In the seventh year of “Artaxerxes,” Ezra, the “priest and scribe” was given a decree which allowed him and as many exiles as resided in the kingdom of Persia to return to Jerusalem. His decree allowed them to take whatever money they had and offerings they could gather and take them up to Jerusalem. Artaxerxes had also decreed that any money they might need for the restoration of the temple could be taken from the king’s treasury up to a certain amount. Zane had learned from his research that the term “Artaxerxes” was just a title which applied to Persian rulers. Since all available biblical evidence showed that Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries of Darius, son of Hystaspes, then the seventh year of “Artaxerxes” had to be the seventh year of Darius, son of Hystaspes, the great Artaxerxes of Persia. This decree was given in the year 514 BC.
Then, in the twenty-first year of this same Artaxerxes, Nehemiah was given the governorship of Jerusalem and the authority to rebuild the gates and walls of the city. This decree was given in the year 502 BC.
To Zane’s surprise, he had found one additional decree which was not mentioned in any of the popular writings on the seventy weeks. What surprised him most was that this one decree seemed the most contextually obvious choice—yet it was ignored by almost all commentators. The decree was the one given by YHWH himself. Not only was it given directly by YHWH, it was witnessed by two of the accepted prophets of that time, namely Haggai and Zechariah. Zane had noted two of the references in his research notes.
Ezra 6:14: “And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, even Artaxerxes king of Persia.”
Zechariah 1:16: “Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.”
Zane could not understand why this command had been overlooked by so many commentators. If any “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” marked the countdown to “Messiah the Prince,” it would be the one given by YHWH. Sadly, he thought, maybe they overlooked this decree because it did not fit their interpretation. But to not even mention it? He shook his head.
Taking the notepaper pinned over his desk, he set it aside and rewrote it with the new information:
Zane underlined point C. and pinned the list back over his desk. With growing satisfaction, he felt as if he was getting somewhere. He had always loved a good challenge. True, he did not know for sure which of these decrees, if any, was the correct one, but he believed the most reasonable choice was the one given by YHWH. Only time would tell. Well, he’d had enough for one night. In the coming days he would begin to work out the chronological details of the prophecy so he could answer point two on his list. He wanted to be sure he understood how the prophecy was broken down into its different time periods. He hoped his father was right and this search lead to a greater truth. But what if it didn’t?
Chapter 33
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
His expression calm, controlled, and almost friendly, Darius Zarindast sat looking into the camera of a local CNBC affiliate in Dubai. He was being interviewed for the financial program Squawk Box. The producer gave Darius and Sarah Holloway, the anchorwoman, the fifteen-second heads-up. Then they were on the air.
“Today we are joined on Squawk Box by Darius Zarindast, president of Aquarius Elemental Solutions. Mr. Zarindast, welcome.”
“Thank you, Sarah, glad to be here.”
“Mr. Zarindast, the past several weeks have seen some incredible events take place at Aquarius Elemental Solutions. You have gone from an almost unknown quantity to a major player on the world financial scene in a very short amount of time. It is estimated by some that you are the wealthiest person on the planet right now. How has this newfound wealth and fame affected you?”
Darius smiled, hiding his disdain for the newswoman. She was just eye candy who could read a teleprompter without making it look obvious. He doubted she had ever had an original idea. Dumb blonde, he thought, his smile growing with his private insult.
“Sarah, it has allowed me to put in motion some of my own personal goals to change the world. We all know that under the current circumstances, the world cannot continue as it is. Take the tragic events in New York. Again, religious fanatics have released mayhem and havoc on innocent people. When will humanity grow up and work together for the common good? When will we have leaders who have the guts to make the painful decisions that are needed for the common good of all mankind?”
“What painful decisions to you mean, Mr. Zarindust?”
“For starters, how about outlawing hate speech in the name of religion? Another concern of mine is the overpopulation of the world. The current growth curve is not sustainable. Some experts say the world is overpopulated by several billion people right now. Another issue is the world’s broken financial system. The world is awash in debt, and the banking cartel is thriving off this servitude. When are the people of this world going to throw off the bankers’ chains?”
Sarah, nodding her head in uneasy agreement, tried to steer the conversation away from such controversial issues. “It is understood you are building another production facility for your elemental separators. How is that coming?”
Darius smiled. “We are currently a few days ahead of schedule. My production team, headed by Ralph Scholz, says the factory will likely be ready in late December or early January. At that time we will be able to increase our production almost tenfold. So far there have been over five thousand preorders for the AES-100s and one thousand for the AES-1000s. It will take some time to fill all these orders. If the demand keeps up at the current rate, we will likely need to build another factory within six months.”
