CHAPTER 53

CHAPTER 53

CARDINAL JOSEPH MESSINA was waiting for them, standing beside his desk. Upon noticing his arrival, he then walked towards the Carabinieri when they entered his room accompanied by the Swiss Guard officer. The guard turned and left the slim cabinet.

— Be welcome! — said the Cardinal, greeting them — I am Joseph Messina, Secretary General of the Vatican.

Then, indicating a dark leather sofa, he invited them to sit down.

— We've received information that the crime committed three days ago matches the profile of a former Vatican official — Greg said, getting straight to the point.

Joseph Messina listened in silence. Then, with a brief sigh, he spoke to the policeman:

— Yes, Detective, it was I who requested your presence when I learned of the unfortunate attack that seemed to me to coincide with the characteristics of an ex-Swiss Guard expelled here from the Vatican involved in this, I don't even know how to behave in the face of such a situation.

— Still, you saw fit to help us — observed Greg, looking at the tired features of the Prince of the Church.

— Well — Messina explained — it didn't seem right to omit some information knowing that my contribution would be useful for the arrest of a criminal. Furthermore...

The Cardinal was reticent.

— Furthermore? — The detective asked.

— Detective — continued the Cardinal, now resolute — as Secretary General of the Vatican, I am in a position that obliges me to make decisions that are often not those that one would expect from a religious. The Vatican is not only a Church, but also a State with a flag and political recognition. The Lateran Treaty provided us with this.

Greg listened to him carefully.

— Unfortunately, as a special state, we do not have some powers common to other sovereign states. This former Swiss Guard was expelled from the Vatican because he was caught while spying.

— Did you gentlemen catch him spying? — Greg asked in surprise, wondering what kind of secrets would not be behind those walls, and who would be interested in appropriating them.

— Yes, that's why I called you here.

Messina paused as if wondering how best to continue.

— I want to offer you a deal!

— An agreement?

What kind of deal could there be between the second most powerful man in the Vatican and a simple American detective?

— Yes — the Cardinal continued, a little embarrassed — I will give you some confidential information about the man you are looking for, and in return... you will help us recover an object stolen by him from the Vatican's collection.

— An object stolen from the Vatican's collections?

— What object was stolen? — Greg asked, for a moment imagining the immeasurable riches to be found everywhere.

Many of the objects found here would have free access among the greatest art collectors in the world.

— Mr. Evans, I have known your reputation for a long time — said the Cardinal — before I can reveal the object, I need to know whether we have an agreement or not.— Be absolutely certain that this object belongs to the Vatican's collection and that no constraints will be placed on its functional life, on the contrary, the Vatican will be eternally grateful for helping us. And that in Italy can mean many things!

If that object belongs to the Vatican, there will be no harm in returning it to the rightful owner. I will have the information that will lead me to the whereabouts of the true culprit for the ritual, as well as the gratitude of the Vatican, something that could very well jumpstart my career.

— I agree, Your Eminence, tell me what object was stolen?

Joseph Messina smiled and extended his hand to the Detective.

— Then we agree, you will have all the information in our files about the man you are looking for, as well as any assistance you can provide.— As for the stolen object that we would like you to recover, it is a golden book.

— Are you asking me to retrieve a golden book?

Father Roman and Greg look at each other...

— That's right! confirmed the Cardinal, with keen eyes, savoring the Carabinieri 's perplexity.

Gregory Evans couldn't help himself, that was too curious.

— I cannot understand, Your Eminence! — The Vatican filled with statues, vases and canvases by the most expressive artists of all time, and this former Swiss Guard went to steal a golden book, and the Vatican, in the person of its Secretary General, the second most important in the hierarchy of the Church, are you asking me to retrieve it?!

— What was stolen, Mr. Evans, though seemingly of no greater economic value than some works of art in the Vatican, represents one of the greatest treasures ever held within our walls, and like all books, its true value is not in its property of being golden, but in its content, even if it is incomplete!

— This object proves to be of great significance to the Vatican, tell me, Your Eminence, why?

— You must know the story of the Holy Shroud, no?

— Yes, the Holy Shroud, one of the greatest relics of Catholicism! Of course I know her! According to legend, he was the mantle that covered up the body of Jesus!

— Well, Detective, to answer your question, I say that this book is even more important for the Church than the Holy Shroud.

— Even more important than the Holy Shroud? — But this is unbelievable!

— For believe me, Detective, this book is not just an ordinary metal object; on the contrary, it is of great significance: it was with it that the Babylonians and Egyptians conquered the world! He is the Book of Destiny!

— Book of Destiny?

Greg had already heard about it, an object that during World War II was stolen at the behest of Adolf Hitler. According to legend, whoever owned it would dominate the world.

— But tell me, Eminence, why would the boy's kidnapper steal the book?

