Monday, February 13, 2012

A Tale Told By Idiots

When we last left our brave heroes, they were facing down two teenage girls with guns. But one of them, Felicia collapses and it turns out, she drank the water. So the YTF are trying to treat her but despite their best efforts, Felicia dies and is in all likelihood burning in Hell for all eternity at the hands of a compassionate Zod. Then again Vicki did whisper in Felicia's ear about how much Zod loves her, so maybe there's the slimmest of chances that she had enough time to say The Prayer even though she was in all likelihood too busy dying in order to actually say it.

The chapter ends with Judd deciding to jump Melinda even though she has a gun. Ellanjay try to create a little suspense by having the gun go off and having the chapter end there, but it fails miserably because as stated many times before, Judd is a mini-Rayford: billions may die all around him but he'll remain blissfully untouched by all of it.

As you probably guessed, the shot misses, no one is hit, but we do get the satisfying spectacle of Vicki chewing out Judd for being a macho idiot by rushing someone with a gun. It is pretty sweet to read but at the same time, I know Vicki is eventually going to be punished for being a girl with girl parts.

Anyway following the incident with the gun, there's a debate about what needs to be done about Melinda. Judd wants her gone because she's GC, but Vicki wants her to stay because she thinks she can chalk one up for TurboJesus. Either way, they have to figure out what to do with her. Eventually, Vicki tells Melinda this: that the GC for some bizarre reason is after her and if she goes back, she'll die, but if she stays with the YTF, she has a fighting chance. Naturally faced with those choices, Melinda decides to stay and I have a feeling we'll witness her inevitable conversion.

Anyway after burying Felicia, Melinda abruptly changes her mind and decides to leave, believing that Vicki was only being so nice to her because they didn't want her to run to the GC and rat them out. Judd then receives a phone call from Taylor. Apparently he has a plane and is willing to take him and Mr. Stein to Israel. Naturally Judd, in a sterling display of leadership, decides to abandon the school and leave Vicki to deal with everything. Lessons in Leadership from Ellanjay: As a wise commentator whose name I've forgotten put it, leadership isn't defined by tough decisions or making sacrifices for the good of the whole; it's all about how other people see you. If they kowtow to you, then you are a good leader regardless of how your decisions play out.

I'm throwing in a third chapter because again, nothing happens. Anyway they discuss what to do about the plane and naturally it's decided that Judd, Lionel, and Mr. Stein will go to Israel. Melinda tells Vicki her story about how thanks to Zod, her life was shot to Hell following the disappearances and that she and her best friend Felicia decided to join the GC because in such chaotic times, Nicky's words of peace spoke to them. Melinda finally decides to stay but she tells Vicki that if she finds out that they're lying and/or using her, she'll leave.

Anyway there's not much more to say except that Judd, Lionel, and Mr. Stein outwit the GC dragnet and make it to the plane and our on their way to Israel. I would tell you how they did it except that I'm dangerously close to lapsing into a boredom induced coma so I'll just say that the stormtroopers in Star Wars were more competent and they kept hitting their head on the doorframe.

9 comments:

Firedrake said...

"So what forces of the Antichrist did you face down today, Morty?"
"Um... two teenage girls. And one of them was real sick. But they had guns!"

Who is it that shall be called "Prince of Peace", again? I seem to have lost track somewhere along the way.

aunursa said...

Then again Vicki did whisper in Felicia's ear about how much Zod loves her, so maybe there's the slimmest of chances that she had enough time to say The Prayer even though she was in all likelihood too busy dying in order to actually say it.

A similar ambiguity is present in LB Prequel #1 at the death of, Marilena Carpathia, Nicky's mom...

Her throat constricted and she fought for air, feeling her body go rigid. Her feet shot out, as if to catch her as her brain told her she was falling. But she had not moved, could not move, desperate as she was.
...
"God," Marilena said silently, feeling her soul spiral-ing. "God. God. Receive me. Please. God."

From The Rising

RTCs are divided over whether Marilena's desperate plea indicates that she was saved. The Left Behind Wiki, which identifies the "Salvation Status" of each character in the series, lists her as "POSSIBLY condemned". I recall reading a comment somewhere indicating that she WAS saved. However in a fan fiction cross-over story, a character from "Touched by an Angel" visits Marilena on the point of her death, suggesting that he responded to her plea, but she was not yet saved.

RubyTea said...

@aunursa--Yeah, LaJenkins like the idea of Just Missed the Boat.

I've been listening to the Dramatic Audio version of Tribulation Force, and they make a big thing out of Amanda White (later Steele) pulling an "I need to think about this whole saved thing" ONE DAY before the Rapture.

Firedrake said...

RubyTea, I find that poking at the metaphors is a great way to see how silly they look. Oh, there's just one boat, and you don't know when it's going to leave... well, that's no way to run a ferry line!

Apocalypse Review said...

As you probably guessed, the shot misses, no one is hit, but we do get the satisfying spectacle of Vicki chewing out Judd for being a macho idiot by rushing someone with a gun.

Vicki suddenly increases her level of badassitude in these books. How on Earth can L&J not see that their characters WANT to be badass world-saving teenagers instead of silly Tribbles?

Mouse said...

Re:Aunursa:

Once again, this is why I consider The Prayer a form of spell-casting given the obsession Ellanjay have with making sure the wording and/or feeling behind the words is correct. Because according to God's Prophet, aka Tim LaHaye, that's what matters. That's why Jesus told the thief on the cross that he was going to burn in Hell because he didn't properly lick boot before Our Lord and Savior.

But then again I'm one of those heathens who was raised to believe that no one can no the state of another person's soul at the time of death, unless you're God or Jesus, so what do I know.

aunursa said...

I'm not convinced that you have accurately expressed LaHaye's position on the matter. He was asked about salvation requirements in this interview...

"Can a person be saved if they don't believe in the Rapture?
Sure. There's no verse in the Bible that says you have to believe in the Rapture. You are just better informed. The only requirement is having faith in Jesus Christ, and a child understands that and could have that."

That answer leaves some ambiguity as to whether LaHaye believes that one's faith by itself is sufficient, or whether one must make a POSITIVE AFFIRMATION of one's faith. Presumably LaHaye wouldn't consider a person who has faith but is unable to vocally express or otherwise communicate that faith -- LaHaye wouldn't consider that person to be in spiritual danger.

Button said...

I know I'm here four years late, but I'm doing an archive binge and nobody's said it yet, so...

Bye, Felicia!

Firedrake said...

And thanks to the magic of RSS, you aren't shouting into a void!