Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012)

by Diego Rodriguez

  Time was passing quickly and the two friends were starting to get nervous. The monk had to be coming back any minute now and they would have to leave the Archbasilica with him. The possibility of having got confused when interpreting the text was becoming more likely.

  Such an obvious crest should have been discovered by now.

  They had abandoned all hope when, suddenly, a shriek came from the depths of one of the adjacent rooms. It was Mary, desperately calling to them.

  The two sprinted towards her, with James the first to reach her side. “What is it? Have you found anything?”

  Mary was in one of the rooms reserved for the Pope and his altar boys.

  Somebody had forgotten to lock the door. It may have been the fault of some distracted workman who had left it open after storing all the construction materials inside.

  When James got close enough to see, his heart almost stopped.

  Before them was a crest chiseled onto one of the slabs on the wall. It was worn away and practically illegible, but it was identical to the book cover.

  Richard had caught up with the group and was searching the room for something he could use to break the stone. The room seemed to be a cross between a storage closet and a changing room for the altar boys, judging by the sheer number of candles still in their packaging and the cassocks which were hanging up.

  In one corner there were construction materials: sacks of cement, shovels, buckets, hammers and a couple of toolboxes. Richard picked up one of the hammers whose handle was about twenty inches long. He was getting ready to hit the wall but James got in his way just in time.

  “Are you crazy?! Do you want them to report us for destroying one of the most famous churches in the world?!” The paleographer instantly knew that his friend was right. “Grab that pickax that’s hidden under those boxes!”

  Between the three of them, using any pointed tool they could find in the box, they set about scratching the wall until they had made a small groove around the stone.

  The incision wasn’t deep enough on the first attempt and the pickax had trouble gripping; it was impossible to lever it out. After some poking with the tools, they managed to make a groove deep enough for the point to loosen the stone. Eventually the slab fell to the ground.

  The uncovered hole ran very deep, about seven feet in length, and was similar to a catacomb. The stone inside was polished smooth, probably so as not to ruin what was inside. Despite this, the three were frozen stiff when they discovered what lay inside. It would have been completely impossible for Simone Di Benedetto to have left that object inside the hole.

  Chapter 17

  “I‘m sorry, gentlemen. Entrance to the site is strictly prohibited without the relevant permission.”

  In the shadow of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, one of the security guards in charge of access to the complex was chatting amenably with two well-built men who were trying to gain entry to the car park in a four wheel drive. The area was full of people by then. The vast majority were waiting to be allowed in to see the interior of the building which housed the Holy Steps, situated just next to the Archbasilica.

  “Excuse me, officer. We didn’t know it was prohibited to park inside.” Alpha 1 reversed and rejoined the two-lane highway which surrounded the complex.

  “Call him and tell him that we’ve found them.”

  After those words, the car turned sharply with the intention of finding a place to park.

  Alpha 2 reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out the cellphone that the boss had given to them earlier. Meanwhile, he stroked his chin as his jaw jerked from that characteristic, unpleasant twitch he had. That was the only way they could call him; any other phone was prohibited. After a couple of rings, somebody picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s Alpha 2, I’m calling you in accordance with security protocol,” he said before the boss could ask anything. “We’ve found them. They’re inside the church at the moment. Shall we go ahead?”

  “No,” he replied squarely. “Maybe they can help us more than we thought. Follow them closely and under no circumstances are they to know you’re watching them. If anybody talks to them about it, kill them. Nobody must know the reason behind the search. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes,” replied Alpha 2. “What should we do when they find it?”

  There was silence.

  “Get rid of them and make sure you leave no trace. But before you kill any member of the group, remember what I told you at the start of the operation. It’s for your own good, because if you don’t complete your mission, you’re dead.”

  Chapter 18

  The hole was so deep that the light could barely enter it. Richard ignited a lighter which immediately swept away the darkness inside that kind of tomb in the wall, but the only thing he found was a damp, yellowing envelope. After inspecting it closely, they surmised that it wasn’t five hundred years old. Everything pointed towards the fact that somebody had found the carving and relieved it of its contents.

  The envelope hid a piece of paper folded in half. On it was text written in English, along with a U.S. dollar bill.

  “Shit! Somebody’s discovered the hole and taken whatever was inside.”

  The famous paleographer put his hand inside and patted the walls. He was looking for some inscription carved into the stone itself, but the surface was completely smooth.

  “What does the paper say?” asked Mary, not seeming too hopeful.

  James unfolded it with due care. It was a white, standard-sized sheet, but with only a few lines of writing. He read it aloud.

  If you have found the envelope, it is because you recognized the crest.

  I visited the church in 2002 and curiosity led me to this room, where I discovered the symbol of the Illuminati engraved on the wall.

  The treasure that I found inside was a huge reward for my efforts, and it does not deserve to be lost in the mists of time.

