Another Short Tale of the Anti-Christ

(Inspired by the original by Soloviev). Act 1: The Empire As the world moved futher into the 21st century, the decadence of the West deepened. The Biden and following regimes advanced Cultural Liberation: sexuality was definitively detached from spousality/fecundity and redefined as subjective and recreational; masculinity/femininity and maternity/paternity entirely deconstructed as living social forms; the incompetent and powerless ruled out as inhuman and devoid of human rights; the State expanded as provider or guarantor of all needs and preferences. The family was redefined as a free, voluntary association of any combination of people who so self-define themselves, particularly those that share unrestricted sexual goods. Intermediate communities and organizations were further dIluted and diminished; expanding global corporations, in alliance with the State, assumed more responsibility as it controlled a technological order that had become cancerous in its unrestrained growth. Society was increasingly polarized between the Winners and Losers: the former were the competent who benefited from connections, education and achievement and worked to maintain and enhance the meritocratic-bureaucratic-technocratic order. The later were those unable to ascend the careerist ladder and became entirely dependent upon a State which guaranteed a minimum level of health care, food and lodge and entertainment. Peace reigned and was strenghened by widespread, really pandemic, use of now legal narcotics which were readily and easily available. Pornography and self-sex expanded and largely displaced residues of oldfashioned romance. Postraumatic hysteria about the coronovirus of the 2020s was manipulated by the powers to enhance a reliance on and compliance with the State which expanded its control well beyond masks and social distancing to regulate all areas of life and ensure harmony and monotony. The cost of this arrangement was so enormous that large cutbacks in defense were enacted and the national deficit and debt exploded beyond measure. These developments necessitated a reliance upon the global loaner, singular military power, and agressive empire of East Asian Communism. This power had expanded around the globe with no countervailing challenger. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church continued the policy of accomdation initiated in the pontificate of Francis: Communism contolled the Church through most of the world while Cultural Liberalism and the bipolar economy in the USA and Europe was blessed by the hierarchy. To be sure, the deal meant the Church was allowed to administer the sacraments but never to challenge in any fundamental way the system. Additionally the Church maintained its system of schools, hosptials and other institutions in exchange for compliance. The magisterium, its dogmatic and moral teachings, were preserved intact and inviolate but marginalized: moral commandments became ideals to be easily dismissed when inconvenient; dogmas became symbolic, mythological to be intepreted by the individual. Museums were dedicated to preserve traditions of dogma, morality and liturgy. The traditional family was disparaged as narrow, repressive, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic and racist. For example, children who referred to their "father" or "mother" were shamed as narrow-minded bi-polars. Grandparents were restricted to de facto concentration camps, offically called nursing homes, and separated from younger generations. After early century success in the engineering and control of coronoviruses, the regime used the threat of pandemic as a rationale for the permanent quarantining of the elderly. The regime realized that the strongest threat to its control was any connection with tradition and authority. The young were vigorously instructed to pity the backward, reactionary and bigoted thought patterns of the elderly. Grandparents had been decisively cancelled. The State in alliance with Capital, Entertainment and Education maintained a steady state of hysteria by the studied control of coronavirus pandemics. Masking, distancing, quarantining and lock-downs were all implemented so that the isolation of the individual and the dissolution of all permanent social bonds (family, friendship, all kinds of community except the virtual) were intensified. The power of State and Capital enhanced. Deaths of despair were commonplace as euthanasia and assisted-suicide were encouraged, abuse of narotics and alcohol widespread, and depression/anxiety universal. A monotonous, dull sadness descended upon the entire globe...with some exceptions. Act 2: The ResistanceThe resistance had disappeared, had gone into hiding. The heart of the resistance was an alliance of evangelical Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants. Despite differences in theology and liturgy, they shared a deep love for their Crucified-Risen Lord and encouraged each other in hidden, prayerful, hopeful resistance to the Empire. Across the globe there were four distinct economic classes: the powerful elite, the one percent who ruled the Communist East and the Liberational West; the managerial class (about 20 % of the population) who inherited privilege or climbed the meritocratic ladder to affluence by ability, industry and above all allegiance to the mainbtenance of the global, bureacratic Empire; the Dependent Class (40%) who served the Empire in servile work and were rewarded for their compliance by security and all the pleasures of entertainment, recreational drugs and sex. Finally, almost 40% or the world's population lived in dire poverty in desolate areas (deserts, mountains, jungles) far removed from the urban centers of the Empire, including the global South, Siberia, northern areas of Canada. The heart of the resistance were "Nazarene Communities" which deliberately structured themselves as a reversion to the culture of the Holy Family (Jesus, Joseph and Mary) in Nazareth in a life of praise, humility and joyful service. Many of these Nazarean communities