The Kabbalistic Murder Code: Mystery & International Conspiracies (Historical Crime Thriller Book 1) (16 page)

              “We are now crossing from Europe to Asia,” Alfred noted.

              Elijah wasn’t particularly competent geographically and had only just scraped through his navigation tests in the army. Even as a tank commander, he had never bothered to use maps and would always tell the unit leader, “You need to make sure I can always see your tank. If you ever disappear from my line of sight for two minutes, I’ll become hopelessly lost in the Sinai Desert, and I’ll wander about for forty years until they find me. It’s your responsibility.”

              Even after they had crossed over to the Asian side of Istanbul, the cab drove for about half an hour until there was a notable change of scenery; high-rise buildings gave way to private homes, all enclosed by fences. Alfred told the driver to stop next to one of them, and Elijah saw that the cab driver was impressed with the house. A woman with Slavic features, who seemed to work there, opened the door for them. However imposing the outside of the house appeared, it was nothing compared to what lay beyond the fence. The house itself was surrounded by a magnificent garden, with a private swimming pool at one side. Inside, all the floors were covered with exquisite carpets, and the furniture was elegant and obviously expensive.

              Elijah was led immediately to the study, which overlooked the garden. On the table was the original manuscript and next to it were all the tools of his trade: a magnifying glass, a special thick needle, a set of pens, and paper. At his request, Elijah was allowed to get straight to work. He was grateful that Alfred did not insist on standing by him the whole time. Withdrawing from the world and its problems, Elijah concentrated solely on the manuscript before him. The manuscript appeared to have originally been a scroll consisting of parchment sections sewn to each other, but over the ages the linen thread that kept the different sections together had rotted away, and now each section was separate from the others.

              He was pleased to see that his original hypothesis had been correct. The manuscript had evidently gone through three separate stages; it had been difficult to see this on photocopies, but to his practiced eye, seeing the original made this abundantly clear. The quality of the different inks used had been different, and that obviously showed up in the manuscript. It seemed that the ink used for writing on parchment went through various stages. At first, a mixture of carbon and glue was used, but the problem was always which liquid should be used to galvanize the glue in the mixture. Different metallic salts were later added to the mixture, which would allow the ink to be absorbed better in the parchment, but at the same time these metallic salts could cause the ink to eat away at the parchment, a highly destructive effect over the long term. This process, too, can be halted temporarily, regardless of which ink was used and in the short term, even an expert would find it difficult to tell the difference between the inks used. However, it is totally impossible to match up inks precisely. The result is that over the course of time they decay with different rapidity, which makes it easy to spot the various inks employed. Thus, every such correction will become apparent at some point in the future.

              Interestingly enough, the composition of the ink led to a dispute among the sages of the Talmud. The addition of vitriol makes the ink more durable and improves its appearance, but makes it much harder to use in correcting manuscripts. Rabbi Meir permits the use of vitriol, while the other sages forbid it, and Jewish law follows the sages.

              Elijah went through the manuscript word by word. He was totally familiar by now with the exact content, except, of course, the unique seventh line of each scroll. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found that in almost every instance, his hypotheses had been correct. Alfred came in a few times to offer him food and drink, but Elijah declined each time and almost ignored his presence. He completed his review of the entire manuscript and felt a sense of jubilation and accomplishment.

             
Here, as in the other manuscripts, the seventh line was different! This was to be expected, and he would have been bitterly disappointed had such a change not been made. He took out his flashlight camera, and secretly photographed the relevant passage.

              Alfred came in again. “Professor, you’ve worked for three hours straight without rising from your chair!”

              Elijah looked outside and saw that the sun was indeed setting.

              “I wanted to ask you something,” Alfred continued. “There is another section, but I’m not sure if it’s part of this manuscript. Would you be willing to glance at it?”

              “If it’s a Hebrew manuscript, I’d be delighted to see it,” replied Elijah immediately.

              Alfred brought another section. Elijah took a look at it, and made sure to use his flashlight camera to illuminate it. A few clicks, and he had a number of photographs of this section as well. If there had been any doubt regarding the connection between the Hong Kong manuscript and this one, he found the connection here. The section was written in the same style as the other one, and showed no corrections. It stated that this was one of the seven copies that Nehemiah of Peki’in had made for Elazar ben Rabbi Simon, who had heard it from his father, who had heard it from Rabbi Akiba, who had heard it from ben Horkenos, who had heard it from Rabbi Johanan. At the bottom of this section Elijah saw two faint signatures and decided to investigate them later.

              “This one is not particularly relevant,” said Elijah, who was already accustomed to lying with a straight face, as he returned the last section to Alfred. “I don’t think I’ll include it in the opinion I was asked to offer.” Elijah thought he caught a measure of disappointment in Alfred’s eyes, but the man recovered very quickly. Alfred invited him for dinner at a restaurant on the banks of the Bosporus. After first declining politely, Elijah accepted the invitation, with the provision that it would be a moderately priced restaurant.

              They drove back to the city, this time in Alfred’s luxurious car. Along the way, they stopped at one of the bridges above the Golden Horn of the Bosporus that link the Asian to the European side of the city. On both sides of the inlet, dozens of fishermen were plying their trade
.
Alfred pointed out the floodlit palaces of the sultans and the numerous mosques scattered throughout the city.

              They picked up Ozlem, who had just locked up the store, and arrived at the banks of the Bosporus. On the way to the restaurant that Alfred had chosen, they passed many places that looked like cafés or coffee shops. In each of these, young men and women sat on low stools and smoked
narghiles
. Some of them were playing backgammon. Elijah noted that the holy crusade against smoking had not yet reached Turkey. Nowhere in the city had he seen a single no-smoking sign.