  If you are familiar with the order, you will know how to find me and you will let Thomas Jefferson guide your way. If not, you will never discover what these walls hide.

  “Oh Christ!” exclaimed James after reading it aloud. “This individual has confused the worn away seal with the symbol of the Illuminati order.”

  Mary knelt on the ground. “On top of that, they’ve taken whatever was hidden in the hole. We can’t do anything without it.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Richard held in his right hand the dollar bill which they had left inside the envelope and which his companions had ignored. He was grinning. “I think I know how to find them.”

  Mary didn’t understand a thing. “But how do you know? If the bill tells us anything at all, it’s that we’re dealing with a U.S. citizen. It would be virtually impossible to find them.”

  Richard knew the order very well. For a number of months now, he had been working on various projects translating ancient texts related to the Illuminati. The translations were completed as separate assignments and he had never had any personal contact with the individuals who sought his services. The truth was he had become rather famous among them because after he had translated the first manuscript, he was sent hundreds more written by various authors, all of them relating to the secret society.

  He had a very particular way of working, and he was a great fan of carrying out his own investigations into all those subjects he was involved in. He thought it essential to gather together as much information as possible on the matter, and therefore be able to produce an accurate translation by avoiding the ambiguous meanings of certain words. It was through this method that he gradually became more familiar with the Illuminati’s traditions and uncovered their darkest secrets.

  The Order of the Perfectibilists or the Bavarian Illuminati, better known as the Illuminati, was a secret society founded on 1 May 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, in a forest in southern Germany. On that day, a small group of men pledged to carry out the objectives of the society.

 
It was created in order to defeat governments all over the world and eradicate their religions, eventually aiming to rule all nations under a New World Order. They intended to establish a single currency and a universal religion. However, the final aims of this society were known only to its creator and some of his closest followers. It is thought that the eventual objectives were to:

  Suppress private property, rights to inheritance and social classes.

  Destroy the concept of patriotism and nationalism, replacing it with only one homeland.

  Abolish monarchies and promote republics.

  Eliminate the traditional concept of family.

  Eradicate any kind of religion, especially Christianity, and put in place an official atheism.

  Take power, even using violence where necessary.

  The secret plans of the Illuminati were revealed by chance when the body of a messenger was found after having been struck by a bolt of lightning. Among his clothing, a number of documents were found documenting their future plans to establish a new global hegemony. It was an international conspiracy that posed a special threat to all monarchy, and the French branch in particular; the famous French Revolution would take place years later.

  After being hunted for many years, the order seemed to dissolve in Europe over the course of the first decade of the nineteenth century. However, its presence in the United States is thought to have survived to the present day in Illuminati organizations such as the Phi-Beta-Kappa Fraternity, the Order of Skull and Bones, and The Shriners.

  Many now think that the Illuminati are behind many of the massacres that have occurred throughout history. Apparently, there are some letters in existence which were allegedly written in 1870 between an old soldier and a Freemason chosen by the Illuminati to lead their operations. They mention the orchestration of three world wars, which would be used as vehicles to achieve a number of objectives, which did in fact happen years later. However, although the letters are said to have been kept in the library of the British Museum, the institution has repeatedly denied the existence of such documents.

  The most ardent supporters of these theories even credit them with the collapse of the Twin Towers. In 1990, a role-playing inventor called Steve Jackson was devising a game called Illuminati - New World Order. It contained a great number of cards which dramatically predicted both the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, as well as attacks which have yet to occur. The depth of knowledge involved in his plans was such that a team of armed Secret Service agents burst into his offices one morning, seizing all his games and computer equipment.

  “Do you know the story of how Washington was created and its link to the U.S. dollar bill?”

  From the expression on James’ face, he was very familiar with it indeed, but he waited for his companion to speak. Mary, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know what he was talking about.

  Richard took out a red ballpoint pen from his backpack and he made a series of notes on the bill, much to the astonishment of the woman. Then he showed it to her.

  “The Great Seal of the United States appears on the current U.S. dollar bill alongside the All-seeing Eye, also known as the Eye of Providence. The Freemasons gradually adopted this symbol to represent the Great Architect of the Universe, and it later began to feature on the dollar bill as of 1935. This decision met with the approval of the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was a 32nd degree Mason in the Scottish Rite and member of The Shriners. Guess who was a member of the initial committee created in 1776 and charged with designing the Seal of the United States of America?!”

  “Thomas Jefferson!”

  Richard burst out laughing.

  “It’s also worth mentioning something else,” James went on, interrupting his friend. “The pyramid is formed by thirteen steps which symbolize the thirteen original colonies of the United States, although they could also represent the thirteen grades in the hierarchy of the Bavarian Illuminati. Plus, at the base you can clearly see the year 1776 written in Roman numerals - in other words, the year in which the thirteen colonies gained independence, and the Illuminati Order was founded.”

