As they made the rounds of the compound, John Edwards pointed out the basic structure of the settlement and showed Al how the infrastructure was being maintained. Water and sewage facilities were all state of the art. They had storage facilities for everything from automobiles to diesel fuel, and six barns of various sizes where grains, cereals, and the dairy products produced by the residents of El Refugio were processed and stored. In the upper meadows there were close to seven hundred head of cattle, along with a smaller number of sheep and goats. In addition, John Edwards kept two saddle horses in the stables behind the house. Riding not only kept him fit but it gave him the ability to keep in touch with the crew that looked after the place and supervised farming operations in the lower valley.

Even though they had provided for themselves very well for the past few years, the number of refugees was still growing, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to get by on what they had. The two men eventually ended up at John Edwards’s house, and Maria brought them both glasses of iced tea on the terrace.

As they talked, Al’s face grew somber. “What you’re doing here and what General Gladstone and I are doing in the Western Defense Zone are all well and good,” he said. “Together we’re a military and a spiritual rallying point. The very fact of our existence can offer hope to people all over the world.

“I have tremendous stores of materiel and a great fighting force,” he continued. “I even have nuclear weapons at my disposal. But we both must understand that my forces are puny compared to the combined armed forces of the Union for Peace. We can win one, maybe two, battles. But if Beaulieu ever gets his mind off Babylon and comes after us, without outside help we’re dead. Frankly, I believe what Beaulieu would do to us would be worse than death.”

“Al,” John Edwards replied, “I moved here to provide a refuge for God’s people who would be fleeing the oppression that has just recently settled on the earth. I’ve been hearing of groups of believers all over America who are receiving supernatural guidance from God. God warns them just before the UP patrols arrive to arrest them. Time and again, their lives are spared. Some of them go into hiding. Sometimes the police are actually diverted moments before making an arrest. The lives of these people are in jeopardy every single minute—yet they’re growing stronger, not weaker.”