Carl Meninger

Carl Meninger
Biographical information
Full Name	Carl Meninger
Gender	Male
Born	? years before Rapture
Occupation	Former Global Community Navy worker
Religion	Christianity
Spiritual State	Saved during the Tribulation
First Appearance	Fire from Heaven

Carl Meninger is one of the members of the Young Tribulation Force and a minor character in the Left Behind: The Kids series. He survived the second Trumpet Judgment. He was a former Global Community Navy Worker and GC officer and would become a believer in Attack of Apollyon. Carl would work on the inside of the Global Community until Death at the Gala. At that point, he hid in South Carolina with Tom Gowin and Luke Gowin, which is how he exited the series.

History

Very little is known about Carl's life before the Rapture. He became very knowledgeable and proficient about computers and technology. At some point during the Tribulation, Carl joined the Global Community Navy. He was assigned to work on The Peacekeeper One. It was on that ship that Carl met Young Tribulation Force member John Preston. Carl had taken John under his wing. John may have mentioned his friends from Illinois to Carl at this time.

Fire from Heaven: Deceiving the Enemy

Carl watched as a diver named Jim Pelton rescued five hostages from a pirate ship. He later receives a diagram showing a picture of the meteor in Trumpet Judgment #2. When Carl shows the diagram to John, the latter sarcastically remarks that it is a big deal. Carl then insists that it is a big deal and that the meteor is headed straight for earth. Carl expresses worry and trepidation as he hopes Global Community scientists empowered by Nicolae Carpathia will shoot down the meteor. The captain of the ship announces that Carpathia decided not to shoot down the meteor. He also announces that the submarine has twelve seats that are vacant and that some of the passengers from the ship may be able to survive. The hostages take five of the seats on the submarine, leaving only seven seats for the crew. The captain draws seven names for the crew members to occupy the submarine, with John's name being the sixth name. John then uses that opportunity to talk to Carl about his beliefs in God and Jesus. The captain then yells at John to get off the ship if he wants to leave. Carl says that he can't believe. But he is then stunned when John offers to give Carl his seat on the submarine. Even though Carl says that John can't do this because they hardly know each other, John insists he knows what he is doing. Carl then squeezes into the submarine and then it heads for the bottom of the ocean. Inside the submarine, Carl watches on the monitor as John breaks into the control center and speaks to everyone on the ship about Jesus. The sub's skipper forced Carl to turn off the monitor, and that is the last that Carl hears from John. The submarine tried to remain at the bottom of the ocean for as long as possible, but the splashdown from the meteor brought the submarine to the surface within seconds. There was a lot of yelling in the submarine as everyone begged God to save them. As a result, three of the hostages in the submarine were killed, as well as one of the seven crew members. Of the twelve people that occupied the submarine, eight of them survived. Carl was one of the lucky survivors but was badly injured. He was sent to a hospital and it took him months to recover. Eventually, Global Community officers asked Carl questions about his experience on The Peacekeeper One. Carl tells them about John, and then finds out about the Global Community's plan to trap more believers.

In his final message to the Young Tribulation Force, John briefly mentions Carl.

Darkening Skies: Judgment of Ice

Vicki Byrne and Conrad Graham both express concern when multiple e-mails are sent to Mark Eisman. Wondering if the messages a trick from the Global Community, Mark replies with a message for the sender to express his intentions. A new message is sent from Carl Meninger. Mark reads in the e-mail that John saved Carl's life and that Carl was recovering from his injuries in a hospital. Carl then asks in the e-mail if he can meet up with Mark. Mark checks John's last message and finds Carl's name in it. It seems to be good enough for Mark to think that this meeting could be legitimate, but Mark still plans to meet Carl far enough from the schoolhouse. Carl later sends Mark one more message when the computer loses its battery during Trumpet Judgment #4.

Attack of Apollyon: Revenge of the Locusts

Mark reads another message from Carl. In his message, Carl writes that he will be released from the hospital soon. Mark then sets up a meeting to meet Carl in Kankakee, Illinois. A Global Community officer named Kolak helps Mark to meet with Carl at an air strip. Carl shakes hands with Mark and tells him John gave Carl his Bible before he died. Carl wanted to talk about what happened. Mark then warns Carl about the upcoming judgment. Mark then asks Carl if John ever told him about this stuff. Carl says John wanted to pray with him, but the former didn't feel right about it. Mark then rhetorically asks Carl what more he needs to know, and then Carl says to Mark to take him to the Young Trib Force hideout. Mark wonders how Carl knows they have a hideout, but he pushes that thought aside. Eventually, Trumpet Judgment #5 begins and Mark pushes Carl into a car to protect him from the locusts that are now harassing him. Carl asks what he has to do and Mark prays with him to become a believer. Carl then says, "Amen." Carl gets out of the car and is surprised that the locusts are no longer bothering him. Carl then notices the mark of the believer on Mark's forehead and Mark says that Carl has one just like it. Mark then says he wants to hear John's story.

