Chapter 1
“The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction.” Jonathan Haidt
March 19 2017- Amazon Rainforest
“Keep Moving Mr.Jackson the future awaits for you and I”, yelled a man with strong leadership voice. “How much further mate? My boots are killing me!” asked another man. “Not much longer, if the scriptures are correct the artifact should be ahead of us.” answered the man as he looked down at a map. Matthew Fletcher, a professor at Harvard University, head of the History department and Professor Alan Jackson also a part of the History department at Harvard. Were on an expedition to find something dangerous.
“Fletcher, you better be right about this artifact mate, or we just lost a couple thousand on this excursion”, said Jackson. Fletcher took about a minute to respond. “Look I told you about that this isn’t a fool’s errand and with this discovery we will be rich and finally get the respect we deserve.” Answered Fletcher with a threatening voice.
Fletcher had been researching on The Cintamani stone, an object said to grant wishes and supernatural powers. It is said that the last person to have held the stone was Nicholas Roerich. Roerich and a secret society used the stone's power to take down the Third Reich during WW2. After the war, there were rumors that Roerich sent the Stone to Brazil in order to hide it from men who wanted nothing more than power. Many believed that the stone is lost somewhere in Southeast Asia. Fletcher spent the last three years looking through records and possible sightings of the stone, so he can show that world that the object was real and that he is not crazy.
“You know this obsession you have my friend…..with this Cincinnati stone..makes me wonder what your intentions are.” said Jackson out of breath. “Its called the Cintamani Stone you idiot.” Letcher said as he cut down plants with his machete. Jackson noticed the annoyed tone of Fletcher as he answered.
The forest was moist, muddy and full of mosquitos biting both of the men as they kept walking towards their unknown destination. As far as Fletcher was concerned the stone was his only way to being recognized for his work. “For five goddamn years, they called me crazy, a lunatic and a fraud for believing in such myths.” These were the thoughts that Fletcher had while walking on the muddy rainforest floor. Their quest for greatness rests within the stone. “Um, Fletcher?! Does that look like a place where the Cintamani stone might be?” said Jackson said as he pointed at a Mayan-like pyramid not half a mile away. “According to these records provided by the Brazilian government, the stone should be somewhere between the first floor and the second floor of the pyramid.” said Fletcher. “Provided? Did the Brazilian government just went and gave you these documents mate?” asked Jackson with a curious tone in his voice.
“Well, let’s just say that the Brazilian government won’t mind that we borrowed these documents.” answered Fletcher sounding more and more menacing. Both of the men walked for about fifteen more minutes until they reached the entrance to the pyramid hidden within the forest. From the outside, the men could see Mayan scriptures and hieroglyphics. “You speak Mayan Mr. Jackson?” asked Fletcher with a more lighter tone in his voice. “No, I don’t?” answered Jackson as he looked around with awe. Some hieroglyphics depict the natives going to war with other natives. Others showed them sacrificing their enemies to the god’s, which was common among their kind. The 35 foot-tall pyramid didn’t look that old, as if no one had been there in a really long time. It did not look like the pyramids found in Mexico, where they look all old and dusty. This strange pyramid looked exceptionally clean, as if the forest was taking care of it.
“Are you gonna stand there looking like you just met the president?” asked Fletcher as he started entering the pyramid. “Yes, of course i’m sorry mate. I’m still astounded that we’re in the midst of a major discovery” the man answered. Fletcher went in first, Jackson then followed analyzing the hieroglyphics as he walked inside. As soon as both of the men were in the pyramid the atmosphere around them changed. The smell of the moist plants and leaves left their noses, it was now dry and without life. Fletcher turned on his flashlight to get a clearer view of where he was going. They explored the first floor for about ten minutes, while looking for signs that can pinpoint if the stone was there. They discovered mayan shields, swords, water canteens, and other objects from the 15th century within the pyramid walls. “Mate!” said Jackson calling on to Fletcher, who was further down the large hall of the pyramid.”What is it?” asked Fletcher who was analyzing some old knives and daggers. “I found some stairs leading to the second floor. The stone might be there.” said Jackson sounding happy. Fletcher joined Jackson and walked up the stairs. As they reached the end of the stairs, the scene was nothing like they seen before. Along the corridor there was gold, silver coins on the floor. There were rooms along the hall. “Mate, this is better than any mythical stone. We’re going to be rich, Ya hear me, rich!” Jackson said as a happy as he could be. “Yea rich sure” replied Fletcher. Fletcher instructed Jackson to look around the rooms and take anything he finds that looks rare and valuable.
