The Last Horizon

The Mountain

The inspired wanderers crossed the plains into Nepal. Out of the cold of the snowy desert, the travelers stepped into unknown territory. The clouds swirled around the mountain like sheep wool. In the mist, birds could be seen flying back and forth like insects. Green tropical forests with exotic trees adorned the dreamy snow tops of the Himalayas. Everything was mystifying. Since ancient times, the inhabitants held tea ceremonies in these enchanting lands, their house roofs as sharp as the rocky edges of the mountains. Beneath this serene scenery there lay a hidden secret, as ancient and mystical as the lands that lay ahead. Only the brave ones could discover the mystery, and few could master the way; but it was all second nature to the explorers that now entered this domain - they spent their lives chasing after mystical visions, conspiracy theories and hidden treasures. The leader of the expedition, Artemis Crux, was keen on proving the most extraordinary origin theory. She believed it was possible to unravel the greatest mystery. She was convinced that her team’s discoveries in ancient sites around the world, hit upon something deep and profound - a reality beyond life, which can be grasped and reached here, in this life. The secret Artemis uncovered was of supernatural origin. She was a professor of religion, and her whole purpose in life was to prove the validity of faith. Yet, she was a scientist, and her mission was to come up with evidence for the divine. Prior to embarking on this mad trip, she was contacted by her partner, who provided her with undeniable proof in support of her supernatural theory.
“There is no doubt about it – the coordinates of all ancient sites and civilizations around the earth are interconnected in a perfect pattern of sacred geometry,” spoke a brilliant historian and theologian to a private audience at Harvard University. Henry Navine has explored everywhere, from the Mayan and Egyptian Pyramids to the Jerusalem and the Hindu Temple ruins, and he was sure that all these sites had something in common. “Every site of an ancient kingdom intersects the earth at unique angles of symmetry. The ancestors had one system governing all these civilizations, and they all converge at one point at the centre... Not the centre of the earth’s fiery core, I mean the centre of the universe,” announced Henry, “and where is the centre of the universe? The earth is the centre of the universe, of course, and here is why. You know the universe is infinite and endless, but somehow the earth is special - the only planet with life! After all, speculations about life on other planets have proven futile. So why is Earth the only planet with life? It has to do with the Garden of Eden, and the fall. Before there was anything, there was the Divine Being whom we call God. Everything was God’s essence and He made it all, the sky and the earth, created life out of His own energies - it was all spiritual and supernatural. As His Spirit hovered over the waters of the earth, He created the perfect paradise, which eventually transformed into the material earth we know. The world as it is now is not spiritual anymore, but material and imperfect. Especially after God exiled people out of paradise in the east of the earth, and put angels with fiery swords to guard the entrance. The world is deteriorating now, and it will all end and be transformed once more; but I think throughout history of civilizations, some people who tried to live the right way, maybe attempted to re-establish a connection with the mythical paradise, and its original spiritual harmony.” 
After the speech, Art spoke to Henry in person about his research.
“As I understand, you think these ancient sites converge on the earth at a special point that leads to the original location of the Garden of Eden?” Art asked her friend casually.
“That’s my belief,” Henry replied, “based on the sacred geometry patterns of ancient sites around the world, I figured out the approximate location of Eden, and it is my goal to find it. I believe it can lead us to the divine. I’m not saying we will transcend to heaven, but if we find Paradise, we just might get saved.
“But Paradise is in the afterlife...” objected Artemis.
“I mean the earthly Paradise, the Garden of Eden. I have a feeling that God wants us to find it. In any case, if you want to prove the truth, I see this as our best evidence for the supernatural origin of it all.
“I agree, we must go to that place where you think all those sites converge. We may be able to find Paradise.” Artemis said hopefully.
“I think I know where we must start looking,” hinted Henry.
“Yes, Paradise is in the east,” said Artemis excitedly.

Artemis and her group have endured enough to get where they were now. They risked everything for their journey. But it was more than a matter of life and death getting here, it was their calling. They went in search of an ancient Biblical Garden of Eden, which God planted in the east. Although many archaeologists thought that the Garden of Eden is located in the Middle East, Henry had reason to believe that it was further east than that, in Asia, somewhere in the Himalayan Mountains. He believed it was there because of geometric calculations, and because it fit the description of paradise in the Bible. According to the divine book: “the Lord, God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden,” - it is there, as the crowning glory of His creation, “He put the man He had formed;” However, God needed to test mankind’s obedience. “In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Once, the first people disobeyed God, by eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they were exiled from the Garden of Eden. To Henry what mattered most was not just finding the location of the divine garden, but the possibility of fulfilling his life’s purpose – attaining eternal life, through salvation. It was obvious from the Bible that the Garden of Eden is located in the East, in the land of the four rivers. “A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.” “The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.” Based on his research of ancient kingdoms, civilizations and sacred sites around the world, Henry was able to identify the approximate location of the Garden of Eden. Tigris and Euphrates are known to be in the Middle East; however Henry believed the river Gihon to be the Nile, and the land of Havilah to be Nepal or India, while Pishon was either the Indus River or the Ganges.

There were six of them, walking for months, stopping only to camp and rest from the trip through China. On the way, they stopped at villages and spoke to the natives of where Paradise might be found. The people laughed or seemed seriously concerned when they heard that their visitors were in search of Eden. ‘Fool’s errand’ they called it, and pitied the curious westerners. Until one day, the group was passing through a village where a couple of wise ascetics were sitting on the sides of the street.
“Do you believe in Paradise?” Artemis asked them in Tibetan. The wise men nodded in response. “Do you know where it is?” She asked. The mysterious sages let them in on a secret, and pointed to the mountains. That is where the team headed off to.