		“The Catalyst” Series Book 6
		“Building a Legacy”
		Crumbly Writer All rights reserved © 2013


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Epilogue:

Alex’s admonition about focusing on others proved an important premonition of what was to come, and Cate’s decision to grieve later carried through for everyone, though it wasn’t quite so simple. Each of Alex’s followers grieved by themselves when caught off guard or when sitting alone at night, but they each redoubled their efforts to the cause. Not only did they seek to distract themselves from their grief, but trying to reach new followers was much harder without Alex there to draw them. Instead they had to do it the hard way, by talking to people one-on-one and going down a checklist of signature behaviors, just as Akilah and Ahmed were doing and as Patricia had done in New Orleans.

Everyone dedicated themselves to that effort in the following months and years. They knew if they hoped to continue, they needed to lead the movement themselves. Winona’s tour was still a draw, as was Patricia’s album, but beyond those each of Alex’s followers made it a point to speak to as many women as they could, casually asking them specific questions to gauge their likelihood of possessing the required tendencies.

But grieve they did, and not all found the same solace. The first to surrender to her grief surprised everyone as the normally positive Natalie committed suicide shortly after the memorial service they held for Alex in Portland. (His family had him cremated to prevent anyone attempting to dig his body up and extracting his DNA.) That reinforced the need for Cate to step in as the defacto leader of the movement, since she was the one everyone looked to for leadership in Alex’s absence.

But the most tragic case was Winona’s. Whatever she’d been thinking, she knew it was her actions which led directly to Alex’s death and she was never able to forgive herself as Alex warned her she needed to. She grew remorseful and depressed, so much so that Cate convinced Gini to head her security detail. She undertook the job, not to protect Winona from outside threats, but from herself. And Gini wasn’t alone in that role. Everyone volunteered and wouldn’t allow Winona to spend any time alone. Anytime she reached for a drink, tried to smoke, snort, inhale or take something, there was someone there to give her a ‘what about the baby’ look. Because she knew how vital Alex’s heir was, she heeded their warnings and struggled on—long after she gave up all hope.

It was rough on her, and Gini was convinced if she turned her back at the wrong moment, she’d find a dead body awaiting her, but Winona never took that route. She knew everyone relied upon the baby she carried, and she couldn’t endanger it after what she’d done to Alex. But like the rest, she discovered the distractions of work were her best relief. After a short stint trying to find anything to distract her from her pain, she dedicated herself to her music. She hired multiple music and voice coaches, learning to write both musical scores and lyrics so she too could craft Alex’s praises in carefully couched language which hid their true meaning.

While it appeared to work—in that she never attempted to hurt herself—no one ever reported her looking happy after Alex’s death. But she bore with it until the baby hit the viability threshold. On the first day of her seventh month, after the births of Shani’s and Patricia’s babies, she walked into a hospital’s emergency room and demanded an emergency cesarean. When the check in clerk told her she’d need to be seen by someone first so they could determine what the problem was, she very calmly laid down a stack of papers—including her insurance card, contact list, personal physician and a list of all her medications in addition to another document hidden underneath—and removed something from her purse.

“This is why I need one,” she told the receptionist in an even measured tone as she put a pistol in her mouth and blew the back of her head off.

Needless to say, that got a response! Despite their reluctance to do anything without triple checking first, they delivered the preemie. The hospital worked hard to help it along, and there was no limit to the number of volunteers or donations for help. But Winona chose a Catholic hospital, Saint Joseph Mercy, which had no interest in allowing ‘a bunch of cult quacks’ into their hospital.

When an aging white man turned up, claiming to be her all white father, the hospital cut off all contact with Alex’s people. However, the hidden document under all the others was Winona’s un-notarized Last Will & Testament. Her supposed father fought it, with the full support of the hospital, but the judge assigned to the case eventually decided he had no reason to overturn her clearly established wishes, and she’d left no allowances for anyone else to receive any money from her estate, leaving every dime she possessed to the Angel Vision Foundation. So her supposed father never received a penny and disappeared from sight. Everyone speculated on what eventually happened to him, eyeing Gini and Gail suspiciously but not unsympathetically.

