If trying to appreciate in whole the signification of books I’ve read, I can say, that they showed me entirely the effect of those six generalized means of ruling, which I encountered reading the review on Z. Brzezinski “The Grand Chessboard”. After that I started to understand that for completing the excurse in global historical process I should come closer to its sources, and it means – to meet with history of ancient Egypt, because the events which took place there 4000 years ago somehow became the touchstone of the “Historical Picnic”.
In my home library there was a book by Sir James Henry Breasted “The history of Egypt”. In its fifth volume the 18th chapter was called “Religious revolution by Ehnaton”, and from it I learnt, that the tenth Pharaoh of XVIII dynasty (again – magic of numbers: 18th chapter about XVIII dynasty) Amenhotep IV rebelled against zhretses of ancient Amon-Ra cult, left the southern and the northern capitals of Egypt (Thebes and Memphis) and built new capital almost in the middle of the way from one to another – it was devoted to god Aton and was called Ahetaton (“Horizon of Aton”). After 17-years ruling of Ehnaton and 3-years ruling of his successor Smenhkar, who was the husband of Meritaton – the eldest daughter of Pharaoh – husband of the third Ehnaton’s daughter – nine-years-old boy Tutanhaton – ascended the throne. Amon’s zhretses didn’t reconcile with losing power of their cult, and they made Tutanhaton leave new capital and accept new name – Tutanhamon. I could see, that the report of the “Historical Picnic” authors about the struggle for the throne between Ehnaton and Tutanhamon, to put it mildly, had nothing in common with the reality, but “the struggle of two great party religions of gods Aton and Amon” perhaps took place indeed. It began not in times of Ehnaton’s ruling, but much earlier, and if, according to the authors of the “picnic”, this struggle lasts until today, it’s very important to understand the ideas of both opposite sides, why do they oppose each other for 4000 years? Studying the works of Breasted and other Egyptologists, I became more and more convinced that Ehnaton was the first who officially declared the idea of monotheism to the world. And moreover besides doing this, he started to teach people the norms of direct communication between each of them and God. But the hymns of Ehnaton turned out to be the most striking thing for me in the monograph of Breasted.
I had a feeling that I knew them before. But I couldn’t remember any literary source similar to this, until I returned to the period of my practice in Afghanistan. Well, of course, the hymns of Ehnaton made me remember the verses from Koran, with which I became acquainted before leaving for Pakistan and Afghanistan. I had to turn to the English translation of “Holy Koran” by Mulana Mohammad Ali, in edition of 1996. I can’t say that after I’ve read Koran I turned into true Muslim, but this book became real discovery for me. Yes, I was acquainted superficially with the Bible, and I considered any religious dogmas to be anachronisms of the culture, which have to be taken into consideration in decent society, but which are in effect senseless and can’t obligate a free person to do anything. And nevertheless, I wasn’t a convinced atheist in the contemporary sense of this word, for I considered communication with God as deeply private act. But even superficial acquaintance with Koran opened for me a wonderful truth: all prophets were given the same knowledge from Above about how to arrange human life on the Earth in the best possible way. And the person who is now known as Ehnaton, 17-years-old youth, was the first to record this knowledge. The fact, that this knowledge comes out from the same source, can be proved by simple comparison of texts of Ehnaton’s hymns and Koran. They are divided by 20 centuries, and still they contain not only the same ideas, but, what stuck me most of all, the texts has the same rhythmic. How it could happen – it’s beyond human understanding.
Events of the week went their own way. Last news issues didn’t show any more the debris of WTC; they were replaced by the reports about American bombings in Afghanistan; CNN and NBC started to mention about the acts of bio-terrorism in New York, Washington and Florida. Holmes called twice: once from Cairo, and then – from some Indian town with a hard-spelling name.
Part III. Holmes’s Investigation
September 22 – 27. Switzerland – Liechtenstein
(Zurich – Vaduz – Geneva)
The plane from London has arrived just in time. Holmes stood in queue to the passport control when an announcer informed of arrival of another plane from Frankfurt am Main. Soon a German speech sounded from an appeared second queue. Holmes automatically noted a stout person dressed in light-coloured coat and grey hat.
And what is interesting in that man? – Holmes thought, and caught that it was the newspaper clasped to fatty’s case that had roused his interest.
The paper was Russian and called “Izvestiya” (“Proceedings”), but Holmes really couldn’t understand why it had attracted him. While he reflected upon this, fatty in light-coloured coat entered the passport control cabin and Holmes lost him from his sight. Having received his luggage Holmes came out to the departure hall. He was trying to find his firm representative, when he saw that newspaper again. It was on a chair where stout man had left it instead of throwing it away to the rubbish bin. Stimulated by strange feeling of interest Holmes went to the chair, when someone called him.
Good afternoon, Mr. Holmes, my name is Louis Renier. Let me take your luggage.
Holmes stopped and shook hands with a tall slender man with a little silver lock in his raven-coloured hair.
I’m ready to drive you to your hotel, – thoroughly choosing English words he told to Holmes with a noticeable French accent, – And if you like, we can walk down the Old Zurich in the evening.
Holmes was nearly ready to follow Renier to the car, when he suddenly stopped.
Excuse me, Mr. Renier, one minute please.
He left his companion in perplexity, moved to that chair, took the Russian paper and put it into a pocket of his coat. He could hardly explain to astonished Renier why he had taken the paper written on a language not familiar to him. But his partner was a tactful person and didn’t ask any question but drove his London’s guest to the hotel, where the “Ernst & Young” firm had reserved a room for Holmes. Saturday’s evening and the whole Sunday Holmes spent in “Zurich dwarfs’” citadel. He walked down narrow streets and thought of the power that without an army and weapon had got world bankers. And why such luxury as neutrality is permitted to Switzerland? And why isn’t that country a member of the UN? Too much of questions…
At Monday a conversation in Zurich took place and it continued for the next day in Davos. Holmes thought of that not bad place, found by world money sharks. That small resort town has become the real Mecca of world largest financiers or, precisely, of those who thought that they were taking part in possessing the goals of world politics. On the back way to Zurich, Lois Renier suddenly suggested to visit Liechtenstein where, as he told, lived his last years a famous Russian arts patron and emigrant – count Pfanfaltz. He lived in the bounds of Vaduz – a centre of a tiny state; to which money from the whole world are injected only because it has proclaimed its territory free of fees. Nearly ten minutes they wandered the narrow streets full of tourists. Than the same time they drove down the serpentine-road and soon reached the gates of “Askania-Nova” – that was the name of count’s villa. A master was at home, that was a quite rare thing. Despite of his age he travelled much – he bought rarities of Old Russia and returned them to his motherland.
Over tea served by the count they told of last doings in America. Everyone was sure that the world had changed after it, and that there was not a country that hadn’t been inflected by this event in this or in that way. Holmes asked the count of Russia and it’s perspectives from the point of American tragedy. He kept silence for a minute looking over a landscape beyond a window and than got up and after an excuse went to his library. He returned with a thick yellow envelope. Imagine Holmes’s surprise when the count revealed the “picnics” that he had discussed with Watson two days before! By the Renier reaction Holmes found that he had seen this papers before too. Besides the familiar “picnics” there were some more documents in the envelope.