The Preacher Man

Dabir spoke up from ahead of me. "At Jizari, you'll find hourly prayers during the Cycle, but most days the only real time commitments will be the Prayers of Purification and Weakness. Security likes to keep our members fit!"

"Our members?!" I thought wildly. But Dabir was a priest! I suddenly realized Khatib was being perfectly candid when he revealed his closeness to my Guild. But I still couldn't figure out why he, and Dabir too for that matter, were so open with me with such remarkable information. I suddenly felt grateful no one was pressing me for conversation. I'm not sure what I would have said. I took out a book from the seatback in front of me. It was a leather bound copy of the Book of Bel'dar.

Shortly afterwards Dabir got up and began working the controls on the cabin's galley. After a few minutes he began informally to serve us all a hot breakfast, Khatib first, then Fadil, and finally me. I glanced at his insignia as he served me. Imagine the center point of a triangle being used to form three inner triangles. Dabir's emblem had a lower yellow triangle framed by a green triangle on the upper left and a blue triangle on the upper right. It was the emblem for Top Management, CL-7. And below that was the insignia for his priesthood.

There are some 648,000 priests in the world, 20% of all adult males, and Dabir was in the top 10% of that population. And yet, here he was, casually serving breakfast to me, my green circle of CL-2 barely a few hours old. As Dabir returned to his seat with his own meal, I worked to understood the implications.

In all my years of nocturnal reading, there had been no hint of much informality between the classes, and certainly not with the Priesthood! Clearly something very unusual was being shown to me. I thought in silence as I ate my excellent hot eggs, bagel and fruit.

Security does have a special relationship with the Priesthood. The Security Guild is the only Guild where Class rank carries over to command authority with the Priesthood's police and military units. As a Security commander, Fadil would expect to be saluted and obeyed as an officer by the Holy militia, and could order lower-level police around at will.

Perhaps... Yes. It was a test after all. Without explanation, my fellow passengers were showing me just how close relationships could be between the Priesthood and Security. The test was to see how well I could jump from private to public behavior. When we landed at Bandar Arenas, any informality on my part would be an absolute disaster. I would have to stay alert!

I ate the last of my sumptuous breakfast and then in silence got up and cleared everybody's trays. Fadil gave me a brief approving grunt, the other two ignored me. I returned quietly to my seat.

The time passed quickly. The thunder of the mighty ramjets was just a moderate hiss inside the plush cabin. I tried to do some reading, but often found myself gazing to my left. We were traveling so fast! And the sun was spectacular as it rose above the winter Caribbean.

Time: Judgment 5, 8235 10:29 PM

I lay on my bed in my room at Security's complex in Jizari. It was a much larger room than my cubical at Anqara. My new quarters were three meters by four meters, with windows along one entire wall with a fine prospect of the city below. The room was very well appointed and it felt like a mini-palace. I was not resting though. I was still dressed in my robe from the Hour of Repose. Somehow I figured I might be getting company tonight.

Judgment is sometimes referred to as the zeroth month, but it's only five days long. Tomorrow will be January 1 and the real start of the yearly work cycle of budgets and objectives and performance tracking. Performance tracking... I closed my eyes as I lay on my bed and thought through the memories of my last four days.

I was right about the difference between public and private behavior. When our ramjet landed at Bandar Arenas, I was treated like a female by my traveling companions, ignored except for curt hand gestures ordering me to portage the luggage. My only recognition was when we parted. Dabir held out his hand and allowed me to kneel and kiss his signet ring.

Fadil and three other Priests rode the jet back to Jizari. I took the high-speed magneto-rail, relieved to be on my own, and made the 360 km journey in less than two hours.

Jizari is a beautiful city, much richer than Anqara, and I was looking forward to the day when I would be able to wander its streets in leisure. But for now as a new Guild member my time was booked. Security had forty-eight Initiates this year, forty-five survived the final childhood gate and three (including me) had the opportunity for Asad. After days of special orientation and encouragement for the three potential Lion riders, we finally declared our intentions to the Priesthood tonight, at the moment of close of the Prayer of Repose. My two colleagues had both chosen to ride to Level-4, demonstrating their desire for future consideration for promotion to Ruling Royalty.

