Tags:
thriller,
Espionage,
Time travel,
Holocaust,
middle east,
Egypt,
nuclear war,
Jews,
Terrorism,
spy,
mormon,
Assassins,
Los Angeles,
new york city,
Terrorists,
iran,
suspense action,
rio de janeiro,
quantum mechanics,
bahai,
judiasm,
fsb,
mossad,
black holes,
counter espionage,
shin bet,
state of israel,
einstein rosen bridge,
tannach,
jewish beliefs
strictly
prohibited. Indeed, wine for religious purposes wasn't required.
One could drink grape juice or even water for the Sabbath and
religious holidays such as Passover, but she had already given up
so much of her life she had no intention of giving up wine on the
Sabbath! Other than the Sabbath meal - sometimes not even then -
she never drank alcoholic beverages unless accompanied by a
romantic meal with her husband, so this wouldn't be a deal breaker.
She wondered what would be on ice in the shayroot for her Mormon
colleague, Jeff, to drink.
As difficult as these changes in her daily
routine were for her, Rachael mused, it must be considerably more
so for Jeff. After all, she was in her own country and her family
was ever nearby. He, however, was in a country with a language and
culture largely foreign to him, his family and friends thousands of
miles away.
As a Christian he was always welcome, for the
most part, and had many friends already – but he and everybody else
knew he could never fit in 100%. There was a growing social
backlash at the number of non-Jews living and working in the
country. Most were poorly paid, frequently working off the
books illegally, from countries such as the Philippines and
Eastern Europe. They were having babies in Israel, requiring an
increasing draw from the common tax base for medical treatment and
childhood education.
Exacerbating matters were also non-Jewish,
non-Arab people in Israel, in high paying positions, taking jobs
from Israelis. In fact this latter group in reality did no such
thing. They were only allowed in for high positions in industries
such as commerce, manufacturing, technology, and etcetera when
their experience and qualifications were markedly superior to other
applicants. It's difficult to deny or ignore the very perception of
the mainstream population. Like it or not perception in any society
is the equivalent of reality.
While he appeared to thrive in such an
environment, Stauffenberg's family so far away in the United States
would certainly take its toll on him emotionally after a period of
time. Rachael could be with her family with some regularity. But
for Jeff, trips home would have to be planned with extra security
measures in place for him and his family. Unknown to his family,
nine Mossad agents would watch over them in shifts of three at
their home and schools, providing a measure of comfort to this
exceptional husband and father.
For him, the struggle was that they had no
idea of his real work or even where he really was. Every week they
received postcards written by him well in advance, complete with
European postmarks, sometimes to be accompanied by gifts for
special occasions. The gifts from European stores with the
occasional Euro price tag that he sometimes forgot to remove
were also in storage at the facility for his return trips home.
Telephone calls to his wife and children were relayed through
European phone systems, complete with pre-recorded background
sounds of a restaurant or metro station, sometimes including people
casually "passing by," while conversing in the language of the
country in which he was supposed to be working.
She knew that such deceptions were very
difficult for him to foist on his family, but also knew he
understood the value of The Project and the critical part he
must play in it. A part even she didn't know, but soon would.
Upon arrival at the facility, every item
still being used by the members, as well as everybody on the staff,
was surrendered in the anterooms, one for women and one for men.
This meant every stitch of clothing was also to be surrendered.
Even hearing aids and vision-correcting glasses had to be removed,
with Project supplied hearing aids, glasses, etc., provided
on the other side of the locker room where one would then get
dressed in compliance with regulation clothing. A complete body
scan would be conducted after dressing in Project clothing
to assure that nothing had been secreted into the