Yesterday (Part Four - Chapters 62 & 63) (Patreon)

FOURTH PART

“Tell the truth from time to time so that they will believe you when you lie.”

Jules Renard

CHAPTER 62

Elias Harperin was born in the thundery early morning hours of August 3, 1903, and thereafter lived in his family's remote castle surrounded by hills, mountains, and fog. Bedtime stories read to him each night in his bedchamber always took place in castles like his, and Elias spent the first years of his life dreaming of other children who, he supposed, might live in their own castles and who, in turn, might hear of his adventures in their bedtime stories.

At the age of six he was still small and wiry, though agile and strong, thanks mainly to the endless hours he spent exploring the motley family castle.

He witnessed very important people parading through the halls of that palace, as his nanny admiringly warned him every time the house was in turmoil with the preparations for some reception, but he was not allowed to speak to them unless one of them spoke to him first.

Hidden in nooks and crannies known only to him, he squatted and listened as his parents held conversations with all these personalities, and over the years he learned the importance of knowing how to keep a secret well, and the power that such a virtue could confer on him in life.

His mother was a grand lady educated in the cradle of the European aristocracy of the late nineteenth century, his father a lordly landowner who passionately embraced the industrial revolution.

She periodically gathered in her cabinet the finest of the culture and thought of the time and treated those scientists and thinkers as kings, a favor that they returned her by conferring around her openly about all that the world was about to experience, striving to present her with more and more discoveries and theories, each one more astonishing, if not bizarre.

His mother was fascinated by the unknown, the machine revolution, the advances in medicine and what it would mean for the future of society. Elias inherited from her that love of knowledge and science, and the desire to speed things up, to have everything at his fingertips as soon as possible.

His education eventually passed into the hands of two tutors, an elderly scholar whose mission was first to teach him how to read and write, and then which books to read, and a younger one, who taught him to keep fit and to fight for his dreams. The years passed and Elias grew into a reserved young man of keen intelligence and precocious maturity.

A concept became clear to him after those experiences during his childhood, money could move mountains and was the fertilizer needed for knowledge and progress to flourish. Through his mother he met very wise men and women, yes, but he also understood their weaknesses. In order to get them on his side he would only have to see to it that the money flowed and forge a common cause to fight for.

From his father he inherited the title, a fortune and the know-how, also a taste for elitism and unparalleled ambition. Unfortunately they lost him in the First World War. It was due to overconfidence, is the first thing he thought after hearing about it from his grieving mother. His father was defeated the day he believed the world could be changed by pride.

After much meditation, Elias realized that the only way to control events and become a crucial player at the global table that was being forged was for no one to know his hand.

And he already had his first move in mind. The industrial revolution was a fact, it had changed society. The strong convulsions that the planet was beginning to undergo were only the beginning of a historical change and, one night, while listening to the fiery speech of a German philosopher, an idea occurred to him, something that would mean taking a step further.

His sudden inspiration would mean, if he succeeded in putting it into practice, a second revolution, that of man and thought, an exciting plan to which he would dedicate his whole life, and a way of honoring his family's legacy.

It was not until his teenage years that he first left Harperin Castle for more than two months at a time. It was to complete his training at Trinity College, Cambridge, an event he had been looking forward to for years.

That spurred his visionary endeavor, and soon after arriving in Cambridge he founded his first secret club with two of his cousins, who had been there for a whole year when he showed up at the institution's reception desk.

The Helicon Society was officially constituted one passionate Friday night in November 1921, and its first three members decided that only minds in tune with their ideas would be invited to join by majority vote, a mixture of futuristic fantasies and youthful humanism that suited Elias perfectly to lay the foundations for his next steps.

Driven by their adolescent enthusiasm, the society grew and people began to talk about them secretly in the faculty's gossiping circles. Their fame and legend became such two years later that, one day, a gossip about it reached the ears of Elias himself who, annoyed by the sudden success and visibility, abandoned it, resigning before his surprised cousins.

He soon realized that the only way to keep his partners silent was not only to set a common goal, but that they would have a lot to lose if they did not, so he devised another, much more select society, for which he himself drew up its statutes and objectives before deciding whom to invite.

This society could only be entered by his express invitation, and its acolytes would have to take a much more complex and binding oath.

