fifteen verses in all, from the beginning of the universe to the key to eternal life. ‘That which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above.’ And: ‘Thus thou hast the glory of the whole world; therefore let all obscurity flee before thee.’ And finally: ‘Therefore am I called Hermes the Thrice Great, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.’”
Trevini was now talking like a man in delirium, although he still gave Rosa the impression of being alert, if agitated. But whatever the words might mean, they told her that the attorney had thought much harder about the mysteries of TABULA than he had previously admitted. He knew the words on that damn tablet by heart.
“And you think that the organization takes its name from this emerald tablet?” she asked.
“Tabula Smaragdina Hermetis,” he said, for the third time.
“But who’s behind it? Who are these people?”
“Researchers from all over the world. Biochemists, experts in genetic technology, anthropologists—who knows? They must have unlimited financial means, and they think that they’re above the law.”
“You know what that sounds like, don’t you?”
He let out his breath with a scornful sound. “The Mafia is something quite different. It has never made any secret of its aims. It wanted, and still wants, nothing but power and money. But TABULA? Why are they misusing Arcadians for secret experiments? How do they know about the dynasties at all?” Trevini slowly shook his head. “Anyone who tries following that trail always comes up against a wall. Whether in libraries or on the internet—you never get far.”
“No connection with the Arcadian dynasties?”
“A few vague hints, that’s all.”
She succeeded in keeping her inner cold at bay as long as what he was saying drowned out her feelings. She would have rejected it all as nonsense, stupid stuff that had nothing to do with her or Alessandro. But weren’t there other answers lying far back in classical antiquity? What about the ancient statues on the seabed? The myth of the fall of Arcadia? Did the existence of this group go back as far as the history of Arcadia itself? Much of what Alessandro had told her about the origin of the dynasties was just as crazy as what Trevini was saying now. The Arcadian king Lycaon, who was turned into a cross between a man and an animal by angry Zeus, father of the gods. This Hermes Trismegistos sounded as if he came out of the same kind of myth.
“These hints—what do they say?” she asked.
“According to many sources Hermes, as I said, was the god of the Greek shepherds. His legendary magic staff, the caduceus, is an olive branch with two snakes twining around it. The myth says that this caduceus came from the land of Arcadia. Look it up. Try Google. What you find will confirm what I’m saying.”
“So?”
“The story goes that the god Hermes was given a staff, and he wandered in the lonely mountains of Arcadia with it. There he came upon two snakes locked in fierce combat. To settle their quarrel, he separated them with his staff, and they were reconciled. Since then the double snake has been the alchemical symbol for peace, new hope, new life. But in the legend of Hermes, the two snakes stand for the making of peace in Arcadia.”
“Which even if it were true all those thousands of years ago wouldn’t interest anyone today.” Rosa was trying not to turn back entirely into human form. If her snake gaze had some kind of hypnotic power that made Trevini talk, she wanted to hold it for as long as possible.
“There’s something else.” Trevini’s chin was trembling. “The staff made into a caduceus by the two snakes had been given to Hermes by another god. By the god of light—by Apollo. Apollonio.”
“So someone still knows the legend.”
“Because of the myth, snakes always had a special meaning for the ancient Arcadians, long before Zeus cursed Lycaon and his subjects. But did that still hold true after the transformation and death of the king? Costanza, at least, was convinced that far more respect was owed to the snakes than the other Arcadian dynasties pay them today. It seems that even in the lifetime of Lycaon, the Lamias wanted to seize power. It’s said that they toppled him from the throne of Arcadia in order to rule the land and the other dynasties themselves.”
“Which would explain why the other families hate the