To all fellow adviseraries and substituents:
If thou hast not heard heretofore the mentioning of my name, henceforth thou shalt knowest. I am Newogoth, thy recently promoted President of Southern Affairs of the CCCC, thine glorious organization over which Dr. Townsmite presideth. And, as you know, we have many pressing matters at hand, since indeed the doctor’s whereabouts have gone unbeknownst for the past week. Consequently, I have filled the void of publicative matter and have taken responsibility to send out the lacking publication. Although I do not consider myself an equal to the Doctor in verbiage and leadership, I do have some merit to my name. Thus, you must take heed, as I am indeed a superior officer.
Last Saturday, the eighteenth of January, the time of year when things breed death, the Doctor came to me, stricken with the pangs of doubt and a shaky faith. Yes, we all are vulnerable to the actions of the Keepers, even the uppermost adviserary. I have recorded a part of our conversation I wish to share with you:
“Good friend Newogoth, Jerome as I knew you when you first joined this organization: listen to my doubts. Tell me if what I say is rooted in fallible reasoning, or if the arguments I can’t debunk are in fact infallible. The Keeper expressed such a multitude of words, words that seemed to slip off his tongue and caress my dark heart, my heart of evil. He spoke to me…”
“Gristhkeg,” I interrupted, “you are well-shaken. I have never seen you with such a disturbed spirit. Thou knowest no evil, sir. We only do the things necessary to keep those filthy Keepers from ruining the human race. Even if some of the things we do seem hostile, they are in fact good.”
“Jerome, you are well-spoken. But it seems that your arguments stem off my earlier reasoning, of which I now doubt.”
“So, what part of it do you doubt?” sayeth I.
“I had made the supreme God in my head to be some malevolent force, seeking His own glory from everything, thus acting on His own selfish ambition.”
“What, sir, is faulty with that?”
“The Keeper argued that God does not act necessarily out of an attempt to seek all glory for Himself. The Keeper told me that God primarily acts out of love for humans, seeking the perfection of the Church, that is, his chosen people, and that glory is inherently given to Him, since He is the creator of all things.”
“So, why would that be necessarily so?”
“Logically it makes sense. If God, by Himself, created everything for His glory, then everything will give Him glory regardless of any other act. If, indeed, God is all-powerful, which must be true if Creation of a functional world took place. We take the rules of this natural world, gravity, time, etc. for granted. No, these rules happen not apart from divine interaction, on the contrary, it now seems that everything is upheld by the Divine.”
“Sir, if I may interject; we believe the same thing in our Pantheonic views. We believe the divine upholdeth the universe; in fact, the universe is the divine. Nothing can exist apart from it. Since this creator god created everything, everything, in essence is a part of god. As far as glory goes, I think a god would have much more pleasure taking part of its creationin action and essence than sitting back and watching it happen.”
“Wise words, Jerome Newogoth. I couldn’t have said it better. But, I still doubt this idea of the universe being part of God, if God exists separately. Logically, I don’t believe that God could put himself into creation; that would be logically equivalent to God creating Himself.”
“Well sir, perhaps God can create Himself, if indeed He is infinite. Therefore, any part of Himself He taketh away, it’s as if it was never taken in the first place.”
“Strange indeed. One thing though I know: we are climbing higher and higher up the ladder of abstraction. Let us anchor our conversation and deal with the Keeper’s sole statements.”
“Proceed, kind sir.”
“The Keeper mentioned several times of the well-being of the flock. He says that God’s forefront purpose in Creation is the redemption of Man, and that the Keepers, along with their purpose of records and history, are given the task of offering salvation to Mankind.”
“Well they certainly grew ambitious and prideful after you left them, honorable immortal. Who art them to speak of this ‘well-being’?”
“That is exactly what I said to him.”
“And so thou shouldest have. One thing though still exists outside my realm of understaning: this entire business of redemption. Do they actually believe it is humans who are evil?”
“It seems that way, yes.”
“What about their dubious tactics? Their ‘powers of persuasion’? I daresay they do not simply record history; they control it in order to write it.”
“Jerome, that is quite a bold statement. Even if they attempted to control history, such an effort would surely fail. Firstly, humans react very hostile to attempts of control, and the Keepers seem uncapable of such secretive control on a wide scale."
"Perhaps not uncapable, but unwilling."
"We haven't seen any such attempts by the Keepers. But even so, secondly, such an attempt would result in de-linearization of history.”
“What do you mean by ‘de-linearization’, sir?”
“Have you looked back, Jerome, and seen the continuity flowing through history? The way in which civilizations rise and fall, attributing to the failed attempts of Man to achieve glory? They have not been allowed. I lived during the construction of Babel. I saw Man’s attempts to reach the heavens. They were scattered. Progress was halted. In Rome, it was the same. Although I did not burden myself with the collection of documents at the time, I still kept a keen eye. Rome was not allowed to reach the heavens. Progress was halted. And God’s jewel, this nation of Israel, continued to persevere, and perseveres today. Do you see, Jerome? Do you see it?”
“See what, sir?”
“The linearization. The attribution to God’s glory. Everything naturally falling out in such a way as could only be explained by one supreme being.”
“These anecdotes; they are simply evidences seen in a different light, a queer light, if I may be excused, sir.”
