154

Bjorn looked over at the casino as Ante drove by at low speed, and a thought struck him about Jan and Pedro. The two men were no doubt in charge in the village, dominating its commerce with their money and influence. Yet they did not seem to engage in any kind of direct taxation. With the exception of Pedro's attempt to get rent from the stall owners, the two men were leaving everyone alone. And they even appeared in Frederico's church, as if to underscore their willingness to adhere to the golden rule. But why would they do that? Why not tax people? Why not establish a kingdom of their own? They could easily do that, with Jan having acquired special rights due to his Sami origin, and Pedro having a free pass to do whatever he pleases with the colony in return for taking care of the asylum seekers.

"Maybe they have some other and better way to make money?" Ante suggested when Bjorn aired his thoughts. "Or they may be up to something that we have no idea about."
"Like what?" Bjorn asked.
"Something sinister, like... you know... like something out of a Bond movie."
"Dr. Evil and Mini Me?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's stupid. What sort of evil are you thinking of?"
"Maybe they are building a nuclear bomb so they can take over the world."
"Are you serious?"
"Not really."

Bjorn couldn't figure it out. But the idea that someone would spend a fortune building a doomsday device in order to take over the world was just right out lame. Especially considering that Jan and Pedro had not even bothered to take over Lundby.

"But if Pedro is right, you'll be over at the airport on Wednesday. Maybe you'll pick up some more clues then," Ante continued. "Who knows what he's up to out there. It has a nuclear bunker after all. Just the sort of place that Dr. Evil and Mini Me would love."
"It looked pretty abandoned when we drove past it last week."
"That's true. But something is going on out there, with that airplane landing there in the middle of the night and all."
"You're right," Bjorn admitted. "There's something going on. And if I am indeed asked to go down there on Wednesday..."
"Provided you behave properly on Tuesday," Ante interjected.
"Yeah. That's kind of creepy, isn't it. And he said that so shamelessly too."
"Like he owned you," Ante suggested.
"Yeah... well... he probably owns Frank."
"True. That would explain it. But you know what you should do?"
"No?"
"You should ask Frank casually about Tuesday and Wednesday, and see what he says. That way we'll know if Pedro had it from Frank, or from someone else, someone superior to him."

Bjorn thought Ante's suggestion interesting, but a little too confrontational to his liking. However, he nevertheless nodded in agreement as if he would in fact make such an inquiry.

The two men sat in silence until they reached the billboard welcoming people to Lundby and its casino, the back of which was now covered with another giant poster, thanking them for their visit and wishing them back soon.

"That's new, isn't it?" Bjorn said, pointing to the welcome back poster. "We haven't seen that before, have we?"
"No, it wasn't there Saturday night," Ante said in confirmation.
"And you are right about the armillary spheres," Bjorn continued. "They are everywhere... Just look at that!"

The welcome back poster was full of them, all subtly weaved into the background image. And when Bjorn turned around to have another look at the front of the billboard, he saw that the background image of that picture too was full of the gold colored spheres.

"How could I have missed that?" Bjorn continued rhetorically. "Now that you've mentioned it, I'm seeing them everywhere. Even Peppe's had one on a shelf."
"And the stickers in the windows," Ante added.
"Yeah. Together with the Lance stickers," Bjorn continued. "It's kind of creepy, don't you think?"
"Not really," Ante said, dismissing Bjorn's concern. "It's no worse than any other kind of patriotism. I mean... Look at our uniforms. We carry this little flag on our shoulders, and lots of people use flags whenever they have something to celebrate. We got our flag. They got their sphere."
"But they're mixing religion into this, with all that talk about the empire and the golden rule and stuff like that."
"Sure. But weren't you the one wanting to become a citizen just now?"
"Ah... Just to try it out, you know..."
"Anyway... there's much less difference between religion and politics than most people think," Ante continued.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Frederico is right about that. In politics, people believe in the social contract. That's a superstition, isn't it?"
"So you listened to him while he was going on about this?" Bjorn asked. "I thought you weren't paying attention."
"Well... I've heard it all before, you know, so I was only listening with half an ear."
"Thomas has been preaching for you?"
"Exactly."

Coming down to the fjord, passing the luxury apartments, Ante continued on his thought.

"The golden rule is not much of a superstition when you think about it," he said in a quiet voice. "The social contract, on the other hand, is quite bizarre. How can anyone be tied to a contract they never signed? Unless, of course, the social contract is simply the golden rule, and that politics have changed it into meaning obedience to authority and self sacrifice."
"But even then, it would be strange to assume that newborn babies have signed onto it," Bjorn added.
"Exactly. That's why Frederico insists that everyone have to voluntarily embrace it."
"But what about those who refuse? What about people like us, who either refuse, or simply can't embrace it due to our profession?"
"People like us will always be viewed with suspicion, I guess... Which we were, right?"
"Yeah. Were we ever? I mean... That Einar guy was pretty fierce... And Katinka."
"It was unpleasant at times, wasn't it?"
"Not too bad... but yeah."
"And we haven't even done anything for real. Imagine how these people will treat people who more blatantly break the golden rule."
"It won't be pleasant."
"It won't for sure," Ante confirmed with a nod. "They will kick you out if you don't behave. They will refuse to deal with you, and they may even kill you if you keep breaking the law."
"You think so?"
"I'm sure of it."
"Isn't that a little harsh?"
"Not really. We are talking about deliberate aggression, robbery, theft, extortion, that kind of things. People like that will have a hard time in Lundby."

