. WILD BOAR. A SAVAGE BLUR OF CHAOS. THREE CANINE HEROES.

19  MISSOURI. A DANGEROUS HOTBED OF REGIME ACTIVITY. THE ONGOING SEARCH FOR SUPPLIES. SUPERMOON REVERIE.

20  REMINISCING AND CONFESSING. OVER-THE-TOP BLESSINGS. MOTORBOAT. CROSSING THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI RIVER.

21  SKITS AND JANIE. THE FOLLY OF IMPULSIVENESS. ANGER AND GRIEF. PETER REMEMBERS HIS FAMILY’S STRUGGLES.

22  WHEN EAGLES FALL SILENT, THE LESSER BIRDS GET NOISIER. WOUNDED HEARTS PURGE MANY TEARS. PETER AND AMELIA DISCUSS EVAN. EVAN RETURNS & OPENS UP.

23  AUTUMN. NORTHERN MARYLAND. EVAN’S STUBBORN CONCEIT TRIGGERS A HEATED DISPUTE BETWEEN LEADERS.

24  FINDING RESOURCES. PETER’S THOUGHTS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE BEAK-NOSED MAN. WHAT SAVAGE BEASTS MEN CAN BE. TREKKING IN HEARTBROKEN SILENCE.

25  THE MASSACHUSETTS COASTLINE. AN OLD DESERTED FARMHOUSE. THE HANDWRITTEN NOTE. SAFE-HAVEN. DEALING WITH SPY DRONES. FEBRUARY 14th

26  JEFF SHARES A HARROWING STORY. SARGEANT GRANT AND HIS MEN WERE HEROES. EVAN’S BLATANT DISRESPECT.

27  JEFF DISARMS EVAN WITH WISDOM AND COMPASSION. THACHER ISLAND. A TIME OF FELLOWSHIP, LAUGHTER, AND JOY.

28  A CAVE TO CALL HOME.

29  JEFF’S UPDATE. AN ABANDONED SURF RUNNER. THE HIDDEN LAGOON.

30  JORGEN’S ENGINEERING EXPERTISE. HALIBUT POINT. THACHER ISLAND. EARLY AMERICAN DOCUMENTS. AN UNEXPECTED EMERGENCY. FELICITY, AND FRESH SEAFOOD.

31  JEFF’S DIRE WARNING. THE GROUP PREPARES FOR BATTLE. BLACK PLATOON CRUISERS ARRIVE. MAYHEM. LIFE CHANGES.

32  THE LAST OF THE 21 JUDGEMENTS. THE FIERCE 7th BOWL. WIDESPREAD GLOBAL DESTRUCTION. A SHIFT IN FOCUS.

33  LIKE A DRUNKARD. FROM BAD TO WORSE. WHAT REMAINED OF GLOUCESTER AND THE COASTLINE. THE FARMHOUSE. A MIRACLE.

34  THE CRIES OF A GRIEF-STRICKEN MAN

35  LOOKING BACK. THURSDAY EVENING…

36  WORTHY. THE ²nd ADVENT. A RIDER CALLED ‘FAITHFUL AND TRUE.’ FOUR DISTINCT GROUPS WOULD ENTER THE KINGDOM AGE.

PART 3:THE KINGDOM AGE

37  FACE TO FACE WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. ‘YOU, WHO ARE BLESSED OF MY FATHER’

38  THE TRANSFORMATION OF PLANET EARTH DURING THE KINGDOM AGE (AS SCRIPTURE FORETELLS IT)

39  PETER’S SEARCHING PROVES FRUITLESS. AFTER REASONING WITH HIMSELF, HE ENDS HIS STRIVING, AND HE CHANGES HIS FOCUS. A LESSON LEARNED. FRIENDS REUNITED.

