And what now? Why is nothing happening? Did I do something wrong? There must be a secret mechanism behind it. I can’t seem to rotate the stone.
What if I push it again?
Using all her might she hit the stone with her elbow, but it barely budged.
Remembering her tai chi lessons, she took a deep breath and focused all her energy on one last kick.
And as the light of her phone switched off, she kicked it as hard as she could.
In that moment, a centuries-old mechanism, long-dormant, sprang back, opening a spiral staircase. To her great relief, she could see a faint natural light peering down on her.
The staircase unfurled for several long moments.
Afraid that the mechanism could trigger another trap, she quickly began to climb the stairs.
After several minutes of a rapid ascent, she was almost out of breath. But soon she felt some fresh air; a good sign that she was approaching the surface.
Her phone started to pop on the screen dozens of notifications from missed calls and messages.
Finally, a signal, Neo must have tried to contact me so many times.
“Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
“Call me back…”
And the last one:
“I geolocated you.”
“Go the nearest exit on Rue Nerviene 41; there is an UBER Mercedes-Benz limousine with the plate TLAN 219 B.”
“It’s going to pick you up in five minutes.”
“Just confirm you received the message.”
Neo understood that my battery was nearly depleted.
While climbing the last step, she found herself locked in a small stony cylinder-shaped structure.
She quickly typed: “all ok, heading to UBER,” and hit the “send” button.
Her face was both relieved and terrified. Her muscles began to give up one after the other, generating a tingling feeling throughout her exhausted body.
Looking above, she noticed that the ceiling was made of red bricks ingeniously forming a simplified flower of life pattern.
I guess the Sisters of Berlaymont must have set up this cleverly hidden secret passage in plain sight.
Behind her, she could hear the mechanism retracting the stairs. The cracked square stone lid was gradually closing behind her.
She managed to escape the labyrinth, and now she knew that whatever mission laid ahead, it will only get more complicated.
She could see some vegetation outside through a freshly painted transparent metallic gate.
This is the Cinquantenaire Park, but where exactly?
The stairs vanished, and the mechanism closed the exit with the massive square in the middle of the cylindric room.
Trying to open the metallic door, Lydia realized that it was locked.
Oh, this cannot be true. The door had a lock with a four-digit cypher.
“I cannot believe that after all I had to endure; I am stuck here like this?” Lydia whispered angrily.
What could the combination be? Think Lydia; there is no time.
And then it came to her: what if is the sequence I found on the elevator’s metallic card in the abnormal DNA structure represents the code?
I think the sequence was 4 3 2 3, and when moving the rotative metallic disks of the lock to match this combination, the lock mechanism opened.
Ah Helene, you carefully thought through everything…
Leaving the structure, she realized the exit was located in the peculiar little tower that, as a child, she always wondered why it was placed in the middle of the park.
Next to the metallic door, Lydia noticed a small descriptive panel explaining in several languages, for lost tourists, the history of the tower.
She could not hold back her curiosity and took a glance while running towards her UBER meeting point:
“The Tournai tower or Beyaert tower, a curious building, designed by the architect Henri Beyaert on the occasion of the national Jubilee exhibition of 1880 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Belgian independence.
Erected in 1880 in a pseudo-medieval style resembling a Lily flower, a heraldic symbol of the noble houses, it was intended to demonstrate the qualities of Tournai stone.”
This architect must have been a part of the Order, an agent of the Berlaymont sisters, entrusted to design the tower to hide their secret, Lydia thought while hurrying towards the meeting point.
Leaving behind the shadow of the tower, she noticed its protective gargoyles on the roof.
A clever distraction for people not to notice the architect’s perfectly symmetric anagram which she kept in her mind, Lydia thought.
Lydia grasped that by turning upside down, the anagram could have perfectly stood for HdM, Helene de Moncler.
Helene and Henri Beyaert could have been related…everything is connected.
I guess today was my lucky day, Lydia said to herself.
This small victory gave her the extra energy she needed to leave the park and catch her UBER.
§CHAPTER 28§
THE PARK was a hidden green breathing oasis engulfed in an eerie silence. Symbols were hiding everywhere in this part of Brussels, and the tower was the last symbol of the ancient history that marked this place.
Trees were fretting in the brisk wind, and little tornadoes were causing leaves to fall in all directions, creating a bizarre picture.
The Order came here for hundreds of years to embrace nature and pray for Jesus’ blessings.
What almost nobody knew was that below this green park, a labyrinth of catacombs was built to preserve their legacy together with their most treasured artifact.
Lydia always loved to come here as its trees were planted in a harmonious mix to match the obsessive geometry of this place.
She quickly passed by the collapsed ruin of a barely known wooden chapel wherein the Sisters of Berlaymont, one of The Order’s most devoted factions, came to get the blessing of the divine.
The trees had origins from all over the globe, forming a mosaic of shapes and colors like Horse-chestnut, European beech, Sycamore, Silver maple, Oaks with hairy cups, American white ash, and Corded alder.