On joining the society, any property owned by its members in the faculty would become the property of the society, which would administer it according to its needs and interests.

Their ultimate goal was much more ambitious and closer to his true plan. They would begin by encouraging scientific progress and administering the power emanating from it according to their firm principles. Not all members would have access to the same information, only those who were truly prepared to exploit it for the ultimate benefit of humanity, and what their members would receive in return would be exclusivity, the possibility of benefiting from everything they discovered before anyone else.

He called this society Arcadia.

Several years went by and Arcadia made exciting discoveries and breakthroughs, which Elias together with scrupulously selected members cultivated, matured and dosed to the outside.

In those early years many theories and possibilities were considered. There was constant talk of energy and its most recent and stimulating discovery, radioactivity, but looking for revolutionary practical applications; they also accumulated information on genetics, cryonics, psychology and sociology. Political discussions ensued as the society around them changed, and new members raised the theoretical possibility of time and space travel, while doing research into the reality of spiritualism and esoteric magic, so much in vogue in other secret societies around them. The list of disciplines they embraced was endless, and Elias invested every last coin he received from his parents in the project.

Then came the consequences of World War II, when Elias learned a very hard lesson that would change him forever: humanity is not always ready for progress and knowledge. The death of his father in the Great War only served to sow that idea, but seeing the atrocities caused by the Second World War reinforced his certainty.

During the conflicts, he took it upon himself to discreetly filter discoveries, to help, to try to slow down the inevitable, but he could not. It was as if some of the people he met were enjoying the chaos. It seemed like crazy nonsense to him. So he decided to take refuge for a time in his parents' castle, where one fine day his mother gave him the key that would change his future.

One night, after dinner, he shared with her his secret admiration for the hustle and bustle of scientists and philosophers that the family castle had experienced in his childhood, and he confessed to her how much it had influenced him. He could not help but keep talking and begin to confide part of his plan to her, until he ended up confessing everything at the end of the evening.

The next morning his mother came up to him and said something that again shook him up.

—You won’t change the world if you don't change people first.

The plan that had been brewing in Elias' head took shape that morning. A few years later, on January 10, 1945, at the heart of London, the Harperin Corporation was born.

Elias took advantage of the visit of several of his former colleagues and powerful friends to the inauguration of preparations for the founding of the United Nations Organization by King George VI to organize a discreet side meeting where, cloaked in secrecy by the leading members of Arcadia, the initial bylaws of the Harperin Corporation were drafted.

They would work discreetly, isolated as much as possible from humanity, researching and gathering data and knowledge, until one day they would have something with which they could radically modify it and thus assure the planet the bright and utopian future Elias dreamed of.

He only needed an idea, a cornerstone on which to base that mission, and his mother had inspired him once again: the key lay in the very foundation of human thought and behavior.

Until he found a way to direct and channel such thinking, he decided that he would reserve all the discoveries they made in that direction for the Corporation, as well as those that would emerge and be susceptible to misuse by the new generations of unscrupulous rulers. Science, especially its revolutionary science of thought, would become a new art, of which the Harperin Corporation would be a visionary patron and strict protector.

CHAPTER 63

—Indeed, she is still a bit dazed, —nodded Jonah, breaking the silence, as if he understood his guests’ concern and as if he were continuing a conversation with them, —but she is better.

He summoned them at five o’clock in the afternoon to his suite at the Palace Hotel. Father Aminarti and Oscar attended together.

Meanwhile, Laura taciturnly waited for them in the living room. They looked at her with concern. Several hours had passed since her nervous breakdown at the clinic, and although she looked better, she still seemed absent. Jonah had managed to get her out of the clinic at noon despite Eva and Oscar's protests, with the promise that they would see her again that afternoon.

He invited them to sit on the soft sofas in the living room of the suite, placed a chair in front of them and sat down with a satisfied expression on his face. Laura quietly approached his side.

—What’s wrong with her? —Oscar interjected.

—Remembering it all at once gave her a shock. She is still assimilating it, it’s a lot of information, you must understand it’s a complicated process. Give her a few more minutes.

—What are we doing here, my son? —Aminarti asked him worriedly.

—Take it easy, Pater, don’t be dramatic, I have only one intention with this meeting, and it will be over soon.

—And what is it? —Aminarti asked.

