“Wait here, I will check the place out.”
Despite Nancy’s request, Miriam was a mere two paces behind her when she cautiously looked inside. She thus saw at about the same time than her the young man, nearly a teenager, dressed in an immaculate white robe and sitting inside the tomb, near the niche that had contained Yeshua’s body. Miriam, her eyes wide, looked first at the young man, then at the empty niche.
“Where is Yeshua’s body?” She asked to nobody in particular. The young man answered her while smiling gently to her.
“You seek Yeshua of Nazareth? He has raised and is not here. Tell his disciples and Shimon ‘The Rock’ that he will go to them in Galilee. You will see him there.”
Completely overwhelmed by this, the two Miriam fled in terror. Nancy, none too reassured either, still held her ground and detailed the young man. The stranger’s aura was extremely bright, like Abram’s. She could not sense his thoughts either.
“The One sent you, right?”
The stranger nodded his head once.
“As The One chose you, Nataï. He is not disappointed by your services.”
Nancy knelt at those words and bowed her head.
“I will continue to serve him and to follow his guidance until death.”
“And
then?”
“Then, I will be his forever.”
“Maybe,
maybe
not.”
On those enigmatic words, the stranger disappeared from the cave, leaving Nancy to ponder their conversation. Looking behind her, she saw that the two Miriam had run to 456
an olive tree a hundred meters away and were hiding behind it. Getting to her feet, Nancy calmly walked to them, attracting a remark from Miriam of Magdala when she got close to her.
“How could you be so calm about all this, Nava?”
“One should not be afraid of angels, Miriam. Come! You have a good news to bring to the other disciples. We will leave for Galilee today.”
15:20 (Jerusalem Time)
Monday, April 19, 32 C.E.
(21st of Nissan, year 3791 of the Hebrew calendar)
House of Shimon ‘The Rock’, Capernaum
Galilee
Miriam was positively fuming when she came back from the harbor, where she had gone to meet Shimon ‘The Rock’ and other male disciples. Nancy watched her gravely as she stormed in the central courtyard of Shimon’s house, where they had been offered hospitality on their arrival from Jerusalem.
“I gather that they did not believe you, right?”
“WHAT ELSE COULD I EXPECT FROM THOSE THICK-HEADED MULES?”
Shouted Miriam. Her fury then turned into despair and tears. “After all those years of teaching from Yeshua, they haven’t learned a thing. They still won’t listen to the words of a woman, even one who had been nearer to Yeshua than any of them.”
Salome, Judith and Miriam of Bethsaida kept quiet, pretending not to listen as Nancy got up and went to Miriam of Magdala to console her.
“They will see soon enough that you told them the truth, Miriam.”
“And who will convince them of that?” She replied, bitter.
“I
will!”
All the women present in the courtyard turned around as one and gasped at the sight of Yeshua, standing near the entrance of the courtyard and wearing a white robe. Miriam, transported with joy, was about to throw herself in his arms when Yeshua raised a hand in warning.
“Do not try to touch me, my beloved Miriam: what you see is my spirit, not my body. I came here to tell you not to be sad or give up hope for happiness. There are 457
many good people worth living with, like Nava, your protector. Raise my child in the respect of God and in tolerance and peace.”
“Can’t I kiss you one last time, Yeshua?” Pleaded Miriam, in tears.
“Maybe after you have given birth, then I shall visit you again in Nava’s domain.
Nava, you will leave tonight with Miriam and lead her to safety, where none of my enemies can get to her. You have God’s support in this.”
“It will be done, Yeshua.” Replied Nancy with difficulty, a big lump in her throat.
Her micro-cameras were working now, something that would later help convince Farah and the others in the Time Patrol that she had not simply hallucinated. Miriam of Bethsaida passed out as Yeshua vanished into thin air. Miriam of Magdala crouched into a ball and started crying as Nancy and the others went to the unconscious woman to help her. It took them a few minutes and some cold water to reanimate her. Nancy then returned to Miriam of Magdala and crouched besides her. She did not say a word, simply gently holding her and caressing her hair until Miriam stopped crying. The young woman eventually looked up at Nancy, her eyes red and puffy.
