by Liam Fialkov
“Thank you,” Michael responded. “Coming from you, it means a lot to me.”
“Fine, Michael,” Bishop said. “Please ask your questions, and I’ll do my best to answer them.”
Michael took a deep breath. For a split second, those questions didn’t look all that important. “I have a difficulty,” he finally said, “with concepts attributed to Newton. Supposedly, there is a correlation between the measurements of the temple and those of the universe, or at least our solar system.”
Bishop smiled empathically, “I’m glad you’ve asked that question,” he said. “I intend to lead my people to do great things, but I want them to act out of a deep conviction and not through blind faith.” Bishop then took a sip from a glass of water. “In my opinion, Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist of all times. By scientist, I mean what we consider his scientific discoveries as well as his work in the field of theology. I don’t separate the two as the scientific community does.” Bishop took a pause and measured Michael; as if to see that he gets the point and agree. “You probably know,” Bishop continued, “that Newton spent a great deal of time figuring the exact measurements of the temple of Solomon. He drew most of the information from the Old testament. He even inserted a whole chapter about the temple in his book The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms.”
“Yes, but how do those measurements relate to the solar system?” Michael asked.
“Patience, young man,” Bishop said. “You see, in the middle of a book that is mostly concern with history and time, Newton inserted a whole chapter that is a detailed description of the temple of Solomon. To me, it is a clear indication that he understood that time and space are one and the same. In that sense, he even preceded Einstein—no doubt another genius who was also a believer in God. And Einstein used some of Newton’s breakthrough ideas, like differential calculus, to express his theory of general relativity.”
Mary showed up on the screen as she approached Bishop and whispered in his ear.
Bishop nodded toward her and turned back to face Michael. “I’ll have to stop now. Let’s continue tomorrow at the same time.” He seemed to be checking the time. “Tomorrow at 6 p.m.?”
“I’ll be here,” Michael said.
Chapter 18
Jerusalem 586 BC
Little Abigail was scared. She wanted so much for things to return to the way they were before the siege. But after more than two years of being surrounded, she had a hard time remembering what it was like.
She tried not to think about it, about what could happen to her, to her parents and little brother. But it was everywhere. She saw it in peoples’ eyes, in their subdued behavior, in their silence. She didn’t need to look far. Just strolling along the city wall, as she always used to, wasn’t the same. The Jewish soldiers were preparing for war, and she was getting in their way. If she dared to gaze beyond the fortified walls—outside the city, she immediately saw the huge Babylonian army. Their camps stretched over great distances. Soldiers dressed in armor, chariots, horses, war machines.
They looked so frightening as they were preparing for an assault that will destroy everything that she held dear, and everything she’d ever known. At times the fear threatened to paralyze her and made it difficult to breathe.
Abigail was just nine-year-old. She may have been young, but she understood. She knew how grave the situation was. For months she listened to the arguments of the grown-ups. Her parents, teachers, parents of her friends, leaders of the community. One night, she listened to her parents who thought she was sleeping.
“I wish King Zedekiah just paid his taxes to the Babylonians,” his mother said. “Our kingdom is small and much weaker than the powerful Babylonian Empire.”
“We have God on our side, Deborah,” Abigail’s father said. “He will not allow the fall of Jerusalem and his holly temple, built by King Solomon.”
“But I heard prophet Jeremiah,” Debora said. “You heard him too, Joshua. He says the Babylonians will completely demolish Jerusalem.”
“Jeremiah is claiming to talk in the name of God,” Abigail’s father said. “Well, I’m not sure he’s not just a crazy old man.”
“Crazy or not; unfortunately, he could be right.” Deborah said, “I also heard that King Nebuchadnezzar is extremely cruel.”
“Let me remind you,” Joshua said, “That the Assyrians, who conquered and destroyed the kingdom of Israel and most of the kingdom of Judea, failed to conquer Jerusalem. I also know that King Zedekiah had sent messengers to ask for help from Egypt.”
“I know that,” Deborah said. “Jeremiah warns that God is displeased with King Zedekiah, which is why the Babylonians will prevail where the Assyrians failed.”
The final battle raged for several days. Abigail saw the huge dike that the Babylonians built. She saw their war machines, and she prayed for a miracle. She was hungry and thirsty, as were all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The defending soldiers were exhausted, while the Babylonians, despite suffering heavy casualties, kept coming with new soldiers.
Then came the inevitable. King Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers broke through Jerusalem’s walls and conquered the city. Little Abigail heard that King Zedekiah escaped, but he was captured and blinded by the Babylonians. The survivors, mostly women and children were rounded and kept behind a fence. They were told to prepare to march into exile in Babylon.
From where she was jailed, Abigail saw how the Babylonians proceeded to completely plunder and demolish the city, just as Jeremiah warned. She had tears in her eyes when she saw the Solomon’s Temple being destroyed and set on fire. The city was razed to the ground in front of her eyes. Abigail knew she will never see her father again.