Fletcher went long deeper into the hall. At the end the hall led two directions, left and right. He examined both pathways. The right side was more cleaned, with some rubies and emeralds laying there, the right pathway though was much dirtier and tampered with.
“The more fancy looking and more promising hall looks like it’ll lead to more riches. The left looks like a way where no one will dare to explore. So looks like the left winner” thought Letcher to himself. He started walking to the left. He could hear Jackson laughing and crying as he found more and more treasures. The path came to another left turn where at the end of the hall was a door.”Well, what have we here.” whispered Fletcher. He walked carefully, making sure that he did not trigger any traps if there were any. It took about five minutes before he arrived at the door, by then Fletcher was certain that the pathway was not filled with traps. Fletcher carefully tried to open the heavy stone door. The door did not budge no matter how hard Fletcher tried. “JACKSON!” yelled Fletcher from across the halls. “COMING” answered Jackson. Fletcher tried to open the door again while Jackson arrived.
“Look mate, I found this chain, a bracelet, a gold dagger, and wait for it” Jackson turned to the backpack he was carrying and took something out . “Ta-da it’s a freaking crown mate, a gold bloody crown!” Jackson said as he put the crown in his head. The crown had emeralds and rubies around it. “Well i’m glad you found something you like, now help me open this door.” exclaimed Fletcher. Jackson went and put his hands on the door to open it. “Ok, ready, one, two and push.” said Fletcher. Both of the men pushed with all their might,” Keep pushing” exclaimed Fletcher. The door then started moving backwards. The men kept pushing until the door stopped and moved to the right revealing the room. The room was empty except for a strange box on top of a shelf. Fletcher walked towards the box, not focusing on anything else but the wooden box. “You alright my friend” asked Jackson. Fletcher gave no answer. The shelf was high enough that Fletcher could not reach even while being on his toes. He turned to look at Jackson and angrily said “Well you gonna watch get on my toes looking like a ballerina or are you gonna help me reached the damn box?” Jackson started moving towards Fletcher. “Calm down Mate, i’m coming” said Jackson. Jackson put his back against the wall and extended his hands to help Fletcher climb and get the box. “Got it!” exclaimed Fletcher as he stepped down.
“Alright let’s have a look at what we have here” whispered Fletcher. Jackson walked towards Fletcher to see what was inside the box. The box had words written on top of it. It read “Hier, wer diesen Stein hält, wird absolute Macht und Kontrolle haben.” “What does this shit mean?” asked Jackson. “I don’t know, but whatever it means i guess we’ll find out after we open this thing.” answered Fletcher.
Fletcher opened the box carefully. A piece of cloth was covering something within the box. Fletcher removed the cloth revealing the green stone they hoped to find. “The Cintamani stone” said Jackson. The stone shined, green color filled the room revealing the once unseen walls. “We’re rich Mate, with the stone in our hands the world will finally know our names” Said Jackson happily. Fletcher grabbed the stone, and took a closer look at it. Suddenly the once green stone turned into a pitch black stone.”Fletcher why did it change color? What did you do?” asked Jackson with slight fear in his words. Fletcher turned around to look at Jackson straight in his eyes and said,”You been a good companion, Jackson. I’ll be sure to tell your family that you sacrificed so much just to find this stone” Fletcher said with a grin across his face.Then he took out a nine millimeter gun out of his back and pointed it straight at Jackson. “Wait, come one mate. Why are you doing this? Please don’t kill me.” begged Jackson as he backed up against the wall. “The world will know me at last, they will suffer the way they made me suffer.” exclaimed Fletcher. He pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Jackson straight into his chest. His face filled with horror as his body fell into the ground with pain. The crown that onced was on Jackson’s head rolled down. Jackson started walking towards the door. Jackson’s attempt to get up failed miserably, his body could not take the pain. Fletcher stopped outside the room and turned around to look at Jackson. “Still alive I see.” he said. Fletcher raised his gun again and pointed it to Jackson’s head. A second shot was fired. Jackson’s body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Fletcher walked away.
