The Roman 3
Edition 1
(The Voice)
Matt 3:17. And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased and delighted.


I know of a city, a city in the middle of somewhere I don’t know. It seem to be separated from the rest of the world by large water bodies, I alone know of that city and I want to tell you a story about that city, The city of Roman.


Thanks be to God for the inspiration behind this story.









Appreciation
Who else to thank if not God? He is the only inspiration behind this story. I think I should also thank all those who will take time to read this.
*
Sleeping one sweet night, I had a dream and in there I got the title “The Roman 3.” I immediately knew God wanted me to write a story on it so I dropped all other stories and made to concentrate on what God wants. I didn’t know what to write on but on the second day after that when I had the dream, I got the inspiration.




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In the centre of the great city of Roman stood tall amongst other sculptures, the sculpture of a woman. The sculpture of Delilah.


Prologue
170 Years ago
Slowly, the small fire spread round the church. It started from the inside and soon, the whole place could be seen filled with thick, black smoke. The people watching watched in different expressions as the only Catholic Church in the city of Roman got burnt down. Up until about 3 months ago, it wasn’t the only church. There were about three churches just 3 months ago but two just like this last one was being burnt down, others had also been burnt down.
The attention of the crowd was drawn away from the burning church when Lord Milestone coughed. The place became quiet, only the cries of the believers, the Christians who were witnessing the burning down of the last church could be heard. The priest didn’t cry though his eyes were teary. He held tight to his rosary and mumbled some inaudible prayers. Even when the local officers cried “Silence, Silence”, he still didn’t stop his mumbling.
“We haven’t come this far for nothing, we the people of Roman are too advanced scientifically to believe these lies” Lord Milestone started, he pointed at the burning church as he said the word “these lies”. “We can’t sit and watch after about more than 200 years of struggle a belief spread among the people of these city. How can you explain that we were made by a being we don’t know exist when we have successfully proven the beginning of creation? How can you come with the lies that our destinies are being predestined by an unseen being? How can you mislead our people when we have successfully created beings ourselves? How can you come with such blasphemy and lies? The city of Roman has come a long way and knows better than to believe all these. We care so much for our people and that’s why we won’t sit and watch as you” He pointed at the priest, “lead them astray” he concluded.
“We aren’t leading them astray, Christianity is the way to salvation” The priest cried out, a deafening cry.
“No, I thought it was the way to Alpha village” A random person shouted from the crowd and more than half of them busted into laughter. Even Milestone smiled.
“Look at how useless you have turned most of our youths, they should be in the big labs working and carrying out researches, finding new things, advancing the city scientifically, but you have made them useless. They come here day and night to clap and sing for a being they can’t even see. Not only have you turned them useless, they are now almost lunatics. Look at the long beads tied around their necks, they now speak in meaningless languages. I warn you man in white” He pointed at the priest again, “Let this be the last time I visit this territory because of you, else you’d be better as gone” He concluded once more.
The priest held tighter to the rosary. “I will be very much happy to be persecuted for the work of our savior Jesus Christ”. Milestone smiled again but this time, the smile revealed his fine detention. “It would have been better if your courage and bravery had been used for a better course” He said and signaled to one of the local officers. Immediately, the sound of a gunshot was heard and when all was calm again, the body of the priest could be seen lying dead on the ground. The Christians wailed.
“Which one of you will still be happy to be persecuted for your savior Jesus Christ?” Milestone asked peering through the crowd. When no one answered, he placed his pipe in his mouth and backed the crowd. “With his level of bravery, I thought it would take more than just one bullet to kill him” He laughed and walked away with his escorts.
*
Present Age.
An old man accompanied by a Dog walked round a garden with a watering can. His steps and physique showed age wasn’t on his side. He watered the garden and was just stepping out of it when he saw the boy with the glasses, the one who lived three houses away from him.
He smiled and made to continue his walk back to his house which was just in front of the garden and then stopped again.
“Behold a part of the three, by him, Christianity will be restored to Roman”
He heard the Voice.

One (01)


“Powder? Check, Perfume? Check, Cream? Check” Gabriel asked and answered himself at the same time. He was standing in front of his big mirror, it was usual for him to always stand and stare at the mirror for some minutes before heading for the lab. Though he knew he was forgetting something, he couldn’t place his hands on it. After thinking for about 5 minutes or less, he finally booted off his laptop which was always on the table except when he takes it off it. He placed the laptop in its bag and walked towards the door. He stopped just in time at the door to stare one more time and be sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, he finally stepped out of the room but didn’t close the door. He peered his head into the room again and stared at the mirror, he was sure something wasn’t right about his look. He finally banged the door behind him but immediately turned back into the room, “Eye glass? Not checked” He said as he opened his drawer and took his eye glasses. He wore it carefully and stared at the mirror again. “Now everything is checked” he smiled to himself as he adjusted his glasses, his non recommended glasses. He hung his laptop bag across his shoulder and slowly tiptoed down the stairs, his mum mustn’t see him. As he got halfway down the stairs, he peeped his head for the dinning, his mum wasn’t there. “Ahhh” he exhaled.
He walked down freely and was just heading for the exit door when he thought he heard footsteps from behind, he turned abruptly to see his mom standing there with the usual big spoon and signaling for him to head to the dinning. “Mom! I am 19, you don’t need to keep on chasing me every morning for breakfast.” He complained trying to be obdurate but still headed for the dining. He knew his complaint will do nothing but it was just normal for him to complain.
