Good Morning Mr Antichrist 3

It might have been a rumble of distant thunder except that it went on for half an hour. The sound of the comet hitting the earth could be heard quite clearly in England, even though it had landed in America. Everyone knew it was heading for America and most people, like Natasha, were lying next to the tiny video screens on their bedside tables watching the news through the small hours of the morning.
"The comet has collided with the earth," said the news reader. "The icy shell of the comet landed one hundred miles off the coast of New York, creating a huge tsunami that devastated the east coast of America. Local flooding has been reported in England. This programme is being broadcast from a hotel in Enfield as the Thames has burst its banks and our usual studio in the centre of London is under water. The rocky core of the comet landed one hundred miles north of Salt Lake City, in the mountains and quite close to the volcano at Yellowstone Park. Huge hailstones the size of electric helicopters fell on Los Angeles and other nearby cities as the volcano at Yellowstone Park erupted. The United Nations made this statement at 4.30 AM universal time." The face of Anita appeared.
"This has not taken us by surprise. The course of the comet was tracked very carefully. We knew exactly where it would land. All American cities within 600 miles of the Atlantic Ocean or 600 miles of Yellowstone Park have been evacuated. We have enough food to last for six months and will be able to grow more in the Sahara Desert. All the crops that are normally grown in Scotland, oats, barley, rye and root vegetables can be grown in the Sahara desert using irrigation." The scene changed to where a news reporter was standing outside a tent in a big field in America. He was surrounded by electric helicopters stretching as far as the eye could see.
"What has it been like here in America tonight? Well, you heard it in England but here in Kansas the sound of the tsunami destroying huge cities and the giant hail stones raining from the sky was deafening. The whole earth shook as if there was an earthquake that lasted half an hour. Millions of families from around America have gathered in this field outside Kansas. The authorities are working around the clock to provide them with food, water, medical care and sanitation."

Natasha's Bible Study met again a few hours later.
"Well, something tremendous happened last night," said Bobby.
"Don't look so excited about it," said Sonya. "Those people have all lost their homes. Is it really so wonderful? Just because you scored a theological hit."
"Did you score a theological hit?" asked Sammy. He held up a small ereader on which was displayed the cover of a book he had bought. "I just bought this new Bible. The Rainbow Bible by Father Antonio Christos who has just become Pope. The cover shows people from all the different religions of the world standing under a rainbow. Father Antonio had an old tablet with a word processor and he left it on the coffee table overnight. When he woke up in the morning all these text files had appeared on it. Those text files are the new Bible."
"That sounds like automatic writing," said Bobby. "In the 19th century a man bought a typewriter and the spirits came to him and typed through him. He wrote a new Bible. It was called Oahspe. He was a spiritualist medium."
"What's wrong with spiritualist mediums?" asked Sammy.
"Well Sammy, the Bible forbids it," said Bobby. "The Bible wouldn't forbid it unless it was wrong."
"But why is it wrong?" asked Sonya. "Spiritualist mediums are good people. Aren't they?"
"As Christians we believe there are good spirits and evil spirits and that spirits aren't always who they claim to be. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light," said Bobby.
"I believe that evil is something that people create out of themselves," said Sammy. "This new Bible is really wonderful. Book 1. God is not the Creator. Book 2. Great Moral Teachers of the World. Book 3. The History of the World for the next 5 Billion Years."
"Sammy, that sounds a lot like Oahspe."
"So what if it sounds like Oahspe? Bobby, this all sounds wonderful," said Sammy. "Do you think a man could write that book?"
"No, Sammy, I certainly don't believe a man could have written that book."
"I joined this group because I'm just so fed up with my Mormon church and the belief that it's the only way to God. Bobby, what have you got against other religions?"
"Other religions would all be fine if humanity had never sinned."
"I don't know why Christianity is so obsessed with sin," said Sammy. "I don't believe in Original Sin, I believe in Original Blessing."
"Do you think that Antonio Christos is the Antichrist?" asked Natasha.
"I wonder if he is," said Zechariah. "When he became Pope, he put an end to the sacrifices in the temple. He says we're all the same religion now."
"Sammy," said Bobby, "Father Antonio Christos is the antichrist and you have been deceived."
"One of us has been deceived."

