Allah's Mighty Sword, Part II

Allah’s Mighty Sword, Part II

An exclusive report on the aftermath of the pandemic from Oceanic Broadcasting Network

Reporter: Ivory Strands

Ms. Strands is on camera standing in a deserted street in lower Manhattan.  The street and sidewalks should be clogged with cars and people, but are virtually deserted.  Trash litters the usually pristine financial district.

“Following the historic pandemic with world-wide consequences, it is fitting that we give a review of the year’s events.  After the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021, the world was once again shocked and in tumult when we were all victimized by yet another health disaster.  The Ebola pandemic of 2025 proved that the COVID-19 pandemic was only a dress rehearsal for the main event.   The world population has been devastated and dropped from seven to 3.5 billion.  Infrastructures across the world have crumbled. Electrical grids have become undependable with common rolling black-outs, and our highway system is failing.  While we used to think in terms of food deserts and areas of malnutrition, that concept has now become global.  Our concept of national leadership has changed and our concept of national governments is, even now, in turmoil.  To give some personal color and observations of this predicament, I have interviews with several important figures.

            My first is with Joseph Abraham who has first hand knowledge of the events of the past year.”

Strands: Mr. Abraham, I understand that you agree to be very open regarding your role in the origin and spreading of the virus.

Joseph Abraham is being interviewed in Federal custody.  He sits across an institutional table in an orange jumpsuit.  As Ms. Strands asks the questions, Abraham’s chin begins to tremble and tears flow down his cheeks.

Abraham:  I regret I was ever involved with the attack.  I was recruited from my mosque in Minneapolis.  Hamid said I would go down in Islamic history as a great hero.  He had obtained samples of Ebola from Senegal and had it mixed with some solution and placed it in twenty-four shot glasses.  One by one each recruit was ceremonially given a glass and knocked it back to great applause.  We were heroes, and we would be willing martyrs.  Within an hour we were aboard a freighter headed for Cozumel.  On board we practiced Spanish phrases so as to pass for Mexicans.  Within a week we were in port.  We left the ship and met coyotes in a warehouse.  We had as little contact as possible with Mexicans.  They are not our enemy.  The American devils were our target.  We were given burner phones to check in with Hamid and also enough money to pay for tickets to events the Americans enjoy. After we crossed the border, we were soon stopped by the border patrol.  Ali was my travel partner and was already sick.   He managed to vomit on a guard before we were told about catch and release.  We collected our urine in spray bottles and sprayed door handles, bus seats, lunch counters and any other areas Americans might touch.  Some of us had already developed fevers and nausea.  Within twenty-four of us crossing the border, we were certain to contaminate the whole country.  As we became ill, we were advised to avoid clinics or hospitals.  We memorized the addresses of several mosques that were informed and would cooperate with our mission.        

Strands:  You said you contacted Hamid.  Where was he?  And do you have regrets for your activity?

Abraham:  I never met Hamid again after we left the freighter.  He could have been anywhere.  On the phone he was very positive about our mission.  The martyrs had traveled across America spreading the infection to arenas, parks, theaters, churches, restaurants, fairs and any other public place that could be found.  After two weeks, he reported that infection was beginning to take its toll on our team, but, also, Ebola cases were beginning to appear and health authorities initially were confident that after the COVID pandemic it could be managed, but in only a few days they were alarming the public.  

Strands:  How did this make you feel?

Abraham: Glorious!  We were accomplishing our goal and the world-wide dominance of Islam would soon be at hand.  My death would be a small price to pay.

Strands:  What changed your attitude?

Abraham:  Ali and I travelled together.  We had been in the Midwest for a month.  Ali developed fever in two weeks.  Then he had severe stomach cramps followed by vomiting blood.  His diarrhea was worse.  He began coughing up blood, and finally hemorrhaged from his eyes and nail beds before he died.  I left his body on a city bus so as to infect more people.  Me—I was not sick at all.  I realized that I was one of those few people who were lucky, or unlucky in my case, to be immune.   I decided to visit with my family one last time.  At home things were terrible.  Two cousins had died.  Other family members had travelled back to Somalia because America was tainted.  Mother was bed ridden.  I kissed her and held her close.  As I changed her bedsheets, I noticed she was sweating blood.  At that moment realized our mistake.  Not only had we cut the head off the American snake, but had also contaminated the world.  My cousins would surely spread the infection across Somalia.  We had killed us all!