However, the efforts were for naught. The baby, who’d never been very healthy, ended up dying before long after holding on—much like Winona herself—for months. That was a hard blow for everyone. Alex himself believed she’d bear his heir, and he’d been so confident he’d stopped obsessing about producing more babies. However, he left behind a lot of expectant mothers, though none of them showed any signs of bearing a child bearing Alex’s unique abilities.

But the movement, like the newfound religion of Alexandrianism with its brand new temple in San Francisco, continued to grow. The general public never had a clear idea what its central tenets were, most people unable to accept a religion which didn’t specify what its adherents actually believed. Its followers and priestesses would always suggest a certain way of approaching life, and their preferred way of reaching heaven—a term they always spoke with an odd inflection, as if they meant something else by it. They never insisted anyone follow their dictates and they continued to assert people could either follow their lead or not. They stated whatever God people believed in simply didn’t care what they did in that regard. So the public always treated it as a fringe group.

However, it quickly developed a reputation as a major force in the medical and research communities. Dr. Ryan Moore’s small regional hospital quickly became a world renowned institution with the respect of the entire medical community. Many corporations and organizations tried to offer them funding, support or underwriting opportunities, but Dr. Moore turned down any outside funding for fear he wouldn’t be able to run his hospital according to his own dictates. But his success quickly led other hospital to accept thoroughly ‘untrained’ diagnosticians and nurses into their services, and they quickly became the go-to people in the hospitals they resided in. Actual physicians or nurses, like Dr. Liv Bisla or Rebecca Boles, could write their own tickets as every hospital in the world clamored for them.

Lists (Dr. Lister Pendelton, formerly of the US Army), didn’t remain in the service for long. He finished out most of his current projects, but found the research the military assigned him unworthy of his time. He started a new research hospital where he proceeded to train some of the best surgeons and managed to revolutionize the practice of medicine. He concentrated on treatments to boost ‘patients energy supplies’, making it sound like it was based on the ancient Chinese concept of Chi, and he managed to produce those results without the presence of Alex’s few Seekers, going at the central problem from another angle. Despite his tremendous results, he was accused of returning medicine to the dark ages where it was the exclusive province of a small cadre of ‘mystical specialists’. But it was hard to counter his results, and eventually the insurance companies had no choice but to fully authorize his treatment—especially since they not only produced the best results, but also did it for the least cost.

And the financial benefits didn’t stop there, a whole series of previously unknown fertility clinics blossomed and succeeded despite their reluctance to accept anyone walking in from off the street. It created more than a few controversies when they refused to treat several influential figures, as well as claims they were operating their practices under ‘racial stereotypes’, though any check on who they treated demonstrated they did anything but.

Another unexpected beneficiary was Leanna Dickson, who went from a struggling proprietor of a single bar to the owner of a nationwide string of ‘family centric’ lesbian bars. Although they catered to lesbians, they never turned away anyone (who they didn’t consider ‘threatening), and no matter what time, they’d always have a little corner discussion going about either Alexandrism or some little known early figure in the little understood cult. She even went so far as to open a string of her bars in the Middle East, which shocked the entire world. But when the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed her into his home on bended knee, it certainly changed the discussion. Obviously she had to change her bars a bit in order to gain acceptance, such as not offering alcohol, but as long as she had separate areas for men, women, the ‘lezzie’s and the small cadre of Alexandrianists, most groups left them to their own devices. After all, if your people were hurt in a military action, no one wanted to run the risk of not being treated by the best medical professionals.

Ahmed and Akilah managed to do quite well too, essentially transforming much of their culture in a relatively short time and allowing Leanna to accomplish what she did in their country. Akilah searched out, taught and trained potential Seer and Seekers, giving them good educations, teaching them to be decisive and aggressive in what they wanted. Because they possessed unique talents unavailable elsewhere, no one questioned when those women rose to positions of prominence, helped along by Ahmed’s use of those very women to help him in political negotiations with friends and foe alike. It was a delicate card game for them, but they were playing for big stakes—the future of their country once its oil reserves were exhausted and their newfound wealth was spent. But they achieved a lot, making Saudi Arabia the major source of these talents outside of the States.

