Read Jesus the Extraterrestrial - Origins for Free Online

climbed down to the chamber, now fully lit by their lanterns. The white monk indicated the exact spot on the wall that the guard should break. The man set to work at once. Some pieces of stone started to fall outwards, but most of them inwards - once again, the place was hollow. With a great effort the guard managed to clear a passage about six feet wide and four high. The guard was the first to make his way through and behind him went the monks with their lanterns lit. They passed along a corridor about eight feet wide, all of stone, for a distance of about fifty yards. The floor sloped down, so that as they walked forwards they gradually went lower. After the fifty yards they found a bend in the passage, and when they went round it the floor started to fall even more steeply. They went on for another hundred yards or so.
    Suddenly they came to a huge iron gateway. This time the pickaxe wasn´t enough to break down the gate, and mere kicks were of no use. Then the white monk produced from his neck a piece of string, with two keys attached to it: one of them should open the gate. They were almost identical and the first one that the monk tried was unsuccessful. The second key fitted perfectly and he turned the lock, opening it. The guard pushed the gate but it was very heavy and the first time he failed to open it. He rested a little, and then with a slightly greater effort he pushed it open. Cautiously he entered the place, keeping his lantern in front of him to avoid any nasty surprises. Once again they found an empty chamber, this one a little smaller than the last. The white monk seemed unsurprised and the others, although surprised, were getting used to it.
    ‘Where should I break now, sir?’ asked the guard, who now seemed a little disheartened.
    ‘You don´t need to break any more, just let me past,’ said the grand master, moving ahead of him.
    He could see, just above his head on one of the walls, some slightly darker stones. He reached up to touch the topmost of them and gave it a push with his two hands. The stone moved and began to slip into the wall. Noises could be heard as of a gearing mechanism working. The noise stopped and the wall slowly began to move. All of them in the chamber just stared with their mouths open.
    ‘John, you are to guard the entrance. We will go on alone. Many thanks for your help,’ said the white monk, putting his hand on the guard´s shoulder.
    ‘Brothers, be so kind as to follow me.’
    Then they all went through the wall which had just opened. One by one they collected at the other side and, as the light of their lanterns grew stronger, the place was illuminated. It was a great gallery, all made of marble, with wide columns and some stained-glass windows - it seemed like a temple or something similar. Some of the columns held inscriptions in Roman lettering and some drawings. The men started walking slowly forward and soon they could see an altar. They went up some marble stairs and were greeted by another iron door. In the middle of the door there was the design of a cross, and on the cross there were twelve locks.
    Each of the monks carried a key hanging on a string around his neck. This key had been passed from father to son down the centuries. Each of the members there present held a seniority within the society which went from one to twelve, with the grand master holding the highest level. The monks removed the black strings from their necks and one by one, starting with the lowest in seniority, they placed their keys in a certain lock. The movements were synchronized, in that only when a monk of a lower level had turned his key could the next senior monk´s key be fitted. Thus the white monk´s key was the last one. After he had turned his key, once again a noise was heard from the other side. And when the noise stopped, three of the monks pushed against the great iron door, which opened.
    Through the door they could see a small marble room decorated in gold and silver,