Indisputable Proof (20 page)

CHAPTER 35

September 13. Thursday – 3:06 a.m. Isle of Patmos, Greece

Jade woke up in bed on top of the covers. A ceiling fan spun slowly overhead, and there was a hint of vanilla in the air. Other than the electric hum of the fan’s rotors, the room was silent. Her back hurt, and she had trouble remembering where she was or how she had gotten here. Nothing made sense. She brushed her short bangs off her forehead and found them slightly wet.

Jade sat up.
What happened?
She searched her memory, dropping her head into her hands and closing her eyes. Then it all came back to her in a rush. Tolen, Diaz, and she had been searching underground, somewhere below the Petra in the catacombs of the Apostles, when Diaz triggered an ancient trap. The place caught fire, and she remembered fleeing into a room where they were trapped. There was an explosion, and she recalled a painful impact.

That was all she could remember.
How had she gotten here?

She looked around. A decorative lamp on a bureau across the way provided generous light. The room had a single bed and a large window with bright orange curtains. The clock on the nightstand read 3:09. Was that a.m. or p.m.?

Her PC bag was atop a small round table, along with some papers and a small stone jar.

The jar!
She suddenly remembered.

The front door opened, and Tolen entered carrying two cups of coffee. Startled, Jade sprang to a sitting position on the side of the bed, anchoring her bare feet on the floor. She was surprised to find herself in a fluffy white terrycloth bathrobe. She gapped it open at the collar, looked straight down, and was shocked to see nothing but skin underneath the material. She quickly drew the robe closed up to her neck, feeling her face color with embarrassment.

“What happened? Why am I dressed like...
this
?” she said.

“We blasted our way out of the underground tunnels,” Tolen said, taking a seat next to Jade on the bed. “Are you feeling okay?” His words were soothing, compassionate.

“Blasted our way out? How?”

“I used a limited explosive charge I brought from the plane. It did the trick,” Tolen said, locking her in his azure blue gaze. She could smell a tinge of his cologne, and it settled on her with calming assurance.

“James Bond of the Americas,” Jade said playfully. Her tone came out much more lightly than she had planned. Then again, why the hell not, she thought. It appeared once again Samuel Tolen had saved her life…and Diaz’s, too, for that matter.

Jade noticed Tolen was dressed in different clothes. He had on a long-sleeved, tan button-up shirt with perfect creases, dark dress slacks, and dress shoes.

Jade reached a hand around and rubbed a sore spot on her lower back.

“Are you in pain?” Tolen asked.

“A bit. Feels like I bruised a muscle,” she nodded, biting her bottom lip. For the first time, she did not try to hide her vulnerability from Tolen.

Tolen rose, went to the bureau, and returned to the bed with a plastic prescription bottle. He handed her an unmarked pill. “Here,” he said, placing the pill in her hand and handing her a glass of water from the nightstand. “It’s a mild muscle relaxer.”

She swallowed it with a sip of water and returned the glass to the nightstand. She noticed the bandage on her arm had been changed and a fresh one applied. The wound was expertly dressed with a brown patch held in place with white medical tape.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Tolen began, “but I changed your bandage.”

For some reason, she felt her cheeks blush. “Um…where are we?”

“In a hotel not far from Grikos Beach and the Petra. Reba Zee made arrangements while we were exploring.”

“How exactly did you know where to set the explosive to get us out?” she said, crossing a leg. The robe crept up to her thigh. She pulled it down slowly to cover her knee.

“All along I thought there had to be another passage into the tunnels. Physics dictated that the Apostles’ stone coffins couldn’t have fit down the spiraling wormhole at the cistern. They had to have been placed inside via a different path.

“When we retreated to the room at the end of the last arm of the tunnel, I found another image etched into the stone: two gold rings, like you discovered at the base of the cistern. I reasoned it was an alternative opening…or had been at one time. This meant that the wall had been resealed and was probably substantially thinner. As it turns out, the cave room was under water, abutting to the bay. After the charge detonated and created a hole in the wall, ocean water burst inside. Diaz and I got you out, but only after you were thrown into the stone wall and knocked unconscious. We pulled you to the surface and brought you back here. Amazingly, from outside, it appeared nothing unusual had happened to the Petra, and, in fact, it hadn’t. Everything had been below ground. There’s no evidence of the labyrinth or the fire, which was put out by the influx of seawater.” Tolen paused.

