Code of Disjointed Letters: ( Doomsday Will Arise From the Past (9 page)

This question excited me and prompted me to jump in. “While working on the Qur’anic code, I thought about this issue a lot,” I said. “In fact, I may have even addressed this question precisely. If a message is written in nature by using universal constraints, like the code I suggested, it will be there as long as the universe exists. Take a number like
Pi
, which continues until eternity. If we encode a message in such an ocean of information, the message can go to the Andromeda galaxy or to any edge of the universe and it will stay the same: stable. So the information remains as long as the universe exists.”

“I would try a different approach,” Feryal said. “I would write the message in the place where time doesn’t function: on the border of extinction, such as the entrance to a black hole, to guarantee that the message and information stay there as long as time and the universe allow.”

Ender considered our comments thoughtfully. “These are good statements,” he said, “but they still don’t cover all eventualities. The universe is in a loop, and as such, if it assumes a form in which the same rules don’t apply, your message will vanish.”

A period of silence followed until the boy spoke again. “If the message can be written inside of a complex structure that is able to exist, overcome and adapt to every situation, we can have a dynamic means of message transmission. I posit that there can be a possibility of carrying a secret message in our very DNA which allows us to go beyond time and our universe. As you know, life does anything it can to survive.”

“Whoa! Even I hadn’t thought about it that way,” Feryal said.

“So what would the message be? If the reason of our presence is that message, what is it?” I asked.

Ender laughed at that. “How can I answer that question? I can only make inferences about these dimensions, and I am only one person with one mind. How can an electron that transmits only a portion of a small electrical signal in a telephone conversation know the entirety of that conversation? Assume, for example, that you are a tiny LED light on a dashboard, occasionally flashing. You will neither know the whole image nor which part of the message you support.”

The conversation had tired us all out at that point. Hidir and Feryal got up to head to their rooms while I remained thinking about what Ender had just described. As I was about to go back to my room, Ender followed closely. “You may not be aware of it,” he said quietly, “but you have been badly beaten. Take care of yourself. Don’t let the things you know but don’t remember prevent you from protecting yourself.”

I laughed. “If she hadn’t left, I would think Gizem was talking to me now. Did she put you up to this?” I said.

Ender smiled at my joke, then grew more serious. “Just pay attention to Fatin,” he said before he went to his room.

I didn’t know what Ender was referring to, so, in my room, I dismissed his warning and tried to think of a strategy for the competition. The easiest idea was to poison Fatin and sell him the antidote, but I knew that couldn’t go beyond a thought.

The next afternoon, it was again my turn to be interviewed by the host. So I sat again in front of the cameras and talked about my thoughts on the competition and about Gizem’s elimination. As my mind was occupied with the next challenge, I didn’t insist on talking as much about my book and the code. When asked about the other competitors, I avoided the subject by giving wishy-washy answers. I expertly navigated questions intended to trap me, such as what had happened to my lip. By the time the hourglass was empty, I had grown bored and I slipped out of the room.

When I went into the lounge, Ender and Hidir, the cleric, were there. Hidir was talking while sketching something on a paper, and the boy was cheerfully listening to him. The cleric seemed like he was talking to his grandchild.

“The Qur’an is the greatest miracle and was always directed to him. When our Prophet was asked to show a miracle, he always showed it. People always wanted more, and they studied this holy book for centuries. They still do. In the process, one of the discoveries that has been made about the book is the repetition of words.”

“The word
day
is used three hundred and sixty-five times,” Hidir explained. “The word
days
, thirty times; the word
month
is used twelve times;
punishment
, one hundred and seventeen times; the word
forgive
is used twice that much;
the world
, one hundred and fifteen;
the devil
, eighty-eight;
angels
, eighty-eight;
heaven
, seventy-seven;
hell
, seventy-seven times;
return
, seventy-five;
eternity
, seventy times;
the sun
, thirty-three times; and
nimbus
is used thirty-three times. Those are only a few examples. Even the word
land
is used thirteen times; and the word
sea
, thirty-two times. That is consistent with the current ratio of
land
to
sea
on Earth, 71.111 percent.”

After silently returning to his drawing for a moment, Hıdır, turned back to the boy and continued. “As we know, in the Qur’an, twenty-nine suras begin with one or more symbolic letters. Mukataa letters, known as the disjointed letters, are also called the beginning letters. Fourteen letters out of twenty-nine in Arabic form the mukataa letters:
Ayn, Sin, Kaf, Nun, Ra, Ya, Ta, Ha, Elif, Lam, Mim, He, Sad
, and
Kefar
.”

“When one looks at the usage of the letter
Nun
in the Kaleem sura,” he continued, “he or she can see the rhyme with the letter
Nun
in 88.8 percent of the verses. That rhymes with 84.6 percent of the sura, Suara, 90.32 percent of the sura, Neml, and 92.05 percent of the sura, Kasas.

“When one considers the whole Qur’an, one can see that there is a rhyme with the letter
Nun
in 50.08 percent of the book. In other words, more than half of the verses in the Qur’an end with
Nun
. It has been impossible to make a rhyme with a single vowel in more than half of the text in any literary work. This is not just true for Arabic; it applies to all languages.

“When a general review of the Qur’an is done in terms of rhyme, it is seen that about eighty percent of the rhyming is formed by three vowels (
n
,
m
, and
a
) formed by
Elif, Mim, Ya
, and
Nun
. Except for the letter
Nun
, thirty percent of verses are rhymed with
Mim, Elif
, or
Ya
.