A Dangerous Plan: Race Against Time

Carl tells Mark that he saved his life and that's twice someone from his family has done that. Mark then says that even though getting stung hurts, Carl wouldn't have died. Carl then tells Mark that there were actually two reasons why he wanted to meet with him. Carl wanted to talk to Mark about John, but he then says that Mark may not like the second reason. As Mark studies Carl feeling dubious, the latter breaks the silence. Carl tells Mark about meeting John Preston and working with him on The Peacekeeper One. Carl had trained John on that ship. John had caught on fast and learned most of the equipment in half the time it took most recruits.

The Rise of the False Messiahs: Carpathia's Evil Tricks

Carl Meninger is a part of the Southern Contingent of the Young Tribulation Force. He now resides in the plantation house with about twenty believers, including Luke and Tom Gowin. Judd Thompson Jr. and Lionel Washington arrive in South Carolina from Petra (from Saarbrücken, Germany in the Dramatic Audio) to begin a journey to Wisconsin to reunite with their friends. Judd and Lionel intend to stay with them for a time while waiting out the threat from the bounty hunters.

Carl set up a computer room, communications, and surveillance in the plantation house. When two Global Community agents, Lee and Brooke McCarty, show up at the plantation house as the pretense that they were wandering people who refused Carpathia's mark, Carl was able to look up Brooke and Lee's stated information, and it checked out, but the Young Tribulation Force were reluctant to trust them because they acted as enthusiastic believers after they prayed the sinner's prayer with Lionel, but they did not have they mark of the believer. Carl helped the Young Tribulation Force deceive them and confirmed through surveilling them with hidden cameras and speakers in their assigned bedroom that they had the mark of Carpathia and were working for the Global Community. With Carl's assistance, they were able to conceal the others believers who resided in the plantation house from Lee and Brooke McCarty and evacuate them (with Carl among them) to another safe house in Barnwell, Georgia. (The books say that they are in "Barnwell, Georgia" but there is only a Barnwell, South Carolina.) When the Global Community finally did raid the place, Judd, Lionel, Tom Gowin, and Luke Gowin were able to escape. As a parting gift, Carl planted explosives in the basement of the plantation house, which went off during the raid to destroy evidence.

Carl later finds out about the deaths of Tom Gowin and Luke Gowin from a news broadcast. He is lachrymose and expresses remorse for their deaths. A funeral service is then held for Tom and Luke. This is the last time Carl is seen in the series.

Triumphant Return: The New Jerusalem

Carl was alive at the Glorious Appearing. Lionel Washington mentioned that Carl was a vital part of the Young Tribulation Force in South Carolina and had seen hundreds of people become Christians since Lionel and Judd last encountered him. This is the final time Carl is mentioned in the series.

Appearances

Left Behind: The Kids

• 16. Fire from Heaven (first appearance)
• 19. Attack of Apollyon (becomes a believer)
• 20. A Dangerous Plan
• 21. Secrets of New Babylon (voice)
• 24. Uplink from the Underground (first POV)
• 25. Death at the Gala
• 35. The Rise of False Messiahs (last appearance)

Mentions

Left Behind: The Kids

• 17. Terror in the Stadium (Carl was not named)
• 18. Darkening Skies
• 22. Escape from New Babylon
• 23. Horsemen of Terror
• 29. Breakout!
• 32. War of the Dragon
• 34. Bounty Hunters
• 40. Triumphant Return

