Samantha, Alex, Ella, and Lucifer were sitting in the suite's living space socializing with Linda. Suddenly, some of the gang of children invaded the living room. The Gods immediately noticed that their commandment given to the two Michaels, Muriel and Celine had been completely ignored. The five children were bouncing around the room after their day at the Disney park. The amount of sugar they had been fed that day was certainly enough to make an elephant diabetic.
While they were bouncing, all five were simultaneously chattering to the adults already present in the room and even among themselves. Seemingly upon the kids' return, Sam and Alex now had a miniature pirate of sorts. David of course with his big dream of one day becoming a great warrior like the Michaels, Celine, and his father. Alexander, who remembered the days of pirates and privateers very well mused that David's outfit could not be quite right. He knew almost with certainty that he had never run into a pirate with mouse ears and jeans. Micky and Minnie Mouse, better known as Maila and Jasmine, would have fit the bill with their mouse ears if it weren't for the fact that Micky wore half-length brown summer pants with sneakers under his shorts and Minnie wore a summer dress with sandals under her skirt. Sarah, how could it be otherwise, as an absolute mama's girl, in Cinderella's blue dress with sneakers and mouse ears, was also about fifty percent close to the original. Elise, however, almost made Alexander's eyes burn. Pink mouse ears, a black T-shirt with the parrot, Lago, from Aladdin, the green tights from Peter Pan including a plastic sword, and a pair of pirate boots. Had Sam and Alex regretted for a moment on the night of their wedding that they had entrusted the children to the Michaels, Muriel, and Celine for their trip to Disney they now did with certainty. The Demon who liked nothing better than to throw a bucket of oil on the fire, to give Alex a a severe headache, was watching them from a couch with a huge smile that almost had to hurt her face. Any bigger and her mouth would undoubtedly have been torn.
With the children babbling and bouncing around, Alexander felt one of his infamous headaches coming on. Something that did by no means improve when moments later number six stormed into the room in full NASA garb. Beatrice was dressed head to toe and everything with the famous logo. Baseball cap, hoody over her shoulders, T-shirt, sweatpants, and sneakers. So it was clear that Laila and Dan hadn't been able to say no to that girl either and both were still carrying a rather large bag that was just about bulging. Trixie immediately mingled among the rest of the gang of overenthusiastic kids. Silently Alex asked Sam:
"How do they do that for fuck's sake? All six of them are jabbering through each other about what they've done and seen and they fucking understand each other!"
She replied:
"I have absolutely no idea love. But for now I am keeping out of this chaos. Just follow my lead, simply pretend you are listening intently and say yes or hum something in agreement from time to time. Sooner or later when they are bounced out and it will hopefully become understandable."
She saw his eyes light up with Hellfire for a split second and she heard:
"I swear I'll make those four pay and especially that former Demon that has it in for us!"
All Samantha replied was:
"Absolutely!"
The situation became a little more bearable for them when Elise crawled onto Lucifer's lap and crowned him with pink mouse ears as he squealed. Still, he didn't dare take the ears of in for fear of hurting the little one's feelings. Moments later, Trixie sat down on his lap and just as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, Alex heard a camera click. He knew immediately where that picture and probably others would go. He would take her aside later in the private study he had manifested for Samantha and himself with Dan and Laila in attendance.
Moments later, Anna and Gabe came in laughing. When they saw the chaos they fell silent with big eyes and open mouths. Something that amused Sam and Alex extremely. He heard her say:
"Bet those two will have a good conversation later tonight about the pros and cons of children."
"Darling, I'm not taking that bet because I'll lose it for sure!"
Half an hour later, most of the energy seemed to have bled out of the kids. As a result, their stories about their outing became more coherent and understandable to the adults present. It wasn't much longer before fatigue began to make itself known with their honeybee as the first victim. As Samantha put her to bed, Alexander decided this was the time to take Trixie aside for a moment before she too became too tired. He said:
"Gabe, Beatrice, Laila, and Dan can we have a word in the study."
Words he had not intended as a question.
