Jack of Ravens

5

‘LSD will, in the very near future, liberate minds and create a free society.’ The Most Dangerous Man in America had the look of a genial college professor as he sat cross-legged on a cushion in his airy study in the sprawling Millbrook Mansion. His greying hair was swept back from a tanned face and he was dressed all in white with an Indian motif embroidered in red around the collar.

‘You’re convinced of that?’ Church asked.

‘A sceptic.’ Leary smiled without offence. ‘It will, unless the Establishment prevents it.’

Tom eyed Church suspiciously. ‘Let’s not get into an argument,’ he cautioned. Beside him, Gabe listened intently.

‘There is no inherent danger in hallucinogens if they are treated with a sacred and respectful attitude,’ Leary said. ‘That is, they should not be used for hedonistic purposes. Let us not forget that psychedelics have been utilised for sacred purposes in all major religions throughout history, including early Christian rites.’

Gabe looked shocked.

‘The drug is only a tool to contact the Godhead,’ Leary continued. ‘A catalyst. It has no inherent value beyond its ability to trigger that part of the brain, which we all have, that is responsible for spiritual experience. From that perspective, one’s view, intention, attitude, personality and mood are just as important in achieving the right state.’

‘So in the wrong hands psychedelics can be dangerous,’ Church translated.

‘The same as anything. But for someone who wishes to transform spiritually, hallucinogens can be a catalyst. They can lead to an understanding of your own destiny, and insight into the basic spiritual realities. This is what the ancient Greeks called gnosis-’

Church had a flash of a deeper connection stretching across the centuries, of the Universe itself giving him information to shape his path. ‘That’s the same thing John Dee was talking about,’ Church said to Tom.

‘John Dee?’ Leary interjected. ‘You mentioning his name is a very weird coincidence.’

‘Yeah, there seem to be a lot of those going around,’ Church said.

‘I was on a trip to North Africa with my wife Rosemary, and a friend, Brian Barritt,’ Leary said. ‘We took acid in the desert at Bou Saada, and Brian had a vision of a cowled man in a cloud of dust — a dust devil. He heard the name “Doctor John Dee”, and an image of a giant scroll took over his mind, followed by visions of golden vessels with the faces of Egyptian gods. Weird, but true.’

‘What’s Gnosticism got to do with it?’

‘Everything. My life, and my understanding of everything I see around me, changed just over three years ago when I first took psilocybin mushrooms in Cuernavaca in Mexico.’ Leary closed his eyes and let his head drop backwards. ‘You understand the mystery religions of ancient cultures? Every one had outer mysteries, which consisted of myths that were common knowledge — the stories of the gods and the like — and rituals that were open to everyone. And then there were the inner mysteries, which consisted of a sacred secret known only to those who had undergone a powerful rite of initiation. During my initiation I learned what that secret was, the one all ancient seers understood fully. The secret that is at the core of Gnosticism.’

Church could see why Leary annoyed as many people as he inspired. He had a taste for showmanship that often meant his message was lost.

‘So what’s the big secret?’ Church prompted.

‘That we’re all living in hell.’ Tom’s voice rang with echoes of the Court of the Final Word.

‘At the heart of it is the nature of evil,’ Leary said. ‘If you believe there is a creator-god, why did he introduce evil into the world? The orthodox Christians found the answer. They put the blame for evil on mankind, particularly Eve, who allowed evil into the world when she accepted knowledge in the form of the apple from the snake in the Garden of Eden. The Gnostics took a different approach. They are, essentially, dualists: two sides, two faces, two worlds, two great opposing powers.’

Church began to see more connections in the recent events that had shaped him and brought him to this point. He had a strange impression that Leary, and the study, and Millbrook Mansion, were an illusion and that in fact Existence was speaking directly to him.

‘Do you ever wonder why children are murdered or suffer in poverty? Why diseases devastate our bodies? Why wars destroy generations? Why there is such an overwhelming drive to make money even if it brings about more human suffering? That we all know these things are wrong and that it is in our power to put them right, yet we do nothing about it?’ Leary pressed his palms together as if he were praying. ‘Because this creation is a defective work. The material world is a trap for man and always has been, in the control of a force that we characterise as “Evil”, but which is simply the opposite of what life should be. Dark to Light. Anti-Life to Life.’