“You are 19 and that is reason enough for you not skip breakfast. It is only proper if you eat in the morning, it will help you be active in the lab” She said as she dished a spoonful of something, maybe soup into his plate. “Yes it’s only proper” He murmured, “This is only proper in the morning” he murmured on and laughed.
*
The city of Roman, a big and scientifically advanced city is made up of four villages, The Alpha, The Beta, The Gamma and the Delta villages. The villages were named based on those founded first. The alpha village was the first founded and the most advanced scientifically, the Beta Village is the next after it and less advanced scientifically compared to it. The Delta village on its side is the least advanced and had just come into existence just about 20 years ago. Though separated, the four villages are complementary. The Alpha village, the most advanced is known mostly for her biological knowledge and life intelligence. Here, the youths are trained basically on all concerning life, they are interested in the study of living organisms and recently, they had decided to start their own creation of organism.
The Beta village handles the mechanical part of the city, here various machines and robots are being made. Inhabitants of all the villages often argue that the Beta village should be the leading village since they manufacture machines needed to make life easy for them but whenever they remembered that only those from the Alpha village could take care of them whenever they fell ill, they would immediately terminate such arguments. The Gamma village is made up of mostly intelligent individuals who specialize in the using of computers to control the affairs of the city. Though less developed compared to the Alpha and Beta, the village is the one responsible for watching over all the affairs and activities of the city and whenever anything seem to go wrong, it is immediately detected in the Gamma village and things are restored to normal.
The last village, the Delta village. A village scattered with bushes and forests provides the manpower that protects the city. Here warriors are trained to defend the city, they are not scientifically advanced. They only have the power, the manpower. They had the fighter, the spies, the investigators and many more. The city considers them less valuable especially now that the Beta village has taken to start the manufacturing robots that will soon take the place of the manpower. The Gamma village together with the Delta village work together to provide security for the city through effective communication which was rarely there, the two villages were at unspoken arm’s length. The delta village was virtually at loggerheads with the rest of the villages especially the Beta village, the threat to their existence.
*
Gabriel stared at his wrist watch, in the next ten minutes he was sure to be late. He stared at the plate of pounded yam and then to that of the soup, there is no way he was going to finish that. He remembered his instructor, Dr. Ken had instructed him to come early so they will both transfer some biological specimens to the bigger lab. He stared at his mom, she was staring at the television but he knew she was actually paying secret attention to him.
“Mom, can…” he was about saying but she immediately interrupted him.
“No you can’t skip the meal till afternoon, I had to throw away that of yesterday” She said without taking her eyes off the television. Sometimes, he wonders why she so much always wanted him to eat every morning before going to the city lab, right from his days as a kid she had cared so much about his breakfast.
Something suddenly popped into his head and he let out a knowing smile. He noticed her phone wasn’t with her, it must be in her bedroom. He immediately took out his phone and dialed her number. He heard her phone ring in the room, he stared at her again and their eyes met.
“Go get me my phone” she ordered trying to conceal a smile.
“Evil” He murmured as he terminated the call.
*
“He is now heading left” A man said over a headphone. He was sitting in front of a screen in a room of about 30 men also sitting in front of their laptop screen. About half of the screens were displaying same thing, a security man chasing another man. The man being chased was probably a thief, he was with something concealed in a bag. The other man was evidently a security personnel, his dressing depicts that. The man with the headphone was probably instructing the security personnel on the path to take.
“Turn back so you can double cross him” The man on the headphone said.
“I don’t think that will be effective sir, the path is like a circle, the thief has taken the left, I think the sergeant should take right. With their speed difference, they will meet at the same spot in exactly about 10 minutes time” A young guy in the room said. The first man nodded, he was about giving the order “Take right” when a tiny voice interrupted.
“You can’t calculate when they will meet with their speeds, they are not machines, they are humans and they will soon start to get tired. As you can see, the sergeant is already getting tired but it doesn’t seem the thief is. With their present speeds now, they should meet at a particular spot in the next 20 minutes, I am sure this results is still going to fluctuate, the sergeant speed will continue to decrease” another guy also with a headphone opposed, Nehri is his name.
The first man, their leader stared at the screen helplessly, he chose not to be ashamed of himself. It is not his fault that the kids were smarter than he was.
“The thief’s speed now tends to decrease, so if I use his present speed which will be his maximum for now since it will only decrease as he gets tired, we can calculate the maximum time for him to get to the other path. We should rather send messages to the securities nearer to the next path, they should block the path while the sergeant continue to follow him. We should also inform other securities to mount the beginning of the circular path, the thief might just continue to run in circles” Nehri said and yawned, “we can’t tell” he added.
“Recruit the securities” Their leader shouted as he removed the headphone, now he knew he was useless.
*
“Punch with your left hand Fortress” A Young lady, Nora shouted. She was standing outside a boxing ring and demonstrating how her trainee inside the boxing ring should box. She is one of the coaches the Delta village has assigned to teach the students how to box, she is somewhat a good boxer. In the ring were two girls boxing, it shouldn’t be called boxing because it seemed one of the girls was beating the other mercilessly though it was just a training session. The one who was being beaten, Fortress was curled up in a corner and was trying her best to guide and at the same time listen to her instructor, Nora.
“Try Punching with your left hand” Nora shouted again.
“You say what?” Fortress asked as she struggled frantically to block the punches from her opponent.