A future astronaut
Alex sat down at his desk and when everyone had found a seat he looked at Trixie and spoke:
"I take it you took and arranged for a whole series of photos to be taken today to show Decker. I know I said I wanted to see them in advance and read what you are going to write on them. However, I am not going to do that because I trust you Sunflower. I do want to know what your intentions are."
She confidently looked him straight in the eye and said:
"When I knew about the outing, I first wanted to do the same as with the previous set from the wedding party. But I thought about what you said then. About that with a title also comes responsibility. Looking at Mama Sam but also at you, I see that I was wrong. I don't want to send pictures this time. Those are for us. As you said this morning you wanted lots of them. I thought you would love to have one in your back-pocket of Grandpa Lu with pink mouse ears... Just in case. I'm just going to send a letter to say goodbye forever. I really never want to see her again. Mama Laila is now my mommy and so is mom Sam. I can't forgive her either. She has hurt too many people I care about, she wanted to hurt me badly. But I want to follow your example and that of Mom Sam and wish her success finding her way to Heaven."
Alex looked at her with a warm smile and said:
"Thank you for the photo of Grandpa Lu, I'm sure there will come a moment when I will absolutely use it! I'm extremely proud of you Sunflower and I'm sure your dad and mom are too. Mom Sam will be too when I tell her later."
Trixie looked a little uncertain at Laila and then at Dan. Alexander immediately understood that there was something about her visit to the Kennedy Center and her desire to become an Astronaut. He said:
"Beatrice, if you don't ask or say anything about what is going on I will have no way of knowing what I could possibly do for you."
She thought for a moment and then said softly:
"NASA has some cool space camps for kids and teens. Some of the kids that went to these camps later became astronauts. Mom and I were talking about it and Mom said she could design something like that and build it together with Q. Please don't be mad at Mom, it's my fault because I was so excited I kept nagging without thinking. Only later when they showed a movie and how much work is involved in all of it did I realize how busy mom is going to be after the jump with the things you guys have planned."
With his familiar smirk, Alexander said:
"And yet you bring it up with me right now. I'm pretty sure Your Mom and Dad told you to bring your own idea to my attention. So what's going on?"
She blushed for a moment and nodded softly before saying:
"Mom told me I had to ask you myself if something like a space camp could be made on Terra Nova. Not only for me but also for other children who will follow according to your plans in the new Heaven but also at Terra Nova itself."
Alexander thought for a moment and then replied:
"Okay girl, I want to agree with that plan. When we get to our new universe I will take a meeting with your mom and Q and look in to it. But know in advance that there will be no deviation from the rules and you will have to carry out exactly what I or a project-leader tells you to or I will pull the plug immediately. Before I approve of anything you will have to change the name NASA. You know what that abbreviation stands for. So since we work for all humans it is not usable neither is ESA or any of the others. And not only for that reason. The planet may be an exact copy of the one you know but there is no change in Hell we are going to keep the same geographical system. The USA does not exist on the new home planet and it will never will and neither will other countries. So the words America, Europe, Russia or China in a name is a no-go. Our goal is no segregation so you must come up with a name and an abbreviation that is usable for all, no exclusion!"
Trixie thought about that for a moment and said:
"I hadn't thought about that. Yes, that name definitely needs to be changed. I'm going to find one that fits for everyone!"
Alex said with a gentle smile:
"I know. There will be many things you haven't thought about yet. But that's okay. When I started this adventure, there were so many things I hadn't thought about. You have time Sunflower, I'm sure you will get everything in order."
