The Dark Rift: The Supernatural Grail Quest Zombie Apocalypse (The Last Artifact Trilogy Book 1)
Page 23
“First of all, Doctor,” said Christian, turning away, “the Cube does exist. It’s very real, and so are the stories I’ve told you. Secondly, I have no interest in dissolving fear. Fear is what we use to control people; to make them do what we want them to do. I have no interest in liberating the masses. That would be pointless and stupid. How could any wealth be generated without the masses to do the work?”
A blank expression filled Christian’s face.
“All power is based in fear,” he uttered by rote. “If fear in the masses were ever lost, everything we have worked so hard to build would be destroyed. Fear must be maintained at all costs.”
“But can you not see that those are not your own words, Christian?” pleaded the doctor. “Can you not see that you were programmed to say them? I know that this all seems very real to you, but you must believe me when I tell you that it is all in your mind. It is myth. If you make the effort to understand the stories, you will be able to make sense of them, and find peace.”
“What else did you learn, Doctor,” said Christian, turning to face Bennington. “You will tell me everything.”
Bennington let himself fall into his armchair, defeated.
“You told me that your brother and sister conceived a hermaphrodite child so that an ancient prophecy might be fulfilled. You said that this child was born so that a portal to hell might be opened, and a great host of demons be unleashed onto the world. You told me that your brother would accomplish this by returning the corpse of his son to the place of its conception, where he would divide it into fourteen pieces, just as the Egyptian god Set had done to his brother Horus.”
“I see,” said Christian, squinting ever so slightly. “I remember now. There is a tremendous symbolic meaning behind this division, Doctor.”
He looked down at Bennington, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
“Fragmentation is Lucifer’s way.”
As Christian spoke these words, a dark roll of thunder sounded ominously outside the plane. With this last piece of information, it was as if a curtain had been drawn aside for Christian, and all the knowledge of which he had only previously glimpsed, was at last made fully available to him. The jet banked and began its descent into Jerusalem.
“What are you going to do, Christian?” asked Bennington, his voice fearful and unsteady. “Surly you will not act on these mythical constructs.”
“I will do what I was born to do, Doctor,” said Christian, already becoming lost in his thoughts. “I feel I am finally ready to begin.”
Here ends
Book I - The Dark Rift.
The Last Artifact Trilogy continues with:
Book II - The Lost Labyrinth
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost I would like to thank my dear friend and fellow visionary, Paul Gillespie, for listening to countless hours of my preposterous ruminations (over loads of cheap scotch) and consistently encouraging me to bring this, my very first novel, through to its conclusion. And to my equally dear friends, Lou Martinez and Christopher McEnroe, who poured diligently through duct-taped manuscripts to offer up indispensable criticisms when I needed them the most. Immeasurable thanks to Raika Sheppard, who helped me edit the first drafts.
My thanks once again to Christopher McEnroe, and Paul Gillespie, for helping me to create the awesome video sequences used in this book’s trailer, as well as to the talented David Osborne, for his outstanding narration. To my dear friends, Ellen Bateman, and Andrea Corlett, I extend my eternal gratitude for their constant support, as well as to Jim Latimer, for a brilliantly insightful commentary that led to the book’s final polishing. I thank them all a million times over.
~CAST OF CHARACTERS~
Dr. Gabriel Parker - Relic hunter and archaeologist. Adoptive son of Professor Agardi Metrovich.
Dr. Natasha Rossi - Artifact historian and theologian. Adoptive daughter of Father Franco Rossi.
Bishop Marcus di Lauro - Head of the Vatican’s department of exorcisms and paranormal anomalies. Close family friend to Gabriel and Natasha.
Fra Bartolomeo - Christian brother, and former school teacher. Old friend and assistant to Bishop Marcus di Lauro.
Suora Angelica - Nun, and former school teacher. Old friend and assistant to Bishop Marcus di Lauro.
Professor Agardi Metrovich - Historian, retired relic hunter, and psychiatrist. Adoptive father of Gabriel.
Father Franco Rossi - Priest and Exorcist. Adoptive guardian of Natasha.
