Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
PART 24 : AD 2073.
An abandoned railroad yard – the next day.
Julia recognized the place. Instantly her body stiffened of fear.
But had she expected something else?
Times have changed! Antonio del Nero will not organize mass crux executions. He will not make the mistake of the Princeps Nero, two thousand years ago, to turn crucifixion into an exciting mass entertainment, at the risk of undermining its deterring purpose, and unintentionally turning his victims into martyrs. Antonio del Nero will not sequestrate huge amounts of timber wood, still needed to reconstruct the continent’s infrastructure after the troubles and civil wars, even 15 years later.
Antonio del Nero does it the modern way. He makes his opponents and critics simply disappear without a trace, of course after having retrieved, by any means, all the information needed from them. Julia Bersel’s lawyer Martha would be one of them. Del Nero applies crucifixion rather sparingly, to specific individuals.
So, for the five, there was no reason to make them disappear, since they had been shown up in a public ceremony, witnessed by an audience of hundreds. They could be more useful to continue in their role as an example. Five former university professors! ‘Look at them, Ladies and Gentlemen! They are the dark shadows! This ceremony is a purification. It is also a warning to keep in mind by all!’.
Antonio del Nero is a man with a mission! His mission is the return of peace, prosperity and stability on the continent. This means all the faces into the same direction! Follow the leader!. Del Nero is convinced he is doing good! That he is doing good by removing obstacles on the way to peace, prosperity and stability. Antonio del Nero wants to be remembered by history as a great leader, not as a tyrant, and certainly not as a cruel tyrant.
Julia Bersel and her companions will not be driven as cattle into a circus, in a mass killing spectacle and randomly nailed to cross.
They would be professionally prepared to their ordeal. The place of preparation was a former goods hangar on the old railroad yard. The condemned had entered the hangar silently, without saying a word, obediently but anxious, all aware what was awaiting them. They had no idea that the ‘preparations’ had already started earlier. A tranquilizer had secretly been added to their breakfast.
In the concrete floor of the hangar, the rails where once the goods wagons were loaded or unloaded, were still present. They were useful now to line up the condemned along. Once more Julia and her companions were standing in a line, waiting, each flanked by three guards.
Once inside and lined up, their ankle chains and wrists cuffs were removed. Julia looked around. She estimated there were twenty-five guards and at least fifteen more people around. Some wore white coats, others dark grey jumpsuits or civil clothing, wearing a brassard.
“On behalf of the Chairman-general of the Governments, the following sentence is pronounced :
“(….!)”
“Julia Bersel!”
“(….!)”
“(….!)”
“(….!)”
“Which have been found guilty of the crime of conspiracy against peace! In accordance with Article 395 of the coordinated penal laws…”
“These articles are unconstitutional!” the former law professor exclaimed. But the official ignored him.
“In accordance with Article 395 of the coordinated penal code, declared under the Laws of Constitutional Exception, the guilty are condemned to be fixed to a wooden post, where they shall be left hanging on, publically exposed. The condemned will not be eligible for retrieval! The sentence will be executed immediately!
“The preparations start now!”
A dark grey wheelie bin was rolled in front of the first condemned and the lid was opened.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
Obediently, the man obeyed. All that was heard in the shed was the rustling of the clothes being pulled out and dropped into the bin. Julia looked forward, trying not to think at anything.
The man had finished undressing. In the extreme right angle of her sight, Julia noticed the naked flesh, behaving uneasily, naked flesh contrasting against the grey and other dark tints of the shed. After the symbolic undressing, the day before, on the Parade Ground, came the real one. And although Julia had seen many nudity in the stadium, now that she had been outside and wearing these clothes again, she had inclined to adapt to normal life modus again. This time, like the day before on the Parade Ground, the treatment felt suddenly personal, in contrast to the anonymity of the stadium, behind which nudity could still hide.’ Look at them, Ladies and Gentlemen….’ Forty people were watching!
The wheelie bin was rolled forward and stopped in front of Julia.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
Julia looked into the open bin, at the pile of clothes inside. Yesterday stripped from her academic dignity, today from her human dignity. The fate of a condemned to death.
