After a few minutes of this scanning, one particular translation caught Wizard’s attention. It read:
THE 1ST PILLAR MUST BE INLAID
EXACTLY 100 DAYS BEFORE THE RETURN.
THE PRIZE SHALL BE KNOWLEDGE.**
______
AMBIGUOUS TERMS:
“The First Pillar…” Wizard breathed. “Oh my goodness.”
Ten minutes later, as Wizard continued to feed more photos into his computer, a second figure descended into the chamber.
It was Tank Tanaka, a stocky Japanese professor from the University of Tokyo, Wizard’s research partner on this project and longtime friend. With soft brown eyes, a kind round face, and wisps of gray at his temples, Tank was the professor every history student wanted.
As he swung himself to solid ground, Wizard’s computer pinged loudly, alerting them to a new translation.
The two old professors peered at the screen. It read:
THE COMING OF RA’S DESTROYER
THE COMING OF RA’S DESTROYER
SEES THE STARTING OF THE GREAT MACHINE**
AND WITH IT THE RISE OF THE SA-BENBEN.
HONOR THE SA-BENBEN,
KEEP IT CLOSE, KEEP IT NEAR,
FOR IT ALONE GOVERNS THE SIX
AND ONLY THE EMPOWERED SIX CAN
PREPARE THE PILLARS AND
LEAD YOU TO THE SHRINES AND THUS
COMPLETE THE MACHINE
BEFORE THE SECOND COMING.***
THE END OF ALL THINGS IS NEAR.
________
AMBIGUOUS TERMS:
MATCH REFERENCE:
Ref XR:5–12 Partial inscription found at
Zhou-Zu Monastery, Tibet (2001)
“the Sa-Benben …?” Tanaka said.
Wizard’s eyes went wide with excitement. “It’s a little-used name for the uppermost and smallest piece of the Golden Capstone of the Great Pyramid. The entire Capstone was called the Benben. But the top piece is special, because unlike the other pieces, which are all trapezoidal in shape, it’s a mini-pyramid and so, essentially, a small Benben. Hence the name, Sa-Benben. The Eastern name for it is a bit more dramatic: they call it the Firestone.”
Wizard gazed at the symbol above the translation. “The Machine…” he whispered.
He scanned the translation carefully, saw the match reference at the end of the entry. “Yes, yes, I’ve seen this before. It was on a cracked stone tablet unearthed in northern Tibet. But because of the damage to the tablet, only the first and third lines were readable: ‘The coming of Ra’s Destroyer’ and ‘And with it the rise of the Sa- Benben .’ But this is the full text. This is momentous. ”
Wizard began muttering quickly to himself: “Ra’s Destroyer is Tartarus, the Tartarus Sunspot…But Tartarus was averted…Only…only what if the Tartarus Event started something else, something we didn’t anticipate…And if the Firestone governs the six sacred stones, empowers them, then it’s fundamental to everything…to the Pillars, to the Machine, and to the Return of the Dark Sun—oh dear Lord.”
He snapped up, his eyes wide.
“Tank. The Tartarus Event at Giza was connected to the Machine. I never suspected…I mean, I should have…I should have seen it all along but I—” A frantic look crossed his face. “When did we calculate the Return?”
Tank shrugged. “Not until next year’s vernal equinox: March 20, 2008.”
“What about the placing of the Pillars? There was something here about the First Pillar. Here it is: ‘The 1st Pillar must be inlaid exactly 100 days before the Return. The prize shall be knowledge .’”
“One hundred days,” Tank said, calculating. “That’s…damn…December 10 this year—”
Wizard said, “Nine days from now. Good God, we knew the time was approaching, but this is—”
“Max, are you telling me that we only have nine days to set the First Pillar in position? We haven’t even found the First Pillar yet…” Tank said.