Sarah asked her next question. “What are your thoughts on the market events that have transpired over the last couple of weeks? As I’m sure you are aware, the market has been open for four days now since the events in Manhattan, and there is a lot of fear out there. As of right now, the major markets indices are down about thirty-eight percent from where they opened on November 1, almost two weeks ago. Do you think the fear is justified? What do you see going forward? AQES appears to be one of the few stocks that has not suffered severe price loss.”
“Sarah, first let me say, my sincerest sympathies go out to all the people of New York for the terrible events that have happened there over the past couple of weeks. I am ashamed to admit my own nation seems to have been involved in this tragedy. I have authorized my team to make the first two AES-1000 elemental separators from our new factory available free of charge to New York City. That will provide two million gallons an hour of low-cost water to New York. This is my way of showing the people of New York my empathy.”
Sarah looked pleasantly surprised as she replied, “Correct me if I am wrong, but those machines are each worth one-hundred-million dollars?”
“Yes, Sarah, each machine would cost New York City one-hundred-million dollars if they were to purchase them. This is just my way of trying to help. Let me also address your question on the markets. I believe that while terrible, the events of the past couple of weeks are only transitory. The people of America in general and New York in particular are fighters. The market sell-off is way overblown in my opinion. And just so you don’t think this is all Pollyannaish talk, let me tell you what I have told my financial team to do this week. I have instructed them to purchase one-hundred-and-fifteen-billion dollars worth of stock in some of the most beaten-down sectors.”
Sarah looked shocked as she stuttered out the number in reply.
“Yes, Sarah, that is correct. I believe the best days for our generation are ahead of us. I believe Aquarius Elemental Solutions will be at the forefront of reshaping the world into a more sustainable future. I have dedicated my life and fortunes to that purpose.”
“Mr. Zarindast, you and your company already changed the world as we knew it several months ago. Tell us about your Aquarius Fund. I understand Alexandra Riley is directing the efforts of your fund. How is she doing?”
“Alexandra is doing a superb job. As most know, she has dedicated her life to making this world a better place. She was at the forefront of the social and environmental movement long before she came to work for me. In the past two weeks, the Aquarius Fund has provided major infrastructure support for several of the world’s poorest cities. Within the next week or so, we will be turning on our machines in eight of these cities, forever solving their fresh and clean water needs. Alexandra’s goal in the next four months is to begin installing five of our elemental separators per day in impoverished cities of the world. Within the next several months, when the new production facility comes online, she intends to double that. These are very ambitious goals. As you can imagine, the logistics for an effort of this size can be quite challenging. The Aquarius Fund will be spending several billion dollars every week for the foreseeable future to accomplish our goals. I have personally guaranteed my own fortune against this effort. If at any time more funds are needed to accomplish our goals, all Alexandra has to do is ask me. To us, the true beauty of the Aquarius Fund is that the nations who can afford our machines are paying for the freshwater of those who cannot. We are using capitalism to redistribute the wealth of this world to those who need it most.”
With time running out for the interview, Sarah asked one more question. “Mr. Zarindast, how has the response been for your public stock offering? You stated that you have reserved sixty billion shares for this private offering. That is ten shares for every individual on earth. Last time I checked, your share price was in the $35-40 range even with the rest of the market tanking. For those availing themselves of your offer, this is about a four-hundred-percent increase on their money at today’s prices, and at a time when most all other companies’ share prices are substantially down.”
“Sarah, the response has been overwhelming. We have had to hire five hundred additional personnel just to oversee this part of our efforts. As of yesterday, my team has informed me that eight-hundred-million people have signed up for our private share offering through their brokers. Another two-hundred-million people have requested we send them paper certificates because they do not have a brokerage account. Needless to say, it is gratifying to see the little people of this world avail themselves of an opportunity once only reserved for the wealthy.”
“Mr. Zarindast, I thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to talk to us here on Squawk Box. Hopefully we can get you to come back in the future to keep us up to date on your company and your efforts.”
“Sarah, absolutely, I will gladly come back anytime. And I thank you for the opportunity as well.”
* * *
Sam watched the interview with interest. He’d sold twenty thousand shares of stock over the past couple of weeks. He had eighty thousand left to sell, and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable about Darius Zarindast. He couldn’t put a mental finger on it, but there was something that just didn’t seem right about the man. Was it his continual use of the term “religious fanatics” and the implication that it included Christians as well? Or the fact that everything had gone perfectly for Darius Zarindast since he had first announced his new invention? Obviously, Zarindast was a very intelligent and patient man. He had waited ten years to bring his technology to market until he thought the conditions were just right. After waiting so long, why did it now seem as if he and his team were in a rush? Were they just concerned that they needed to make the most of the opportunity before someone stole the technology?
