The Source - Michael Cordy [44]
'I don't understand, Father General,' said the pope, when Torino had finished. 'Since you became head of the Institute of Miracles you've been merciless with every claim. You're constantly telling me that although the Church needs miracles to show God's hand in the world, they must be scientifically proven examples that no one can deny. During your time in office you haven't ratified one miracle. Why are you interested in this priest's ancient claims?'
'Because I don't believe the Holy Mother Church should be forced, like a dog scrabbling for food, to seek out miracles. Instead she should be their inspiration, the wellspring from which they flow.' Torino held up a printout of Lauren Kelly's translation of the Voynich. 'This is a Yale academic's translation of the so-called Voynich Cipher Manuscript.'
'The Voynich?'
'The document that Father Orlando Falcon wrote while imprisoned by the Inquisition more than four centuries ago. The same Devil's book that the Church, especially the three men who held our positions at the time, denounced as the dangerous ramblings of a possessed man. The translation is almost identical to Falcon's original testimony recorded in the Inquisition Archives. It would appear that the text he wrote all those centuries ago was a coded language that has only now been understood. Why would Father Orlando have bothered to invent a complex language if his story was a lie, a heresy?'
'You walk in dangerous territory, Father General,' counselled the pope.
'Now is not the time to tread carefully, Your Holiness. Now is the time to be bold. If this miraculous Garden of God exists it has massive implications for the Church.'
'But it can't exist,' Cardinal Prefect Vasari said, reaching for Falcon's testimony. 'Father Orlando claimed, essentially, to have discovered the Garden of Eden in a primitive jungle, in the midst of savages. Eden can't have been in the New World among heathens. And his strange creatures and bizarre plants are far removed from any description in the Bible. He tried to rewrite Genesis, for heaven's sake.'
Torino nodded. 'If it exists, though, its power could restore the Holy Mother Church's standing in the world.'
'It can't,' insisted the Cardinal Prefect. 'It goes against doctrine, undermines the scriptures and threatens the Church.'
'All the more reason why we can't allow anyone else to find it,' countered Torino. He turned to the pope. 'Holy Father, many people currently believe that the Voynich records a harmless myth. But if they knew it had been written by the sole survivor of a mission to find Eldorado, a Jesuit priest who was tortured because of what he claimed to have discovered, then it would, at the very least, embarrass the Church. At worst, it might encourage others to find this garden. Its existence might undermine the Bible and our doctrine. It could erode the Church's already declining relevance. Think about the miraculous healing powers Falcon claimed for his garden. Who needs the Church if people no longer fear death or disease?'
He raised a finger. 'But if we found it, we could mould it to fit our doctrine and bring glory to Rome. We could claim its power as our own. The Holy Mother Church would no longer need to seek out miracles as proof of God's hand on earth. She would control them. Rome would again be a dominant force in the world.'
'Why are you so sure this place exists?' the pontiff asked.
'Because Orlando Falcon wrote directions to his garden in a separate notebook, which, unfortunately, is now in the possession of an atheist, Dr Ross Kelly, the husband of the academic who deciphered the Voynich. Dr Kelly is a geologist and has already flown to Peru to search for the garden.'
'What?' The pope and the Cardinal Prefect sat forward.
'Of course, he may find nothing, but what if he does discover something?'
Torino briefed them on all he knew, omitting any reference to Bazin. He had always kept his assassin half-brother secret and now was not the time to reveal