Chapter 8
"Hello, again. It's me, Jason Basileos. Now, I warned you all to surrender to me. Not only did you not surrender, but one of your governments, namely the one here at home, chose to attack me. Bad move. Twas very poorly done, too. Now, as you can see, the chickens are coming home to roost. Here I am, in the Oval Office, with the rather broken and docile remnants of the old order.
"Here, my friends, you can see the Resolute Desk, which I am using for the moment as I occupy the seat of government of the former United States of America. I mean, let's face it, the Rapture finished off any semblance of executive leadership, and it did a number on Congress and the courts as well. Who knew that Jehovah liked politicians that much? Well, they are rather vain and pompous, and so is he, so perhaps that fits.
"Okay, anyway, you've seen what can happen if you defy me. It's time to really make that lesson hit home," I smiled as I raised my hands and fire shot out of the sky to incinerate the Kremlin.
"If you'll pay attention to your news updates in the next few minutes, you'll see that I've utterly destroyed the Kremlin with fire from the sky. Tabby, babe, do the honors for the administrative center of the People's Republic of China in Beijing," I instructed my Prophetess, who was also my sister and wife.
Tabby grinned as she lifted her arms to the sky while the camera turned angles to show her make the identical gesture that brought swift and sure destruction to the leaders of the CCP regime in Beijing. Seconds later, I got a text from the remaining leadership of Congress: we surrender.
"Unconditionally?" I texted back.
"Yes ... please ... you've won. The world is yours. America is yours," came the answer, not that it wasn't already true.
Only a few scared rabbits in Congress had held out in their delusion that they could hold the old regime together by whatever mechanism they could devise. They didn't get it. America wasn't disgraced by this, nor was any other country, because there were no countries anymore, and hadn't really been any for some time now.
Multinational conglomerates had usurped the powers of nation-states and their governments some time ago, playing them off each other like so many puppets, but those days were over, too. At least they were finished now. I wasn't going to share power with Wall Street, either. I would break them, too.
Oligarchy was dead. Long live the new breed of autocracy, one-man rule by the Antichrist. I then displayed the text for all to see, just as the news reported that the hastily formed rump Russian and Chinese governments, largely composed of technocrats and military officers, formally capitulated to my rule as well. This was a huge step forward. The three greatest powers of the old order were now broken. The lesser powers couldn't hope to oppose me much longer, could they?
Messages and phone calls announcing surrender followed with breathtaking speed now. One government after another, one nation after another, they all yielded to my will, terrified of my vengeance. The Rapture had already destabilized much of the world and its economy, so there was that factor as well. There was a sense of fatalism, almost, many unsure of what to expect, but afraid that they could no more stop it in motion than they could a locomotive. All resistance that remained, for now at least, was crushed, snuffed out like a candle.
"Excellent news, my friends. Now, we can begin to establish the global hegemony necessary to unite all nations, states, tribes, etc. under one flag, one man, one regime, one civilization! Now, as a further gesture of submission to my domination, I will insist that every member of the United Nations vote in the General Assembly, where there is no veto, for a repeal of the UN Charter and the transfer of all assets of the United Nations, the command of all of its various peacekeeping forces, and control of all of its agencies and operations, to the new global authority that I have founded today.
"The name of this entity is to be the Imperium. Very simple name, right? As head of this new Imperium, I shall henceforth be as the Imperator, which simply means 'Emperor' as well as 'Commander' in Latin. There shall be a global Senate as well, of course. The courts will be set up and appointed by me, though I will consult with the Senate from time to time. The world shall be reorganized into ten different praetorian prefectures, each with a praetorian prefect chosen by me.
"Every praetorian prefect will hold elections within sixty days' time for Senators from his or her prefecture, of course. Ten Senators are to be chosen at-large from each prefecture, each of whom must be at least eighteen years of age. That is the age of consent, of marriage, of suffrage, of membership in most associations and organizations, of legionary service, etc. As for political parties, have at it. I don't actually care, as I won't have to bind myself to any of their programs or agendas and I would rather that people declared their intentions openly, rather than let them slip underground with them.
"The seat of government, the capital of this new global empire, is to be Rome, of course. Where else? With Vatican City State essentially defunct, and the Roman Catholic Church now hereby dissolved, with all remaining cardinals, bishops, etc. now involuntarily retired, pensioned off, I will govern the world from the former Apostolic Palace. It seems a fitting location to me, at least. I will begin preparations to transfer all major government agency headquarters, of agencies that remain or will be centralized, to Rome itself as well. That may take time and work, but it will be done and it will be permanent once it is done.