              Alfred had selected a restaurant opposite the Spice Bazaar with a pastoral ambiance. Elijah thoroughly enjoyed the food, which reminded him of Israeli cuisine, and the conversation was animated. Ozlem was more interested in Israel and its inhabitants, while Alfred wanted to know about the prices of rare Hebrew manuscripts.

              The meal ended very late, with Elijah satiated both in terms of food and everything there was to know about Turkey in general and Istanbul in particular. They wanted to drive Elijah back to his hotel, but he decided to take a cab, both because the hotel was in the opposite direction from their home, and because cabs were inexpensive. He entered his hotel room and dropped, exhausted, on the bed. Here, at least, he could be confident that no one would wake him in the middle of the night.

              He lay on his back and began to analyze all his recent experiences. He needed to find some sort of framework for everything that had occurred, some overall perspective that would allow all the data to fall neatly into place.

              As he lay there, his eyes followed the shadows that drifted in through the window into his room. He was reminded of Nash’s game theory, which the legendary John MacDonald had also used in a most succinct form to explain the human race. There are systems that reach a point of equilibrium that is disturbing to them, but from which they cannot escape. The most famous of these is the dilemma of the prisoners. Let us assume that two criminals robbed a bank. The police arrested both and locked each up in a different cell. The police do not have an ironclad case, and if each suspect insists that he was not involved, the police will be forced to release them. The most they can be convicted of is being in possession of a deadly weapon, the penalty for which is two years in prison. If both confess, each will be sentenced to four years in prison. However, if one confesses and the other does not, the one who confessed will turn state’s evidence. The one who confessed will then receive a one-year sentence, while the other will receive a seven-year sentence.

              What is the best course for each to take? Each is in a solitary cell and has no idea what the other will do. He also has no way to influence the other. The best course for each to pursue is simple. If his friend confesses, it would be best for him to confess as well. Otherwise, he risks incurring a seven-year sentence. If his friend does not confess, it is still wise for him to do so, because then, as state’s witness, he will receive only a one-year sentence. That is Nash’s point of equilibrium. That is the point that all the players will reach. The best course is for neither of them to confess, and then they will only have to serve a two-year term for weapons possession. However, they both have to confess, due to the fact that they cannot communicate. This point of equilibrium is not the best choice for the prisoners, but it is the one they will choose, whether they like it or not.

              Nash’s equilibrium point is valid when it is in the interest of all parties to act in a particular way but other factors cause them to act differently, and the result is that their choice is not the best one for them. And just as in a moment of inspiration Nash had come up with his theorem, Elijah had an epiphany of his own:
That’s it! I can understand it at last! Eureka! I’ve just discovered the significance of the
Even Shetiyah!

              Nash’s equilibrium point is what underlies the story of the heart of the world, which lies across from the Even Shetiyah and the fountain! When the heart is at the top of the mountain, it sees the fountain and can live. If it descends along the slope of the mountain, it no longer sees the fountain and dies. There is no way the heart can ever bridge the gap between itself and the fountain. That is the idea behind ultimate redemption, in mathematical terms!

              In other words, dear Mr. Norman was seeking a way to bypass Nash’s equilibrium point, or, in less scientific terms, the fool wanted to bring about ultimate redemption all by himself. Furthermore, according to the Kabbalists, redemption-wise, this year was a very auspicious one. Norman was seeking the formula based on the Kabbalah. The formula was to be found in the ancient manuscripts, in the hints planted by Nehemiah of Peki’in, and Elijah was the one flying around the world assembling the hints for Norman. It could be an extremely dangerous enterprise! Elijah had to find some way to prevent Norman from going through with his scheme!
We’ve had enough false messiahs in our history!
he thought
.

              Elijah bought Orna a few pieces of jewelry from the bazaar in Istanbul. Orna was thrilled with the jewelry, and even more by how their bank balance kept growing. Elijah sensed the difference that had taken place in her. She was calmer, and her face radiated joy. The girls fell asleep, and Elijah sat himself next to Orna and embraced her. He concentrated on the text he had found in Alfred’s manuscript. He would have to bring it to Norman tomorrow. There was no way he could conceal it, as he had with the manuscript of Rabbi Batzri.

              Finally, he blurted out: “Orna, I need to ask you a question.”

              “That’s what you’re thinking about now? After you fly abroad and leave your wife all alone for three whole days?”

              Undaunted, he went on:

              “Let’s see if I remember how it goes:

“Ten Sefirot out of nothing, and they are ten in extent beyond limit. Their end is infused with their beginning, and their beginning with their end like a flame attached to a glowing ember. Know, think, and imagine that the Creator is One and there is nothing apart from Him, and before One what do you count?

“He created reality from Tohu and made His existence out of His nothingness, and He hewed great pillars from the intangible air. He created four elements and arranged them according to three mothers.

“Twenty-two letters: He carved them, hewed them, refined them, weighed them, and combined them, and He made of them the entire creation and everything to be created in the future
.”

             
“The last section is simple,” replied Orna without pausing, her medical training clearly showing. “That’s a crude description of the DNA double-helix.”

              “What?”

              “Genetic characteristics are transmitted through what is referred to as the double-helix. Let me try to explain it to you in simple language. One can regard this helix as a very long film whose units are connected to one another. The number of units is enormous, but there are only four basic types of unit. Each sequence of three units is referred to as a ‘word’ or letter, which relates to a single amino acid. Amino acids are the basis of everything alive. If you want to see what the helix is doing, you simply need to add an amino acid to every three units. All the amino acids combine with proteins, and all together form a person. Simple, no? There’s something like three billion of these units. Theoretically, if we could arrange them one after the other and use the proper formula, we could easily make a replica of the human body. Where did you bring your riddle from? Turkey?” She thought her question was hilarious.