The Genesis Code (22 page)

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

“I’m feeding the data from the disk into an encryption algorithm. In a minute, we’ll be able to run the program on Ambergris’ intron sequence.”

“We’re running out of time,” said Madison. “How much longer is this going to take? We have to find out what the Genesis Code says.”

Behind them, a voice echoed from the darkened recesses of the server farm.

“I’ll tell you what it says.”

Madison spun around, searching for the source of the voice.

“Who’s there?”

Grace and Quiz scanned the room, searching for a figure hidden among the rows of servers and gene sequencers.

Dr. Joshua Ambergris stepped out from the shadows.

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

Christian was stunned at the apparent resurrection of his former mentor.

“Dr. Ambergris?”

Grace was speechless. Her hands covered her mouth in shock. Quiz stared at Ambergris as if he had risen from the dead.

Dante Giovanni stepped from the shadows to stand by Dr. Ambergris’ side.

“This will take quite a bit of explanation,” said Giovanni.

Grace snapped out of her momentary shock at seeing Ambergris alive. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Tears streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry, so sorry, for what you must have suffered as a result of my charade,” said Ambergris. “But I believe you will forgive me once I make it clear to you what was at stake.”

Madison stepped forward and grasped Ambergris’ outstretched hand.

“Christian. So good to see you,” his former mentor said.

Ambergris turned to Quiz.

“And Mr. Quiz, it seems we owe you a debt of gratitude as well.”

Madison, Grace, and Quiz all began to speak at once.

“How did you—”

“You were both in on this—”

“Why did you have to—”

Dr. Ambergris held up a shaky hand.

“Please. I will explain everything. But I think you will understand better if I first share with you the secret of the Genesis Code.”

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

Zoovas stood at the urinal, humming quietly to himself. When Sergeant Peters walked into the men’s room, the humming stopped.

“What the hell…”

The worried look on her face stopped him midsentence.

“Zoovas, we have a problem. I just got a call from the 911 center. A bomb threat to the Millennium Tower was phoned in a couple of minutes ago.”

“Yeah, we’ve had four of those so far today. Crackpots and hoaxers. What’s the big deal?”

“This one is different. The caller said to contact you directly. He identified himself as Dr. Christian Madison.”

Holy Jesus.

“We can’t find Omar Crowe,” said Peters. “But he did designate you as liaison to the NYPD. Somebody has to make a decision. You’ve got to make the call.”

Zoovas didn’t hesitate.

“If I lose my job, so be it.”

He grabbed his radio and keyed in a three-digit code.

“Security,” said the voice on the radio.

“This is Zoovas. We have a credible threat of a bomb in the Millennium Tower. I’m ordering an immediate evacuation of the entire building. Implement evacuation protocols immediately.”

The voice hesitated.

“Yes, sir.”

Two seconds later, all security officers were ordered to begin implementing evacuation protocols. Two minutes later, red emergency lights throughout the building began to blink. A voice was broadcast throughout the Millennium Tower.

“Attention, please. May I have your attention, please. All persons in the Millennium Tower are asked to proceed immediately to the emergency exits at the stairwells located near the center of each floor. Security officers are positioned throughout the building to provide assistance and to direct you to the nearest exit. There is no immediate threat to your safety, but we ask that you proceed in a safe and orderly manner to the nearest emergency exit.”

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

The room was silent with anticipation. All eyes were on Dr. Ambergris.

“That disk does, in fact, contain the encryption key for the Genesis Code. After considerable trial and error, I was successful in translating the code,” said Ambergris.

“The code was based on a substitution cipher? Gematria? With Mayan hieroglyphs?” asked Madison.

“Yes,” said Ambergris. “My father’s research, his life’s work, started me down the right path. The key to translating the code was hidden in the text of the
Popul Vuh.
But I’ve discovered that the key was also hidden in the Hebrew alphabet by ancient Jewish scholars. The encryption cipher can be found in the text of the
Sepher Yetzirah.
Either can be used to translate the Genesis Code. And there may be other encryption keys hidden in texts of other ancient civilizations. I suspect there may be similar keys to breaking the Code in Chinese, Hindu, and Assyrian manuscripts.”

“Unbelievable,” said Quiz.

“The intron sequence that I translated tells the story of the origins of the Genesis Code.”

Madison held his breath. The weight of the moment was overwhelming. They were about to learn mankind’s oldest secrets.

