"History only became more challenging when it became less neat. Every time I pick up a book or a document from the past, I'm in a battle with people who lived hundred of years ago. They have their secrets and obsessions--all the things they won't or can't reveal. It's my job to discover and explain them."
"What if you can't? What if they defy explanation?"
"...Nobody really wants to keep secrets, not even the dead. People leave clues everywhere, and if you pay attention, you can piece them together."
"Why the history of science, then?" he continued.
"The challenge of great minds, I suppose?" Common sense told me to remain silent, but the knotted threads of my own secrets began to loosen. "I wanted to know how humans came up with a view of the world that had so little magic in it," I added abruptly. "I needed to understand how they convinced themselves that magic wasn't important...
"I saw the logic they used and the death of a thousand cuts as experimental scientists slowly chipped away at the belief that the world was an inexplicably powerful, magical place. Ultimately they failed, though. The magic never really went away. It waited, quietly, for people to return to it, when they found the science wanting."
Deborah Harkness
A Discovery of Witches
* * * *
Albert Pike, the head of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the 1800s, announced that,
"Sirius still glitters in our Lodges as the Blazing Star (l'Etoile Flamboyante)."
. . . .
..::The Marquis de Blanchford also relayed that a nameless society protects the lineage of Dagobert II from further assassination. And relayed that the reason these genes were being protected was that their value came from the intermarriages of several distinguished ancient Israelites and superhuman extraterrestrials from the Sirius star system::..
. . . .
"Where did the plasmate [VALIS] originally come from?"
After a pause Fat said, "From another star system."
"You wish to identify that star system?"
"Sirius," Fat said.
* * * *
Emlyn couldn't let Daryl go. Not like that, tearing off alone into the cold, dark storm. No, she sighed, as she went to get her own coat, she would follow, and try to act as interpreter to Athena, or referee, when Daryl surprised his neighbor with his newest brand of wild guesses and jangled his skeleton keys to the secrets of the universe at her...
After having walked all the way nearly blinded by the storm; Em kept her head down, trying to make her way in a head-wind that nearly took her head off. Eventually she arrived quite sodden at Athena's cottage. She received no answer after knocking several times, and so tried the door...
...just in time to hear Daryl, engaged in animated discourse with Athena, proclaim enigmatically,
'--Horselover Fat!'
Oh, dear, thought Em...Daryl has at last gone 'Round That Bend for certain. However, Athena appeared quite unruffled, and seemed to be somehow able to interpret the odd phrase.
'Phil Dick? How so?' Athena was shaking out Daryl's wet raincoat before hanging it on a peg in the hallway. 'Ah, Em! We were expecting you...here, let me take your things...'
Emlyn hadn't even known she, herself, would be here, and wondered how they knew she would be...but, nevermind.
'"Horseloverfat"?' she enquired, emerging from her own rain cocoon.
Daryl shook his wet head as he removed his hat, hung it over his coat, and ran both hands through his hair. 'Philip K. Dick's alias..."Philip" means "lover of horses" and "Dick", his last name in German, can be interpreted as "fat". He was a 20th century science fiction author, and visionary.'
'One of my personal favorites!' Athena smiled, 'But, do take a seat, while I fix us some tea...'
Emlyn made herself comfortable on Athena's well-cushioned sofa, a patchwork crazy-quilt tossed over one end which made Em suddenly homesick for her wee room at Mrs. Murphy's...back in her own time.
She studied the cozy parlor, noting the owl motifs about. Sacred to Athena, she recalled. Over the mantle hung an oil painting of an owl, wings spread, under a crescent moon, while a woman strode through an olive orchard beneath. She carried a long spear and wore a peaked helmet and a long milk white flowing gown...
Even the wooden mantlepiece sported carved circles which fanned out from the center, looking much like owl eyes. As Em's own eyes adjusted to the muted golden firelight, she discerned a carved wooden owl peering down at her from the edge of the mantle.
Daryl wasn't so easily mollified, though; he chased after Athena into the kitchen where Em could hear him railing at her with pertinacious periphrasis.
'It all makes perfect sense now! How could I have forgotten?!' Daryl was rambling, Em realized, sitting back and shaking her head, as she cocked an ear their way...
'VALIS! VALIS!!' He was shaking a knowing finger in the air as he paced the kitchen floor, Athena dodging his antics as she smoothly prepared tea.
Daryl whirled about, 'You do have it, don't you? Gads, why didn't I bring my copy...?' He stared wild-eyed at the front door...