Jade wanted to ask who had changed her out of her wet clothes and placed her in a robe, but she refrained. Then she considered a far greater implication: the Gold Scroll had been lost. The fabulous tombs of the Apostles were destroyed. “It’s all gone.”

“It was an elaborate trap,” Tolen said, “but the tombs may still be intact. Remember, the branches were intentionally kept out of the rooms with the coffins. Now we know why.”

Jade thought for a moment, considering the design of the underground structure. “The place was absolutely fascinating. Did you notice the pattern of the tunnels? At first we thought it was a cruciform, but the intersecting tunnel had passageways which curved and ran parallel to the far end of the main tunnel. It formed the shape of a trident.”

“Which begs the question, why would Joseph of Arimathea have engineered such a design?” Tolen remarked.

“That’s exactly my point. I don’t think he did,” Jade said. She stood, ensuring the robe stayed tightly around her, retying the drawstring. She began to pace, feeling energized by her sudden revelation. She also sensed Tolen’s eyes fixed on her.

She sat back on the bed and turned toward him, unconsciously laying a hand on his leg. “What do you get when you combine a trident with the country of Greece?”

Jade looked into Tolen’s eyes. She could feel warmth and kindness, and the depths of his intellect. She became conscious of her hand touching his leg, and she slowly withdrew it.

Understanding suddenly flashed over Tolen’s face. “The Greek god, Poseidon. Greco-Roman mythology dates back to long before the Christian era. Are you suggesting the cave structure predates Joseph of Arimathea?”

“Yes. Consider the pilasters with the hundreds of carved faces. Remember how their expressions were twisted in agony? Frankly, there was nothing Christian about them. It’s far more indicative of early Greek artwork.

“My guess is that those caves and corridors were constructed by the Greeks in the shape of the trident long before the time of Joseph and the Apostles of Jesus, probably to pay homage to Poseidon. Somehow, Joseph knew of this place and decided it would make a good location to house the bodies of the Apostles and the copy of the Gold Scroll, although the twelve rooms holding the remains of the Apostles were surely not part of the original Greek design. Most likely, they were cut during Joseph’s day. The booby trap is a bit of a mystery, though.” Jade settled into a thoughtful expression.

Tolen interrupted her reverie. “I believe it’s a continuing test. Remember, Joseph’s tomb in Costa Rica was also rigged. Once we rolled the stone off the mound and the tide rose, it was inevitable that the underground rooms would fill with ocean water, yet it gave us a chance to get to the jar and get out. Jade, what was the last line in the original text you decoded?”

She thought for a moment. “It said, ‘
Only the man who has patience, is meager, and holds faith will arrive safely
.’ ”

Tolen repeated, “
patience, meager, and faith
. I think each of the destinations in the journey requires us to apply one of these rules. In Costa Rica, ‘
patience
’ referred to dealing with the tidal water.

“With the caves underneath the Petra, ‘
meager
’ implied not taking the valuable gold the scroll was etched upon.

“In both situations, the traps weren’t designed to stop us from reaching our goal, but to make it so we had to be judicious and heed the instructions. We were required to go in, get what we needed, and get out, nothing more. In Costa Rica, we simply took too long, and the tide rose before we put the clue together that we needed to be looking for one of the Three Wise Men’s gift. Here at the Petra, we went against the edict.”

Diaz and his pocketknife
. “And now that fantastic place is lost,” Jade said, discouraged.

“Jade,” Tolen began, looking intently at her, “what did you see on the Gold Scroll? You kept saying something was wrong with it. You said it was a duplicate of the Copper Scroll then you commented it wasn’t. What did you mean?”

Jade had completely forgotten about the text. She had read it moments before the room had been set ablaze, and they were running for their lives. She had had no chance to digest the information completely or share what she had interpreted with the others in the ensuing turmoil. “It...it was remarkable. Instead of having more detailed directions which would lead to the location of the 63 treasures listed in the Copper Scroll, the gold scroll implied that the 63 treasures don’t exist. They’re a ruse. Yet it emphatically states the ‘shrine of the earthly objects of Jesus Christ’ does exist!”

Tolen stood up and walked to the drawn curtain at the window, deep in thought. He pulled back one side, looked out, and turned back to Jade. “That’s exactly what I read as well.”

“You can translate ancient Hebrew?” she asked in amazement.

