The Secret of the Ancient Alchemist (7 page)

“
I take
it everything is under control in California,” Len Tuft, head of
the Army Corp of Rescue Workers spoke.

‘
Like
hell it is’ Marin wanted to shout. Why did people think that he
knew everything? But he understood Tuft’s position. The President
was probably sitting on his back.

“
Everything’s calm,” he lied.

He ended the
call and dialled Hart’s number. With no answer, he hung up and
stared at the flashing bands on his seismic network. Tick… tock…
Tick… tock the seconds moved on as the bands flickered
ominously.

“
Maybe
you should give thought to what Tom Hart is saying.” Thompson was
very troubled by the dismal look on Marin’s face.

“
I called
him, but, I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“
You
dismissed his claim of an age of seismic reversal, an age of calm,
didn’t you?”

“
Sure
did.” Hart was dabbling in nonsense. He was adamant that the Inca
prophecy be taken seriously, not to Marin’s surprise. It just
didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t give prophecy an ounce of
thought. “Hart’s a complex man, Ted. He’s a whale of rational
thought and a tiger of the mystical.”

“
The new
age may be happening as we speak.”

“
Come
on!”

“
Prophecy
isn’t an abstract thing, Marin.”

“
No?”

“
Did he
say when it will happen?”

“
He
doesn’t know.”

“
Hart’s a
true flag bearer of human potential.”

“
You’re
referring to his studies on Noetic Science, an obscure philosophy
about the metaphysics of the human mind, aren’t you?”

“
Our
thoughts, beliefs and intentions all have some interaction with the
physical world.”

“
The
physical world, Ted?”

“
Prophets
and alchemists knew that thousands of years ago. The physical world
is a whole lot closer to our minds than we think. We ignore it. The
universe sure has a strange way of conspiring.”

“
What
d’you mean?”

“
When a
person needs something, Marin, somehow the universe delivers it.
Hart could explain it.”

Marin sighed.
He could never forget the day he had shouted out in a Calculus
class at Cambridge University, which they had both attended years
ago.

“
I won’t
accept these outdated mathematical laws that show nothing of our
life!” Hart had stormed out the class.

“
Come
back here, young man!” Professor Lapinsky had called after
him.

Hart had turned
around and walked in. “I’m sorry, Professor, forgive me.”

In a flash, he
had grabbed a pen and started writing equations out on the
board.

“
What are
you doing now, Mr. Hart?”

“
I’m
giving you a glimpse of the universe, Professor.”

“
And,
what might that be?”

“
For
starters, a person could be in two places at the same time. In
fact, everything we see, including you, has an existence in a
realm. Matter is alive, as alive as the mind.”

“
I say,
you’re quite mad.”

“
I’m not.
I can prove it.”

Hart had
marched out again. Marin had caught up with him later at the
students’ cafeteria.

“
So, what
was that all about?” he had asked

“
Our real
world is unseen, Josh. It whispers to us.”

“
Tom,
maybe you should…,” Marin hadn’t gotten another word in before Hart
had pounced.

“
And,
it’s ageless, timeless. The unseen world exists. We need to explore
life’s mechanisms and designs if we’re to understand who we are.
Without that, we’re lost.”

Marin sat. He
thought of his meeting with him later. Hart was obstinate, a
characteristic he would hardly ever outgrow but he liked him and
admired his zest and energy for honing the forces of life. Hart
also had the distinction of being overly passionate and he didn’t
want to have to face a confrontation with him over the Inca date
for a new age. Hart’s ears, it seemed, weren’t designed for
listening. He looked at his watch. In an hour, he would be at his
door.

Chapter 16

It was 6.30PM
when Hart entered his Alpine, New Jersey, home. His need for
solitude and seclusion forced his decision to live in the quiet,
leafy district, and, like his friend, Olsen, led a quiet life. The
townsfolk referred to him as Einstein. He didn’t mind the reference
at all and cared less about kids who stared at him. Hart had his
moods, and, as much as he found socializing a greater problem than
gravity, there were times when he did. Those were moments when he
would stop and chat with his neighbours about politics and pets. He
loved dogs but didn’t think he was around long enough to care for
them.

He dropped his
bag in the hall and headed to the shower. The strong spray of hot
water eased the tension of his day. He dried himself and donning a
pair of shorts and t-shirt, he headed downstairs and made a cup of
tea and a marmalade sandwich.

His phone rang.
He picked it up.

“
I called
to apologize. Sorry about today. I don’t know what came over
me.”

“
It’s
okay, I understand, Jude.”

“
Can I
come over? Maybe we could talk.”

“
Talk
about what?”

“
Us,
Tom.”

“
I’m
expecting someone, actually.”

“
I see.
Who’s she?”

“
I don’t
have time for this crap.” He banged the phone down.

Half an hour
later, his doorbell rang. It was Marin. Dressed in jeans and white
cotton shirt, the stocky native of Florida was the catch of the day
with his thick mane of black hair, wide brown eyes and a demeanour
that was engaging.

“
Come on
in,” Hart motioned.

He took a
seat in Hart’s living room surrounded by Rosewood tables and
porcelain figurines. A large reprint of Ezekiel’s Vision hung on
the wall behind him.

“
All my
life you’ve doubted me. I’m nothing more than an oddity to you,”
Hart began, handing him a glass of wine.

“
What
d’you expect, Tom? You’re saying a realm is in us.” A whimsical
smile emerged on Marin’s face.

“
I am.
Doesn’t the ear capture waves and convert them to
sound?”

“
I guess
it does.”

“
Our
thoughts can be captured by a supernatural mind in a realm. The
mind sends back new ones.”

“
How can
you say this? You don’t have proof.”

