- BN - Soft electronic music played as Madzistrale sat down in her sofa, drying her hair with a towel. About to pick up the TV controller, she saw with her usual disinterest the thick black book lying on the table; but something else caught her eye. It was a note with Gabzryel's elegant handwriting: “Read the darn book! You can't call yourself a Christian if you don't read at least once the darn Bible!!” “Yes I can!” Madzistrale argued angrily at the note. “Besides, it's the KJB one...” She continued reading the note, and smirked upon what came next: “So what if it's the KJB version? Unless you know how to read Ancient Greek or Armenian... Just read the Gospel of Matthew, at least. It's the best part.” Madzistrale sighed, and picked up the black book, noticing the elegant bookmark somewhere two-thirds in the pages. Looking at the hour, she resigned herself, and lying back in her sofa, she opened the book where the bookmark was and began to read. Two minutes passed, and she groaned in frustration. “Oh come on, seriously??!! Are you going to name every-single-bloody-one-generation?? Just get to the point...” She paused as something caught her eyes, and she sat back up with newfound interest. “Now that's peculiar...” ********************** “Next!” Gabzryel asked, holding up a scoop filled of gooey honey over the pasteurization machine. “Ai!” Tom acknowledged, passing over a glass Mason jar to Gabzryel. He screwed the sealed top on the previous jar, taking care not to smudge anything. “So how many friends we need to deliver to these already?” “Eight! Will you keep up already?” Gabzryel replied annoyingly, struggling to fill the jar without spilling honey all over the exterior. The door to the basement opened, and Madzistrale walked into the laboratory, holding a notepad. Pausing, she looked at Gabzryel before falling into a fit of laugh. “What?” Gabzryel asked, worried, carefully holding the honey-filled jar back to Tom. “You can't expect me not to laugh upon seeing a man wearing a turban, with shorts and a darn dagger dangling from his belt, making dozens of honey jars while expertly spilling none of it on his badly positioned bracelet! Was it already time for your eidomorph switch?” “Of course,” Gabzryel simply replied, scraping the leftover honey into a bigger and simpler looking jar. “So... no meat for the next weeks?” Madzistrale thought, trying to remember the taboos. “I’m a Sikh, not a Muslim or a Hindu!” “I know, I know! I just thought that Sikhs too didn’t eat meat..." “No, they still do if they want to,” Gabzryel patiently replied. “Are you two done now? It's my turn to show you something interesting,” Madzistrale changed the subject. “Coming right up!” Tom and Gabzryel rinsed their hands before joining Madzistrale at the work table. “So, after that annoying note of yours, I began reading the Gospel of Matthew...” Madzistrale began. “Really? How did you like it?” Gabzryel asked excitedly. “I don't know, I haven't gotten past the second page...” “What?! Why?” “For good reasons, might I say!” Madzistrale defended herself. “I found something peculiar.” “I told you that someone like you would,” Tom said proudly. “You always view things in a way that we can't.” Madzistrale blushed before continuing: “It is written, after that ridiculously long list of names, that between Abraham and King David, fourteen generations has elapsed.” “Okay...” the two man tried to see where this was going. “Between King David and the next big event, the exile of Jews into Babylon, fourteen generations elapsed. Finally, between the exile and the birth of Jesus-Christ, yet another fourteen generation elapsed.” “Strange,” Tom conceded. “There's fourteen possible Bavarais lattices filling the space dimensions,” Gabzryel thoughtfully said. “And there are fourteen electrons in the f sub-level of an atom,” Tom added. “Yeah, right,” Madzistrale uncertainly said, not knowing anything about science. “But as I'm sure you know me, I had to become obsessed with that peculiarity; and guess what I found?” She opened her notepad where a table of dates with descriptions were lined under each other. ********* AQ ********* Daniel knocked at Abraham's office, and upon the latter's invitation, entered. “Daniel, are you here for my request?” Abraham asked, rising from his seat. “Yes, Mr. Solomon, I have found what you requested of me,” Daniel acquiesced, holding a small lean dark-grey machine. “Show me,” Abraham invited him on the couch facing a low table. “Yes, sir,” Daniel plugged the machine into the table, a glass pyramid rose from its center, and a holographic genealogy-looking chart appeared in mid-air. “As you requested, I compiled every major