“I’m not fluent, but I understand it on a rudimentary level.”

Then, suddenly struck with the need for truth, Jade transfixed an inquisitive gaze at Tolen. “Level with me. You have much more than a passing fancy on Christian-era history, specifically as it relates to Jesus. You’ve tactfully avoided responding to my question about your depth of knowledge on several occasions.”

He offered a small smile that hinted at sadness. He rose from the bed and turned away without a word.

“I’ve seen that look in your eyes. Something is troubling you,” Jade lowered her voice, “something you can’t seem to accept.”

He did not respond.

“How did you get that scar on your forearm?”

Tolen slowly turned toward her. He regarded her for a moment as he approached, seemingly weighing his options. Then his words flowed with characteristic calmness. “Last month, I was on assignment in Sri Lanka. A family member of a high-ranking U.S. official happened to be there at the same time. The CIA is not responsible for this family member’s safety, but I uncovered information regarding an assassination attempt. I thwarted it, was electrocuted, and received this scar in the process.”

Jade swallowed. “By definition, the term ‘electrocuted’ implies you
died
.”

“I was pronounced clinically dead after eight minutes. Three minutes after that, eleven minutes after the event, I revived in the ambulance. Doctors had no explanation, and I suffered no brain damage.”

“That qualifies as a miracle in my book,” Jade said unblinking.

Tolen looked away, down, then back at Jade. A look of mystification washed over his face. His features stiffened. “I’m sure you’ve read about near-death experiences where people report a feeling of warmth and contentment. They see a calming white light which beckons them. Some have seen loved ones who’ve long been dead. By and large, these accounts are consistent.”

Jade suddenly felt closed in, as if the air around them had tightened into a thick knot. She assumed Tolen’s near-death experience differed, and she was not sure if she wanted to hear it. Yet she had to ask. “Is that what you experienced?”

He looked her squarely in the eyes, and his voice never wavered. “No, I saw, felt, and heard absolutely nothing…no inner peace, nothing. It was as if I was in limbo, where I floated in darkness.”

Jade understood. “That’s why you’re so interested. You want an answer regarding an afterlife.”

“Religions give us explanations which, by their very nature, cannot be conveniently challenged. People believe without a shred of proof because the very essence of religion is belief based on faith. It’s no wonder church parishioners are often referred to as “the flock.” They are dissuaded from thinking for themselves, in applying logic, questioning facts. Churches shun the intellect and covet unquestioning followers. Religion is the one time in life when people don’t want you to be rational.”

“Surely you must know most doctors consider those near-death experiences physiological, not metaphysical. They’re simply subconscious-driven illusions.”

“Which makes it harder for me to reconcile. If it were merely physiological, there would be no deviation from one person to the next. I should have undergone the same experience as everyone else.” He paused as he exhaled, still deep in thought. “My father is lying in a coma in Florida. He was in an automobile accident. He had executed a living will. Last week, I visited him on six consecutive days, each day intent on turning the paperwork over to the hospital administrators. I never did. I cannot bring myself to end his life, especially given the uncertainty of what I experienced.”

Now Jade fully understood. His accumulated acumen regarding Jesus, the Apostles, and the Christian era was not out of concern about his own mortality, but his father’s.

Tolen inclined his head slightly. “Do you realize the only reason Christians believe in life after death is because of the story of Jesus’ resurrection? Yet throughout history, there have been dozens of mythical figures: Horus in Egypt, Attis in Greece, Krishna in India, Mithra in Persia, to name just a few, who are all said to have virtually the same traits of birth and death as Jesus. Each was born of a virgin mother on December 25
th
and resurrected on the third day after death. The story of the sun god, Horus, can be found in Egyptian hieroglyphs 1,500 years before the Christian era began. There are hundreds of similarities in the textual story between Jesus and Horus. Most scholars now agree Horus is the basis for the Jesus figure in the Bible. In addition to the virgin birth, Horus is said to have performed miracles and was crucified. It’s plain to see that early Christians plagiarized Egyptian and other cultures and traditions as the foundation for the New Testament, just as the writers of the Old Testament embellished upon the Epic of Gilgamesh to come up with such stories as Noah’s ark. Even discrediting the persistent rumor that Jesus may have fathered a child, all the facts suggest there
never was a man named Jesus of Nazareth
. He is nothing more than a hybrid; a long line of legendary figures adapted from other cultural myths.”