The girl regained a broad smile for the first time as she felt that her daddy Alex believed in her. He continued in a serious tone:
"On Terra Nova, your mom's department, and Q and Haniel's department are going to be extremely busy. The infrastructure in the new Heaven, Hell, and Terra Nova itself is going to take priority over other projects at all times. But if your mom and you want to make it a mother-daughter project in your own free time and start with small things then feel free to do so. If I were you I would not address Q. If you need help building something, I would appeal to Haniel. He loves nothing more than playing with new techniques and tinkering. If he is willing to build your mom's designs fine. Your mom and Haniel are going to work more or less in the same direction you want to go with your space camps anyway. Terra Nova will need GPS satellites and wireless Internet like what is used on Earth now with the Starlink system. That means a launch center like Cape Canaveral, a command center like Houston, and rockets to put the satellites into orbit. So the basis for space camps will certainly be there. However, I have three conditions and they cannot be deviated from. If you don't meet all three requirements then your project is history. First, no citizen gets through NASA's selection process without at least one doctorate or a masters degree in a STEM field, one that has utility in space. So marine biologist or archeology are absolutely out of the question. Therefore, since we don't have an air force, you are a civilian and must meet the requirements of a civilian. The consequence is that you must pass the curriculum, that Jophiel and Riddia have established for high-school and later college level education, with absolute top marks. Two, for now, the project sticks to what happens in a normal NASA space camp. So not every weekend but as I know from Kennedy and Johnson once or twice a year a specific camp. You said yourself that you want to do everything as a human without using the powers that you have as an Angel. This will allow you to do everything as a human to help humanity once they get to Terra Nova. I think this is an incredibly fantastic initiative and couldn't be prouder of you for wanting to be a pioneer for humanity. However, I insist and I don't want to deviate from that, you do it as it should be done. First through a simulator and then in real life. If you want to command your own spacecraft you have to start at ground-level. From a single-engine small plane to the space shuttle with all the steps in between. So from propeller to jet engine, to the Gemini project to Apollo to the shuttle. Three, before you start a stage I want a comprehensive project proposal on how you want to achieve that goal. Your mom and Haniel may help you with the technical details but the rest you must put on paper yourself. And believe me, I can and will notice the difference little girl, so no funny business with having someone else write up your project proposal."
He look at Laila who was beaming next to Trixie and said:
"If you want to help your daughter with her project I insist that everything is done through a propulsion that is harmless to the environment. Terra Nova is free of any harmful pollution and we are going to keep it that way. Not only for Trixie's project but also for the shuttles that Q is going to need for his satellites. We have time, so it might be an interesting experiment if we follow the path that humanity has followed thus far but with clean engines. Even if it is just to see what the difference would have been and to document that for future generations."
He looked back to Beatrice:
"Can you agree to this Sunflower?"
The girl had a smile from ear to ear and was nodding diligently. Alexander himself had an amused smile and a warm look in his eyes. He said played sternly:
"Okay, this is enough for today. Hop away off to bed, tomorrow will be busy."
She flew around his neck to give him a big hug. Dan and Laila stood up with equally big smiles on their faces. Alex spoke:
"Laila and Dan please sit down for a few more minutes."
When Trixie had pulled the door shut behind her he said:
"She has dealt with Decker and now unfortunately the nightmares will not be long in coming. Laila she will absolutely need you as a mother to find comfort. Dan she will need you to see with her own eyes that you are okay. Remember, you are not the only one Decker has shot. She also shot at Lucifer while he had Beatrice in his arms. Had he not wrapped his wings around her quickly enough, and had the bullets not stuck in his wings Trixie could very well have been badly wounded herself. The two most important men in her life had been wounded or in your case killed and she herself could have been killed."
The two nodded and Dan said:
"That last one gives me nightmares Alex and I am so incredibly grateful to Lucifer for saving her. But this is going to take a while to process."
"Yes, and that's why I want to send you to Linda for mandatory therapy for a while. Mandatory Dan! You two will be hugely important to her. Evi is going to keep a close eye on all six of them and work with them. However, that alone is not enough. Her family needs to be there for her."
As Laila and Dan stood up to leave, Laila said:
"Thank you for letting her loose on her passion Alex."
He smiled and said:
"She will want to go fast, rein her in. I'm familiar with the temptation to want to get things done yesterday and the frustration that comes with it when things seem to developed to slow to my taste. I had Fuzzie to grab me by the collar from time to time and reign me in, to remind me of the fact that I was still a kid and needed to take time to be a kid and do kids stuff. Her childhood is more important now let it remain a hobby for the moment. Something she can grow into. Something tells me that that girl is going to surprise everyone and is destined for great things. That in no time she will be Admiral Espinoza, the Chairwoman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It's not because we don't have an army that the departments of Michael, Celine, and the future space department yet to be built, won't be placed under some kind of military chain of command. And I really see our sunflower landing on that particular chair in time."