Isaac Rodchenko - Brother of Christian Antov. Disowned from the Antov family as an adolescent. Father of the prophesied beast.
Peralta - Gibraltarian smuggler, computer hacker, and engineer. Close friend of Amir and Bahadur.
Amir Mustafa - Trusted assistant of Dr. Gabriel Parker.
Bahadur Mustafa- Former smuggling cartel Captain to Najiallah Nasrallah. Cousin of Amir Mustafa.
Scotty Roberts - Smuggler and close friend of Bahadur and Amir. The brother of Major Richard Roberts.
Major Richard Roberts - Aide-du-Camp to the Governor of Gibraltar. Brother of Scotty Roberts.
Sir William Bentley - Governor of Gibraltar. Mentor of Major Richard Roberts.
Brother Bernardo - Spanish monk in the service of The Order of St. James the Just.
Sir David - Captain of the knights of The Order of Saint James the Just, and sworn protector of The Two.
Alulim and Ursula - Leaders of The Order of St. James the Just.
Sir Shackleton - AKA: Melchizedek. The mysterious dog.
Christian Antov - Recently appointed chairman of the Vanderhoff Group Steering Committee, Anti-Christ, and brother of Isaac Rodchenko.
Doctor Bennington - Psychiatrist to Christian Antov.
Najiallah Nasrallah - Moroccan drug lord and archeology aficionado.
Father Adrianus Vanderwerken - AKA: The Nautonnier. Head priest of the shadow organization behind the Vanderhoff Group. Mentor to Isaac Rodchenko.
Prince Vladimir Rodchenko - Vanderhoff Group Steering Committee member. Uncle to Christian Antov.
FRIGHTENING CONSPIRACY THEORIES
- That Appear In This Novel -
The Bilderberg Group Conspiracy —revolves around a real life secret society that was founded in 1954. According to Wikipedia (and numerous other perfectly reputable internet sources) every year 100-120 of the world’s most powerful elite (including Presidents and Prime Ministers currently in office) get together in 5 star resorts and hold secret meetings about world governance. Theorists claim that the organization is part of a sinister shadow government that secretly rules the world. In the off chance that it’s all true, they are referred to here as the Vanderhoff Group (after all, there’s no need to piss anybody off, right?).
The New World Order Conspiracy —revolves around a coming fascist world government that, according to many homemade YouTube documentaries, will be split into four unions: The European Union, The American Union, The Asian Union, and the African Union. It will all be headed up by a shadow government under the guise of the United Nations. People (or Sheeple) will be governed by martial law and advanced biometric technology in a dystopian environment.
The Zombie Apocalypse Conspiracy —revolves around a secret, genetically engineered virus designed by the government to cull the world’s population by turning people into undead cannibals.
The Reptilian Race Conspiracy —revolves around the
existence of an elite race of multi-dimensional, demonic, shape-shifting reptilians that currently pose as our leaders. According to a prominent British writer, public speaker and former sports broadcaster, they have every intention of enslaving humanity.
The Evil Pope Conspiracy —revolves around the purported Satanic roots of the Roman Catholic Church, and its history of manipulation of holy scripture so as to further its quest for world dominance, and the enslavement of all souls (by far the most likely of all the theories listed here).
The Bloodline of Christ Conspiracy —revolves around a secret society (with sexy French chicks) whose ancestry can be traced back to a child that Jesus had with Mary Magdalene.
The Galactic Plane Conspiracy —states that climate change is not the result of silly carbon emissions, but rather due to the fact that our entire solar system is moving into the galaxy’s super-dense equator. It expounds that this is a cyclical, astronomical event that always culminates in an extinction level cataclysm. Of course NASA knows all about this, but what good could possibly come from telling everyone?
Gilliam Ness is a writer and visual artist.
He lives in Toronto and Chania, Crete.
If you loved this book, and you’ve got a minute or two to spare, I’d really appreciate a review on the page where you bought this book. Spreading the word is just about the best thing you could do to help other readers find this trilogy, and I’d really appreciate the help.
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