3 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Have you ever heard the name Bluthund? *" asked Dennis in a supposedly casual tone, as he came back from the kitchen with a steaming coffee pot.

*cf. "Runas de Sangre", by the same author.

"Not ever." Selma and Martín answered in unison. The latter closed his mouth allowing the young woman to continue speaking, in an attitude that would repeat itself over time.

"Should we have heard?" Asked the girl.

"Not really." The homeowner's response was paradoxical. "In fact, I am relieved to know that the secret is well guarded."

At that moment the door of the apartment opened and Deborah entered with a package of cookies that she had bought at a nearby store. After that she set to listen to the conversation, refraining from making any comments. Once Debbie had sat down at the table with the others Selma again asked a question to Dennis, though now her tone had a hint of youthful impatience.

"Will you tell us once and for all what it is that Blood ... whatever?"

"Bluthund. It's a German word that means bloodhound." said Debbie intervening for the first time in the conversation; then she looked questioningly at her boyfriend.

"No, no. You go on." Said Dennis said as he poured coffee.

"Can you please end this secrecy and explain what we are talking about?" Selma did not have much patience left.

"Bluthund is an informal group, without statutes but with a governing body, which was formed in social networks but then took a more hermetic and even somewhat secret status. It includes researchers from the most diverse disciplines, who often do not know each other personally, and yet collaborate through the Internet in the resolution of cases and problems of difficult handling. It has no financial support from governments or any type of organizations. They have certain ... "particularities"."

"What do you mean?" The conversation had been reduced to a dialogue between the two sisters.

"To the research methods."

There was a moment of silence.

"So? Or will we have to get every word out of you with a corkscrew?" Selma's hostility was only apparent.

"It's hard for us to talk about this issue with people who do not belong to the group."

"But we have just asked them to come today to introduce them to the topic." said Dennis. "Will you speak or shall I speak?"

"You're right. Well...there it goes." Debbie took a breath and began her explanation.

"The methods that Bluthund uses in its research come from both the positive sciences and from "alternative knowledge branches"."

"What do you mean by alternative?" It was the first time that Martín actively participated.

"Precisely not based on those positive sciences, but on traditional knowledge, in arcane of different cultures."

"Arcane?" Selma frowned at the question.

"Yes, hidden, mysterious things, secrets that come from the depths of time and have been exhumed by modern researchers."

"It sounds like esotericism. Am I wrong?" Asked the Argentinean.

"Perhaps, but they are not attributed a sacred value but a practical one. They are taken as methods that cannot be explained in the light of science and yet help solve problems."

"Problems? What kind of problems?" Selma had regained the lead in the interrogation. Her voice always sounded inquisitorial.

"Unexplained, bizarre, intriguing themes, often from the past but with current repercussions. Political, cultural or police facts, or the mixture of all that. The themes are proposed by the various members of Bluthund anywhere in the world and the group sets out to investigate it, with no time frames."

Selma was going to ask another question but was unexpectedly interrupted by Martín, the young man had leaned his body forward, in a position of maximum attention.

"And do you have success stories in your research?"

"You'd be surprised." The answer came from Dennis, relieved to find that his relative had been caught by the subject. "Tell me, what do you think of what you've heard so far?"

"All this has an air of .... I do not know how to define it...tell me, are you working on a specific topic now?"

“ Yes, in fact we have a devilishly complicated case between hands. “ The owner of the house smiled when seeing that the conversation had finally caught Martín´s interest.

“Tell us what it is about.” The change in the modulation of Selma's voice showed that she too had been swept away by the halo of mystery that had first seduced Martín.

They had finished the coffee. Dennis got up from his chair and said to his companions.

"Let's go to my office ... that is, to the living room. I have things I want to show you."

The large desk that Dennis used to work was covered as usual with open books and various papers. A desktop computer and two notebooks flickered as a result of their energy saving systems. The man brought chairs of the dining room for all and once they had sat down he inquired.

“I'm going to ask you another bizarre question. Have you heard of Agartha or Shambala?

The faces of the two youngsters showed again perplexity. Selma was the first to react.

“Shambala, it sounds like a rock band or pop song."

Dennis erupted in a loud laugh; Debbie looked at him defiantly and said reproachfully.

“ Do not laugh at them, they are two young people who have a known world limited to their generation, just as it happened to us at their age"

“No, no, sorry. I did not mean to make fun of you, but the observation took me by surprise."

“Well, are you going to explain what you're talking about or not?" Now it was Martín who looked impatient.

Dennis was absolutely amused at seeing the interest aroused by his question. He leaned back in his chair and began his explanation.

“ Both are terms that come from esotericism but from two different cultural areas. Agartha is more linked to the theosophy of the West while Shambala is a recurrent myth in various Eastern traditions. However, both have some common elements."

“For example?”

“The two terms refer to mythical kingdoms in the East, hidden for human beings, although some of their inhabitants may have sporadic or permanent contact with ordinary men and women. I'm going to ask Debbie to tell us about Agartha."

The woman thought for a moment how to begin her presentation.

“Who in the 19th century gave a more or less complete reference to Agartha was Madame Helena Blavatsky, the Russian creator of Theosophy, allegedly based on much earlier traditions. Later both the name Agartha and the concept were used by twentieth century occultists such as Roerich and Ossendowski. Basically Agartha is related to the belief that the planet Earth is hollow, that there are cities and kingdoms of superhuman races or at least beings more evolved than humans who avoid contact with them. These subterranean worlds communicate with the terrestrial surface by means of secret entrances hidden in the summits of the mountains, in the Desert of Gobi, and even under the oceans. The beings that inhabit those great subterranean galleries are not only more developed than the humans in the scientific terrain but also in their sensorial powers and especially in their moral concepts. They went to live inside the Earth a long time ago when they realized that the Universal Flood was about to happen, so they could survive it."

“ All this is incredible!" exclaimed Martín. “On what grounds dot they base such audacious affirmations?"

“ Right. What evidence do they have to prove what you are saying?" added Selma.

Seeing the agitation produced by the myth among the listeners Debbie decided to continue with caution.

“The presumed evidences are prophecies and affirmations made by clairvoyants and collected and amplified by occultists from various schools."

Seeing gestures of skepticism in the faces of the young people Dennis thought it appropriate to add an annotation.

“ Do not forget that the fact that Bluthund collects these testimonies does not imply that its members share the theories of those occultists. We must not forget that many ancient religions were able to foresee eclipses and other astronomical events with great precision even though they believed that the stars were gods. The Babylonians are a good example of that."

“ That is to say, although these theories are based on absolutely erroneous beliefs they can nevertheless provide useful tools for the analysis of problems." completed Deborah.

“Granted. Keep talking." Selma asked her sister.

“The sites proposed as portals to that underground world vary according to the authors and range from Siberia, the Andes Mountain Range and the Amazon rainforest, but the most frequently mentioned is the Gobi Desert, in Central Asia. Beneath its sands and stones allegedly inhabit the most advanced race of these subterranean beings. That explains why it was the site chosen by the Nazi esotericists in their searches."

“Nazis? What role do they play in all this?" Selma's face showed disgust.