Cardinal Minotti
Once Alexander and Gabriel were alone in the study things turned more serious, Alex asked:
"Okay, what about the investigation into Minotti?"
Gabriel manifested the file and handed it to Alexander. Knowing that the latter liked to hear a brief description first before digging into the full file he listed the main points of what they had found so far:
"At first glance, he seems completely legit Alex. Based on what we have found so far, the working group thinks that no unpleasant skeletons will fall out of the closet. There are still a few details we need to chase down but those are minor ones. Upon our return, we will have more than enough time to sort those out. However, there is one big question that we need to answer with certainty. When I outline his career in the Church that question keeps coming up. Why does Minotti have such a strong dislike for members of the clergy who color outside the lines?"
"Okay let's hear it then."
"Since his time at the seminary, our cardinal has hated members of the clergy and definitely the curia who show undesirable behavior or outright harmful behavior to the members of their parish or humans as a whole. The higher up the ladder they are the greater his dislike seems to be. At the seminary, this was dismissed and attributed to youthful enthusiasm that would disappear on its own giving time and maturity. In his file, you have there, are all his evaluations. During his studies at the seminary in Florence, it was noticed pretty much immediately that he was particularly intelligent and had a special interest in canon law. Hence the rector and dean recommended him to continue his studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome after his ordination to the priesthood. He went through both the faculty of Theology and the faculty of Canon Law. He remained in Rome throughout his career. His hatred for faulty clerics did not earn him the thanks of his superiors. Certainly not when he began making noise at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, better known as the Inquisition. Because of his stubbornness and his drive for purity among the curia, they achieved the opposite of their goal. Instead of muzzling him they kind of unleashed him. From then on he began to bite like a pit bull. If he made a dossier one could be sure it was watertight and there was no escape from it for the guilty party. He targeted everyone, abusers of power, fraudsters, and child abusers. It is notable, however, that he categorically refuses to go after members of the clergy who are not celibate. Unless their sex lives harms others. Anything done voluntarily with the consent of those involved he will keep his hands off. Even if he personally does not approve of the sexual behavior of those involved. And I do not mean that he is opposed to homosexuality or stuff like that, far from it. In that respect, he is one of the most liberal clerics in Rome. It is rather the debauchery like Luci's lifestyle before Ella house-trained him."
Alexander laughed at Gabriel's last sentence and asked:
"Is he perhaps in a relationship himself?"
"Hard to say where that attitude comes from. It certainly is not a sexual relationship. He abides by the canonical rules and laws even though he disagrees with some of them. Celibacy seems to be one of those rules he does not agree with. But he has taken his vows and keeps them and the only person who could change those rules is the Pope and there is not much change that something like that is going to happen anytime soon. More than likely it can be traced back to his time in high school. The last two years there he had a girlfriend. That the two might have had an intimate relationship would certainly not be surprising. Not even exceptional for later priests. There are more than enough clerics who had a sex life before they acted on their vocation. In any case, it came down to a choice between the girlfriend and the Church, and the Church won out. Minotti did stay in touch with that girlfriend all this time. She was apparently completely supportive of his choice to become a priest. It is a platonic friendly relationship. Not only with the lady in question but with her entire family. He even blessed her marriage and baptized the couple's children. I cannot say otherwise than that they are family, perhaps not by blood but certainly by friendship. The children call him Uncle Faby. I made the decision not to have their correspondence scanned so as not to violate their privacy. I would have ordered it should we have found a red flag but right now I felt that was a step too far."
Alexander nodded his assent to this decision by Gabe, who continued:
"When he was still a priest, a certain bishop that Minotti was targeting tried to get him on that fact and tried to use the former girlfriend to paint him a sinner. Something that turned out very badly for that bishop. The husband belongs to a very influential family in Florence. Seems to be a descendant of Lorenzo de' Medici, who had a phone call made to the highest authorities in the Vatican. This was enough to kill the bishop's career and be carted off to some abbey far away from the Vatican."