Joseph Messina remained silent for a few moments, as if asking himself to what extent he should reveal the truth to that American detective.

— Mr. Evans — said the Cardinal at last — I believe that both the theft of the book and the kidnapping of the boy have the same purpose: the performance of a certain ritual...

— You also believe in the existence of the Brotherhood of the Serpent! — said Gregory.

For a moment Joseph Messina seemed to recoil from the effect of the detective's words, making him press his body against the high-backed chair.

— What did you say? asked the Cardinal.

Gregory Evans sensed the astonishment that had gripped the Vatican Secretary General.

— You looked worried when I spoke the name of the Brotherhood of the Serpent; Tell me, Eminence, does that name remind you of anything?

JOSEPH MESSINA CLOSED his eyes. The situation turned out to be more touchy than he had initially imagined.

— Detective, what do you know about the Brotherhood of the Serpent? — Messina asked in a completely choked voice.

Greg looked surprised.

— Your Eminence, as police officers, we have an obligation to investigate and raise all possibilities. In a case like this one, we cannot rule out even the possibility of the boy being kidnapped by the Brotherhood of the Serpent to carry out a satanic sacrifice!

— Detective — said Messina, looking nervous — you don't understand me! — I am not questioning the paths of your investigation, I am asking you how you arrived on this path, that is, how did you arrive at the Brotherhood of the Serpent?

The Detective smiled nervously.

— I cannot reveal at this time, Your Eminence, the sources that allowed me to pursue this line of investigation. To do so would not only be against ethics, but what is even worse, putting people who collaborated with the police at risk!

The Cardinal then moved away from the high back of the chair, approaching Greg, now with a firmer tone of voice.

— You will have to trust me — said Messina — or else there is no hope of recovering the book!

— I have the impression that you know something, but that you don't want to tell me — said Gregory, observing the Cardinal's reactions. — What do you know, Eminence, that I don't already know?

— The Sisterhood of the Serpent, Detective... But the question here is not what I know, but what you know, or what is even more important, how you came to know more, something that only here could you find out!

— I don't understand, Eminence!

— I'll explain, Detective! — Look at the Church. What do you see? Doesn't the Church look like a colossal, empire-like structure to you? Well, I tell you that even with the gigantism of this ecclesiastical structure, very similar to an empire, there are not more than half a dozen prelates who know about the existence of the Brotherhood of the Serpent. His knowledge is kept by the Vatican in the strictest secrecy. Now, to my surprise, you come to my presence and in a few minutes you are questioning me about a secret sect that not even governments have any information about. I want, Detective, that you understand the delicate situation in which I find myself. How did you become aware of the existence of the Brotherhood of the Serpent?

— But, I'll have to reveal my source...

— Detective, you will have to trust me — repeated the Cardinal — the situation requires it, I don't know how far your knowledge goes, but in case you didn't know, that ritual of black magic called Euiose de Lucifer will make the book have a new meaning power and the world as we know it will never be the same!

— But they've already done the ritual and the world hasn't changed.

— They did 'one' ritual, that's three rituals... the book is divided into three parts, one for each son of Nimrod.

— Three parts?

Suddenly, the cardinal realized he had valuable information to exchange with Gregory Evans.

— So it is true! What Victoria told you is true — said astonished Roman Green, looking at Greg.

— This is the purest reality — confirmed the Cardinal — So much so that the kidnappers were the same ones who stole the Book of Destiny.

— Why did they steal the book? — Asked the policeman — what is your connection with the boy?

— This book is extremely important for the performance of the ritual, as having been used by Nimrod, the first pagan god known to mankind, its use would represent vital importance for the spiritual birth of the Antichrist!

— The rebirth of Nimrod.

— My God! — exclaimed Green — this looks like something out of a movie! American cinema, although full of films about Satanism, has not yet invented anything more sinister!

— I know, young man — Messina said, looking sympathetic — one of the best ways to hide the truth is exactly this, to trivialize it, after all... almost everything we know about Jesus is based on the cynicretism they did with others. gods, especially Nimrod.

Greg looked into the Cardinal's shrewd eyes.

— Are you saying that the truth is being hidden from people and dressed up in the guise of fantasy?

— That's exactly what I said, Mr. Evans — confirmed the Cardinal — perhaps this is not the right time to reveal this to you, but I ask you: what is the final limit between reality and fantasy? To what extent do cinema, literature or even television have the objective of sincerely entertaining or informing their readers and viewers? Let's not be naive, Mr Evans! The world we know through the media does not represent the true reality. The true story is very different from the one in school textbooks. If ordinary men had knowledge of the secret reality, rest assured, humanity would be seized with dread.

— We live in some kind of Matrix, then?

— MATRIX? WHAT IS THE MATRIX? asked Messina.

