Episode Details

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Missed a previous part? Find the TABLE OF CONTENTS here!

Kassandra

Had I been the type that believed in the providence of an omnipotent God, I would have thanked Him for my accidental stumble into Brodie’s room the week before. I would’ve thanked God that Brodie was the trusting type who left his passwords on yellow sticky notes next to his desk. And I definitely would’ve thanked God for page 164 of Manly Man of God: Reclaiming God’s Biblical Mandate for Men & Women, wherein Keith detailed a fight he’d had on RenFor, including his so-called “secret” username.

But I didn’t believe in God, nor any sort of divine plan. The universe doesn’t care about me or you or anyone. It’s plain to see—look at the people living in mansions and look at the people cleaning those mansions and know that there is little we can do to control the course of our lives. Some people are lucky, or privileged, or unhobbled by empathy and willing to exploit others. I have little privilege compared to Keith, but I have something he doesn’t have: a compulsion to bring him to justice.

Heretic Hereafter presents "Manly Man of God" is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

On the bus, in class, at home, even while walking, I worked my way through Keith’s odious oeuvre. And that was how I found Keith’s username: Bible_Beater. Narcissists love to tell on themselves.

I spread my treasures before me—Drexler’s memory stick, the yellow sticky note with Brodie’s username and password, and the dogeared book—before beginning the job.

Despite Drexler’s help, I was no hacker. I didn’t know how the RenFor platform operated. I suspected it would be possible for both Brodie and me to sign in on the same account on different devices, but if he saw my account activity while we were both signed in, the jig would be up.

With his username (Surfboard_Moses, password: stud1990) I logged on. A white screen opened, displaying forum threads under different headings along with options to private message and search.

Gripped by curiosity, I input Keith’s username into the search field. “Bible_Beater” popped up in yellow highlighter all over the forum and in every thread about his sermons. Of course. I clicked the entry called “Latest Sermon.”

Mod_1: Discussion thread for the week’s sermon. This week Pastor K explained the 4th commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8–11. Please review community discussion guidelines and remember to tell the truth in love.

There were over two hundred comments. Skimming, I realized they fell into three categories: breathless praise of everything Keith had ever done, people showing off their holiness, and a minority with genuine questions, which were generally dismissed with extreme prejudice. Bible_Beater’s nastiness surprised me, he repeatedly mocked his dissenters, calling them everything from “thickheaded” to “retarded pussies!”

More convinced than ever of the goodness of my cause, I inserted Drexler’s memory stick into the laptop. I held my breath as I extracted its only file, fighting to steady my finger on the mouse pad. In another window I opened a private message to Keith.

Surfboard_Moses: Hi Pastor,

Saw your username in a book. Hope that’s okay. Just wanted to show you what I saw today!

-Brodie

Embedding the file in the mess