“Where are we going tonight, Nava?”
“To my domain, as Yeshua said. Do not worry about the travel: it will be comfortable enough. Pack only the minimum.”
“Isn’t it far?”
“In a way, yes, but I have means to get there quickly. Don’t worry about that, friend.”
Their conversation was then interrupted by the arrival of Shimon and of the half dozen other disciples who had been fishing with him. The men looked both excited and scared.
“What the hell happened to you men?” Asked Salome, Shimon’s wife. “Did a big fish try to swallow you?”
“We saw someone in the harbor. We think it was the Master. He spoke to us.”
Answered Shimon. His wife eyed him with derision.
“After all these years with him, you still can’t tell if someone is Yeshua or not?”
“Will you listen to me, woman? That man didn’t look like the Master, but he spoke exactly like him. It was him, I swear!”
“Alright, we believe you, especially since the Master just visited us here.”
“WHAT?”
“You heard me, Shimon. He came to see young Miriam, whom you didn’t believe, and asked Nava to leave with her tonight.”
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Suddenly acutely conscious that he was now looking like an ass, Shimon looked down apologetically at Miriam of Magdala.
“Uh, I am sorry for having laughed at you earlier on, Miriam. Where will you go?”
“Only Nava knows, Shimon.”
“Don’t ask, Shimon.” Said Nancy as the big man looked at her. Shimon didn’t dare insist, in order not to look even more foolish, and went inside the house. Salome looked at the other men, still standing dumbfounded in the courtyard.
“So, did you catch any fish today or did you just have a leisurely cruise around the harbor? We have people to feed here, you know.”
Andreas lowered his head in embarrassment.
“We didn’t catch anything today, but the Master fed us with fish and bread at the harbor.”
“That’s a big help to us.” Replied his wife, Judith. Nancy then got on her feet with a sigh of exasperation.
“Alright, I will go buy a fat sheep at the market. You guys know how to skin and gut a sheep or will I have to do it myself?”
The six men cringed as the women around the courtyard looked at them critically.
21:09 (Jerusalem Time)
Hills east of Capernaum
“So, are we going to take a boat to go to your country, Nava?” Asked Miriam, dying with curiosity as Nancy led her eastward through the dark countryside.
“No need for a boat, Miriam: I have a horse.”
“In the middle of nowhere?”
“Exactly. Pegasus!”
Miriam nearly jumped out of her skin when a brown horse appeared in front of them in a flash of white light. Nancy held her arm firmly so that Miriam wouldn’t run away.
“Do not be afraid: this is Pegasus, my fateful horse. He has been following me all these years. He will bring us to my domain.”
“But…but, how could it appear out of nowhere like this?”
“It would take long to explain. Just trust me, Miriam. I will help you get on its back.”
“But I never mounted a horse before.”
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“That’s alright. Besides, this is a flying horse: no experience is required.”
“A flying horse? Are you drunk or are you laughing at me, Nava?”
“Neither. Just get on the horse.”
Nancy helped Miriam up, sitting her in the saddle. She then jumped on behind Miriam and placed the young woman’s hands of the pommel of the saddle.
“Hold on this tightly: I don’t want you to fall off while we are flying. Before we go, you need to know something: I am not from this world.”
“Where are you from, then? Heaven?”
“No, I am from the future. We are going to travel over 3,300 years to the future, where you will be able to live in peace and comfort with your child.”
Miriam looked at her with big eyes, totally overwhelmed.
“You…you are joking, right?”
“I was never more serious, Miriam. Another thing: this horse is not a real animal.
Rather, it is a machine, a construct produced not by some magic but by a highly advanced science. Watch this!”
Pressing a hidden button, Nancy made a small instrument panel and a control stick emerge through small hatches from the back of her horse. Miriam gasped at that sight but didn’t try to jump off the horse. Nancy, her arms surrounding Miriam, grabbed the control stick and punched a few commands on the panel, before whispering in Miriam’s ear.
“Hold on tight, Miriam. We are about to take off.”
