When Morgan and his mom got to church for Wednesday night service, the parking lot was full. A lot of cars were spilling out onto the street, which would have been unthinkable three weeks ago.
Back then, it was a significant achievement to attract fifty people to church on a Wednesday, as they likely preferred attending on Sundays. But now, there were easily two hundred people crammed into a building that was meant to hold only half that many, and more were coming in every minute.
Sarah moved through the crowd with the ease of someone who had done it many times before. She greeted people she knew and introduced herself to people she didn't know, playing her role as the pastor's wife with the kind of grace that comes from years of practice. Morgan walked behind her and saw how people looked at him with a mix of curiosity and what might have been respect.
People talked about what happened with Claire's brother, and even though the official story said it was self-defense, rumors made it sound like Morgan had fought off a demon with his bare hands. Murphy didn't do anything to set the record straight about those rumors.
The church felt different on the inside than it had just a few weeks ago. Someone had added more chairs, cramming them into every available space until the aisles were barely wide enough to walk through.
There were too many people, and the air smelled mixed with everyone's perfume, along with the smell of fear that Morgan had learned to recognize in his previous life. People didn't come here out of habit or tradition, they were here because they were scared and needed someone to tell them that the world still made sense.
Morgan found a seat in the back row while Murphy was already at the pulpit. His father's presence drew attention without him having to do anything. He stood still for almost a minute, letting the crowd calm down and the excitement build until the room was full of expectation. Even though he wasn't very loud, his voice carried well when he finally spoke.
Murphy started, "A lot of people have asked me this week what I think is happening to our world." His hands were resting lightly on the podium in front of him.
"People want me to explain things to them and tell them that the current situation is only temporary and that things will go back to normal once we understand the science behind these changes."
"But I can't tell you that because it would be a lie, and right now, honesty is the most important thing."
The crowd leaned in as one and listened to every word. Morgan looked at the faces of people he knew from the original timeline, people who would become important members of Murphy's church, and tried to figure out what they saw in his father. Not the manipulator or the snake in human skin, but the charming leader who made people feel seen and understood in ways they really needed.
Murphy's tone changed to a softer but still strong one as he said, "What's happening isn't temporary but basic, as I should call it."
"The rules we thought controlled reality are changing, and we can choose how to react as humanity who loves God."
"We can be afraid, we can rage against the unknown, or we can accept that we're all going through a change that's bigger than any one of us."
Morgan saw David Chen in the third row. He was the young man who would later lead purges in the eastern territories. He looked like any other scared twenty-something right now, with wide eyes and hands that were clasped so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
And then he saw Sister Margaret was two rows behind him. She was a tired woman who had lost her husband to cancer the year before and was now looking for meaning in a world that had already taken so much from her.
They were Murphy's future generals, but they didn't know it yet. They were just scared people who wanted to find hope.
Murphy said, "I want to tell you something," and took out an old notebook from his jacket pocket. "I had a vision years ago."
"I didn't get it then, but I thought it was just stress or too much coffee late at night."
"But I wrote it down because it seemed important, and I've kept this notebook with me ever since."
He opened to a page with a mark on it and started reading. "I saw a world on fire, but the fire didn't kill it... It changed it..."
"People who walked through the flames came out different, stronger, and able to do things that should have been impossible."
"There was a presence at the center of it all. It was not a person or a being, but a force that united everything and everyone. A unity of purpose that was so strong it felt like it came from God."
The crowd was quiet, taking in every word. Morgan felt ill because he knew what Murphy was up to. His father was turning a disaster into a prophecy, making himself out to be someone who had seen it coming and knew what it meant.
Murphy would start calling that presence the Almighty in a few weeks, when people were more ready to believe it. He'd tell them that the changes were a gift and a chance to be a part of something bigger. And they would believe him because he had spent weeks laying the groundwork for that belief.
Murphy said, "I'm not saying I know what this presence is," in a calm voice. "I'm not saying I know everything."
"But I think we're being given something here: a chance to grow beyond our limits. I think that those of us who accept this change instead of fighting it will be the ones who make it through what's coming."
After that, people lined up outside the door to ask Murphy questions and voice their concerns. Morgan watched from the back wall as his father expertly adjusted his message to fit each person, making sure they heard what they needed to hear.
He calmed the worried old woman down about her grandchildren. He told the young couple who asked if they should leave the city to be patient and have faith. When David Chen came up to Murphy with questions about what transformed people could do, Murphy talked about potential and purpose in a way that made the young man's eyes light up with something Morgan knew was dangerous.
Claire came up next to Morgan and startled him out of his observation. She started going to services at his request, but she said it was because she didn't have anything else to do with her evenings. Morgan thought the truth was more complicated. She needed to be around people who understood loss, even if she didn't believe what they were saying.
"He is good at making people trust him," she said quietly, pointing to Murphy. "I understand why people believe him. He makes you feel like everything will be fine, even when you know it won't."
Morgan said, "That's what makes him dangerous," in a voice that was low enough for only her to hear. "He's not really lying."
"He really thinks what he's saying, but, but he's taking them to a place where they won't know it's a trap until it's too late to get away.
Claire looked at Murphy for a long time before turning her attention back to Morgan. "So, what's your plan?"
"We can't just sit back and watch him build an army of followers."