Natasha walked down the street to collect her daily ration of bread and soup. She looked up at the sky, where she could see a brightly shining star, even though it was midday. The sun was shining brightly, although it looked big and red, like a sunset, and lit up the orange clouds of volcanic dust in the sky. She clicked through the news channels on her iwatch to see what was going on. The figure of a male newsreader appeared.
"In the last few minutes astronomers have confirmed that Betelgeuse, a giant star 600 light years from Earth, has exploded. Professor Jane Wilson of the University of Huddersfield gave this advice." Natasha could see the face of her tutor.
"We needn't be particularly afraid of it. It is such a long way away. If we were 50 light years from Betelgeuse there would be serious damage to the atmosphere but we will receive about 1 per cent of the radiation that would be needed to kill us." Natasha arrived at the food distribution centre. She was given two tins of vegetable soup and a packet of bread buns by the man behind the counter.
"Do you have lentil and bacon?" she asked.
"You get the ones you're given." Natasha pressed her watch against the machine to pay for her soup. There was no beep.
"That didn't go through," said the man.
"Is something wrong?" asked Natasha.
"I don't know but you can't have any soup if it hasn't been paid for." Natasha went home. She saw that she only had a few pounds on the electricity meter. She lifted her iwatch towards the meter. The meter wouldn't beep. Natasha pressed the icon on her iwatch that represented her tutor.
"Something is wrong with my iwatch," said Natasha. "I can't pay for my lunch. I can't put any electricity on the meter."
"There's nothing wrong with your iwatch," said the professor. "Your bank account has been cancelled. Natasha, what did you say about Father Antonio Christos?"
"I asked my Bible Study class if they thought he was the Antichrist."
"Well, I'm not surprised you've had you're bank account cancelled. I'm shocked you would suggest that. What's got into you?"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Do? Do? Natasha, there's nothing you can do. Starve. Freeze. Die. Those are your three options."

Natasha left her apartment with a big piece of cardboard on which she had written, 'Hungry and Homeless, Please Help.' She took the sign down to the city centre and sat in a shop doorway. There, sitting in the same shop doorway, was Bobby.
"Did you get cancelled as well?" he asked.
"Yes. I've got my sign but I'm sure there won't be anyone buying food for us here. There isn't any food in the shop."
"Someone might throw us the occasional bread bun," said Bobby. A few hours later Natasha's church pastor arrived.
"Hello Pastor Kevin," she said.
"Hello Natasha. What happened to you?"
"I've had my bank account cancelled for insulting Father Antonio Christos."
"We both have," said Bobby.
"I think you've both been very foolish. But if you turn back to the blessed holy father, he is gracious, he will forgive you. There's a big statue of him outside the cathedral. All you have to do is bow down and kiss its feet. They'll give you a little hologram on your iwatch." Pastor Kevin turned on his iwatch and a 3d picture of a temple hovered in front of the screen. "This is your citizenship. No one can refuse to let you open a bank account when you've got this. Natasha, go and do this. Your bank account will be open again."
"But you're a Christian," said Natasha.
"So is the blessed father Antonio Christos. I can't understand why people like you think he's an evil person. Natasha, no one has been deceived. This guy is good, he's very good. He's come to rule the world and to bring world peace. Don't you want to be a part of that?"
"But the Bible says that he's the Antichrist," said Natasha.
"Then read a different Bible. Read his Bible. The Bible that he wrote. Natasha, if you stay here, you will die. Did you get any response from people, sitting here with your sign?"
"Somebody threw us a bread bun."
"You can't survive on the occasional bread bun. Do you know how cold it will get in the winter? You've got your thick winter coat on. It's the middle of July. It's all the dust in the air, it blocks out the warmth of the sun. Imagine how December will feel." Pastor Kevin walked away. Late that night the streets were empty and no one was around. A flying taxi landed behind one of the shops, carefully positioned where the cameras couldn't see it. A man got out of the taxi and came towards them.
"I think you should come with me," he said.
"Where are we going?" asked Natasha.
"I'll tell you in the taxi. The cameras in the street are recording our voices."
"Can we trust you?" asked Natasha. "You could be anyone. You could be a policeman come to arrest us."
"Even if he was," said Bobby, "being in a police station must be infinitely better than where we are now." They followed him to the air taxi. It took off. The man began to explain where he was from and where they were going. "We're Christians who live on a farm and make it our business to rescue people living on the streets, who are mostly Christians who have rejected the Antichrist."
"How many of you are there on the farm?" asked Bobby.
"No more than a dozen people in one place. More than that and we'd attract too much attention."
"How many farms are there?"
"Not very many. Only 4 or 5. They're a long way apart. The one I'm taking you to is 20 miles away from Northampton." They flew on through the night for half an hour.