Sam was infamous among his friends as a conspiracy theorist, but it seemed obvious to him that something more was going on here than was plainly evident. Clearly Darius didn’t need money any longer—he had more money than he could ever spend. There seemed to be an unspoken motivation guiding him. Was he truly just a benevolent man concerned with making the world a better place? In the interview, he’d made a big point about the overpopulation of the planet. Yet his technology would revolutionize the existence of every person around the whole world. Once uninhabitable regions were now habitable. Food could now be economically produced anywhere within one hundred miles of any ocean. The ocean covered seventy percent of the earth’s surface, and now every gallon of that water could be economically mined. There were enough resources in the ocean for several hundred years even at the current population growth rates. One hundred years from now at the current pace of technological advance, mankind might be capable of mining resources on the planets in the solar system. His concern about overpopulation did not seem congruent.
Sam gnawed the end of his pencil. When a person had more money and power than any other person on earth, what was left to accomplish? Was one man capable of using that power for the good of mankind? Even more important, what would someone with that power consider to be “for the good of mankind”? There were thousands of years of history to show that whenever men set out to play God, it always ended in tears. Was Darius the exception to the rule?
* * *
Dylan watched the markets as Darius spoke on Squawk Box. He had been buying everything he could get his hands on for the past two days. Others had seen his buying, and the market was already firming up. Downside pressure was falling, and divergences were showing up in the charts. The retail investor, aka the dumb money, had shorted stocks to an extent not seen since the 2008 bottom. Dylan’s buying had put a floor under the market, and it was primed for Darius’s announcement of one-hundred-and-fifteen-billion dollars in stock purchases.
After Darius’s announcement, the overleveraged shorts had to cover. Three hours later, the market had one of its largest daily gains in history, closing up by 10.3%.
Dylan had purchased over eleven billion dollars in options across the spectrum. He purchased outright another one-hundred-and-five billion dollars in the stocks of twenty-five different companies which would benefit from the future activities of Aquarius Elemental Solutions. By the end of the day, he had sold his options for an average of eight-hundred-percent gain. This netted him a cool seven billion, and Darius almost seventy billion. The stocks Dylan had purchased outperformed the general market that day by almost double, increasing the value of their purchases by about nineteen percent.
Over the next six months, those companies would benefit from AES’s incredible growth. By spring, many of those companies would see their share prices triple. Dylan shook his head in amazement as he watched the financial programs talk about Darius saving the markets. They were equating it to the efforts of J.P. Morgan in the 1907 panic, which helped avert a complete collapse in share prices. They were sitting at the top of the financial world, and he, Dylan Gallos, was the one making this happen. God! What an incredible feeling.
Chapter 34
Qom, Iran
At the end of November, the Assembly of Experts convened in Qom. Due to the incredible pressure brought to bear by the international community, the assembly was extremely contentious. The entire religious and political leadership of Iran was present. The ruling elite, with entourage in tow, were gathered in tight, animated groups. Here and there military leaders stood watching their political masters like birds of prey. The normally silent voice of opposition to the current leadership was loud and challenging.
Arash raised his voice with those who sought a more moderate form of government. Over the past several years, he had positioned himself as a moderate who wanted a more open and cooperative association with the Western world. He had cultivated a relationship with those in the government of like mind, and now he made his move. As a member of the Assembly of Experts, he openly criticized the current leadership. He called for closer ties with the West and freedom for the people of Iran. He publicly stated it was time for the fanatical regime to step aside.
He knew there were many who agreed with him but were too afraid to say so. The
y could not believe Arash was making his views public. In their eyes, he had basically signed his death warrant.
Had they known what was about to take place, maybe they too would have had the courage to speak out.
Arash knew he could not run the government of Iran without the help and support of several key figures. Before the assembly convened, he privately went to each of these key government figures and warned them of a possible plot to poison them. He made it seem as if only they were the focus of the plot. He warned them that they should not trust anyone with this knowledge until he had caught the perpetrators. Most of all, he told them not to drink any water they had not brought from their own homes, not even the bottled water.
As he expected, no changes were made in the leadership of the government during the assembly. If anything, they decided to take a harder line with the West. Arash knew his days were numbered. But he also knew the days of those who wished to kill him were numbered far shorter than his. All he had to do was stay alive for another week. To that end, he left the assembly on the second day and disappeared.
One week later, news filtered out of Iran that an assassination of some of the key leadership had been carried out. It took several more days before a fuller picture emerged. There were also strange rumors of crazed killers and atrocities so unbelievable they were dismissed. The entire leadership, including the Ayatollah Khamene’i and most of the Assembly of Experts, was killed. Into this political vacuum Arash stepped with his new voice of moderation as he assumed emergency powers to rule Iran. With the help of the key officials he had helped save, he quickly and ruthlessly consolidated his power. He used the confusion surrounding the deaths of the leadership to eliminate all remaining Muslim religious fanatics in any real positions of power. Immediately, he made overtures both public and private with the leaders of the Western world. He called for new elections in four months and requested international observers to ensure a fair outcome.
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