Free Fortune Favors by Sean Ellis Page B

reputedly discovered the secret of immortality in a substance he called ‘the Philosopher's Stone’.”
    “I’ve heard the story,” Kismet replied warily. “Various charlatans throughout history have claimed to be Saint-Germain, Cagliostro, the alchemist Nicholas Flamel...snake oil salesmen, one an all.”
    “Are you so sure that they were charlatans? If Noah or Methuselah could live to be nine hundred years old, why not these men?”
    Kismet shrugged. He silently admonished himself for not having made his escape sooner. What he had first mistaken for charisma was, it seemed, just the persuasive passion of a crank. “Those stories failed to convince me then, and nothing I have heard here convinces me now.”
    “Then consider a different tale.” Leeds gestured with the Bible. “Have you ever heard of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ?”
    “Aside from the fact that hundreds of churches, schools and hospitals are named for it, not really.”
    “The Devotion of the Sacred Heart is a liturgy found in the catechism, though it is not explicitly mentioned in scripture. The doctrine itself has more to do with the symbolism of Christ's love for mankind, a love so passionate that it caused his heart to glow visibly in his chest.
    “In the subtext of this tale however, I see yet another clue in the puzzle of the quest for immortality. There is a tradition among the Gnostics, who were in fact among the earliest of Christ's followers, and never accepted the pollution of the Roman church, that Jesus was in fact one of the Magi; a class of Rabbis devoted to studying the Kabbalah. During the forty days and nights, which Christ spent in the wilderness, he learned the secret of unlocking the powers hidden in the language of the Torah. I believe that he also found something else.
    “Another supposition of scholars is that Shem, the son of Noah, was also Melchizedek, King of Salem, and there is no mention of Melchizedek’s death in the scriptures; in fact, St. Paul alluded to Melchizedek's immortality in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is my belief that Melchizedek bequeathed his vestige of the Tree of Life to Jesus Christ during the forty days of his meditation, and the Christ in turn used the knowledge of the Magi to incorporate it into his own flesh, making it one with his own heart.”
    “That is an interesting way of skewing the scriptures,” remarked Kismet. “But it doesn't really support your idea of eternal life. Jesus didn't exactly survive to a ripe old age.”
    “Only because he was slain. And yet death could not hold him, for he rose three days later, as an eternal spirit.” Through his discussion, Leeds’ voice remained calm, never betraying the passions he evidently harbored on the subject. “Notice however the particulars of his crucifixion, mentioned in the Gospel of St. John: 'But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.' The spear of the centurion Gaius Longinus pierced the heart of Jesus. When that happened, the heavens darkened and the earth shook. The gospel of St. Matthew says that tombs were opened and the dead came to life. Imagine the power that was released when the Sacred Heart was pierced. The spear of the centurion became a powerful talisman, as did the chalice in which Joseph of Arimathea collected the heart-blood of Christ. Longinus himself received the gift of immortal life.”
    “I have heard those legends as well; the Spear of Destiny and the Holy Grail. I seem to recall that Longinus viewed his immortality as a curse.”
    “Only because of his guilt for having slain the Christ. He doubtless wished to kill himself, even as Judas the betrayer did, but he was denied the release of suicide.”
    Kismet shook his head, as if clearing away cobwebs. “Okay, so Jesus’ powers to heal, raise the dead and everything else came from his possession of some magic fruit. We'll sidestep the fact that about every Christian on the planet would view