The Last Templar

Chapter 43

The faces around the table were frozen in silence as De Angelis took them through a brief history of the arcane science.

The historical evidence supported his proposition. Alchemy was indeed introduced into Europe during the Crusades. The earliest alchemical works originated in the Middle East and were written in Arabic long before they were translated into Latin.

"The alchemists' experiments were based on Aristorie's theory of earth, air, fire, and water. They believed that everything was made up from a combination of these elements. They also believed that with the right dosage and method, these elements could each be transmuted into any of the others. Water could easily be turned into air by being boiled, and so on. And since everything on the planet was believed to be made up of a combination of earth, water, air, and fire, in theory at least, it was thought possible to transmute any starting material into anything one desired to create. And topping die list of desirables was, of course, gold."

The monsignor explained how alchemy also functioned on a physiological level. Aristotle's four elements also manifested themselves in the four humors: phlegm, blood, bile, and black bile. In a healthy human, the humors were believed to be in balance. Illness was thought to arise from a

deficiency or an excess of one of the humors. Alchemy evolved beyond the search for a recipe that would turn lead into gold. It promised to uncover the secrets to physiological transformations, from sickness to health, or from old age to youth. Furthermore, many alchemists also used the search for this formula as a metaphor for seeking moral perfection, believing that what could be accomplished in nature could also be realized in the heart and mind. In its spiritual guise, the Philosopher's Stone they sought was believed to be capable of causing a spiritual conversion as well as a physical one.

Alchemy promised everything to whoever unlocked its secrets: wealth, longevity, even immortality.

In the twelfth century, however, alchemy was also mysterious and frightening to those who had never experienced it. Alchemists used strange instruments and mystical incantations; they employed cryptic symbolism and suggestive colors in their art. Aristotle's works were eventually banned. At the time, any science, as it was then called, was thought to be a challenge to the authority of the Church; a science that promised spiritual purification was a direct threat to the Church. "Which,"

De Angelis continued, "could be another explanation for the Vatican allowing the Templars' persecution to proceed unchallenged.

"The timing, the location, the origin of it all, everything fits." The monsignor glanced around the table. "Now don't get me wrong." He flashed a comforting smile. "I'm not saying such a formula exists, although to me it's certainly no more of a stretch of the imagination than the other fanciful theories of the Templars' great secret that have been discussed around this table and elsewhere.

What I'm simply saying is that a man who has lost touch with reality could easily believe that such a formula exists."

Tess looked briefly at Reilly and hesitated before turning to face De Angelis. "Why would Vance want to make gold?"

"You forget, the man is not thinking with the clearest of minds. You said so yourself, Miss Chaykin.

One need only look at what happened at the Met to realize that. That was not a plan drawn up by a sane man. So once you keep in mind that the man isn't behaving rationally, anything's possible. It could be a means to an end. Financing to allow him to achieve whatever demented objective he's set himself." He shrugged. "This man, Vance . . . he's clearly delusional, and he's caught in the grip of some nonsensical treasure hunt. It seems to me like you have a madman on your hands, and whatever it is he's after, sooner or later, he's going to realize that he's been chasing a ghost, and I dread to think of how he's going to react when that realization hits."

A disconcerting quiet descended on the table as the assembled few mulled over that sobering thought.

Jansson leaned forward. "Whatever he thinks he's after, he doesn't seem to mind how many dead bodies it takes for him to get there, and we need to stop him. But it seems to me like the only thing we have to work with right now are these damn papers." He was holding up the copy of the manuscript. "If we could read it, it might tell us what his next move is." He turned to Reilly.

"What's the NSA saying?"

"It's not looking good. I spoke to Terry Kendricks before coming in, and he's not optimistic."

"Why not?"

"They know it's a basic polyalphabetic substitution cipher. Nothing too sophisticated. The military used it for decades, but code breaking is all about frequency of occurrence, about patterns; you spot repeated words, deduce what they are, and that gives you something to work off until you ultimately manage to figure out the mnemonic key and work your way back from there. In this case, they simply don't have enough material to work with. If the document were longer, or if they had other documents written in the same code, they'd be able to deduce the key pretty easily. But six pages is just too little to go on."

Jansson's face bent inward. "I don't believe this. Several billion dollars of funding and they still can't crack something a bunch of monks came up with seven hundred years ago?" He shrugged, breathing out through pursed lips for a long moment. "All right. Then we forget about the damn manuscript and concentrate elsewhere. We need to go over everything we have and find a new tack."

***

De Angelis was watching Tess. She said nothing. She glanced over at him, and something in her eyes told De Angelis that he hadn't convinced her, and that she sensed this was about something more than just funding a personal vendetta.

Tes indeed, De Angelis mused. This woman is decidedly dangerous. But for the time being, her potential usefulness outweighed the danger she posed.

For just how long, Uiough, remained to be seen.