historical events that remained in our records. My first attempts to find your desired pattern were unsuccessful, for major events are innumerable. However, I took the liberty to examine religious accounts of History. Religions, by their nature, find patterns to match what they cannot explain otherwise. And I found a match.” Daniel tapped on the machine, and the chart grew in clarity, with three differently coloured lines sprouting from a single point and leading to a long vertical list of box, with some lines joining to the same boxes. When Daniel zoomed on the very first box, simply written 'Abraham'. “In the religious text King James Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew, there are three consecutive events distanced by 14 generations each, starting from Abraham. Fourteen generation later, David becomes King of Jerusalem,” Daniel explained, following a single blue line linking Abraham to the next box, written '1,049 BCE, King David'. Moving his finger along the single blue line to the next box, Daniel continued: “Another fourteen generation mark the exile of the Jews to Babylon. From the exile of the Jews to Babylon, another fourteen generations lead to the birth of Yeshua-Emmanuel.” Daniel stopped his finger at the 'Yeshua-Emmanuel' box, from which three lines (blue, green and red) linked to one more box then sprouted to a complex chart. “I remember reading that the number fourteen was associated with the name of David, and that they used that number to reinforce the fact that Yeshua-Emmanuel was the descendant of the House of David,” Abraham explained, slightly disappointing by Daniel’s finds. “That genealogy is also only present in the Gospel of Matthew; the Gospel of Luke present a much more complex genealogy, and historians thus believe that the fourteen generations cycle is meant to be symbolic.” “Not exactly true, Mr. Abraham. The cycle of fourteen is still present in the Gospel of Luke, albeit very lightly modified. When I applied the cycle backwards from Yeshua-Emmanuel, it gives me Mattathias, Joshua, King Solomon instead of David, Abraham, and finally, Enoch.” “Alright, fair enough; with interesting results too, especially concerning King Solomon and Enoch. But why are you using that number as a reference?” “I found that finding the pattern logically would be impossible, so I used the closest pattern I could find that already existed. Furthermore, two of science’s most basic elements are formed by the number fourteen: space dimensions is filled with fourteen Bavarais lattices, and there are fourteen electrons in the f sub-level of an atom.” “Interesting...” Abraham conceded. “So what did you found out using that number?” “That using three possibilities of average generation lengths, each of History’s major events happened on the fourteenth generation cycle; and that many of those events are shared by all three possible outcomes.” “What do you mean ‘three possibilities of average generation lengths’?” “Before Yeshua-Emmanuel, the generations length varied between 61, 31 and 41 years respectively.” “Makes sense, Abraham died at 175 years, so having a child at 60 would be normal; he even had six at about 128,” Abraham thought, trying not to smirk upon saying the name. “Indeed; and the later events forced the later generations to shorten their lifespans and thus the average age of child birth. So starting from Yeshua-Emmanuel up to the 21th century, there are three possibilities of average child birth age: 20, 25, and 30; I needed to account for all three possibilities in my calculations of the fourteen generation cycle.” “I see… So what events do they all lead to?” Daniel zoomed slightly out of the chart, and Abraham stared at nearly fifty boxes with the three lines crossing all over the place. “Okay, that’s a lot...” Abraham said disappointingly. “I can’t make head or tail of which timeline is the best…” Abaraham rose from the couch, pacing nervously the office, trying to find something underlying all that history that he could use. “Since you must absolutely require to find this pattern, may I suggest an illogical and unfounded suggestion, Mr. Solomon?” Daniel asked. “Go right ahead.” “Why not observe which timeline connects with the thirteen noble families?” Daniel added. Abraham turned around slowly, looking with puzzlement at Daniel. “The what?” “The thirteen noble families, Mr. Solomon. They are not documented that way in official historical records, but alternative underground history cite them quite thoroughly. They are thirteen allied or feudal families that shaped several major events across History. Some of those families have died off during the last millennium, but I am