“I say Punch” came another shout from Nora. Fortress broke her guarding stance and tried punching with her left hand when a punch from nowhere caught her left cheek.
“Nora, I can’t feel my head” she said as she laid on the floor trying to open her eyes.
*
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Two (02)
“I am sorry I am late” Gabriel apologized immediately he got into the lab. His mates were already seated and receiving lecture from the Doctor in front of them, he sat in an empty chair and opened his laptop.
“You haven’t missed much though” The Doctor said without looking at him. “So let’s continue” he continued, “How it all began. About many years ago, there was a catalytic spark. This small spark led to the formation of first simplest elements and soon these elements reacted with themselves to form the stars and other bodies of the universe” The Doctor said as he pointed to a chart on the wall, it contained some drawings, the drawings of the universe.
“After that the sun which was already created gave energy for the formation of the simplest microorganisms, these organisms adapted and evolved to form bigger organisms which also adapted and continued to form organisms until we were formed. That is why we humans share almost same biochemical make up with most microorganisms.” He stopped to adjust his glasses. “Those organisms we share similar genetic makeup with are probably those we evolved from. Other organisms share their make up with some organisms they evolved from” He stopped again, this time not to adjust his glasses but to answer a question.
“Yes Mile, what is your question?”
“What was the cause of this spark that led to the beginning of the universe?” Mile asked and the class murmured in agreement.
“If you had listened well, you would have heard me say “Catalytic spark” it was catalyzed by something” The Doctor said and adjusted his glasses again.
“What is this thing that catalyzed the spark?” Someone asked amongst the students.
“Something we are still trying our best to find out. Am sure one day, we shall all know what caused the spark. Now that will be all for today. Have a wonderful Monday and remember not to get drunk.” He concluded and walked out in his normal, slow manner. Some students also got up as he walked out, some went over to be with their friends while others went out of the lab to probably the upper labs where organisms were being cultured. Gabriel remained on his seat with his laptop, he was feeling too tired to go out, probably because he had to finish the pounded yam he had eaten that morning.
“I heard another version of the beginning of the universe today on my way to the lab” Celine, the girl just in front of him said as she turned her neck to face him. She had come to the school about a month ago.
“What version?” Gabriel asked though not very interested.
“That the world was created by a supreme being…” She wanted to say more but Gabriel cut her short.
“The version of the liars?” He asked and she nodded, “I don’t want to hear it” He said.
“Neither had I wanted to hear it, that old man continued to disturb me as I passed by his house this morning, he bugged me until I listened to him, just for listening sake.” Celine said and turned her neck back to its original position.
“Which old man are you talking of?” Gabriel asked, this time also with no interest as the first time.
“The old man living three houses from your house, the one who owns a small garden and chi….” Gabriel interrupted her again.
“I already know him, you don’t have to remind me that he has no child.” Gabriel said and shuts down his laptop. He kept it in his bag and made to go out of the class but he immediately turned back to face Celine.
“Please, don’t tell anyone you discussed this with me” He pleaded, she smiled and nodded.
*
Fortress walked side by side with Nora as they made through the thick bushes, they weren’t the only ones. With them in the jungle were about twenty youths with their respective instructors, they were going for the afternoon training sessions, Mountain climbing.
“I have taught you times without number to always learn to dodge the punches of your opponent, but no, you won’t listen, you will always allow them batter you with punches and after that what do you do? You pass out” Nora complained.
“They are kind of too fast for me” Fortress said calmly.
“Then you should be careful and observant, you should learn to predict your opponent’s next move even before they are made” Nora said, her voice was a bit louder.
“I will try work on that”
“I am not meant to tell you this but I can’t just help it. The board of Delta village including sir Henry have decided not to post you to be among the normal armies, they think you are not strong enough” Nora whispered.
Fortress folded her hands across her chest and stopped walking. She stared momentarily at the bushes and trees surrounding the oak-delta-roman forest. “Where have they decided to post me?”
“They said it is better they post you to the port, the crime rate there is minimum” Nora tried to smile.
Fortress breathed and continued to walk. “The airport isn’t that bad, I can manage”
“They said the seaport” Nora stammered, Fortress stopped walking again.

*
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Three (03)
“After all I have done, they still had to throw me to that port. Not even the airport mom, the sea port for crying out loud” Fortress cried sorrowfully to her mom who had her eye glasses on in her normal funny manner. She bent her head a little to stare at her nagging daughter.
“Maybe you just haven’t put in enough my dear” She said calmly.
“I haven’t put in enough? I never missed a day of the 12 good months we had for trainings. You don’t understand what I mean mom, have you seen those securities at the port, the sea port? I don’t think so. Have you seen the big Khaki shorts they put on? I don’t think you have. Have you seen their oversized Jackets? I don’t think you have mom. Have you seen how they run after sea criminals with their rods? They don’t use guns. Of all places I should be posted to, I was thrown to the sea port.” Fortress complained and fell into one of the cushions.
“Nora told me you couldn’t box, maybe that was why they had to throw you there” Her mom said with sympathy.
“It is not my fault that I can’t box, Nora isn’t a good coach. She didn’t teach me well” Fortress got up again.
“Nora trained Dan in fighting you know? Dan is the best warrior the whole of Roman city has got.” Her mom said and followed it with a smile.
“I don’t know who Dan is and I don’t care to know but Mom, whose side are you on, I or Nora?” Fortress asked standing arm akimbo
“I am just being truthful” Her Mom concluded.