Trivia

• John Preston sacrificed his life to save Carl by giving him his seat on Peacekeeper One's submarine just before the second trumpet judgment hit. Seven names were drawn to choose which crew members would occupy the sub. John refused to enter the submarine, however, and enabled Carl to take his seat, thus allowing Carl to live and later become a believer.
• Carl's first appearance was in book 16.
• Carl's last appearance was in book 35.
• Carl's first POV was in book 24.
• Carl was in a hospital for a long time recovering from injuries after Trumpet Judgment #2 as a result of the splashdown from the meteor.
• Carl was almost stung by the locusts in Trumpet Judgment #5.
• Carl became a believer and joined the Young Tribulation Force in book 19.
• Carl wrote with his left hand a few times when Vicki Byrne was teaching him about her interpretation of prophecies in the Bible.
• Carl is the only named crew member of The Peacekeeper One whose initials are not J.P.
• Carl is the first Young Tribulation Force member whose exact age before the Rapture is never revealed.
• Carl is the first Young Tribulation Force member born in the United States not to be from Illinois.
• No information is given about Carl's biological family or background before he met John Preston.
• It is unknown if Carl has any family members, living or dead.
• Amazingly enough, Carl was rescued by two members of the Eisman-Preston family. John Preston saved Carl's life by giving him his seat on the submarine during Trumpet Judgment #2, and Mark Eisman saved Carl from being stung by one of the locusts in Trumpet Judgment #5 by shoving Carl into a car and praying with him to become a believer.
• Carl's own boss was threatened by Neal Damosa and even Leon Fortunato himself after Vicki spoke to the students at the satellite schools.
• Carl was one of the only 8 surviving occupants of the small submarine from the Peacekeeper One and one of the only 6 survivors that were members of the Peacekeeper One crew.
• Assuming the other 5 survivors from the Peacekeeper One did not become believers, Carl may have been the only survivor from the Peacekeeper One to be alive at the Glorious Appearing.
• Carl traveled the most of all the non-original members of the Young Tribulation Force. He was first seen traveling to the Atlantic Ocean, then he traveled to Illinois, then he traveled to South Carolina, then he traveled to Florida, then he traveled back to South Carolina, then he traveled to Georgia, then he traveled back to South Carolina for the Glorious Appearing.
• Excluding the Gowin brothers, Carl spent the longest time in South Carolina of all the members of the Young Tribulation Force.
• Carl is the only Young Tribulation Force member from the United States whose first appearance occurred outside of the states.
• Carl is one of three Young Tribulation Force members whose first appearance occurred outside of the United States. The other two are Nada Ameer and Sam Goldberg.
• Lionel's POV in Triumphant Return seems to suggest that Carl hasn't had much contact with the other YTF members since the deaths of Tom and Luke.
• It is unknown how Carl reacted to the deaths of fellow YTF members Natalie Bishop and Mark Eisman.
• Carl, Tom, and Luke were the only members of the Southern Contingent of the Young Tribulation Force.
• With Luke Gowin's death in book 35, Carl was the only member of the Southern Contingent of the Young Tribulation Force to survive to the Glorious Appearing.
• Carl is one of two Young Tribulation Force members that survived to the Glorious Appearing whose name was removed from the introductions in books 29 through 40. The other one was Tanya Spivey.
• The Rise of False Messiahs, the 35th book in the Left Behind: The Kids series, is the only book in the series in which Carl's name is written in the intro.
• Carl was the only Young Tribulation Force member still alive at the time that did not see Judd and Vicki's wedding in book 38. The Young Tribulation Force members in Wisconsin saw the wedding through a video camera.
• Carl may have been the only member of the Meninger family to survive to the Glorious Appearing.
• Of all the members of the YTF, Carl had the most knowledge and expertise of technology and computers.
• Carl was the last member of The Peacekeeper One that was known to have become a believer.
• Carl was the only member of the Young Tribulation Force to have resided in Florida.
• Carl was the oldest member of the Young Tribulation Force.
• Carl was the only Young Tribulation Force member to not be near another Young Tribulation Force member at the Glorious Appearing.
• Carl was the only Young Tribulation Force member that survived to the Glorious Appearing that did not appear in Triumphant Return, the 40th and final book of the series.
• Carl is the first male YTF member to have made his final appearance.
• Carl hacked into the Global Community satellite to allow Vicki Byrne to give her broadcast.
• It can be assumed that Carl reunited with John Preston, Mark Eisman, Tom Gowin, Luke Gowin, and Jim Pelton at the Glorious Appearing.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, Carl's interactions with John were omitted.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, John's sacrifice for Carl is never mentioned.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, Neal Damosa personally threatened Carl.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, none of the Young Tribulation Force members (except for Tom and Luke) have had any contact with Carl after Vicki's final satellite broadcast.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, Carl's interactions with Tom Gowin and Luke Gowin are not shown.
• In the dramatic audio presentation, Carl never met Judd Thompson Jr. and Lionel Washington.