‘Despair to hope,’ Church said.

‘The Gnostic Secret says there is a solution,’ Leary continued. ‘The sacred secret that has been taught for thousands of years is this: that at the point when Light and Dark split into two, sparks of the divine light became embedded in what would be humanity, like slivers of glass from a broken mirror. The aim of all Gnostic teaching is to awaken those who contain the divine spark so they can find a way back to the Light, or Life.’

Tom leaned forward eagerly. You understand what he’s saying? You know who these people are with the “divine spark”? You thought you were fighting to save this world from the Army of the Ten Billion Spiders. The truth is, they’re trying to stop you from leading a revolution that will overthrow their master, who created this world and who has let it tick over in his absence.’

‘And now he’s back to take control of his creation?’ The concept was so huge Church found it difficult to comprehend. ‘You’re saying the Army of the Ten Billion Spiders are the foot soldiers of this … this power … this force for Anti-Life?’

‘It has many names,’ Tom replied. ‘The Void. The Demiurge. The Tuatha De Danann know it as the Devourer of All Things.’

‘You suddenly know a lot of things you’ve never seen fit to mention before,’ Church said sharply.

‘Life itself is an initiation, Church.’ In Tom’s words, Church heard echoes of what he had been told so many centuries ago by the spirit in the Blue Fire. ‘Once you pass the test, you gain the knowledge.’

Gabe turned to Leary. ‘Tom said you’d seen the spiders.’

‘In some trips, one in particular.’ Leary shifted uncomfortably. ‘They were moving behind the scenes of reality, keeping things the way they should be in the Void’s world.’

‘But now they’re in this world because you’re here,’ Tom said to Church. ‘Because now Existence has champions, and it’s finally a threat to the rule of the Void. Because humanity is now rising and advancing, and there’s a chance that everything could change. Everything.’

‘What’s this got to do with the president’s assassination?’ Gabe interjected with frustration.

‘Everything is connected,’ Tom said.

Leary nodded. ‘When you’re up hard against the pattern, you can’t see the pattern at all. What I’m going to tell you now you have to keep secret for your own safety.’

More showmanship, Church thought.

‘A couple of years ago I was contacted by a woman named Mary Pinchot Meyer at my office at Harvard University. She’d been following my experiments with LSD very closely. Mary is an artist in Washington, and she wanted to organise an LSD session for some friends.’ He paused for dramatic effect. ‘Mary was JFK’s principal lover. Forget Marilyn — Mary was always the one.’

Gabe was aghast. ‘You’re saying the president took drugs in the White House?’

Leary smiled at the teen’s naivety. ‘JFK smoked pot and took cocaine, which was his favourite. But the important point here is that he turned on to acid. Mary arranged several trips for him. He was expanding his consciousness … starting to see the way the world really works.’

Gabe looked as if he might be sick. ‘My dad … I mean JFK … He really did this? I’m sorry. I’m starting to get confused.’

‘The day after JFK was assassinated, Mary called me up.’ All traces of showmanship had been replaced by a deep unease. These were her exact words: “They couldn’t control him any more. He was changing too fast. He was learning too much … They’ll cover everything up. I gotta come see you. I’m scared. I’m afraid.” They’ve left Mary alone so far, but she’s still living in fear.’

‘You’re saying JFK was assassinated because he dropped acid?’ Church couldn’t hide the note of incredulity in his voice.

‘Not because he dropped acid — because he began to understand some universal truths. I’m saying he was a charismatic, influential and powerful person who, although flawed, was starting to open his eyes. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking metaphorically or not — “spider-people” is a good way of describing those who buy into the whole Anti-Life agenda — kind of like the pod people in that Body Snatchers movie. The spider-people are everywhere, and every year that passes they control more and more of the world. But they have to carry out their business from the shadows, because otherwise they’d ruin the illusion of what they’re trying to create.’

‘How do you recognise them?’ Gabe said anxiously.

Leary thought about that for a moment, and then said simply, ‘You don’t.’