The first changes in and from the new presidency came on the day of the publicized swearing in of Patrick Michael O Melaghlin, First President of the Pan-American Union, as the empire was called. When he took the oath, either he or his cronies had changed the wording.
The original wording read like this.“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
What President O Melaghlin said was this, and the entire world heard his words, "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the Pan-American Union, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the laws and people of this Union."
The second change was that the new President did not swear on a Bible, or a Koran, or the Book of Mormon. Similar to Teddy Roosevelt before him a long time ago who refused to use the Bible, this new president swore on another book, one which was called by the media The Book of Principles. When Father Gibson and Adam heard this news report sitting in a cafe in Krakow, they knew what kind of this book was. They said nothing.
The third change was that the President was not going to live in the White House, of which two-thirds had been destroyed by an earthquake, but in a new residence outside of Washington. As Washington looked like a war-zone with all the damage which had basically destroyed all the government buildings as well as the famous monuments, no one in America thought anything about the change. But, again, Father Gibson and Adam understood the symbolism of the move.
President O Melaghlin had decided to set up the new government in Raleigh, North Carolina as that area had been spared the horrific earthquakes and volcanoes of the east and north. Also, a business friend of his father had given the President a house for himself and his cabinet members, In addition, the police and military believed this to be a safe place for the new government.
The name of the house was the Joseph Daniels House, also called "Wakestone". All the cabinet members and living members of Congress, of whom there were only a handful, moved to Raleigh and set up the "interim government" at Wakestone.
The fourth change was the announcement that the first thing the new President would do would be to worship at his chosen place of religion. The media hype went into over-drive. He was going to worship at the Georgia Guidestones and have a replica made in Raleigh. The new president said this in his inagural address:
"Our beloved countries have been torn apart by natural disasters and human greed for over two years. What all Pan-Americans desire is stability. The myth of the phoenix reveals the reality of renewal.
I myself have been renewed in spirit by discovering that it was my great-grandfaher who built the greatest sign of hope for the future-the Georgian Guidestones. My first trip as president will be to visit and pay homage to him and all the free-thinkers of this world, those who will rebuild our union and make it rise again from ashes. I go from the Guidestones to Wakestone.
Some of you may wonder why I shall travel relatively far to lay a wreath of thanksgiving at this monument. As your new president, I am looking towards the future, not the past, but, I am grounded in the hope of my great-grandfather, who saw the way forward for this great continent. Trust me, as I trust in the myth of the phoenix. When my dear mother died, I traveled then to China to get over my grief, and to study the roots of the fenghuang. For the three months I lived in a monastery, I learned that the sacred bird only comes to a nation, a country blessed with prosperity and peace. The phoenix stays if the leader is not corrupt or without a dark side. We no longer have that peace in many places in our fair countries, but this is my vow to you, my fellow citizens, to work so that the Phoenix comes again to this great continent. The Fenghuang marks a new beginning. My youth represents a new beginning, and the complete committment of my life for the Pan-American Union."
When Father Gibson heard this talk, he said one thing over Americano coffee, "He is claiming to be androgynous royalty with the sign of the empresses" and Adam mumbled, "He is HP incarnated. This is so stupid, so contrived. so superficial. Like some d..... manga."
Suddenly, the two understood why the powers behind the new president had chosen this nerdy boy to be the leader of the Pan-American Union. Millions of youth would see him immediately as both sacred and clever. Patrick's popularity would be based on the new myths of the 20th and 21st centuries. He represented a new order, power, and mystery. He represented the new secular-occult. He was against the older generations, the old order, and would set up a new one.
Looking like pure innocence and pure intelligence, like something between a robot and an angel or god or rockstar, Patrick was being set up to be the new messiah. An entire two generations had been raised to hate adults, and Patrick was their new idol. Even his choice of residence would reverberate with the under-forty gamers.
Days after his oath, news reports in the media were writing about the supposed previous oath of virginity Patrick had taken at puberty. Another report, "leaked out" was that his dear mother Karen, the First-Lady, so cruely murdered, had consecrated Patrick to an unknown "saint" for the sake of the nation. Adam choked on this news. So, Patrick was destined to worship the state...that was the implication.
"Karen had common sense, a grounded spirit. This is all hype and spin. She was a practicing Catholic, not inclined to superstitition or nonsense."
Father Gibson, sitting with Sofia, Ben and Adam in the main reception room in Krakow, asked Adam this question. "Do you know who his real mother is, Adam?"
Adam looked into space, "Yes, but I promised Karen I would never tell anyone. And, I keep that promise."
to be continued....