— The Matrix was a cinematographic trilogy in which the main character discovers that the world he lived in was not real, but an illusion caused by the machines that controlled the real world and fed on the energy emanating from human bodies. Aware of this new reality, aided by his friends, the hero declares war on the cybernetic rulers!

'That seems to me to be apt to illustrate the reality we live in, Detective: open war! For centuries the Church has struggled against the forces of the great deceiver.

— The devil.

— He fights fiercely to divert men from the only remedy for the poison of sin that he himself inoculated into the human race in the Garden of Eden: the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In Paradise, the Devil deceived the human race with the promise that our parents would be equal to God. These, following his instructions, disobeyed the Creator, thus falling from divine grace. Instead of becoming equal to God, man ended up being equal to the Devil, being a participant in the same condemnation of this one who was once an angel of rare beauty, called Lucifer, whose name means bearer of light. The Creator, moved by his infinite mercy, on the stage of the fall of man, as we can see in the biblical account of Genesis, promised the sacrifice of his own son in order to rescue humanity's communion with itself.

— But this is religious speech, Your Eminence, preached in all Christian churches! — There is nothing new there! Greg said. — Where does that fit in with the Serpent Brotherhood?

— There it is — concluded the Cardinal, getting up and taking a bookcase full of books with very old leather spines, a copy full of medieval illuminations:

— Look at this book — he said as he handed the magnificent copy to the Detective.

— What about this book? — Greg asked in surprise.

— The answer to your question — replied Messina, with a smile — Civitas Dei, one of the most outstanding works of one of the great sages of humanity: Saint Augustine. Look what is written.

— Two loves gave birth to two cities: the earthly city proceeds from the love of self to the contempt of God; the heavenly city proceeds from the love of God carried to self-contempt.

— Already in his time Saint Augustine outlined a conflict driven by two groups of antagonistic interests. The one formed by Christians who, denying themselves, adhere to the cause of Christ, bringing the good news of the redemption provided by the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary; and another group, whose ultimate objective is the realization of their own desires, thus hindering the divine salvific plan, idealized for the human species. The first city, or group of individuals, is made up of the union of all Christians who together form the Church of Christ, committed to the salvation of souls rescuing them from original sin. The second city, on the other hand, is made up of the sons of the Devil, that is, of a group of individuals who, completely distanced from the understanding of God and seduced by the immense riches of Lucifer, oppose the Church, putting themselves against everything that can awaken men to the eternal reality that exists beyond material life.

— Did the Brotherhood of the Serpent already exist in the time of St. Augustine? — Surprised, asked the agent.

— The Brotherhood of the Serpent, my dear, are even older than the Church. According to some documents kept in secrecy here in the Vatican library, its origin occurred even before the universal deluge. His story is directly linked to the causes of that same flood. The Holy Bible itself gives us a succinct account of this, transcribing in its pages a generic explanation, saying that the wickedness of men caused God to destroy all the civilization built in the first ages.

— All civilizations, you mean!

— No, Mr Evans! Although it seems strange to you, there was at that time only one civilization. However, it was taken over by Lucifer worshipers who, initiated into esoteric practices, acquired a great knowledge of occult mysteries. Through this knowledge they reached an enviable scientific standard, keeping the due proportions. We can say that the advancement of knowledge at that time was even greater than all the scientific knowledge of today.

— Excuse me, Your Eminence, but the subject that brings us here is a very serious one: it concerns the murder of a boy.

— Detective — said Messina, showing irritation — I have no reason to make up stories. Please know that my time is very precious and that what I am about to tell you is not without a certain amount of trepidation. However, if I want to have them as allies, I need them to know at least part of the real story, the secret story.

— Your Eminence, I don't want you to think that I'm questioning your seriousness, but you are aware that what you've just said is something surprising! — No one ever spoke of the existence of an ancient civilization with scientific knowledge superior to current knowledge. What's more, that she was influenced by Lucifer! — Greg protested.

— I know that — said Messina — although both I and the Holy Father are weighed down by the weight of keeping this secret from the knowledge of mankind; however, we know that this could cause uproar or even panic among the peoples of the world. Only if all other resources fail will we be forced to make it public. Now, if you look at some of the mysteries that surround the most amazing monument existing on the face of the Earth — the pyramid of Cheops, you will be aware of the truth of what I am talking about. Even today, scientists and Egyptologists around the world are baffled when faced with the fabulous dimensions of the pyramid on the rocky plateau of Giza. In the book The Pyramids and Temples of Giza, published in 1883, by the famous English Egyptologist, William MF Petrie, surprising revelations are made. For example: the latitude and longitude that intersect in the pyramid are exactly 30ºN and 31ºE, the same ones that pass through more land than any other. There remains a question: how would it be possible for the Egyptians to make the grandiose monument exactly in the center of the habitable world? But the revelations do not stop there: John Taylor, another English Egyptologist, had discovered that when dividing the perimeter of the pyramid by twice its height, the result was identical to the value of pi (3.1416...). Taylor calculated that the relationship between the pyramid's height and its perimeter was the same as that between the Earth's polar radius and its circumference. Now I ask: how did the Egyptians have access to this knowledge thousands of years before the first circumnavigation trip?

