The Third Antichrist (64 page)

What can be done, O believers, as I no longer recognize myself?

I’m neither a Christian nor a Jew, a Magian or a Moslem.

I’m neither of the East nor West; of land or sea;

I don’t belong to nature; nor to the stars in the sky.

I’m not of the earth, or water, or air, or fire;

I’m neither of Heaven, nor the dust from this carpet.

I’m not from India, China, Bulgaria or Saqsin;

Nor from the kingdom of Iraq, or Khorasan.

I’m not from this world, or the next, from Paradise or Hell;

I’m not of Adam’s seed, or Eve’s, from Eden or Rizwan.

My place is placeless, my traces traceless;

I’m neither body nor soul, as I belong to the soul of my Beloved.

I have no need of duality, as I have seen two worlds as One.

The One I seek; the One I know, the One I see, the One I call

He is the first and the last, the outward and the inward,

I know no other than He – there is only Him.

Love’s cup intoxicates me as both worlds slip from my hands.

My only business now is drinking and merrymaking.

If once in my life I shared a moment without You,

From that moment on I would repent of my own life.

If once in this world I earned a moment with You,

I’d trample both worlds in a triumphal dance.

O Shams of Tabriz, I’m so drunk with this world

That only stories of carousal and revelry can now pass my lips.

I’m very grateful indeed to all those people who have helped me during this trilogy’s (
The Nostradamus Prophecies
,
The Mayan Codex, The Third Antichrist
) five-year voyage from conception to parturition (Author’s Note: even an elephant manages hump to birth in 22 months, whilst the world’s longest pregnancy of up to 38 months belongs to the southern European alpine salamander, but only if the animal lives at an altitude of between 1,400 and 1,700 metres – it can have triplets, though, which is comforting). But that’s all by the by, and typical of this author’s butterfly mind, which he chooses to conceal beneath a comparatist’s veneer.

Firstly, I’d like to thank my agent, Oliver Munson, of Blake Friedmann, who has acted, first as midwife, and then as occasional obstetrician during the entire gestation period – his callipers never slipped. Also my outstanding editor, Laura Palmer, who has been a total joy to work with, particularly on this final book of the trilogy, which she took under her wing and incubated (I can’t shake my gravidity kick at this late stage – there are three pregnancies in this book alone). I’d also like to thank my copy-editor, Shelagh Boyd, who has followed me through at least seven books without a single termination – quite a feat. And Madame Raton Laveur, aka Michèle O’Connell (raccoon parturiency: 65 days), who read and commented and encouraged during the entire course of writing this book – I still remember her mimicking of Parisian actress Arletty’s drawled ‘Atmosphère!’ (from Marcel Carné’s sublime
Hôtel du Nord
) at a particularly crucial time in the book’s genesis.

Finally, my beautiful wife, Claudia, who has patiently endured my mewling, puking and caterwauling through any number of books. I love you.

The Secret Meaning of Names in
The Nostradamus Trilogy

Abiger
(
de Bale
)
:
Abiger is the grand Duke of Hades. He is often pictured as a handsome, armoured knight, carrying a lance, a standard, or a sceptre. He has sixty of the ‘infernal regions’ at his command. He is a demon of the ‘superior order’, renowned for his knowledge of war and of how to conduct it. He is able to foretell the future, and is a master at retaining the loyalty of his men.

Acan:
Acan is the Mayan god of wine – or rather its Mayan counterpart, balché, which is made from fermented honey mixed with the bark of the balché tree.

Achor
(
Bale
)
:
The inverted form of
Rocha
. Akar-Bale is also an extinct Andaman Island language, continuing the secret language/ communication theme that runs throughout all three books.

Adam
(
Sabir
)
:
Adam was the first man to be created by God. He is the ancestor of all men – the primal man – the universe’s primordial being. His name derives from the Kabbalah, in the form of Adam Kadmon, which in turn derives from the Judaic concept of the archetypal man. Each human being is believed to reflect this archetypal form, as in Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of Vitruvian Man. Adam Kadmon is also, metaphorically, the ‘body of God’. See
Sabir

Adrian
(
Lupei
)
:
Adrian originally means ‘from Hadria’, as in the Roman Caesar Hadrian, but its alternative meaning is ‘dark’. Lupei means a ‘wolf’. Thus ‘dark wolf’, which I felt described the man well.

Agaberte:
Agaberte was the daughter of the Scandinavian God Vagnoste. She was an enchantress with remarkable magical powers, able to transform herself into a wrinkled old crone or into a tall, vibrant woman capable of reaching up and touching the sky. She could overturn mountains, rip up trees, and dry up rivers at will.

Ahriman:
Ahriman was the Zoroastrian personification of pure evil, capable of fomenting lies against the Holy Spirit.

Alastor
(
de Bale
)
:
Alastor was a superior demon and chief executioner of Hades. In generic terms his name means an evil, avenging spirit. The name was also used by Zeus when he chose to take the form of an avenger of evil deeds, particularly relating to the family. Later, the term came to mean a ‘scoundrel’, or one who ‘falsely possesses another’.

Alatyrtsev
(
Sergei
)
:
The surname Alatyrtsev comes from the Old Russian term
alatyrets
, meaning ‘abusive’, ‘confused’ or ‘uncertain’. Sergei means a ‘servant’ in Russian. Both meanings relate to Alatyrtsev’s character.

Aldinach
(
de Bale
)
:
Aldinach was an Egyptian demon who often chose to disguise himself as a woman. He could cause earthquakes, hailstorms and tempests, and had a particular predilection for sinking ships. I use this hermaphroditic quality in the book.

