Chapter 2 – Articles of Faith
Pastor Lyons was a meticulous sort. He liked things a certain way. If it wasn't done right, what was the point of doing it? That's always been the Lyons family motto, passed down generationally. All the men in his family had been Engineers. His father was an Engineer, as was his father before him. It came as little surprise when he too graduated and started down the same path.
That was until he found his faith.
Lyons had never held much value in the stories of Jesus, or those in the other Abrahamic religions. But as an Engineer, he understood that careful planning and preparation yielded the best results. Pondering the Human condition, he quickly came to the distinct conclusion that mankind wasn't the end result of a series of accidents or coincidences. We were made exactly how we were supposed to be, and we had a purpose. It was this ideology that brought him to the Church of Divine Transfiguration. At the time he became a member, the church was considered by the vast majority to be a fringe cult, attended by celebrities and the rich-but-gullible upper classes. It was a running joke that to succeed in showbusiness, you had to be what the general public monikered a "Transfigurist" or "Dee Tee". The only limit to your potential was your bank balance.
It was during one of the many new member "debug" sessions, that some of the local leadership of the church began to take notice of Lyons' natural charisma and attention to detail. They offered him free entry to their upgrade courses in exchange for his services. Selling the Dee Tee dream to the more naïve members of the engineering and scientific community not only gave the church increased perceived credibility, but also improved Lyons' standing within the organisation, and within 5 years he had become an envoy. This position allowed him access to the vast resources of the church and permitted him to commission studies that may benefit their understanding of the world.
It was during one of his research endeavours that he discovered the transcript of radio conversations made in the 1980s at an outpost in the Antarctic. The conversations were sketchy at best but were enough to warrant further investigation. The culmination of these efforts was found in the acquisition of items belonging to the former inhabitants of Outpost 31, among them being a tape recorder previously owned by the site's late pilot, one R.J Macready. The revelations gleaned from this unwitting prophet's words were priceless. They offered a potential insight to, what Lyons believed was the impending day of ascension. A time where beings far beyond our understanding, would take us by the hand and lead us to enlightenment. A great convergence where our physical bodies would become part of a glorious single entity. Nirvana in its truest form. Lyon's had gathered his evident meticulously, and now he would present it to the High Priests.
As he sat in the vast plush waiting room of the church's press and visitor centre, he couldn't help but stare at the immense stained-glass window at the far end of the room. At the bottom, it depicted a man surrounded by various animals. Above that, the animals appeared to be merged into the man, and at the very top, the man was ascended to the clouds replete with rapture and adorned with gold and jewels. Lyon's smiled to himself. How right they were. to him, this window represented, not only his view of humanity and life itself, but also captured the spirit of his findings perfectly.
"Mr Lyons?" He eagerly leapt to his feet at the calling of his name. A young, sharp-suited intern had entered the room. He looked uncomfortable. The suit was clearly expensive, but he didn't wear it well. It reminded Lyons of a child forced to wear his Sunday best, when he would rather be in short pants.
Lyons offered a shallow nod. His nerves would only allow him that much, "Are they ready?"
"Yes sir. Please follow me."
They left the waiting room through vast heavy oak doors that led into the heart of the press and visitor's centre. The main room consisted of a long, wide, high-ceilinged corridor flanked each side with doors that lead to convention halls, meeting rooms and office spaces. At one end stood the doors into the waiting area, at the far end was a thick red curtain that hung from the ceiling and reached down to the floor. Had it not been for the thick luxurious red carpet underfoot, even a pin dropping would have caused one hell of an echo. Lyons noted the sign that directed visitors to the meeting rooms, which they then passed. "Shouldn't we?"
The intern smiled. "They're waiting for you in the Ascension suite."
Lyons knew of the existence of the Ascension suite but had never been in there. No pictures had even been taken and only the worthiest could set foot inside. It was considered a great privilege to even walk through those hallowed doors. It was such a sacred place, that even the High Priests themselves spend as little time in there as was needed.
As Lyons and the intern reached the end of the corridor, the colossal curtain smoothly divided, revealing the doors to an elevator. The intern pressed the call button and smiled, "Going up."
After what felt like hours, the elevator slowed to a stop and the thick double doors yawned apart to allow its passengers to disembark. As they stepped into the atrium, it felt to Lyons that they had moved to a different building entirely. Gone was the thick red drapery and the opulence of the visitor's centre, replaced by soft whites and muted toned ornate wooden furniture. "The ready room." Lyons whispered to himself. He had read about this as part of his development. There were three distinct rooms that made up the Ascension suite. The first was the Ready room, which signified being clean of mind and spirit in preparation of your journey. The second section was the exaltation room, the place to shed your final worldly connections and embrace your final sojourn before proceeding to the final stage. Beyond the exaltation room stood the Ascension room, the final stage of the journey. This room represented the convergence of all things into a single, glorious, all-knowing, and all-caring entity.