*
“How was the lab today?” Dr. Mike, Gabriel’s father asked as soon as Gabriel walked into the sitting room. He works in the Alpha village lab, the same place Gabriel goes to everyday. He works as one of the scientist who carries out researches on discovering new things and studying the beauty of nature. He is a well-respected scientist in the lab, he had helped a lot in growing the city scientifically with his researches and experiments.
“Fine, just that at some points, I got tired and had to sleep in some classes” Gabriel said and yawned.
“Why was that? Dr. Ken told me you slept in his class and Dr. Nerd also complained that you came late for his class” Dr. Mike said as he stared away from his phone to Gabriel.
“Ask Mom. Why won’t I go late when she will have to watch me eat a full bowl of pounded yam? Why won’t I sleep in class after eating something that strong as breakfast?” Gabriel asked rhetorically.
“You don’t have to blame your mother” Dr. Mike’s voice was calm. “You know you are her only child, she got you after suffering from three miscarriages.” Dr. Mike explained.
“I know she loves me dad but for crying out loud, I am 19 and I am fine. I shouldn’t be forced to eat every morning against my own will, I am a strong guy and I am not fragile” Gabriel poured out all he had to say though he didn’t know why he had to add the “I am a strong guy and I am not fragile” part.”
“I know son but you know she won’t listen, she probably doesn’t know you are a strong guy” Dr. Mike laughed. “Anyways I will try talk to her to kind of always give you something light for breakfast so that you won’t always sleep in Dr. Ken’s class and so you won’t have a perfect excuse for not passing this level” Dr. Mike concluded and got up from the couch.
“I wasn’t looking for a perfect excuse” Gabriel murmured and walked into his room upstairs.
*
“Mom, you won’t believe I masterminded the plan that was used to get the thief today.” Nehri said with smiles on his lips, he was just coming back from the Roman city control centre.
“Okay, what about the protocols we talked about?” His mom asked with a smile. She also works in the centre but in a higher units from Nehri’s. The people of the village will always tease him that he got his brains and looks from his mom, his dad was long time dead.
“Sorry mom, good afternoon” He greeted and sat beside her, she was on her laptop, not that she was doing anything meaningful with it, it’s just her culture to always have her laptop on and stare at it.
“So tell me about it, I heard something like that in my unit but I didn’t pay much of my attention to it” she said with a smile, she always smiles.
“He stole something from the museum, a small piece of unrefined gold I think” He said like he was finding it hard to recollect.
“So how did you get him?” she still had the smile on.
“So this sergeant was chasing the thief until they came to a kind of big round path, the middle of the circle was surrounded with bushes. Just at the other end of the circular path was another path, a straight one leading to the local motor park. The thief took the left side of the circle and the sergeant was about taking the right when I suggested we should rather recruit other securities to go block the straight path while others should also block the path just before they came into the circle and the sergeant should keep on chasing. We caught him in no time” Nehri boasted while his mom drew something on a paper, it was what he had been describing.
“So there is this circle” she started pointing at the circle she had drawn. “And they were here” She continued while Nehri nodded slowly, he knew whenever his mom start to draw things on paper, she was about to criticize him. “Just at the other end from where they were was another path, the thief had to get to that path before he could leave the round path?” His mom asked rhetorically as she moved her hand on the paper. “From what you have said, the path was just at the other end from where they were?” His mom asked again, he was now feeling uneasy especially with the fact that she was still maintaining her smile all along. “Why do you guys need to recruit so much securities to go block the path? You guys could have just asked the sergeant to cut the circle, he should run on a straight line like he was moving the diameter of the circle, he should have taken the bush. With that, he could have gotten to the path a long time ago before the thief even thinking of running the entire semi-circle.” She explained as she drew a straight that cut the circle she had drawn earlier, the diameter. “Remember the shortest distance between two points is a straight line” She added
“Anyhow, we still caught the thief.” Nehri said and did some kind of dramatic movement to his room while she busted into laughter.

Four (04)
“Another day in Alpha village that means another Dr. Ken’s class” Gabriel said as he got up from his bed, he would always say that every morning before going to freshen up and prepare to go to the lab. He sat on his bed for about some minutes with his head buried in his palms. He finally got up and staggered into the bathroom, he came out in no time and began to dress up. “Powder? Check, Perfume? Check, Cream? Check and eye glass?” He said as he picked up his eye glass and wore it, “Check” He concluded and straightened his cloth. He closed his laptop and put it in its bag as usual, he then walked out of the room, his room. He slowly made for the staircase and tiptoed down halfway, he stopped to peep. His mom was just standing by the dinning. “I hate moms” He murmured as he walked down the remaining half of the stairs. “Good morning Mom” He greeted and headed for the dining.
“Good morning love and please don’t give me that kind of look” She smiled as she wrapped her hands round his neck. “Your father told me about your complaints and this morning, I have prepared something light for you” She added as she led him to the dining. “Bread, tea and egg” She continued and for the first time that morning he smiled. “This is what am talking about.” He said and started with his food.
He was soon outside the gate, on a normal day when he would always go late, he would have hired a cab but that wasn’t the case now. He was trekking to the lab since time was still on his side. He had just passed the second house from his house when he stopped. He stopped to stare at the old man living three houses away from his house, he was as usual watering his garden. He should be above hundred years, his walking manner and physique indicated that. He doesn’t associates with anyone, the only time he was seen outside was whenever he wets his garden or he is being led by his Dog to take a stroll though he isn’t blind. As Gabriel sighted him, he immediately remembered what Celine had told him the previous day, what the man had told her about the belief of the liars, the one they call Christianity. Gabriel hissed and continued his walk, it was not the first time he was seeing the man wetting his garden and he would always pass him by as he doesn’t want to associate with the liars. He started to whistle as he walked towards the man’s small house, now he wished there was another way he could pass to school or he should have just entered a cab. The man was done wetting the garden but refused to go inside, rather he dropped the wetting can and stood still. Gabriel saw this and he felt kind of cold. “Why is he waiting?” He asked himself.
