I looked at my watch and saw we only had about five minutes left. "I apologize, Brian, but, I've left one of the most critical questions to the very last."

Brian's shrugged his shoulders. His hand movements, plus the expression on his face, suggested there was not much either one of us could do about the situation.

I hurried on to my question. "I don't know if Beth has told you about her vision or not, but one of the primary reasons for my coming here was to see if there was anything I could do to help you in relation to her concerns about your safety. Are you aware of the danger to which Beth is alluding, and, if so, is it something that you can discuss with me?"

Brian said: "Yes. Yes. No. However...."
When he saw the bewildered expression on my face, he smiled and said: "Sorry, I was trying to save time. As is usually the case in such situations, one ends up having to spend more time rectifying the problems created by one's time-saving measures than would have been required if one had not tried to save time in the first place.

"The answer to your first query is: yes, I am aware of Beth's vision. The answer to your second question is: yes, I am aware of the danger to which she is alluding.
The answer to your third question is: no, I cannot discuss the matter with you, but Beth doesn't know this yet."

Brian looked at me with what seemed to be an odd, mysterious kind of expression. I didn't know what it meant, but it made me feel uncomfortable- as if I were under scrutiny for some unknown reason, or as if something were being expected from me, but he couldn't tell me what.

He said: "The 'however' of my time-saving masterpiece was to get you to ask me: 'What do you mean by 'however'?' And, my response would have been, as it is now. There is something that you can do which may be of help later on."

I responded with: "Which is...?"
Brian countered with: "You must try to find members of the Botclofots and speak with them. They will be able to help guide you with respect to how, among other things, you might be able to help out in this situation."

I said: "Botclo-whats? Who are they?"

An enigmatic grin appeared on Brian's face. "Let's say I am giving you a non-specific, specific task or exercise and leave it at that. If you're successful, you may come to understand some of what is going on."

He expanded a bit more, in a vague sort of way. "David, believe me, anything that I might say to you now probably would be more of a problem for you than a help. Besides, at this point, the less you know, the safer you likely are going to be."

Brian looked over at the other people in the room and saw, as I did, that they were in various stages of getting ready to say good-by. He leaned forward in his chair and came closer to me.

"I gave you the mini-tour of Native history, David, for two reasons. The first reason was to provide you with a brief, but reasonable, answer to your question about issues of ownership and land claim disputes.

"The second reason for the abridged history was a warning to you. What has been done to Native peoples, can be done to anyone, including you.

"My history is a reflection of your future as well as that of America. Of course, the names of the bills and acts will change.
"Perhaps, these laws will be referred to as The Democratic Reform Act, or the Constitutional Renewal Act, or The Emergency Provisions Act, or the Citizen's Rights Claims Settlement Act, or the like. The name will change, but the underlying intent will be the same as existed in relation to the way they dealt with, and are dealing with, Native peoples.

"I would ask you to seriously think about everything I have said to you. Your turn,...the turn of many people in America, is coming. Maybe sooner than you might ever have imagined to be possible a few weeks ago.

"If you think, David, that those who wheel and deal in the corridors of corporate, government, judicial and religious power are going to stop with Native peoples, you are very much mistaken. Anything and anyone who gets in the way of their vision of things will be marginalized, eliminated and destroyed, as Native peoples have been.

"These people will use the vocabulary of democracy and legality to rationalize what they do. They will use their skills in the realm of the speakable to defend that which is unspeakable.

"Native peoples were repeatedly butchered, raped, cheated, defrauded, betrayed, oppressed, tortured, abused, and brainwashed. Yet, while all of this was going on, both legislative assemblies and the courts repeatedly spoke, with great oratorical skill, about freedom, sovereignty, rights, precedents, justice, fiduciary responsibility, truth, progress, duty and integrity.

"The legislatures and the courts did not flinch in carrying out their task of permitting Native peoples to be destroyed. They will not flinch in the future when called upon to do the same in relation to other people, including, if necessary, people like you."

Brian rose from his chair. "You probably will be offended or hurt by what I'm about to say to you, David. However, I offer it as a friend.

"You have lost your sense of the spiritual." He studied me for a few seconds and then emphasized: "I didn't say 'religious', I said 'spiritual'.

"As long as you are in this condition of separation and dispersion, you are a liability to yourself and to humanity in general. Furthermore, as long as you are in this condition of spiritual absence, your complicity in the matters I've been discussing, as well as in relation to other related issues, is a lot deeper than you might like to believe is actually the case."

He extended his hand to me. "I owe you a debt of gratitude for responding to my sister's distress call. I won't forget your kindness."

I was about to ask him about whether we should meet again, when he held up his hand, motioning me to stop. It was like he knew what I wanted to ask and was answering me before I had a chance to say anything.

He looked into my eyes and held my gaze for a fleeting moment. His face was expressionless. He turned and walked away. Soon, he was gone from the room.

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