  “And what do the inscriptions Annuit Coeptis and Novus Ordo Seclorum refer to?” asked Mary.

  James was about to answer when Richard got in before him. “The first phrase means ‘He favors our undertakings’, while the second was incorrectly translated for years as ‘New Secular Order’. This translation is wrong and it should actually be ‘New Order of the Ages’ or ‘New Order of the Centuries’. In any case, it’s strange how the number thirteen James mentioned earlier appears so many times. Contrary to what my colleague says, some experts believe that the number represents the thirteen Knights Templar who were burned at the stake on 13 October 1307. If you look at the bill, you’ll see I’ve marked wherever it appears with a red circle.”

  Mary carefully examined the bill and she started to add up the number of times in her head. The number of arrows, leaves and olives on the olive branch, stars with five points, the vertical bars on the shield, the pyramid steps, or even the number of letters in some of the Latin phrases on both sides. All are repeated thirteen times. “In other words, the bill has lots of hidden secrets,” said Mary, at last.

  They both looked at each other and shared a smile. Richard pressed on with his explanations. “Many more than you think. Now’s not the time to explain all of its mysteries, but I’ll make an exception for one which very few actually know about, and which will lead us to the author of the message.”

  James really was feeling confused now. He hadn’t seen anything hidden in the message which could point to a particular area of the United States, let alone one specific person.

  “Look at the pyramid on the bill!” Mary was holding it in her hands, so she stood next to James and they both studied it closely. “Can you see a small X marked on one of the steps of the pyramid?”

  “Yeah. What does it mean?”

  “I’ll tell you now, but first you have to listen carefully. You can make the pyramid featured on the bill into the Star of David if you join up the letters A from ‘Annuit’, the S from ‘Coeptis’, the N from ‘Novus’, the O from ‘Ordo’ and the M from ‘Seclorum’. If you rearrange them, these letters spell the word MASON.” Richard took delight in their expressions for a few seconds and then continued to speak. “The sentence which refers to Thomas Jefferson not only tells us that we have to pay attention to the Great Seal of the United States on the dollar bill, given that he was one of its designers, but something else too. A few days ago, I found myself looking for information about the Illuminati when, by chance, I stumbled across the notes of an author who claimed something astonishing. He believed that certain landmarks in the city of Washington formed an isosceles triangle when they were joined up. To be more precise, the buildings are Capitol Hill, where Congress has its headquarters, the White House and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Later I saw for myself that the outline formed a perfect isosceles triangle.”

  Richard smiled again when he saw how shocked his friends were. It was very rare that he discovered something James did not know about. He was relishing the moment more than he had ever done before. “But that isn’t the most important thing. According to this researcher, there are exactly one thousand seven hundred and sixty six meters between the Jefferson Memorial and the fountain at the entrance to the White House - 1776 was the year in which both the United States and the Illuminati Order were founded. The sides of this triangle measure exactly two thousand three hundred and ten meters long, which means that ratio between the base and the sides is 0.76, the same as that for the pyramid featured on the dollar bill. And, finally, the most important part of all and the thing which will reveal the exact location of the author of the message is this: when we look at the area marked off by the triangle, the avenues and pathways inside divide it into thirteen sections. In other words, there are just as many sections as there are steps on the unfinished pyramid on the bill.”

/>   “Oh my god! It’s a map of the city of Washington,” said James, unable to contain his delight. “But… how do you know that the author of the message used those facts to create his riddle?”

  “Look how the initials T.J. appear in the right corner of the triangle. That is the very same corner where the Jefferson Memorial is located, and T.J. must obviously stand for Thomas Jefferson.”

  Mary had picked up on the initials from the outset but she thought that they had been written by Richard and not the author of the mysterious message.

  “Anyway, I don’t think that the layout of those three buildings was premeditated, but rather a product of chance. If we took a street map of any city and drew lines wherever we wanted, we’d probably end up finding some kind of geometric shape. That doesn’t mean I don’t agree with what I’ve just told you. I just think that the person who left the envelope was familiar with all these fantastic stories and used one of them as another resource to tell us where we should look for them.”

  “So… the X on the bill represents an area within the triangle? I mean, we might know which road, but… how will we know which building?”

  Richard replied. “That’s exactly what I thought, but if you look at the serial number on the bill, you’ll see that two digits are underlined. Normally the first one would refer to the number of the building, and the second to the apartment number.”

  James was absolutely stunned. “Richard, you are some dark horse. Remind me to give you a raise when all this is over.”

  Suddenly, they heard the sound of distant footsteps coming towards them. They replaced the slab and ran out of the church before the monk arrived, so as to avoid having to give him a long explanation.

  Just as the sunlight hit his eyes, James couldn’t help but rub them when he saw the scene that was unfolding outside. He blocked the exit with his right arm, preventing them from continuing on their way, while he surveyed the scene openmouthed through the railings of the gate.