Artifex

by Gentry Race

  The mermaid pulled her soft lips from Arthur’s overly stimulated empurpled shaft. She smiled slightly and licked her lips. Without notice, she rolled her eyes back into her head, only showing the whites of her sclera.

  “From what I speak to you now is sacred. Together, the three keys I hold make the Earth Gate. You shall use it to unlock the next elemental gate. So on and so forth,” she said.

  Arthur nodded his head in understanding. Autumn began to speak again,

  “For this part of our Magistery skill is needed, in order to divide and compound the substances aright, so that the art may result in riches, and the balance may not be falsified by unequal weights. The sky we speak of is the sky of our Art, and there must be justly proportioned parts of our air and earth, our true water and our palpable fire.”2

  ‘Magistery’? ‘Proportioned parts of our air and earth, our true water and our palpable fire’? What is ‘true water’?

  Autumn dipped her head down and began stroking Arthur’s hard cock again. He fell back, lost in pleasure until she stopped and began to utter the next key.

  “When you have dissolved your earth with your water, dry up the water with its own inward fire. Then the air will breathe new life into the body, and you will have that which can only be regarded as that Great Stone.”3

  Autumn pulled his cock all while keeping him hard and interested in her monologue.

  Arthur picked out a few words. ‘Dissolved your earth with your water, dry up the water with its own inward fire’. Is this a ritual? Is the ‘Great Stone’ indeed the Philosopher’s Stone?

  Arthur was at his peak, spiritually, ecstatically, and mentally. Autumn grabbed his shaft at the base and pulled it toward her mouth once more, working it like a tube of paste. She’d given Arthur all of her, her secrets, her knowledge, and now she wanted all of him in exchange. The visions penetrated his mind without restraint; he couldn’t contain himself any longer, it had been so long. He released his hot spunk into her mouth.

  Autumn stopped sucking and kept stroking, catching the lengthy, silky, white ropes in her mouth like intermittent pumps from a fleshy squirt gun. She lapped up each shot with vigor, all while smiling and giggling at the action. Arthur fell to the ground on his back. His mind was mush, as was his dick. He hadn’t been worked like that since college.

  He raised his head to see the wondrous woman stand up and back flip down into the water below. She was leaving.

  Arthur shot up, pulling his pants up to get one last view of the mermaid that had made his night. Hell, made his lifetime. She flipped her tail fin in a waving fashion while she licked her lips.

  “Good night, my prince,” she finally said. “You have now entered the Earth Gate. Use what you have learned to unlock us and release us. You have one chance to put the numbers in the right sequence in the codex. If you spin them wrong, it will expire.”

  She lifted out of the water a semi-opaque emerald green disk no bigger than a softball. The item floated through the air to Arthur. He plucked the heavy stone from eye level and eyed the two sets of tracks; one a set of numbers and one set of symbols with a keystone indicating the center marker. Arthur saw that the tracks spun around each other like a combination lock would.

  He zipped up his pants and reflected on the tablet before him and the information that had penetrated his mind. Atlantis, Twelve Keys, V.I.T.R.I.O.L, and now this green emerald codex.

  The number of details was daunting and nowhere near his specialty, but something told him this would be the key—or keys—to solving the mystery of the island.

  Liz is not gonna believe this.

  4

  The Codex

  The following day when Arthur awoke, he could see more details of his new nanoprinted—or ‘voxelized’, as he liked to call it—encampment. His eyes traced the seamless construction, admiring the additive processes that made voxelizing so lustrous and efficient.

  Arthur had expected to be woken by Liz, but he assumed she had already left for her expected morning duties. He sprawled out and let the linens devour him. A funny noise came from his armband. The water last night must have damaged it. He took it off and placed it next to his cot to dry out under a hot lamp.

  He listened to the sounds of life around him. Birds and monkeys clamored about, their utterances contributing to the auditory mosaic of the jungle. However tranquil the scenery was, his thoughts were hijacked by immense confusion over why the ship’s nanites had erred. They had proven infallible during his experiments on land… Something was strangling his tech, he just didn’t know what.

  Arthur got up, robed in long grey undergarment, and walked to the closet to which a thin line voxelize a door before him. He opened it to numerous identical jackets. He tapped a few commands into his arm vambrace, and one jacket before him changed color. He pulled out the fawn poncho-like cape, and his undergarment grew and changed to match the outerwear.

  Arthur then turned his attention to the emerald-colored disk that Autumn had given him. It was almost luminescent in the stark laboratory light. Along its surface ran a series of large pictures on one track, and on the other, smaller inscriptions that looked hermetic in origin.

  He licked his lips, remembering what the maiden he was with and what she had told him. I only have one chance to unlock it. He couldn’t fathom how she was able to transfer all the information she did. Could sex be the key to opening up a more primal state, lowering barriers in the brain and open consciousness for information transfer?