Alexandreina:
Alexandreina (nickname Sandu) is of Romanian origin, and means ‘defender of mankind’ or ‘protector of men’ – it is the female form of the name Alexander.

Alexi
(
Dufontaine
)
:
Alexi stems from the Greek, and means ‘defender’. Dufontaine means ‘of the fountain’ or ‘from the source’. Alexi may be a fool, but he is a stout-hearted fool.

Amauri
(
de Bale
)
:
From the French, meaning ‘name of a count’. I used this to imply de Bale’s noble background.

Amoy:
The name is originally Jamaican, and means ‘beautiful goddess’, but I took the name from Amoy sauce, which derives from Amoy Island in south-eastern China, and describes a particular dialect spoken in Fukien province. I liked the idea that Amoy’s mother named her son after a favourite sauce.

Andrassy
(
Iuliu
)
:
Andrassy means a ‘man’ or a ‘warrior’. The name Iuliu is of Romanian origin and means ‘youthful’ or ‘soft-haired’ – it stems from the Roman name Julius, meaning ‘downy-haired’ or ‘easily manipulable due to innocence’, which is the case with Andrassy.

Antanasia
(
Lupei
)
:
Antanasia is the Romanian variation of the Russian Anastasia, and means ‘resurrection’ or the ‘breaker of chains’. Alternatively ‘one who will be reborn’ or who is ‘immortal’. Antanasia’s surname, Lupei, is from the Romanian word
lup
, which means ‘wolf’.

Asson
(
de Bale
)
:
An Asson is a sacred voodoo rattle used by the Houngans (priests) and Mambos (priestesses) of Vodoun. It is generally made from a gourd and decorated with beads and snake bones. The Asson represents the Chief Loa, Damballah, and the sound it makes mimics the Damballah’s serpent language. It is used in the Loas ritual, and serves as a symbol of authority, in the sense that it implies the formal ordination of the bearer.

Athame
(
de Bale
)
:
An Athame is a sacred sword or dagger used by witches and priestesses. It has a black handle, and the double-edged blade is generally inscribed with symbols. It is one of a number of magical tools used in traditional witchcraft, and may refer to the Key of Solomon, a famous Grimoire (magic book) dating back to the Middle Ages. The Athame is also an energy intensifier. The name derives, in its corrupt form, from the late Latin
artavus
, meaning a ‘quill knife’.

Babel
(
Samana
)
:
Babel comes from the Hebrew word
balal
, meaning to ‘jumble’. It was the name of a biblical tower whose builders intended it to reach heaven. It can also mean a confused gathering or a concatenation of sounds – a cacophony even. The name derives from a time when all humans were deemed to speak the same language, and implies multi-ethnicity. The surname,
Samana
, is similarly oriented, in the sense of being a Creole language, used on southern plantations, and later, post-1820, in the Dominican Republic.

Badu:
Badu depicts the dominant personality in a relationship – one who is powerful and strong. In its African form, it can also imply the ‘tenth’ (in a numerous family, say).

Bale:
Bale stems from the word Baal, or Ba’al, and means ‘master’ or ‘lord’. The name also has links with Ba’al Zebûb or Beelzebub, which was deemed in certain Christian writings to refer to Satan himself. Baal was generally ranked as the king of hell, however, with sixty-six legions at his command (see
Abiger
). He was Satan’s lieutenant, if you will. The Lord of the Flies.

Bazena:
Bazena can mean one who is ‘ill’ or ‘not in harmony’ with herself. It is a variation of the Polish name, Bozena, which implies ‘happiness’ or to be ‘blessed by God’. The change in spelling is crucial here.

Bera:
Bera means a ‘gift’. It can also mean ‘one who is clean’. In its Germanic/Icelandic form it can also mean a ‘bear’.

Berith
(
de Bale
)
:
Berith
is the Hebrew word for ‘covenant’ – in Babylonian, the word means ‘fetter’ or ‘bond’. Berith is one of the Grand Dukes of Hell. He is alleged, according to various demonological sources, to be able to turn all metals into gold. He is a notorious liar, and can never be trusted. He sports red clothing, rides a red horse, and wears a golden crown – he can only be summoned by means of a magical silver ring. He has twenty-six legions of demons under his command. He only speaks the truth when prophesying. There are some who link him with Nostradamus’s ‘red man’. His name was taken from Baal Berith (see
Bale
), a form of Baal worship familiar in Beirut (Berith).

Bouboul:
Babul or Bouboul is an ancient Hindi term for ‘father’, usually, but not exclusively, used by daughters, particularly when they are in the process of leaving their father’s house for that of their husband. It may derive from the Persian
bulbu
’, meaning a nightingale.

Calque
(
Joris
)
:
Calque is the seventeenth-century Old French word for to ‘trace’ or to ‘copy’. The word can also imply a loan translation, in terms of an expression transferred from one language into another and then translated (e.g. skyscraper:
gratte
-
ciel
:
Wolkenkratzer
). Calque’s Christian name, Joris – a Flemish variation on George – means an ‘earth worker’, a ‘farmer’, or a ‘husbandman’, i.e. one who builds from the bottom upwards. I felt that both names described Calque’s character.

Catalin
(
Mihael
)
:
Catalin means ‘pure’ or ‘chaste’ and Mihael means the ‘one who is like God’. The names were quite consciously taken on by
Dracul Lupei
to imply immaculacy.