As Abraham said this his trickle of tears became a flood with heaving sobs that racked his whole body.

Strands:  Now you regret your involvement with this terrorist attack?

Abraham:  No, no—you misunderstand me!  I don’t regret my involvement.  I regret that I didn’t contribute to the spread and I regret that we did not manage to restrict the infection to America.  I will do penitence in the afterlife for every Moslem I killed.  I only hope the Americans I killed even the scale. 

The camera image faded to black and was replaced by Ivory Strands.  

As we all know, the Ebola pandemic was worse than the COVID and the Black Plague combined.  Experts predict that the globe may not recover for decades or ever.  It has been compared with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs and a potential extinction event.

Now, let’s visit with a vey atypical American and his unique approach to surviving the pandemic. Let me introduce you to John Ames.  John’s name would be familiar to all Americans were it not for the disruption of communications. 

Ames is sitting on a split rail fence in front of a white farmhouse with a wide front porch and a red barn in the background.

Strands: Mr. Ames, thanks for consenting to this interview. I hope you’ll allow us to discuss how Americans handled the Ebola as well as the aftermath.

Ames:  I’ll answer as completely as possible.

Strands:  Okay.  Tell us how you initially handled the pandemic.  When did your survival skills kick in?

Ames:  I’m not a survivalist; not at all.  As an amateur conservationist, I do have a blog and encouraged recycling, avoidance of processed foods, avoiding waste and encourage a healthy lifestyle.  My blog achieved increasing popularity during the COVID pandemic and I did caution that the pandemic of the century, may be the pandemic of the year.  So we were, perhaps, more prepared than some, but could have done better.  When reports emerged of a hemorrhagic fever, I instantly blogged a warning and the message went viral.  You know the old saying, Fool me once, shame on you, but fool me twice, shame on me.  I didn’t incite a rush on Costco, but a large segment of the population was better prepared.  My blog even enabled people who were late to the show becoming prepared how to survive.

Strands:  In what ways did your readers survive?  

Ames:  They stocked up.  They began or expanded their backyard gardens.  They did not isolate themselves, but they did cooperate with their block or neighbors to sustain the coming disaster.  As weeks turned into months, conditions became more dire, but preparations did help survival.  

Strands:  Can you tell me about your nickname? 

Ames:  As time passed, our communities were identified as survivors.  One of our first strategies was to plant gardens.  Many were caught so unprepared that they lacked anything to plant.  It came to my attention that almost everyone had some potatoes stored.  You know what happens to potatoes when they have been in the bin awhile.  They develop slips.  Some call them eyes.  Each slip is a potential potato plant.  These small individual gardens with potatoes along with other seeds and cuttings sustained millions of survivors in America as well as other countries.  What was left of our power structure, government, contacted me to support and help fashion a response.  We became a political power.  We had a place at the table.  No one knows what to call us until someone called us the potato eaters, and the name stuck.  If you refer to Potato Eaters, that has now become a political movement.  It stands for self-sufficiency, helping one another in the community and less dependence on a centralized government.  There are, of course, actions a federal government must take, but there are also areas they must, by authority of natural law, leave alone.  With the Ebola, the federal government was inept, paralyzed or themselves victims.  The Potato Eaters were able to provide meaningful assistance to survive.

Strands:  That brings us to the Chinese factor.  What can you tell me about the Chinese connection and Chin Yi in particular?

Ames:  Chin Yi calls himself Deputy Foreign Minister of the Chinese Communist Party, CCP. With the onset of the pandemic, or at least with the first recognition of it, Chin Yi offered help from the Chinese.  

Strands:  What assistance did Chin Yi offer?

Ames:  Mostly food stuffs were offered.  Rice.  He guaranteed a supply of rice for everyone in America.  In return there would need to be significant concessions.  Speaking of nicknames, we call him and the Chinese in general, Rice Balls.

Strand:  What concessions were negotiated?

Ames: Well, Ms. Strand, the concessions are monumental and will change America forever. I suggest you brush up on your Chinese.

