Chapter Twenty-One:
Yes, Another Meeting. Important Questions Are Formulated:
The seasons in London were progressing as usual. It was now October. There was an Autumn chill in the air and yes, some drizzle. No, this was not John Keat's season of 'Mists And Mellow Fruitfulness', a beautiful late Autumn afternoon, just a plain, boring dull gray London late afternoon.
Yet another Friday, all the regulars were there. The Chief Inspector had again worked his magic with his superiors. The two young detectives were also there, much to the delight of their two barmaid beloveds. All three had their 'police telephones' with them. They knew they could be called out at any time. This was technically a rest day for all three. However given their roles, this could be interrupted at any time.
Pamela Parsons, Dr. Amelia Smith, and Professor James Hudson found time to be present.
Both the Reverend William Frampton and Father O'Halligan had arrived.
Given what was pending they both had real problems deciding who else to invite along. They knew important and very profound matters could well be raised. This involved inviting a variety of other religious representatives. They did sound the rest of us about this first, and we were in general agreement on this critical matter.
Therefore the Sufi Imam, Imam Abdulla, and the Kabbalah Jewish Rabbi, Rabbi Abraham were invited. Plus. Bethany, the Wicca representative, and Jane Harrison from the Society of Friends, the Quakers. Sandra and Kevin were of course there to record everything. There was also Vihann Bhat, the Hindu Priest, and Ashai, the Buddhist priest.
Yes, there were a lot of people there. Pamela Parsons, with her experience, took over chairing the meeting.
Detective Chief Inspector Higgins was to have a central role in all of this. He had developed a special rapport with Old Slippery Jake and was of course able to reply to the resident ghost. The Chief said he would report back anything and everything that was communicated by the ghost. Sandra and Kevin would record all of this.
In the meantime, Old Slippery had reappeared on his 'throne'. The barmaids cleaning his chair is a trick that seems to work every time.
Pamela Parsons started.
"We have some pretty big questions that need asking."
"Are you happy with this Detective Chief Inspector?"
"I am Ma'm." Was the Detective Chief Inspector's reply.
It was a really big question that was being asked. The consensus was that the first question should be: "Is there a God?" This had been asked before but there needed to be further clarification.
John Higgins duly communicated this to Old Slippery.
The reply was a paraphrase of Philippians 4:7.
"Passes all understanding."
The Detective Chief Inspector mouthed back:
"Passes all understanding."
The Lounge Bar was packed with drinkers and people eating. The Detective Chief Inspector had to conduct these conversations across the room and heads of many people. However, Old Slippery seemed to fully understand what was going on.
"Passes all understanding."
'He' the pronoun, was deliberately dropped. This in itself was pretty significant. Father O'Halligan picked up on this immediately.
"Please Detective Chief Inspector ask our eminent emissary if God should be referred to as a 'he'?"
This was communicated to Old Slippery via the Detective Chief Inspector.
"God is beyond 'gender'." was the reply.
The use of the word 'gender' was significant in itself.
Professor James Hudson commented on this.
"The word 'gender' only started to gain common currency in the 1950s and '60s. It would not be a word that was commonly used during the Regency Period. I will check back on this later, but I am pretty sure of this."
Dr. Amelia Smith added:
"I concur with John on this as well. The notion of 'gender' is comparatively recent.
Rabbi Abraham was also intrigued by this.
"This may seem a small matter, but it is not. The ghost has now become a conduit in the same way you are Detective Chief Inspector."
The Detective Chief Inspector seemed pretty pleased with all this. He had a central pivotal role. Not that he wasn't used to having to make difficult decisions. He had earned a lot of kudos by apprehending the three 'night visitors'. This helped him to cut some slack with his visits to the Bull.
The questions continued. More fundamental questions were lined up:
Father O'Halligan wanted to know if there was a Heaven and a Hell.
Old Slippery simply replied 'Yes'.
This was to elicit a very sophisticated response from Old Slippery. There was no doubt now that there was direct communication with a 'Higher Power'.
"It depends upon the beliefs you had when you were alive. It will be tailored individually to you. If on balance you led a good life or one where you were only interested in your own needs and urges. Most people do manage to arrive in their own form of heaven."
This really amazed all of us. Each religious belief or non-religious belief had its own notion of an afterlife or not as the case may be.
Old Slippery went on.
'There is a form of the soul. I know there are differences between Buddhism and Hinduism regarding the notion of reincarnation. Plus there is also a form of rebirth. However, the afterlife of each individual is a reflection of the beliefs and the quality of life that has been led. Yes, all living things, in essence, has a form of a soul."
Things were getting pretty metaphysical. Some of the groups were starting to lose concentration others were really rapt up in all of this.
I thought I would change the subject and introduce another profound question.
"Are there other sentient beings in the Universe?"
"Yes", was Slippery's reply.
"Be very careful though. There are not many near you in the Galaxy. However, your radio and other forms have communication have reached some other civilizations. They have not expressed an interest in visiting you as yet. Do not be in a hurry to do this. There are some very predatory civilizations out there, seemingly more advanced. Your great scientist, the late Professor Stephen Hawking, has already commented on this. Also, humankind has reached a critical point in its development. Some other civilizations have succeeded, others have failed."
"Global warming, wars, plagues, and over-exploitation?" I asked.
"Yes" came the reply from Old Slippery via the Chief Detective Inspector.
There was much to ponder here. The meeting was moving to a close. The fact that Old Slippery or the Supreme Being knew of Professor Stephen Hawking was quite a revelation. Sandra and Kevin had kindly recorded all of this and promised that everyone would be sent a copy. There was also a strict understanding that nothing recorded during this or any other meeting would leak out onto the internet unless everybody agreed to that.
The Chief Detective Inspector and his two Inspectors also kept a beady eye on everyone in the Restaurant Bar. To date, there were no surreptitious up loadings onto cell phones, etc. The three of them were also keeping a close eye on all of this. Plus given the awareness that Old Slippery now had of the 21st century, he too would be aware of this as well.
However, everyday life was continuing. Isabella and I were getting used to the 'baby routines'. Yes, It was really amazing to see how quickly she was growing and developing.
Marriages had already been set up for Lina and Justin along with Magda and James in Estonia and Poland respectively. This would be around Christmas.
They had already started organizing apartments for themselves and their husbands nearby.
Beryl knew babies would be arriving soon. They were both excellent bar staff. It would be hard finding anyone of their quality that easily. But Beryl being Beryl was already looking to plan ahead.