“Queer it may be, such is how things are when different from the norm of experiential relevance. It is the light, Jerome. I have seen it.”
“Permission to speak freely, sir.”
“Granted.”
“I say thou art mistaken. I say thou haveth been swayed by the Keeper’s powers of persuasions. I sayeth that you need to rest and rethink the oath you set into place when you founded this organization. Let remind you of one aspect of it: 'We will uphold the Pantheon of Truth and Knowledge in our souls forever.' Have you abandoned this Truth? This Knowledge? Willest thou leave your substituents leaderless and prone to stray into the wiles of ignorance?”
“It is blindness with which you accuse me! I have revealed to you my deepest concerns and here you stand to challenge me? How dare you! As for anecdotal evidence, you have yet to speak of evidence for the Pantheon. You think reactively, my friend.”
“Then you have abandoned us.”
“No, Jer...”
“You will leave us to find our own way, mortals swimming through the murky sea.”
“Listen to me, Jerome. I am not speaking these things in order to undermine our organization. I am speaking in love, in an effort to find the truth. To be certain that what we are seeking is indeed right and justified.”
“Right? Justice? Truth? Sir, these art things I hold close to my heart. That every substituent holdeth close to heart. These are principles that firmly root this organization.”
“Then let us put these principles into action and seek to repair the wrong we have dealt. Let us stop this ambitious plodding through fields of wheat in deception. No longer will we have to live in fear, or use tactics of deceit, but ours will be the way of righteousness. We will mend the hurts, caress the bruises, bandage the wounds caused by our actions resembling a headlong juggernaut. The Keepers are not the evil beings we thought them to be, Jerome. They are now are friends.”
I rest blinking, in a state of stupefaction, speculating whether I still stood in the identical space and time as earlier when my friend and leader had filled me with goals and ambitions and dreams of glory unleashed. But in an instant and henceforth I doubted this immortal’s integrity, and wondered how he was not swayed earlier to paths of darkness.
“Let us embrace our lost comrades, Jerome. Let us drink with them the cup of freedom,” Gristhkeg offered. I could endure no more.
“I shall do nothing of the sort,” I retorted. “You are mad. Certainly you need more time to think, time to rest before any rash actions.”
“I have been thinking for months, Jerome. I have made up my mind.”
“Then this conversation was never about doubts. It was an attempt to persuade me to join your new dark efforts.”
“Jerome, I do not wish to lose you as a friend. Long have we walked this earth, as one in ideas and ambitions. I have always been there to point you along the path of power. Jerome, trust me as you once did.”
“With all due respect, I knoweth not if to whom I speak is trustworthy. I marvel at the speed with which you changed you mind, seemingly from opposing poles of reason and religion. Such an extreme jump surely cannot be trusted.”
“That is where faith comes in. I know it is absurd. It is madness. But perhaps the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men and immortals.”
“Maybe that is so. Even if it is, I lack the ability to make such a jump. But I do not lack the integrity to hold onto the principles and convictions that have formed my being. I do not lack the faith to hold onto my ideals. Onto my people’s ideals.”
“I will make this new truth known to the Corporation.”
“You will not.”
“Who are you, Newogoth, to oppose the one above you in knowledge and power?”
“Nothing, except when the one whom I thought my friend and leader transpireth to be my greatest foe.”
“Your foe? You think me a foe for seeing the light? I have lived through the centuries, Jerome. I have not been swept away by the least wind of doctrine. I have equated the Keeper’s words and my experience through history, and have seen God through it all. Is that act worth being called a foe?”
“I do not condemn your actions, for any man in your situation would most likely fall. But regardless of the circumstances, I am compelled to remove you from office, seeing the likely destructive influence of your new convictions.”
“Then remove me! I’ve enough of this futile organization. All I leave is this simple reminder from the Keeper: ‘No one who opposes God can stand.’ And this organization will not, Newogoth, if you continue to oppose God.”
And with that he left, never to return. Quite overwhelmed, I struggled through the weeks of emotional toil to recover from the loss of a great friend and ally. I knew I had lost a friend because of my decision to stand firm, but drastic actions require drastic consequences. Therefore, my substituents, I accept the stewardship of this organization only by your consent. I know the loss of our leader in arms is perilous, indeed heart-wrenching, but I urge us to never lose focus. Our task is too great and important to simply discard it and relinquish the future to the fates.
I do not wish to cause panic over the operations of the CCCC. I personally am the only individual to know Dr. Townsmite’s whereabouts. He has indisputable motives for taking his leave, being emotionally distraught. Indeed, events of late have caused such pandemonium in the political hierarchy of the CCCC. I still have hope that he will return and reclaim his place, having had time to think and reconsider his decision. As you now know, he has fallen to the infidel notions of the Keepers. Nevertheless I implore you: reject these fancied notions. Stick to the basic core of your beliefs. Remember the oaths you took. If you uphold this oath in your soul, the binding faith stayeth with you forever, since the soul is immortal, like our fallen leader in arms. I speak these words with the hope of keeping you from harm. Respect my words as you would respect your life.
In the perseverance of truth,
Newogoth
Steward of the CCCC and President of Southern Command, in establishment since 1948