"That seems to be a recurring effect of Minotti, putting priests at the door and parking bishops in an abbey. Another recurring fact, coincidence or not is Florence and Lorenzo de' Medici. Two de' Medici popes, a son of Lorenzo and a son of Giuliano di Piero de' Medici. Lorenzo and Giuliano were brothers, the popes thus cousins. Dad knew them, I knew them. Dad helped Minotti's grandmother the last time he was in Florence so our Cardinal is now on our radar screen. Not to mention Botticelli and La Primavera which is why Dad was in Florence and why I was in Florence a few times. When Metaron gets his archives in order, I would like, out of my own curiosity, to see if our good cardinal is also a descendant of either of them somehow. But also a further check. I would almost bet that he is of the bloodline of Sarah or David. Probably more of David's. So please stick a post-it in the file so we can get Metaron to do some research into that family."
Gabe nodded and made a mental note to have exactly that done once the time came.
"Yeah and then we're not talking about the two cardinals he forced into retirement and moved into hiding at the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome. In any case, because of the affair with that first bishop, a cardinal noticed him and saw Minotti's potential. Not entirely without self-interest it must be said. The cardinal found him a suitable weapon to neutralize undesirable individuals within the Church and especially in the Vatican without getting his own hands dirty. Minotti realized what the cardinal was doing but willingly let it happen because, with the cardinal's protection, he could continue his life's work without too much opposition. The fact that he himself had absolutely no ambition to become Pope ensured that his career skyrocketed up the hierarchy. One of the youngest bishops, one of the youngest cardinals. Works entirely independent from any department in the Vatican and is completely autonomous. He reports to one person, the Pope, and takes orders only from the Pope. In a conclave, however, he will never get elected. He has too many enemies and is too valuable to Rome in his current position. That he knows where most of the skeletons are buried because he has buried enough of them himself also plays a big role, of course."
Alexander sat contemplating all this and Gabriel gave him a few minutes.
"What do you think Alex?"
"I think he is ideal for our purpose. He is not hostile toward Dad as we ourselves have heard. I think as a theologian he is convinced that Jesus and the Magdala were married. That would explain his position when it comes to violating the celibacy vow. What also speaks in his favor is that once he takes a vow he absolutely keeps it."
He momentarily rifled through his curls and continued:
"The only problem is the conclave. If we want him in white then we will have to intervene."
Gabe nodded:
"We were planning that any way to be able to save humanity. You are God Alex. If you appoint a new Pope then no one can do anything about it."
Alex leaned back in his chair:
"Good, there is nothing we can do about this situation in the five hundred years of our trip anyway. When we get back, we will approach Minotti first and explain to him what is coming to humanity in the near future."
"And after that?"
"According to Paps, it's going to take about a year before humanity starts to realize that the universe is imploding. That's when we're going to make ourselves known. Initially, we make Minotti the Chosen One of God. He becomes the exclusive coordinator with all other religions. Once the current Pope dies we play a game of musical chairs. We cannot have another debacle with a Pope Emeritus. The change for a chasm in that Church if we order a sitting Pope into retirement is to great and would come at the worst possible time. If the current Pope dies then we push Minotti to become the new Pope. In any case, he is immediately placed under special protection by people from Celine. Full divinity public, wings, and all. Michael and you from time to time very visible near him if only for show. However, I want a conclusive answer as to why he hates flawed members of the Curia. Either through investigation or a conversation face to face."
"Okay, for now, I classify his file as a top-priority project once we get back."
"Yep, great plan. By the way, what about Patrick?"
"He's coming along and is totally into it. Something about being the personal bartender for the new God in Lux 2.0 if I understood correctly. Anna and I were a little busy at the club with other things. He wanted to check out Lux's stock. I'm sure Luci and Ella will also go to the club tonight and Luci will do exactly the same. So I have made it very clear to Patrick to keep his mouth shut about the new Lux. Cam is going to pick him up tomorrow while we are in Dis."
Alex laughed:
"After all, you explained to him that he will only be gone for a day or two and thus won't have to stockpile for five hundred years."
With a broad smile, Gabe replied:
"Yep, he knows. He just wants to make sure that Lux can run for two days without any problems."
The two left the study to join the rest of the company. There they were confronted with a bizarre scene. The Devil, in fact, still had the pink mouse ears on his head notwithstanding that the children had gone to bed. He simply stubbornly refused to take off the ears.