of resistance had been birthed in the late 20th: Pentecostals, Catholics of all stripes (Latin Rite home-schoolers, charismatics, Neo-cats, Catholic Workers, Communio and Communion and Liberation groups, among others), traditional Orthodox and Coptic communities. Also in communion were smaller groups of Orthodox Jews, devout Muslims and Hindus, and even a smattering of atheists who renounced the Empire. They had returned to the land and lived lives of simplicity: low technology; physical labor of farming, gathering, hunting and fishing;and close bonds of community. Large families, often 10 to 12 children, were normal and an advantageous in the struggle to survive. In sharpest contrast to the Empire of Androgy and Promiscuity, there was a revived cult of masculinity/femininity, of paternity/maternity. The men were fit, athletic, virile...largely as a result of their hard living conditions. But additionally, under the banner of St. Joseph, they dedicated themselves to chivalry, valuing above all chastity and courage, as well as humility. Pornography, contraception, co-habitation and such were unknown. From childhood boys were trained in martial arts along with a dedication to non-violence. While they had only simple weapons, they became renown as fierce warriors in the conflicts they faced with local war lords as well as the occasional imperial troopers who would attack, but never defeat them. Women were comparable strong as they worked side-by-side with the men and developed a Katnis-like blend of ferocity, fearlessness and radiant femininity. They lived among the very poor and were welcomed by them in a kind of a happy marriage. Many of the poor joined them and all supported them. They retained their heritage and culture and handed it on directly to the young in small education groups and shared it as well with the poor around them. Over the years, a powerful, profound and passionate culture developed which retrieved the heritage of the nations and strengthed itself in resistance to the Empire. Act 3: The Anti-ChristTowards the end of the 21st Century, while the hidden, quiet Nazarene Resistance was growing in strength, the Empire faced crisis. Tensions were growing between the now-overgrown elites: Asian communists resented the affluence of the Liberal West, ancient ethnic and racial animosities were rekindled, and threat of nuclear-biological-chemical war hovered ominously. Even more seriously, however, a dark, cold monotony and unexpressed sadness had descended upon the entire world. By now procreation was entirely technological so the old-fashioned delight of romance, love, family and community was unknown. Sex and gender had become entirely fluid and subjective: sophisticated drugs and surgery allowed for all manner of experimention in sexual excess. Purposelessness and nihilism permeated. Deaths of despair struck most of those in the upper tiers of society well before midage, either by overdose of drugs or assisted suicide. The sheer monotony, coldness, and futility of the entire technological-bureaucratic order had smothered any motivation, energy, or hope. Then: the Unique One appeared. He was extraordinary in every way. His parents were Asian (combination of Japanese and Chinese...very unusual!) on one side, and Mexican (combining Native American, African and Spanish blood) on the other. He was, in short, a mixture of all the global races. His intelligence, athleticism, and energy had all been enhanced by the latest scientific developments in genetic enhancement. He was really a kind of superman, by virtue of his genetics, his education and his personal charisma. Additionally, he was multi-sexual: by advanced surgery and chemistry his genetic masculinity had been reconfigured into a volitional fluidity so that he was able to experience the widest range of sexual experiences: not only male-female, but trans, lesbian, gay, multi, and others. He had vowed (as had become common in that culture) to a life of sterility as well as promiscuity and experimentation so that he would never under any circumstances commit himself fully to another, lest he limit his personal possibilites. He had a photographic memory and had, by the age of 24 completed doctorates in law, psychology, theology and advanced genetics. He spoke 20 languages fluently. But most impressive was his charisma and charm: he exuded a warmth, a fascination, an enchanting and fascinating attractiveness. He was a pacifist, internationist, psychologist, ecologist and a lover of animals. He thoroughly understood all the religions of the globe and was astute in affirming the strongest values of each of them. Above all, he was a Man of Peace. In his career as international peacemaker, he took the globe by storm. He was clearly the solution to the crisis: he appealed to all groups even as he brought a sense of optimism, of energy, and of purpose to a world gone dead in spirit. What was not known was that his powers were enhanced to such a boundless degree by a compact he had made with the Underworld of Darkness. He had been promised such powers and eventual coronation as Empire of the Globe in return for one favor: that he destroy all reminders of the Crucified One. Act 4: The Persecution and the Martyrdom in Ecstasy Eventually the Unique One was installed as Absolute and Final Emperor. Scientific experiment advanced in developing a potion that would ensure his immortality. He brought peace and consolation to the entire world controlled by the Empire. In accord with his vow to the Underworld, he finally initiated a crusade to eliminate any images, icons or remembrances of the Crucified. Imperial Troopers were dispatched all over the world to find and destroy such. This included especially crucifixes with the bodily image, stations of the cross, rosaries, scapulars and ...above all...the Eucharist. When the troopers pushed into the wilderness, they faced the fiercest opposition: men and women of the Nazarene Resistance would eagerly suffer, even painful deaths, rather than give up their icons and images. So passionate was the conflict that the Emperor