“The clothes I am wearing are not my clothes! They do not belong to me!”
“You have to remove them anyway!”
“I have to do nothing! I am the condemned! It is your procedure, not mine!”
“As you wish!”
Two female guards stepped to Julia, and lifted her hands up to the level of her shoulder. They took off her jacket, threw it into the bin. Then they opened the buttons of the blouse, took it off too and dropped it into the bin too. Next, Julia’s bra was detached and pulled over her arms. Meanwhile, the other guard had unzipped Julia’s skirt. But first, her shoes were taken from her feet. Then the guards pulled down Julia’s skirt, stockings and panties down along her legs, leaving Julia stark naked. Julia’s arms were lowered along her sides. The bin was rolled forward to the next condemned.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
A few minutes later, all five condemned stood naked, lined up. Next, one by one, the condemned’ hands were strapped in front of them. The official inspected the row and then he took the word again.
“For the preparation, which will proceed now, I have to say two things! One : in this stage, you can say a word, which will be your last one!”
A word? Julia could not come to one. She tried to set off her mind, as the day before on the Parade Ground. She tried to ignore the looks of the staff around. She tried to ignore their thoughts : ‘yesterday in academic garments, today as naked condemned!’
“Secondly! For the next phase of the preparations, the order in which you get treated will be the order in which you will be fixed to the poles! We leave this last choice to you! Anyone who wishes can step forward! I suggest you make It easy for yourself, and accept this offer!”
‘Accepting this offer’? Julia thought. Well, right and not right! Offering that last little bit of self-control, the choice when to undergo an unavoidable fate? A matter of minutes in a lifetime. Cynically, it looked like they were offered an unique lifetime opportunity…
***
Meanwhile, outside, on the public parking, a car stopped and two men stepped out. They joined a group of some thirty, dwelling around near the fences of the old railway complex. People who were clearly ‘waiting for and looking forward to something to happen’.
“Ten hours thirty-five minutes! Note the time of our arrival!”
“All right!”
“They are already inside for the preparations, I presume,! Ask around if someone remembers the time of arrival!”
“Is that important?”
“Any information can be useful, at least only for the record! And ask if something particular has happened?”
“All right!”
A few minutes later, the man came back.
“According to witnesses, the condemned have arrived around 10:15 am! They are expected to come out around 11 am.”
“Thanks, I will note it! Anything special?”
“Just one incident it seems! A priest, who had insisted to be allowed inside, to give the condemned spiritual ministration, but he was refused!”
“Strange, right!? So far the project of religious revival?”
“The man is there! You could still ask him!”
“Good idea, they will stay inside for a while.”
The priest was annoyed.
“They said I had no official license to give ministration to condemned to death. Outrageous, don’t you think? To my opinion, they deliberately refuse it to them! This so called great plan for religious revival, that’s just a joke! Clearly, del Nero wants to join the club of dictators to whom religion was just an excuse to legitimate their tyranny! Abusing religion for terror! I hope he still can be stopped in time!”
“Yes, Father, I am afraid those condemned will have to carry on by their own spiritual force, no matter how hard their fate is. All we can do now is to pray that God will give them strength! Being prepared for such an ordeal, must be an ordeal on its own! I really wonder how it must be inside there! If I could be a fly now…”
“Even more, I wish I could be inside their head. I really wonder what goes on in their mind! Now, and when they will be crucified! But I am afraid there will be only one way to find out!” the priest chuckled, “ but that would be a drastic one!”
“That’s why you became a priest, Father?” (chuckle)
“Never question God’s ways!” (chuckle), “anyway, I see another police car has arrived! I am going to try to convince them once more to let me in! Or are they not compassionate at all? In that case, we are facing bad times!”
“Good luck, Father….”
“Loxuru, Father Loxuru!”
The priest went away.
“One way to find out? If that Father Loxuru does not mind his words about del Nero, his prayers will soon be heard and he will find out!”