The young Jewish woman squealed with fear when Pegasus lifted off the ground and accelerated forward while climbing in the dark sky. She however held on to the saddle, helped in this without her knowledge by a small tractor beam generator under the saddle. Nancy then activated Pegasus’ time distorter and they were enveloped briefly in white light, emerging in a bright winter day sky over New Lake City. Miriam looked down with awe at the futuristic city below her, then shivered as a cold wind buffeted them.
“This is beautiful but so cold! Is this your world?”
“This is where I came from, Miriam. This is also where you will live with your child. I will now land, so that you don’t have to freeze for too long.”
It took Nancy two minutes to fly down to the ground at an angle that would not scare Miriam to death. Pegasus finally landed in front of the Time Patrol headquarters building and trotted up to the main entrance, where a dozen persons were waiting on top of the steps. Nancy pointed them to Miriam.
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“These are my friends, Miriam. Some are giants with six fingers per hand but don’t think of them as some sort of monsters: the people of this time period are simply like that, but they are also convinced pacifists incapable of violence. By the way, we are now on Saturday, January 30th of the year 3385. This would translate into the 25th of Tevet of the year 7146 according to the Hebrew calendar.”
The persons at the main entrance then ran down the steps and surrounded Pegasus.
Mike Crawford glanced quickly at Miriam, then at Nancy.
“Isn’t this Miriam of Magdala, Nancy? Why did you bring her with you? This could be a big breach of our protocols.”
“No protocols were broken and I had very good reasons to act the way I did, Mike: The One, along with Yeshua, asked me to bring her here. Since Miriam disappeared from biblical texts soon after Yeshua’s death, no harm will be done to history. Let’s get inside first, though: Miriam is freezing in this January weather.”
“Uh, of course.”
Jumping off Pegasus, Nancy then helped Miriam down and led her inside, where the young woman welcomed the warmer temperature of the reception lounge. Nancy pointed at Farah Tolkonen, who appeared to have a million questions on her lips.
“Miriam, this is my best friend, Farah Tolkonen, who also is my superior here.
Farah, this is Miriam of Magdala. I brought her here for her protection and at the direct request of Yeshua. Miriam is two and a half months pregnant.”
The group around her fell silent, stunned by the implications of what she had just said.
Farah then looked at Ingrid Weiss, who was one of the few persons in the 34th century to speak Aramaic.
“Ingrid, please take charge of our new guest and have her first learn Neo-English, English, German and French. Then find a suite for her and see to her comfort.”
“I’m on it, Farah.”
As the teenager invited Miriam to follow her, Farah, not looking pleased one bit, faced Nancy.
“Let’s go to my office: we have to talk.”
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CHAPTER 11 – POLITICAL HEAT
10:18 (North America Central Time)
Saturday, January 30, 3385 ‘A’
Time Patrol headquarters
New Lake City University campus
American Great Lakes area
“And what did you expect me to do? Tell Yeshua on his cross to fuck off?”
The fury in Nancy Laplante’s voice made Farah Tolkonen cringe behind her work desk.
She hated this process but she had to enforce Time Patrol rules, rules she believed Nancy had broken.
“Look, maybe you should not have been there and then in the first place.”
“Swell! Then I would have learned of Yeshua’s request from his mother. Do you realize what the public knowledge of a child from Yeshua would have eventually caused? The whole history of Christianity would have been turned upside down. Hell, the Pope would probably suffer a heart attack if someone told him that Jesus Christ conceived a child, and with a so-called sinner to boot. Miriam of Magdala and her fetus could not stay in Palestine, it is that simple.”
“Nancy, I know that you did your best, but you have lately spent years working in a harsh, dangerous environment. I think that you seriously need rest. In fact, you are owed nearly two months of vacation. Take them, spend some time in your cottage in the Laurentians.”
“I can’t afford to take a vacation now, Farah. Who will train our apprentices?
Besides, those vacations would feel too much like a suspension from my duties.”
“Nancy, that was a suggestion. Don’t make me change it into an order. I want you to go see Doctor Bella for a full mission debriefing, then to have your normal appearance restored. Once that is done, Mona will drop you with your car at your cottage in 2014. After two months of your time, she will pick you up but will return here a mere week after your departure.”
