The Genesis Code by Christopher Forrest

Author:Christopher Forrest
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Genetic Engineering, General, Science Fiction, Historical, Thrillers, Fiction
ISBN: 9780765316035
Publisher: Forge Books
Published: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Fifty-one

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Yale University

New Haven, Connecticut

“Have you ever heard of Gematria?” asked Dr. Bowman, still contemplating the eight-by-eight grid of numbers on the printout of Dr. Ambergris’ e-mail.

Madison shook his head.

“No, I haven’t,” said Grace.

“Gematria is a method originally used by Jewish mystics to discover hidden meanings in words. Numbers are assigned to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the letters are organized into tables according to mathematical arrangements,” said Bowman.

She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.

“And Jewish scholars weren’t the only ones to use Gematria. Isopsephy is the ancient Greek system of Gematria based on the numerical values of the Greek letters. We also find references to Gematria in Roman texts.”

“I’m not sure I understand,” said Madison. “Is Gematria some sort of code?”

Bowman nodded. “The kabbalists of the thirteenth century believed that the Old Testament was written in a hidden code inspired by God. They used Gematria as one of the chief methods to decipher this code. In the medieval mystical text called Sefer Yetzirah, The Book of Creation, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are described as the stones used to build a house. They are called the ‘twenty-two letters of foundation.’ Kabbalists believe that this reference is a metaphor for the divine code hidden in religious texts.”

Madison sat forward in his chair. “Twenty-two?”

“Yes,” said Dr. Bowman. “The Hebrew alphabet contains twenty-two letters. Is that number significant to you?”

“It is.” Madison’s eyes moved to Grace, then back to Dr. Bowman. “The sixty-four codons in human DNA are always found in groups that code for twenty-two specific genetic letters.”

Bowman folded her hands on the table. “That’s a remarkable coincidence,” she said, smiling.

Grace thought she detected a note of amusement in Dr. Bowman’s voice, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She glanced at Madison.

“Gematria can also be used to encode messages. It’s a very old form of cipher. Numbers are substituted for words or letters in a grid,” said Bowman.

“So these numbers may actually represent Hebrew letters?” asked Grace, pointing to the grid of numbers from Ambergris’ e-mail.

“Or Greek letters?” said Madison.

“Neither Hebrew nor Greek, I suspect. That’s where this line of text comes into play: This is the beginning of the ancient word.”

“You recognize that sentence?” asked Grace.

Bowman smiled. “Come with me. I’ll show you.”

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