(to be continued)
An abandoned railroad yard – the next day.
Julia recognized the place. Instantly her body stiffened of fear.
But had she expected something else?
Times have changed! Antonio del Nero will not organize mass crux executions. He will not make the mistake of the Princeps Nero, two thousand years ago, to turn crucifixion into an exciting mass entertainment, at the risk of undermining its deterring purpose, and unintentionally turning his victims into martyrs. Antonio del Nero will not sequestrate huge amounts of timber wood, still needed to reconstruct the continent’s infrastructure after the troubles and civil wars, even 15 years later.
Antonio del Nero does it the modern way. He makes his opponents and critics simply disappear without a trace, of course after having retrieved, by any means, all the information needed from them. Julia Bersel’s lawyer Martha would be one of them. Del Nero applies crucifixion rather sparingly, to specific individuals.
So, for the five, there was no reason to make them disappear, since they had been shown up in a public ceremony, witnessed by an audience of hundreds. They could be more useful to continue in their role as an example. Five former university professors! ‘Look at them, Ladies and Gentlemen! They are the dark shadows! This ceremony is a purification. It is also a warning to keep in mind by all!’.
Antonio del Nero is a man with a mission! His mission is the return of peace, prosperity and stability on the continent. This means all the faces into the same direction! Follow the leader!. Del Nero is convinced he is doing good! That he is doing good by removing obstacles on the way to peace, prosperity and stability. Antonio del Nero wants to be remembered by history as a great leader, not as a tyrant, and certainly not as a cruel tyrant.
Julia Bersel and her companions will not be driven as cattle into a circus, in a mass killing spectacle and randomly nailed to cross.
They would be professionally prepared to their ordeal. The place of preparation was a former goods hangar on the old railroad yard. The condemned had entered the hangar silently, without saying a word, obediently but anxious, all aware what was awaiting them. They had no idea that the ‘preparations’ had already started earlier. A tranquilizer had secretly been added to their breakfast.
In the concrete floor of the hangar, the rails where once the goods wagons were loaded or unloaded, were still present. They were useful now to line up the condemned along. Once more Julia and her companions were standing in a line, waiting, each flanked by three guards.
Once inside and lined up, their ankle chains and wrists cuffs were removed. Julia looked around. She estimated there were twenty-five guards and at least fifteen more people around. Some wore white coats, others dark grey jumpsuits or civil clothing, wearing a brassard.
“On behalf of the Chairman-general of the Governments, the following sentence is pronounced :
“(….!)”
“Julia Bersel!”
“(….!)”
“(….!)”
“(….!)”
“Which have been found guilty of the crime of conspiracy against peace! In accordance with Article 395 of the coordinated penal laws…”
“These articles are unconstitutional!” the former law professor exclaimed. But the official ignored him.
“In accordance with Article 395 of the coordinated penal code, declared under the Laws of Constitutional Exception, the guilty are condemned to be fixed to a wooden post, where they shall be left hanging on, publically exposed. The condemned will not be eligible for retrieval! The sentence will be executed immediately!
“The preparations start now!”
A dark grey wheelie bin was rolled in front of the first condemned and the lid was opened.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
Obediently, the man obeyed. All that was heard in the shed was the rustling of the clothes being pulled out and dropped into the bin. Julia looked forward, trying not to think at anything.
The man had finished undressing. In the extreme right angle of her sight, Julia noticed the naked flesh, behaving uneasily, naked flesh contrasting against the grey and other dark tints of the shed. After the symbolic undressing, the day before, on the Parade Ground, came the real one. And although Julia had seen many nudity in the stadium, now that she had been outside and wearing these clothes again, she had inclined to adapt to normal life modus again. This time, like the day before on the Parade Ground, the treatment felt suddenly personal, in contrast to the anonymity of the stadium, behind which nudity could still hide.’ Look at them, Ladies and Gentlemen….’ Forty people were watching!
The wheelie bin was rolled forward and stopped in front of Julia.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
Julia looked into the open bin, at the pile of clothes inside. Yesterday stripped from her academic dignity, today from her human dignity. The fate of a condemned to death.
