CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24

WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO ENTER the church, whose massive oak doors were partially open, letting on an atmosphere that seemed to come out of films about the Middle Ages, a tall, burly gentleman, with a flushed face and extremely lively eyes, suddenly appeared down a corridor. side.

— Reverend Gael Newman! — Victoria said, smiling when she saw her old friend and shaking his hand — It's always a joy to meet an old childhood friend.

— Know, Victoria, that the joy is mine, because few things at my age are as rewarding as remembering those happy moments.

And looking tenderly at her:

The burly priest then led her into the parsonage at the back of the huge stone church. The house was made of wood, with a low ceiling, which gave it a simple and comfortable appearance. Upon entering, Victoria could see the hundreds of books arranged on all sides. As the shelf was full, not holding more volumes, these were stacked on a counter and also on the coffee table. Victoria's eyes fixed on two volumes that were in front of her: The Da Vinci Code, by the American writer Dan Green; and The Cloud Over the Sanctuary by Carl Von Eckrtshausen.

The reverend was the first to speak:

— So, Victoria, what's the emergency you told me about over the phone this morning?

— As you already know, when my father went to the Middle East, he had an assistant named…

—Jeremy Niles...

— That... do you know where it came from?

— With regard to work, your father was very secretive, but as far as I know, he was a Catholic seminarian, beyond that I don't know anything else.

— Is there some secret sect he got to talk to you about?

— We discussed several sects, but one in particular kept coming back to the scene.

— Which?

— Have you heard about the Brotherhood of the Serpent?

She shook her head.

— I don't know if this will help you at all, but...

And he talked about the sect.

— NOW, WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW is the power and long hand of this secret society throughout history, as well as its influence on our world today. What I'm going to tell you now is something extremely disturbing. I would like to ask if you are ready to listen, as these are terrible and disturbing revelations involving the Brotherhood of the Serpent acting directly or behind the scenes in the most significant events in human history.

Reverend Newman stopped, and looking fixedly at his good friend's daughter:

— Do you want me to continue?

Victoria was tense. He had come this far, he felt he could not go back.

— Reverend, my decision was made when I let my daughter leave the United States with the firm purpose of helping to find the Golden Book. I don't believe that any revelation, however strong it may be, will deter me from my purpose!

A smile of satisfaction sprouted on the lips of the religious, who continued:

— Well, before telling you what they are and what their true purpose is, I'm going to show you their tentacles in the most diverse fields of human activity. Let's start with the literature:

— Look at this book — he said, picking up a copy of The Da Vinci Code, by the American writer Dan Green — what do you know about it?

Victoria looked at the book in surprise, although she had not read it, she had already heard many comments about it. Her father had been furious with the contents of the book, and she still remembered his words:

— THIS BOOK IS COMPLETELY FEARLESS. How can someone write so lightly, so many lies and heresies. Look at this, Victoria, in it the author not only contests the divinity of Jesus, but also forges an alleged marriage with Mary Magdalene, and to top it off, denies the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. This might even pass for a writer's delusions, if it weren't so dangerous.

— Dangerous for what?

— Look, Victoria, how many people do you know who have a reasonable knowledge about the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures or even about the historical truths that surround the life of Christ?

— There are few. To tell you the truth, very few.

— Therein lies the danger of this book. Millions of people who have no knowledge of the sacred truths of Christianity are reading this book. There, as if a blank page were stained with writings of great turpitude.

VICTORIA THEN LOOKED at the reverend:

—A very disturbing book for Christendom!

— Disturbing? This book, written in the form of a novel, launches to millions of readers, unfamiliar with the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith, the idea that Christ was an ordinary man, who had an affair with Mary Magdalene. As if that were not enough, he denies the virtue and wisdom of God, denying the inspiration of the saints who elaborated the Holy Scriptures. Look, Victoria, how could texts like those of the prophet Isaiah be written by common men, who, about four hundred years before the invasion of Babylon by the Persians, even predicted the name of the conqueror Cyrus? Or the prophecy of Zechariah, described in chapter 14:12.

— In theory it wouldn't have, even more so at that time.

— You see, Victoria, for decades scientists mocked and laughed at this text of Holy Scripture, claiming that it was impossible that an entire army could rot while still alive and still standing, until the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki appeared, thus silencing the most incredulous. when they discovered the harmful effects of nuclear radiation. Now, look at what this author says in the first sentence when he begins his acknowledgments:

— Thank you [...] for your enormous dedication to this project, and for truly understanding what this book means.

— I ask you: what does this book truly mean?

The priest paused for Victoria to assimilate what he had just said and then continued:

— Now let's get to the music — he said, going to the shelf where he picked up the cover of a vinyl record.

Victoria looked at the cover. It was from the Beatles' Sargent Pepper's Lonely Club Band.

— Do you know who this is? — Asked the priest pointing to a photo on the cover.

Not waiting for the girl to answer, he continued:

— It's Aleister Crowley, the greatest occultist of the twentieth century.

— The same Crowley who, according to Richard Cavendish in his History of Magic, to reach the level of a magician, in a magical ceremony, crucified a frog naming him Jesus of Nazareth. Now let's look at the sciences:

The Reverend continued.

— According to Elizabeth van Burem, in her book Secret of the Illuminati, Pythagoras, the famous Greek mathematician, sought in geometry the knowledge of an Egyptian secret society. And the pyramids of Egypt to this day remain a mystery. The way Egyptian architects were able to elevate stones weighing more than two and a half tons by more than one hundred and forty meters.