40  TREKKING ALONE. A NEW TRAILHEAD. CLARITY OF THOUGHT. REMINISCING ABOUT HOW THE MEDITERRANEAN HAD ONCE BEEN.

41  THE STONE PINE STRANGER.

42  PETER RETRACES HIS STEPS WITH AMELIA. AN OPEN CONVERSATION. REVELATIONS.

43  NEW BEGINNINGS. A LONE TRAVELER APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH.

44  OLD CLASSMATES REUNITE…

45  PETER AND HADDON’S CONVERSATION CONTINUES. NEW INFORMATION. HADDON JOINS THE FAMILY. WITH JOY AND WONDER.

46  A GLOBAL TRANSFORMATION.

47  NO PROPHECY EVER HAD IT’S ORIGIN IN HUMAN WILL. EARTH IS REBORN. 7 DISTINCT DISPENSATIONS. THE FINAL REBELLION. NEW HEAVENS, AND A NEW EARTH.

PART 4:A NEW ALLIANCE BEGINS

48  WILMINGTON JONAH’S JOURNEY.

49  GRANT’S LONG FORGOTTEN ESSAY.

50  WILMINGTON’S VISITATION. HE BEGINS HIS FIRST NOVEL. THE KINDLY JEWISH MAN.

51  A FRUITLESS TREK. A FRIGHTENING OPEN VISION. WILMINGTON’S 2nd VISITATION.

52  SYNCHRONICITY. PETER AND HADDON’S DREAM. AN HONEST CONVERSATION.

53  AMELIA’S FIRST OPEN-VISION.

54  SOUTH TO ALEXANDRIA. PETER’S COMPELLING CURIOSITY. FINDING THE BALANCE. FOREVER OVER.

55  SO MANY QUESTIONS, SO FEW ANSWERS. AMELIA SHARES HER INSIGHTS.

56  FESTERING EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE. A REUNION THAT PUTS EVERYONE ON EDGE. PETER AND HADDON DISCUSS WHAT TO DO.

F57  RECONCILIATION. WELCOMING WILMINGTON JONAH TO THE FAMILY. THE LAST REUNION.

DEDICATIONS

Michele Elizabeth Cederberg - my beloved wife. Michele is to me a treasure of great worth. She is the most sensible, considerate, beautiful, and loving person I’ve ever known in my entire life. Without her consistent prayers, her influence, her faith, and her unwavering support, I could never have accomplished this project. Thank you MEC. I love you.

Garrett Richard Cederberg – my only son. Quite a journey this life has become. Seems there are certain kinds of things that can only be learned in hardship and struggle. Speaking personally: I’ve learned my most enduring lessons when I was at my lowest, and no one, except the Holy Spirit, was there to help me. Honestly, I can’t imagine this life without scars and tears. It’s good when we can hold up under the storms and trials we face, and still hold on to our integrity and focus, and too, remain dedicated to what God has called us to do. It’s been proven, in my own experiences, that nothing of worth ever seems to be accomplished without enduring more than we think is necessary. I love you Garrett. You, and your four sons, are in our prayers daily.

FORWARD

NEVER STOP REACHING

I know a man

who bears aging as

a series of benchmarks,

seasons where

understanding deepens,

and LIFE becomes more fascinating,

a time when each souls search for beauty

reveals itself in endless forms…

I know a man also,

who ponders AGING in

fearful respect of death’s

vast and terrible depth,

and is terrified by

its hunger, its inexhaustibility, and

the whole dread persistent hugeness of it…

I know another man too, who

worships God in spirit and truth, and

who accepts aging as an act of GOD’S GRACE,

a process that should no more straiten a soul

than the moons snowy luminance as it

pirouettes with swaying trees…

(This same man) observes

that no matter what your age,

Heaven’s rains

still refresh,

and moist rich soil

yields its musty fragrance, as

flowers spring forth, and bloom and fade,

in an unappeasable passage of seasons…

We being as flowers too….