"There will be many massive changes in legislation, all of which will be binding and enforceable worldwide, but the following changes will take effect immediately. One, a universal citizenship for all people, regardless of nationality. No exceptions. Two, a universal basic income for all citizens aged eighteen and above. No exceptions. Three, a global age of consent law, age of marriage, and age of majority consisting of eighteen, no older, no younger. Again, absolutely no exceptions. Four, universal adult suffrage at the age of eighteen, regardless of sex or gender or race or whatever else.
"Five, a universal, global metric measurement system that will apply to all measurements and all others to be abolished. Six, Daylight Saving Time to be universally abolished. There will be no exceptions to this! I will not permit the further disruption of people's circadian rhythms for some nebulous concept of 'saving daylight,' not now, not ever! Seven, universal health care is to be guaranteed to all citizens, regardless of age, sex, race, etc. Eight, there will be a universal currency soon established, it serving as legal tender and its acceptance as such compulsory by law.
"Nine, once the currency has been clearly established and implemented, there will be a global minimum wage and a global maximum wage as well. Extremes of wealth and poverty will cease to exist. In the meantime, we will begin a steady process of raising the wages and living standards of the poorest, most destitute, most vulnerable members of our global society, of course. Ten, public nudity, toplessness, bottomlessness, and breastfeeding will be legal in every part of the world.
"Eleven, polygamy, prostitution, pornography, adultery, sodomy, homosexuality, bisexuality, lesbianism, fornication, incest, and all other such acts between consenting adults are now legal worldwide. Twelve, public sexual congress is now legal everywhere in the world, too. Thirteen, considerable effort will be undertaken to eradicate all STIs, HIV, etc. in the very near future, so as to remove all excuses for inhibiting and restricting people's sexual satisfaction," I declared, just as Dean whispered something in my ear.
"Excuse me, I was just told that I now have the power to heal everyone watching me now of STDs, HIV, etc. If you do not catch me live, be sure to watch this as it goes viral, and you, too, will be healed instantly of any and all such ailments. This is excellent news, as it means that nothing can stand in the way of libertinism, which is the hedonistic philosophy at the core of our new society.
"If you don't believe me, just get tested, especially with all health care now being subsidized by the State. Our civilization must be united in our rejection of Jehovah's twisted morality, of course! A God that condones slavery, rape, and genocide, but hates sodomy, nudity, adultery, etc. and can't make up his mind about incest or divorce? No thank you!
"This is just the beginning of our new utopia, and let me assure you, that it will be the greatest civilization to ever exist in all of human history! Rome is reborn! Hail Caesar! Hail Satan! A new commandment I give you, that you fuck one another! Also, as other religions have a special day of rest or whatever, ours shall be Hump Day, or Wednesday, as it used to be known. And as a token or sign of your allegiance to me, I ask that you greet everyone with either a French kiss or an Australian one.
"And from now, all fraternization policies are hereby suspended indefinitely. Furthermore, any couple, throuple, or whatever, married or otherwise, that volunteers or requests to have sexual congress with me, displays a public video to that effect, passes a security check, of course, is willing to clear their schedule for it, and is approved personally by me, shall be put into a queue. When their time comes up, their expenses will be paid, their employer properly compensated for the temporary loss of services, and they will be housed in the Apostolic Palace, sharing my bed for the duration of their stay. Once there, they shall all be fucked by me until I'm ready to stop and they shall be at my beck and call. This will be a good way of my blessing their union, of course," I proclaimed just before signing a decree in front of everyone.
I just didn't tell them that it was a decree nationalizing all properties and assets of all religious entities which lost more than sixty-six percent of their membership. That was not only a perfect number numerologically, but it also meant that the religions in questions were likely too weak to fight back. The sooner that I moved to quash Christianity in particular, the better. The other sects would be destroyed in due time. It was time for humanity to embrace the rule of the Beast and the ascendancy of his kingdom.
Chapter 9
One week later...
Quirinal Palace, Rome, Italy
"How's the renovation of the Apostolic Palace coming along in the former Vatican, signor?" I inquired of Jacopo, my new private secretary.
"It is ... as well as could be expected, Sire. The remaining staff still there are a bit shaken up by the Rapture, or rather by being left behind, so that helps our cause to be sure. I've taken the liberty of hiring a lot more servants for Your Imperial Majesty, of course. Will your coronation be done in the Sistine Chapel or somewhere else? St. Peter's? St. John the Lateran? The Christian iconography has been largely removed from each of those buildings with amazing speed," the helpful Jacopo assured me as he fingered his Baphomet pendant.
