Time: Present Day

Location: Vatican City

Carter and Teacher walked straight by the Swiss Guards who were oblivious to their presence. They entered Graz's office and took up residence in one corner of the room. Peter was talking to Graz. "You did good Petros, as I told you before, the Princess Di smokescreen. I was dubious about at first, but now I think it was pure genius. All the international and local news media can talk about is the similarities to the Princess Di crash, rather than investigating the victim.

We also are confident that if they push too hard about the Di case MI5 will shut them down again anyway. A well thought out plan, expertly carried out by your instrument, Anton. You have passed the test with flying colours, it is now time to talk of succession, time for some truths and secrets to be unfurled to you to enable you to carry out the very important role you have been groomed for from the beginning. Before I impart to you the major secret you have been wondering about all these years, do you have any questions about the role we are asking you to take on? For if you have any qualms or reservations, then speak now, for the rest of your life depends on it. For as I told you before, once I impart and entrust this secret to you there is no turning back, you must guard this secret with your life. How you perform this task will indeed determine how long the rest of your life will be; as it has done for the centuries; and does for those who have gone before you. So ask your questions now Petros, for once the die is cast there is no turning back.

I have already spoken to His Holiness and he has agreed that Enrico grows old and tired of the game. He is making mistakes of judgement now. He is a liability we cannot afford. He knows too much of the past and no longer sees the future clearly. I will be his replacement as you dear Petros will be mine, that is, if you are prepared to accede to His Holiness' wishes. You Peter Margate, are to be raised to the sublime position of Archbishop, in pectore, of all of Europe. His Holiness' Guardian of Secrets. His Gabriel. And so it is time for you to decide Petros, do I cast the die or caste you out? Are you willing to take up the mantle layed out before you. To promise to guard the secrets with your life and to make it your life's work. To forsake all others and give yourself totally to service of the Mother Church.

Peter hung his head in submission. "I have nothing else to live for now. I know Amelia is gone. She probably didn't love me as much as I did her anyway, perhaps it's for the best, roll the dice then and let the future unfold as it must. I so swear."

"Then I shall impart to you the truth behind the Secret of Secrets. The one to be guarded at all costs, the one that has the potential to undo that which has been built and to plunge the world into anarchy and perhaps even a war to end all wars. Armageddon, as foretold by the prophets in the ancient scriptures."

Graz proceeded to explain the origin of the manuscript he had already gone over with him but this time he elaborated and expanded the story, telling Peter that Vatican experts had verified the authenticity of the mauscript. That some of the rumours Peter had read about were indeed true, that Jesus had indeed had a twin brother, an identical twin, at least identical enough to fool the establishment. It had been his twin brother who was crucified, having given his life for his brother, for he knew he had consumption from a life of over indulgence. He was the Yang to Jesus' Ying, and since he had very little time left anyway thought he could redeem himself in Joseph, his father's eyes, by saving his favourite son Jesus. "It puts a whole new meaning to some of the new testament does it not, Jesus' twin was a Magician called Thomas, and a joker. They played tricks as many twins do, swapping lives occasionally and playing with peoples' minds. He had a sick sense of humour right to the end, the Roman guards never suspected what 'Jesus' really meant when he actually said, "Father forgive me, be happy for they know not what they do."

Jesus was spotted three days later, so to conceal the truth, some of his disciples removed Thomas' body and burnt it. They spread rumours that Jesus had risen from the dead to prove what he had been saying was true and in order to start a movement. They had done this more out of survival than anything else. They thought if there was enough people believing it then the Romans who always were a superstitious lot would leave them alone. Who would have thought that, that act of kindness by his brother would become the most celebrated death in the history of mankind. Ironically it wasn't until the Romans themselves, adopted Christianity as their religion, again solely in order to counter and control an increasingly rebellious empire, that the Church as we know it today was founded and flourished, and spun off every Christian denomination since. Even Islam can trace its origins back to Jesus."

"So what you're telling me is that Jesus didn't die for our sins at all?" Peter said incredulously.