Notwithstanding the many fears, and

gathering years, weighing heavily at times,

Mockingbirds still delight

in the higher branches

with their colorful

fire of conjurations, even

as winter’s snow deepens,

and each heart strains through

memories portion of impermanence…

The intensely

aching beauty you see

being just within your grasp, has a

heat that burns when you reach for it…

whether it’s

yours or not, is NOT

in your power to understand,

But never stop reaching…

© richard lloyd cederberg

2022

Then let us all do what is right, strive with all our might towards the unattainable, develop as fully as we can the gifts God has given each of us, and never stop reaching and learning. Ludwig van Beethoven

PART ONE

THE BLESSED HOPE

1.jpg

ONE

A SCANDAL AT CADMAN

UNIVERSITY.

What a time it’d been. What with a seemingly invincible global pandemic, wars, riots, violence, smash and grabs, lockdowns, political upheaval changing everything considered normal, a radically divided America, a new culture of hate, racism, political mayhem, confusion, lawlessness, discrimination, deception, hypocrisy, and a bleak new Orwellian norm; no wonder America was teetering on the edge of insanity. Cadman University was no exception. Having been a safe, prosperous, and respected bastion of higher learning for many years, something finally happened that had people falling off their chairs. For most, the incident would have been relatively unimportant, and really of little consequence in a larger scheme of things, but not for the university and for those directly involved. Something disturbing was happening, not only at Cadman, but everywhere.

It all started after a controversial notice was posted outside the main offices. Apparently, much of the revered English Literature class had failed their mid-term exams. The response to the news was over-the-top. Incensed parents flooded the main offices with email, text, or in-person grievances. All of them were demanding to know whose idea it was to post such a humiliating notice publicly, instead of allowing the dean, or the board of regents, to handle it privately. Several parents levied threats of lawsuits against whomever was responsible, and demanded to know the names of everyone involved. Their children had been abased, mistreated, and emotionally wounded, and they all wanted immediate reconsideration. If something equitable was not forthcoming, they would be doing everything in their power to file a class action lawsuit against the University. Lines were drawn, sides were taken, and a fiery war of words began.

The Dean of Students, Delvin Catamosia, listened stoically as his assistant read the letters and e-mails. Every one of them was bristling with resentment. And though they were targeting the professor as being the one most culpable, they were also holding the dean in contempt as well. Delvin was horrified at the scorn being levied against him. It was unwarranted, unfair, and as far as he was concerned, a perfect example of misdirected anger. For the twenty-two years he’d been employed at the University, he had never once gone through a parental backlash such as this. It was awful. How could this have happened to him? When his now mawkish assistant had finished reading, and had left, he retrieved the 40-year-old single-malt he kept in his safe for special occasions. And though what he was facing now was not special, in a good way, it did meet his other criteria for getting hammered. With grim determination, he set the bottle on the credenza, and sat down.

The setting sun had touched the horizon, and was beginning to broadcast golden-orange fingers through the office windows. For some time, Delvin Catamosia sat at the window mulling the legal liabilities he might be faced with. His reputation had been sullied for something he hadn’t done. How was he going to extricate himself from this? How was he going to survive? With a rage of anxious thoughts pulling him deeper into a tangle of negativity, he finally succumbed, and began pouring shots. On an empty stomach, the effects came rather quickly, and with every shot he slammed, he sank deeper into disillusionment. Half a bottle later, smashed, prostrate on the floor, and wallowing in self-pity, he passed out.

The following morning, Delvin awakened fuzzy headed, half sick, and with something crusty and hardened all over one side of his face and neck. With some effort, and still woozy from the booze, he hobbled to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror, he recoiled in horror when he realized that he had vomited all over himself.

My god, he cried aloud, I have gone too far.

