Apocalypsis 1.04 Baphomet Read online

  EPISODE 4

  BAPHOMET

  Lübbe Webnovel is an imprint of Bastei Lübbe GmbH & Co. KG

  Copyright © 2011 by Bastei Lübbe GmbH & Co. KG, Cologne, Germany

  Written by Mario Giordano, Cologne

  Translated by Diana Beate Hellmann, Los Angeles

  English version edited by Charlotte Ryland, London

  Editors: Friederike Achilles/Jan F. Wielpütz

  Artwork: © Dino Franke, Hajo Müller

  E-Book-Production: Dörlemann Satz, Lemförde

  ISBN 978-3-8387-1448-6

  All rights reserved

  No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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  XXXII

  * * *

  From: [email protected]

  To: [email protected]

  Date: May 13, 2011 06:24:31 GMT+01:00

  Subject: Discovery

  Priority: Highest

  Attachments: 5

  Encryption: S/MIME

  Dear Mrs. Tanaka,

  I hope this email reaches you in good health.

  I refer to your offer of September 17 last year on the occasion of our meeting in Rome. I hope that it is still valid, as I believe I have something that might be of interest to you.

  Two days ago, Padre Luigi Gattuso, special envoy to the Pope, asked me to analyze a small mineral sample. Without providing me with any information about the type and origin of the sample, he handed me a small sachet containing approximately 0.2g of dust abraded from a pale blue material. He asked me to conduct the analysis personally, preferably without any delay, and to treat this matter as strictly confidential.

  Since the Branciforti Institute has ample experience with conducting geochemical analyses for the Vatican, and that Don Luigi, as we call him here, is a well-known and highly respected man, who has helped me personally in the past with the treatment of a precarious personal situation, so to speak, I did not waste any time and began the examination of the sample immediately.

  The complete results are attached to this email.

  To put it in a nutshell: I am completely mystified.

  I subjected the material to all spectrometric examinations that our laboratory can conduct. After treating the mineral with hydrochloric acid I began with an ICP-AES and an ICP-MS. Afterwards, I subjected the solids to an electron probe microanalysis as well as to an x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. These tests were followed by a Mössbauer spectroscopy and an electron spin resonance spectroscopy to determine small concentrations of paramagnetic ions, as well as by an x-ray absorption spectroscopy and a neutron activation analysis. I tested the remaining parts of the sample under UV and laser radiation and under our on-site scanning electron microscope.

  None of these examinations resulted in a clear identification of the material. The sample behaves in part like a metal and in part like a mineral. It has a complex crystalline structure, and under a laser with an emission line of 442 nanometers (blue) it changes; or rather, it softens. The material’s behavior is in general extremely strange (see attached data). However, due to the lack of additional samples, I could not conduct any further analyses. I assume that we are dealing with a completely unknown synthetic material.

  I was not able to determine the precise age of the material. I would approximate a preliminary age range of between 5000 and 10,000 years. How is it possible that a material like this was developed 5000 years before our times???

  I do not have an answer to that question.

  However, I am convinced that the discovery of this material qualifies me for the award that you promised in the course of our conversation about the discovery of a new mineral or metal. I would be very grateful to you if you transferred the amount in question to my account, listed below.

  Sincerely,

  Giovanni Manzoni

  (Doctoral student)

  Istituto Dott. Branciforti

  Via Cineto Romano 62

  00156 Roma

  ITALY

  * * *

  XXXIII

  May 13, 2011, Carmelite Convent, Rome

  The fear that everything is just a side effect.

  The disappointment of a broken pledge.

  The pleasant anticipation of the first cappuccino.

  Doubts in God.

  »Peter! Wake up, Peter!«

  Peter woke in a panic, startled from his last dream. For a brief moment, he had no idea where he was. Only when he saw Don Luigi’s face and the wooden cross on the wall did it all come back to him. The spring sun was streaming through the window with unwavering brightness as if last night, as if the last days, had never happened.

  »What time is it?«

  »Six thirty.«

  »What? Damn it!«

  »You needed the sleep, Peter. Here…«

  Don Luigi handed him a hot cappuccino and a warm cornetto. Peter sat up.

  »I need a car. Money, documents. Shit, I won’t even make it to the Italian border – look at me!«

  He glanced down at himself. Since his arrest he had only been wearing a pair of light cotton pants and a shirt, which had once been white. Now his clothes were wrinkled and dirty and stained with sweat, blood and vomit.

  Don Luigi pointed at some clothes on one of the chairs. »The sisters were so kind as to get some things from your hotel.«

  »But isn’t the hotel under surveillance?«

  »Yes, but who pays attention to two Carmelite nuns? Don’t worry, Peter, no one followed them. They searched your room, though. Your laptop and your iPad were gone.«

  Peter drank his cappuccino and took a hearty bite from the cream filled croissant. The strong coffee helped him think.

  »I need to get to Clairvaux.«

  Don Luigi shook his head.