“In a poem with two hundred to three hundred lines, the rhyme formed by two or three vowels is enough for the work to be considered a masterpiece. However, when considering the length of the Qur’an, the information it contains, and its wisdom, one can better understand how phenomenal such a rhyme pattern is. In this regard, Arabic language experts define the Qur’an as absolutely inimitable.”

Ender was eagerly listening to the cleric. I wanted to interrupt and ask Ender his opinions on the issue, but I kept my silence so as not to disturb their conversation and to avoid treating the boy like a freak. When Fatin came into the lounge, I used that as an excuse to go to my room.

When I woke up early the next day, I was anxious. The competition was beginning to agitate me. Fortunately, it was Elif’s day to visit and realizing it, I grew excited. I had never been away from her for this long, and, in her absence, I realized how important she was to me. I really missed her.

When I entered the interview room, I ignored the cameras and the observer and went directly to the opposite side of the table and hugged Elif tightly. I didn’t let her go for a long time. It was as if I wanted to refresh my memory and fill it with her.

After we sat down, I told her how much I missed her, but Elif had noticed the wounds on my face and was distracted by them. She didn’t listen when I told her it wasn’t a fight, but an accident, and that nothing serious had happened. I knew she wanted to tell me to leave the contest, but she only looked at me and tenderly touched the wound on my lip. Although there was longing between us and a lot to talk about, the time was over before we knew it. But this time, I could hardly leave her. The contest had taught me that I couldn’t stay apart from her for that long.

I went into the lounge feeling frustrated. The other contestants were there now in force. Hıdır was in the corner, mumbling something with a book in his hand. Fatin was staring into space, and Ender and Feryal were chatting in the large armchairs. I barely heard what the professor was talking about. Ender was the only one who didn’t look bored.

“No matter how this competition ends,” Feryal said, “I’m glad I met you and got to know you, and I’m really thankful for what you’ve shown me,” she said.

“I’m really happy to be here and to have met all of you, too,” Ender said, smiling. Then he laughed. “Even you, warlock Uncle Fatin.”

Fatin snapped out of his pensive gaze and did something unbelievable. Looking at the boy, he cracked a smile. I think it was even a sincere one.

“One last question for you,” Feryal continued. “There was a famous experiment where photons pass in quantum—”

“
Too long— ” Ender interrupted her with some weariness in his voice. “I’m too tired to fully explain it. But, in brief, I can tell you that things happening now not only affect the future but also the past. However, as we have a brain structure that is accustomed to the perception of moving forward in time, we suppose that the past is fixed and unchanging.

“In other words,” Ender continued as Hidir and I came over to listen. “If we traveled in time and tried to go back in time, we would always encounter a different past. The history and past would never be the same as we remembered it because the past is changeable.

“It is a well-known fact that when entropy directs the timeline toward the future, it is actually preventing current events from affecting that future. More precisely, the increase in entropy and its continuous effect prevent an eternal future. So, if it affects the past now, then the past also can’t last forever. Whether we move forward or backward in time, we always go toward the future, the changing new. We always move forward on top of a new wave, no matter the direction. That’s why the future is only lived, and the past can only be remembered.”

The talk had begun to surpass me, and I began to drift off and think about the competition. I had been too idle and, probably, no one would want to buy my product. My anxious thoughts were interrupted by another announcement from Fatin.

“Like the last time,” he said. “I already know well in advance what I’m going to offer you: something you will desire and want to buy immediately. It serves my purpose to declare it in advance as I will enjoy watching you struggle helplessly. During the challenge, I am going to put a spell on you with my jinns, and in order not to lose, you are going to ask me for the magic words that will break the spell.” He laughed cruelly now. “Whoever’s begging impresses me the least will not receive my blessing.”

We were petrified when he left the lounge, the sound of his evil laughter trailing behind him.

The competition night came in all its glory and, in our costumes, we all anxiously waited in the lounge.

Announcements and reminders of important events from the last week were cast onto a giant screen. Good-luck messages from the people supporting us were scattered throughout the broadcast.

There was no need for narration from the host or over-the-top music; the heat was already on. If it had been a competition of who was more anxious, I would already have won. Later, the host and the staff left us alone in the lounge. Dr. Feryal Özel sat with her arm around Ender while Hıdır, the cleric, sat alone quietly. I stood silently and waited.

At the sound of the gong, everyone turned and looked at Fatin. He wandered around with confidence, drawing something on the floor and opening his hands slightly as esoteric words spilled from his lips. I saw again the thin gray smoke as it rose from his hands and grew larger, and then began to move over us ominously.

Feryal and Ender took the cue and held up some device in their hands. The device buzzed, the sound increased, and a transparent wall formed by a spherical blue light wrapped around them. The thin gray smoke hit the wall and could only wrap around it. They were safe. For the first time, I saw anxiety in Fatin’s eyes.

Suddenly, I was startled by his gaze. It was like that of a frightened, aggressive animal. The gray smoke was already headed in my direction, and I could hardly see the warlock through the smoke. Short of breath, I tried desperately to escape, but I couldn’t control my feet. I saw my hands change colors, turning dark as if I had a strange skin disease. I couldn’t hear anything but a roar and my eyesight quickly deteriorated. Fortunately, Hıdır appeared by my side. Thanks to his prayer and the focused movements of his hands, the smoke around me grew thinner, and I found a little strength to take a deep grateful breath.