“The clothes I am wearing are not my clothes! They do not belong to me!”
“You have to remove them anyway!”
“I have to do nothing! I am the condemned! It is your procedure, not mine!”
“As you wish!”
Two female guards stepped to Julia, and lifted her hands up to the level of her shoulder. They took off her jacket, threw it into the bin. Then they opened the buttons of the blouse, took it off too and dropped it into the bin too. Next, Julia’s bra was detached and pulled over her arms. Meanwhile, the other guard had unzipped Julia’s skirt. But first, her shoes were taken from her feet. Then the guards pulled down Julia’s skirt, stockings and panties down along her legs, leaving Julia stark naked. Julia’s arms were lowered along her sides. The bin was rolled forward to the next condemned.
“Take off all your clothes and put them into the bin!”
A few minutes later, all five condemned stood naked, lined up. Next, one by one, the condemned’ hands were strapped in front of them. The official inspected the row and then he took the word again.
“For the preparation, which will proceed now, I have to say two things! One : in this stage, you can say a word, which will be your last one!”
A word? Julia could not come to one. She tried to set off her mind, as the day before on the Parade Ground. She tried to ignore the looks of the staff around. She tried to ignore their thoughts : ‘yesterday in academic garments, today as naked condemned!’
“Secondly! For the next phase of the preparations, the order in which you get treated will be the order in which you will be fixed to the poles! We leave this last choice to you! Anyone who wishes can step forward! I suggest you make It easy for yourself, and accept this offer!”
‘Accepting this offer’? Julia thought. Well, right and not right! Offering that last little bit of self-control, the choice when to undergo an unavoidable fate? A matter of minutes in a lifetime. Cynically, it looked like they were offered an unique lifetime opportunity…
***
Meanwhile, outside, on the public parking, a car stopped and two men stepped out. They joined a group of some thirty, dwelling around near the fences of the old railway complex. People who were clearly ‘waiting for and looking forward to something to happen’.
“Ten hours thirty-five minutes! Note the time of our arrival!”
“All right!”
“They are already inside for the preparations, I presume,! Ask around if someone remembers the time of arrival!”
“Is that important?”
“Any information can be useful, at least only for the record! And ask if something particular has happened?”
“All right!”
A few minutes later, the man came back.
“According to witnesses, the condemned have arrived around 10:15 am! They are expected to come out around 11 am.”
“Thanks, I will note it! Anything special?”
“Just one incident it seems! A priest, who had insisted to be allowed inside, to give the condemned spiritual ministration, but he was refused!”
“Strange, right!? So far the project of religious revival?”
“The man is there! You could still ask him!”
“Good idea, they will stay inside for a while.”
The priest was annoyed.
“They said I had no official license to give ministration to condemned to death. Outrageous, don’t you think? To my opinion, they deliberately refuse it to them! This so called great plan for religious revival, that’s just a joke! Clearly, del Nero wants to join the club of dictators to whom religion was just an excuse to legitimate their tyranny! Abusing religion for terror! I hope he still can be stopped in time!”
“Yes, Father, I am afraid those condemned will have to carry on by their own spiritual force, no matter how hard their fate is. All we can do now is to pray that God will give them strength! Being prepared for such an ordeal, must be an ordeal on its own! I really wonder how it must be inside there! If I could be a fly now…”
“Even more, I wish I could be inside their head. I really wonder what goes on in their mind! Now, and when they will be crucified! But I am afraid there will be only one way to find out!” the priest chuckled, “ but that would be a drastic one!”
“That’s why you became a priest, Father?” (chuckle)
“Never question God’s ways!” (chuckle), “anyway, I see another police car has arrived! I am going to try to convince them once more to let me in! Or are they not compassionate at all? In that case, we are facing bad times!”
“Good luck, Father….”
“Loxuru, Father Loxuru!”
The priest went away.
“One way to find out? If that Father Loxuru does not mind his words about del Nero, his prayers will soon be heard and he will find out!”
(to be continued)
but never mind,
