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computation in his mind: that would be noon his time. "Until then, we are told
that neither Secretary-General Goodman nor Robert Milner will be granting any
interviews, or making any comments. No one seems to
I
know why Goodman is waiting until Sunday evening before addressing the world,
but some insiders expressed concern that the delay just feeds the fear that
another plague, perhaps one even more deadly than the ones before, is coming.
With that kind of concern, we could see Goodman's approval rating drop even
lower."
The picture switched back to the anchor. "One important note on the findings
of that poll," the anchor said as she concluded the segment, "is that while
the poll does show a significant loss of support for Secretary-General
Goodman, there is no evidence of any corresponding switch in allegiance toward
the KDT or Yahweh. Our poll shows that it is not that people are turning to
Yahweh. Instead, many are cursing Yahweh and Goodman in the same breath."
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The story of Christopher's drop in approval led the news for two hours and was
replaced by a story which for the first time revealed the true extent of the
loss of life from the last plague. One of the polling experts at the network
had thought to apply features of the methodology used in insta-
polling to the process of estimating the number of deaths. By having viewers
enter the number of deaths in each viewing household and then estimating the
approximate number of deaths represented by the reduction in the total number
of poll respondents for that day-part as compared to the previous weeks, a
conservative death toll of well over 130 million was projected. This news
could not help but drive Christopher's approval rating down even farther.
News abhors a vacuum and in the absence of an explanation from Christopher or
Milner, rumors began to circulate that Christopher was planning to resign and
that he was waiting until Sunday to allow the Security Council to determine
how to proceed.
2:30 p.m., Saturday, July 11,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker dragged the mattress down the steps and out the back door and dropped
it on the patio. It was not a permanent
278 Acts of God solution to the problem, but the smell of urine had become
so offensive that he had to get it out of the house. Closing the door behind
him as he came back in, he sat down in the first chair he came to. As he sat
there trying to catch his breath, he was startled by the sound of the phone.
Despite his exhaustion, he ran past two other phones to get to the one in the
kitchen, which had a caller ID feature.
As he saw the number, Decker exhaled in relief; it was Bert Tolinson.
"Hello, Bert," Decker said, out of breath.
"Mr. Hawthorne, I'm afraid we've got a problem. I got a call from a Ms. Listen
at the bank today about the transfer of funds from your account. She said no
funds can be withdrawn. I asked her why, and she said that the computer said
that you hadn't taken the communion. Can you believe that? I started to argue
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with her but she insisted the computer was right. She said that all your funds
had been frozen and she'd be surprised if you hadn't already been arrested. I
didn't want to push it any further 'cause I know how important it is to you
that no one knows that you're in town, but you're going to have to get this
straightened out."
"This is crazy," Decker said with a little laugh, trying to sound convincing.
"That's what I told her. I guess she didn't realize who you were or she would
have figured that out for herself."
"Okay, Bert. I'll take care of it," he said confidently. "You did the right
thing, though. Thanks for handling it with such discretion."
"That's part of what you pay me for," Tolinson said. "You want the number for
the bank?"
"Yeah," Decker answered, though he had no intention of actually making the
call. Tolinson gave him the number and Decker recited it back as though he was
writing it down. "I'll give you a call when
I get this taken care of," he concluded.
Decker put down the phone. This presented a serious problem. There was
probably enough food to last for about a
Darkness 279
week if he rationed it carefully. After that, he would be forced to leave the
house to scavenge or steal what he could, which would greatly increase the
chances that he would be discovered and arrested. There was the additional
problem that in a few days, Bert Tolinson would begin to wonder why he had not
gotten things 'straightened out' at the bank. At the least, it would mean that
Decker would have to admit he could no longer pay him and, therefore, could no
longer depend on
Tolinson's assistance. At the worst, Tolinson might notify the police. There
was now a substantial
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people who had not taken the mark.
12:04 p.m., Sunday, July 12,4 N.A. (2026 A.D.)
Decker sat straight-backed on the couch in front of the television set.
Christopher was about to make what everyone acknowledged was a make-or-break [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]