Slowly and with reverence, Lyons was ushered to a large curtain in the corner of the room. The intern handed Lyons a pair of shoe covers, "I'm sorry. I must take my leave now. Once you have covered your shoes, go through the veil. They are waiting for you."
As Lyons passed through the curtain, he was met with a brilliant light. It took a while for his eyes to acclimatise. As his vision returned, he saw, in the middle of the room, two shapes sat at a large table. Further straining of his eyes revealed them to be women. Both of whom stood upon noting his arrival. "Pastor Lyons. Please take a seat." Said the first woman, as Lyons drew nearer, he instantly recognised her as Indra Laghari; wealthy business magnate and recently appointed Counsellor to the President of the CDT. She was also the first Indian woman to join the church back in the early days of the faith. Lyons considered her a pioneer and realising she was in the room was more than a little intimidating. She was wearing her trademark black tailored suit with a hot pink shirt underneath. The look had become synonymous with her as she used the bright colours to stand out against her peers during meetings and presentations.
"Thank you. I am honoured with…" He paused momentarily as recognition of the second woman dawned. His gazed lingered a little longer than was appropriate in this situation and he quickly returned his attention to Counsellor Laghari.
The second woman smiled and offered her hand "Pastor Lyons, It is a pleasure to meet you." Lyons hesitated for a moment unsure of the most appropriate response. He was half-expecting one of the attending High Priests to be a church Counsellor, not the highest ranking one for sure, but certainly expected there to be representation from the leadership. He would not have expected to also be meeting with the President of the Church of Divine Transfiguration. Had he not been caught off guard with Ms Laghari, he would have recognised Serafine Alleyne immediately. And now he realised she was there; he was struggling to not stare. He had seen her in every interview and conference broadcast released since her rise to power 2 years prior. Her face adorned every official church publication. Her intense piercing blue eyes standing out against her chestnut-mahogany complexion. "I hope your journey was a pleasant one", she offered; her university-softened accent occasionally breaking, exposing her Bajan heritage.
"It's an honour, Madam President. I appreciate the opportunity to present my findings."
Councillor Laghari leaned forward in her chair, "which brings us to the reason for our meeting. We had received reports that you were performing significant research based on some of the more unusual items in our safe keeping."
"That's true." Lyons reached into his pocket and produced his smartphone, placing it on the desk.
"And from what we gather, you're barking up one particular tree?" queried the President.
Lyons punched a sequence of numbers into his phone and slid the device toward the women. Images of burned human remains flashed across the screen followed by a static image of a derelict spacecraft. "One particular tree that could potentially be the largest of them all."
President Alleyne twisted the phone to obtain a better view of the images, "With a view to what, exactly?"
"With a view to finding the answer. The true path to our ascension and transfiguration. There are reports of people undergoing metamorphosis. Not only that, but individuals joining together in the most literal sense. I believe that we can find what we're looking for in the Antarctic."
Councillor Laghari scoffed "Pastor Lyons. I thank you for bringing this to us. But you are misunderstanding the calling of our faith. When we talk of transfiguration and convergence, we consider this to be a spiritual merging rather than a physical one."
President Alleyne returned the phone to Lyons "Your diligence is admirable. I see that you have worked diligently on this, but as my Councillor rightly states; this is not the path. This is not the true way."
Lyons slumped into his chair, "So I have done this. For nothing? I have wasted valuable time and resources that could have been better used elsewhere? That can't be true. The evidence is here before my eyes. This has to be the way."
Alleyne stood and approached Lyons, taking his hand. "I believe this to be a false road. Set in place to distract us from the truth. You have worked diligently, and I believe your work to be of value. I would ask that you further serve your church."
Lyon's eyes welled with tears, "What would you have do?"
"If you have discovered a false path, then that path should be closed forever. You must go to the Amundsen-Scott station. We have a significant financial and intellectual presence there. Use whatever is necessary to find the origins of your research. Return to this council with your findings and should your diligence serve you well, you may find a seat at my side awaiting you."
Lyons nodded, wiped the tears from his eyes and strode from the room.
Alleyne returned to her seat as Laghari pulled her own phone from her pocket, "Serafine. What do you make of this?"
"I can't say for certain. This church has relied on the celebrity and infamy of its congregation for too long. If there is something out there that could provide us with even a shred of validity, I need it."
"What if it's something tangible? An animal or some sort of insect or virus?"
"I don't want to go into this blind. Reach out to Hina. Her company has experience of handling biological outbreaks"
Councillor Laghar nodded and quickly selected a number from her address book, pressing the dial button she immediately placed the phone on the desk and enabled the speakerphone. After a short number of rings, a voice emanated from the speaker.
"Please hold for Ms Yutani"