“Son” The old man called with a stammer just as Gabriel was about passing him. Gabriel paused a bit but immediately made to continue.
“Son, listen to an old man” the old man called again and this time, Gabriel stopped against his own will.
*
A tiny set of legs could be seen, the owner of the legs had a small shoe and white socks on. The sound of the rustling waters showed that the person with the tiny legs was standing somewhere near a sea or river. Coming up the legs, it could be seen that the person with the tiny legs was wearing a big khaki short, a short ten times bigger the size of her leg. Going further up, it could also be seen that the person with the tiny legs also had a big jacket on. Now, going further up to the face of the person with the tiny legs, it could be seen to be Fortress with mouth squeezed in annoyance. She was standing in front of a fat man who had a bag by his side, he dipped his hand into the bag and brought out a rod.
“You will use this to chase criminals” He said as he stretched the rod to Fortress, she took it unwillingly.
“Be careful, the sea criminals are most times handsome guys, you might just end up falling for one of them during a chase” The fat man said and smiled to reveal his scattered teeth.
“Also remember to always make sure travelers coming into the city have good motives for coming in” He added. “Next person!” He shouted as Fortress left his front though the next person was just standing in front of him.
“I hate this place” Fortress murmured as she walked towards a stagnant boat.
*
Gabriel turned to face the old man, the old man had a smile on his face.
“I don’t want to hear anything about the belief of the liars” Gabriel said sharply, the old man maintained his smile.
“What makes you think they are liars?” The old man asked as he started to walk towards a bench in front of his house.
“We were taught so, your belief has come to counter all science has proven, a threat to our city.” Gabriel said and followed him, he sat with the man on the bench.
“Tell me why you believe so” The man said.
“I don’t know, I know nothing of your belief but I know they are lies” Gabriel said, the man nodded and smiled.
“I know you were all taught to believe we are liars. I know you were taught that the world started from a spark and then elements combined and then the universe was formed” The Old man said with a weary smile. “You are surprised I know these? Come on, I used to be the best back then” he bragged. “I feel my days are numbered, I think with my last days, I should tell you something” he said.
“I don’t want to hear it” Gabriel threw back sharply and immediately got up from the bench.
“Just like you, many years ago, I didn’t believe all these. But I won’t lie to you, I am an old man. I have felt things happen, I was there when these were all happening. The Christians aren’t liars, I am a living witness son. The people speaking unknown languages in the street, I used to be part of them before they were all persecuted. It is real son, we didn’t fake it, we felt the fire burn in us, we saw the truth son, we are not liars” The old man said, his voice was coarse. “Have this” He brought out some piece of papers from his pocket. “It is some books of the bible. They were the only ones I was able to recover, the remaining books got burnt during the persecution of the Christians” The old man passed the book to him. Gabriel stared at the book for some time, he could see a word like Genesis written on the top of it. He had heard so much about the books of the liars and had been curious to read them all his life but his belief made it impossible.
He slowly stretched his hands and collected the book. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” Gabriel read and stopped. “Yet another lie” He turned to the old man.
“You are a science kid, why don’t you take the book and read. You can compare it to your scientific beliefs and see which the truth is” The old man said. Gabriel nodded and folded the books into his laptop bag.
“I am taking the book so you can leave me alone, not like I am going to read them” Gabriel said and made to go but the man held his hand.
“There is this being, this spirit” the man stammered like he was scared.
“He possesses you” His voice was very low. “He talks to you” The man added. “He asked me to give you this book” He concluded.

Five (05)
Gabriel withdrew his hand slowly from the man’s grip “What are you talking about?”
“There is this man, he used to be a scientist of the alpha village until he got converted by the white missionaries. He was meant to be persecuted but he was a scientist, a learned one. So he wasn’t.” The old man said, his face was now weary.
“I think I have heard of such a story of the scientist who fell into the trap of the liars” Gabriel chipped in.
“The scientists thought they should use him for their then test experiment “Travel to the other realm”” The man continued, “He was transported out of his body. The aim was to go see things in the realm beyond the physical and come back to communicate it with them, but he never returned. I think his body is still somewhere hidden and preserved in the uppermost part of the lab.” The man said.
Gabriel yawned and adjusted on the bench. “I don’t understand all you just said”
“How did you know all these? You weren’t a scientist back then, were you?” Gabriel asked.
“No, I wasn’t. As a matter of fact, I was just seven back then” The man said with a smile, “But that man who never returned was my father” He added while Gabriel smiled. A smile to hide the horrific sensation he felt.
“Am sorry about that. Now, what does the being have to do with all these?” Gabriel spread his hands out to show he was confused.
“Before his death, he told me of some particular three which were persecuted for the sake of Christianity, he also told me the three will rise again and that I will help in the raising of the three. This morning as I saw you walk towards me, the possessor came to me as a voice and told me that you will be part of the three” The old man said and coughed.
“Now I know why they call you guy’s liars” He laughed on and made to walk away but the man held him back. This time Gabriel turned to face him in anger.