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“Scrap that plan, Farah. If someone is going to juggle with my future in the Time Patrol, then I want to be within reach, to be able to defend myself. I will take my vacations, but in this time period.”
Farah sighed, discouraged at having to discipline her best friend like this.
“Then, may I suggest the moons of Jupiter? The sights are fantastic…”
“…and Earth is far. Alright, I will go to Jupiter.”
Nancy’s resigned expression suddenly changed to a mischievous smile.
“Could I bring Miriam of Magdala with me?”
“Not before she passes a complete medical checkup. Nancy, you are truly devious.”
“I
know!”
Both women then became dead serious again: they knew what was at stake here.
“Look, Nancy, I and Jan Bella will send a full report to Daran Mien, the Global Science Administrator, on this mission. If he decides to press for your suspension or dismissal, then I will contact you and we will appeal his decision to the highest levels possible. Would that be satisfactory to you?”
“I guess so, Farah. I still maintain that I only acted in order to preserve history, though. Ask any of our apprentices from the 20th century who was a Christian. One last question: will Miriam be allowed to become a citizen of the Global Council?”
“I don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t. If born within our society, her baby will of course become automatically one of our citizens.”
“About that baby, Farah, you must realize that it may very well inherit genetically some of Yeshua’s mental powers.”
Farah gave her a blank look: she had not thought of that yet.
17:46 (North America Central Time)
Suite 345, Time Patrol residential tower
New Lake City University campus
Ingrid smiled at seeing the obvious happiness of Miriam of Magdala, fresh back from a shopping trip downtown, as the Galilean woman unpacked her new wardrobe.
Miriam had chosen clothes that were both simple and conservative, at least by 34th Century standards. The German teenager in fact had a wonderful time with Miriam, delighting in her wonderment at nearly everything around her. The Galilean had proved 463
to be an intelligent, albeit poorly educated woman full of sweetness and charm and had attracted the attention of a godly number of men during her shopping trip. They were now in the suite newly assigned to Miriam, which itself had awed her by its level of luxury and comfort, unimaginable even for a king of her time. Someone then buzzed at the entrance door.
“I’ll get that!” Announced Ingrid as she moved towards the door. She opened it to find herself facing Nancy, whose hair was back to its normal silky black. The wrinkles on her face and hands were gone as well.
“You look just great now, Nancy. Uh, how did it go with Farah?”
“Not very well: I am now on forced vacation for a few weeks, until someone decides if I should be booted out of the Time Patrol.”
“They can’t do that!” Protested Ingrid, frankly outraged. “You made the Time Patrol possible.”
“Ingrid, don’t count me out yet. I have plenty of fight left in me. Is Miriam in?”
“She is in the bedroom, putting away her new wardrobe. She loved her shopping trip in New Lake City.”
“Did she? Then she should love to accompany me on my vacation to the moons of Jupiter.”
“What? The lucky girl! Could I come too?”
“Ingrid, you know that you have your training to attend. In fact, with me on forced vacation, you will probably end up teaching some of my classes on ancient skills. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to see Miriam.”
Passing by Ingrid, Nancy went to the main bedroom, finding Miriam turning her back to her as she hanged a dress in the large closet of the room.
“Hello, Miriam, could I have a word with you?”
Miriam turned around, smiling, only to stare at Nancy with wide eyes.
“Nava, you look so…young. How is this possible?”
“I was actually wearing a disguise while in the past, Miriam. By the way, my real name is Nancy, Nancy Laplante.”
“Nancy… You do look even more beautiful now. Yeshua would have been impressed.”
“Oh, he did see me like this, when he was four. Miriam, I will soon leave on a long vacation in a place full of fantastic sights. Would you like to come with me?”
Miriam glanced at Ingrid, hesitating for a moment.
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“Will it be as nice as the city where I bought my new clothes?”
“It will be much nicer actually, Miriam. So?”
“When would we leave?”
“Probably in two days. In the meantime, I would like to show you something here before we go have supper.”
“Give me a moment: I’m nearly finished here.”