“The first section of the Genesis Code says essentially this: An advanced human civilization flourished on the earth in the distant past, hundreds of thousands of years ago, only to be wiped out by a global cataclysm. This lost civilization is the common ancestor of what we consider earth’s most ancient cultures.”

“That explains the remarkable similarities in the mythologies of ancient cultures around the world, the recurrence of astronomically significant numbers and mythological themes,” said Grace.

“Yes. Passed along through oral tradition by the survivors of the cataclysm that destroyed this lost civilization. Before their destruction, they discovered a pattern of global cataclysms that periodically afflict our planet. These worldwide catastrophes coincide with the precession of the equinoxes and the alignment of the earth in relation to other astronomical bodies.”

“So what are you saying?” asked Quiz. “That every couple hundred thousand years, the earth goes through a period of cataclysmic changes? And one of these cataclysms destroyed this lost civilization?”

“Precisely,” said Ambergris. “My speculation is that as the earth revolves through the galaxy, it periodically passes through a region of space that has a devastating impact on the earth. Perhaps it’s a field of tremendous gravitational pull. I don’t know.”

“They knew it was coming, but had no way to stop it,” said Madison.

“Yes. Our ancient forefathers were powerless to stop the catastrophe, but they devised a way to warn future human civilizations of the pattern of cataclysms.”

“They created the Genesis Code,” said Grace.

“Ingenious, isn’t it? Mankind’s first advanced civilization evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago. They attained a high level of technological achievement and scientific knowledge. Knowing that it would be tens of thousands of years or more before the next cycle of global cataclysm struck, they had to allow for certain possibilities: that when the next cataclysm occurred, mankind could be speaking entirely new languages, or using any sort of numbering system. How could they pass along this knowledge in a way that would be discovered?”

Ambergris paused and pointed to the plasma screen displaying the intron sequence.

“They decided to send us a warning by inserting a coded message into human DNA.”

The intron sequence scrolled across the plasma screen.

“A warning to be discovered when humankind again became advanced enough to find it and read it. A warning that could never be erased or lost, because it was written into the essential structure of our bodies. As long as there are humans, the message will survive.”

“But they couldn’t save themselves.”

“No. Apparently that was beyond their ability. The global cataclysm struck and decimated most of humanity. The disaster was so terrible that most humans perished. Those that did survive were forced to live like animals while the earth recovered over tens of thousands of years.”

“Mankind basically had to start over,” said Madison.

“Humanity lost tens of thousands of years of advancement. We almost didn’t survive at all. Over hundreds of generations, memories of the past faded and knowledge was lost. Society began again from scratch, returning to pagan beliefs and simplistic lives. But there were some who remembered more, who retained some of the advanced techniques and ideas that others had forgotten. This ancient knowledge appears in the mythologies and architectures of ancient cultures, placed there to preserve it for future generations.”

“Like the mathematics encoded in the architecture of the Egyptian pyramids and the Mayan temples,” said Madison.

“And the recurring numbers relating to precession and astronomical cycles in ancient mythologies,” added Grace.

“Yes,” said Ambergris. “But you must ask yourself, why did those who retained this ancient wisdom keep it secret from the rest of humanity?”

Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

Groups of people began streaming out of the Millennium Tower and spilling into the street. The crowd of protesters, now in their second day of protesting the Biogenetics Conference, stopped chanting and watched the exodus with concern.

Zoovas and Sergeant Peters climbed up on a concrete planter on the sidewalk, elevating themselves above the crowd. Peters handed Zoovas a bullhorn.

“Listen up, everyone. I’m Michael Zoovas from Triad Genomics security. This is Sergeant Peters from the NYPD. We have begun an evacuation of the Millennium Tower due to a bomb threat phoned in to 911 just a few minutes ago. For your safety, we are asking that you proceed in a safe and orderly manner away from the area immediately.”

Protesters began dropping their signs, collecting their friends and family, and walking at a brisk pace away from the Millennium Tower. But a small group of them remained rooted in place.

Jennifer looked up at Zoovas, considering the possibility of another terrorist attack in Manhattan. Her concerns about stem cell research suddenly seemed trivial. Her eyes were drawn to an American flag flapping in the wind above the entrance to the atrium of the Millennium Tower.

She dropped her sign to the ground. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

Subbasement, Level C
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

“Over time, those who preserved this ancient knowledge became a secret society of global elites. They have been among us for thousands of years,” said Ambergris.