sure I can find a cycle from there on.” Abraham thought deeply. “Well… Judging the way Randall's quite proud of his heritage, it wouldn't surprise me that more zealous families took his ambitions even further, and passed down that ambition. Just look at the Romanov Dynasty. You would be surprised of what can happen when an entire family, throughout entire generations, is convinced by a specific thought, true or false… Try it, Daniel!” Abraham sat back beside Daniel as the latter stood still for a long moment, occasionally eliminating a few boxes on the chart, as if in a trance. After ten minutes, he finally spoke. “I have finished, Mr. Solomon.” When Abraham zoomed a little on the chart, there was now a series of highlighted boxes, with only a few other marked as additional possibilities. The final highlighted box had a familiar date… Abraham leaned over to read: '2018-2036: major events still to come.' Abraham looked at it in shock. “The final cycle… is now?!” “It will appear so, Mr. Solomon. The last major events when all the remaining noble families became involved with, were during the mid 18th century. That makes the early of 21th century the next fourteenth generation.” Abraham stared at some of the timeline's events: - Mid-18th Century: Successful Revolutions by the subjects of the major royal countries; the Industrial and Scientifical Revolution; the Awakening Era. - Mid-15th Century: The discovery of Norr Americae; wars between all major powers of Evropa and Eastria; rise of the Osmanyye Empire; first use of artillery; rule of the Wallachian Dragon. - Mid-11th Century: First Crusade; capture of Yerushalim; the Estre-Vesper Schism; the rise of the Sacro Romania Imperia. - 0: Death of Yeashua Emmanuel. Abraham rose without a word from the couch, and rested against his desk, deep in thought. Finally, he laughed excitedly and turned to look at Daniel: “Daniel, you are a genius! That was exactly what I needed for my plan!” “You are welcome, Mr. Solomon; but I merely compiled the information that you requested,” Daniel replied. A sudden thought crossed Abraham's mind. “Daniel, how did you know which families to follow? You said most of them died off, yet you found paths leading to today. Does it mean some of the noble families are still alive?” “Of course, Mr. Solomon. The remaining families that I followed their impact on major events up to date are the MacDorhill, Grigorivitch, Leninshon, Larochelluer, Beacon, Collins, Ustorea, and Redspear.” Abraham blinked at the names, remembering what Randall had told him earlier on... more to the point, the revelation behind Randall's unusual power. “The Redspear family... it's one of the thirteen noble families?!” “Yes, Mr. Solomon,” Daniel simply answered, as if it was obvious all along. Abraham thought quickly, a new plan forming around existing ones; he then ordered Daniel: “Don't tell anyone about this. That's a strict order. What you just discovered would be disastrous in the wrong hands, do you understand? There's already enough weapons with which the modern world could end itself. I don't think allowing a millenium old cycle to be revealed is the right thing the world needs right, wouldn't you agree?” “You are quite correct, Mr. Solomon,” Daniel agreed. “I want you to write in that programming of yours that you give me your word that you won't discuss this to anyone else beside myself?” Daniel stayed silent for some moment, then answered: “I have written in that programming of mine that you give me your word that you won't discuss this to anyone else beside myself.” Abraham stared at Daniel in confusion; upon realizing how the android had interpreted the command, he sighed and turned around. “Good enough; you got the gist. Thanks for your help; you may leave now.” “Very well, Mr. Solomon.” Hearing the door close softly behind him, Abraham returned to his seat and laid back, closing his eyes. He had to plan everything to perfection if this was to work. But if he succeeded, his and Randall's dreams would become reality: the world would make sense again. ********* BN ********* “So what do you think?” Madzistrale excitedly finished, the chart scribbled across the dozens notepad pages laying on the table under Tom and Gabzryel's astonished eyes. “Remarkable find,” Gabzryel spoke first, his brow furrowed. “But is it realist?” Madzistrale asked worryingly. Gabzryel thought deeply while Tom re-read the laid-out events. “An idea is something that can be implanted in a mind, and with enough faith to give it form and reality, it can quickly become the truth to its bearer,” Gabzryel said. “You mean... it's not true, but those who think it is makes it possible?” Madzistrale