The Ophir

by Irene Patino

  “Honor? I stand proud before you in the number of lives I have consumed, the treasure we’ve accumulated. Can you boast as much? We do not fear you!”

  “Captain Antonio, we do not seek your fear.”

  “You can mind speak? Are you a new tribe? Identify yourself! How do you know my name?”

  “We know the name of all. We know all events that have happened or will happen. The Akashic Records hold everything from the beginning of time, till the end of time. Will you hear us?”

  “Akashic Records? Of what do you speak?”

  “Come aboard, Juanito, and we will talk.”

  Captain Antonio was taken aback by the use of his familiar name. Only his father ever used his familiar name. Only his father ever knew his familiar name. The Captain felt tired, very tired. There was too much to decipher. He moved toward the railing but took no step.

  * * * *

  Sometime later, Captain Antonio awoke from his stupor. He felt thick tongued and dull. He had no memory of boarding the other ship, and yet he knew he’d done so. He sat at his desk but could not remember going to his quarters. His last memory was that of standing on deck, watching a thick fog rolling toward them.

  The ship lurched sideways; the Captain went forward to see about the ships business. Had a storm blown in without sign? Had they been hit broad side by one of those freak waves perhaps?

  Just as he reached for the latch leading to the outside passage, it burst forward with such force that the wood splintered. Tremendous pressure was building in his head. He believed his head would shatter just as the door had done; he used his hands to keep the shards of skull from spraying the room. The Captain staggered toward his bunk, and reaching it, fell forward.

  * * * *

  Shortly thereafter his first mate and several other crewmen came to the door, drawn by the loud wail emitted from the Captain’s throat. Seeing the Captain lying there, unfocused, they backed out and went for the ship’s doctor.

  The doctor, who was more for show than use, went to see why these underlings were so shaken. The doctor was pressed into service, ten years prior, from a Spanish galleon sailing the waters off South America. Captain Antonio had had the good doctor’s tongue cut out within the hour.

  At first, the doctor wondered how he could service anyone without a tongue with which to speak. He soon discovered that no one spoke aboard the Ophir, yet communication was clear and punishment swift for unwarranted thoughts.

  When Doctor Crimper looked into the Captain’s eyes, they were glassy and unresponsive. The Captain looked straight ahead with just the hint of a working mind showing in the frown he would alter with raised brows. He seemed to be listening to something no one else could hear.

  The doctor shooed the observers back out to the ship’s deck, and ‘thought’ his orders of privacy for the Captain.

  “I thank you gentlemen for your quick response. As you can see, the Captain has fallen ill and needs rest. His responsibility to you is a matter of great concern to us all. Please, go back to your duties and keep the ship upright. He needs time. We need time to analyze and wait for a correction of his condition. I will keep you posted on his progress. If any others begin to feel the ill effects of this environment, let the purser know. I will get to you as soon as I can.”

  The sailors smiled. They knew their bodies would suffer no ill. They were startled to see one of their own, the most powerful among them, behave in such an erratic manner. They trusted that they would be informed in time. Out of respect for the Captain, they bowed and backed out of the ship’s suite. They would not challenge the doctor’s orders for fear of incurring the Captain’s wrath. Crimper was under the Captain’s protection and violating the Captain’s rule would bring them to a quick death by Antonio’s own hand. The men could not understand why the Captain favored the doctor so, but none would dare question his authority.

  Taking a chair close to his patient, the doctor took up vigil and waited for the Captain to return to his former state. There was little else he could do. He wondered what could have brought this man to such a condition. He couldn’t do a mind probe. He didn’t know how. He couldn’t ask questions. He’d no tongue. So, he sat and reminisced about his childhood in a country known as Alamein.

  * * * *

  The warrior monk never revealed his identity to Captain Antonio, but his mind to the oath taken as Knights Templar was open:

  “We the Knights of Christ and of the Temple, follow the destiny that prepares us to die for Christ. We have the wish to give this rule of living, of work and of honor to the constructors of churches, so that Christianity can spread throughout the earth, not so that our names should be remembered, Oh Lord, but that your name should live.”

  The monk passed all the knowledge gained over two hundred years to Antonio. He instilled fervor for things of antiquity. He extracted an oath from the Captain to help them in their mission to preserve the name of Christ, knowing that when the time came, he and loyal followers would be included in the re-discovery of the Templar treasures. This would ensure his wealth and authority over the treasure at a time much farther into the future, a time when the world would be in great need of salvation.

  Captain Antonio was told that the Templars had sworn to protect the treasures hidden by religious leaders from every continent known. They were led, by the Copper Scrolls discovered at Quamran, to the most precious of all treasures, the Ark of the Covenant. It was this last treasure that the captain of the Templar war ship entrusted to Captain Juan Antonio Patiño. His orders were to take it to Lemuria, for safe keeping, until the second coming of Christ. And thus, Captain Antonio would be given passage into Paradise for doing the will of God.

  They had read his mind, and knew that what he wanted more than anything now, was to be mortal again, to walk the land once more. He wanted his yoke removed.

