Or was this a coverup for an even more ancient organization?
This cavern seemed to predate any existing culture, and their covenant must have inherited its protection.
What I see here goes beyond anything I could have imagined.
A powerful force went to great lengths to construct this intricate structure for a crucial purpose.
She quickly turned left with one black basaltic wall almost catching her foot, and there it was… a sight that left her breathless.
§CHAPTER 24§
IN FRONT of her, a golden pyramid floated in the air between the floor and a giant stalactite, which seemed unnaturally well-polished and made from a gold-like metal.
The pyramid was also surrounded by four basins of the same basaltic material filled with a dark oily liquid, which was spreading a thick and warm scent filled with hints of honey and ripe citrus, her favorite honeysuckle fragrance.
She suddenly started blushing while she closed her eyes to process the unexpected explosion of memories.
All these long-forgotten feelings generated a tremor that shook her from head to toe.
She was back in the botanical garden.
“The Latin name of your favorite honeysuckle is Lonicera Japonica,” her teacher gently explained.
“After Adam Lonicer, a Renaissance botanist. This species originated in Japan.”
“The vine will slowly suffocate everything around as an invasive species but will mesmerize you with its perfume.”
“We all need to learn the lessons nature gives us. Its link with Christianity is still a mystery to me Lydia. Maybe one day, you’ll solve it,” madame Carmen said to thirteen-year-old Lydia.
Lydia stepped forward and was abruptly jolted back to the present as an unexpected flame ignited all four basins at the same time, engulfing the pyramid with a strange glowing bluish light.
Another pressure point activated mechanism; she was glad that at least she didn’t trigger a deadly spiked trap on the floor.
She could not keep herself from grinning, and her heart started to pulsate faster while overwhelmed by a wave of adrenaline.
Getting closer to the floating pyramid, she could not help but wonder how the magnetic field was being generated to keep such a massive metallic object afloat.
She knew that gold didn’t have magnetic properties. The only explanation was that it was coated and that inside there was another material with magnetic properties.
The floor and ceiling must also be a magnet—a system of magnets in perfect equilibrium…
Looking closer, she realized that it was, in fact, a model of the Great Pyramid.
The flickering of the bluish flame revealed a shiny red precious stone.
The ruby highlighted the fabled King’s chamber. All the Great Pyramid’s chambers were faintly stylized, including the one of the Queen and the Grand Gallery.
Strangely from the ruby, there was another passage to an unknown chamber marked with a flower of life symbol.
The first thing that came to mind was that her students were particularly fascinated by her favorite lecture part, when she talked about the most ancient flower of life symbols from around 4.000 BC discovered at the Temple of Osiris in Abydos, Egypt.
The oddest feature of the flower of life in Abydos was that it was not carved into the granite, but instead, it seemed to be burned or somehow drawn on with incredible precision.
Her colleagues in archaeology believed it could have represented the Eye of RA, a symbol of the Pharaoh’s authority.
Was the ruby a marker point showing the path to the entrance of the secret chamber?
She felt pulled towards it, and when approaching her hand, the ruby started to pulsate faintly.
Without thinking, she pushed the precious stone down.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, and then on the surface of the golden pyramid, several letters started to emerge, written in a language she could not understand.
The letters seemed to have been pushed forward by a strange force from the previously perfect smooth surface.
“XGlass activate flash and start taking pictures every three seconds.”
Using her XGlass, she took photos from all the pyramid’s sides.
If I manage to escape this place alive, I am sure Neo will help me find a solution in translating the letters.
A few seconds later, Lydia heard a faint noise coming from the pyramid.
“Oh no, here it comes. I am sure I activated another damn trap.”
However, nothing happened besides the top of the pyramid detaching from the main body and starting to float above it.
It’s like an invitation to grab it, Lydia thought with a feeling of fear permeating her mind.
This mini-pyramidion seemed familiar to her…
Suddenly, as in the case of the previous markings, several symbols started to materialize on it, which looked to be Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Where did I see this pyramid model before?
Oh, Yes. I think I saw a similar one with my parents when we went to Egypt to celebrate my fourteenth birthday on a Nile cruise.
Indeed, it resembles to a Benben stone if I could only remember precisely where I spotted it.
A Benben stone, which, at its center, is a variation of the flower of life.
She felt the urge to take the mini-pyramid with her because it might prove useful in the future, despite all the risks and her mind saying: don’t do it; it will trigger a trap.
When touching the smooth surface, it detached effortlessly, and it seemed to be much lighter than it appeared.
She quickly put it in one of her coat pockets and closed the invisible zipper.
A subtle breeze suddenly began stroking her hair.
This is not good. Where would the breeze be coming from?
The flames reduced in intensity, and the honeysuckle perfume became suffocating.
