The leaders of every nation told Mark Beaulieu what he most wanted to hear: “If you do as we ask and restore the peace, we will gladly join the Union for Peace. To secure peace, we will agree to place our armed forces under a unified command. What other arms are left, we will destroy. We will demobilize all other military forces. And, especially, we want you to be our leader. You must become the president of the Union for Peace. You must be the leader of the new world order.”

For his part, Tauriq Haddad was singularly successful. The leaders of central banks all over the world agreed that credit must be restored to the world economy. They agreed on emergency measures. But Tauriq’s principal goal was not to restart credit; instead, it was to implement a totally new financial system. To his delight, he found no objection to the proposal that they work together to formulate a new system of finance that would do away with cash and checks. It was to be a system that would eliminate national currencies in favor of one unified, global currency, under the finance directorate of the Union for Peace.

THE PRESIDENTIAL VISITS extended as far east as was feasible; then, because of the devastation in the Pacific region, the entourage retraced their steps back through the Middle East. En route, they stopped in Baghdad and were warmly greeted by the new president, Ibrahim bin Ishmael. Bin Ishmael claimed to be a descendant of the first Ishmael, the son of Abraham by the servant girl, Hagar. The first Ishmael was thought to be the progenitor of all the Arab people.

This unusual leader was an Arab mystic who was persuaded that the heritage he had received from his family—the family of

Ishmael—was superior to that of the camel driver, Mohammed. Thus, he spent many hours in solitary prayer vigils, seeking supernatural revelations that would equip him to offer new religious truths to his people.

When Ibrahim bin Ishmael looked into the eyes of President Beaulieu, he did not see a man at all. Instead, he saw a white city in the desert. He saw marching armies. He saw people falling down in worship. At that precise moment, he received the revelation that he had been seeking. Something strong and powerful and seemingly all-wise had entered his being. Consequently, he was not merely willing to follow the political leadership of this president from America, he was also willing to worship him.

After they had spent time discussing the concept of a global union to secure peace for all people, Ibrahim bin Ishmael said knowingly, “I want to take you, my friend, to the place at the mouth of the Euphrates River where all civilization began. I will show you Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham, our father, was born. And then I will show you ancient Babylon, the great capital city of Nebuchadnezzar.”