'Oc, Daryl, of course! It's in my library...somewhere. You need it now?' Athena stood, hands on hips, trying to sort Daryl.
'Yes...no. Hm...' Daryl paced about, staring at the floor, '...yes, it would be nice, if you could locate it, ah, later, sometime...' He stood still at last, regarding Athena. 'Thank you, for the...tea,' he reached an arm about her neat waist, 'and, for putting up with me...'
'Da nada, Diego...but do give me room to move, a moment, would you, dearie? Thanks...' Daryl, smiling at his benign banishment, wandered out into the parlor, hands in pockets for the nonce.
Smiling down at Emlyn, he divined, 'You no doubt think me quite mad, si?--Or, at least,' he held up two finger's worth, 'just that much more so?'
'Tea.' Athena set a tray down upon the large square trunk which served as her tea table.
'Such an interesting old chest!' Em exclaimed.
'Um.' Athena agreed, 'It is quite old.' She poured for all, then sat upon the sofa's other end and set a mug next to a wing chair beside the fireplace. 'Do have a seat, won't you, Daryl?'
'It's full of secrets you know,' he raised his eyebrows at Emlyn as he obediently lowered his lanky frame onto the cushions and knocked upon the wooden chest top.
Athena's eyes rolled about the heavens, 'Don't listen to him! You'll have her sneaking over here to find out now!'
'I wouldn't!' Em sat up, indignant.
'I'm teasing.' Athena sipped demurely. 'No, you've enough secrets of your own. And, then Daryl's are so handy, there, also...yes, the House should keep you busy for some time.' Athena sighed, shaking her head slowly. 'Secrets...'
Daryl poked about Athena's fire, then sat forward, staring into the flames. 'Secrets...all so clear to me now, and I'd completely forgotten...so much,' he murmured, barely audible over the crackling blaze.
'Care to share?' Athena crossed her legs and began cracking pecans.
Daryl, fired-up once more, stood. 'Your library. May I?'
'Be my guest...' Athena waved a lazy hand, looking at Emlyn as if to say, that's Daryl, all over...
Daryl took his mug off with him down the hallway. Athena turned smiling at Em. 'And how are you then, Emlyn, luv?'
Em just laughed, shaking the raindrops from her hair. 'I'm surviving!' She sighed. 'Trying to keep up.'
'Ha. Yes. Not easy, with that one. Have a nut.' She pushed the pecan-bowl over. '...Speaking of which...'
She glanced over her shoulder as Daryl returned and setting his mug on the mantle, gazed earnestly at the open book in his hand.
'Hmm, no,' he turned pages with a quick, impatient finger, 'no--wait! Listen: "the ultimate Merovingian goal is to reclaim the Benjaminite throne of Jerusalem taken from them by Jehovah, and given to the House of David"...blah, blah..."Benjamin and Benjamites comprise the greater part of the Merovingian bloodline, a mixture of the Meroites of Ancient Egypt." We're getting closer...'
Daryl turned a page; '"The Freemasons tell a very curious story about the origin of their order and of civilization. They believe, in a mythology with roots dating back to the time of the Sumerians, that civilization on Earth was established by--', Daryl paused, holding up a hand, '--divine visitors from the star system Sirius, which they symbolically equate with the Egyptian god triunity of Isis, Osiris, and Horus.
'"The home system of these alien visitors, the star Sirius, was of such significance to the Egyptians that they based their calendar and the alignment of their temples on the star's rising times."'
Daryl frowned, paging through with renewed gusto: 'Still, something...Ah! Here it is: "Gerard de Sede, in a remarkable book called La Race Fabuleuse, claims that the Merovingians were descended from matings between extraterrestrials from Sirius and the Tribe of Benjamin in ancient Israel, and other notions about them are equally remarkable."'
Daryl shut the book with a snap. 'There you have it!' He looked triumphant. The women looked rather casually amazed. Daryl resumed his seat, and bent his head to his mug, whilst regarding them with one eyebrow raised, '...In a nut-shell, you might say...' His lopsided grin was back.
'That is one Titanic nut-shell, indeed, cara...' Athena raised brows in turn, then smiled, tucking her long legs underneath her, whilst she, chin in hand, gave Daryl her most indulgent smile. 'You know how we love the combustible energy of your white-hot inspiration!'
Daryl gave half and eyeroll at that, and sat back then, perusing the odd tome before him.
Emlyn meanwhile, was sitting up frowning. '...So, is this the writing of your Mr. Fat, then? Or, Mr. Dick, rather? I'm somewhat confused...'
