The Lincoln/Kennedy/Mengsei Connections

At the Presidential Election in 2060, it is rapidly noted among conspiratorialist — both in America and abroad — that President Mengsei has seven letters in his last name (as did Lincoln and Kennedy), was first elected to Congress in 2046 (Lincoln 1846, Kennedy 1946), that the name of his Vice-President is Johnson, and that Vice-President Johnson was born in 2008. (Andrew Johnson was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908). Some now speculate, if not openly prophesy, that President Mengsei's son will now die. (Sons of both Lincoln and Kennedy died while the men were in office.)

The Director of the Secret Service, Angela Derasmo is a well-meaning, tough law enforcer with military experience. Derasmo is willing to use the full arsenal of DHS assets and beyond to protect the President, but Derasmo thinks the coincidental alignment of the Lincoln/Kennedy/Mengsei dates and numbers are just that, coincidences, and thus they a distraction to her team. Many throughout the government — from the First Lady to a large number of Derasmo's staff — think otherwise.

A number of worldwide conspiracy groups launch in force, each trying to one-up the other, to seek publicity, and to identify the most likely person who will be the President's assassin. The common term for those prospective killers are "15s" meaning a Fifteen Letters Man.

These groups share a central ideology of fatalism, believing some form of supernatural force is forcing the alignment of events. To them there is no other possible explanation.

The leading theories are:

God

A massive group of the population (eventually tens of millions of people) sees nothing less than the hand of God in the alignment of these events. Of those, a large group see it as a sign of the "end times" — a signal for the pending Apocalypse — a reason to rejoin the faith.

The Nazarene political movement — led by radical Christian extremists: the Ecunemical Order of the Nazarene (EON) — has swept through several states in the United States, starting with Missouri, and is gaining territory quickly. EON is greatly benefited by the hysteria and loss of individual belief in self-determination. The leader of EON, Ryan Wescott — as well as the preachers of all the Nazarene churches — drums up public hysteria about the devil's hand in the Presidential coincidences — each 100 years apart. They declare it cannot be explained any other way — God is punishing America for their sinfulness — Jesus is letting the Devil push a fifteen letter man to kill President Mengsei. They use the 666 "Number of the Beast" as evidence: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18, then subtract 3 = 15 (They justify subtracting "3" for the three days Christ was in the tomb, or for the three words in the assassin's name, or as an omen that it was to happen three times.) EON hosts worldwide prayer vigils, with millions praying for the safety of President Mengsei.

Metaphysical Numerology

A large number of people see this as a Universal Truth type event that is explained only be cosmic numerology and inanimate forces within other dimensions. A leading group, Truth in Numbers, is somewhat led by Marcia Voorjans, a devout numerologist who is also an unassuming, brilliant mathematician with no formal training. She is convinced numerology is a science and the solution can only be found through scientific research, or "applied numerology" as she calls it.

OTHER IDEAS

There are groups for just about every type of theory, including ones who see the following at the center of the mystical power:

• ALIENS — Apparently aliens are upset with our recent invasion of Mars, and our persistent spying on other planets far away. This is the reason that UFO sightings and alien visitations first began being recorded in the 1860s. This theory is particularly popular with Scientologist (yes, they're still around in 2060).

• FUTURE PEOPLE — They've come back to set things right, starting in 1865, supposedly.

• ANCESTORS — The spirits of the dead have come together to correct the course of mankind. This is distinct from the major theory of God's hand in that there is no divine impetus for this — just a coalescing of common ideas among the dead.

• DOLPHINS — Yes, dolphins. No one quite understands the reasoning on this.