Others ventured overseas as well. After doing a whirlwind business ferrying people back and forth to memorials, funerals, services and get-togethers across the country, Shanna (Sanaa) Shenouda left her business in the hands of her trusted employees—who were operating more out of a desire to help Alex’s people than a simple profit motive—and she toured the world trying to meet new Followers and spread Alex’s message in quiet one-on-one interactions in quiet cafes.

There were also a lot of women who managed to get wonderful educations thanks to the Angel Vision Foundation, who’d then hire them or farm them out to other enterprises where they had access to the best research available, and they went on to become powerful and influential in their own right. The Sorority (still technically a female fraternity) also went international relatively quickly, spreading to first Europe and then more slowly to the rest of the developed world.

While Daniel Vertiz—the man who’s negative reaction to Alex taught them so much—was helped by the absence of anyone with enough BCM to trigger his reactions, the Seers continued to encounter people who took an instant dislike to them, but at least they knew how to respond and what to look for, so there were fewer violent altercations.

Caity Stern, the Seer from the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, ended up quitting the military much like Lists did, for the same reasons. The military was downsizing and she couldn’t perform the kinds of research she was most interested in. She ended up working briefly with Dr. Lists new research hospital, but eventually joined Cate in searching for the source and nature of BCM, and the physics principles that made its discovery possible. She ended up sharing one of Cate’s Nobel Prizes and was mentioned in another. She also went on to become a respected researcher and medical expert herself, consulting at the largest hospitals, although she spent most of her time working with those like herself, helping them excel and learn.

Gini went to work for Gail, who built a huge exclusive security operation. They paid the bills protecting celebrities, politicians and important targets; their ability to detect emotions helping them guard them, but their bread and butter was made by protecting the people in the community. As those people and organization grew in stature, so did their security services until they were turning away Kings and CEOs of major corporations. Neither woman really liked protecting those types anyway, too often comparing them unfavorably to the even-handed and low-key Alex they’d so beloved.

On an unusual front, Stu (Stubborn Bear), the Paiute Indian with the ‘interesting’ liver condition ended up curing his own cancer. It seems when Alex boosted his liver, he promoted the growth and development of cells which attacked cancer cells. When his tribe discovered this they asked Dr. Simon Reinhard to return and coordinate the search for the genetic link which allowed his immune system to defeat cancers without any assistance. They ended up curing cancer in many patients—with the help of Becky’s new DNA research lab—and the money they earned allowed the tribe to relocate and develop a rich and well developed presence in the state. Stu was featured in several movies about his life—none of which featured the assistance of Alex, by the way. Which is the way Alex would have wanted it.

The women living in the Carbondale complex moved on to new tasks in other cities. Being held in such high regard their expertise was required elsewhere, and with little to hold them to Carbondale they drifted away. Most married happily, though few explained much of their past with Alex, though they included their spouses in the Alexandrian life. Kitty and Chalise, in particular, went on to lead happy productive lives, though much less spectacular than many of Alex’s Seers. Chalise became a teacher of young children at a special school in Springfield dedicated to teaching the children of Seers. She lived with her lover, Kitty Washerstein, who went on to become a famous novelist, writing science fiction which focused on weird parallel worlds. They lived in a sort of mini-commune with their longtime lover, Cate Jennings, though it was hardly the typical lonely life of cats most people envision of older lesbians. Instead there was a steady stream of influential people visiting their house at all hours. There were always a number of children in the household, most the product of frozen sperm stored so long ago by a certain individual they loved and cared for.

Shy, reticent, introspective Alex Jennings certainly had an oversized effect on the world. As the unacknowledged founder of the Alexandrian religion, originator of the Pi-Alpha-Zeta (ΠΑΖ) sorority, and the source of the religious ‘Priestesses’ (Seers) and ‘Druidesses’ (Seekers), his effect on much of modern culture was widespread, even though the general public had little memory of his minor flash of publicity decades before.

The Alexandrian Religion proved to be a source of interest to a lot of unrelated groups. Not only did they have a virtual stranglehold on the medical establishment, but since it was built without an underlying faith in a central God, its followers were free to believe in anything they damn well felt like. As a result, there was no limit to the people who tried to gain access to its inner resources and secrets.