  * * * *

  The crew noticed that the Captain became more and more withdrawn as time went on. They attributed it to mental illness. When heard in low conversation with the unseen, they hid their thoughts of mutiny from him, but not his first mate. They themselves had no memory of the time spent in the area that would later be known for its anomalies.

  “Cap’n, I know you’re experiencing changes. Before it reaches a dangerous point, I ask permission to stop possible mutiny. Appoint me as Captain in your stead. I can quell an uprising and control the crew.”

  “There will be no dangerous point. But I am dealing with strange forces. Perhaps you are right. Assigning the position to you will give me the ability to decipher the messages without concern. I must concentrate.

  You’re a good First Mate, a better friend and know this ship as well as I do. Taking these steps with my permission will prevent my being voted adrift and protect the Ophir. Call a meeting. I will resign and give my vote of confidence for the crew to follow.”

  They didn’t experience the spiritual dominion of the Cistercian monks, nor the physical healing the Captain had been given, nor could he tell them. He could not influence them in their decision. He hoped that they would make the right choice. Should they choose to go to Lemuria, their passage and transformation was also guaranteed. He did not know how, but the Ark would affect them at a molecular level. It was imperative that thoughts of mutiny be quashed. Without a willing crew, the Ophir might never complete its mission.

  * * * *

  “It is with a gladdened heart that I come to you today.” The pirate crew stood still as they listened to their captain.

  “I have sailed the oceans of the world and explored places unknown to man. We stood side by side in battle. You have never let me down when things became strange even to us. You’ve taken me at my word and I at yours, adventure after adventure. Everything moves in one direction or another and we do what we must to survive. But for me, the time has come for a new path. On this path, I am but one more traveler.

  As with all journeys, precautions must be considered for the sake of safety. I must step down from my positio
n as your captain in order to ensure your safety as well as mine. I ask only that I be allowed to complete certain requests made prior to my resignation.

  We are a democratic culture. A vote must be taken for a new leader. I give my vote to your boatswain’s mate, Contona. You know him as well or better than you know me. But if there be another among you that believes himself to have what it takes to handle ship and crew as well, let them step forward and put his name on the ballot.”

  The men swayed in place with the movement of the waves. Their voices clamored for a cause. Some were disgruntled. Others saw the fairness. None protested the change; the vote was taken. Contona became Captain of the Ophir.

  * * * *

  Captain Antonio learned many things, but he believed that it was those things that might or might not be true that created hope. That Lemuria was a true place gave hope to many things. That the Knights Templar would continue their vigilance for the world gave hope.

  The encounter with Captain Villiers of the Templar war galleon erased many questions, but each answer created more questions, and renewed hope that they would once again have a legitimate place in the world

  “Antonio, this will not be an easy passage, neither for you, nor your men. You have been chosen guardians of a most precious gift. Its delivery into the hands of the Lemurians will guarantee a life unparalleled in this world, riches beyond imagination without the burden of property. I can’t give you a full understanding in short time. I can only tell you to have faith. Only through faith will you enter the door held open for you.”

  “What of my men? They may not understand or have the same faith I do.”

  “They may not all enter on faith, but loyalty will have its rewards. They will, in time, see what is being offered too.”

  “They suffer. I’ve watched and seen it with my own eyes. What can I do to change this for them that they might have the full trust or faith needed to move toward salvation?”

  The questions and answers would go on for what seemed like hours, when in truth, time stood still.

  * * * *

  Captain Antonio was taken by surprise the first time he recognized that the crew’s numbers dwindled, not from battle, but from hopelessness. He stood in awe at their fighting prowess against one ship or another, and then watched as one man ended his own life. His tribesman stood still and allowed his head to be severed from his body.

  Another time he witnessed a sailor who stood at the boarding gate, drop his sword and fall back into the ocean, never to surface again. These events made him probe the mind of his men to fathom, if he could, the reason for this self-sacrifice.

  It was from his own crew that he learned of a despondency that permeated their motivation. It also affected him.

  He, egotistically, believed he was the only one anguished by the never-ending cycle of life. He underestimated the will and desire of a man’s need to engage in more than survival. The hypnotic effect of fresh blood lasted but a few hours, until the next taking took place.

  Knowing now that this phenomenon was wide spread among the crew, the encounter with Villiers seemed to loosen the slim hold they had on existence. It had given him the impetus to bring the alternatives to the table.

  The Viking battleship confiscated by the Knights Templar off the coast of La Rochelle, France, continued its journey with what must have been tons of lesser treasure. It was thirty metres long with sails of linen and well fitted oak planks. It could move from twelve to fourteen knots with a good wind. It was big, sleek, fast, and heading North West toward the New Jerusalem.

  The Ophir would meander in the opposite direction. It would travel in weather exceedingly rough, pushing into strong headwinds. Many times it seemed to lie in chains as it inched its way toward the Pacific Ocean and its Ring of Fire.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Over the next year, Captain Antonio would have waking dreams. It seemed as if he were a hawk flying high above, observing the world as it sped by. Now and then he would ‘see’ the Viking ship carrying Captain Villiers, a crew of 80 well paid crewmen and six Templars that escaped arrest at Rhodes. They moved at an easy clip toward a continent still unknown to most of the world. It was given to him that he was now an integral part of the Knights Templar quest.

