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of the oldest symbols of mankind and can be found in almost all cultures of the world. They found rock engravings from the Stone Age with this symbol in Sweden, in Northern Spain, in China, and on the American continent. Virtually all over the world.«
    Where did you see this symbol before? Where, where, where?
    »A symbol from the Stone Age? What’s the point, Loretta?«
    Loretta placed three newspaper articles onto the counter, one by one. All been published during the previous week and she made sure that no one looked over their shoulders. As Peter followed her glance, he saw that the beautiful Roman woman was just leaving the bar without deigning to look at him again. What a bummer.
    »Three people died last week,« Loretta explained. »Shortly before the Pope resigned. One mountain climber from Chicago – she fell to her death in the Himalayas; one Polish astronaut – he vaporized together with the ISS; and an investment banker who worked for the Istituto per le Opere di Religione , the Vatican Bank – he fell to his death in a Milan elevator. And then there is also the fatal accident of the Pope’s private secretary.«
    »And, Loretta? Where are you going with this?«
    »It was a coincidence, really, a total coincidence. Sherpas from another expedition found the corpse of the mountain climber in a crevasse. A good friend of mine who works in Chicago conducted the autopsy and he called me. He told me that he had found something and wondered whether I might be able to use it.«
    The symbol. What does it mean?
    »What did he find?«
    »A diary. It was filled with these symbols. Apparently, the young climber had discovered them on the rocks during her expedition and had copied them.
    Where did you see this symbol before? Where, damn it?
    »I busted my ass,« Loretta continued without taking a breath. »I filtered the news and checked with all the photo agencies. I drank one of the NASA speakers under the table until he gave me what I wanted.«
    »Please, Loretta, the short version!«
    »The short version is that the Polish astronaut took a book with him aboard the ISS. Astronauts are allowed to take one personal item aboard, and most of them take a camera. Not the young Pole. He took a book. This book.«
    She placed a small, old pocket book onto the counter. The spiral symbol jumped at Peter from the cover.
    »It’s long been out of stock. I stole it from a library.«
    ›Mystic Symbols of Man – Origins and Meanings.‹ The book had been published fifteen years ago. The author was: Franz Laurenz.
    Loretta looked at Peter, triumphantly. »This book was also found in the briefcase of the investment banker who fell to his death.«
    Peter was irritated and stared at the little book. »How did you find that out, Loretta?«
    »This will remain my precious little secret forever. In the book, Laurenz discusses the spiral symbol very often.«
    She opened one of the pages and directed Peter’s attention to the illustrations.
    »These are from England, Sweden, Utah, and New Mexico and they are probably over five thousand years old. The question is: why would people in the Stone Age put so much effort into carving a spiral symbol into solid rock? Hundreds of times?«
    »You tell me.«
    »It’s all written in here. An archaeologist figured it out in the early nineties. He interpreted the spirals as stars and compared the spiral patterns on the computer with the night sky at the approximate time when the spirals were created. The result was mind-blowing. The spirals were pretty precise and sophisticated celestial maps. They always referred to a very specific and rather unsettling astronomical event. A solar eclipse. At least, Laurenz assumes that the spiral symbol stands for a solar eclipse. An event which was associated in all cultures with the end of the world. And when is the next solar eclipse?«
    »No idea.«
    »In seven days.«
    Peter exhaled. »It could still be a coincidence.«
    Dream on! You know better that