It seemed to fashion itself along a Buddhist theme. The founder, Alex or Alexandria as he was publicly known (due mainly to a desire to keep the sorority and religion female based, but also to protect his offspring, who no one was ever able to identify), was regarded as a simple person who unexpectedly discovered enlightenment and a unique vision of how to access Heaven upon one’s death. No mention was ever made of either his ‘gifts’ or who granted them to him, be it God, Allah, Yahweh or simply a matter of chance. But the religion was focused in a series of isolated temples. Each temple housed a number of Priestesses. People all across the country came to these temples on pilgrimages, not so much to pray, because most didn’t understand its lack of a central deity, but because of its ‘healing arts’. It was widely known they achieved things no one else could. Although many people sought out assistance in these temples, very few were allowed entry. Only women were granted admittance, despite rumors of lone men occasionally being seen entering late at night. In fact, for that reason it was widely rumored to be the site of weird religious sex orgies far from the public’s eyes. However most people discounted these stories as simply fanciful rumors about a new religious order they weren’t ready to accept.

The only ones allowed entry were the Druidesss for their education and the Priestesses for their training, although certain ‘revered individuals’ are allowed entry as well. The cost for such study is quite expensive, but it’s rumored to be well worth it, as they are respected the world over. And the reach of this odd non-religious religion extends even farther. They hold an inordinate amount of positions in Universities the world over and they own and maintain a wide range of research facilities, but they’re also used in many specialty roles. Although space travel is still a difficult process—potentially requiring many lifetimes to reach the nearest star—the journey is made easier on the recently launched interplanetary Voyager. Due to their employment of junior priestesses, known for their ability to communicate billions of miles away instantaneously, the trepid explorers can communicate with home as if only a short distance away. This has further established Alexandrianism’s reputation in the minds of the public at large, though it doesn’t help anyone understand it. The priestesses also hold many similar jobs, though they strictly refuse any part in any military actions other than offering their medical assistance. The military-industrial complex repeatedly tried to entice them with lucrative offers, but they always refused, and the military based corporations couldn’t figure out how to achieve the same results on their own, despite wasting untold millions in the process.

The Druidesses—and the odd ‘honorary’ male Druids—are also well regarded as they do very well in business and politics, acting as negotiators, counselors, therapists, psychiatrists and basically anything having to do with evaluating people. Their education at the temples takes years, but it produces many of society’s leaders. This is especially true because the Alexandrian Priestesses will confront anyone who they do not feel is ‘of sound character’. Many who attempt to ride their abilities and training for political or monetary reward are quickly brought down. Thus the religious devotees are held in high regard as being righteous, honorable and truthful, despite being frequently attacked by politicians. They rarely seek political office, but when they speak on political issues, everyone listens.

Intellectuals studying this group continually question how a whole religion can thrive when its existence is based on a single person of indeterminate sex who died many years ago. But the answer is quite simple. Quite like its founder, Alexandria, it takes many years for one of the Alexandrian ‘chosen ones’ to be recognized. The ‘chosen’ are a special class, all male, all direct descendents of the original founder. They develop their ‘abilities’ to ‘activate’ Priestesses around the age of early puberty. It seems that, while their brains contain the ability to draw energy, they need maturity before they can form their first connection to the other dimension from which they draw their energies. Although no one ever knew whether any of these ‘children’ held this potential, occasionally one would simply ‘appear’—though no one has figured how the temples make this determination. The fact their supposed founder never knew whether any of his offspring bore these abilities is one of the great sorrows of his followers.

Yet they did discover new Chosen Ones and the entire ill-defined ‘community’ are now a vibrant, thriving people, though they continue to live in almost absolute secrecy. Only the temple Priestesses have a public persona. And each of them, both the Priestesses, the Druidesses and the many lesser figures, pay homage to the religion’s founder, whether they call him Alex in private or Alexandria in public. They also ensure each of their sons and daughters know about him and what he brought about using only the power of his mind.