“I will be late for the lab. If you don’t mind, let go of my hand” Gabriel said.
“The day after tomorrow, when you watch me get persecuted, don’t say a thing, don’t come out” The man said and released his hands. Gabriel only hissed and walked away to the lab, he checked his wrist watch and saw he was late again.
*
“Okay I know I came late again, I am sorry” Gabriel apologized as he saw that Dr. Nerd wouldn’t stop staring at him even after he had taken his seat.
“As I was saying, we all came to be by chemical composition. We are made up of Compounds” The Dr. Said and stopped to adjust his glasses so as to stare well at Gabriel who had his hand up. “I wonder what he is going to ask” He murmured to himself. “Gabriel ask your question” He permitted.
“Sir, do spirits exist?” Gabriel asked.
“Yes, they sure do” Dr. Nerd answered, “But not in this physical realm, they are invisible to our eyes because our eyes doesn’t have the ability to see them though they might be around us. Spirit are the projections of the physical beings that can help us view things in the realm which the physical eyes can’t view” The doctor explained, “We have often used them to help us see things in the realm beyond us, things in our imaginations. This realm is the dimension which the eyes can’t see but things do exist there. Thus, we have found ways to bring out this spirit being from the body and transport them to that realm. Yes Mile, what is your question?” Dr. Nerd asked as he noticed Mile’s hand was raised.
“Is the spirit being also made of chemical compounds just like the physical being?” Mile asked.
Dr. Nerd adjusted his glasses and shook his head. “We don’t know that yet, we hope to find out soon”
“What do you guys ever know?” Mile asked himself as he sat.
“Sir, can this spirit being communicate with humans?” Gabriel asked again.
“No, they can’t. They are in a realm not normal to ours.” The Doctor explained.
“Then how do they communicate with you guys on their findings in this so called realm to you guys?” Celine asked with hand gesture as she said “This so called realm to you guys”
“They come back to their bodies. After they have accomplished what they are sent for, they come back to their bodies and back to the physical realm. But over the years, some spirit have refused to come back and thus their bodies are being preserved hoping that one day, they will come back to their bodies when they are tired of the unknown realm. The first experience we had of a spirit who refused to come back was Dr. English, he was also the first scientist to be led astray by the liars. He wasn’t killed then because of his knowledge, he was prepared to be used for spirit transport. He was transported successfully but he never came back.” Dr. Nerd adjusted his glasses.
“Sir” Celine raised her hands.
“Yes, ask your question” The Dr. permitted.
“Is it true that the world was created by a supreme being who had the power of creation? Is it true that the being made man and all organisms of the earth?”
“The belief of the liars” The Dr. murmured to himself, “Who told you such lies dear?” The Dr. asked with a sweet smile.
“The old man living three houses away from Gabriel’s, the one who wets his garden every morning” Celine said.
“The fucking son of English” Dr. Nerd murmured to himself again while Gabriel turned to Celine hoping she won’t mention his name.
*
The old man laid on his bed sleeping though it was still morning. That was his normal routine, he would always go back to sleep after wetting his garden. He suddenly sprang up and sat on his bed.
“I know you are here again, who exactly are you?” He asked no one in particular.
“I am the spirit of your father” he heard a voice, a voice he couldn’t tell where he heard it from.

Six (06)
“When we take a look at the temptation of Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew 4:3, we tend to misinterpret what the temptation there actually is. I have sat down and pondered on this, take a look at this” The Apostle said and got down the altar. “Jesus Christ have fasted for Forty days and Night, he has fulfilled all righteousness by fasting, tell me, what is wrong if he turns the stones to bread and eat?” He asked the congregation but they all kept quiet, some began to open their bibles. “There is nothing wrong if Jesus turns the stone into bread and feeds himself, It is only right if he eats after fasting, he should certainly be hungry” He continued and stopped to stare at the congregation who were now looking confused. “Tell me Silas” he continued and pointed to somebody in the church, the young man stood up. “If you just finish fasting, you have completed a fast which you were obligated to do, and then your enemy comes to you and says “Silas, you just finished fasting, there on your table is a loaf of bread and a tin of milk, why don’t you fix something for yourself and eat” Tell me Silas, is there any scripture against you if you make something of the loaf of bread and tin of milk to feed yourself?” He asked the young man who shook his head negatively. “Many times, we have misinterpreted this temptation to be the changing of stone to bread, that isn’t the temptation. There is no sin if Jesus had turned the stone to bread for himself to eat, the real temptation here is the first word of that book, “If you are the son of God”, that word alone was the temptation” The Apostle emphasized and the congregation began to murmur. “Let me tell you this, the devil won’t tempt you when he knows there is no sin in the temptation, if he had come to Jesus and said “You are hungry, you can just turn this stones to bread”, I am sure Jesus might have just done so if all were to be equal. But the tempter will only tempt you to sin, that was why he added the first line, “If you are the son of God”. Now if our savior Jesus Christ had turned that stone to bread, he had sin in a way because he had turned the stone to bread not because he was hungry but he wanted to prove to the devil that he is the son of God and in a way he has doubted that he is the son of God.” He shouted and a single clap from one person in the congregation spread round the church. “That is what the tempter tries to do, he makes you do things which naturally will seem not to be sins. He makes you do them with the wrong motives. He plants the wrong motives into us to do things that when done naturally are not sin. If Jesus had ordinarily turned the stones to bread, he had not sinned but with the wrong motive the tempter had planted “If you are the son of God”, if he had turned that stone to bread, he had sinned because now he is turning the stone to bread not because he is hungry but because he wants to prove to the devil who already knows he is the son of God that he is the son of God and in a way he has doubted that he is the son of God” He added and the clapping continued.
