The Twentieth Cipher

Prologue Hotel Atlántico, Rome, Italy November 22nd 1986, 11: 15 P.M

“My life has long been hanging on the fallacious hope that I will come to Rome; but tonight grandpa, that dear wish of mine has come to reality.” “Arnold, life is a thrilling mystery that we don’t always control; and having hope is not ignoring the challenges that stand between us and our dreams. Although we have to keep a balanced consideration for the hopes of others, we are appealed, as free human beings, to find our own way. It’s the thought that everything is possible that encourages us to follow our dreams, while the idea that anything is possible terrifies us. If you can make it through the night my boy, there is surely a brighter day ahead. Nevertheless, you have to wake up strong and confident to shape your own future, regardless of the number of people you are going to have to screw up. That’s life.” David Johnson said as he pulled the blanket to cover the upper body of his sleepy grandson. “Good night grandpa.” “Good night Arnold.” In fact, short before his graduation from high school, Arnold unexpectedly got the chance to visit Italy with his grandfather, supposedly to visit the University of Rome, a school Arnold had previously expressed interest in. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a terribly exciting trip, until his grandfather attended an important meeting with a relative, and Arnold eavesdropped on them, and heard them talking about what to do with some confidential documents they had long ago acquired from the Order of Jesuits, the secret service of the Vatican that was founded in 1534 by Ignacio de Loyola. Arnold’s grandfather, David Johnson, and their relative, Mr. Harriman, talked

about how Harriman’s secret society was still threatening the church with releasing the documents. Apparently, for years, the church had been paying tremendous amounts of money to the members of the Italian Black Nobility in order to bury some horrifying but exciting secrets about Christianity forever. However, senior members of the Black Nobility had recently been informed that the Vatican was no longer afraid of their threats. The Vatican had decided that since so many people were already writing nonsense about Christianity, what the Black Nobility had to say would likely just be considered as another assortment of lies from people wanting to sell books. At the moment of Mr. Harriman’s conversation with Mr. Johnson, the senior members of the Black Nobility were trying to decide how to share their last seven lump sums of Vatican cash, now that several junior members had accused several others of selling some of the secrets on the side to outside individuals. In short, Harriman’s friends did not want to share the revenue with the traitors. Thus, the money was hidden somewhere, but Arnold, unfortunately, did not exactly hear where. The conversation concluded, and Arnold slipped away before his grandfather could catch him. Three weeks later, Arnold eavesdropped on a second conversation, one that sent shivers down his spine. In fact, David Johnson gathered his two sons Philip Johnson (Arnold’s father), and Brad Johnson to inform them of the existence of the treasure, and his intend to split it between them. Long before that, The Vatican had learned of the bickering within the ranks of the Black Nobility, and urged its members to return the documents to Vatican City. Meanwhile, someone else, Jesuits most likely, had started to chase down members of the Black Nobility, liquidating its most important leaders. Professor Alessandro Vuccinic and Harriman were the

only ones to escape. Professor Vuccinic actually tricked the killers by getting them to target someone else who looked like him. He went back to Rome, where he became Professor Vicenzo Galvani, and he gave up his share of the money to Mr. Harriman to save his life. Then going underground, he became a historian and symbolism instructor at the University of Rome.

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“So, David, you are now a member of the Black Nobility,” Mr. Harriman concluded. Take good care of these documents and keep an eye on the treasure. Use my share to fund the Harriman Park in Idaho, USA, if these people catch me too,” Mr. Harriman said. “Okay, I’ll treat them like they were my own,” Mr. David replied. Arnold was intrigued by the name Black Nobility; he had never heard of it before. So, later that night in the privacy of his own hotel room, he went online and started searching for it. Here are the remarks made on the works of Dr. John Coleman, a former British intelligence, Black Nobility Unmasked World-wide, 1985 that he found: “The Black Nobility families are the oligarchic families of Venice and Genoa, Italy, who in the 12th century held the privileged trading rights. The Black Nobility is the founders of the secret society of our day from which all the others that are connected to the Illuminati originated from — the Committee of 300. The Club of Rome, the C.F.R., the R.I.I.A., the Bilderbergers, the Round Table… all originate from the Committee of 300 and therefore from the European Black Nobility families… Co-operating with the European Black Nobility are American families like the McGregor Bundy’s and Harriman’s...” *