“They call themselves the Order,” said Giovanni. “But they have been known to the rest of the world by many names—the Rosicrucians, the Bildeburgers, the Trilateral Commission, and many others.”

“The Order has kept the ancient knowledge hidden from the rest of humanity. They are fearful that if the masses learned of the coming cataclysm, and the probable death of human civilization in the next global catastrophe, there would be a complete collapse of the institutions of civilized society. A collapse that would plunge the world back into a state of barbarism and chaos.”

“But they couldn’t possibly have kept such secrets hidden for so long,” said Grace.

“To maintain their conspiracy of silence, the Order co-opted or killed those who discovered the truth throughout our history. Many have been killed to keep mankind ignorant of its dark future.”

Madison thought for a moment. “They were going to kill you too.”

Ambergris nodded somberly. “Yes.”

“How did you find out?” asked Grace.

“There is dissension within the Order. Some of its members oppose the acts of murder and violence that perpetuate the conspiracy. A splinter faction of the Order decided that the threat of societal collapse did not justify a policy of premeditated murder. Secretly, they began to warn those targeted for assassination.”

Street Level
Millennium Tower
Manhattan, New York

Thick streams of people surged out of the Millennium Tower onto the sidewalk. Security officers posted on each floor tried to control the flow of evacuees into the stairwells to avoid a panicked mass rush for the exits. Jennifer and the small band of protesters who volunteered to help stood near the entrance to the atrium of the Millennium Tower directing the human traffic.

“Triad Genomics security has trained for this type of situation,” Zoovas had said to Jennifer and the volunteers. “But things are going to happen quickly. Hopefully, most of the evacuees will stay calm and follow the directions of the security officers in the building.”

Zoovas was struck by the bravery of the volunteers. They were risking their lives to help.

“But some of them won’t. Some of the evacuees will be confused, exhausted from climbing down the stairs, or agitated. Some of them may be physically infirm and will need assistance. Here’s what I need from each of you. I need you to help escort those people away from the building as quickly as possible. It is essential that we stop any panic from spreading. Try to keep them calm.”

Jennifer and the others nodded. Zoovas began handing out orange vests marked with word
Security
on the front and back.

“Wear these. Sergeant Peters has informed the NYPD that anyone wearing this vest will be assisting in the evacuation effort. If you take it off, the police may try to forcibly remove you from the area.”

Jennifer slid the vest over her head and cinched it around her waist. The others followed her example.

“Questions?” asked Zoovas.

There were none.

“Okay,” said Zoovas. “Let’s get to it.”

Just minutes after the evacuation order was announced, Flavia Veloso began a live broadcast across the street from the Millennium Tower.

“We have just received word of a bomb threat at the Millennium Tower here in lower Manhattan. Minutes ago, police officers and security personnel began an evacuation of the entire building. Law enforcement sources speculate that the bomb threat was intended to disrupt the International Biogenetics Conference that was scheduled to begin this morning.”

Panic was beginning to rise as the stream of evacuees became a flood. Caught in the throngs of people that rushed out of the Millennium Tower, a diminutive elderly gentleman struggled to stay on his feet.

As he was buffeted by shoulders and elbows, his strength was quickly failing after the long descent from the thirty-fourth floor. He started to hyperventilate.

I’m going to be trampled to death.

Just as he began to lose all hope, a young man in an orange vest muscled his way through the human exodus and threw his arm around the old man’s waist. He used the bulk of his body to shield the stooped man from the rush of the crowd.

“Not to worry,” said the young man. “Let’s get you out of this crowd to a safer place.”

He tried to calm the elderly gentleman, to distract him from the increasingly agitated mob of people rushing out from the building.

“My name is John. John Vedder. What’s yours?”

“Edward,” said the old man. “Dr. Edward Sullivan. I’m a geneticist. Here for the Biogenetics Conference.”

Sullivan noticed a tattoo on Vedder’s forearm. It was a colorful depiction of Jesus Christ.

“I recognize you,” said Sullivan, suddenly concerned. “I saw you on television. You were part of the protest this morning.” Worry clouded his face.

Vedder nodded. “Yes, I was. But that’s not important right now.”

Sullivan searched the young man’s face for signs of malice. He saw only compassion.

“Thank you,” said Sullivan.

Vedder smiled as he lifted the elderly scientist in his arms and carried him out of the surging crowd.