Chapter 19
“The divine origin of the Bible is for Newton absolutely certain, a conviction that stands in curious contrast to the critical skepticism that characterizes his attitude toward the churches. From this confidence stems the firm conviction that the seemingly obscure parts of the Bible must contain important revelations, to illuminate which one need only decipher its symbolic language. Newton seeks this decipherment, or interpretation, by means of his sharp systematic thinking grounded on the careful use of all the sources at his disposal.”
- Albert Einstein. September 1940
At 6 p.m., Michael saw that his computer’s camera has turned on, seemingly by itself, and Mary appeared on the screen.
“Hello, Michael,” she said kindly.
“Hi Mary,” he responded, and once again, he was struck by her unusual, exotic beauty. She is probably from South America, he thought to himself.
“I will now transfer you to the Ark Bishop.” She somberly said as she gazed at him with her clear blue eyes.
“Fine.”
She disappeared, and the screen turned into the 3D animated film demonstrating the solar system in motion, which dissolved into the video of the temple—standing in a meadow, inside a forest clearing. After a few seconds, the film dissolved, and once more, Michael was sitting in front of Charles Bishop.
“Hello Michael,” Bishop smiled at him affectionately. “We will now continue where we left off.”
“That would be great,” Michael said.
“Clearly,” Bishop said after taking a sip of water. “When Newton said that there’s a correlation between the temple and the solar system, he didn’t mean that they have the same shape.”
“That’s obvious,” Michael said.
“Like other learned scholars of his time,” Bishop said, “Newton invested significant effort in deciphering ancient scriptures. He was convinced that over the years, many belief systems degenerated into idolatry, and that includes sections of Christianity. Along with that, he believed that ancient scriptures contained the secrets of the universe, including astronomy and physics, in an encoded form. He also asserted that ancient theology didn’t separate between religion and science.
“So, it was only natural for him to try to extract information from old biblical and Talmudic descriptions of the temp
le and the tabernacle.”
“You were saying,” Michael responded, “that he tried to extract information from descriptions of the temple. But did he succeed?”
“Great question,” Bishop smiled. “You know, most people think that by discovering gravity, Newton merely explained why an apple falls from the tree to the ground. In fact, he used the gravitation force to explain rules within our solar system. What keeps planets in orbit, and our moon and comets in their trajectories, is the same force, gravity, that made the apple fall down. Today, most scholars tend to think that Newton’s story about the apple that triggered him to ponder gravity was not true. I agree with these scholars, and I believe that Newton created that fable because he wanted to hide the real source of his discovery.”
“In the measurements of the temple?” Michael asked, eyes widening with amazement.
“Exactly, young man,” Bishop confirmed. “You see, Newton believed that the temple was designed with divine intervention. As such, its dimensions and proportions represented solutions to mathematical problems. For example, the calculations for the constant Pi[3], which obviously is the same on earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
“It is fascinating.” Michael acknowledged.
“I could tell you more about Newton and about my mission, however, I prefer to do it in person.”
Michael felt tingling in his spine.
“I’m inviting you to come to the land. This invitation shouldn’t be looked upon lightly. Are you interested?”
“Definitely.”
“This invitation is only extended to a selected group of people that I feel I can trust, and I have specific roles for them in my plan.”
“You have a role for me?”
“Absolutely, Michael. I told you that I read a few of your articles. I’ve found that you are eloquent and logical, thus I want you to be our spokesman. I hold great importance to this position, especially since due to my physical condition, I will not be able to be with my people and represent them every step of the way. Lately, I’ve got distinct signals that the time for action is near. I’m delighted to have you on board.
“Now, I will leave you in the trusted hands of Mary. So that she will make the arrangements for your arrival. Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Praise Be,” somewhat perplexed, Michael echoed. For a brief moment, Michael felt guilty about deceiving and not being honest with the charming man, apparently confined to a wheelchair. Michael immediately reminded himself of the great danger that Bishop posed, at least according to Stewart McPherson.
Bishop grabbed both wheels of his wheelchair and rolled backward until he disappeared from the pictures’ frame—which reverted to the 3D animation of the solar system.
***
Michael waited patiently for several minutes, and then the picture dissolved again into the temple, and then to Mary’s face.
“Hello, Michael,” she said kindly.
“Hello, Mary,” Michael replied to the beautiful woman.
“My name, by the way, is Mary Bishop, I’m his wife.”
“Well then,” he was embarrassed, “Hello Mrs. Bishop.”
“You can call me Mary,” she smiled. “Now to the task at hand. We need to get you over here, right?”
“Yes,” he nodded.
“Are you familiar with the state of Washington?” She asked.
“Not at all,” he said. “I’ve only been there twice, and that was—”
“Never mind,” she said. “You should fly to Seattle, and then take a bus to Olympia. We’ll reimburse you for the traveling expenses. In Olympia, get a room at the St. George hotel. That’s all you need to do. The hotel staff will tell us when you arrive and we’ll send someone to pick you up within a day or two. Any question?”
