Miriam (Next Year in Jerusalem)

Miriam was a member of the Second Irgun. She was descended from the generation of Jews known as the Second Diaspora; the final defeat of the State of Israel by its Arab neighbors.

Generations after the fall of Israel, Miriam and her partner Yakov volunteered to sneak into Palestine as part of a terrorist cell designed to incite the Jews still living there to rebel and restore Israel. After being transported by submarine, several groups headed off in various directions. Yakov, Miriam, and two others, Sarah and Aryeh, began their actions by slipping a virus into the local telephone system, which would eventually disrupt the banking systems of several cities throughout the region. They then attacked a bus, murdering the Muslim passengers and sending the Jewish ones on their way. For their part, the Jewish passengers were horrified by the actions of their "liberators".

The four then made their way to a safe-house in the town of Azor. The house was owned by an older Palestinian Jewish woman named Jael. She hid the four in a well-concealed attic. Although her house was searched, the four were undetected.

The next morning, the group watched a holovid news program, condemning the attack. It was here that Yakov and Miriam first learned of Chaim Perelman the Arabs' annointed Jewish leader. They also were frustrated to realize that their attack had not begun any Jewish uprisings.

The group left the next morning, with Yakov and Miriam heading further into Azor's Muslim neighborhood. They exchanged a call to prayer with a recording of the Sh'mah and the Israeli national anthem. When Muslim's heard this, they began to riot, and launched an attack on the Jewish quarter. From a roof, the two Second Irgun gunned down several Muslim rioters, but were again disappointed that their fellow Jews did not rise up.

Upon finding shelter with a butcher named Samuel, the two saw a news story condemning the attacks, and saw Chaim Perelman condemn their attacks. They resolved to kill Perelman. Spending a night in the safehouse, the two made their way to Ashqelon, Perelman's home.

They took shelter with a tailor named Benjamin, who was not enthusiastic about their plan. After sheltering with Benjamin briefly, Yakov and Miriam realized that Benjamin was unreliable. Miriam planted a bomb in Benjamin's restroom, and the two left. Benjamin visited the restroom shortly after and was killed.

That night, the two killed Perelman's guards and snuck into him home. They woke him, and called him as a trailer. He made peace with his death, but counseled the two that killing him would make no difference: the Arabs were just more patient than the Jews, and had memories just as long. Thus, it was in the Jews' best interest to keep their heads down and accept Arab rule. Disgusted, Miriam shot Perelman to death, and Yakov spat on his corpse.

Again, the next morning, both Yakov and Miriam were horrified to realize that the Jews were not going to rise up. Indeed, they mourned Perelman's death. Disheartened, the two left, wondering if Jerusalem would ever return to Jewish hands.