Lydia almost fainted when she reached her meeting point at Rue Nerviene 41. She noticed that her UBER ride was approaching.
The black limo stopped next to her. She opened the door and crawled inside.
“Good evening ma’am. Mister Xavier ordered this trip for you, and he instructed me to give you this package.”
Hm, mister Xavier, this must be an alias for Neo, Lydia thought.
“Thank you, sir. Do you have any water? I am extremely thirsty,” Lydia said, her throat dry like sandpaper.
“Certainly, ma’am, there are several bottles in the door compartment,” the driver said politely in a Flemish accent.
She was so dehydrated that she managed to guzzle down two bottles one after the other.
“I am sorry, I had to train myself for a marathon this evening,” Lydia said, embarrassed.
“Do not worry, ma’am, there is more water if you want,” the driver said kindly.
On the radio, worrying news was emerging: “The COVID-19 infections and the death rate in Belgium are skyrocketing, being one of the countries with the highest mortality rate. The virus can mutate, and it can be transmitted through the breathing of an infected person. The entire population is advised to respect social distancing rules.”
“Our destination is the Zaventem airport, and mister Xavier indicated you’d need to charge your devices. Next to you there are all the cables you need.
Lydia connected her XGlass and cell phone, and after a few seconds, they switched on again.
Neo was trying to reach her. Gently touching the frames, she activated the call.
“I am so happy to hear your voice, mister Xavier,” Lydia said with excitement in her voice.
“Me too, it was incredible you managed to escape. What an adventure. For a while, I thought I’d never be able to see you a
gain.” Neo’s voice sounded relieved. “Listen, carefully, Lydia; I have downloaded all the data you stored. What an amazing discovery you made; it’s unbelievable.”
“The box given by the driver contains an XGlass prototype having an enhanced satellite coverage, powered with a special micro hydrogen-based fuel cell, giving it power for two full days. On top of that, you don’t need to connect it to your cell phone.”
Neo’s voice sounded extremely happy and comforted that Lydia made it out alive.
“Please put the new XGlass next to the old one to synchronize their profiles; and one more thing, Lydia, this is a gift from Helene. A courier came to me with a strange note.”
“If you receive this Neo then I am dead, please give this package to Lydia, I have an important message for her. Helene de Moncler.”
◆◆◆
§CHAPTER 29§
THE PHOENIX was looking at his hand, and only the protruded veins betrayed his real age.
I had to endure for so long, and now my mission will come to an end.
The Assassin called his Master to report back.
“The mission was accomplished Master. Helene de Moncler is dead. However, I am afraid there was someone who entered her office; a young woman who mysteriously vanished,” the Assassin said, trying to control his voice.
His heart was pounding faster, and his vision was blurred. He knew that if his Master could sense he failed, it would be the end of him.
“I know my son,” the Phoenix said in a somber tone.
“She will be your next mission.”
The Phoenix’s voice gave off an air of authority. Over the years, he was called many names, but this one, he believed was destined for him.
Every ancient afterlife symbol was concentrated within this mythological creature, which after burning, could regenerate herself and reemerge from the ashes. All its memories were preserved, and it was constantly evolving.
The ancient Greeks and Egyptians were fascinated with this fabled creature’s myth. The historian of antiquity, Herodotus, described it as a sacred creature locked in an eternal five-hundred-year cycle of regeneration.
“Her name is Lydia del Biondo, a family acquaintance of de Moncler.”
“You’ll have to follow each movement she makes.”
“I feel she has a vital role to play in the events to come.”
“De Moncler must have entrusted her with a mission, and to overturn her devious plot; we need to follow this girl and discover what de Moncler was up to. Then, I’ll let you know when the right time is to terminate her.”
The Assassin listened carefully to each instruction given by his Master so as not to miss any detail.
“Your wish is my command, Master. It shall be done.”
The Assassin knew she could not be far away; only two hours passed since he last saw her.
I will start with her apartment; maybe she left some traces there.
My Master will inform me if she attempts to cross the border. Hopefully, she will try to board a plane.
With a few clicks on his cell phone, the Assassin succeeded in breaking into Lydia’s official administrative records and found the location of her house.
The Phoenix was looking through the window of his luxury car, telling his driver.
“Prepare my jet; we need to turn around; we need to head towards the airport. I have a feeling I will need to travel for a few days. Tell the pilots to be on standby.”
The time has come to take my destiny into my own hands.
◆◆◆
§CHAPTER 30§
LYDIA KNEW she only had twenty more minutes until reaching the airport. She never felt so tired in her life, yet there was no time for a nap.
“Neo, please talk to me. Otherwise, I’ll fall asleep,” Lydia whispered with a faint voice.
“I have something important to tell you. After analyzing several ancient language databases to cross-reference the pyramid’s symbols you discovered below Berlaymont, it appears they belong to the Assyrians. This was one of the earliest civilizations emerging in the Middle East, having a history spanning over 6760 years.”