Immediately after, the breeze was replaced by a faint tremor, which started to increase in intensity. Then a howling noise came. The stalactites began falling one by one, and while this was happening, the illuminated ceiling began to go dark.
Oh no, this cannot be happening; I’ll be squashed and die here in the dark.
Looking above for any falling rocks, she noticed that just two of the symbols remained active on the ceiling but in opposite directions.
Which one should I take? I am sure one of them will show me the exit.
I cannot make my mind. Think Lydia. Which one is it?
She knew the symbology of both luminescent drawings. The Caduceus, resembling a winged DNA structure, was an ancient Greco-Roman relic, thousands of years old.
She was fascinated by the shape of this mysterious object, and once she asked her mother what it was when she stumbled upon it in one of her visits to the Louvre Museum in Paris.
“Ahh, my child, it’s a supernaturally powerful staff, composed of two serpents directly opposite one another, which are both coiled upwards on a rod.”
“It was said to be used by the Greek Gods Hermes and Asclepios in unknown ways to both control and heal their human worshipers,” her beautiful mom said with a soft voice.
“One day, maybe you’ll discover one and use its powers, but please, only for good, my dear daughter,” her mom said, showing a big smile.
This was a difficult and challenging problem for Lydia.
She never liked to make quick decisions. She always preferred to analyze every option thoroughly, as well as the impact her decision could have.
But now she had no choice; another leap of faith was required.
I miss you so much, mom. If only you could be here right now.
I knew you would have made a swift and logical decision.
With this in mind, she started running as fast as she could, trying to avoid the falling rocks.
The symbol was shining above her, and deep inside, she knew that she could have made the wrong choice.
§CHAPTER 25§
NEW yORK
Like most of the great cities around the world which owned similar Egyptian heritages, gifted or stolen, this one, in particular, was an antique, 3500-years-old, and perfectly preserved.
The two-hundred-ton Obelisk was a reminder of Egypt’s glorious past.
He enjoyed diving into its symbolism as it reminded him of the Pharaoh Thutmose III’s story, one of the most powerful Pharaohs in history.
In 1450 BC, to commemorate his thirty-year reign, he ordered memorabilia to be created that would endure across millennia and etched from a single slab of precious rose granite.
This one had a twin, and they faced fifteen hundred years of turbulent times before collapsing under the sandstorms and conflict, being left to oblivion.
Its twin ended up in London in 1879 and was placed on the banks of the Thames. Two obelisks on different continents; two nations united by the same origin.
With Simon’s mind wandering to the past; he could not understand why the scent of his first wife was invading his mind after such a long time.
Why are you haunting me?
She was standing in front of him, a mesmerizing ghost of the past.
Remember my love; nothing is forever. Was it really worth it? All this time, all the power you wanted, away from my embrace.
Simon knew the answer; his consciousness was projecting her ghost.
I’ll never have the answer to this question.
I still believe that I made the right choices, and I’ll endure the present-day hardships the same way the Pharaoh’s obelisk survived for millennia.
For a moment, he glanced back at the flickering screens. All over the world, the pandemic was becoming catastrophic.
Even the remotest corner of the world was affected by COVID-19, with most of the victims located in developed Central European countries. The United States was becoming the second epicenter after China with scores of dead and its medical system overwhelmed.
Could this be divine justice?
We all knew this moment would arrive when overpopulation and our lack of respect towards the planet would backfire on us.
This is the moment when we need to mobilize and rebuild.
Our Order has protected this nation for so long. We will not wither in front of this challenge, Simon thought with unnerving self-control.
“Vice-President, I detected an incident in our vault,” his A.I. informed in a perfectly calm voice. “Someone has broken in, and the underground structure collapsed. The drones cannot descend to assess the damage.”
“How could this be possible in one of the most secured buildings in the world?” the Vice-President inquired with anger in his voice.
“Vice President, I am afraid all our data related to the event was mysteriously deleted. There is no way to trace back who has done this …”
“I am re-checking the residual memory of our servers. Maybe there are still some fragments which I can recover.”
I have to find who is responsible for this breach or otherwise everything will be lost.
“I need an update on President Blackmoore’s health status.”
“The United States President's status remains unchanged. He is still in mechanical ventilation, and he doesn’t seem to respond to the latest trial antiviral therapy he was enrolled in.”
“A new study was just published, and the survival rate for patients over 65, who were placed on a machine, was just 3%. Furthermore, men had a higher mortality rate than women,” the A.I. reported.
“Do you want to hear more statistics?”
“No, that will be enough. I am ready to take my flight to Washington.”
The A.I. assistant instantly opened a communication channel with his security team, which was on standby for his order.
“Sir, your chopper is waiting for you on the helipad.”
The Vice President whisked away with an eerie calm. He took one last glimpse at Central Park, fixating on the Obelisk again while whispering to himself:
“I will find you again, my love, and we’ll be reunited.”