“I know some of you might want to criticize this by saying Jesus refused to turn the stones to bread because the devil asked him to and because the devil is a bad guy. But if I may ask who asked God to put forth his hand and touch all that Job has?” He asked again and there was a slight murmur of “the devil”.
“So I tell you brethren, Jesus refused to turn the stones to bread not because the devil asked him to but because the devil is indirectly asking him to doubt that he is the son of God and in a way test God by that first statement “If you are the son of God”. That is why I will tell you that Temptation are negatives motives projected into our thoughts so we can sin” The apostle stopped to breathe and the church shouted in Joy, truly, they never knew this.
“Now, let us take a look at the reply of Jesus Christ, Matt 4:4 “For it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that come out of the mouth of God”.” He stopped to stare at the crowd, he suddenly began to laugh. “I know some of you might think Jesus Christ said this so he won’t turn the stones to bread, no. What Jesus is trying to point out here is our motives. He didn’t say don’t eat bread at all but take note of the word “alone”. This means that as you eat bread, you should always remember the words of God, which is you should do things based on the commandments of God. In all you do, always do it based on the commandments of God, you should make sure your motives are clean in all you do.” The Apostle stopped and peered at the crowd again. “Are we blessed this morning?” He asked and the congregation shouted in Joy. “So as we do things this week, let us first consider our motives, let’s make sure we don’t do it based on the wrong motives so that we don’t unknowingly sin against God.” He concluded and walked back to the altar. “Lest I forget, I have taken it upon myself to go to the city of Roman, I want to go share the word of God with them” He said slowly like he was counting his words. The congregation immediately began to murmur.
“Why do you want to send yourself to an early grave?” Someone shouted from the crowd.
“Get away behind me devil” He murmured as he sat on his seat.
*
Gabriel immediately turned to Celine the moment Dr. Nerd left the lab. “You shouldn’t have said anything of the old man”
“I did nothing wrong, I only told him what I heard.” Celine defended herself absentmindedly.
“You know of how our city persecute the liars, they will stop at nothing until they persecute anyone caught spreading the belief of the liars. If Dr. Nerd take it upon himself to report to the authority, that weary old man is in big shit.” Gabriel whispered to her.
She turned to face him and folded her hands across her chest. “I don’t think Dr. Nerd is interested in that, he takes it as nothing”
“How sure are you? Didn’t you see the look on his face?” Gabriel asked as he pointed towards the exit door.
“I didn’t see any look on his face, I only saw him smile” Celine said with a smile while Gabriel shook his head in disagreement.
“The smile was just a cover up, there was a transient expression of anger and hatred on his face before the smile” He said.
“Gabriel” Celine called him and got up from her chair, “You are disturbing me” she said and walked away. Gabriel watched her until she was out of the lab.
“I hope nothing happens” He stood up and packed his notebook into his bag which also contained the laptop, he stared at the book the old man had given before finally closing the bag and went to the upper lab for the practical class.
*
Apostle Joshua is a renowned young man of God in the city of Tarius. He has a small ministry which he had inherited from his father who had also inherited it from his father and down the line of the fathers. He is known to always break down the gospel and explain it in a way beyond human knowledge. He lives in a small house with his younger sister, Grace. Though aged enough to get married, he hasn’t.
“Tell me that announcement about you going to preach the gospel in the city of Roman is just a joke” His Sister demanded as they entered into the house that Sunday. The apostle fell down into one of the couches with a smile on his lips.
“My dear, you know this is what we do, my mind is made up my dear” The Apostle said as he got up from the chair and made towards his room. Grace immediately fell into the chair, she knew there was nothing she could do or say to stop her brother, if his mind is made up then it is, there is no stopping him.
“When do you plan to leave?” She asked him calmly, he was now halfway to the room.
“Tomorrow” He answered without turning.

Seven (7)
It was exactly 9pm in the alpha village, not that it was another time zone in the other three villages. Gabriel got up from the bed, he had just woken up from his afternoon siesta. It is normal for him to always sleep after returning from the general lab, he believes it will prevent him from sleeping at night during his reading time.
He went for his bag which he had flung to the chair after removing his laptop from it that afternoon. He was meant to bring out his note but he brought out a different book, the book of the liars. He hissed and flung it to his bed. He dipped his hand into his bag again and this time he brought out his note. He stared at the jottings he had made from Dr. Nerd’s class, “Sure, spirit do exist and they have been used to get information about the unknown realm” He read out loud and immediately remembered the old man he had meant earlier that day. He remembered the old man had told him about his father whom was a scientist but later believed in the belief of the liars and instead of getting persecuted, was used for spirit journey. He also remembered Dr. Nerd saying that the bodies of those spirit who had refused to come back were being preserved in the highest floor of the lab, no wonder the students weren’t allowed there, there must be a great number of spirit beings around the place. He placed his palm on his chin and moved his legs slowly. He soon moved his laptop to face him. He logged into the Roman city search engine, with the search engine, anything concerning the city of Roman can be read. “Failed spirit travels” He typed in the keywords and clicked on the search button, it took no time for it to load.
