Chapter 16: On the Road to Jericho

Just before breaking camp I spent a few minutes studying the lay of the forest to the south. The full moon was a Holy-send, a tremendous asset. I had been worrying about the bears as I slept, and had wakened regretting the necessity of leaving the rifle behind. The bears' attack had demonstrated not only coordination, but also a knowledge of how to fool a proximity detector. That was absolutely unheard of. I realized I'd have to file a detailed report on this as soon as we got to Jericho.

Michal was quite comfortable following me as I angled eastward from due south, rather than westward back towards the lake. Abigail looked a bit puzzled, but we had agreed to walk silently until the sun came up.

The wind was gusty and the temperature about minus 5 C. I was so glad we managed to get Michal into some decent winter survival gear. Her burqa would have been a cruel and perhaps deadly joke out here. I was still worried about the weather though, and the bears. It smelled like snow, maybe a lot of it, and my instincts were screaming at me not to forget about the bears. I decided to push our speed up a notch, right to the limit of safe walking in the moonlight.

We would hike half an hour and then rest for just three or four minutes, only long enough to stretch and relieve ourselves, drink some water from our canteens, and then hit the trail again. Abigail got into the habit of giving me an affectionate hug before I slung my pack back on. After our third rest, I was very happy to have Michal start hugging me too. It took just a few extra seconds for us to pat each other's rumps, and it was a huge boost to our optimism.

We kept up that hiking rotation for eight full cycles. In the brightening predawn twilight we were passing some boulders that would be easy to sit on, and we had a good clear view of the immediate area. I decided we would indulge in a real break. I looked at my watch, 7:03 AM. Sunrise would be in another ten minutes.

I turned to my two wives and said quietly, "Breakfast time people! We'll start up again in half an hour."

The two women nodded gratefully and quickly dropped their packs, sitting down on the smooth rocks and looking a little tired. Abigail smiled at me and replied very quietly, "So it's okay to talk now?"

"Yeah, I think so. Try to keep it low though, and stay alert! This is the prime time of day for a bear attack."

We stretched and relaxed, kept alert and had a nice meal. I took out my knife and dug up an indigo-root. "Here, try some of this. It's very tasty!"

Abigail blinked her eyes at the spicy taste, but Michal really enjoyed it. "Hey, this is good! It reminds me a little of the pepper fish at Al Maqwa." She looked at me shyly and with a bit of admiration. "And you knew how to find it!"

I nodded. "I grew up not far from here, Anqara, four, five hundred kilometers in... that direction," pointing to the northeast. "There's a lot of food out here, even in the winter if you know where to look. Nuts, roots, even certain insect mounds... There are winter water lilies in the lake right now... somewhat edible..."

Abigail looked at me aghast. "Insects? For food?!"

"Sure Abby. When I was selecting our supplies for this test, I swapped almost all of our food allocation for a double supply of ammo for the pistols. Getting hungry out here was the last thing I was worried about."

Abigail just blinked at me. With the finding of Michal and all of Sofian's food supply, that part of my hiking plan had quietly disappeared.

"But now you have me," said Michal, patting her backpack. And then she paused for a moment. "Ilias?"

"Yeah?"

"These tests, how often do you take them?"

"Security Guild members do it annually."

"Ah," she said, looking thoughtful. "Do you mean others do it differently?"

"Yeah. Priests in the Holy Militia take it once when they join the militia, and then in the year before they reach a promotion gate. It becomes part of their performance review for advancing to the next Citizen Level. All the information gets sent down to Babylon. A few units of the Holy Police take survival tests too, the special weapons units."

Michal looked confused. "Special weapons?"

"The Special Honor Guard at Bandar Arenas. It's a self-contained mini-army at the capital. Their sole mission is to protect the eighty-six members of the Ruling Royalty."

"Oh..." Michal paused for a moment, and then looked at me and smiled. "Thank you Ilias! I could hardly believe what I wrote in my diary last night, but I do now. You are so kind to explain things to me, even though I won't remember what you teach me. I hope my questions never bore you!"

I moved over and held her for a moment, sitting next to Michal and holding her by her waist. We leaned our heads together. I could smell her, feel her warmth and strength, my darling wife. I sighed and kissed her and whispered, "Michal, if I ever catch myself being bored by your questions, I will be so deeply ashamed of myself." I felt her stiffen in shock, and then she hugged me fiercely.

At 7:30 AM we started up again. The half-hour rest and food break had worked wonders. Before I knew it, it was 8:00 AM and time for another short break. Both my wives were looking in fine shape, eager to get going again. After just a couple of minutes I put my backpack on and we continued south.

It looked like we had a bit of easy hiking ahead of us. The sun was shining, the grade of the land was gentle, and the trees had thinned out, providing excellent visibility around us. I started to relax and think about Michal's questions about the Priesthood.

There are over three and half million adult males in the world, and by law exactly 20% of them are Priests. The last time I looked at the number, it came out to about 705,000.

The Priesthood is divided by the holiness of the digit three into three equal parts, the Holy Police, the Holy Militia, and the Holy Administration. The Holy Police are usually unarmed, except for their staffs of authority. Their job is to police the purity of the population, calling on the Holy Militia for physical muscle as needed. Fateen at my boyhood monastery was in the Holy Police.

The Holy Administration works with the township's home Guild to administer all economic activity. The Priests of the Holy Administration also run the township's court system, marriage system, inquisition system, and execution council. They do most of the planning of the programs and Prayer Services for the township's central cathedral, and they also act as the pontificio, the bridge, between the township and the Royalty at the capital. All three branches of the Priesthood have major and distinct roles in the operations of the world's child monasteries.