  He scanned the inner disk along the outer track, trying to match the worn pictures in his head to the inscriptions in front of him, but to no avail. Then he noticed a series of twelve numbers, and under each, a worn picture. Along the inner track was an arrow pointing to the outer track.

  He thought back to the previous night with the maiden. The triangular room she had shown him, and the series of numbers along its walls. The numbers two, six and ten.

  Arthur took a deep breath and slowly turned the outer track to the number two, then the number six, and then the number ten. The device began to rumble and wind as if it had its own axis of rotation, like a small bicycle wheel gone mad.

  Arthur fought the centrifugal force and watched the small light that began to shine from its center. It’s opening.

  The light from the codex scribed into the air a rectangular, tablet object—green as the codex itself he held. He placed it on the desk before him. Arthur looked closer at the Latin inscription and read it aloud.

  “Verum, sine mendacio, certum et verissimum: Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. Et sicut res omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re, adaptatione. Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna, portavit illud Ventus in ventre suo, nutrix eius terra est. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic. Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram. Separabis terram ab igne, subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas. Haec est totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque solidam penetrabit. Sic mundus creatus est. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles, quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres partes philosophiae totius mundi. Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.”

  Arthur reached over and grabbed his armband, now dry and fully functional, and pulled a quick scan of the lettering. After a few moments, the computer spit out a translated text by Isaac Newton himself.

  “Translate to English,” Arthur commanded.

  “Tis true without lying, certain & most true. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing And as all things have been & arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse. The father of all perfection in the whole worl
d is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth. Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the earth to the heaven & again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior. By this means you shall have the glory of the whole world & thereby all obscurity shall fly from you. Its force is above all force. For it vanquishes every subtle thing & penetrates every solid thing. So was the world created. From this are & do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is here in this. Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished & ended.”

  Arthur read the text carefully. There was no doubt in his mind as to what the green tablet before him was, but he had to be sure. He accessed his vambrace and commanded it to search online databases for green tablets and transcriptions. A few seconds later, his suspicion was confirmed. It was none other than the Smaragdine Table, or Emerald Tablet of Thoth.

  The text of the Smaragdine Table gave its author as Hermes Trismegistus, or “Hermes the Thrice-Greatest”, originally one of the thirteen Atlantians, a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the ancient Egyptian god Thoth. Despite the claims of antiquity, it’s believed to be an Arabic work written between the sixth and eighth centuries.

  Arthur remembered a few bits and pieces of Isaac Newton’s translation from his journey to King’s College at Cambridge University. The concise text was a popular summary of alchemical principles, wherein the secrets of the Philosopher's Stone were thought to have been described.

  It was made of stone. A key made of Earth.

  Arthur couldn’t help but think of the power it might contain. To seek about earth… There had been many conspiracies and theories to explain how ancient civilizations had built the wonders of the world, from the Ancient Egyptian pyramids to Stonehenge to the large behemoth rocks of Easter Island.

  If one had the power to seek or control the earth—the power of real magic…

  Arthur shook his head at the preposterous idea that perhaps there was more to the world than just science.

  While approaching a tent wall, Arthur watched a zipper and teeth voxelize from the material before him instantly. He pulled the zipper down and stepped into the heavy air of the Mexican Caribbean. Not far away, the waves collided with the karst. Arthur saw Elizabeth, annoyed and preparing breakfast for the twenty-plus men.

  Elizabeth ordered about two men like she was the head chef at an upscale restaurant. Arthur knew she held her cooking duty in the lowest regard, but like any task she applied herself to, she would hold it to the highest standards.

  “Professor,” she said, wiping her hands on a towel hanging at her side, “Where have you been? Please have a seat, I’m will gather the last bits of food for you.”

  Arthur was hesitant to tell her about what had happened the night before. For the longest time, they had studied the natural world, grounded in science, and here he was, ready to expose a plethora of fantasy.

  “The men have eaten?” he asked.

  “Yes. Now they are scouting the perimeter,” she said.

  Arthur had figured the captain would be up and at ‘em before him. These men of service were great overachievers.

  “I think I’ll join them, then,” he said, and scarfed down his meal in under forty seconds.

  “That’s fine, sir. Just, please, be careful. I heard they just found another pit.”

  “A pit?”

  “Yes, one filled with water,” Elizabeth said.

  “Yes, I found one last night,” he admitted.

  “Last night?” she asked.

  Arthur gobbled up the rest of his food and approached Liz to keep the men nearby out of earshot.

  “Yes, I… uh… I met something extraordinary. I mean, the thing is a she… or, rather, several ‘she’s… a they,” he finally said. “And they need our help.”