There was sound of a command override code being typed at my door, and then the door opened and Zaim walked in. He is CL-15, the highest rank outside the Royal Priesthood. Zaim is also one of the eleven Top Commanders in Security, his diamond emblem carrying four quadrants of red, yellow, green, and blue. I began to rise in respect, but he glared at me and barked the word "Sit!" I saluted and sat back down on my bed as he closed the door and sat in a chair opposite me.

I decided it would be appropriate to let him begin the conversation. After a moment of staring, he growled, "Do you know how much time and resources the Guild has invested in you?"

"Somewhat sir."

"Somewhat indeed! And you decided to throw it all away! Why?!" He saw me struggling to respond. "Permission to speak freely!"

"Yes sir, thank you. I'm not throwing it away sir. I think I can succeed."

"You are delusional! And how this was never caught in our profiling, I intent to investigate!"

He hadn't asked me a question, and even though I had permission to speak freely, somehow arguing his low opinion of me didn't seem like the right idea. I worked to calm myself and waited for Zaim to continue.

"Ilias," he said at last. "You know Haytham and Mu'awiyah?" He was referring to the two other Security Initiates with access to the Asad.

"Yes sir. We've become good friends."

"But I gather their friendship did not teach you sanity! Did you mention your intentions to them?"

"For the Asad? No, of course not sir. It is forbidden."

"Shaitan!" Zaim hissed. "What an attitude!" He sat there frowning at me for the longest time, and then finally sighed. "We were expecting so much from you Ilias. There would have been full honor for you in choosing as your two teammates did. Ending at Level-3 also would have been perfectly acceptable, and declining the Lion or choosing to ride to Level-5 would have been unexpected but tolerated. But this?!"

It was a semi-question. I decided I needed to reply. "I think I can do this sir. I have considered the risks, and am dedicated to succeed."

"You know, don't you, that there's no correlation with Asad passing rates and fact that this is a Jubilee year?"

I nodded. "Yes sir. The Year 7777 was a horror, but in general there is no correlation with the severity of the Lion and the Holiness of the year's digits." I thought for a moment about all the statistical analyses done over the millennia on the Asad. The only definite correlation found has been the ratio of riders targeting two Levels of advancement. If the percentage of riders targeting Level-4 becomes greater than a third, the testing becomes wildly unpredictable in its severity. Paradoxically, the more people thinking the Lion is rideable, the less rideable the Lion becomes.

Zaim stared at me silently, and then decided he had nothing further to say. He shook his head once in dismissal and got up and walked out of the room.

And the reason for his dismay? An hour ago I had declared my intention to the startled Priests to Ride the Lion to its maximum possible length, twelve full months. I would delay the selection of my wives and be tested on the 21'st of every month this year, until I reached CL-14 on December 21'st or failed a gate along the way and be assigned a lifetime lower class. Zaim thought my attempt was hopeless. No one had successfully ridden the Lion to command level (CL-8) in the last six thousand years.

Chapter 5. The Class Journey

Time: January 22, 8235 noon

I showed up at Zaim's outer office shortly before noontime as ordered. Haytham and Mu'awiyah were already waiting there. They gave me brief, discreet nods of greetings and then pretended that I wasn't there.

I didn't blame them. The word had spread quickly after my first meeting with Zaim that I was no longer viewed favorably by command. No one desired to be associated with me. I turned politely away and watched the fierce summer storm lash the panoramic windows with violent sheets of rain.

Jizari and Bandar Arenas have an even more extreme difference in the seasonal sunlight than Anqara. Here we were a full standard month after the solstice, and there was still almost seventeen hours of daylight. My thoughts turned to Anqara. It would be in the coldest part of its winter right now, the countryside in a deep snowy sleep waiting for the rebirth of spring.

Zaim's secretary came to our waiting area and led Mu'awiyah into the inner office. The interruption returned my thoughts to the present.

For the first twenty days of January, Haytham's and Mu'awiyah's Guild assignment had been to prepare for the Asad, receiving six to eight hours of coaching daily from former riders within the Guild. My assignment had been to prepare for life as a laborer. I was learning an immense amount of information about operational procedures for the security network, and my only study hours for the Asad were in my free time at night.

