The Kabbalistic Murder Code: Mystery & International Conspiracies (Historical Crime Thriller Book 1) (18 page)

              Orna was overcome with emotion, “You mean the Chinese Mafia almost managed to nab you?” It was impossible not to see her new found appreciation of him. All her anger had dissolved magically, and her concern focused on ways to protect him. “I can see now why you’ve been receiving such astronomical sums of money. Our finances have been going up exponentially, but everything has a price, and we have no way of knowing when you will be required to pay that price.”

              “I never thought about it like that,” said Elijah, which just added another woe to the pack of troubles he was already carrying.

              “I bet that’s precisely why they chose you for this job. You’re a very naive man, Elijah.”

              “Orna, the fact is that I am not the only one in danger, the same applies to you and the girls. That’s why I’m so worried. I’m terrified that they’ll stop at nothing.”

              Orna was a very pragmatic person, with absolutely no connection to the Kabbalah. “I have a theory,” she said. “Your Mr. David Norman - together with the Chinese Mafia - is in a race to find the treasures that were hidden at the time of Bar Kokhba, possibly including the Temple treasures. Elijah, how many scrolls have you already examined?”

              “Four.”

              “Why don’t you write down everything you’ve found out up to now, and let’s see where that will take us? Let’s see if we can beat Norman to the punch and find the treasure before he gets to it.”

              “I’ve been thinking along those lines, too, and I have a slight advantage over him. I examined one scroll whose existence he doesn’t even know about. Nor do I intend to enlighten him.”

              “I want to help you.”

              “What I’ve managed to understand so far is that the seventh line of each scroll refers to both the cosmological realm in regard to the creation of the world and to the world as it is here. In other words, if we piece together all the seventh lines, this should tell us both when and how to bring about the ultimate redemption. One of the scrolls talks about the
Even Shetiyah
, which is across from the heart of the world. Another states that the
Even Shetiyah
is located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.”

              “That means that we have to find some very high place which is opposite the Mount, one where, if we descend from it, the Temple Mount can no longer be seen. That must be the reference to the slope. Go on.”

              “The third clue states that redemption should come during one of those years specifically suitable for it. This year is one of them.”

              “And roughly when in the year should that take place?”

              “In the summer.”

              “In the summer? We’re at the beginning of the summer right now. Can you pinpoint it any more closely?”

              “No, I have no idea.”

              “Alright then. What else?”

              “Then we find the reckoning of the factorials. This evidently must be related to various letter or word combinations, which evidently constitute some type of Divine code. These have to be recited at a certain tempo, and one must stop saying them at a certain time. We don’t know any more details.”

              “I still maintain that the genetic code is somehow involved here, but I can’t figure out how to connect it to the other clues.”

              “There are a few more things you should know about David Norman. He is able to write easily using an ancient script, is interested in the Kabbalah, can foretell the future and read minds. He is the owner of Luria Investments, and runs the Luzzato Institute. Both ‘Luria’ and ‘Luzatto’ are the names of famous Kabbalists. In his to-do list, he prophesied the death of Kim, and was willing to accept this with cruel equanimity.”

              “Elijah, you already have enough pieces of the puzzle.”

              “Not really. It’s like a patchwork. We don’t know exactly when, where and how this is supposed to take place. I don’t know who John McDonald is, or Odel Weiss. Her first name, too, is connected to the Kabbalah, and it was she who wrote that article which seems to have disappeared after its recall by the magazine publisher. And, of course, there is one other name involved here. Norman’s list included ‘Visit Gardi in the hospital’. Who is this Gardi?”

              “Well, to me, Gardi sounds Yemenite. If he’s still in the hospital, I’ll see if I can locate him through our computer at Hadassah Hospital. I suggest you continue going to the Institute and act as if nothing has happened. I daresay Norman will send you to see other manuscripts.”

              “Well, tomorrow I’ll pay a visit to my friend Shlomo Nehorai, CEO of Text-Com, who was also mentioned in Norman’s list. Maybe he can give me another clue.”