“The most powerful force ever known on this planet is human cooperation - a force for construction and destruction.” Jonathan Haidt
March 19 2017- Amazon Rainforest
“Keep Moving Mr.Jackson the future awaits for you and I”, yelled a man with strong leadership voice. “How much further mate? My boots are killing me!” asked another man. “Not much longer, if the scriptures are correct the artifact should be ahead of us.” answered the man as he looked down at a map. Matthew Fletcher, a professor at Harvard University, head of the History department and Professor Alan Jackson also a part of the History department at Harvard. Were on an expedition to find something dangerous.
“Fletcher, you better be right about this artifact mate, or we just lost a couple thousand on this excursion”, said Jackson. Fletcher took about a minute to respond. “Look I told you about that this isn’t a fool’s errand and with this discovery we will be rich and finally get the respect we deserve.” Answered Fletcher with a threatening voice.
Fletcher had been researching on The Cintamani stone, an object said to grant wishes and supernatural powers. It is said that the last person to have held the stone was Nicholas Roerich. Roerich and a secret society used the stone's power to take down the Third Reich during WW2. After the war, there were rumors that Roerich sent the Stone to Brazil in order to hide it from men who wanted nothing more than power. Many believed that the stone is lost somewhere in Southeast Asia. Fletcher spent the last three years looking through records and possible sightings of the stone, so he can show that world that the object was real and that he is not crazy.
“You know this obsession you have my friend…..with this Cincinnati stone..makes me wonder what your intentions are.” said Jackson out of breath. “Its called the Cintamani Stone you idiot.” Letcher said as he cut down plants with his machete. Jackson noticed the annoyed tone of Fletcher as he answered.
The forest was moist, muddy and full of mosquitos biting both of the men as they kept walking towards their unknown destination. As far as Fletcher was concerned the stone was his only way to being recognized for his work. “For five goddamn years, they called me crazy, a lunatic and a fraud for believing in such myths.” These were the thoughts that Fletcher had while walking on the muddy rainforest floor. Their quest for greatness rests within the stone. “Um, Fletcher?! Does that look like a place where the Cintamani stone might be?” said Jackson said as he pointed at a Mayan-like pyramid not half a mile away. “According to these records provided by the Brazilian government, the stone should be somewhere between the first floor and the second floor of the pyramid.” said Fletcher. “Provided? Did the Brazilian government just went and gave you these documents mate?” asked Jackson with a curious tone in his voice.
“Well, let’s just say that the Brazilian government won’t mind that we borrowed these documents.” answered Fletcher sounding more and more menacing. Both of the men walked for about fifteen more minutes until they reached the entrance to the pyramid hidden within the forest. From the outside, the men could see Mayan scriptures and hieroglyphics. “You speak Mayan Mr. Jackson?” asked Fletcher with a more lighter tone in his voice. “No, I don’t?” answered Jackson as he looked around with awe. Some hieroglyphics depict the natives going to war with other natives. Others showed them sacrificing their enemies to the god’s, which was common among their kind. The 35 foot-tall pyramid didn’t look that old, as if no one had been there in a really long time. It did not look like the pyramids found in Mexico, where they look all old and dusty. This strange pyramid looked exceptionally clean, as if the forest was taking care of it.
“Are you gonna stand there looking like you just met the president?” asked Fletcher as he started entering the pyramid. “Yes, of course i’m sorry mate. I’m still astounded that we’re in the midst of a major discovery” the man answered. Fletcher went in first, Jackson then followed analyzing the hieroglyphics as he walked inside. As soon as both of the men were in the pyramid the atmosphere around them changed. The smell of the moist plants and leaves left their noses, it was now dry and without life. Fletcher turned on his flashlight to get a clearer view of where he was going. They explored the first floor for about ten minutes, while looking for signs that can pinpoint if the stone was there. They discovered mayan shields, swords, water canteens, and other objects from the 15th century within the pyramid walls. “Mate!” said Jackson calling on to Fletcher, who was further down the large hall of the pyramid.”What is it?” asked Fletcher who was analyzing some old knives and daggers. “I found some stairs leading to the second floor. The stone might be there.” said Jackson sounding happy. Fletcher joined Jackson and walked up the stairs. As they reached the end of the stairs, the scene was nothing like they seen before. Along the corridor there was gold, silver coins on the floor. There were rooms along the hall. “Mate, this is better than any mythical stone. We’re going to be rich, Ya hear me, rich!” Jackson said as a happy as he could be. “Yea rich sure” replied Fletcher. Fletcher instructed Jackson to look around the rooms and take anything he finds that looks rare and valuable.