—The truth, nothing but the truth, Pater.

—Don’t you think it would be much better if she knew nothing? —Aminarti interceded.

—No, Pater, you still don’t understand. She knows everything. Listen to me and be patient, it won’t be long now.

—He’s right, —Laura intervened for the first time, trying to intercede.

Someone knocked at the door of the suite.

—Ah! Perfect! —exclaimed Jonah, getting up with a theatrical gesture to open the door —precise as clockwork.

Jonah left the room and returned shortly, followed by a familiar face.

—Hebert! —Aminarti exclaimed in surprise.

—Indeed! —remarked Jonah triumphantly. —The professor wanted to join this little gathering. But don’t bother talking to him, —he added, wagging his finger, —he can’t answer you, not yet.

Jonah arranged a chair beside him for the professor. He sat obediently. He seemed hypnotized.

—What are you going to do to him? —Oscar groped.

—Nothing he doesn’t deserve, you'll see.

Jonah snapped his fingers and Hebert looked around in surprise.

—What am I doing here? —He asked stupefied, struggling to get up, until Jonah prevented him with another gesture.

—Didn’t you want to see us? —asked Jonah with a mocking grimace.

—I… —stammered the professor, acknowledging them all in surprise, —yes, but…

—Don't worry about them, they’re just friends.

Hebert looked at Jonah in fear, but said nothing.

—Well Pater, the time has come, it’s your chance to finally know who this man really is, ask him whatever you want, and I'll see to it that he will speak only the truth. Don’t hold back.

—But Jonah… —protested Aminarti.

—Stop prissing now, Pater. I know perfectly well that you’ve been wanting to know which side he’s on for years. Today is the day, make the most of it.

Aminarti looked at Oscar for his support, and he gave him a silent nod of approval.

—You can trust him, Dad, he won’t hurt you, —Laura interrupted.

Oscar knew that Laura was referring to Jonah because that was what he was thinking about. Even so, he didn’t relax, he continued repeating mentally the lyrics of the old song.

—Yes, and by the way, stop trying to resist with the damn song, I already know it by heart and it’s really annoying. If I wanted to control you I would have done it long ago, — Jonah sneered. —Pater, please begin.

Aminarti was trying to calm down and collect his thoughts. The frightened expression on Professor Hebert’s face did not help him. He decided that before starting with him he needed to find something to test Jonah’s intentions. He meditated for a few moments, which took forever, and then he jumped in.

—Can I ask you a question first, son?

Jonah sighed.

—I had hoped to talk about it later, but go ahead.

—Why didn’t the artifact they gave me work?

—But it did work, Pater, don’t you see? —said Jonah, spreading his arms wide. Only not as you were led to believe. Neither you, nor your friend the professor, and I won't give you any more clues. You’ll have to find out the rest for yourself. I am doing you a favor here.

Oscar took advantage of Aminarti’s puzzlement to take the initiative.

—Professor, do you belong to the Harperin Corporation?

Hebert did not answer, but something in his expression betrayed him and he knew he was struggling. Jonah let out a short laugh.

—Really? —he put his hand on his shoulder, laughing. —Professor, answer willingly, or I will be forced to push you even harder.

—Yes, —he hissed reluctantly.

Oscar and Aminarti looked at each other, and an “I told you so” flashed in the former’s eyes.

—Since when? —Aminarti asked.

—Since 1991, —admitted Hebert to the surprise of the priest, who took a few seconds.

—Why? —was the only thing Aminarti could articulate.

Hebert struggled again, but seeing Jonah make a move, he began to speak hurriedly.

—Because it was offered to me, out of curiosity, because I could, affinity, call it what you will, —he replied defiantly with a shake of his head, continuing to pour words forth like in a flood. —Meeting Jonah opened before me a whole spectrum of knowledge and possibilities that I could not just put in a box and throw it away as you and Oscar asked me to do. I am not just a psychiatrist, Pater, I am a scientist, I have my own ambitions. Besides, that happened when I stopped having contact with you, what do you care?

—Ambition, divine treasure! —declaimed Jonah hands up and then giving Oscar an acid look, —but we’ll see a lot of that, won't we, Dad?

—You should come with me, —whispered Hebert seriously, trying to convince him and ignoring the others. —It’s urgent.

