by R. D. Brady
I used a number of sources to describe this fascinating site. A few of the more helpful can be found at the following links:
http://www.gigalresearch.com/ http://www.saqqara.nl/saqqara/history
The Ring of Solomon. The tale about Solomon’s son, Menelik, stealing the Ark of the Covenant is rumored to be true. :)
The Chapel of the Tablet in Aksum, Ethiopia exists and does claim to have held the Ark of the Covenant since the time of Solomon. But Menelik himself was not the one who was supposed to have taken it—but, rather, some other young lords who accompanied him back to his home.
Does the ring exist? That is the question, isn’t it? As with many powerful objects from antiquity, its existence is unclear. As is the power it actually conveyed to the user. Solomon was said to have power over animals, the weather, and demons through a ring. Is that true, an exaggeration, or just a myth? I don’t know.
The War Scroll. The War Scroll is one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls found in Qumran on the West Bank. The Dead Sea Scrolls were all found in sealed pots, and were all written around the first century AD in various languages, most found on papyrus.
The War Scroll (whose formal title is The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness) tells of a final apocalyptic battle between the Children and the Sons of Belial. And according to some, that final battle is supposed to occur in Makeda, Israel.
Edgar Cayce. And, of course, many of my story ideas originated with my readings on Edgar Cayce. Edgar Cayce was an incredibly fascinating man. He was a twentieth-century psychic who did health and life readings. Some of those life readings addressed the creation of man, right down to how exactly we appeared on this planet, as well as our early civilizations, particularly the existence of a place known today as Atlantis. And its destruction.
Alchemy. Dr. Hantaro Nagaoka was a Japanese physicist who discovered that if you placed an isotope of mercury under paraffin oil and then bombarded it with one hundred and fifty thousand volts of electricity, you get gold. Yup. He figured out how to actually transmute a metal.
Dogon Tribe. The Dogon people of Mali do indeed exist. Living in West Africa, the Dogon claim to date back thousands of years and today number around one hundred thousand people. They had been largely isolated from modern man until the early twentieth century.
All the information in The Belial Ring attributed to them is accurate. They claim to have known about the four moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and the existence of the star Sirius—as well as the existence of the star Sirius B that orbits it—long before any of those facts were established by modern science.
So how exactly did the Dogon know any of this information? The Dogon claim the origins of their knowledge come from a people who descended from the sky, some time before 3,200 BC. If you have some spare time, look them up. They are truly fascinating.
Animal Experiments. The animal experiments mentioned in the book are also taken from reality. Back in 1959, Dr. Vladimir Demikhov did indeed surgically attach a second head to a living dog. And the dog survived for months. Sick, yes, but real.
In 2003, scientists at Shanghai University did successfully merge human cells with rabbit eggs. The embryos were destroyed after a short time, but the stem cells were harvested. The Mayo Clinic created a pig with human blood, and in Stanford, scientists created mice with human brains. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.
Human Immortality. So, were humans ever immortal? Believe it or not, that is not an easy question. The Sumerian King List mentioned in The Belial Ring is an actual list that dates to the ancient Sumerians. On the list are dozens of kings, some of whom are reported to have ruled for thousands of years. For example, the list says that Alagar ruled for thirty-six thousand years.
Cayce, too, argued that originally humans lived for an extremely long time. So: immortal? Probably not. But early records do suggest the possibility of a much longer life span.
There are, however, snippets from the Bible that suggest the possibility of immortality. But I think I’ll save that discussion for a different book. :)
Vulcan Death Grip. Anyone who has ever watched the original Star Trek is familiar with the Vulcan death grip. Dr. Spock could merely grip someone on the side of the neck and knock them out. I always thought that was Hollywood’s imagination. Then I went to a weekend seminar with Guro Dan Inosanto.
For those who aren’t familiar, Guro Inosanto is one of the most recognizable people in martial arts today. He was also one of Bruce Lee’s early students. During the seminar, Guro Inosanto recounted a time when someone had performed the technique on him. Twice. Knocked him out for hours both times.