Hm, he thought, this is one no-nonsense woman. “What’s the weather like?” He asked.
“At this time of the year it’s quite dry and warm, but it’s always a good idea to carry a rain coat with you. It could get wet here in the forest.”
“Thank you, Mary.”
“We’ll see you.”
Chapter 20
After his conversation with Mary, Michael went to the small kitchen and prepared himself a cup of tea. Quite a development, he thought to himself. I’ll have to leave my comfort zone where I’m just lurking, and I won’t be close to Melany and Linda anymore.
Michael called Rachel, the contact person between him and McPherson.
“Hi, honey,” she cheerfully answered. “Did you miss me?”
“I sure did,” he said. “Could you come to my place? I could really use a woman’s company.”
“Not just any woman, I hope,” she said.
“Of course not,” he said. “I miss you.”
“I could be there around 9 o’clock this evening. Is that fine with you?
“That would be great.”
Shortly after 9 o’clock, Michael heard a knock on the door. When he opened, he saw Rachel, wearing the blond wig, standing on high heels and holding a bottle of wine in her hand. She lashed forward, embraced him with her free hand, and kissed him passionately on his lips, while with her foot, she reached for the door and shut it behind her.
As the door closed, she immediately let go of him. She looked for the light switch and turned it off. The room darkened except for a little light that came from the kitchen. “Well,” she said, “some jobs are more fun than others.” She then reached to her hair and removed the wig.
“You are quite an actor,” Michael said.
“Actually, I took acting in school,” she said, “before I decided to be a private investigator. Now my acting skills are put to the test.”
“You know they saw me picking up a blonde at a bar?”
“I thought they would follow you, Michael, these are some serious people. They don’t play around.”
Michael nodded, as he considered the risk that he is taking in his involvement with those ‘serious people.’
“So, what did you want to see me about?” Rachel asked.
“I’m going to the land,” he said.
“I see,” she said. “So, does it mean that they are preparing for action?”
“Looks that way. I have to fly to Seattle, Washington, and from there I’ll go to Olympia by bus. They will pick me up from a hotel called ‘The St George.’”
“Okay,” She said. “I’ll follow you to Olympia, I heard it’s beautiful up there.”
“But don’t you have other projects?” he wondered.
“Most of my work is in doing research online, so I can do it anywhere. Of course, Stewart is paying for my expanses, and I don’t think he will stop at this moment.”
“He won’t,” Michael said.
“Not when you are getting close to your target and I believe you’ll need me.”
“Did you talk to him recently?” Michael asked.
“Yep, we talk on a regular basis. He asked me to tell you to get him recordings of Bishop.”
“Recordings of Bishop? I hope I can do it without getting caught.”
“Here,” she said and handed him a very small electronic device. “Although it’s tiny, it is a powerful digital recorder. You can record up to a hundred hours on it. But you’re right, you should use extreme caution, and if you only suspect that they are onto you, stop immediately.”
“Do you know what would they need this recording for?” Michael asked.
“More or less. Stewart has an idea, and Irene is working on it, you know she’s quite a computer genius; anyway, he wants to be able to talk in Bishop’s voice.”
“Wow,” Michael said. “The old man is being creative.”
“Actually, he’s amazing.” Rachel said.
***
“Let’s order a pizza and then go to sleep,” Michael suggested.
“I’d rather have Chinese food,” Rachel said.
“Chinese it is,” he agreed.
“Incidentally,” she said, “which sofa
do you want me to sleep on tonight?” She laughed as clearly, his hotel apartment only had one sofa.
“You can sleep in the bed tonight,” Michael said.
“Michael?” She examined him.
“I will sleep on the sofa,” he clarified.
She sighed, “you sure had me fooled.”
“Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to mislead you. If I were not married—"
“That’s OK,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Chapter 21
“Daddy!” Linda, who opened the door, threw herself in his arms. “Did you come back to live with us, Daddy?”
“Not today, sweetie, but pretty soon.”
“Promise? Cross your heart and hope to die!” She demanded.
Michael laughed. “Where did you learn this one, sweetie? Of course, I promise.”
“Mommy! Daddy is here!” Linda ran to the kitchen.
Melany came towards him, smiling but looking somewhat reserved. He extended his arms and met her with an embrace, and Linda joined for a group hug.
“Linda sweetie,” Michael said, “please go and play in your room for a while, mommy and daddy need to talk.”
“Can I watch TV?”
“Sure, you can.”
***
“So?” Melany asked. “Are you still chasing the bad guys? Or are they chasing after you?”
“Melany,” Michael said, “you know that I didn’t ask for this job. Please be patient just a little bit longer.”
“What did you want to talk about?” She asked.
“How are you holding up? Are your parents helping?”
“They do. My father wants an exclusive interview for his network when it’s all done.”
