The Secret of the Ancient Alchemist (41 page)

“
Dr. Hart, I have to tell we’ve concluded that the pages are
forgeries. This conclusion is based on the fact that the papyrus
fibres in the fragments originated form a sedge plant in the Sudan,
probably about ten years ago. The organic content of the fibres
suggests the papyrus could not have come from a fourth century
plant. Based on this finding, I didn’t proceed with the
translation. We’re a hundred percent certain of this
outcome.

Chapter 94

Life seemed
normal again for Steffi. A bright sun shone high in the sky as she
focused her attention on potting plants, encouraged by the splash
of colour from the petunias blooming on her kitchen window.

From
where she lived close to the city, she could tell La Joya’s annual
carnival was in full swing. Huge crowds had gathered on the streets
for the celebration but most were at the historic Knowles House at
the corner of Chancery Lane and Albion Court. The Carnival in La
Joya arose as a celebration of
Canboulay
, which, in 1888 was the only revelry slaves had,
having been banned from everything. The music that accompanied the
partygoers also arose from that era and was as fantastic as the
masquerade itself.

She turned. The
sound of his dragging footsteps was familiar to her. She looked up
as Pearce approached.

“
Guess
what?” he said as he entered and sat on Steffi’s Burlington
sofa.

“
What?”

“
I hacked
Steel’s data.”

He slid down to
a comfortable position as Steffi lit a cigarette and dragged on it.
She pondered her question. She knew Pearce would have the answer;
he knew more of its intention than anyone else.

“
You
think Steel’s research could change the world, don’t
you?”

“
I’m sure
of it.”

“
How
come?”

“
His
agenda will achieve its objectives, what it said it’ll do, stop the
spread of the AIDS virus and put an end to cancer. It’ll take
generations to see these changes.”

“
That is
amazing,” Steffi remarked.

“
There’s
going to be a whole new world, a whole new dispensation for
mankind. Don’t you know that? It’s already happening. The Sierra
Nevada de Santa Marta has become a land of hope. The Militia are no
more. Steel is a saddened man though. SARDS was bombed again by
security forces. He has little power now, stripped of everything,
even his staff, all replaced by foreigners that he despises, his
lifetime’s work handed out to everyone.

“
Has Hart
found the date from Olsen’s Inca data?”

“
Yup!”

“
Well?”

He grinned at
her.

“
Come
on!”

“
It’s
2021. Hart found the same number, 4.” A curious expression sprung
up on Pearce’s face.

“
What’s
wrong?” she asked.

“
Nothing.”

“
Come on,
say!”

“
I
adopted a boy. Now I’m a proud father.”

“
Who’s
this boy?”

“
Julius
Olsen Jr. By the way, Marin is getting married three Sundays from
now.”

“
Married
to whom?”

“
Sonia
Hart. She’s Hart’s sister. I’m his best man.”

“
Really?
That’s nice.”

“
And, I
thought that…that.” Pearce fidgeted in his usual manner.

“
What,
you’re not going?”

“
Yeah,
but... I... I thought maybe we should give it a try.” Pearce opened
a box and placed it on the coffee table as Steffi stared at the
stunning diamond ring. “Well?” he said.

“
I will, Tim.”

September 05
2018

New Jersey

The weather was
cool when Hart walked across the campus on his way to his guest
lecture at Fine Hall. He struggled not so much with what he was
about to say but more of his journey, which to him, had mixed
blessings. He hadn’t gotten over the death of Olsen and it was the
one thing that would forever weigh on his mind. He had set out on a
path to explore the rudiments of human potential and while he
didn’t have all the answers, he believed the truth of human
existence was near. He wasn’t sure if it would come from Science,
or, from gods, who, at some point in time, would revisit the
earth.

“
It’s now
known that an elementary particle can give mass to basic atoms,” he
began, addressing the class of graduate students.

“
You’re
talking about the Higgs-Boson, right? The particle that allows us
to see things.”

“
Yes, and
now that we know that, what does the future hold for Science? Can
anyone guess?”

“
Finding
our realm, Dr. Hart.”

He smiled at
the young man with the glint in his eyes.

“
Finding
our realm is going to be pretty tough.”

“
How
come?”

“
We’re in
a three-dimensional plane of existence. We’re limited by our nature
in finding things. At best, we can theorize. In ancient Hindu
Sanskrit, there’s a term called Akasha. It refers to a vast astral
plane where everything in the universe is recorded, including past
and future events. Even human thoughts are recorded.”

“
Human
thoughts can be captured?”

“
And,
people’s life experiences. It’s like a film. So, what else does the
future hold for Science?”

“
Dark
matter?” someone proffered.

“
Correct.
Dark matter is the next science frontier. After all, ninety percent
of the universe is made of it.”

“
What are
scientists hoping to find?”

“
New
forms of particles, particles with greater powers than
Higgs-bosons.”

“
And,
what does it all mean, Dr. Hart?”

“
It’ll
help us to understand our universe. Something unseen is operating
in the universe and we know absolutely nothing of it. Dark matter
may well control formations in the universe, like other
worlds.”

“
Other
worlds?” The response from the students was immediate.

“
Yes,
supernatural worlds, but,” Hart‘s eyes scanned the room, “we may
never resolve the issue of the universal mind.”

The students
were silent. A girl put her hand up.

