In Tongues of the Dead

In
T
ONGUES
of the
D
EAD

BRAD KELLN

Copyright © Brad Kelln, 2008

Published by ECW Press
2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4E 1E2
416.694.3348 / [email protected]

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press.

LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION

Kelln, Brad
In tongues of the dead / Brad Kelln.
ISBN
-13: 978-1-55022-830-4

1. Title.
PS
8571.
E
586416 2008      
C
813'.6      
C
2008-902387-0

Cover and Text Design: Tania Craan
Cover Image: iStock
Part Title and Endpaper Images: Voynich manuscript, courtesy of
the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University
Image of Cross: © Gary Woodard
Typesetting: Mary Bowness
Production: Rachel Brooks
Printing: Thomson-Shore

This book is set in Goudy and printed on paper that contains
30% post consumer recycled content.

The publication of
In Tongues of the Dead
has been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $20.1 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada, by the Ontario Arts Council, by the Government of Ontario through Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit, by the omdc Book Fund, an initiative of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and by the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (
BPIDP
).

PRINTED AND BOUND IN THE UNITED STATES

for Ben & Jake

Books are not written without tremendous support and encouragement. This one is no exception and I am sure I will never be able to thank everyone. I must first thank my wife, Glenna, and my sons, Ben and Jake, for their support — directly when they give encouragement — and indirectly when they leave me alone to write.

I also want to thank all those who contributed to the creative process either by listening to ideas and giving their own, reading advance copies, or answering technical questions. This includes but isn't restricted to Barry Banks, Ken Bowes, Tony Bremner, Trevor Briggs, Linda DeBaie, Anne Godley, Lindsay Hernden, Kelly Rowlett, and of course, Glenna Kelln.

Jack David and ECW Press deserve a big helping of gratitude for taking a chance on this book. Edna Barker is a wonderful editor and a joy to work with.

Finally, I need always thank my number one fans — my parents Robert and Janette.

Although the book you are about to read is a work of fiction, many of the mysteries discussed are real. The Voynich manuscript exists, and all references to its contents and history are accurate. In addition, all references to the Bible and the biblical mystery of the Nephilim are true.

… to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.

— I Corinthians 12:8–11

Benicio Valori took a deep breath and looked at the small crowd gathered in the auditorium at Columbia's Department of Psychology. He recognized twenty or so graduate students and faculty members, and also noticed quite a few strangers. As he spoke, he searched for his girlfriend, Jenna Dodgson. She was easy to find: her raven hair reflected the auditorium's lights, a smile on her face. God, how he loved those dimples. She was in the back row next to Benicio's best friend, Jake Tunnel, another psychology student. Jake and Jenna had listened to Benicio practice his speech many times. Yet here they were, showing their support. He could do this. He cleared his throat and began to explain his dissertation. His voice carried a vague hint of his native Italian.

Benicio knew his words would hit the room like a bomb — especially with the Jewish and Christian people in the audience. “Nowhere has mythology influenced the practices of organized groups as much as in religious domains,” he said slowly. “Ancient lore and mythology were often the basis on which social policy was secured. As an example, in the Old Testament, in Genesis, the Bible describes a time when angels came to the Earth and had children with women. The resulting offspring were known as the Nephilim.”

Benicio heard expressions of disbelief. Then a bearded man said, “I've been a Lutheran all my life. I taught Sunday school for fifteen years. I've never heard such a ridiculous thing.”

“It's true,” Benicio insisted. “Genesis six, verse four: ‘The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that,
when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.'”

“Ridiculous,” the bearded man repeated.

Benicio nodded. “I agree with you. The story is a metaphor — the Bible is full of them. These stories weren't meant to be taken literally. They were meant to be discussed, debated, and explored. Unfortunately, organized religions have often taken myths and allegories to be literal truths. For example, some religions still desperately cling to the notion the Earth was constructed in six days — literally.”

He paused, waiting for more comments or questions. There were none, so he continued. “I should give you some background to the story. The angels were a special order known as the Grigori, which means the silent ones. God sent them to Earth to watch over the earliest of Earth's people. But the Grigori broke two major rules. One, they started teaching secrets from the kingdom of heaven. They taught man about herbology, astrology, sorcery, and divination. God never meant for man to know these secrets. The Grigori had angered Him. And then they began to lust after women. They eventually gave in to their desire, and the half-angel, half-human offspring, the Nephilim, were born.

“Verses in the Bible tell us that God viewed this union between angel and woman as an abomination. He looked upon the offspring as mistakes, monsters, and He banished the Grigori from ever returning to heaven. He turned His back on the Nephilim, cursed them, and abandoned them. They became soulless husks, left to slowly die out. God eliminated the fallen angels by banishing them, their offspring by letting them die, and all trace of the Grigori's teachings by making men mortal. The secrets of the kingdom of heaven were hidden once more.”

Benicio smiled, then continued, “The Bible is full of fantastic stories. Myths that were never meant to be taken literally. But churches have used these myths to justify some of their cruelest decisions. In the Middle Ages the Catholic church decided
leprosy was a sign of a person's direct descent from the Nephilim. It was the church's way to justify its complete disdain for lepers. After all, God had cursed the Nephilim. Even the word
nephilim
has sometimes been translated as
the dead ones
.

“As a result, anyone suspected of having leprosy in the Middle Ages was routinely subjected to the Mass of Separation — a religious ceremony in which the leper was cast away from society. The belief that Nephilim were dead to begin with led some religious authorities to insist that the leper stand in an open grave as the Mass of Separation was performed. Once the leper was pronounced dead, the church frequently took all his worldly possessions. A fairly self-serving practice.” Benicio paused and caught Jenna's eye. She smiled. He was going to marry her one of these days.

“We know now that leprosy is an infectious disease — not an indication that someone is descended from Nephilim. The Nephilim and the myth that angels once had children with women were just stories. The church used the myth to promote its own agenda — to account for leprosy and obtain people's money. The psychological effect of taking mythology literally is enormous. Indeed, our world is full of myths we have taken as reality, and such interpretation shapes our understanding of self in ways we could not have imagined.”