Step Back, Part Three

It was Friday afternoon in Washington.

At his desk John Edgar Hoover was immersed in thought.  The people from the future had brought back disturbing information about how far his agency would descend into the darkness before the Federal Government would be overthrown in the event known as The Reformation.  Of particular interest was the incident recorded in their history as the Waco Massacre.  Although another agency initiated the incident it would be the bureau that would carry out what uptime historians called the greatest act of mass murder in American history.

So how can it be stopped?

The answer to the question may lie with a man identified by the Uptimers as a future occupant of the office of president, William Jefferson Clinton.  His name as well has wife’s was on the list of those person who would bring about the collapse of the republic and provoke The Reformation.  The question of what to do with these people had been discussed with Hoover and President Nixon by Commander Boatman.

“One could carry out a dirty war, essentially a discrete campaign of assassination, but it would ultimately be revealed to public view and thus bring about a negative political blowback.”

“It would be wrong.”  Nixon replied.

“No Mister President,”  said Boatman, “it would not be wrong, to terminate a Red or even a mere traitor is a necessary homicide.  But by the present cultural standards it would be impractical.  This is something that will have to changed in the long run.”

Hoover had then asked a question.

“So what would you suggest that we do with these people?”

Boatman had nodded before he replied.

“Something that could be described as a clean war is in order. Place these people under surveillance and arrest them when they do something that can prosecuted as a crime.  You should do this to destroy their future political credibility.”

Hoover sat back in his chair and thought.  In the historic context the original ATF operation against the Branch Davidian residence was unnecessary.  As a licensed firearms dealer was living on site a pair of ATF agents in a government issue sedan could have visited the residence for an inspection.  And if actually taking David Koresh into custody was necessary he could have been placed under arrest while on his morning exercise run. 

No, the ATF action, originally dubbed Operation Showtime, was an irrational publicity stunt that had clearly gone wrong.  The ATF agents were the actual criminals in this situation and should at the very least been taken into custody.

The initial action was bad, the response of the Bureau was worse.

In the history taught to the Uptimers the Waco Massacre was described as a act of Soviet style state terror intended to punish the Branch Davidians for the act of self defense and to intimidate otherwise patriotic citizens into submission to the Clinton Regime.  In response the people who carried out The Reformation would make a clear effort to locate and execute the surviving members of the so-called Hostage Rescue Team of the Bureau.

It was possible that the historical view of the Uptimers was distorted.  But by how much? 

Clinton had clearly demonstrated that he was unfit to be president.  So how could he be blocked from entering the office?

He was identified in the historic record as a sexual predator.  And had been fellated at least once in the Oval Office.  Those men, including the President, who had been cleared to read the full history brought back by the Uptimers had been shocked to have read this.

It appeared that like Teddy Kennedy, Clinton was willing to sexually use women who worked for him.  Could this personal fault could be used to stop him?

It was at this that point Director Hoover decided to place Bill Clinton under long term surveillance by the Bureau.

In downtown Minneapolis a chartered cross country bus pulled up to the entrance of the Auditorium and Convention Center.  The door opened and the first to step out was a tall middle aged man, the Reverend William Grant.

From across the street he could see a squad of armed paratroopers looking on in curiosity.  President Nixon had deployed the alert brigade of the 101th Airborne Division to Minneapolis to keep order in the wake of the massacre of a significant fraction of the municipal police force. 

“Praise The Lord,” he said, “we are here.”

As with many people his curiosity had been piqued with the announcement of the discovery of an inbound starship seen in the southern constellation of Centaurus.  He was slightly amused at the Soviet announcement that they had made radio contact with the alien communist expedition.  He was not at all surprised that the Soviets had lied when actual radio contact with the incoming vessel had been made.

What was shocking was that the starship was flown by humans who had accidentally come from the future.  What he found appalling was that every member of the ship’s company was an atheist and that not one of them would ever speak with him.

They had absolutely denied The Lord Jesus Christ. 

But what truly appalled him was that the people from the starship Eagle had been led by a child.  He had watched at the office of his evangelical ministry the lived televison coverage of the initial meeting of the starmen and President Nixon at Edwards Air Force Base.  The landing craft had been roughly the size of an old DC-3 and vertically landed in a horizontal configuration.  The first of the star travelers to step out from the craft was a teenage boy in a shipboard jumpsuit. 

President Nixon was speechless.  He would later say that he didn’t expect to meet with such an obviously young man.

Apparently the boy had expected this.

“Mister President,”  he said, “we have a medical procedure that recreates the effect of reincarnation.  I’m presently on my sixth incarnation, sir.”

Certainly this was lie.  This absolutely had to be a lie.

The more Reverend Grant had learned of the people who claimed to be from the future the more he was convinced that all they spoke were lies. 

They were clearly the creation and instruments of Satan.

There was no possible other explanation for their presence.

What was worse was that his 14 year old daughter Judith was in the office and watching the live broadcast.  She appeared to have been enthralled by the boy who walked as a man.

“Child!”  Reverend Grant had shouted.  “That is a servant of the devil!  Leave this room!  Now!”

He had done everything he could to protect his children from the presently depraved culture of America.  And it had appeared to him that this was not enough.

But now that he was in Minneapolis he would meet with the families of the police officers murdered by the servants of Satan.  And he could hold a massive worship service here at the Minneapolis Auditorium.

He would do everything he could to stop these tools of Satan.