“
Yes?”

“
We have
been exploring human potential, right?”

“
Yes.”

“
But,
without a great force of nature, how would our consciousness grow?
Our minds need to be fed, not by what our senses perceive but by
something much more. How are we to reconcile human potential if we
can’t find a universal force?”

“
We can
go back to history.”

“
History?”

“
And,
secrets.”

“
Secrets?”

“
For long
there’ve been aspects of our universe that are difficult to
understand. Even understanding matter is challenging. It is what
led early thinkers to question the possibility of the existence of
a divine force.”

“
Let’s
have the secrets?” a clamour of voices came from the
class.

A twinge caught
Hart’s heart as he thought of all the ancient texts that didn’t
survive. He didn’t find any of the ancient secrets and it seemed no
one ever would. They were buried with the handful of men and women
who were privileged to know them. He moved closer to his class to
speak.

“
But,
where’s the divine force? That’s the key issue. Men and women of
ancient times were amazed by the occult, magic for want of a better
word. In fact, any force that influenced nature attracted them like
the moon, the sun and the stars.”

“
Magic?
Like what?” one student inquired.

“
Miraculously healing the sick, for example. The notion
excited them, as did the notion of supernatural matter. The
philosopher’s stone was said to confer bliss and long life. A
similar stone exists in Buddhism and Hinduism, by the way. It’s
called a Cintamani.”

“
So, how
did they reconcile a divine force?”

“
They
believed in a force of creation, accepting that no one knew where
it was.”

“
There
were no organized religions like we have today, right?”

“
Right.
Then Hermeticism came along. It was very popular and proclaimed the
notion of hidden wisdom. In fact, Isaac Newton studied the
Corpus
Hermeticum
in great
detail to better understand the physical world. As I’ve said,
Science could not have and still can’t explain all the happenings
in the universe. People were encouraged to seek Gnosis or knowledge
embodied in a Great Mind. It was also important to enlighten one’s
mind.”

“
Happenings like what, Dr. Hart?”

“
The
position of Earth in relation to the rest of the solar system, for
one. We don’t really understand how it works.”

“
Where
did Hermeticism originate?”

“
There’re
two sources, one of a Greek god, Hermes, and the other of an
Egyptian god, Thoth.”

“
How do
we know for sure these gods existed?”

“
Their
names were found etched on clay tablets at Thebes. There’re
depictions of these gods.”

“
Tell us
more about Newton, Dr. Hart.”

“
Isaac
Newton remains the most brilliant and most controversial scientist
of all times. He invented Calculus and discovered gravity. Newton
took his thinking out of the box in order to better understand the
universe.”

“
He
delved into the occult?”

“
To some
extent. He acknowledged that not only was there natural life but
supernatural life, a sacred wisdom that plays a big role in the
universe. Over time, he paid less attention to his work and more to
ancient doctrines. He was preoccupied with alchemy and prophecy.
His works were not only coded, but remained unpublished and are now
with private collectors. In those times, one was hanged for the
study of alchemy. He thought the universe had a mind of its
own.”

“
Did he
believe matter harboured the spirit of a Great Mind?”

“
I’m
sure. He was deemed heretic by many though he believed in God. He
believed that knowledge of how nature works, his obsession of
course, was hidden in hieroglyphs, codes and symbols inscribed in
ancient temples and tombs. He also believed Solomon’s Temple was
built by divine guidance and that enlightened individuals had the
ability to interact with other realms.”

“
How did
he apply his knowledge to his studies of the universe?”

“
It was
applied to his study of planetary motion. All natural actions
embodied some hidden wisdom. It wasn’t just about how things
worked, but how things came to be. No one knows what gravity is,
only what it does. Newton said an active principle was operating in
the universe. For this reason, he studied the ancient doctrines in
detail and even did translations of them. He indicated that the
force which guided universal law was one people could use to
achieve their goals. For him, creation was perfection and nothing
matched it.”

“
I don’t
get it?”

“
Get
what?”

“
He said
nothing of the realm of matter.”

“
We know
only of the realm from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. As I’ve said,
the bulk of Newton’s private work is unpublished and we don’t know
all that much.”

“
Olsen
gave us a date of 2021. We know this is true from the seismic
reversals being experienced worldwide. Why did Newton gave a date
of 2060, a year when the world will end?”

“
He
didn’t.”

“
He
didn’t?”

“
What he
did was set a record straight. He believed in prophecy. His
interpretation of Bible prophecy wasn’t apocalyptic. It was about
the destruction of ignorance and the emergence of a new world. His
was the correct interpretation.”

“
In that
case, we have a great future ahead of us, don’t we?”

“
You sure
do.”

A buzz in his
ear made Hart turn.

“
Just a minute, Tom
,” he heard.

“
Hey,
you’re back!”

“
I’m really sorry to interrupt you
.”

“
That’s
ok, I’m done. You never did tell me who you are.”

“
No, I didn’t. I’m Zosimos, the alchemist of
Panapolis
.”

“
You’re
Zosimos!”

“
I came back to say goodbye
.”

“
Let’s
talk.”

“
Can we go outside, away from this crowd?
”

“
Sure.”
Hart made his way to an elevator and exited to the open
compound.

“
This is better. I was hoping you would have found the pages
of the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. That gospel was very important in
the third and fourth centuries.
”