confirmed it was the view from the eyes of the nearest android. Naomi took my arm and smiled faintly.
The androids didn’t follow as we left. We made our way down a broad marble staircase, with Naomi seeming to gain confidence with each step. After passing through a long hall, I led us through the open door to an enclosed courtyard. It was immense, half the size of a soccer pitch, and magnificent in the mid-morning light. Paths crisscrossed in perfect geometry through the lush fruit trees and flowers. Small machines scurried around like dogs, watering and pruning the plants. It was hard to believe we were in the middle of a desert.
“Let’s sit here.” Naomi pointed to a bench under a tree with round, red apples begging to be picked.
“Remember the first time we sat on a bench together?”
She lowered to the bench gently. “I’ll never forget it. You were the arrogant Jewish boy with the dark curls and the darker dreams.”
“And you were the girl clothed with the sun—all beautiful and innocent and ready to make me spill my secrets. How’d you do that, by the way? I’ve never understood how you dragged my dream out of me.”
“I felt like there was something special about you, so I prayed. I asked God to help me, to show what you were hiding.” She grinned. “My prayers usually aren’t answered quite so fast.”
“And look where that led us.”
She studied me quietly. “You think you could’ve avoided all this if I hadn’t dragged you to meet the order?”
“I don’t know.” I hesitated, then smiled. “Either way, you’re worth everything I’ve gone through—the dragon, the desert, Babylon, and now Don’s palace. I’d do it all again. We’re together now.”
She took my hand. “You’ve changed, you know.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without you. And maybe Bart, and Chris, and Ronaldo, and ….”
She nodded, but her eyes said she’d moved to the next thought. She was studying the garden around us. She bent over and glanced under the bench, then she leaned close to my ear. “Think we’re being overheard?”
“Maybe. There’s a chance everything can be heard. Don’s androids are walking recorders, and sensors are everywhere. But this seems at least as safe as your room.” I met her green eyes. They were open wide, a little afraid. “What is it?”
She pressed close to my ear again. “We have to decide about turning on your precept, and I’ve heard nothing from God. It makes me worried. What have you seen?”
I hesitated, careful with my words. “I’ve seen myself in Jerusalem, facing the dragon.” Her body tensed, and I tried to assure her. “It’s not much to go on, but I heard God clear as day: trust and wait . And before that, in the order’s hideaway, Jesus told me to let my enemies give me quarter and then, in the moment when the world listens, tell the world I am coming. Well, here I am in Don’s palace, and how can I speak to the world without my precept? It seems like I should take the opportunity.”
“But this opportunity is from Don.” Her voice dropped to the lowest whisper. “I told you, he doesn’t need your help.”
“Think about why he picked you as his woman clothed with the sun. He’s taking God’s story and trying to corrupt it. So, for whatever reason, if God picked me to see spiritual things and come to believe them, wouldn’t his enemy want to twist that?”
“I guess so. But how?” She paused, fixing her eyes on mine.
I thought of how he’d used Charles’s body as a puppet. “I bet he thinks he can tempt me to join him. And if that fails, he probably thinks he can just control me.”
“That’s right. So what are you going to do if you sync up to one of those killing machines and find yourself with no option but to slaughter a bunch of men or be killed?”
My voice came out steady: “I’ll follow the Captain’s path.”
“That’s not an option.”
“We know Don will be defeated in the end.
The androids didn’t follow as we left. We made our way down a broad marble staircase, with Naomi seeming to gain confidence with each step. After passing through a long hall, I led us through the open door to an enclosed courtyard. It was immense, half the size of a soccer pitch, and magnificent in the mid-morning light. Paths crisscrossed in perfect geometry through the lush fruit trees and flowers. Small machines scurried around like dogs, watering and pruning the plants. It was hard to believe we were in the middle of a desert.
“Let’s sit here.” Naomi pointed to a bench under a tree with round, red apples begging to be picked.
“Remember the first time we sat on a bench together?”
She lowered to the bench gently. “I’ll never forget it. You were the arrogant Jewish boy with the dark curls and the darker dreams.”
“And you were the girl clothed with the sun—all beautiful and innocent and ready to make me spill my secrets. How’d you do that, by the way? I’ve never understood how you dragged my dream out of me.”
“I felt like there was something special about you, so I prayed. I asked God to help me, to show what you were hiding.” She grinned. “My prayers usually aren’t answered quite so fast.”
“And look where that led us.”
She studied me quietly. “You think you could’ve avoided all this if I hadn’t dragged you to meet the order?”
“I don’t know.” I hesitated, then smiled. “Either way, you’re worth everything I’ve gone through—the dragon, the desert, Babylon, and now Don’s palace. I’d do it all again. We’re together now.”
She took my hand. “You’ve changed, you know.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without you. And maybe Bart, and Chris, and Ronaldo, and ….”
She nodded, but her eyes said she’d moved to the next thought. She was studying the garden around us. She bent over and glanced under the bench, then she leaned close to my ear. “Think we’re being overheard?”
“Maybe. There’s a chance everything can be heard. Don’s androids are walking recorders, and sensors are everywhere. But this seems at least as safe as your room.” I met her green eyes. They were open wide, a little afraid. “What is it?”
She pressed close to my ear again. “We have to decide about turning on your precept, and I’ve heard nothing from God. It makes me worried. What have you seen?”
I hesitated, careful with my words. “I’ve seen myself in Jerusalem, facing the dragon.” Her body tensed, and I tried to assure her. “It’s not much to go on, but I heard God clear as day: trust and wait . And before that, in the order’s hideaway, Jesus told me to let my enemies give me quarter and then, in the moment when the world listens, tell the world I am coming. Well, here I am in Don’s palace, and how can I speak to the world without my precept? It seems like I should take the opportunity.”
“But this opportunity is from Don.” Her voice dropped to the lowest whisper. “I told you, he doesn’t need your help.”
“Think about why he picked you as his woman clothed with the sun. He’s taking God’s story and trying to corrupt it. So, for whatever reason, if God picked me to see spiritual things and come to believe them, wouldn’t his enemy want to twist that?”
“I guess so. But how?” She paused, fixing her eyes on mine.
I thought of how he’d used Charles’s body as a puppet. “I bet he thinks he can tempt me to join him. And if that fails, he probably thinks he can just control me.”
“That’s right. So what are you going to do if you sync up to one of those killing machines and find yourself with no option but to slaughter a bunch of men or be killed?”
My voice came out steady: “I’ll follow the Captain’s path.”
“That’s not an option.”
“We know Don will be defeated in the end.
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