I was somewhat surprised I was allowed to keep my prime quarters, but then thought that the Security leadership didn't want to bother with pettiness and would wait until I had fallen off the Lion before reassigning me. Perhaps they thought the extra time in the opulent quarters would more deeply set the memory of what my life could have been like, if I had chosen more wisely.

The secretary returned and gestured for Haytham to follow him. Neither of us had seen Mu'awiyah exit the office. He was either still with Zaim, which would be unexpected, or had left by another door. I risked giving Haytham a "good luck" gesture with my head as he passed near me. He kept his eyes averted but gave me a discreet gesture of gratitude with his hand in return. And then I was alone.

All three of us had spent six hours yesterday riding the Lion. The questions were strange, unexpected, full of mathematical puzzles mixed in with morality questions. The first three hours were filled with far more questions than anyone could possibly answer, and many of the questions in the second half of the test made references to the first half. It was a severe test of memory under stress, my secret strength. I still felt drained and exhausted by the end though and welcomed the evening prayers, especially the focus on the Shotokan Katas during the Prayer of Weakness. They are among my favorite exercise, and they helped relieve my tension.

As I stood waiting by the window, I thought again of the rumors flying around headquarters. Supposedly Zaim and the three other Security CL-15 currently at Jizari had an emergency meeting with Ghazi very early this morning at the capital, traveling by rail because of the storm.

The secretary returned again and escorted me into Zaim's office. He was alone, his back towards me as he stared out the window. Apparently I'm not the only one who enjoys watching the furies of the storms. I heard the secretary seal the door behind me and waited for the meeting to begin.

"Sit down Ilias, at ease," Zaim said, his back still towards me. As I took a seat in front of his desk, I couldn't help but notice a new Security shirt folded on his desktop, the green and blue hemispheres of Class Level 3 clearly visible. I didn't think Zaim would be cruel enough to tease me, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Zaim heard my sigh and then turned around and sat down facing me. He nodded to confirm my understanding of the shirt, and then asked, "Do you know the procedure for the announcement of the Lion results?"

"Yes sir. Results will be posted worldwide at the end of evening Prayers today. The Guilds and the Priesthood are permitted to inform and promote individuals after noontime."

Zaim nodded and glanced at the shirt. "You've succeeded in your first run with the Lion." He took a deep breath. "You're the only rider from Security that did."

I grimaced, thinking of my two friends.

Zaim went on. "General results are not to be released until 10 PM. Therefore, the rest of this conversation never takes place."

As an Anqara Initiate, such a violation would have shocked me, but I had learned much in my one month at Jizari. I nodded my understanding. "Yes sir, thank you."

"A total of 719 chose to ride the Lion this year, out of a possible 780."

I nodded. The percentage was high but not remarkable.

Zaim went on, "There were 359 riders targeting Level-3, 343 riders for Level-4, fifteen for Level-5, one for Level-6, and of course you for Level-14."

It took me a second to realize Zaim's point. "The Holy!" I whispered. "Half sir?!"

"One over! More than half the riders this year targeted above Level-3. This shatters the previous record of 42%." Zaim paused for a moment. "A total of 131 passed yesterday's ride, you, 123 of the riders targeting Level-3, and seven of the riders targeting Level-4. Regardless of what happens next, this will go down as the most severe Lion in history."

I thought for a moment about the skewness of the numbers. "A damnable year for ambition sir."

"Indeed. The Lion is well known for its temper, and to turn and bite the group of riders who are too ambitious. Part of the test yesterday was to overlay an overwhelming requirement for mathematical problem solving with questions testing morality and ambition. It takes much more effort and time to lie consistently than to tell the truth consistently. Any rider attempting to deceive the Lion is thus eaten for his low production of consistent answers. But this year, the Lion also devoured those who were forced to reveal their great ambition."

I sighed. "Except me sir."

Zaim gave me a slow, thoughtful nod. "Yes, except for you. Ghazi remarked this morning how interesting it was that you passed, given the current mood of the Lion. The Security leadership council agreed. Ilias, your position is still almost certainly hopeless, but the Guild has decided it will support your ride." He gestured for me to take the shirt and flicked his hand at a rear door. "Dismissed!"

I saluted and left.

Five months later...

