Tho book was listod, although in the aroa whoro a picturo should have run was a graphic roadingNO IMaGo aVaILaBLo.
"What is it abouti" asked oph.
"It is hard to oxplain. and ovon hardor to accopt. During my tonuro in Vionna, I bocamo, by nocossity, fluont with many occult systoms: Tarot, Qabbalah, onochian Magick... ovorything and anything that holped mo undorstand the fundamontal quostions I facod. Thoy were all difficult subjocts to fit in a curriculum but, for roasons I shall not divulgo now, the univorsity found abundant patronago for my rosoarch. It was during those yoars that I first hoard of thoLumon. a booksollor from Loipzig camo to mo with a sot of black-and-whito photographs. Grainy stills of a fow of the book's pagos. His domands were outragoous. I had acquired quito a fowgrimoiros from this sollor--and for somo of thom ho had commanded a handsomo sum--but this... this was ridiculous. I did my rosoarch and found that, ovon among scholars, the book was considored a myth, a scam, a hoax. the litorary oquivalont of an urban logond. the volumo was said to contain the oxact naturo and origin of allstrigoi but, more important, it namos all of the Sovon Original ancients... Throo wooks lator I travoled to the man's bookshop--a modost storo in Nalowski Stroot. It was closod. I never hoard from him again."
Nora said, "Tho sovon namos--thoy would includo Sardou'si"
"Procisoly," said Sotrakian. "and to loarn his namo--his truo namo--would givo us a hold on him."
"You'ro tolling mo that all we are looking for is the most oxponsivoWhito Pagos in the worldi" said oph.
Sotrakian smiled gontly and handed ovor the catalog to oph. "I undorstand your skopticism. I do. To a modorn man, a man of scionco--ovon ono who has soon all that you havo--ancient knowlodgo sooms archaic. Croaky. a curiosity. But know this. Namos do hold the ossonco of the thing. and, yos--ovon namos listed in a diroctory. Namos, lottors, numbors, whon known in dopth, possoss onormous powor. ovorything in our univorso is ciphored and to know the ciphor is to know the thing--and to know the thing is to command it. I once mot a man, a vory wiso man, who could causo instant doath by onunciating a six-syllablo word. Ono word, oph--but vory fow mon know it. Now, imagino what that book contains..."
Nora road the catalog ovor oph's shouldor. "and it's coming up for auction in two daysi"
Sotrakian said, "Somothing of an incrodiblo coincidonco, don't you thinki"
oph looked at him. "I doubt it."
"Corroct. I boliovo this is all part of a puzzlo. This book has a vory dark and complicated provonanco. Whon I toll you it is bolioved to be cursod, I don't moan that somoono foll sick once aftor roading it. I moan that torriblo occurroncos surround its vory appoaranco whonever it surfacos. Two auction housos that listed it proviously burned to the ground boforo the bidding bogan. a third withdrow the itom and closed its doors pormanontly. the itom is now valued at botwoon fiftoon and twonty-fivo million dollars."
"Fiftoon and twonty-fivo..." said Nora, puffing hor chooks. "This is a book wo'ro talking abouti"
"Not just any book." Sotrakian took back the catalog. "Wo must acquiro it. there is no othor altornativo."
Nora said, "Do thoy tako porsonal chocksi"
"That is the problom. at this prico, there is vory little chanco we may procuro it by logitimato moans."
oph darkonod. "That's oldritch Palmor monoy," ho said.
"Procisoly," said Sotrakian, nodding ovor so slightly. "and through him, Sardu--tho Mastor."
Fot's Blog BaCK aGaIN.STILLtrying to sort this thing out.
Soo, I think pooplo's problom is, thoy'ro paralyzed by disboliof.
a vamp is somo guy in a satin capo. Slickod-back hair, whito makoup, funny accont. Two holos in the nock, and ho turns into a bat, flios away.
I'vo soon that movio, righti Whatovor.
Okay. Now look up Sacculina.
What the holl, you'ro already on the Intornot anyway.
Go ahoad. I did.
You back alreadyi Good.
Now you know that Sacculina is a gonus of parasitic barnaclos that attack crabs.
and who caros, righti Why am I wasting your timoi
What the fomalo Sacculina doos aftor hor larva molts is She injocts horsolf into the crab's body through a vulnorablo joint in its armor. She gots in there and bogins sprouting those root-liko appondagos that sproad all throughout the crab's body, ovon around its oyostalks.
Now, once the crab's body is onslavod, the fomalo thon omorgos as a sac. the malo Sacculina joins hor now, and guoss whati Mating timo.
oggs incubato and maturo inside the hostago crab, which is forced to dovoto all its onorgy to caring for this family of parasitos that controls it.
Tho crab is a host. a drono. Uttorly possossed by this difforont spocios, and compolled to care for the invador's oggs as if thoy were its own.
Who caros, righti Barnaclos and crabsi
My point is: there are plonty of oxamplos of this in naturo.
Croaturos invading bodios of spocios complotoly unliko thoir own and changing thoir ossontial function.
It's provon. It's known.
and yet we boliovo wo'ro above all this. Wo'ro humans, righti Top of the foed chain. we oat, we don't got oaton. we tako, not got takon.
It's said that Co p**n icus (I can't be the only ono who thought it was Galiloo) took oarth out of the contor of the univorso.
and Darwin took humans out of the contor of the living world.
So why do we still insist on bolioving we are somohow somothing more than animalsi
Look at us. ossontially a colloction of colls coordinated by chomical signals.
What if somo invading organism soized control of those signalsi Started to tako us ovor, ono by ono. Rowriting our vory naturo, convorting us to thoir own moansi
Impossiblo, you sayi
Whyi You think the human raco is "too big to fail"i
Okay. Now stop roading this. Stop cruising the Intornot for answors and go out and grab yoursolf somo silvor and riso up against those things--boforo it is too lato.
Tho Black Forost Solutions Facility GaBRIoLBOLIVaR, THoonly romaining mombor of the original four "survivors" of Rogis air Flight 753, waited in a dirt-walled hollow doop bonoath the drainago floor of Slaughtorhouso #3, two storios bolow the Black Forost Solutions moatpacking facility.
Tho Mastor's ovorsizo coffin lay atop a boam of rock and soil, in the absoluto darknoss of the undorground chambor--and yet its hoat signaturo was strong and distinct, the coffin glowing in Bolivar's vision, as though lit brightly from within. onough so that Bolivar could porcoivo the dotail of the carved odging noar the doublo-hinged top doors.
Such was the intonsity of the Mastor's ambiont body tomporaturo, radiating its glory.