              “Now why does that name sound familiar?”

              “We were at high school together and have been friends ever since.”

              “I am absolutely fascinated to see how you’ve changed suddenly from a scholar who deals with ancient documents into a private investigator,” Orna remarked with her usual cynicism, but primarily to alleviate the tension in the air. “I have one basic question, though. Tell me, do you actually believe in all this mystical mumbo jumbo?”

              “I believe that Norman believes in it and that, to me, makes him a person who is out of control. However, given the three homicides and other potential homicides that surround the whole case, any association with him is highly dangerous. Second, don’t forget that Isaac Newton was also very interested in alchemy and other strange phenomena, and he is considered the father of modern scientific thought. Now it’s my turn to ask you a question: Do you believe me now about my ties with Mei-Ling?”

              “Absolutely.”

              Elijah embraced her. “Do you know what Rabbi Akiba would have had to say about this?”

              “And since when are you suddenly a disciple of Hasidic rabbis?”

              “I’m trying to find out everything I can about the Kabbalah. It’s said that Rabbi Akiba was a great Kabbalist, and I’m curious to know why he gave orders to have all the copies of
Sefer Yetzirah
burned. However, that’s not what I wanted to discuss right now. One of Rabbi Akiba’s statements concerns the grounds on which a man may divorce his wife. According to him, ‘Even if a man found a woman who is more attractive than his wife, he has the right to divorce her’.”

              “Yes, I figured that she must be very pretty. I felt that in the way you responded about her,” Orna remarked bitingly. Deep down, Elijah felt a certain sense of satisfaction at this turn of events.

              Orna continued, “I believe you, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let my guard down. If a woman does too many shifts at the hospital, it makes it much harder for her to keep her husband.” Elijah was delighted. That would mean that from now on the burden of caring for the little girls would be distributed more equally, even though she was a medical doctor and he was only a doctor of ancient languages. Indeed, the next morning he was able to take the car to his meeting with Shlomo Nehorai.

              Elijah had often passed the high-tech industrial park in Jerusalem, but had never actually driven into it. From the outside it was very difficult to see what the individual buildings looked like, but as soon as he drove in he was impressed by their beauty and elegance, and noted that each had its own individual character. Shlomo’s company was located in a building known as the Ivory Building. The elevators were all glass-enclosed, and large picture windows faced west. As with most large buildings in Jerusalem, this one was built on the slope of a hill, and it was difficult to estimate the number of floors it contained, which explained why it took him a while to locate Shlomo’s office. At least those few extra moments gave him the opportunity to look around and admire the architecture. The building was encased in white marble that made it glitter in the sunlight. It had been built on an incline, and each floor had its own private terrace with grass and shrubbery. Many of these gardens were even graced by modern, mostly marble, artistic sculptures. He eventually arrived at the right floor and walked over to the woman at the front desk, whom he took to be the receptionist.

              “Good morning. I would like to speak to Mr. Nehorai.”

              Without even bothering to look up from the document she was working on, the young woman mumbled, “Fourth door on the right.”

              As he walked along the corridor, Elijah noted that the doors to all the rooms were open and that all were the same size. Shlomo was indeed in the fourth room on the right, as a plain sign on his door indicated, without even giving his title as CEO. He was deeply engrossed in the data he was reading on his computer screen.

              “Elijah!” Shlomo called out warmly and got up from his chair. The two men shook hands and embraced, thumping each other on the shoulder, as if trying to beat the dust out of the their clothes. Elijah could not but note - with a clear sense of superiority - that Shlomo had gained a lot of weight since their last meeting over ten years ago, whereas, he, Elijah, had kept the same weight for years.
That’s very uncharitable of me
, Elijah thought to himself as he sat down.

              “Let’s not waste time on formalities: I’ll ask you ‘How’re things,’ and you’ll say ‘Fine,’ and neither of us will have learned anything of value,” said Shlomo. “All I can tell you is that I can’t spend much time with you, as I have another meeting scheduled soon.”