§CHAPTER 26§
THE SYMBOL of the Egyptian ankh was growing closer on the horizon. She could now see a faint glittering light.
Could it be that I reached the exit?
For the moment, the tremors calmed, and she knew that, indeed, she made the right choice.
The Egyptians thought the ankh symbolized the gate to eternal life; a token of protection to open the path to the afterlife, the first symbol of a cross.
The ancient mystics’ symbol of the circularity between life and death.
The early Christians knew its power and adopted it as their faith’s symbol with the culmination of Jesus being crucified, an unfortunate coincidence for such a powerful symbol to be correlated with such a cruel way to die.
The stone walls of the cave became darker as the two luminescent symbols’ light became fainter, projecting just a dim glitter from the high ceiling.
Will I be soon surrounded by absolute darkness? Lydia’s phobia was gradually beginning to take a toll on her, especially as she began to have difficulty breathing.
Will I die here alone in pure darkness with my greatest fear? Now she was feeling almost suffocated by the darkness. It was engulfing her slowly, choking her bronchia, nearly triggering an asthma attack.
Hello, my fear. It has been such a long time. Where have you been?
While breathing heavily, she noticed the air seemed impure; a strange foul smell seemed to ooze from all directions.
What a difference compared with the honeysuckle perfume, she thought.
And when the last faint glitter vanished from above, and all hope seemed lost…
“XGlass activate light.”
“Light cannot be activated as the battery levels are to 2%, please recharge your...” the device said as it switched off.
In the absolute darkness, a whitish light began to shine not far from her on the upper part of one of the walls.
A beacon of hope in absolute darkness, Lydia said to herself with a dash of optimism.
She realized that there was an ascending path she had to take until reaching the light.
The path was extremely narrow, and she had to be careful not to stumble and fall to her death, as there was no protective border to prevent her plunge.
She felt incredibly tired. Going up a slope in almost complete darkness took a toll on her energy level.
I am going up, but where?
Small tremors were still coming and going, and she knew the sooner she was out of the underground cave, the better.
Time seemed to pass at a snail’s pace. After what seemed like endless climbing, there it was.
The shining white light was, in fact, a giant rock crystal, which was receiving light via a mirror system only now visible.
Looking back, it seemed to have reached the top of the cave, and at its center, the four burning honeysuckle oil flames were just four faint dots but still burning.
As she approached the hanging crystal, its light was becoming stronger, and again a tremor started to shake the ground underneath her.
The path in front of her was blocked, but the wall above the crystal began to crack open.
A secret exit, maybe, Lydia thought with a glimmer of hope. Now big chunks of stone were detaching and rolling down in the chasm behind her.
While Lydia tried to avoid being taken down by one of the rolling stones. In a soundless explosion, the rock crystal shattered into a fine powder which almost generated fake sparkly snow falling in front of the newly formed entrance; a carpet of crystal dust and an invitation to the unknown.
§CHAPTER 27§
THE ORDER WAS forced to relocate several times. However, they always kept a guardian of their secrets to protect the entrance and exit to their vault.
Lydia found herself in a small room looking for an opening, a way out of the catacombs. Her XGlass and cell phone were now depleted.
The darkness once again began to slowly choke her to death.
Desperate and barely breathing, she came up with one final idea. What if I try to reopen my cell phone again? Maybe there is still some residual battery left.
Switching it on, she felt beyond lucky, seeing a 3% battery.
She quickly activated its light with trembling hands and projected it onto the walls full of roots and earth.
She quickly picked up a moldy, rotten leaf smell emanating from every corner.
In one of the walls, she noticed a polished stone, covered with dirt and roots.
I know the exit is so close, but where am I?
Lydia started to pull out all the roots and cleaned the stone with her elbow.
The stone revealed a pattern; the flower of life, which seemed to be sculpted inside the stone.
It appears that somebody was obsessed with this ancient pattern. The flower of life is everywhere…
Touching it, she realized the flower of life was composed of several metallic rings, but some seemed to be missing.
She rotated one of the rings, and suddenly a strong current of air began to blow. It came from above and below and from all sides.
So strange…I guess no flame would have survived here.
My fire torch would have been immediately extinguished; luckily, I still have a bit of battery.
Lydia knew she had to be extremely fast. Her battery was now at 1% and would switch off at any moment.
“I’ll never manage to find the rest of the chains to form the pattern. Where are the rest?” she muttered nervously.
Looking down at the soft muddy earth, she dug her feet in.
She could not help but gasp in excitement, as she noticed a faint shimmer coming from several chains that had been buried shallowly.
Quickly digging them out one by one, she matched the empty spaces, keeping in mind how the flower of life was formed.
The Jesus Christ Cypher Page 7