After showering, taking six aspirin, and drinking as much water as he could stomach, he contacted Cadman’s lawyers to ask for their counsel. He was shocked at what he’d done, and realized, as he was waiting for a response, that he was not the man he’d once been, and that the edgy resilience he’d always taken for granted, had all but disappeared. After twenty minutes of waiting, a conference call was set up with three of the universities lawyers. All three suggested that Delvin stay clear-headed, put away the whiskey, find out the particulars from the Professor himself, and then remain circumspect for several days to see what developed. They seemed confident that the storm would wane rather quickly. They were mistaken. Hostility towards the professor, the university, and the dean, was spreading like a firestorm throughout the township. There was no explanation for it. Two days later, everywhere you went, even out in the rural areas, people were embroiled in fiery conversations about the scandal at Cadman University.

On campus: a group of old tenured instructors met each week to complain about the current dramas and people they didn’t like. After pouring their customary brandy and coffees, they began railing hotly about the new professor. They did not like him. Not one bit. They all thought his methods were substandard, that he was too high-handed, too demanding, too conceited, and too young. They were convinced he was bent on making his students’ lives as miserable as possible because of something that had happened to him in his past, something terrible that had never been fully resolved. Gleefully they nattered, until they’d convinced themselves the professor was the devil with a concertina cape and serrated horns. And though there was no substantiating proof for anything they’d concluded, they still entertained everything their twisted minds could conjure, because true or not, none of them really cared, they just loved undermining the integrity of others. At one point, their focused shifted, and they began to wonder if they might manipulate the scandal somehow to foster attention for themselves. They deserved something better than Cadman had given them. In this, they were all in one accord. This discussion absorbed them deeply, because depending on how it was handled, it could end up being a boon for them financially, especially if they could get the media’s sympathy.

As they yammered on about how deserving they were, something unexpectedly started to fester between them. Given their cynical misgivings, and a hopelessly encroaching fear each had of losing their positions, (especially now because of the scandal) the solidarity between these men began to devolve, and rather quickly too. As efficiently as their gossiping had undermined others, this same evil spirit began to countermine their relationships with one another, and as a consequence, paranoia seeped into their minds, and they began viewing each other warily. The unrest between them was obvious, as they began squirming, looking at their watches, and clearing their throats. It was pitiful what happened to people who weren’t grounded in the Truth. Not only had the incident pitted all of them against an innocent man, but it was now effectively pitting themselves against each other. Such was the fallen nature of man. The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? It was clear now how fruitless their shared efforts would be to remedy anything. People who had no healthy roots together, who had no trust or respect for the other, busybodies who lied and gossiped, and who were given to hostility and suspicion, could never progress well as a team, or as a family. To do this, they would have to be working in unity towards the same goal. But none of these men understood what true teamwork was; they had no genuine qualities, nor did they possess any spiritual depth. They were only system clones, and reflections of what a highly competitive (and corrupt) society had forced them to be. Now, their friendships were ending. Perhaps, one might argue that they never really existed. As it was, despite what mask they wore each day to relate professionally, each of them lived in fear, and at their core, none of them really cared about anything except themselves. The scandal had successfully driven a wedge between each of them, and now, instead of finding a common ground, they only had suspicions and fears about each other. With wary glares, and curt farewells, they got up, and scurried out of the basement. After that, they never met again.

An ugly storm was gathering momentum. Complaints were filed with attorneys and local news outlets, and every state news affiliate began maneuvering to cover the scandalous drama. Airtime (locally) was booked for the students and their legal agents. During one of the more heated interviews, one of the lawyers inadvertently avowed that these kids were ‘hapless victims that had been traumatized severely, and there was no way any of them could survive under an authoritarian perfectionist.’ The phrase was inflammatory, and following the broadcast, it began to trend. Soon after that, a surge of resentment intensified towards the professor and the university. As it turned out, the handful of students who hadn’t failed their midterms, decided that resigning was far better than being dragged into a litigious scandal. Given this, most of the class quit.