The camera fades to black after Ames’ last statement.  Strands again appears.  Now she is standing in front of an impressive building identified as the Chinese embassy on K Street in Washington, DC.  With Strands is an impeccably dressed slight middle-aged Asian male with thinning hair.  As he speaks, his English has lost any previous Chinese inflection.  If there is any accent it comes from the dons of Oxford.   

Ivory Strands addresses the Foreign Minister.

Strands:  Mr. Foreign Minister, can you tell me about your helpful relationship with the American government in dealing with Ebola.

Chin Yi:  Ms. Strands, our involvement is very simple and humanitarian.  You need food.  We need medicine and western technology.  You are hungry.  We have food. 

Strands:  But Mr. Foreign Minister, you have 1.5 billion people to feed and we have 350 million.  Can you spare the food?

Chin Yi:  We Chinese have a different culture than you Americans.  Yes, our population dwarfs yours, but our philosophy is different.  From birth, the Chinese live to support the state.  It is more important than family, personal comfort, and we are not burdened by quaint superstitions such as religions.  The population of China are taught from birth that the health of the communist party is the most noble goal and is not measured in years, but rather in decades or even centuries.  So you see, Ms. Strands, that we look for a goal that will likely not be achieved until long after our or even our children’s death.

Strands:  Are you telling me that you are taking food from hungry Chinese to feed the hungry in the United States?

Chin Yi:  You said we have 1.5 Billion Chinese.  That is no longer correct.  The population is now closer to 800 million.  Scientist have long urged that our population growth is unsustainable, and we should reduce our population.  They suggested we do this over generations by birth control, but the Ebola has done it for us and much more efficiently.  Yes, we will be making a sacrifice by supplying your food and we expect to further lower our population by refusing food stuffs.  Now, we can do this by asking those less desirable elements of society to sacrifice.  There are religious zealots, Uighurs, who can be removed from existence.  Older and disabled elements don’t contribute to society and can be removed.  In contrast, your population is no longer 350 million.  We calculate it is now closer to 200 million.  Your citizens are hungry since they have long ago forgotten how to sustain themselves and how to sacrifice and survive. 

Strands:  Are you saying that you will starve your population to sustain the Americans? What are you getting in return?

Chin Yi:  Yes, of course, we are doing a great humanitarian service for you and we will appreciate some recompence.  First, the announcement concerning the international reserve currency will be changed from the American dollar to Chinese yuan.

Strands:  That means that every international transaction will now be made in Chinese rather than American currency?

Chin Yi:  That is correct.  That has already been decided and will be announced in concert with your government soon.  Further, there will be a number of agreements favorable to our trade and technology.  Your western states, California, Oregon and Washington will begin a slow transition to a Chinese protectorate. In short, Ms. Strands, China will be the sole super power on the globe, and the United States will no longer dominate the world stage.

Strands is left speechless after the blatant revelation of Chin Yi.

Strands:  How can you make such assertions publicly?

Chin Yi:  Why should I hide this?  There is nothing you can do.  I can announce it to the world and it makes no difference.

Strands:  Isn’t there any resistance to your plan?  

Chin Yi:  There is token resistance that we can easily handle.  For example, there is a group you call Potato Eaters.  They are survivalists and conservationists who are trying to exert influence.  They even call us Rice Balls thinking it is an insult.  Your infrastructure is demolished.  Your fossil fuels are unobtainable.  Your houses are lighted with candles and heated with wood.  Your automobiles sit with empty gas tanks in driveways.  Your schools are closed.  You can’t even educate your children.  And, Ms. Strands, to top it off, if there is any significant resistance, we will just send another virulent virus your way.  We have millions of people we can spare and you have neither the population or the will to sustain such an event.  You will crumple like one of your American fortune cookies.

The screen goes black and again Ms. Strands is seen in front of a park.  She appears to have regained some of the deportment she lost as she was taken aghast by Chin Yi’s blatant assertion.  She seems to be trying to summarize the report.  

“How much more can we sustain?  Do we have the will to pull ourselves out of the economic and health disaster we are facing?  We have been in a mode of conservation of our resources, but is it time to use some of those precious resources to preserve our government and our nation?  Will history judge us as a nation that selfishly squandered our resources and threw away our self-government for comfort, or will they define us as worthy of being called Americans?  Will we measure up to be yet another “Greatest Generation.”  Time will tell.