The Celtic Conspiracy (34 page)

“Ladies and gentlemen, none of us in this world can do anything without it affecting everyone else. Many things that we have assumed to be reversible are no longer so. The hierarchies of our societal order have disenfranchised people. We need people with self-determination and a sense of personal responsibility. Our highly lauded efficiency and material growth is misguided. Technology is no longer the answer to our problems, and the next new thing is not always better than the tried and true. We cannot continue to live as if the future is irrelevant to our present.

“Out of respect for our judiciary, I will make no statement on the current hearing against the Vatican other than to say that we all have claim to historical truth, and we are duty bound to take note of this. We have built a culture on convictions, whose effects we are now beginning to feel and which could lead to our destruction. If we are not ready to create something that will
produce an uncompromising balance between nature, technology, and faith, it will no longer be a question of faith on how long we will continue to survive. It is most likely no accident that the testimony of this ancient culture in particular is coming to us now.

“It is sometimes easier to return to a place where we have made a wrong turn than it is to hope that we will find another path to our goal. The laws that nature has provided us require every one of us to take responsibility for our own actions here and now. The older cultures can be a great help to us in this. Let us learn from everything they have left us and beg forgiveness for the results of our arrogance and ignorance. That applies to every person, regardless of his or her faith or nationality.

“I would like to introduce you to Project Butterfly. It was created through the vision of one of the best scientists in the world. The measures, which I will explain to you now, will become a great challenge for the United States in the coming years. But we can only implement them within a global context. I will devote myself to this in the time remaining to me in office. It is time for us to again have faith in ourselves and in our potential. Then I will be able to tell my daughter that together we will heal this earth.

“Now to the specific measures...”

Jennifer turned to Adam with a contented smile. “Well, you big Druid, are you happy?”

“I’m overwhelmed. Butterfly, what a beautiful name. And it promises so much.” Shane laid his cheek against Jennifer’s face. That he felt close enough to her to offer such casual affection gave her heart a thrill.

A second later, her cell phone broke the spell.

“Jennifer, it’s Thomas Ryan.”

“Oh, Thomas, it’s damned nice to hear from you.”

“Can you tell me why I was declared dead?”

Deborah stood up and took the cell phone from Jennifer, putting it on speaker at the same time.

“OK, so now you’ve been resurrected. Could you please get your legendary ass here sometime soon? I mean, you do actually understand what’s going on here, don’t you?”

Ryan laughed. “I’ll be in Washington soon, and I can’t wait either, so calm down. Give the phone back to Jennifer again.”

“Lazarus only wants to talk with you today,” Deborah said, turning off the speakerphone and handing it back with mock indignation. Jennifer could tell, though, that Deborah was hugely relieved.

“Thomas...”

“Make it fast. I can’t talk long.”

“OK. The FBI will pick you up at Reagan Airport and bring you to a hotel. When are you coming, exactly?”

“Not until the day after tomorrow. The plane lands at six in the evening.”

“Can’t you get here any sooner? The next hearing is tomorrow and I need you here
now
.”

“That’s not a possibility.”

“All right. I’ll see if we can manage to postpone it again. Take care of yourself, Ryan.”

She hung up and looked around the room.

“What now?” Adam asked.

“Nothing. We’ll have to stall the court. But I’ve already thought of something.”

Hopefully Ronald would keep his promise.

* * *

The announcement of a special morning session of the United Nations Security Council unleashed a firestorm in Rome. The security situations stemming from the increasing violence at the worldwide protests would be discussed. The pope could no longer accept the view of numerous diplomats that the Vatican had abused its status in the past to avoid criminal prosecution.

He called a member of the Swiss Guard.

“Yes, Holy Father?”

“Have Cardinal Catamo come here,” the pope said gently.

“Of course, Holy Father.”

Eduard Catamo was the head of the Vatican’s press office. Among his other responsibilities, the older gentleman had for some time made sure that a person looking for literature on the pope in a bookstore would have a far easier time finding a tribute to him than criticism of the sort that was now spread out on the pope’s desk.

After the draft of the European Constitution was written without any reference to God, John Paul III had intensified the offensive to turn Europe once again into
a Christian continent. But then all of their efforts were nullified with a single blow. The involvement of the Vatican Bank in Mafia business and, above all, the worldwide explosion on discussions about abuse cases abruptly disarmed his new crusade against modernity.

“Holy Father?”

“Come in, Eduard. What do you know about Cardinal Lambert’s involvement in this insufferable story?”

“I cannot imagine that Padre Salvoni acted on his own, Holy Father.”

“Listen, I know that the cardinal is doing everything he can to succeed me on St. Peter’s chair, and I also know that he is your superior, but I am still this Church. If the cardinal bears more responsibility for this matter than I know, I want you to tell me about it now. You can see for yourself what damage he has already caused.”

“But Holy Father, when I see what is coming at us from the historians who analyzed the first scrolls, then—”

“Then what? Do you see these books? Everything, and I mean everything, is already known to the world if one wants to know it. This Church has seen emperors and kings, dictators and revolutionaries. They come and they go. We have survived the Middle Ages, the Reformation, and the Revolution of the Moderns, and we will also survive the writings of a couple of Druids or pagan philosophers that have been completely misinterpreted.”

“But Holy Father! I think we have to look ahead and defend ourselves. They’ve been meeting in New York for the past hour.”