"More than that, dear Peter, there is no sin, sin is a man made notion designed by the Romans to bend people to the State's and the Church's will. You will discover this, and so much more as you read the manuscript. It took many years to decipher but it's message is unmistakable. It will keep you occupied and fascinated for the rest of your days as it has mine and Enrico before me."

"So what happened to Jesus, and how do we know that the manuscipt is genuine and written by him."

"Both excellent questions similar in intent to my first questions when I was told all those years ago. Jesus married Mary Magdalene, yes the whore, but she had been only doing what many orphaned women had to do in those days to survive. And as any call girl can tell you practise makes perfect, and Jesus was both very spiritual and very virile. We believe he lived out the rest of his life in a self imposed exile as his twin Almegan. They had seven children..five of which survived to adulthood and had children themselves. It is all documented in the manuscript. We at the Vatican now know who and where the descendants of Jesus are, in the last few years using carbon dating and DNA from their various lineages we have been able to verify that the manuscript is genuine and was indeed if not scribed by Jesus himself at least was handled by him on multiple occasions as each and every page has his DNA all over it. We also expected that Mary would have attributed it to someone else when she hid it but she said Jesus wrote it down himself, leading us to surmise that she must have found it in his belongings after his eventual death and buried it to protect herself and her family given the rising intolerance and persecution of the so called Christ followers."

"It seems impossible to believe." Peter ventured.

"You will believe it, when you get to read the manuscript. It will take you many years to truly understand and appreciate it's message, but you are bright, that's why we chose you!"

"Does this mean Jesus wasn't the Son of God, and we've been promulgating a lie all these years?"

"He was part of the All just as we all are. Just as each and every living and non living thing is, made of atoms, protons, neutrons and free spirited electrons in a multitude of diverse forms and combinations, but all part of the same energy."

"But why did Jesus write this manuscript if he wasn't trying to start a religion."

"Ahha. the sixty four million dollar question. Well, along with the manuscript was a story penned by Mary, also confirmed by DNA, in which she tells a history of her family, including Jesus dying at age 30 in an accident in his father's carpentry shop. His father found him dead on the floor when he returned from buying supplies. He was so overcome with grief that he pounded Jesus on the chest, cursing the Gods for taking his favourite son away and imploring them to give him back, and they did, Jesus came back to life. He was overjoyed at first, but soon realised in Mary's words the son that returned was not the son that had left.

"After that time Jesus was changed he told his father what he had seen after he died, and that he no longer had any interest in carpentry or working for his father. Instead he started telling anyone willing to listen what had happened when he was 'dead'. The people could not understand what he was talking about so he began to tell them stories to highlight particular aspects of life that they should be following. He became a popular story teller so much so he could make a living from donations of rich patrons. He began attracting followers, who in turn saw the potential to earn a good living telling stories. The competition became fierce and so the stories became grander, more embellished, and dangerous to the authorities of the time. The Romans and the Church elders had a cosy thing going a sort of early cartel controlling the masses and putting them to work for them on a drug cocktail of need and greed with rebellion ever controlled with slavery and ever present threat of a violent death and eternal punishment in hell.

"But Jesus was telling them there was no hell, that the priests and more importantly the Romans were lying to them, that death was not the end but a sort of beginning. The heresy had to stop before they had a full scale revolt on their hands, a revolt by a people no longer afraid of death and some of whom now believed, what Jesus was apparently teaching, that whatever they did on earth, in Bogies words from Casablanca, @didn't amount to a hill of beans. They could do anything they wanted, to anything, to anyone, anything and everything they did on earth didn't really matter, didn't change anything. And so it is today. Now you may understand why you must keep the Secret, the importance of the task assigned to you this day Petros. This Secret has been known to some of the greatest leaders and unfortunately some of the most ruthless dictators in history, to some of the best and the worst of mankind, to saints and sexual serial killers alike. Life goes on though, as it has and always will. There is no stopping the All. Today you have become one of the most powerful men in the world, whoever said knowledge is power didn't know the half of it."

Chapter 57 - Truth or Dare.

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