Daryl barked a short laugh. 'Ah, no, Em...' He shut the large book, and leaned forward, elbows on knees and steepled his fingers before him, ala Holmes, Em bethought...
'Phil Dick figured out much of this particular subject, back in the latter half of the 20th century when he was smitten by a rose-colored light which imparted a sudden and intensive download of information relating to the Gnostics; an 'anamnesis', or remembering what is forgotten; for, as Plato noted, 'learning is a form of remembering!''
'Indeed? Incredible! Perhaps he was, touched by the gods...' Emlyn was now hooked. Daryl had good bait...
Daryl poured another round of tea then sat back, crossing his legs. He lifted the large hardcover volume, and extracted a small paperbound book hidden underneath, and began riffling through the pages.
'Ah. Yes. You see, Em, back in 1945, a great find was made; the Nag Hammadi codices, preserved in jars in a desert cave...for two thousand years, at least. These were, in the main, labeled apocrypha, as they were mostly gnostic texts! We had precious little to go on until then. And, even afterward, the Church made certain to keep these, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, out of the reach of the general public.'
'You mean this information, what was written in the codices, was not published?' Emlyn nearly sprang out of her chair, 'Oh, Daryl! And, why did you not tell me all this before?!'
1945, Em thought, and still not available to the public in 2076? What was so volatile about these texts that would warrant such a quarantine?
Daryl looked up from the pages at her. 'I'm sure I must have mentioned some things, you know...I didn't realize that you were that interested! You have seemed rather...ah, skittish, shall we say, regarding our excursion with the Cup, and everything relating to it!'
Em sat back then, looking down into her teacup.
'I was just concerned...about you, mostly, Daryl. I am, naturally, most intrigued about...what happened, with us. And the Cup.'
Daryl bit his lip and opened the paperback once more.
'Here. This is Fat's take on things, and it only makes sense, once you understand the gnostic viewpoint--'
'Perhaps--' Athena held up a warning finger, 'you might review somewhat? For those who just entered The Classroom?'
'Ah, of course, well...' Daryl put a finger in the page and closed the book, looking off into a dark corner and gathering his thoughts.
'Basically, the gnostics, after taking stock of the world about them then, decided that the god of the Hebrews, Jehovah, was a madman, and essentially evil; after wiping out cities filled with women and children, innocents all, and asking those closest to him, like Abraham, to blood-sacrifice his son, etcetera, and raving about being a jealous god; obviously, his fragile ego couldn't bear any others-- and so, what else could they think?
'They decided that Jehovah had to be a minor godling who had gone insane.' (Both Em and Athena looked at one another and smiled with satisfaction).
'And, that wisdom, Hagia Sophia, could be learned, through knowledge, or 'gnosis'--supposedly given to 'those with eyes to see and ears to hear'.' Daryl frowned then, and rubbed his chin in thought. 'This is what happened to Phil Dick, when he was, as you say, touched by the gods...' Daryl finished his tea and poured a drop more, rubbing his forehead in thought.
'Although, there was, in the Hypostasis of the Archons, put forth the idea that not all humankind were capable of understanding.' Daryl sighed. 'I believe that is still a valid assessment.'
'We poor pilgrims here, are quite capable. And impatient for understanding, O Mouth That Roared!' Athena smiled sedately at him, spreading her arms about the sofa back.
'Very well! Listen then and heed the wisdom of Fat!' Daryl raised a rabbinical finger heavenward and opened the book once more:
'"For two thousand years the single rational element in our world had slumbered. In 1945 it woke up, came out of its dormant seed state and began to grow. It grew within himself and presumably in other humans...this was interrupted by the Empire. THE EMPIRE NEVER ENDED." --Obviously,' Daryl glanced up at them, 'and it is still on the same blind track to nowhere. And the Roman Empire, with its iron fist, the Church, to make certain that gnosis was never allowed to take root and sow seed; hence the Inquisition, the slaughter of the Cathars, the witches and the Templars.'
'So the Templars were involved...' Emlyn tapped a finger on her teacup, musing.
'If you allow me free rein of your library, perhaps I can,' Em stared meaningfully at the Guardian of the Stacks.
'Hear, hear, Em! That's telling him!' Athena grinned. 'By the way,' she put a gentle hand on Em's arm, 'you are welcome to visit me here, and to research my library anytime.'