“Cardinal, the ancient religions were not destroyed by us. They collapsed under the weakness of their many gods and a lack of piety and unified moral teachings. If we are not careful, the same fate will soon await this Church. We have to show the world now what the appeal of our faith is.”

Catamo bowed his head. “Holy Father, I will ensure that Italy’s Catholics use the Sunday Angelus of the pope to make an avowal of faith to the Vatican. We will show the world the power of a clear faith.”

“How many waves of conflict have there been? How many ideological movements, how many modes of thought have rocked the little boat of the Church? And yet, we’ve never been so threatened as we are today, Eduard.”

“The documents, well, they prove...”

“A genocide. Just say it. Yes, they probably do prove that and more. But that is history, Eduard, a history that shows that the world and the acting bishops and the emperor needed a transition period to become true Christians. Will this nonsensical discussion never stop? I need to ask you for a favor now, in God’s name. We have to protect this Church, whatever else happens.” The pope held a document out to Catamo. “Here, take this and follow the instructions to the letter. It is important that it arrive in Washington in time.”

Catamo looked at the papers and gasped.

“But Holy Father, are you—”

“Eduard, I must be able to rely on you.”

“Yes, Holy Father. I will take care of it.”

“Good, thank you. And another thing: I would like you to contact this attorney. I think it makes sense if I have a conversation with one of the people behind this case. We have to make it clear to them that the distant past is not the present of this Church.”

Without another word, Catamo left. The pope watched him go, and then his glance fell on the books he’d been reading. Yes, the truth had been off limits for far too long. For as long as he could remember, he’d believed that if society said God was dead, then people would say that they are God. Then the world would lose all of its standards and all of its morality.

Now, for the first time, though, he wasn’t so sure.

* * *

MacClary was getting very nervous. He’d seen footage from Rome right after the president’s speech. Around two hundred thousand people had streamed into St. Peter’s Square that morning, among them representatives of every political party, including the leaders of a small party with notorious links to the Mafia. They estimated that more than a million people would be demonstrating their loyalty to the pope that Sunday.

If everything went well, the hearing would be long over by then and the man that MacClary was so eagerly awaiting would play an important role in ending it.

The limousine, followed by a half dozen White House automobiles, drove up to an outlying hangar usually reserved for diplomats and government officials.

As he was waiting for the airplane to land, his cell phone rang.

“MacClary.”

“Ronald, it’s Adam. I know that we’re not supposed to—”

“It’s fine. What’s this about?”

“The pope wants to speak with us.”

“The pope wants to
what
?”

“The pope wants to speak with us. In person. In Rome. Jennifer got a call from an ambassador in New York. The pope wants to speak with someone who was present when the scrolls were retrieved, unofficially. Ronald, I have a feeling that the pope doesn’t know what happened in Austria.”

“It may be, Adam, but don’t start thinking he doesn’t bear any responsibility because—”

“No, definitely not that. I’m going to accept this invitation, though. I want to know what’s behind it, and one thing is certain: if he relents and distances himself from the operation, we should—”

“Adam, that’s completely ridiculous. This pope has taken more conservative steps to reverse progress than his predecessor did, and no matter what he comes to you with, everything that he has written is an attack on free and open society.”

“Don’t worry, Ronald, I’ve read his writings. I know who I’m facing, but something just isn’t right here.”

“Very well. You have to decide this for yourself, but don’t forget: you’re essentially acting as a representative of this case. The Vatican has been expert at this game of intrigue for centuries. I don’t have time for debates right now. Take care of yourself and keep me informed. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow in court.”

“Thanks. See you soon.”

As MacClary hung up, he saw that the jet had landed. After the plane had taxied in front of the hangar, the door opened and a man dressed in dark clothing came slowly down the steps to get into one of the limousines.
Well, that’s taken care of
, MacClary thought. At the same time, though, a shiver ran up his spine. What secrets surrounded this man? Would he, Ronald MacClary, be able to handle what he would learn in the coming days?

It is my firm opinion that Europe today represents not the spirit of God or Christianity, but the spirit of Satan. And Satan’s successes are the greatest when he appears with the name of God on his lips...I believe that European Christianity is a corruption of the Christianity of Jesus.

—Mahatma Gandhi, September 8, 1920

Flying to Rome and back in a day was not something Shane welcomed, but it was going to have to be that way. He wanted to be back in Washington that evening so as not to miss the next hearing. Some of the Irish families had arrived in DC. Their presence should help to reinforce Ryan’s claims, since he hadn’t reached the States yet. When they were shown the scrolls and translations in the laboratory, many tears were shed over the losses and the crimes that had taken place so long ago.

Deborah had insisted on accompanying Shane on his trip, claiming that she wanted to stand face-to-face with the man who was still teaching that she was a second-class citizen. When they landed, Vatican diplomats met them at the airport. They drove for more than a half hour through the horrible Roman traffic. After they had gotten through the swarms of people that had been gathering in St. Peter’s Square for days now, they found themselves standing in front of the power center of the infallible.

When they arrived at the pope’s private rooms, one of the diplomats approached Deborah. “I am sorry, but the Holy Father wishes to speak with only one person.”

“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?”

The man turned to Shane. “Are you familiar with the customs regarding how you are to speak and greet the Holy Father?”