— It's really amazing! — exclaimed the detective.

— That's just a small sample, gentlemen! There are still many other things that attest to the profound knowledge that has been lost throughout human history, revealed by Lucifer, to the men of the antediluvian period. If we look at the work of the Greek philosopher Plato, we will see that he himself makes reference to an ancient civilization extremely developed: Atlantis!

— The lost civilization of Atlantis?

— This one! — Atlantis is none other than the ancient antediluvian civilization which, perverted by the knowledge and worship of Lucifer, ended up destroyed by its immense evil!

— How long are you going to keep this a secret?

— We may soon have to reveal that secret to the world, Detective. It's a matter of strategy. The Church has not yet played all its chips, but I believe that we will have no alternative.

— What do you mean, Eminence? — I don't understand!

— We are in a war, Detective, a secret war, a conflict never imagined by ordinary people who live their day-to-day as if everything were within the most peaceful normalcy. But this is false! Throughout history, the Brotherhood of the Serpent has carried out a silent revolution, altering culture, the political landscape, even the way people understand reality itself!

— But for what? Gregory asked, fascinated by the aura of mystery being revealed to him.

— For a reason as old as mankind itself: Lucifer's attempt to establish his kingdom on Earth. It is for this reason that the boy was kidnapped, tell me one thing: when he was hospitalized, wasn't a burn found on him?

— Yes, Eminence, I brought a picture with me.

And handed over a copy and the ecclesiastic analyzed the photo for a few moments.

— I even showed it to a friend who is a professor at New York University, but he couldn't unravel the inscription.

— And it couldn't be otherwise, Detective — said the Cardinal — the inscription is in a language that no longer exists on the face of the Earth. It is a universal language spoken by the mages of Atlantis in the pre-flood period.

— Do you know how to interpret it? Gregory asked with a glimmer of hope.

The priest's eyes turned away from the photo. For a moment they seemed lost in infinity, then they turned to the Detective.

— Unfortunately not, Detective, the only thing I know is that it references Anu.

— But how, then, can you tell us that they belong to the civilization of Atlantis and that they are related to a satanic sacrifice?

— We're at the Vatican, Detective. We have here the most complete collection of historical books and parchments. We also have very ancient documents with inscriptions on stone and bronze tablets that allow us a privileged view of the unfolding of human history. In our secret library we have a document confiscated by Alexander the Great when that Macedonian conqueror invaded Judea. According to this parchment document, there was a secret society that planned world domination in order to establish the worship of Lucifer on Earth.

— The Brotherhood of the Serpent!

— Exactly — confirmed the Cardinal — that dominion would be established through a universal king who in due time would be consecrated to Lucifer.

— How would it be consecrated?

— The consecration was to be done through a ritual of black magic so mysterious that it would be performed three times:

— Lucifer's Euiosis rituals!

— Yes! For the three parts of the Book of Destiny were given to the four sons of Nimrod, and never again were they together.

— What are you saying — exclaimed Greg — is there a black magic ritual that can be done three times?

— Yes — said Joseph Messina — a terrible ritual, very difficult to carry out, since for its realization two extremely rare events are required: first, that the instrument for sacrifice in the Euiosis Luciferina ritual be the same used in the death of a man who had no sin.

— Impossible — exclaimed Roman Green — only then would satanic sacrifice be unfeasible!

— You are right, my dear Father — the Cardinal asserted condescendingly.

— Am I right?! — The priest was surprised.

— Yes, for centuries the Serpent Brotherhood searched in vain for a man who would fit that bill, but found none.

— Didn't they find it? — asked Greg, but the sacrifice then...

Joseph Messina motioned with his hand for the policeman to allow him to continue.

— Not found on an ordinary man, I mean. When Jesus Christ came into the world and died on the cross to redeem mankind, the Brotherhood of the Serpent seized that great opportunity. If you read the Scriptures, you will see that a Roman soldier pierced Christ's right side with his spear. I ask you: why?

Greg asked.

— To provide the instrument for the sacrifice of Luciferian Euiosis?

— Exactly, there was no need to hurt Jesus Christ since, as we can see from the Holy Scriptures, at that moment he was already about to die. The Roman soldier slew the body of Christ to provide the Brotherhood of the Serpent with the instrument of satanic sacrifice.

— And what is the second condition for the performance of the sacrifice? — Greg asked.

— The royal blood! — replied the Cardinal.