And for me, the author of this secret history, actually I am two people. While I am the Biographer of this story, the story is my mother’s. My name is, not surprisingly, Alexandria, though people call me Alex for short. Alex Jennings. I’m a well-known and regarded historian and theologian. My mother’s name is Cate Jennings, a simple girl from a small Midwestern community who grew up to be a leading scientific figure. Long after her beloved brother died, she carried on her research to honor him. Though she started out doing extensive research in biology, she was never able to publish any papers on the subject. However, she later became renowned as a Physicist, and went on to win several Nobel prizes. One for the basic theory of the ‘Biological Quantum Field Forces’, just a fancy term for the life force energy Alex’s girls could see surrounding all living things, one for the theory of ‘Transference of Signaling To and From Parallel Worlds’, concerning Alex’s descendant’s work in space communications, and another for the invention of a “Quantum Field Capture Device” which takes crude pictures of people’s life force. It was this last invention which allowed the awards, as it was the first evidence they had that Alex’s BCM energy actually existed for the skeptical scientific world, though it was the Priestesses abilities at telepathy which allowed for interstellar travel which forced the Nobel Committees’ hands. True, the cameras aren’t very sophisticated, and will never replace a Priestess in performing medicine, but it allows the petty bureaucrats the documentation they need to fill out their medical claim forms.

It seems I was conceived, as is often the case, by accident, and my father never knew of my existence. My mother didn’t even realize she was pregnant until well after he passed away, thanks mainly to my having an almost identical aura to both my father and mother. Though it’s rare for anyone to confuse me with anyone, the Alexandrian priests frequently comment on just how much I look like my father. But then, they’ve never been very concerned with outward appearances anyway, seeing as how they see what’s on the inside first, and only notice the surface features afterwards.

Though I never achieved the rank of either Seer or Seeker, Priestess, Druidess, nor Devotee, I am still held in high honor among my people—our people—although I hold my own abilities, just like my mother did. It seems the time I spent near my father in utero—while my mother was soaking up his energy—affected me much as it did her. I possess the unique ability to determine those who possess the essence of Alexandria. I can bring down imposters and detect frauds, which helps in the writing of biographies and histories of our time. And although neither my mother nor I are active in the work of my father any more, we remain close to my many cousins, who continue to do his work. All of whom act in complete secrecy. Each is given an assigned range, and it is their job to continually travel over that territory to discover anyone possessing the potential to become an Alexandrian Priestess. That part of their job is well recognized and well compensated. However it’s what they do with those potential Priestesses that are held in secrecy, just like my father did.

My mother Cate’s research also helped them, as she learned how they could channel their abilities, essentially creating substantially smaller links to the source of their abilities. Although that means they are less powerful, they likewise draw that much less attention. And while they may not attract as many followers, they manage to live substantially longer than my father did as a result, meaning they can ultimately help more people over the course of their lives. This has also changed the nature of their work. While they still help many women, they tend to have several close family members rather than large harems of women like my father maintained, which helps in the public’s acceptance of our people. While the religion believes in selective polygamy, it’s regulated by strict guidelines, and the low incidence of divorce and problems amongst our people defuses many of the complaints about such practices.

Now that my mother is getting older, she’s focusing once again on the promises of the afterlife, as are most of Alex’s contemporaries. Though she doesn’t technically know where to go when she dies, she’s hoping even if there is no Seer nearby, Alex will somehow fulfill his promise and guide her there himself. But if not, she’s led a fulfilling and productive life and she’ll be happy with the time she had with him, knowing many others can make the transition and help him in his continuing quests.

But all the Seers and Seekers dream of making the eventual transfer to the next world. Now that they know what’s involved, they’ve changed their lifestyles and now work to free themselves of the concerns of the world, aiming to achieve even better things in the next world, one where the memories of this life will mean nothing. In that strange new world, they will depend on a single person to guide and lead them, and they look forward to meeting him again, for the very first time!

The End

I hope you've enjoyed this lengthy tale as much as I have bringing it to you. It took a huge amount of time, and I appreicate your patience with it. I'm also eager to hear your opinions about the ending.

I'll be posting my next book, “Stranded”, in a couple week's time. That books is much shorter and is only a single volume, so it's a much easier read!

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