Bjorn looked out on the fjord, to their left. Then, struck by a thought, he continued the conversation.

"So they are in a sense worshiping their legal system?" he mused.
"That's a good way of putting it," Ante said with a nod. "Like I said, there's very little difference between religion and politics. It's all about law and ethics in the end."

133

Georgio brought his guests with him to the top of the stairs where they remained standing while he picked out the right key for the door to one of the apartments.

"The sky light is a miniature version of the dome they will erect over the tennis court, by the way," Georgio explained while looking through his keys. "And the crystal chandelier is imported from Venice. It's the real deal! You see how it breaks the light, and makes a little pattern at the wall over there?"

"This is a palace, isn't it?" Olga exclaimed, thoroughly impressed by it all.
"It is," Georgio confirmed. "It certainly isn't your average apartment building. That's for sure."

Then he opened the door to the north facing apartment.

"Come have a look! And remember, don't step outside the floor coverings."

They stepped into a generous hall with cabinets and racks on both sides for guests to hang off their jackets. The craftsmanship was stunning with little patterns and details everywhere. Everything shaped and fitted perfectly. And although the cabinets were what drew the guest's immediate attention, it was clear that no less care had gone into the flooring and skirting which was done with similar precision and craftsmanship.

The floor was partly covered by large rugs for the guests to walk around on, but elaborate patterns could be seen everywhere, especially in the larger rooms, such as the living room overlooking the fjord. And Bjorn noticed that the armillary sphere was a recurring element everywhere, while the theme on the more elaborately decorated floors and doors was that of St. George slaying the dragon.

"This is Pedro's apartment, isn't it?" Bjorn ventured.
"That's right," Georgio confirmed. "St. George gives it away a bit, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."

"So, every apartment is different with different patterns and cabinets?" Igor asked.
"That's right. Mons' apartment is furnished like a yacht. Thick teak floors, and sturdy cabinets. All polished and shiny, of course. Brass elements... You name it. And the foreign minister has an illustration of the whole world edged into the floor of his living room."
"And the armillary spheres?" Ante asked.
"Well, that symbolizes the empire."
"Yeah, I know, but do the other apartments have them too?"
"Ah... Yeah, they do. Even the fourth one... In fact, the fourth one has no other theme. It's entirely dedicated to the empire."
"So, you think Frederico will be moving in there?" Bjorn asked.
"I don't know. I don't think he has the money for it to be honest. Frederico isn't a very rich guy."

The apartment building was much larger than Bjorn had thought from seeing it from the outside, and he was amazed to learn that it had seven bed rooms, all fitted with their own en suite bathroom, in addition to a separate section for the servants, complete with a little living room and four small bedrooms, also with their own bathrooms.

The servant section ran parallel with the guest bedrooms, with its own corridor. A single door connected the servants' corridor to that of the guest section. And having never seen a modern place with its own division for servants, Bjorn was intrigued to explore it together with Einar, who acted as his guide.

"The servants have a small living room for themselves up there," Einar explained, pointing to the far end of the servants' corridor. "And the kitchen is over there," Einar continued, pointing over in the exact opposite direction.
"This doesn't look so bad," Bjorn commented on seeing one of the servant's quarters. "It's bigger than what I have up at the checkpoint... And it has its own bathroom. That's pretty good."
"Yeah, it is. He'll have people willing to work for free, just to be able to live here," Einar commented with a nod.
"You think so?"
"Yeah... Things are pretty bad, you know. There's just too many people looking for work."

123

There was something familiar with the well dressed man approaching Ante and Bjorn. Bjorn knew he had seen him before somewhere, but could not remember where. He was not surprised, though, when the man put out his hand for a handshake, introducing himself as Frederico.

He did indeed look very German, yet he spoke with a Brazilian accent. The man was probably, as Thomas had said, a third generation descendant of Nazi war criminals. But there was nothing immediately unpleasant or sinister about him. Quite the contrary, he seemed like a very nice guy. And when Bjorn asked about the symbolic significance of the armillary sphere, he was eager to explain.

"You are quite right," the man said with genuine enthusiasm. "It is indeed an old symbol of empire. You will find it quite commonplace in countries like Portugal and Spain, but I like to read a little more into this symbol than the merely superficial."

The man went up closer to the sphere to illustrate how the ball in the middle was the earth and the various bands represented the stars and the heavenly order associated with it.

"And as you know," Frederico concluded. "Heavenly order is guaranteed by God Himself. This is in other words not merely a symbol of any old empire, but the symbol of God's own empire, the Fifth Empire which I am sure you've already heard about."
"The Kingdom of God, in other words?" Bjorn suggested, curious to hear Frederico confirm this himself.
"Well... Not really. The Kingdom of God will eventually fill this empire completely, but the empire and the kingdom is not one and the same. Anyone can become a citizen of the empire. But to enter the Kingdom of God, you have to be a Christian as well."
"Yeah?"
"Or put another way. The Fifth Empire is the secular framework of the kingdom. In order to get to the kingdom, you first have to enter the empire."