“The Assyrian kingdom was one of the first in Mesopotamia until its collapse in 612 BC, and their language was Aramaic, the actual language spoken by Jesus. As a Semitic language, the Aramaic language is related to Hebrew and Arabic but predates both.”
“In addition, whereas most Arabs are Muslim, Assyrians are essentially Christian,” Neo stated.
“Fascinating story Professor Neo, did you also manage to translate the text?” Lydia asked impatiently.
“There are many versions of Aramaic words, and most of them are cross-referenced to different chapters of the Bible, depending on which Apostle wrote which part.”
“The phonetic readout of your text would be”:
OHaB'oBo,AB'KHaYeA,D'TSaB,eAD'aB,RaA
With the approximate translation:
“The flower of life under the protection of Bennu will guide your path.”
“Yes, we know the flower of life appeared everywhere while I was underground. Is there nothing else?” Lydia asked worriedly.
“Hang on a moment. I recalled in the cave having seen the same pattern on a pyramid during one of my childhood trips to Egypt…”
“Can you search the internet database and cross-reference the picture of the mini-pyramid?” Lydia asked, her eyes glittering with hope and curiosity.
“Already did it, Lydia. We have a match for a very similar object, with the flower of life adorned on top. Early Egyptian priests thought that RA came to Earth in a strange mystic object called Akka. That object was given later in history, the name Benben, a term originating from an Egyptian word signifying essence. It is frequently recorded in traditional Egyptian history that the Benben landed from the sky, and it became the most cherished object of the time. Legend continues to state that Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator deity Atum settled in the creation myth.”
Lydia knew the Benben stone or the pyramidion became the capstone of Pyramids and Obelisks.
In ancient Egypt, these were probably gold-plated, so they would have gloriously sparkled in the sunlight, serving as a beacon for its followers and for the creator himself, the power of RA.
“And here it is your pyramid,” Neo exclaimed, projecting on Lydia’s XGlass the image of the Benben stone.
“It’s, in fact, the Benben stone from the Pyramid of Amenemhat III, 12th Dynasty, exhibited now in the recently opened Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo.”
“From the picture, it seems to also have in its center, a flower of life or the solar disk pattern.”
“I think it has a strong link with the ruby indicating the King’s chamber and the secret room,” Neo said almost without taking a breath.
“The bird deity you can see is indeed Bennu evoked by the Aramaic inscription.”
“Bennu had its origin in the phoenix myth and was initially worshiped in Heliopolis, The City of the Sun or the House of RA, nesting on top of the Benben stone.”
“Heliopolis was one of the wonders of the ancient Egyptian world and one of its oldest cities.”
Today it lays largely in ruins with its structures scavenged by the poor and used as construction material for medieval Cairo.
“We need to go to the Grand Egyptian Museum to check the Benben stone. If only my parents could see me now,” Lydia said with a wistful tone after taking a deep sigh
“I can hear the fatigue in your voice, Lydia. There will be time to rest during the flight,” Neo said with compassion.
“Good news, I just found a flight leaving in two hours to Cairo. I have booked you a business class ticket,” Neo said.
“If I could, I would come myself to pick you up and hold you while you rest, Neo added.
“Is this a proposal or a promise?” Lydia asked. Despite having never seen him, she felt an intense attraction for his voice.
“Helene not only left you a message tha
t you need to listen now but also a hefty bank account in your name.”
“Okay, but first, I want to see your picture Neo. It is not fair that you know everything about me, and I don’t even know what you look like.”
“That’s only fair. This is me now,” Neo said. And to Lydia’s surprise, a picture appeared on her XGlass.
§CHAPTER 31§
LYDIA GASPED because Neo was incredibly handsome. He had long blond hair and piercing blue eyes that emanated a genuine kindness.
“Is this really you or a fake avatar?” Lydia asked in a cheeky tone.
“It’s me for the moment, but not for long. I’ll tell you more, but now you need to listen to Helene’s message. I am afraid we are running out of time,” Neo said hastily.
Lydia quickly put on the new XGlass prototype, which felt even lighter, and it self-activated instantaneously.
Her display was showing the setup was almost finalized:
“biomarker parameters loading;”
“27% of data is being processed; please wait;”
“biomarker parameters loading 83% profile is being established.”
A soft female voice spoke through the bone conduction technology.
“Welcome, Lydia del Biondo. I am the XGlass’ latest generation of A.I. assistant. All your data has been synchronized with your new profile.”
A new classified message was coming in from President Helene de Moncler:
“My child, if you receive this message it means that I am dead, and you have successfully accessed The Order’s secret vault.”
“It’s time to learn a secret that unfortunately, I had to keep too long from you,” the former President of the European Commission said in a calm voice that showed a tinge of sorrow and regret.
“Your parents and I have always tried to protect you and to preserve The Order.”
“We are the last descendants of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and the last blood of Atlantis.”
“You see, my child, Jesus Christ, was not just the child of God. This was just an alleged myth to justify his tremendous power and knowledge.”
The Jesus Christ Cypher Page 8