  “Who are they?” She nonchalantly asked.

  “Mermaids,” Arthur said plainly.

  Liz paused for a moment and then belted out laughter. Arthur rolled his eyes in annoyance. He knew her skeptical, scientific background would get in the way of her believing him about his discovery.

  “You must believe me, Liz,” he pleaded.

  “Do you have any proof of your extraordinary claim?” she asked slyly, taking the rest of the food off the griddle.

  Arthur looked down at his pants, remembering the glorious night he’d had with Autumn, but he was embarrassed to tell Liz he’d had an intimate affair with the creature, so he said nothing.

  “Well, professor, as you remember from our scientific discipline: ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof’. Are you sure this wasn’t perhaps a delusion or psychological manifestation stemming from that incident in your childhood?”

  She was right. Here Arthur was, trying to convince her of something so fantastical without a shred of evidence.

  Wait! The tablet. If there was one thing he needed from her, it was her expertise in research.

  “Liz, you must help me. The mermaid… she gave me a codex — a key to the first gate, I think. It’s a tablet that might be related to the ancient kingdom of Atlantis.”

  She really blurted out a laugh when she heard the name of the lost city. “Professor, you sound like one of those conspiracy theorists. I bet the next thing you will say is that you are on the hunt for the Philosopher’s Stone.”

  Arthur was silent.

  Liz’s bright green eyes lit up in surprise. “Show me this tablet.”

  Liz and Arthur returned to his tent, where the Emerald Tablet and codex lay on his bed. Liz was flabbergasted to see such objects and ran her fingers along the semi-transparent surfaces of both.

  “You really have something here,” she said in awe. “I’m not sure about the disk thing, but this looks like the Emerald Tablet of Thoth. Where did you get this?”

  “I spun the codex disk in the order of numbers she showed me, two, six and ten,” he said.

  “Interesting.”

  Liz read the inscription, her dialect spot-on, having studied Latin to the point she spoke it fluently.

  “I don’t know what to do next. I only get one chance to enter in the numbers in the right sequence,” Arthur said. “I’ve already had it translated.” He projected the Newton text in English from his armband.

  “Yeah, but you need to translate it allegorically,” she said, carefully reading over the first line. “‘Tis true without lying, certain and most true. That which is below is like that which is above & that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.’”

  “Okay, I have seen that quote before,” he said, scratching his temple.

  Liz grabbed a piece of paper and pen, drawing out her thoughts. “It’s classic Hermeticism. Microcosm and macrocosm.”

  She drew a triangle right side up and then another triangle upside down over the first one. Arthur instantly recognized it as the Star of David.

  “It’s of Jewish origin?” Arthur asked.

  “Yes and no,” Liz said, drawing a circle around the hexagram. “This is the Seal of Solomon, representing as above, so below. As a whole, it also represents Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. If you just focus on the two triangles, they represent male and female.”

  Arthur was overwhelmed by all the symbolism.

  “Let’s read the next line,” Liz suggested. Arthur leaned in, listening to her soft voice. “‘And as all things have been & arose from one by the meditation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.’”

  “What does that mean?” Arthur inquisitively asked.

  “This line is clearly talking about the source of life; the creator. And how we are destined to adapt or evolve,” she said.

  Arthur was surprised to hear the tablet’s inscription refer to adaptation, or what science called natural selection—th
e active force in evolution.

  Liz continued. “‘The Sun is its father, the moon its mother, the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth is its nurse. The father of all perfection in the whole world is here. Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.’”

  “‘Carried in its belly’?” Arthur asked. “Is it talking about metal?”

  “I think so. In alchemical teachings, the father or sun was considered the noble metal of gold, and the moon was silver. It’s talking about an element, I think. It could be gold or some other noble metal.

  “Okay,” Arthur said.

  She continued. “‘Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry. It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again it descends to the earth & receives the force of things superior & inferior.’”

  Arthur imagined a metal being separated from its ore with fire. An ancient smelting of sorts.

  “It ascends from the earth to the heaven and again descends to the earth. Receives force,” Liz repeated. She took a moment to work the riddle. “It’s water.”

  “Water?”

  “It’s showing you the order to unlock the gates in, with each representing a classical element. Earth, Fire, Wind and Water.”

  “Isaac Newton was immensely interested in all this stuff. Wasn’t there a saying about Vitriol?” Arthur asked.

  He tried to remember, but could tell Liz already knew what was on the tip of his tongue. She shook her head in disbelief.

  “It’s of alchemical origin, too. V.I.T.R.I.O.L. It’s a Latin acronym. ‘Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem.’”

  Arthur ran the Latin though his head.

  “Visit—” he tried to interpret, about to dial the information into his trusty armband, but was interrupted by Liz with an English translation.