'...Brilliant...absolutely brilliant...' Daryl stared into his paperback, slowly shaking his head. 'And everyone thought Dick was insane. Well, he had his problems, and died much too young...but, he charted the Unknown Country, and the universe within...a 20th century pioneer of the mind, just as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were pioneers of science in the 19th.'
'May I...?' Emlyn held forth her hand to Daryl, who looked at her, somewhat surprised, and then frowned, closing VALIS.
'You did say, I needed to study.'
Daryl cocked his head to one side, 'Yes. I did say that. Tell me, just what insights did you discover from reading Nicholas de Vere, then?'
Uh-oh. Touche', Daryl.
'I...oh, Daryl!' Em would not allow this arbitrary supervision, despite the fact that she had secreted that particular volume out of Daryl's library rather underhandedly. 'Diego...you must either allow me access to this 'gnosis' of which you speak, or not. Would you be happy to have had books proscribed thus? Given with one hand, taken away, or hidden, at least, with the other? 'Knowledge is protection', so you have always said...'
Daryl made a wry face and handed over his Dick with a sigh. 'No, I wouldn't. I'd have done exactly the same, Em. And, alright then; I won't edit your research materials. Mea culpa, filla.'
'Thank you.' Emlyn crossed her legs, and paged through parts of VALIS.
'PKD wrote other books on this subject,' Athena informed her. 'It was more or less a trilogy.'
'Naturally,' Daryl leaned back, more at ease now his book-thirst had been slacked. 'Once one becomes enlightened; enlightenment becomes one's be-all and end-all.'
Finding Horselover Fat to be quite a meaty bite of latter 20th century fare, Emlyn set him aside for the nonce, and poured more tea for herself. 'I feared that...well, I thought that you were planning another foray, Daryl...off, well, off with the Cup again.'
Daryl's feet were now propped up on the rim of the chest; an elbow resting on his raised knee and his hand partially covering his mouth. 'Actually,' he mumbled, 'I was.'
'I don't think that's wise, Daryl. Do you?' Em regarded him seriously.
'I don't know...' His feet slipped to the floor. 'I certainly didn't enjoy losing my head to Yeats, or whoever he was back then...but--we learned something.'
'Did we? Did you? Perhaps you should have learned better!' Emlyn was becoming rather pink.
'Oh, ho!' Daryl stood and put another log on the fire. 'Now who is censoring others?!' He stood at the fireplace, one arm on the mantlepiece, gazing into the flames as was his customary wont. He flickered a fast glance at Em and back. 'I only worry about you, as well, filla. What sort of guardian would I be if it were known I had foisted upon you tomes-out-of-time dealing with, well, some might say, rather unsavory subjects...'
'I realize this as well, Daryl. And you know I fear the Cup, mostly because you had such a difficult time rallying afterwards! You didn't see yourself the way we did! We had no idea if you would ever come 'round!'
Emlyn sat forward, clasping her hands tightly. 'We can't lose you, Daryl! Our little ship...with Jack, and I, and Al, and Athena...we'd all be sunk without our Captain...'
'"Captain, my Captain..."', began Athena, grinning over at Daryl once more.
'Hush now, none o' that! Lincoln, I'm not.' He ran a hand through his locks, and sighed. 'I'm not...all that. I simply try to do my best in whatever situation.'
'That's all we, any of us, can do,' Athena commented.
'Yes, but please do not put the onus all on me...I'm hardly the one to shoulder the weight of constant Right Action. I aspire to Buddha-land, but, a buddha I decidedly am not.' He shook his head. 'You are all going to have to become marshals of your own Army of One. I, am still following my Call. And if that Call leads to the Cup, then unto the Cup I must go.'
'Fair enough, and you're quite right, Daryl.' Athena agreed. 'We are all adults here. And, we will all look out for one another. And we will all help one another. And, we are all perfectly capable of standing on our own.' She nodded at Em, who smiled back. 'And, we're all quite capable of deciding what to read, and what not.'
'Yes, yes...' Daryl muttered, a small smile sneaking onto his lips.
'So. When do I get to see this Cup of yours in action?' Athena asked. 'It is Lughnasa...'
Daryl's attention was all upon the blazing flames before him, as he lounged, hovering over the hearth. Athena's mantle clock struck the hour of 9 p.m. Daryl raised his head and regarded them both.
'Lughnasa...yes. Perfect! How about tonight? --Here...?' A slow smile began to cross his features. 'At midnight.'
. . . .
WATCH AND LISTEN!
Philharmonic - Mendelssohn - Overture to Die schöne Melusine, Op. 32
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dv80u1_z3s
