Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) (15 page)

Richard cleared his throat, reminding them why they had come in the first place. “According to Simone, we will find a familiar crest. I guess it’ll be engraved on some stone or statue inside. Look! He talks about a place deep inside, which makes me think that it won’t be anywhere frequented by visitors. Keep your eyes peeled! It could be anywhere!”

James showed the book to his friends. “I’m sure that the crest we’re looking for will be the symbol on the cover. It’s the only crest we’re familiar with. We don’t have much time before the monk gets back. Let’s get looking!”

The three split up in different directions and carefully examined each of the statues that decorated the inside of the church. The lighting was splendid; it would be difficult to leave any stone unturned.

Richard went straight to the baldachin and the altar, arguably the most beautiful part of the Archbasilica. Despite looking closely, he didn’t find any strange symbol. To his left was the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament; with its four colossal columns in gilded bronze measuring twenty-three feet high, onlookers were left in no doubt as to the importance of the Eucharist. The columns date back to Roman times and are the only remains of the Basilica of Constantine that are still visible today.

Richard was startled when James spoke to him from behind.

“The altar was specially chosen to give the impression of maximum importance. If you look, it’s right in front of one of the basilica’s side entrances, which is the one most often used because it faces the city center and welcomes the pilgrims who come from Saint Mary Major.”

“Have you found anything?” asked James, interrupting his explanations.

“I’ve looked along the aisle and both sides of the pews; I haven’t found anything odd. The statues are beautiful, but the symbol doesn’t even appear at the foot of them. Maybe we’ve got the wrong place.”

“That’s impossible, the text is crystal clear. We have to keep looking until we find it.”

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.

“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.”

T
he 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.

“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:

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.