Time: June 24, 8235 6:47 AM

As the highest ranking priest on the flight, a CL-6 Upper Manager had assumed the role of Mukkarib and was leading the Prayer Cycle in the passenger cabin. His attitude with the travelers was stern and judgmental, except for me of course.

I smiled at the memory. I had been turning to put away my laptop at 5:50 AM, about a half hour after departure from Hadramawt. I was preparing for the Prayers when the CL-6 reached my aisle and snapped his fingers at me and pointed to his insignias, showing me a triangle yellow and green, and below that his identity as a Priest. He was indicating to me that he was a force to be obeyed.

From the pride in his countenance, I guessed he was a recent promotion. Perhaps last year the green at the top his Class insignia had been blue. I smiled at him in return and nodded pleasantly. His face turned to a deep frown, but before he could make a major mistake I took pity on him and turned to show him my own insignia, the solid red diamond of command and below that the emblem of the Security Guild.

He gasped at the blunder he had almost made. I didn't blame him for his surprise. Out of twenty-five million people on the planet, there are currently only a total of 374 Security Commanders (CL-8 to 15). Subtract from that the standard operating procedure of at least two of us stationed at each of the 120 townships, and the odds against bumping into any of us in flight are really quite high.

I caught a quick smile from the upper level commander of the Mining Guild in the aisle across from me, a CL-13, who then tried to hide his grin in a cough. His Class alone was not enough to stand against this pompous Priest. It was only the combination of my command rank and my Guild that made me the superior authority here.

"Name?" I asked.

The Priest gulped. "Mundhir sir."

"Mundhir, will you be able to start the Prayer Cycle on time?" Was this a question of Security concern? Perhaps not, but Mundhir was in no position to argue the point. If I ordered him to jump off the plane, theoretically he was supposed to obey.

"Yes, of course sir."

"And will you demonstrate the humility proper for a servant of the Holy?" The man visibly froze and quivered! In what monastery did he spend his childhood, I wondered. Fateen would never have allowed him through the second gate at Anqara.

He finally found the courage to answer my question. "Yes, of course sir."

"Excellent. Proceed."

He nodded stiffly and fled back to the front of the cabin to prepare for the service.

I found his first hour of the Prayer of Ascension very mundane, but at least he picked variations of Yoga exercises for the Prayer of Purification. Given his class had to remain seated, it was a reasonable choice. In the silence of the relaxation period at the end, I allowed my mind to drift back to the last four months of my life at Hadramawt.

The Security Guild spent some time in late January thinking of what sort of training program they would provide me for the Lion. The issues were complex, and they even invited me in on some of the discussions. We decided that given the Lion's aversion to ambition, a program that simulated a normal career through the Management Classes would be appropriate. And as standard procedure, Security members do not work as Managers in the same cities in which they were Laborers. So when I earned my yellow triangle in February, the top-level Commanders sent me away.

My post was Hadramawt, the easternmost of all townships, built at the very eastern tip of South America at the ancient site of Recife, Brazil. Located at 8 o 4' S, 36 o 1' E, Hadramawt had a geographical temporal shift of two hours and twenty-four minutes compared to the time standard at Bandar Arenas. That and its closeness to the equator meant that 6 AM prayers at Hadramawt always start well after sunrise, and that took some getting used to.

Over the last four months I rode the Lion at the beautiful central cathedral complex at Hadramawt. The Royal test monitor Khatib stayed there the entire four months with me. We met several times, both formally and informally, but always in public, and he never once showed me any sign of personal warmth. He did however provide a beautiful room for the testing days, a spacious private library with a rich décor of polished stone and gleaming rainforest hardwoods. I sat at a large table of solid Brazilian cherry wood for my tests, the sparkling waters of the tropical Atlantic filtering though the stained-glass windows as I rode the Lion.

My Class insignia changed monthly from yellow to yellow and blue, to yellow and green, to yellow, green, and blue, and finally on June 22'nd to a diamond red as I finally make Commander. And then it was time to go. I have many fond memories of Hadramawt. I spent much of my time learning the Management procedures of Security, but also had time to enjoy touring the tropical countryside. I saw the people's pride in their areas of specialty. Hadramawt is one of the major fishing and agricultural townships of the world.