Chapter Six

Date: January 12 1996

Location: Hong Kong

“Here intelligence comes in. Let him who has the mind for it calculate the number of the beast, for it is a mans number, and his number is 666.”             John: Revelation 13:18

Julie Pierce sat in the soft balcony chair of the five-star hotel room and looked at the priest Aldo Dominique opposite her. She noted that he was only quite a young man for a priest. His jet-black wavy hair and sharp olive skin features were handsome and judging by his name either South American or some sort of Latino she guessed.

She was not sure she had heard what he had just said correctly.

‘Did he say prophecies?’ She looked at him concern growing in her gut. ‘Was he serious,’ she thought, as he stared at her in earnest?

“It is all happening now Miss Pierce, as predicted and the world could be in great danger, unless…”

            “Unless…” Julie urged.

            “Unless Miss Pierce, we change the events of the future that have already happened.”

            “What do you mean ‘already happened’,” she asked, starting to think maybe now was a good time to leave?

            Aldo saw the look of apprehension in her face.

            ‘I better back off a little maybe and do some explaining first,’ he thought, knowing he could not afford to scare her off.

            He began again, in a more subdued tone.

            “Miss Pierce, first let me explain a little about what the Genesis Brotherhood is and what we are doing, so you can understand better what we know.”

            “That’s probably a good idea, “she said, deciding she would give him another chance.

            The priest took a sip of his water before he continued.

            “Miss Pierce, the philosophy of our brotherhood is very different to most in the religious community. For a start, we accept that religion has a somewhat jaded history and that most religions are guilty, in one way or another, of misinformation. Our group believes that both theology and science play shared roles in life and we encourage that the truth be told, and heard, on both sides.”

            “That’s refreshing at least,” Julie interrupted, then looked at his blank expression awkwardly, “honesty, I mean.”

            Aldo knew from experience, that to talk about extreme belief, especially when it was religion, often invaded the comfort zone of many people and he could see that Julie was most likely one of those. ‘I will need to tread carefully so as not to scare her off. Incredibility will no doubt be my worst enemy.’

            Aldo usually struggled to explain to people in short what his beliefs were and what research the Brotherhood was involved in. ‘Unfortunately, life and existence are complex topics and there are no easy answers. Everyone wanted easy answers.’  It annoyed him no end when people making small talk, would ask, so ‘as a matter of fact’, to explain his beliefs. ‘It just simply was not possible.’ He could only reflect on how Father Cisco Viventti had explained it to him.

            Viventti became his mentor in the seminary and had the ability to make everything seem so clear and purposeful. After meeting Viventti, everything from then on had a reason and that simple fact became the basis for his very existence.

            Viventti not only introduced him to the truth, but he also brought him into the ‘Brotherhood of Genesis’; a group of fellow priests who were very different from the normal. They were made up of scientists and scholars of all vocations, and they had a quest. Since that time, Aldo had made this quest his life’s work.

            It was during this period; he had learnt so much about so many cultures. The peaceful beauty of the oriental faiths, the raw paganism of jungle witchcraft and voodoo, the beauty and wisdom of the Koran, and even the true origins of his own Christian bible. The lack of prejudice at Genesis had given them all divine purpose and for Aldo, new meaning.

He remembered so clearly Viventti’s opening address to his class, on that very first day.

“We have crossed many barriers of east and west philosophies that relate to our actions and origins, and we do not preach from one bible, as such accepting the existence throughout history of many great men and women who have each played an important, almost divine role, in the development of modern civilisation. Some were wise architects of culture and human development, such as Jesus, Moses, Confucius, Mohammed and Ghandi, while others were misguided prophets of destruction such as Hitler, Genghis Khan, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung. They did not just happen upon the world by chance; they were all part of a divine plan. You are now a part of that same plan,”

Aldo had been shocked at first but then gradually began to see the obvious wisdom of having an open mind. It had all seemed so wild and fanciful then but now he had seen the truth for himself. The young priest paused for a moment, reflecting on what Viventti had said and took another sip of water from his glass before continuing.

            ” We have studied the origins of mankind since as early as the building of Stonehenge, through to mankind’s intrepid explorations into the far reaches of outer space,” he continued, speaking to Julie just as Viventti had spoken to him all those years ago, “we believe in the destiny and the ability of the human mind to traverse both time and space. We accept that there are many things man cannot yet comprehend and probably our greatest attribute, is that we do not discount the possibilities of science or religion, without first complete investigation.”

            His eyes were unblinking and stared directly at the reporter with an intensity that was beginning to be a bit unnerving for her. He sensed her uneasiness and wondered whether he should continue or not. Viventti’s words rang in his mind.

            “We believe in God, and we believe in God as a most entire entity, both as part of our origins and our destinies, and both during our lives and after our death. We even regard evil as part of that entire entity, at balance with good and all part of the omnipotent entity of a Universal creator.”

            Viventti had made him a little uneasy with his opening sermon and the last thing he wanted now was to alienate Julie Pierce. He needed her as an ally. He thought he better cut it short.

            “I guess that really sums up what we believe. There is and always will be a balance, and if the balance is disrupted, we believe there can only be chaos.”

            The priest paused and looked squarely at the reporter. Julie took another drink from her whisky.

            “Okay,” she said softly, “I have an open mind.”

            “So, I should tell you more,” Dominique asked, hoping now she was ready for a bit more?

            Julie smiled, which to Aldo was a signal he could continue.

            “I have spent the last two years in Africa searching for the origins of mankind. I believe quite simply that when you find the beginning, you often find the answer to the end.”

            He took another drink of his water as he felt his whole mouth beginning to seize up. He wondered if it was the effect of the heat, or just the effect this girl was having on him.

            “The rapid advancements of our modern world have led us to be concerned about the events of the near future and their seemingly interpretable connection to so many predictions over the last two thousand years. If these prophecies are to be accepted as even remotely credible, they seem to culminate around about the end of this millennia, and that Miss Pierce, is not very far away.”

            The young reporter took another sip of whisky and watched the wide-eyed priest with a degree of apprehension. He was indeed handsome, she observed, but there was something about his eyes that she found unsettling. Was it obsession, or radicalism, she could sense something that shifted like a shadow just beneath the surface of their Mediterranean blueness?

            Although conscious of her stare, the priest continued undaunted.

            “We are searching for truth among the prophecies of all religions, and we believe we are close to a discovery that will affect the future of our world,” he said, with a degree of triumph, “when certain events occur soon, that have been predicted, we will have concrete evidence of the reliability of our research. We would like to share this with you, Miss Pierce. You and your newspaper, as such, like an outside impartial observer.”

            Father Aldo Dominique stared directly at the journalist. Again, she noticed the shadows as she stared into his eyes.

            When he spoke again it was in a soft almost secretive tone.

            “Miss Pierce, many of the ancient scriptures we have analysed connect the end of the world as we know it to the rise of another great leader. Some of the prophecies describe this person as the new Messiah, others describe it as a deception, ‘The Great Deceiver’, ‘The Serpent’ and some, accept a combination of both,” he paused, as if reluctant to say the next words,” the majority refer to this as the coming of ‘The Beast’.”

            “And what do you believe,” she asked softly, not sure if she really wanted the answer?

“Miss Pierce, we have researched a great deal with the possibilities of precognitive experience, and we have found that in most cases there was a great deal of accuracy in these visions. This would lead us to believe that events that do unfold before us, in some way, have in fact already occurred.”

She looked frustrated that he had not answered her question and sighed.

            ” I know this is confusing and long winded, but you must understand first, it is not a matter of what we believe that is important.”             He remembered back again