The Judas Gene
by
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He placed the back of his hand over the burning candle. The flame burned away the shield of tangled red hair and licked at his skin. Within the blink of an eye a thin snake of smoke weaved through the secret meeting room bringing with it the acrid taste of burning flesh. He held his hand steady as he looked, one by one, into the eyes of the council members.
“Women were given by Allah the privilege and responsibility for birthing our children. We are all aware how well they perform that task.”
There was some nodding of heads, but no one took their eyes off his hand. The black spot grew ashen white but his hand held steady.
“Even though Allah created women with everything they need to complete their most important task on earth, time after time many demonstrate that they are not strong enough to perform this function without modern medicines. We hear their screams and curses while we, in proper preparation, pray for another soldier to help us in this evil world.”
“So I ask you, what of the enemies of our mission? Should we be captured do we expect that they will use sweet words to comfort us? No, you answer. Well then, will they give us drugs to comfort us through the pain they surely will inflict? No, you answer. So then I say to you, what can we expect our women to do were they faced with interrogation and torture at the hands of monsters who rape and torment their own?”
Keri removed his hand and placed it in plain view on the table. Everyone’s eyes were riveted to the black hole as it continued to smolder.
“And I tell you the true answer lies this moment before your eyes, not in your heart.”
He lifted a cup of salt water as though to pour it on the wound but placed it back on the table without doing so.
“My sister Elizabeth has earned our respect by demonstrating her resourcefulness on several occasions. And it was my father’s wish that she be treated as our equal.”
From the oldest to the youngest, they signaled their agreement.
“She knows as much about our operation as you do. However, unlike my father, I do not believe she has the same sense of determination for our mission as you and I. She is a woman and she and those of her sex are a peril to our trust.”
They again signaled that Keri was right.
“So what should we do?”
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About the Book
“The Judas Gene” is a story about five people from four widely separated parts of the world who understand that their physical being is the result of eons of merged genes, but most heavily influenced by their parents and grandparents.
All Dr. Richard “Rip” Peters wanted was to explore a cave located high in a mountain in Argentina, but his timely medical assistance to an injured priest placed him on a path that challenged his physical skills and his sanity.
All Keri Sadju wanted to do after his father’s death by a bomb blast was to continue their secret organization’s terrorist activities against the Jews, but a discovery among his father’s papers clouded this goal and altered his life journey for all time.
All Dr. Elizabeth Sadju wanted was to obtain surgical expertise to take back to her native country by working with a prominent U.S. surgeon, but her brother’s actions placed her in a life threatening situation.
All Fr. Ortega wanted to do was be a good parish priest, but his father’s death bed confession forced him to take steps that he could never have imagined as a Catholic priest.
All Claire Thaddaeus wanted to do was help her father research ancient documents at the IB Ltd. laboratory in England, but a revelation of his ancestry and the secret organization he worked for presented a life that could prove unreconcilable.
About the Author
The author is a retired electronic industry executive who in the course of researching the reasons certain numbers are considered unlucky developed the idea for this story. Poor 13, villified on Friday and generally considered bad luck in the West, caught his imagination and cried out for investigation. Jesus and his Apostles turned out to be most often associated with the number 13 and trying to determine why twelve were selected was all the inspiration he needed. The author's favorite number is 18, currently associated with the number of holes on a golf course.