Algorithm - Book 1 - The Medallion

Chapter 10

Several months later, the shine had worn off. The panzer corps moved farther north to defend against invading British and Canadian forces at the Battle of Normandy. Although the Youth panzer corps had distinguished themselves on the battlefield and had earned a reputation for ferocity and fanaticism, these achievements came with a price. Gunther was one of the first killed. Herman took Gunther's death to heart, and as more and more of his young comrades suffered the same fate, his spirit waned. A severe depression set in as the war continued in a steadily descending spiral of destruction and chaos. By late 1944 his Youth group was disbanded and reassigned to various parts of the country. Herman was one of the lucky ones. He was sent to Auschwitz to perform guard duty. It was then that he felt the full brunt of disillusionment. It was winter and no amount of heavy clothing blocked out the devastating scene of human suffering and death. Each day he heard the cries, smelled burning flesh, and stared at sunken eyes that looked through and beyond him. There was no escape for the prisoners here and, ironically, no escape for him as well. A few months later, the Allies marched into the camp, and the dream ended.

Unlike their military superiors, the Youth escaped punishment for war crimes. Most of these teenage soldiers were released and allowed to go back to their families and start the process of social recovery. But some Youth could never go back. There was nothing to which he could return. He made his way to Hamburg and signed onto the crew of a Norse freighter, which ironically was bound to the United States. He met Ludwig Mueller onboard the ship. Ludwig was in his twenties, but using his unusual youthful appearance had convinced authorities he was a homeless teenager in search of a fresh start. In actual fact, nothing was further from the truth. Ludwig was an active member of the Thule Society, a secret organization within the Nazi SS which had maintained a profound influence on Hitler and provided the spiritual core for the Aryan movement. While on board the freighter, Herman made good friends with Ludwig, and, over the weeks of travel across the North Atlantic, he learned a great deal about the mystical Thule organization.

The central belief system of the Thulists revolved about the previous existence of a city called Ultima Thule, located on Hyperborea, a small island continent more popularly known as Atlantis. Everyone knew about Atlantis, and that it was a utopia, a place of technological and social wonder, which unfortunately suffered a cataclysmic event removing it from the face of the Earth many eons ago. Ludwig was happy to enlighten Herman with details not generally known to the public. For example, the origin of the people of Hyperborea was the star called Aldebaran, a red giant sixty-eight light-years from Earth located in the constellation Taurus. A long time ago, the Aldebarans, who lived on one of two inhabited planets, were forced to leave as their sun expanded and began to threaten their homeworld. They migrated to our solar system and settled on a world they called Mallona, located between Mars and Jupiter. This is the same planet the Romans called Phaeton, which now exists as a collection of asteroids. Before Mallona was destroyed the Aldebarans relocated to Mars and eventually, as Mars gradually became inhospitable, to Earth. In ancient times they came to be known as Sumerians, and were treated as gods. According to the Thulists, these people were the first Aryans. They were tall, blond and blue-eyed. They were, and according to Ludwig, remain as the superior human race. Many living in Germany today are the result of cross-breeding with these Aryans. After the demise of Hyperborea, the Aryans migrated north and south and, through a system of hidden tunnels at the poles, found refuge within the hollow bowels of the Earth where they continue to thrive today. Ludwig pointed out that those with Aryan blood running in their veins could, with proper training, commune with their ancestral kin using the power of Vril, a channeling technique relying on psychic forces. And it is through these contacts that the greater mission of the Nazi movement was made clear to its leaders—paving the way for a superior race to establish itself as the dominant force in the world, emotionless, without pity, subjugating the lower castes and destroying all who oppose.