              “That’s fine with me. In fact, I have a very specific question to ask you: How have you managed to program artificial intelligence to analyze ancient manuscripts?”

              “I’ll tell you briefly,” said Shlomo. “The first generation of programmers tried to have the computer mimic human thought processes when they play chess - but they had no way of knowing exactly how people think. They used brute force by having the computers analyze every possibility and then come up with a move. What this meant, though, was that the computers became so bogged down with the millions of possibilities that their moves were not always the best under the circumstances. Well, the programmers soon realized that people do not work that way at all. A chess player - unlike a computer - will not examine all the possibilities. Intuitively, he will examine three or four lines of attack and decide which one to use. It was only when this analysis was made and the computers were programmed to react the same way people do in playing chess, that the computer was able to defeat a human opponent. We adapted these techniques in analyzing documents.”

              “Now that computers have reached a high level, is it still necessary for them to emulate the human brain and select only certain lines of thought?” asked Elijah.

              “It may take another forty years for computers to be able to do that. If we look at the number of cells in the human brain and especially at the number of neurons, we are talking about billions of cells. And then we have to consider the links between them, which are the basis of all human thought. A number of years ago, a computer analyst laid down a ‘law’ - Moore’s Law - which states that computer power doubles every eighteen months. This, indeed, has been the situation more or less since the invention of the computer. If we can maintain that ‘law,’ it will take about forty years for us to develop computers with the capacity of the human brain. Of course, Moore’s Law is subject to changes in both directions. It’s possible that a major breakthrough will take place that will accelerate the process tremendously, but by the same token, it’s possible that unforeseen difficulties will impede the process.”

              “That means we won’t be around to see it,” Elijah muttered, half to himself.

              “And it will be better if we aren’t,” said Shlomo immediately. “Imagine what would happen to us. I can already visualize demonstrations by the ‘Committee to Liberate the Computer’ with demands for equal rights for computers.”

              “You mean the ‘Committee to Abolish Modern Slavery’,” Elijah prompted him. “There’ll be demands to give computers their personal freedom, equality, pensions, free upgrading and repairs at the expense of the state. And don’t forget a fair shake for old computers, and a prohibition against just junking them.”

              “Exactly. And imagine what would happen if one of these computers becomes a prophet named Karl Marx Comp, and enters into a jihad against the carbon-based creatures that are destroying the environment. By that time, there’ll be many more of them, and they’ll be far less vulnerable and more powerful.”

              “It’ll be easy for computers to destroy us in a few seconds,” Elijah chimed in. “If they unite, they’ll be able to cut off all our water and electricity supplies. And, of course, they can launch several nuclear weapons.”

              “All we can do is to ask for an honorable surrender,” said Shlomo as he waved his hands in lieu of a white flag. “That is, if they even deign to speak to us. I’m already depressed about the future of mankind. It’s best not to talk about it at all.”

              Both laughed, and Elijah went onto the next stage.

              “Do you, by any chance, know someone by the name of David Norman?”

              Shlomo looked at Elijah long and hard. “I guessed that was the reason why you wanted to see me. I only met him once and I spoke to him once on the phone, but he’s the type of person who is very hard to forget. He heard about the program we had developed to examine Torah scrolls. As you know, the Torah scroll has to be hand-written on parchment and must be perfect. If a single letter is missing or a single extra letter appears in the scroll, it may not be used. According to Jewish law, after a Torah scroll is written it must be examined three times for accuracy. We developed a program that mimics the actions of those scroll-checkers. It checks that each letter is within the parameters of acceptability in terms of Jewish law, that each letter that should be present is indeed present, and that there are no superfluous letters. For example, by Jewish law, each letter has to be of a specific shape. Let us say that a particular letter has to have a specific horizontal line at the top. In the course of time, the ink of a handwritten letter might crack, so that there isn’t a solid line at the top of the letter. That would invalidate that letter - and hence the entire Torah scroll. Our program will check that as well.”