Read Online Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder - Free Book Online

paused. “Maybe you could ask me some questions.”
    “All right. Let’s start with Soul Identity. How old is this organization?”
    “I don’t know, sir.”
    “You don’t know?”
    “No, sir. Pretty old, I would say.”
    “Your green pen said you were established in 1732.”
    “That’s when we moved our operations to America . We’re much older than that.”
    “I don’t think identity is that old a word.”
    “It’s older than you think,” he said. “It comes from the Latin idem et idem , which means again and again . We’ve been using that name since well before we made the move to America .” Bob reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a badge-sized piece of gold-colored plastic. “My membership card.”
    I looked at it. Again the same image: a triangle with two eyes inside, only this time I could see some detail. The eyes reminded me of Egyptian Eyes of Horus, and the triangle looked like the pyramid on the back of the US dollar bill. “What does this picture mean, Bob?”
    “That, sir, sums up what I believe. It represents how the eyes are truly the portal to our souls. I wear it proudly around my neck as well.” Bob stroked a bump in his shirt high up on his chest. I saw him move his lips in a silent chant.
    “So it’s like what a cross would mean to some Christians?”
    He nodded.
    “Did Soul Identity give you the necklace?”
    “No, sir. I belong to a church in Baltimore , and our pastor gives out these pendants as gifts.” Bob sucked in his breath and cringed. “Um, sir,” he said hurriedly, “Soul Identity doesn’t know I go to this church—please don’t tell them.”
    “Would they get upset?”
    “It’s like this, sir. Even though Soul Identity connects souls to past and future lives, they don’t say what it all means. All they do is recruit members, collect money, and identify souls. They leave the meaning to the churches.”
    “And why wouldn’t you want them to know?”
    “Because I’m an employee,” he said. “To avoid conflicts of interest, we’re instructed to steer clear of the churches.” He looked at me with wide eyes. “But sir, many of us need more. Soul Identity is not just a job—it’s our whole purpose for living.”
    “So you hide your church membership?”
    He nodded. “It’s like a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. You won’t tell, will you?”
    “Of course not,” I said. “But tell me, are there many churches like yours?”
    “There used to be hundreds. They’ve been consolidating, though. Most members belong, but we employees have to be careful how active a role we take.”
    And although it was interesting about the churches, I wanted to know more about what Bob did for the organization we were driving toward. “What is it that you deliver?” I asked him.
    “All sorts of things, sir. Redemptions, deposits, statements, and messages. I’m also certified to take readings, but only with the electronic readers.”
    I’m pretty good about getting people to talk about themselves. Everybody has a story to tell, and the easiest way for me to do my security consulting is to get people to tell me more—much more—than they intended.
    Bob seemed eager to tell me things—almost too eager. I wondered whether he was being friendly, sharing his religious fervor, or trying to mislead me.
    I scratched my head. “Back to your one hundred years of service. Did you work for Soul Identity in your past lives?”
    Bob nodded. “Seven of my soul ancestors served for a total of ninety-four years.”
    I glanced at him, then turned back to watch the road. This was going to be a weird month up north.

    After a pit stop I sat in the back. Bob showed me how to bring up the GPS map. Then he pressed a button on the same control panel. “This may interest you,” he said. The back of the rear couch folded down and joined with a set of cushions behind it, producing a queen sized bed.
    I could recover my missing sleep. “Just wake me up a couple hours