  In that vein, he became one of the guardians of the world’s ancient treasures and in solid line of the knowledge from the ancients, of which expert navigation was one of the least.

  * * * *

  When Captain Antonio had his waking dreams, he often heard voices that seemed to be giving him continued lessons and guidance,

  “You were you, before you came to the earth.”

  “Your body was created for existence in this place.”

  “Your body will become a body of light and operate in a higher dimension.”

  “You are where you are supposed to be at any given time.”

  “You will operate from a state of heart-centered compassion.”

  “Your human code will be realigned, reconnected and activated.”

  “Nothing happens without it first being conceived and then manifested in the eye of God.”

  “You will be monitored until your recoding is complete. You will feel itching in your crown chakra and the MerKaBa will act as a receiver of messages.”

  Antonio was assured that the strange teachings would continue until he made the cerebral connection to the spiritual. He had no idea, at this point, what was meant by many of the words used.

  One piece of information was repeated many times,

  “It is written that a man of no race will be the final guardian of the Arc and Grail, those that can be used for destruction.

  He who follows my law will be given passage once again into the life of mortal man and enjoy its bounty, as will he who works in the name of the Lord.”

  “I sense who you are, and am humbled. We have scourged the seas seeking pleasure and treasure and found naught but a void that can never be satisfied. How can we serve you?” And he would be told to continue as he was, save the drinking of man’s blood. He and his men would be sustained by the blood of the Lamb. And so they were.

  * * * *

  No one complained of hunger or thirst as they sailed toward a new horizon. No one asked where they were going. It was as if the crew had fallen under the magik spell of the Egyptians.

  As time passed, they were brought into contact with other seagoing vessels, awakened and allowed to remember the mortal men they once were. It was during those times that they became most vulnerable to the ways of the flesh as they indulged themselves in carnal pleasures.

  It was at sea that they could procreate; but the seed would lie dormant, passed on from mother to daughter, until a warrior would be needed to do battle for the Lord once again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  At one of 300 small islands off the coast of Nova Scotia, there was one island that measured 1,000 feet wide by a mere three quarters of a mile long. Legend would have it that Divine Intelligence brought the Templar treasure ship to this particular island.

  According to ancient chronicles, the guardians used the knowledge they protected to find the optimal location for concealing the written word and other precious possessions that would be sought by man for thousands of years.

  The world and everything in it was created by following specific patterns and order. Those patterns and order were now being followed to the New Jerusalem. Templars had gone there before. They went to prepare the land for the final resting place of one of the most precious cargos known to man: the Holy Grail.

  The Holy Grail was believed by some to be the cup used by Jesus and his disciples at the last supper. Others believed it to be the vessel that held the knowledge of the universe. Some believed it held the actual bones of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The truth would be known upon its re-discovery.

  * * * *

  “Welcome, gentlemen. We have need of your skills. We have devised a plan by which we can conceal our most precious artifacts and obscure
the path to attainment by the unscrupulous. Together with your ability to work in the ocean without breathing apparatus, and our engineering capacities, we will ensure the future of mankind. We have the key to the first door in paradise. We would like to propose a merger for the project at hand. Will you take this step with us?”

  “Captain Lavier, you honor us. My men and I are at your disposal.”

  “We understand there’s been a rearrangement of power aboard the Ophir. Will this be a problem?”

  “Not at all. While I am captain of the Ophir, Captain Antonio will continue to be an active member, mentor, and counselor.”

  “Excellent, Captain Contona. We should work well together.”

  Captain Lavier, Captain Contona, and acting Captain Antonio worked till almost dawn. They discussed and revised the blueprint laid out by the Knights who were well known for engineering and architectural feats. The channels and drains needed for their Oak Island tomb would be the most important aspect to be accomplished.

  “You ... load the logs in a cross hatch, two layers deep.” Captain Lavier barked his orders to the crew of three ships.

  “Captain O’Keefe, if you will, have your men take the clay and other materials to mix with the sea water and create a sealing mud for the opening channels and tomb that we construct beneath the surface. The wave action at 80 feet becomes much milder and will make movement easier for them. All five channels must be lined solid to filter the sea sand. It will prevent clogging and provide a better drainage system.”

  “Aye, Monsieur Lavier.” Captain O’Keefe had chosen to stay with the Templar engineers to assist in the construction of traps that would foil any attempts at theft. When the trap was set, O’Keefe sailed toward the Continent of Asia, close on the heels of the Ophir.

  Using a combination of native and imported materials such as oak logs inscribed with Roman numerals for appropriate placement, eelgrass, coconut fiber and a waterproof mixture of clay, sand, and water, the Templar engineers constructed a very special tomb. This tomb would hold and protect the holy relics placed there for many centuries. Floodgates in the pattern of an open hand spreading from the palm to the perimeter of the island, were designed to prevent access to the tomb. The water gates, controlled by the waves, tides and currents converted the oscillating movement of the seas into energy. The energy would be used to complete underwater work.