Bjorn looked confused, and Ante looked like he felt a little embarrassed on Frederico's behalf. But Frederico was not the least bit deterred by this.

"You know the Golden Rule, right?" Frederico asked.
"Sure!" both Ante and Bjorn replied, with a nod.
"Well, the empire is where you go if you embrace this rule fully and wholeheartedly."
"Okay?"
"And you do not have to be a Christian to agree with the Golden Rule, do you?"
"No, you don't."
"But you have to embrace this rule fully in order to be a Christian."
"Yeah?"
"It says so in scripture. The Golden Rule is the law. Everything else is just regulations, and any regulation that conflict with the Golden Rule is plain and pure evil. The so called laws out there that conflict with the Golden Rule are of the Devil. They are evil constructs that will ultimately be the end of civilization as we know it."
"That is a little rich, isn't it?"
"Not at all. How could doing something to a person that you would not want done to yourself ever be anything but evil?"
"Yeah, but the end of civilization?" Bjorn protested. "I mean..."
"So anyway," Frederico continued, breaking Bjorn off in mid speech. "The empire is the first step towards the kingdom. No one can get to the kingdom without entering the empire first. It is quite impossible, and that is what makes the empire so important to us. Not only is the empire a secular framework on which everyone can agree, it is the first steppingstone on our way to the His kingdom."

122

Ante parked his car, and the two men stepped out in the fresh air. There was a light breeze coming in from the fjord adding to the freshness without being bothersome, and Bjorn felt quite invigorated as he stretched his legs and looked around.

"Let's go up to the church," Bjorn suggested, his gaze drawn to the little white building.
"Sure, why not?" Ante replied. "Let's start by taking a look at the village from up there."
"And the church too..."
"And the church, if that's what you want."

Then, as they walked down to the intersection with the road going up to the church, Ante asked if Bjorn was planning to take a look inside the church while up there, to which Bjorn replied that he would if it was all right with Ante.

"You are curious about it, aren't you?" Ante asked.
"Well, aren't you. I mean, there's some seriously occult stuff going on up there."
"You think so?"
"Maybe occult isn't the right word," Bjorn answered. "But there's definitely something going on. Something important for the village."

The men passed the big pile of snow that had shrunk quite a bit since Wednesday, despite having been added to with fresh snow piled onto it from yesterday's snowstorm.

"You're probably right about it being important," Ante agreed. "But I'm not sure if it is all that occult. I don't think they are hiding anything from us. My impression is that it is a happy go lucky kind of congregation, nothing sinister or ill intended. Just your average hallelujah sort of church."
"Except for all the talk of the Fifth Empire, that is," Bjorn added.
"Yeah... Except for that," Ante replied with a smile.

They climbed the steep hill to the top where the street took a sharp turn to the right, beyond which it continued in a straight line, following the top of the ridge. To the right of the church stood what appeared to be the vicarage, and right in front of the men, separated from the street by a spacious front yard, all gravel and rock, stood the church itself, with a wide open property going all the way down to the fish factory to the north.

The tall rock behind the church looked menacing and dangerous, the way it rose straight up from the ground, only a few yards away from the church.

"That is Jesus' two fingers pointing to the heavens," Ante explained, and Bjorn saw immediately what Ante was referring to. The rock had a nicely rounded peak with a slightly lower equally rounded peak next to it. And there was an indent between the two peaks going all the way down to the base of the rock.
"That's quite fitting, isn't it?" Bjorn commented. "This being a church and all."
"It certainly is. That's why they decided to build it here. The pastor who had it built, loved the symbolism of it."

The two men wandered into the church grounds to have a look around, first admiring the view of Lundby, before returning their attention to the church and the church yard.

"So, what is that?" Bjorn asked pointing to a column in the middle of the path.
"You mean the globe perched on top of it?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't that an armillary sphere?" Ante asked rhetorically.
"A what?"
"You know... an armillary sphere. It symbolizes the heavens, I believe. Haven't you noticed how this place is full of these things?"
"No. Where?"
"In the casino, for instance."
"So this place and the casino, really are connected somehow."
"I guess they are. But that shouldn't be a big surprise. Jan was raving about the church and the empire in his closing speech."
"Well, I wasn't there, remember?"
"True. That's true."

Bjorn walked up to the globe to take a closer look at it. It was the size of a football and stood on a roughly hewn granite pillar, the height of a table.

"You know where I've seen this thing before?" Bjorn asked.
"No. Where?"
"In the Portuguese flag."
"Yeah?"
"And the Fifth Empire is an old Portuguese myth, isn't that so?"
"That's what they say."
"So this... this armillary sphere, as you call it, is not just a reference to the heavens. It is a reference to the empire, don't you think?"
"Well, I guess you might be right," Ante answered. Then noticing a man coming their way from over by the vicarage, he added, "I believe the true expert on this is over there, though. Why don't you ask him?"