THE SEX REBEL OF JESUSLAND mini-chapter 101

101. THE RIGHT ENDING FOR A TV SHOW.

“Wasn’t the Prosecutor great?” Ezra’s voice rose. “They wanted to use somebody else, but I held out for him. He’s got just the right tone. He looks like a serpent, doesn’t he? Like some old Spanish-type Inquisition monk. That’s the template I’m using. The Spanish Inquisition. Do you like the shadows on the wall? We’re shooting it like a movie, deep shadows, deep focus. This cinematographer is the best. Hungarian. Those East Europeans have the dark eye.”

“Excuse me for expressing a contrarian thought, Ezra, but I can’t get over the fact that it’s Eve in the dock.”

“Don’t worry, Adam, I’ve got it all worked out. She’ll get off. We’ll use a rape defense at the last minute.”

“You’re not the Special Tribunal, Ezra. They were appointed by the President himself.”

“I’m bigger than the Special Tribunal, Adam. I’m the producer of the show.”

“It’s a trial, Ezra. You didn’t pick the jury.”

“It’s a show, Adam. Of course I picked the jury. I wanted them to be representative. They even let me put a female Beloved on it. I wanted a V-doll. That would’ve been something else.”

“You’re not going to be sitting with the jury.”

“I’m shooting them, Adam. I’m producing their verdict. We’ll run a special on how they came to their decision. Secret footage. And because it’s a show, she has to get off. That’s the unexpected, controversial ending. We’ll make it look like she’s going to be found guilty, and then she’ll get off. Like that old trial, what was it, the black football player?”

“O.J. Simpson.”

“Yeah, O.J. Simpson. That was a great show. They came up with the best ending. Endless controversy. That’s what I’m aiming for. You need a twist in the end. Imagine the exclusive interview with her. A blockbuster. Eve will make a fortune on the lecture circuit.”

“Are you sure of this?”

“I wouldn’t have taken on the production if I couldn’t control the outcome. What do you think I am, a slave to reality? This is a reality show, Adam. We create the reality. It doesn’t create us.”

“What have they done with her hands?” Adam changed the subject from Eve’s future fate to her current condition. “She wears gloves now, but there was a shot before on TV, and she had bandages, and then I saw another shot later, where the bandages had come off, but you could see patches of Band-Aid on her hands, both of them.”

“Aha, it’s a mystery. I’m going to keep it like that. Good TV. There were a couple of women today, teenage girls, standing outside the courtroom in silent protest. They had done piercings on their hands. Stigmatattoos. When we turned the camera on them, they held up their bleeding hands. We tried to interview them, but they kept quiet. I’m going to call them the Silent Stigmatas. Good idea, hey?”

Adam still looked glum. Ezra stared at Adam as if he hadn’t noticed him before.

“Listen, Adam, relax. Eve is in safe hands. I care for her, you know that. You should do something. Go out on the town. Take Scarlet, the one who screws like a porn star. It’ll take your mind off the trial. But don’t let Scarlet get you in trouble. She’s dangerous. She likes to screw in public places. I’ve got to go and do something suitably Christian myself now. See you later.”

“Maybe I’ll go to see Jeremiah preach. He’s going to do New York for the first time. The Southerner in Sodom.”

“You do that. Go in peace. May your zipper always be active.”