Fletcher went long deeper into the hall. At the end the hall led two directions, left and right. He examined both pathways. The right side was more cleaned, with some rubies and emeralds laying there, the right pathway though was much dirtier and tampered with.
“The more fancy looking and more promising hall looks like it’ll lead to more riches. The left looks like a way where no one will dare to explore. So looks like the left winner” thought Letcher to himself. He started walking to the left. He could hear Jackson laughing and crying as he found more and more treasures. The path came to another left turn where at the end of the hall was a door.”Well, what have we here.” whispered Fletcher. He walked carefully, making sure that he did not trigger any traps if there were any. It took about five minutes before he arrived at the door, by then Fletcher was certain that the pathway was not filled with traps. Fletcher carefully tried to open the heavy stone door. The door did not budge no matter how hard Fletcher tried. “JACKSON!” yelled Fletcher from across the halls. “COMING” answered Jackson. Fletcher tried to open the door again while Jackson arrived.
“Look mate, I found this chain, a bracelet, a gold dagger, and wait for it” Jackson turned to the backpack he was carrying and took something out . “Ta-da it’s a freaking crown mate, a gold bloody crown!” Jackson said as he put the crown in his head. The crown had emeralds and rubies around it. “Well i’m glad you found something you like, now help me open this door.” exclaimed Fletcher. Jackson went and put his hands on the door to open it. “Ok, ready, one, two and push.” said Fletcher. Both of the men pushed with all their might,” Keep pushing” exclaimed Fletcher. The door then started moving backwards. The men kept pushing until the door stopped and moved to the right revealing the room. The room was empty except for a strange box on top of a shelf. Fletcher walked towards the box, not focusing on anything else but the wooden box. “You alright my friend” asked Jackson. Fletcher gave no answer. The shelf was high enough that Fletcher could not reach even while being on his toes. He turned to look at Jackson and angrily said “Well you gonna watch get on my toes looking like a ballerina or are you gonna help me reached the damn box?” Jackson started moving towards Fletcher. “Calm down Mate, i’m coming” said Jackson. Jackson put his back against the wall and extended his hands to help Fletcher climb and get the box. “Got it!” exclaimed Fletcher as he stepped down.
“Alright let’s have a look at what we have here” whispered Fletcher. Jackson walked towards Fletcher to see what was inside the box. The box had words written on top of it. It read “Hier, wer diesen Stein hält, wird absolute Macht und Kontrolle haben.” “What does this shit mean?” asked Jackson. “I don’t know, but whatever it means i guess we’ll find out after we open this thing.” answered Fletcher.
Fletcher opened the box carefully. A piece of cloth was covering something within the box. Fletcher removed the cloth revealing the green stone they hoped to find. “The Cintamani stone” said Jackson. The stone shined, green color filled the room revealing the once unseen walls. “We’re rich Mate, with the stone in our hands the world will finally know our names” Said Jackson happily. Fletcher grabbed the stone, and took a closer look at it. Suddenly the once green stone turned into a pitch black stone.”Fletcher why did it change color? What did you do?” asked Jackson with slight fear in his words. Fletcher turned around to look at Jackson straight in his eyes and said,”You been a good companion, Jackson. I’ll be sure to tell your family that you sacrificed so much just to find this stone” Fletcher said with a grin across his face.Then he took out a nine millimeter gun out of his back and pointed it straight at Jackson. “Wait, come one mate. Why are you doing this? Please don’t kill me.” begged Jackson as he backed up against the wall. “The world will know me at last, they will suffer the way they made me suffer.” exclaimed Fletcher. He pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Jackson straight into his chest. His face filled with horror as his body fell into the ground with pain. The crown that onced was on Jackson’s head rolled down. Jackson started walking towards the door. Jackson’s attempt to get up failed miserably, his body could not take the pain. Fletcher stopped outside the room and turned around to look at Jackson. “Still alive I see.” he said. Fletcher raised his gun again and pointed it to Jackson’s head. A second shot was fired. Jackson’s body fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Fletcher walked away.