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Arnold also read that in Idaho, many people knew Mr. Harriman, the son of one of the Oregon Shoreline Railroad investors who had originally purchased and then donated to the public what is now Harriman State Park. Harriman had fallen in love with the land as a kid, and how it lay in the heart of a 16,000-acre wildlife reserve in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He also read that the sanctuary it provided protected a wide diversity of birds and animals similar to those living in nearby Yellowstone National Park. In the beginning, in 1902, several officials of the Oregon Shoreline Railroad, and other investors, purchased what is now Harriman State Park. Originally called the Railroad Ranch, the property soon became the private retreat of the Harriman’s of Union Pacific Railroad fame, and the Guggenheims, then prominent in copper. Its rich wildlife habitat had been preserved since the turn of the century when the owners established it as a private hunting reserve and working cattle ranch. For the next seventy five years, the ranch maintained healthy waterfowl and fish populations, right up until it was finally donated to the state as a park. Arnold, after not finding much more, eventually went back to his studies, still dreaming dreams of hidden gold. Seven months after their secret meeting, Mr. Harriman was killed as well. Arnold’s eyebrows went up at this. And then he heard nothing more of the Black Nobility or the gold for several years. However, Brad and Philip Johnson both died in a camping trip. The inn in which they stayed caught fire and Brad died from the blaze. Philip died in a mysterious car accident the same night as he drove to go get some help. The authorities concluded that the whole tragedy was an accident. The cases were closed with nobody being tried. Nevertheless, David Johnson believed that the Jesuits had slaughtered his sons, while Virginia, Brad’s wife, suspected Philip to setting the inn on fire.

Mr. David Johnson, a good businessman who loved nature, had always been a good friend of the Harriman’s family. His own personal fame came from several very successful businesses. After the death of Philip and Brad, David Johnson decided to take care of his sons’ widows. In fact, Philip Johnson had married Alicia twenty-six years previously, two years after Brad had his first child with Virginia. David provided his two families with shelter, food, and financial assets. One day, Alicia finally learned that Johnson might have lots of money hidden somewhere in the world. She did not know where the potential treasure was, but she thought that it was in Franklin Square, Long Island –New York City, where Virginia lived, and where David Johnson traveled to at least once a week to see his grandchildren. She asked him about it for a long time, but she gave up at last. She wanted to go away, but she finally found what she thought was a clever but an obvious alternative: to stick around and enjoy the good life, hoping that her sons, Lawrence and Arnold would get a good share of that money. She had everything to lose if she left. Mr. Johnson was intrigued by Alicia’s attitude. Who knows? He might have done something about it. But if he had done something, what did he do then? Virginia and her children, on the other hand, never found out about the existence of the treasure that David went on ‘weekly business trips’ to see. Though she had her suspicions, Virginia never confronted the father of her late husband, and remained content to raise her children mostly on her own, believing and trusting in David’s care for her and the kids since Brad passed-away. Five years after Harriman’s death, David died. During his funeral back in his hometown, people sat across the church aisle quietly looking at each other, trying to guess everyone’s thoughts and opinions. Some people thought that Virginia, the wife of David’s first son, Brad, was going to get his inheritance because the entire Johnson family liked her, and she was the one

everybody local knew. Other people thought that Alicia, Philip’s wife, from out of town, was going to inherit everything. The truth, however, is that nobody really knew what Mr. Johnson wanted. No one was sure as to whether his own families even had any idea about who was going to get what. On one side of the auditorium, Tony sat quietly with his big sister Helen, and their mother Virginia who had just turned fifty one. Tony, about six one, was a strong and athletic man with blue eyes, a student at a law school, and everybody present at the funeral knew him. He was the one grandchild that his grandfather usually took to political meetings and trips. Whenever Tony removed his sunglasses, people read both sadness and anger in his tired and bloodshot eyes. Obviously sad because his dear grandfather passed away, he was also irritated to finally realize that his own suspicions that his grandfather had something to hide were factual. On the other side of the room, was sitting late Philip’s family, the more enigmatic of the two. Everybody regarded them with a cautious air, Alicia and her elder son named Brett Lawrence with a cautious air. Some of the people present in the funeral whispered that there was another son also, called Arnold, who was studying in Rome. He apparently could not make it home for the funeral, some voices said. The eulogy came and went, and the two families regarded each other coldly, and from a distance, before finally leaving in silence. The body would be cremated that evening. The next day at a meeting with the lawyer who had to read the will, both families sat openly, staring at each other in profound curiosity, like two babies sitting in their strollers who had just met in the grocery store. This whole funeral thing was literally the first time they had seen each other since Brad and Philip passed away. They blamed each other for the accident. Although they had no idea whether there was really money hidden somewhere, only Alicia