It was becoming ever clearer, that each of the students were a reflection of their pampered upbringing. All of them were far more interested in their social status and cars than they were with substance. Theirs was a distorted sense of entitlement, and many had no interest in higher education, they were just in college because their parents had willed it, and had paid for it. Nothing more, nothing less. There was no way around it. None of them had been forced, or coerced, to do what they’d done. They’d all chosen to fail, or quit. Regardless of the Professor’s desire to be fair and precise, and offer all of his students the most comprehensive education he could, he had still somehow become anathema to the university, the parents, and the students. He was in the crosshairs now, and fast becoming an object of loathing. How could this possibly have happened? The indictments being levied against him were disgraceful. None of it was true. And in no way did it represent his true character. He was not an ‘authoritarian perfectionist,’ and in no stretch of the imagination was he a cruel taskmaster trying to make his students lives miserable. Because of the inanity, insanity, and injustice in all of it, he’d decided to reject the foolish allegations, and never let the rancorous gossip break him, or in any way redefine who he was. He would stand strong, stay informed, remain focused, deal with his anger rationally, and press forward wisely. Knuckling under, or groveling, was out of the question. He knew that the best way out of this predicament would be hitting it head on, and then seeing it through. He couldn’t go back and change what’d happened, but he could go forward from where he was, and try to better the ending with wisdom and good choices.

TWO

THE FOLLOWING WEEK.

A WAVE OF DESTRUCTIVE

LAWLESSNESS DESCENDS

ON CADMAN UNIVERSITY.

Everywhere you went, the gossip was inflamed, and instead of seeking the facts, people were believing what TV’s tub-thumpers were spouting as truth in their news broadcasts. The professor had reached his limit, and there was no way he was going to allow this to continue without a fight. He decided that taking matters into his own hands was the only course of action. After making a number of calls to attorneys he’d worked with in the past, one suggested he personally address the universities Board of Regents. It was an idea he readily agreed with. The attorney suggested that he explicate his teaching methods, to try and break through their prejudices, and in this way, hopefully mollify the students who’d been deceived somehow into believing they were victims. Sharing the facts seemed the best course of action, and he began at once preparing what he would be sharing.

As it turned out…. Even though the meeting was honorable, and the professor was intensely articulate in his defense, his effort somehow ended up alienating him even more than he was before. It was obvious now that the board had no interest in Professor Jonah’s welfare; their only concerns were how the scandal would make them look in the community. It also became obvious that the board members hated each other even more than they did the Professor. Being as irritated now as he could ever remember, the professor scheduled his own news conference with an unbiased local TV station. Because of how unfairly the story had been presented in the media, the station jumped at the opportunity, and the professor was booked two days later in prime time. As it turned out, even though the interview was lauded for its sincerity and thoroughness, and though many called in to applaud the professor’s moxie, it still failed to vindicate him from the spurious charges. Again he had seemingly failed in his attempts. Things devolved rather quickly after the news appearance. Because of how what he’d said had been construed by certain snooty parents, and also by Dean Delvin Catamosia, who would do anything now to protect his sullied reputation, the Board of Regents decided that termination was the only course of action that would effectively conciliate all parties involved. When he learned about their ruling, the professor was vexed deeply. Within hours, a ‘letter of termination’ was hand-delivered to him by the Dean’s wormy assistant. He could stay till the end of the semester, then he must vacate his position. Calls were made, and a swarm of TV reporters descended on the university like vultures on carrion. That evening, it was the headline story on dozens of stations across the state. The parents and the students cheered. At last they were going to be vindicated. At least that’s what they assumed. Chillingly, the headline story became the catalyst for many difficulties.