“
I found
the realm, theoretically. The challenge, Josh, is to prove it’s
connected to us.”

“
You
found the realm?” As surprised as he was, Marin half-expected it.
Hart had been working long and hard to find a mirror image of the
world. He realized now that Hart was well on his way to proving
that humans weren’t alone but part of a cosmic network. “So, how
does the messaging work?” he asked.

“
Thoughts
can be transmitted by radio waves from the realm, but, honestly, I
have to prove it all. Without that, I’m good as cooked.”

“
I
suppose you will.”

“
I’m
hoping to. Matter can give us answers as to who we are and where we
go after death.”

Marin’s
hesitance showed in his blank expression.

“
I’ve
grown accustomed to the scepticism people throw my way, Josh. One
day, I’ll prove it all.”

“
Maybe,
then I’ll take you on, Tom.”

Marin leaned
back and shut his eyes. He was thinking of his own matters. The San
Andreas Fault was acting up. The fault sliced the state of
California in two from Cape Mendocino to the Mexican border.

San Bernardino
and Palmdale were sitting ducks. But, that was nothing compared to
the renewed Continental Drift Theory that was making the scientific
rounds. He popped an eye open.

“
You
really believe I shouldn’t worry, don’t you?”

“
You
shouldn’t, Josh. The Inca wrote information in knots and threads
called Quipus. The shamans knew how to connect to their inner
realm. They received a date in a vision and recorded it. It’s a new
dawn, the earth’s new dawn.”

“
You
expect me to buy that?”

“
No, I
don’t, but, give it a shot.”

“
I don’t
know, Tom. I don’t know.”

“
You
really are the ultimate sceptic.”

“
Can’t
help it, can I?”

Hart sighed.
“The human mind can be governed by a realm, Josh.”

“
For
God’s sake, why ar’you talking about prophecy?” Marin waded in,
becoming annoyed by Hart’s claims.

“
And, why
not?” Hart retorted. “What I’m about to say will end your
scepticism, if nothing else does.”

“
What’re
you getting at?”

He looked Marin
in the eye. “This world of ours will be reborn.”

“
Die is
more like it.”

“
No!”

“
Why’re
saying that?”

“
Because
Isaac Newton said it, that’s why.”

“
Newton?
He predicted an apocalyptic end in 2060, didn’t he?”

“
That’s a
misconception. Apocalypse doesn’t mean an end of time but
revelation of something hidden. There’s no end of time. Using bible
codes, he predicted a rebirth and gave an approximation.” Hart
lifted his feet onto his centre table. Dressed in shorts and a polo
shirt, he seemed smaller but his face was hard with conviction.
“Newton was quite obsessed with prophecy, matter and alchemy. His
prediction was all about the destruction of ignorance, not the
earth. A new age is coming. Don’t you see? Don’t you see? There
will be a peace. The teachings that were intended for Mankind will
be revealed.”

“
Really,
Tom,” Marin replied, his cynicism obvious.

Hart pointed a
finger as he felt frustration rising. “The Prophet Isaiah too had
something to say. From the rising of the sun to the place of its
setting, men may know there is none beside me. For behold I create
a new heaven and earth and the former things will not come to
mind.”

“
Prophet
Isaiah said that?”

“
And, I’m
not done. According to Indian scripture, Kali Yuga, or Dark Age,
began its end in 2012. The Ethiopian canon text, The Book of
Jubilees, states clearly there’ll be an era of peace like none this
world has ever witnessed. I truly believe your seismic data will
start changing soon.”

“
I don’t
understand how an intelligent person like you could say
that.”

“
I had a
look at Olsen’s Inca data.”

“
What
about it?”

“
There’s
reason to believe the Inca were right.”

“
Yeah?”

“
Atahualpa, the Inca king, said the dead spoke to his
people. That’s why he mummified them. He created a cross known as
the Chakapa. The symbolic habit of wearing black came from the
Inca. Their god, Viracocha, was sent to earth and walked on water.
Get the picture?”

“
Information travels,” Marin remarked.

“
Maybe it
time travels and maybe, just maybe we don’t understand messages
from beyond.” Hart stared, wondering how to convince Marin of a
cosmic link to the beyond. “Josh, what if I told you I was
contacted by a time-traveller.”

“
What?
You’re going crazy.” Marin had great difficulty in accepting such a
claim.

“
I’m
not!” Hart yelled. “The truth must be told.”

“
What
truth?”

“
The
universe is in us!”

“
Calm
down, Tom.”

Chapter 18

But Hart
couldn’t. He felt as if a whole new world was opening up. The
essence of life and all that it meant was but a whisper away.

“
Predictions and visions have been around long, since the
time of Moses,” he said. “They mean nothing without a realm. I’ve
found a scientific basis for their occurrence. We can attach
significance to them.”

“
You’re
asking me to accept an ill-defined realm.”

“
Ill-defined?” Hart was reeling now. “But, I found it. How
could it be ill-defined?”

“
You
found it mathematically. It’s of academic interest, nothing
more!”

Marin’s words
made Hart feel drained of emotion but his eyes reflected untamed
brilliance when he spoke again.

“
Look in
the mirror and tell me what you see. Nature mirrors everything on a
grand scale. There’s another one of you, another one of everything
and there’s a reason for that.”

“
And,
what’s the reason?”

“
We’re
timeless, dammit! We’re locked in gravity, in hell. We need help.
Look, Josh, there’s an ancient text that’ll explain it all. There’s
a realm in us, I know there is.”

“
You
don’t even know if Olsen’ll find the new age, do you?” Marin
glanced at his watch. He turned and started heading to the door. “I
gotta go, Tom.”