“Approximately about more than 100 years ago, the first issue of failed spirit travel was encountered by the scientists of Roman city. Scientist reported that this must have been caused by the fact that the person being used for this experiment Dr. English believes in the belief of the liars and his unwillingness to perform the experiment might have made him not to allow his spirit to come back to his body” Gabriel stopped, “Fallacy. He made his spirit not to come back.” He murmured and scrolled down to view some images. He saw a man, a man whose body was white like the old English being dragged towards the lab, his face wasn’t shown. He scrolled down again and saw almost the same scene but this time, the man’s face was shown as his neck was turned backward. Gabriel could see blood stains in his mouth and that as the man was being dragged, he still had a weak smile on his lips.
Gabriel scrolled down again, he saw yet another picture. This time, the man wasn’t shown, it was a picture of the soldiers of then trying to hold back some people from following Dr. English. The person in front was a woman holding a small boy of about 8 years, she was crying. Gabriel zoomed in the picture and now he could clearly see who it was. It was the now old man, the man who lives three houses away from his house. Though he hates anything about the liar, Gabriel was moved to pity. He closed the page and pushed the laptop away from his view, he then placed his head in his palms.
His head was still in his palm when he heard a voice. “Do you want to know about me?”
He immediately turned his chair to face the person that might have spoken but saw no one. He stood up immediately and stared round his room but there was no one.
“Dad is that you?” He shouted but got no answer.
“Do you want to know about me?” He heard the voice again, this time it was like he heard it from his head.
He immediately jumped to the bed and laid with head facing the bed. “Who are you?” He shouted without looking up, then he remembered the words of the old man. “There is this being, a spirit, he possesses you” The old man’s voice sounded in his head. “This must be one of those spirits that never returned back to their body, or was it Dr. English’s spirit” Gabriel murmured and raised his head a little. Though there was no one in his room, he could sense the presence of a being.
“Yes I what to know about you” Gabriel said with a stammer.
“You will surely do son, but before then, I want to use you” He heard the voice again in his head and it was then he knew the spirit was in him, he was possessed. He immediately remembered the old man’s word again, “He possesses you”

*
As always, the morning was bright, workers of the alpha village could be seen moving to and fro as they would always do on any working day. But, this morning, there was something amiss. It was unusual to see the soldiers of the city in groups and heading towards a particular direction. Some curious ones stopped to see what was happening and amongst them was Gabriel, he was heading to the lab but also stopped, not because he saw the soldiers, but because the person leading the soldiers were Dr. Nerd, Celine and some of the authorities. Gabriel immediately joined the crowd that followed them. He took him no time to figure out that they were heading towards the old man’s house. Gabriel knew immediately what had happened, he knew Dr. Nerd must have reported what Celine had told him about the old man and sure enough, the authorities immediately swung into action, it was always their Joy to persecute the liars.
The soldiers barged into the house and roughly drew out the old man, his dog followed him by the side. They immediately made him kneel in front of an old man with white beards, Gabriel have heard a lot of times about Lord Milestone the fifth but this was the first time he was actually seeing him.
“You son of English” Lord Milestone started with his cracked voice, sure he wasn’t born yet in the time of English but of course, he must have heard of him.
“Do you know this girl?” Lord Milestone asked as he gently drew little Celine to stand in front of the man.
“Yes, I have preached the word of God to her once, I told her about the glory of God…” He was saying but was interrupted by a slap to his cheek.
“You have indeed preached to the wrong person” Lord Milestone smiled and walked around the man.
“I haven’t preached to the wrong person, my talking to her has brought a continuity of the gospel. She has brought me one of the three” The old man cried out and laughed hysterically afterwards.
“Oh, I see, so you have preached the gospel to someone else?” Lord Milestone asked rhetorically. “Anyways, with you, that person you have preached to and have refused to report to the authorities will be persecuted” Lord Milestone said and placed his smoking pipe in his mouth. He then turned to one of the soldiers and whispered something to his ear. The soldier nodded and put a call to someone, not quiet long, the big screen which was on every road in the alpha village came on.
“Now you see, we will now know who you had talked to” Lord Milestone laughed.
Gabriel where he was could be seen sweating profusely, he knew he was to soon be exposed. His eyes caught the old man’s but he quickly averted. “I think you can see what this Celine has caused?” He asked himself as he turned and made to run away, but he saw that the soldiers have surrounded the crowd.
“Play the video” Lord Milestone ordered. It was the culture of the authorities of Roman city to secretly watch over the house of any persecuted liar so that another liar won’t arise. To achieve this, they would secure the houses of the persecuted with cameras so as to watch their move from the Gamma village base. They had done this to the house of the late Dr. English and fortunately for them, his son had remained in the house.
The screen soon came on to reveal the old man talking to someone by his side, the old man’s image was clear but that of whom he was talking to was blurred, and the voice of the blurred person if it could be called a voice couldn’t be described. They could only hear the old man’s.
“What is happening?” Lord Milestone asked in anger but none of the soldiers answered. The old man immediately began to laugh again but stopped when another slap landed on his cheek.
“I tell you, those three from Roman will bring Christianity to it and none of you will be powerful enough to stop them” He cried out loud.
*
Back in the Gamma village, in the privacy of his room and his laptop, Nehri could be seen laughing happily, he had hacked into the control unit and changed the setting of a video. He had made Gabriel blurry and his voice indescribable. He had then deleted the original video and replaced it with his edited one. To him, he was just catching fun. He doesn’t even know Gabriel nor the old man. He was still laughing when he heard a voice from somewhere he couldn’t place.
“Just like your father, we have come for you”