Miriam was effectively finished and ready to follow Nancy a short while later. The two women left the suite and took an elevator down to the first underground level of the residential tower. Coming out of the elevator, Nancy guided Miriam to a heavy set of double doors of polished wood. The doors opened silently on their rails when Nancy put her hand on a fingerprint recognition pad set on the wall by the door, revealing a long, wide room. Nancy made Miriam enter, then closed the doors behind her.
“This is the museum of the Time Patrol. It is open to the public for educational visits during the day and houses the various historical artifacts brought back from the past by us. There is one item I want to show you.”
Nancy led her past a multitude of artifacts, ancient weapons and works of art and to the end of the room, where a big armored glass cage contained a large object that made Miriam gasp in disbelief.
“It…it isn’t the Ark, no?”
“It is the Ark of the Covenant, Miriam, the real one. We saved it from loot and destruction by replacing it with a replica just before the first temple of Jerusalem was sacked by an Egyptian expedition after the death of King Solomon.”
Miriam, stunned, approached the glass cage and fell to her knees, examining the Ark.
The elaborate, gold-inlaid chest was identical to the descriptions read from old texts by her old rabbi in Magdala, with two gold cherubim angels on the top cover and two gold-plated carrying rods hooked along the sides.
“The tablets of the law, were they inside the Ark?”
“They were, Miriam. This is by far our most precious historical artifact. You may make a prayer now if you wish so.”
“I will. Thank you so much, Nancy.”
“Seeing you happy is all I ask for, my friend.”
After a silent prayer, Miriam got on her feet, still unable to take her eyes off the holy artifact.
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“You showed a lot of knowledge and respect concerning my religion, Nancy. Are you in fact a Jew?”
“I was a Jew twice, actually. Miriam, there are a few things you should know about me.”
Nancy spoke for a good five minutes, at the end of which Miriam’s head was nearly spinning.
“You, the wife of the patriarch Abraham? God almighty! And you saw God…”
“I saw a higher being, not God, Miriam. Don’t forget that and never treat me otherwise. Now, let’s go have supper before my hungry band of apprentices eat up the whole buffet at the cafeteria. I will tell you what is fit to eat for a Jew. Don’t eat what I will take, though: I still have a very Canadian list of favorite dishes.”
“Canadian? You mean Akkadian, no?”
“No! I am from Canada, a huge country on the other side of the World from Palestine. Remind me to show you a World map tonight.”
14:08 (North America Central Time)
Thursday, February 4, 3385 ‘A’
Farah Tolkonen’s office
Time Patrol headquarters
“Please, Jan, take a seat: we have a lot to discuss.”
Jan Bella, Chief Historian of the Time Patrol, took the armchair offered by Farah Tolkonen. He then pointed at Farah’s computer screen, where a text was visible.
“You are looking at my report on Nancy’s mission in Palestine, I suppose.”
“You are right, Jan. I need to clarify a few of its points with you before I forward my own report to the Science Administrator.”
“Fair enough. What is your first point of concern?”
“My main worry is the case of Miriam of Magdala and of her future baby. You say in your report that this baby should not exist according to history. Why?”
“Because, as Nancy said on her arrival from Galilee, all our historical sources, including the collective souvenirs of our apprentices, never mention Jesus Christ conceiving a child or even Miriam of Magdala having a child. In fact, there are precious few mentions of Miriam of Magdala by name in historical books. Some are obvious fabrications, like the one about her and a few disciples being forced on a rudderless ship 466
departing the coast of Palestine and then crossing the whole Mediterranean Sea to the southern coast of France, where she eventually died of old age. The fact that the local church officials promptly built a church containing her supposed remains and collected donations from visiting pilgrims shows that story for what it really is: a fable meant to bring money to the coffers of the local church. There is even confusion about who is Miriam of Magdala. Despite all the time she spent with Yeshua’s disciples, those disciples, the male ones at the least, failed miserably to properly identify her or even to mention her except once, in the Gospel of Luke. This has a lot to do with the ancient habit of mentioning only the names of the men when telling a story, relegating the women to mostly anonymous roles.”
“Hurray for male misogyny.” Said Farah, sarcastic.
“You got that right, Farah. Anyway, there never was any mention of