Guro Inosanto still hasn’t figured out how it was done to him. So, does it exist? According to Guro Inosanto, it does. And I’m certainly not going to disagree with him!
Reincarnation Research. The research in reincarnation in The Belial Ring is fact. For example, Dr. Ian Stevenson did indeed conduct research that linked a child’s birthmarks with injuries from a previous life. And Cayce did do a past life reading for Henry Ford, who, according to Cayce, was alive during the time of Atlantis. Cayce did contend that in his Atlantis life, Henry Ford was an inventor. And all the famous people said to have been proponents of reincarnation really were proponents: including Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi, Socrates, Napoleon, and Friedrich Nietzsche.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for reading The Belial Ring. I hope you enjoyed it. The Belial Ring is the fastest book I’ve written to date. And it’s not because I was rushing. This story has been in my mind since I first started developing the Belial series. But I needed to lay the groundwork before we got here.
In fact, the next few books have been in my mind in various forms for years, and I am thrilled that they are finally coming to light.
Whenever I write one of these books, I always start with Laney, Jake, and Henry and then I add in the history and archaeology. And once I started thinking about Laney’s past lives, women from history started running through my mind. But the one who stood out most was Helen of Troy. The problem was, all I knew about her was the adultery. So I started doing a little research. And as I did, she got more and more interesting. Helen of Sparta—now that is a woman much more well rounded than Helen of Troy.
Stephen King says that stories are like fossils: you chip away at them, gradually revealing more and more, delving deeper and deeper. That’s what seems to be happening with the Belial series. Every time I think of another angle, something from history or archaeology appears that seems to fit. Take the necropolis in Saqqara, with its giant-sized granite coffins. I couldn’t have imagined something more perfect. And I didn’t have to, because it already existed.
Thank you for reading. I hope you’re enjoying the series. If you get a chance, please consider leaving a review. And if you want to know about upcoming publications, you can sign up on my website (http://desperateforagoodbook.com) or drop me an email ([email protected]).
Until next time,
R.D.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.D. Brady is a criminologist who lives in upstate New York. When she’s not writing, she can be found studying Jeet Kune Do, reading, or trying to find more hours in the day.
For more information on R.D., her upcoming publications, or what she’s currently reading, check out her blog: http://desperateforagoodbook.com. There’s a sign-up on her website if you are interested in being notified about upcoming publications. Or send her an email ([email protected]). She’d love to hear from you.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are a lot of great people who helped make The Belial Ring a reality. First and foremost, I’d like to thank all the special critters who have read and re-read multiple drafts of this work. Every week, you helped me iron out the mistakes and find a better way to explain my ideas. I am forever grateful.
Special thanks in particular to Dana Griffin and C.K. Raggio. You guys kept me going by offering support, insight, and the occasional
kick in the butt. I couldn’t have done it without you.
I’d also like to thank my group of beta readers, who helped make this version of The Belial Ring a much cleaner copy. Thank you for reading. And thank you for all your work.
Thanks to my family and friends who have supported my efforts along the way.
Thank you to the people who helped with the editing and cover design. Alexis and Damonza, thank you for all your incredible work. And a special thank-you to David Gatewood for all the time you put in. I am extremely grateful.
Thanks to my favorite beta reader, Elizabeth McCartan. Thank you for reading the first draft and for everything else you do.
To my three little ones who constantly ask me how my books are doing and whether they’re done yet. And who occasionally give me some book suggestions for the future. But most importantly, they make me smile and appreciate how good life can be. I can’t thank them enough for that.
Thank you to my husband Tae. Thank you for always being there, always supporting me, and always having my back. I never would have had the courage to go down this path without you walking next to me, so my success is without a doubt the result of you being in my life. Thank you.
And finally, thank you to all the readers who have been kind enough to drop me a line and tell me how much you are enjoying the series. I haven’t been able to respond directly to all of you, but I have read every note. And they urge me on and give me a little spring in my step. Thank you for taking the time to write. It does mean a lot.
COMING SOON
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The Belial Children
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