“Here comes the president. Listen, Paul, you don’t have to be on the damn stage tonight. If one of Carlson’s hit men got inside here—”
“I have no choice.”
Secretary Hanover approached Marcus and Alicia. She introduced herself to Alicia and said to Marcus, “Thank you, again, for changing your mind. It means a lot for the president to have you here. That’s what he wanted to tell you himself.” She lowered her voice, eyes straying from Marcus and then returning to his face. “Paul, I was briefed on what happened outside your hotel. We have agents combing the area. Hopefully, we’ll find the person or persons.”
“The trail leads deep into America.”
“What do you mean?”
“Here comes the president. You need to hear what I have to tell him. The world needs to hear it.”
Merriam Hanover made the introductions. The president was gracious, making general conversation with both Alicia and Marcus. Then the president said, “Paul, your discovery will help fight heart arrhythmias for untold numbers of people for generations to come. It’s an honor to share the Nobel stage with you.”
“Thank you, Mr. President. The feeling is mutual. Your winning the Peace Prize is unprecedented. Congratulations.”
“There are many others far more deserving of this award than me. I’m accepting it in their honor.”
“I’ve admired how hard you’ve worked to bring about peace around the world. Unfortunately, there are others just as dedicated to undoing, stopping or preventing work like yours from succeeding.”
“Sadly, I’m aware of that. It is my hope and prayers that the greater prevalence of ideas and ideals contribute to movements of compassionate human relations far beyond an ideology.” The president paused, glanced around the room, lowered his voice and said, “Paul, I was told of what happened to you and Miss Quincy earlier today. Do you have any idea who’s behind this attack?”
“Yes. Mr. President, I’ve spent the last two months researching papers from Isaac Newton and the Bible. What I’ve found, I’m convinced, is a code — a prophecy, if you will. It’s a direct insight into the future of the world, and what we, as a global people can do about ensuring our future.”
The president tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. “Please, go on.”
“Most of it I’ll say on stage, in front of the world. But privately, I wanted you to know about a group called the Circle of 13.”
“What do you know about them?”
“These billionaires have controlled many of America’s major event changers — game changers — both political and corporate. Most are associated with the Kinsley Group or some of the companies it manages. Some of their members include Jonathon Carlson, Alexander Van Airedale, Robert Kitchener, and Simon Yarborough. There are nine others including the former president of Russia. These men all have major vested interests into the world’s biggest companies dealing in oil and gas, telecommunications, security, banking, insurance, and defense. Controlling Middle Eastern political agendas, ensuring oil and gas distribution from the area, is their top priority. Some of the original seeds were planted when Standard Oil married many of its assets with the German company, I.G. Farben. From direct investments made with Nazi Germany to investments made in the Middle East, these people have set the world’s energy policies. To serve their interests, they’ve leveraged the Palestinian and Israeli issues, taking out prime ministers or heads-of-state at will…and even the only son of an American president.”
“What do you mean?”
“John Kennedy Junior. I have reason to believe his plane crash was no accident. I think that Kennedy, his wife, and her sister were victims of a plot. Had he lived, Kennedy’s emergence on the political stage could have been a game changer. Beyond that, under the journalistic banner, he was investigating the murder of Yitzhak Rabin, and he was opening the investigation into his own father’s assassination.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I think he had evidence of a deep conspiracy, and he wanted to reveal the facts in George, the magazine he owned at the time. He wanted to expose the corruption. I’m convinced that the same hidden group, those who were behind the Rabin murder, has now assassinated the Israeli prime minister because the interim prime minister has deep ties with Carlson and the Kinsley Group.”
“Do you have proof? Do you have something tangible beyond a revelation you’ve deciphered from Isaac Newton’s papers and the Bible?”
“Yes.” Marcus reached in his jacket pocket and found the flash drive. “It’s all on here — the heated conservation recorded from a meeting of the Circle of 13 yesterday. Carlson spells out some of their involvement. He admits the group’s involvement in the things I mentioned to you. This and more are posted on a website I’m revealing today.”
“If what you’re telling me is accurate, there will be federal grand juries convened. I’ll instruct the attorney general to begin an investigation, including joint house and senate investigations. Why put your life in danger to bring this to the public?”
“I believe you know that answer, Mr. President. Something you don’t know is what else is on the website. It’s a prophecy. It foreshadows a nuclear war. But most importantly, it gives us options and guidelines. If we, as a people, choose not to fix what’s wrong with the world, we’ll inherit the consequences of our inactions.”
“The consequences, the penalty of our indecision, do you know what they may mean for us?”
“Yes, and I think I’m about to know when.”
ONE-HUNDRED-FOUR
When Marcus was introduced, there was a noticeable shift of focus among the hundreds of people in the audience. They seemed to collectively sit a little straighter, ready to listen to each word, unsure of what the controversial Nobel laureate was going to say. Television cameras followed him across the stage, taking his place behind the podium.
Marcus looked at the large audience. The president and first lady sat in the front row next to his Majesty, the King of Sweden, the King of Norway and dozens of other dignitaries from more than fifty countries. Alicia stood in the wings, off stage, her heart pounding. She watched as Marcus began to speak.
“It is an enormous honor to stand before you tonight in a hall filled with the many people whose dedication, hard work and discoveries will make the world a better place. I’m, quite frankly, a little embarrassed to be here among such greats — those people far more deserving than I to receive this award. My original intent in mapping the electronic coding of the human heart and trying to find a better and more accurate way to prevent ventricular fibrillation wasn’t as altruistic as it might sound. It was selfish. You see, I spent two years of my life working twelve-hour days to keep my daughter alive. She suffered from heart arrhythmias caused by ventricular fibrillation. It was her illness that propelled me to succeed to save her life. At the time, I wasn’t thinking of, nor was I concerned about the lives of others with the same disease. And that’s unfortunate, because today I realize the global ripple effects of what I discovered. I was so buried in my work I couldn’t see what my work should have been all about — what it may have meant for others. Tiffany didn’t live long enough to receive the treatment for her sick heart. She and my wife were murdered.”
Marcus scanned the rows of people, many in the audience hanging onto his every word. Secretary Hanover shifted in her seat. Marcus looked up toward the balcony and continued. “After that, any faith I had in mankind, in God…in anything, for that matter was gone. Almost two years later, I received an invitation from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to examine some very old notes. They were handwritten papers donated to the university, and the original author was Sir Isaac Newton. You see, Newton had spent most of his life studying the Bible. He was convinced of the Bible’s accuracy and of its prophetic potential…noting that, if we, as humans, could learn to listen — we’d recognize and heed the voice of God found throughout the Bible. Newton began to map out various passages from the books of the Bible, and he did it looking at connective points-in-time, peeling back layers of history and literally tracking down the subtle voices that, when combined, spoke to him collectively, in a harmonic stratum. After more than fifty years of studying the Bible, Newton said he felt like a child standing by the sea, his knowledge of the universe no greater than the pebbles and shells around his feet. He said when he looked up, the vastness of the ocean, with its depth and horizon into infinity, God was everywhere.”