The helicopter landed on the farm. They got out of the helicopter and went into the farmhouse. An old lady was sitting at the kitchen table.
"Some visitors, Maria," said the man who had flown the helicopter.
"Good evening. Would you like some soup?"
"Yes please," said Bobby. It had been a long day. Neither Bobby or Natasha had had anything to eat or drink. Maria walked over to the freezer, opened the door and put two plastic tubs into the small metal oven that stood on top of the freezer. "Mike," she said, "while we're waiting for the soup to heat up, take these two upstairs and show them their rooms." Mike led Bobby and Natasha up the stairs and pointed out the bedrooms and the bathroom. They then came back downstairs and ate their soup.
"Where do you grow your food?" asked Natasha.
"In barns," said Mike. "Not greenhouses. Greenhouses would be useless. The sun isn't shining."
"How do you heat them?" asked Bobby.
"Underground pipes and not very hot. You just want to stop the soil from freezing. Avoid any frost damage. It's done under monochromatic laser lights. Nothing is wasted."
"How do you generate electricity?"
"Generators on the farm."
"They must need fuel."
"Sugar beet is grown on the farm and made into sugar. The sugar is fermented into alcohol," said Mike.
"You have to remember that there isn't very much of it," said Maria. "Wear two jumpers and a house coat and turn the heating on if you still feel cold."
"This is really lovely soup," said Natasha.

Natasha and Bobby had a long lie in the next morning. They got up at lunchtime and came down to the kitchen where Maria was making toast. At that time some bright green lights appeared in the sky, next to the dull red glow of the sun and the bright white star of Betelgeuse.
"What happened to the sky?" asked Natasha.
"Heavy particles from the supernova," said an old man who wore a suit and looked like a university professor. "The cosmic rays travel slower than light. They arrive a few days later."
"How does that happen, Matthew?" asked Maria.
"The explosion produces electrons, protons and atomic nuclei stripped of their electrons. These particles are heavy so they travel slower than light. Those are cosmic rays."
"They said the supernova was too far away to do us any serious harm," said Bobby.
"Too far away to harm us, yes. If we were 50 light years away it could strip off the planet's ozone layer and take away all life. At 600 light years, no serious damage would occur to us or our planet. But a burst of cosmic rays this severe could leave the megaconstellation stone dead."
"The megaconstellation?" asked Natasha.
"There is a network of one million satellites, 25 miles apart, which provides the whole world with an internet signal. If you look down at your iwatches, I think you will see that is now totally dead." Everyone looked down at their iwatches. The signal strength indicator showed that the internet signal was zero. Matthew was correct. The internet was no more.

That evening, as everyone was sitting down at the table to eat their soup, Matthew sat actively tuning up and down his transistor radio.
"Is that a modem?" asked Bobby.
"It's an HF radio modem," said Matthew. "Before I retired, I was a missionary in some very remote places. Long before the days of the megaconstellation. This receiver is 20 years old. The other one upstairs is 35 years old. But I think that everyone will be buying one now. An HF radio modem might give you internet access from a transmitter a thousand miles away." A whistling noise came from the loudspeaker. "A new radio station is born," said Matthew. The whistle stopped. A voice came out of the loudspeaker.
"The satellite network that provides the internet has been destroyed. We are providing internet access from a series of temporary masts. If you tune your modem to 101 MHZ and turn on your iwatch you will see a list of services available in your area. It will tell you which frequencies to use to report an emergency and which frequencies provide local news, banking and social media services. You might have to tune into these services every day to keep your account up to date." The whistling noise returned again.
"It sounds like they're quite well organised," said Bobby.
"Radio is the one communication system that can not be destroyed," said Matthew. "Radio just goes through the air. There is an organisation called Raynet that has been preparing for such a time as this."