said, confused. “Basically,” Gabzryel acquiesced. “Several events mentioned here are direct results of mere actions from nobles,” Tom observed. “But why would they base their timing off of a fictional cycle?” Madzistrale asked, still confused. “Credibility. If you observe subsequent religions that rose in the Enlightement era, it's all based off occultism and universal cycles. And some of the most prominent noble and royal families followed those new religions. It makes sense to think that they would use any kind of cycles to backup their actions.” “I think you actually found something useful there,” Tom marvelled. “Oye! Don't make it sound as if I never find or do something useful!” Madzistrale replied heatedly. “No, bakka, he means that this could actually help us figure out the hidden schemes all around us,” Gabzryel corrected. “Look, the next cycle arrives toward 2050... which leaves us forty years to figure out what this world out there is planning, and how can we fight it!” “If we're lucky, maybe the same is happening in that other world,” Tom reasoned. Gabzryel thought deeply. “It might explain why we got chosen and why that world specifically...” “What do you mean?” the siblings asked. “A Christian that is desperate to see the Bible as something other than written by divine hands would be bound to find the cycle that humans embedded in it through their tinkering of it; and we as people who view dreams as travels to universes... If someone wanted us to find the way to fight against the shadows, it would be logical to put two and two together and give us the opportunity to observe what's actually going on.” “Huh?” both siblings said simultaneously. Gabzryel sighed. “The latest translator of the Bible was Francis Bacon, as a commission from King James, yes? We all know the King James Version is as faithful to the original Armenian and Ancient Greek Bibles as the Latin Vulgate... which means near to zero faithfulness. Bacon was officially known for frequenting secret societies... whose frequent acquaintances were also powerful noble and royal members. Let's theorize that Bacon snuck a few codes within the Bible, and they became exploited by the higher powers to influence the world as they pleased. The problem with that theory is that although it's very much plausible... we don't know exactly what happened, and how it still happens today. Obviously the whole strategical game moved beyond using the Bible as defense; and that leaves us even more in the dark. » That's the problem with conspiracy theories, with alternate history, with all that junk in those drawers. All of it says one portion of the truth, yet all of those says a whole bunch of lies. Dozens of different sources saying each a different truth. How can we make sense of it?” “That's why I dropped out of finding one,” Madzistrale sheepily admitted. “So did I. I don't dismiss all of it, but I can't claim to know the real truth of what's going on in this world. No one can anymore. So how do we fight? How can we bring about a peaceful world and stop this growing madness if we can't ever find the true evil behind it all? » Right when we start thinking that way, that weird Queen suddenly shows us a world where we could actually use all that knowledge we have, and see actually what's going on. Saving that world means we could actually find the right pattern in our own history and save it as well.” “And you think that fourteenth generation cycle is our clue to find what's going on with that other Universe?” Tom asked. “Got any other suggestion?” Gabzryel replied. Madzistrale thought for some time. “For the best or the worst, not a single dogma in this world is as ingrained in history and in the psychology of people as the Bible. A few other such as Buddhism and Occultism compete with how integrated to everyday life they become; but the Bible still beats them all. And nothing will resonate quite as strongly with human psyche as to prove an irrevocable link with God's plan. If someone out there wants to rule the world... the only way it will be done will be by proving a godly miracle.” “No one would really care if a leader rises to power by claiming to be Buddha,” Tom added. “But show with irreproachable proof that your rise to power was prophesied by God...” “... or 'prove' that aliens are actually the 'angels' described in the Bible and should be treated with equal worship...” Gabzryel added. “... and you've got credibility and trust,” Madzistrale finished. “You know what, guys? I think we should take a deeper look again at that world. I bet we'll find something worthwhile now that we have this clue.” “Agreed,” the two men replied. “Let's get to it.”