—Let’s not spoil their surprise, Professor. Continue, Pater.

—Where do you want to take them?

—To London.

—What for?

—To protect them.

Jonah patted him on the back.

—What a great person the professor is turning out to be, isn’t he? —he said. —And tell us, what do you want to protect us from?

—From the Corporation… -he chewed.

—Lies —Jonah answered, mocking him, —haven’t you figured it out yet, professor? I can read your mind now. Your little toys don’t work anymore.

Hebert looked at him in terror.

—Ask him about me, —Laura interjected.

—Why did they take Laura away, Professor?

—To condition her, —Hebert admitted, —but I had nothing to do with it directly.

—Then explain yourself.

—You belong to the first generation, the techniques used to alter your genetics, although advanced for the time, were very rudimentary. To keep you healthy you had to go through certain conditioning processes to adjust your chemical balance.

—Why not just leave them alone? —asked Oscar.

—Because they are unstable and pose a danger to the Corporation’s goals, —Hebert reluctantly admitted.

—Well, well… —Jonah started to say.

—Sorry to interrupt you, son, —Aminarti cut him off, visibly annoyed by his childish attitude, —why do you want to save them?

—I shouldn’t talk about that, —Hebert answered with a pleading look at Jonah, which he ignored. Aminarti rectified with a gesture and decided to play it down.

—We’ll talk about it later, all right, —Aminarti continued, trying to spare the professor more suffering. —You said earlier that you joined the Corporation back in 1991, didn’t you have contact with them before then?

—No, but it was not difficult for me to detect their imprint, in fact I believed for a time that you yourself were part of the organization.

—Me? —exclaimed Aminarti, aghast.

—You think I didn’t notice the provenance of many of the study texts you periodically included? If it wasn’t you, someone in your circle had to be privy of Jonah’s education.

—I thought it was you and my liaison, —Aminarti replied defensively, although a sudden revelation in his mind silenced him for a few moments. —I see, now I understand… —he admitted to himself. He turned to Hebert again, —What about Scientology?

—What do you want me to say? —Hebert said, crossing his arms.

—The truth? —Jonah interjected.

—There was a time when I worked with them, many years ago, until I discovered that we had different objectives. That doesn’t mean I don’t consider some of their methods valid.

—What about what happened to me next door the other day? —asked Jonah.

—They had nothing to do with it, an automated instruction from the Corporation activated the pulse that attacked you from a satellite when it detected you in that place. Nothing would please the leadership of any of those organizations more than to be able to catch one of your people and have you under their control, —he answered, looking at both of them, —and that is something we cannot allow.

—Now who is he talking about? —Aminarti asked.

Hebert stirred uneasily and looked pleadingly at Jonah again. The latter agreed and pointed to Oscar, who took his turn.

—What is my family’s interest to you, why have you dragged us into this?

—Oscar… if it wasn’t for me, you would all be dead by now, —proclaimed Hebert proudly. —You were almost invisible to the Corporation until you started asking questions. The Congregation is another matter.

—Don't you dare involve us in your intrigues! —Aminarti threatened him.

—Do not act surprised, Pater, —Hebert replied angrily, —you know very well how invested your Congregation has been since they discovered Harperin's plans. How else did they involve you in the affair? Would you assure me that at no time did any of them speak to you about the great role they expected to play? Who were the first to intrigue for a piece of the pie? Please spare me the moral lessons.

—We are not all like you, —Aminarti replied harshly.

—Because you see them as prophets! —exclaimed Hebert, pointing to the twins sitting next to him and then raising his arms in the air, —For God's sake, don't you see? They're not enlightened, nor do they spread peace for all, they're just mutants, two anomalies created in a laboratory.

—Well, well, let's have some peace here, —Jonah interjected, —let’s not get sidetracked, behave yourself, Professor.

—But what do you intend to do when you take them away, if not that, control them? —Aminarti lectured him.

—At least it won't be at the hand of any illuminati. Our objectives are different.

—In any case, I don't understand what we are doing here, —Oscar cut him off. I promise not to talk about this anymore, and I know that my daughters will also commit themselves. Just let us go, Jonah, and you will never hear from us again.

—It's not that easy, Dad, —interjected Laura, raising her head for the first time and giving him a concerned look, —we still haven't even talked about Adrian.