GENESIS (GODS CHAIN) (15 page)

The
c
ardinal tended to the dollars like a shepherd to sheep, gathering the flock into
its
pen
while
making sure that no wolves were sneaking around
.
Pleased with
his success, t
he
c
ardinal surveyed the latest figures in the spreadsheet.
             

The weak
-
coloured tiled floor was cold to the touch o
f
his toes as he readjusted his sitting position.
The day
beg
a
n to heat up slowly as he studied the electronic marketplace.
Where
...
where is it?
the cardinal wondered.
Si, there!
It was not the largest company he had acquired but one that was very healthy.
Biotechnology!
That was always a sound financial investment
. The cardinal had
e
arn
ed
early recognition by the Vatican when he
’d
demonstrated
his skill in
the acquisition of all types of companies
.
H
e was
certainly
destined for greatness.

Under divine instruction
, the cardinal
was able to buy stocks and shares to fund projects that helped to build the Catholic faith throughout the world and especially in those darkest
,
uncivilized places.
Indeed
, the cardinal’s
was a true and holy mission!
If the church had
a
solid financial base
,
then the faith
of the
masses would follow.
G
overnments would bend
their knees
for
the
short and immediate financial
reprieve the Vatican could offer
and
would in exchange
allow
God’s
missions in their countries.

Giovanni
Dalla Gassa
had been in the service of the Lord all his life
and, by the grace of God, he was fifty eight years old
and had known several Holy
See
s.
Like many entrepreneurs
,
the man had lowly beginnings
—he’d
work
ed
up through
his community
church from
a
simple choir boy to
a
priest
,
ascend
ed
the steps to the Holy Order
and
then
became a
c
ardinal.
The rest
of the story
was well known.
He
’d
learned his financial wizardry on his consecrated ascension to the Vatican City
as he
work
ed through
all
the
hours God blessed him with.
Cardinal Giovanni Dalla Gassa was now
the
“Secretary of State” to Pope Benedict.
Not only was he much respected and trusted at the highest levels
,
his reputation of
generosity made him much beloved by the greater Italian community
. Many paid him homage and pleaded if not prayed for his sacrament, his
sanctifying financial grace
...
.

After checking the morning financials,
H
is
G
race drove himself into the Vatican City
in
his dark green Mercedes Benz cabriole.
Today’s mission was not in the civil administration building
,
where most of his corporate offices were located.
This morning
,
he would conduct his religious duties inside the St Peter’s Basilica.

All things in his grand office were unique and priceless
—
in stark disparity of the man
who
had previously occupied this holy office. There were many priceless works of art,
including
Madonna in Glory, Tempera on Panel,
and
The Holy Trinity
,
which had been acquired f
r
om the Galleries. Magnificent and breathtaking would not fittingly describe this
man’s
shrine to the Holy Conclave!
The rich colours
of each painting
jumped with life
with flickers of
the moody lamp
s
that
highlight
ed
them
.
Sitting at his polished marble desk
,
the
c
ardinal scratch
ed
quickly a scripture with his long
-
quilled pen.

A portrait of his Holiness Alberto Luciani, Pope John Paul (I)
,
adorned
with red and gold robe
s
and holding
a
golden
,
jewelled
crucifix with his right hand, hung above the entrance doorway
. The portrait was
twenty-five
feet tall
and ten
feet
wide
and topped with a shining silver crucifix—it
dominated the majority of
the cardinal’s
dimly lit office.
John Paul’s eyes
seemed patient
,
thoughtful and
ever-
watching from
his
elevated position.

Cardinal Giovanni Dalla Gassa dipped his
quill in and out of holy ink whipping
as t
he h
eavy bronze doors to
his outer-
office slowly opened
.
Multi
-
coloured tones of red, green, blue and golden yellow light shone through stained glass windows set
just
outside his office
,
in
the
main hall.
Two men were silhouetted for a moment against the
jewelled
light before the door closed behind them with an echo
that
reverberat
ed
off the polished marble walls. The
men
quickly approached
the cardinal’s office
, each step echo
ing
louder and louder
as they
pass
ed beneath
the
five large golden chandeliers
that
h
u
ng from the high ceiling
of the cardinal’s outer office
.
T
he holy lights did not
provide
much luminescence in the
c
ardinal
’
s personal and private chamber within the Secretariat quarter inside the Basilica.

A rich and heavenly
mural
with gold rimmed carvings felt heavy on the
men’s heads; they felt as if it was
pressing down on them from the lofty arched ceiling.
Colourful
f
rescos hung on the walls and noble sculptures stood and guarded the corners of this astonishing chamber.
H
is great office was nothing short of breathtaking!
They knocked quietly, and then entered through the heavy wooden doors.

The
c
ardinal’s table
was
elevated a few inches above floor
level on a raised
,
white
-
marble base. Behind
him
, a magnanimous gold
-
framed mirror
, thirty feet wide by twenty feet long,
hung
a
top a marble mantelpiece
. The mirror was etched with detailed and holy patterns, while
solid silver
crucifix
e
s
sparkled
on e
ither
end.
The mirror was curved and angled by skilled craftsmen
so that it
reflected the Pope’s image opposite from his real and eminent blessed portrait above the door
, including
the cross
, which
shone
brilliantly
above his head.

The image was quite remarkable and so genuine
that the men
felt
their nerves frazzling.
No matter which
angle
—whenever
they
looked at the mirror
,
the pontiff’s gaze looked down
upon them knowingly, and
sympathetic.
The whole effect gave
an impression of
the dead Pope’s
presen
ce
inside the room
...
and
maybe he was
.
This grand chamber
was once
his study when he was alive
,
and had
heard his
final prayers before
H
is
H
oliness
’
s demise last century at the hands of the Illuminati.