The next day, Saturday, a wave of destructive lawlessness descended on the University. Nothing could have prepared them for what happened. The drama had somehow stirred up the under-belly of society’s scum, and there was nothing now that was going to stop these degenerates from expressing their deeply rooted hatred. Late Saturday night, from various of the surrounding townships, demons flew in on dragonflies and destroyed various areas of the University. The pool water was polluted with oil. A volatile accelerant was splashed over the football field, the field equipment barns, the cart barns, and the field restrooms, and all of it was set ablaze. Doors were bashed in, windows were shattered, the chemistry and science labs were destroyed, walls were tagged, wooden benches were broken up and burned, tires were slashed, and the imported wooden statue in the courtyard, near where the Bible club met, was sawn up into pieces. A hateful storm was raging now, and none of it was the professor’s doing.

Given the unchecked vandalism, which ended up costing $17,000,000.00, all the parents filed a class-action suit against the University with one of Americas most infamous attorneys, Samuel Sandameyer. After that, because this man’s involvement had made it a hot ticket, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC picked up the story. And when the BBC WORLD NEWS and SKY NEWS caught wind of what was happening, they picked up the story as well. Now, in a heated attempt to discredit and destroy the professor, (now referred to as the ‘firebrand of the rebellion’) a hungry kettle of vultures had begun circling, not only an innocent man’s life to devour him, but also Cadman University, to invalidate its once sterling reputation.

THREE

THE LAST DAY OF

THE SEMESTER.

Professor Wilmington Jonah pushed through the classroom doors. Clearly, the strain of being the primary target in the scandal had exacted a toll on him mentally and emotionally. He was glum, his face was ashen, and one could feel a passive remoteness about him. At the podium, he put down his expensive Moroccan leather briefcase, and then stared out at a mostly empty classroom. Troublesome thoughts nagged him. How was it, that only three students (out of the sixty-eight who had started) had made it to the final exams? And how was it possible, that the students who had failed their midterms, had become influential in instigating anarchy and becoming world news? The whole thing was bizarre, and in no stretch of the imagination was he culpable for any of the violence or vandalism being vented on the campus and in the township. No! There was something else at work here. Something very powerful. Something spiritually malevolent and frightening.

The professor was skilled, forthright, intelligent, honest and scholarly. He was also a gifted writer of essay’s and articles, and had garnered a dozen or more prestigious awards for his published work worldwide. The only flaw a casual observer might take note of, was his unique ‘in your face’ candor that some did not appreciate, especially the ones that struggled with poor self-esteem. And though he was always gracious and tactful with everyone, he was also skilled (if need be) with an edgy ability to get people out of their comfort zones and inspire thought. Wilmington Jonah had two PhD’s, one in English literature and the other in philosophy, and despite his young age, he was widely respected in intellectual circles.

Good morning sir, three voices chorused in unison.

Snatched from his thoughts; Wilmington nodded back.

Gentlemen, good morning, and thank you for being here.

Reclaiming his focus, he removed a stack of papers from his briefcase, and organized them into three separate piles. Then he straightened-up and addressed the three remaining students.

Alright. Let’s get started. Now… because you three men didn’t turn against me, thank you by the way, or make my life miserable, like most did, I’ve decided to keep this last assignment simple. I want one piece from each of you, and please, nothing exhaustive. Think brevity, but as meaty as possible. Any style you choose is fine with me. Perhaps something poetic, or philosophical if you like. Give me an open and honest intellectual insight into who you are, and what motivates you. Tell me what you think it takes to remain original in a glutted ocean of prosaic ideas and words. Questions?

All three shook their heads no.

Very well. Gentlemen, I want your work completed and on my desk before 7 pm tomorrow evening. If you don’t make it, you fail. No excuses. Now get out and get busy.

Two of the students departed and went their separate ways. One of them stayed behind and handed the professor a folder.

What’s this, the professor asked.

Sir. It’s something I wrote a few weeks ago. If you get a chance, I was hoping that you might take a look at it. I was going to use it as a term paper, but everything has changed….

Yes it has, I know…. everything. Ok, I will. Thank you, I really appreciate this.

For a while, after Grant had departed, Wilmington sat brooding about his life, his job, and how in the world he was going to extricate himself from this awful