found it necessary to abandon his pacifism and inflict the most extreme torture on the resisters. A propaganda campaign, along with the targeted release of vicious coronoviruses, convinced the entire Empire that followers of the Crucified were responsible for the loss of life and the terrible suffering. Around the globe, it became a badge of honor to unveil anyone honoring such images. A new form of torture, retrieving an ancient one, was utilized: resisters were crucified themselves along with sophisticated drugs and surgery which increased the pain. The reasoning was classic: this would surely terrify everyone into betraying the Crucified. But an unexpected phenomenon developed: the Ecstacy of the Martyred. A clear pattern emerged: just as the pain reached an unbearable point in the crucifixion, the resister would exclaim fiercely: "I am a sinner, in need of your mercy!" and then "Jesus, I trust in you!" followed by "Father, forgive them!" followed by a scream of ecstacy "I love you!" and finally a most serene passing. This pattern presented a dilemna to the Emperor: it aroused a fascination among the people who had never witnessed such heroism, generosity, surrender and love. Slowly at first, but then more virulently support and sympathy for the Nazarenes increased. Neurological and chemical analyses concluded that each act of faith corresponded with drastic changes in neural and homonal activity but the process was not able to be replicated outside of the actual martyrdom and act of faith. Act 5: The Apocalypse With every such martyrdom, the Emperor himself entered more deeply into a flaming, deperate rage. He realized that the more violence he inflicted, the more the martyrs were glorified and the more the people attracted. He realized no natural, scientific or political effort could defeat what was clearly a supernatural phenomenon. He therefore called upon the Prince of Darkness himself and requested reinforcements in his battle against the Crucified. He asked for the power to anonymously and entirely condemn all resisters and believers to a painful and immediate death, wherever they were, unknown and unseen by the world. Lucifier, himself befuddled by the events, approved of the strategy and surprisingly Heaven allowed it. Darkness covered the earth; a frigid cold descended everywhere; and then fires exploded among all resisters, torturing and then consuming all. A surprise happened: the consumation was not entirely hidden, among the non-resisters of every class and place there was an intuitive understanding of what was occuring and each personally was confronted with a decision: to suffer with the Crucified or to torture him. In a single moment, every person on the earth made that eternal decision. All were consummed, some going into desolation and darkness and others into Glory, and the Final and General Judgement initiated. At that same moment, however, a monumental suprise occurred: the Emperor in observing the glorification of the martyred was enveloped in the fiercest fire of rage, envy and despair. The Prince of Darkness smiled. But then: his gaze turned from the vile images of the afflicted and in the sky he saw the figure of Christ with his wounds. To his right hand was his Mother, Mary most Holy. She looked upon the Emperor with the deepest sorrow and compassion. This reminded him of his own mother who was a secret Christian and had prayed over him in his infancy and childhood. He also saw the figure of Saint Joseph who reminded him of a favorite uncle who had mentored and encouraged him. At that moment the faintest movement of the Holy Spirit awoke with him. It was something he had never experienced. But in a suprise even to himself, he surrendered to this motion and cried out for Mercy to the Crucified. In that minisecond he saw his entire life: all his pride, all the violence and hatred he had inflicted. He cried again for Mercy. He looked into the eyes of the Crucified and saw the question: "Do you trust in me?" He answered "Yes." Another question: "Do you forgive?" Again he answered "Yes." Immediately he, and the entire cosmos was consummed by a purifying fire from heaven and entered into Glory. Act 6:The Eschaton PostscriptHowever, there was another, still greater surprise in store. With the conversion of the Anti-Christ an immense cry of Joy issued from heaven from all the angels and saints. None of them had anticipated such a glorious finale to history and earthly existence. But almost immediately, especially among the greatest sinners among the saints, a new hope exploded: if the mighty and evil Anti-Christ could be saved, could there not be a second hope, a chance for those sinners and demons condemned to hell? This sentiment spread rapidly and reached the ear of our Blessed Mother. She was moved with compassion. She turned to her Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Triune Three were disarmed by the plea. They had not anticipated it. History and existence had culminated as they had always intended. But the idea of a post-history-and-reality Drama had never been discussed. The Father decided to let the Son decide; the Son looked at the Holy Spirit who smiled affectionately. The Son nodded. And the Father announced: all the damned would be given another chance! And so the damned were summoned from the dark, deep, cold realm of hell. A common musunderstanding is that the damned suffer fire, but actually it is cold of isolation and loneliness far worse than any fire. Every condemned soul and angel was again confroned anew with the kind but holy face of the Savior and asked to decide: remain in frigid hell, or undergo the fierce, purging fire of Divine Love. What happened next? We do not know: it has not been revealed to us! (In addition to Soloviev, this imaginary, dystopian exercise is happily indebted to: Rod Dreher, Star Wars, Ivan Illich, Joseph Ratzinger, Kiko Arguello, Hunger Games, Ralph Martin, Ross Douthat, the Schindlers and Communio community, the Catholic Worker, St.John Paul II the Great, the iconoclast controversies, St. Stephen and the other Martyrs.