  »Forget about Clairvaux. I googled the abbey; it no longer exists. The only thing that’s left is a museum. The monastery was dissolved in 1791, and in 1808 it was converted into a prison. Today it is one of the most state-of-the-art high security prisons in France.«

  Don Luigi handed Peter the printout of a satellite photo of the abbey that he had found on the internet. The picture showed a number of smaller buildings around a yard with green areas, which corresponded to the layout of the former abbey. Behind this were several building complexes that took up most of the rest of the area. Peter could easily make out the silhouettes of watchtowers, cell blocks and divided yards. Walls everywhere.

  »Shit. And the museum?«

  »I got the museum’s director out of bed. She assured me that they have no handwritten documents in their museum. Philip IV dismantled the Order of the Knights Templar in 1307. Jacques de Molay and other Grand Masters of the Order were charged with heresy and sodomy and burned at the stake. The surviving Templars dispersed all over the world. Clairvaux Abbey was a major center for the Templars. The knights who lived there fled with whatever moveable property they could carry.«

  »Including the legendary treasure of the Templars.«

  »Well, it is unlikely that there was much of a treasure except for the documents. But I am convinced that the original prophecy of Malachy was one of them.«

  »Where did the Templars flee to, Padre?«

  Don Luigi made a vague gesture.

  »There are several legends about that. According to one of them, a fleet with the skull and crossbones emblem of the Templars on its sails left the port of La Rochelle under the command of Antonio Zeno, bound for America. This was about
ninety years after the end of the Order of the Temple. In 1558, a descendant of Antonio Zeno published an alleged map of the journey. According to that, the Templars even discovered America – long before Columbus did. But these are all conspiracy theories that you can find all over the internet.«

  »Do you have any idea, Padre?«

  Don Luigi shook his head sadly. Peter thought for a while.

  Finally he said, »Where is the computer?«

  In the office of the Carmelite nuns, Peter found two computers with fast internet connections. He had just opened a browser when Maria entered the room.

  »I just heard.« She sat down in front of the other computer immediately. »So what is it we’re looking for?«

  »Anything to do with the Templars,« Peter explained to her. »Any clue as to where they might have hidden the documents, even if it sounds crazy as hell. Check every nutty forum about conspiracy theories. Scream if you find something interesting.«

  »Oui, mon general,« Maria replied and saluted.

  Peter grinned at her. »Do you want me to explain to you how to use the computer?«

  »You can go to hell if you like. Ready, set – go!«

  Peter’s knowledge about the Knights Templar was rudimentary at best. The brief research that he conducted brought his knowledge at least to a level where he might have survived the first round of a game show. After a good half-hour, he shared the results with Maria.

  »Founded between 1118 and 1121 by Hugues de Payens and Godfrey de Saint-Omer, the Templars were at first just some kind of militia for the protection of the pilgrims and merchants who were streaming into the Holy Land after the First Crusade. They were probably a band of stinking mercenaries and no less dangerous than the highwaymen themselves. They received their name in memory of the Temple of King Solomon in Jerusalem. Until Hugues de Payens returns to France and talks to Bernard of Clairvaux. Some assume that Hugues de Payens discovered a great secret in Jerusalem, hidden there somewhere, and that Bernard desperately wanted to bring it into the Church’s possession. But whatever the reason, it’s at this stage that Bernard becomes the head marketing honcho of the Templars.«

  Maria grimaced in disapproval.

  »No kidding,« Peter continued, »the Templars as we know them from legends and books are an invention of Bernard of Clairvaux. He was a strict taskmaster. He reformed the Cistercian Order and showed no mercy in removing all ornaments and relics from the churches. Back to basics, so to speak. He was a hardliner, a heretics hunter, ordering the burning of books and instigating inquisition trials against anyone who rubbed him up the wrong way. In any case, Bernard devised 72 clauses to define the ideal behavior for these adventurers in the Holy Land, and these were strict rules. The Templar knights were to be monk-soldiers and had to wear white mantles without fur, and when they ate, two knights had to share one bowl. When they slept, two knights had to share one mattress and one blanket and they had to sleep dressed in shirt, breeches, shoes and belts. Meat, only three times a week. Ornate bridles or embellishments on the clothes were forbidden. No frippery, back to basics. But their weapons had to be in good shape at all times. Not for hunting, because that was also forbidden. A Templar was supposed to fight. But above all, these new knights had to be chaste. Stay away from women because women were deemed dangerous. A life in battle and repentance. How does that sound?«

  »Like a horde of stinking slaughterers,« Maria said.

  »And that’s exactly what they were. But under a strict leadership. Look at the seal of the Templars. It depicts two knights riding on one horse. The image was probably supposed to symbolize brotherly solidarity. But it might also be the reason for the rumors that later followed that the Templars were engaging in sodomite practices. It is said that they worshipped a fabled idol by the name of Baphomet and that they had obscure rituals, during which they kissed each other on the ass cheeks.«

  Maria did not comment on that. Peter showed her different illustrations of Baphomet from the Late Middle Ages.