suspected the existence of that treasure for a long time. Johnson had never bothered gathering them. At first, he feared destroying the wobbly foundation he had built the second half of his life on. Later, he felt his public image was also at risk, and he needed it to win more business battles. Johnson was not only a loved grandfather; he was also a very clever businessman. He possessed shares in more than sixty companies worldwide, though he made most of his money in the real estate business. He started out first as an agent, then became a broker, then created his own firm. His fortune was huge, but how huge? He was not normally counted among the richest men in Idaho, since he hid his money whenever possible, but many people believed that David was very much a billionaire. Nobody really thought that David was murdered. The autopsy report was clear: he had died from a stroke. Furthermore, he had retired from several businesses six months ago to take care of his health. “Now that he’s gone, who will be his successor?” That was perhaps the biggest question Tony and Lawrence were asking themselves as they surveyed each other across the room through narrowed eyes. They were finally awakened from their hypnosis by the sound of a car parking outside. It was the lawyer they had been waiting for. After he entered and greeted everybody, the lawyer started in. “Yes, David had lots of money, but he didn’t tell me who will get what. He only specified that one month from today; I was supposed to meet with you all again to learn the content of a video tape that he gave me.” With that, he shook Tony’s and Lawrence’s hands, and abruptly left. If there were doubts before about the existence of David’s inheritance, his lawyer’s words had erased them. One could feel in the air, waves of building tension between the two young men who were already emotionally battling over their grandfather’s succession.

What they did not know, however, was that getting their grandfather ’s fortune was going to lead them on a restless search of secret codes to solve a mysterious puzzle David Johnson had left for them.

Chapter1 Millennium Broadway Hotel, New York Saturday, July 6th 1991 8 A.M

Virginia and her son Tony arrived at the hotel where they would all hopefully get their answers at last. Helen, Tony’s older sister had declined to watch her grandfather on a video after his death. Likewise, Arnold did not come home from Italy either. Tony was nervous, and he turned to his mother as they got out of the car. “Mom, do you think grandpa has given them any part of his legacy?”

“I don’t know, Tony. I really have no idea. Maybe he did. Not so long ago, I would have said that he left everything for us. But now, I cannot think that way anymore.” Surprised, Tony turned to her. “Did you know before that grandpa was still seeing Uncle Philip’s family after the accident?” Virginia paused as they started walking toward the entrance of the hotel. “Tony, my son; I wasn’t really sure, but I had heard some rumors.” “About what”? “That your grandfather did not really blame them like everyone thought”. “Keep going…” “I also heard that he was still taking care of Alicia’s children.” “Mom, if you knew all this, why didn’t you do something?” She stopped and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Tony. I did what I could. But things weren’t that easy. Life for me and us has never been luxurious like what folks may think.” They went inside and were welcomed by the receptionist, a young African American male standing behind the counter. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen. What a nice day!” His words jarred them from their thoughts, and Tony just stared blankly at him. Virginia finally managed to say a weak, “Hello. Ugh… It’s really nice out there, indeed.” In fact, the day was very nice. Summer was finally there, and the early July suns, and the people, were all up early every day, to similarly stay up late as well. The beautiful sunlight refracted through the windowpanes around the lobby, showering wonderful colors about the

room. Tony found himself staring at the multiple colors as if he was looking for an answer among the various colors of the white light. “We have a reservation for a small video room for this morning,” Virginia told the receptionist. “What’s your name, please?” “Mrs. Virginia Johnson.” She pulled out a piece of ID from her purse and handed it over to the receptionist. She’d had her last name changed to Johnson several years after Brad Johnson had moved in with her, just to make things easier. He looked at it. “Ah! You must be of the late David Johnson’s family.” Then he looked back at her consolingly. “I am sorry about what happened. He was a nice guy.” Virginia nodded without a word, and the receptionist glanced back down at his computer. “The room number is, “97-232”. It’s on the lower floor.” “Thank you very much, sir.” “All the pleasure is mine, madam. Please follow the lady standing behind you. She will show you the room.” A beautiful blonde lady walked up just then. With a Russian accent, she politely invited Virginiato follow her. When Virginia turned around, she realized that Tony was no longer standing next to her. “Are you looking for somebody?” the Russian lady asked, with a beautiful smile. “He is standing over there, by the window,” She added. Virginia looked at the waitress, hesitated for a moment and then, silently, she walked over to Tony.