  »Doesn’t look too Christian, does it? Later he was even equated with Satan. Anyway, it’s a hard life. There you are, a good Knight Templar devoting your entire workday to slaughtering Saracens and pagans, always with a Hail Mary on your lips, and come night you’re not even allowed to get hammered or look at a woman. While your crusader colleagues in the next-door tent get royally pissed and fuck until they drop. What a shitty life. But nobody cares because the Templars are growing, even though their first battle during the Siege of Damascus ends in a fiasco. Most of the Templars die. They say that the superstition of Friday the 13th has its roots in this event. Still, they continue to grow. Why? Because Bernard takes donations that were made to the Benedictine monasteries and simply passes them along to the Templars. Amazingly enough, the Templars stop fighting soon afterwards. They make themselves at home in the Temple of Jerusalem and they even strike up friendships with Muslims. A band of mercenaries who are so bored that they gradually begin to make their own laws and rituals, which are only mildly reminiscent of the strict Rule of the Knights. They invent the check. It’s the Middle Ages and all you need is a letter of credit from the Templars in your pocket and you can travel cash free through the Orient. But what happened to the big secret that Bernard believed was hidden in the Holy Land? Did they actually find it? Nobody knows. What we know is that over time they became so powerful and wealthy that Philip IV decided he’d had enough and began to level all kinds of accusations against the Templars. He disbanded the Order in 1307 and plundered all its possessions. If the Templars really did find a secret or a treasure in the Holy Land, then it was either lost or…«

  »… Or they had the presence of mind to bring it to a safe place,« Maria finished his sentence, »and I even know where that place is.«

  Peter stared at her. And it was obvious that Maria enjoyed his bafflement.

  »Just put yourself in their shoes: imagine you are a Templar from Clairvaux and you are desperate to go into hiding. You know that the Pope is on your side. Because Pope Clement V wants to avoid a trial against the entire Order of the Temple, as he used to be one of its supporters. It comes to a trial of strength between Philip IV and Clement V. And Clement is clever. In March of 1312, he simply dissolves the Order of the Templars. No Order, no trial. It all ends with the Inquiry into the Templars. In 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake in Paris. The Templars are expropriated of their property and it is given to the Knights of St. John. Of course, only after deduction of the costs and expenses of the inquiry as assessed by Philip and the other European kings, which means an outrageously huge price tag. Even though it is said that all of the Templars in France are arrested, only a handful of death sentences are executed. In Avignon, not a single one. And why?«

  Suddenly Peter remembered. »Because at that time, Avignon was the seat of the Papacy! This was the time of the schism!«

  »Exactly! Pope Clement V is sitting in Avignon and gives refuge to the Templars and their salvaged property.«

  Avignon, of all places. How far away is that? Nine hours? Ten?

  »It’s just a guess,« Maria added.

  »No, you’re right,« Peter said. »If the original prophecy still exists at all, then it’s highly likely that it is in Avignon.«

  »But how are you supposed to get to Avignon? That’s well over a ten-hour drive and you’re the subject of an international manhunt. So I will go there alone. By plane.«

  Do I see a glint of triumph in your eyes, Maria? Is this possible? Peter couldn’t believe it.

  »No way. Won’t happen. This is my problem.«

  »You don’t think that I can do it, do you?«

  »Damn it, Maria, that’s not the point. I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me.«

  Her face reddened and a vein rose in anger on her forehead.

  »Now listen to me very carefully, Peter Adam. Take your arrogant and patronizing attitude and stuff it up your, well, you know where. You’ve
already gotten me in trouble. I am well capable of taking care of myself, but as you might remember, I am even less safe in Rome than anywhere else in the world. And that’s why I will go to Avignon, either alone or with you, if you want to join me. Got it? Capisce? Dammit!«

  »Do you nuns actually pray every now and then, or do you just swear all the time?«

  »Piss off, Peter Adam.«

  »You will both go.«

  Don Luigi was standing in the door to the office. He seemed amused. »If we take your vision seriously, Peter, you don’t have much time left.«

  »What do you suggest?«

  A sly expression that Peter had seen before washed over Don Luigi’s face.

  »I made a few phone calls last night. It wasn’t easy but finally I was able to convince these people that it is in their personal interest to help us.«

  »Which ›people‹, Don Luigi?«

  »Perhaps it might be better for you to freshen up a bit. Get changed and I will explain everything to you.«

  Thirty minutes later, when Peter returned to the small parlor that the Carmelite nuns had made available to them, he was showered, wearing fresh clothes and already feeling much better. Don Luigi and Maria were waiting for him along with a man of around fifty with asian features who was wearing a black suit.

  »Peter, may I introduce you to Mohammed Al Naimi, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.« Don Luigi pointed at the man in the black suit who was scrutinizing Peter with an impenetrable expression on his face but without stretching out his hand or deigning to offer any other sign of politeness.

  »What is this all about?« Peter asked suspiciously.

  »His Excellency the Ambassador is so kind as to take you and Sister Maria to Avignon on a private jet belonging to His Royal Highness Prince Salman Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud. You don’t have to worry about passport controls. You will be traveling under diplomatic protection.«

  Peter eyed the Arab in the black suit with blatant suspicion. And it was obvious that the suspicion was mutual.