Genesis Read Online Free PDF Page A

regular
polychoron in an eight cell octachoron hypercube in dynamic mutation.
    Maybe not impossible. Highly improbable
perhaps, but it was technically possible.
    Mary got out of her car and walked with
purpose to the boys. The smaller boy quickly hid behind the taller one. Could
it be? Mary couldn’t be certain until she got closer.
    It wasn’t the fever.
    The older boy sheepishly smiled.
    “Hi, Mom.”

The rain fell in torrents, except at occasional
intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind that swept up the
mountainside, rattling along the tree-tops, and fiercely agitating the scant
flame of the small brass ship’s lantern that struggled against the darkness.
    *Christopher used his free hand to shield
the top of the lamp’s glass chimney from the wind and rain as he moved forward
carrying the lantern towards the entrance of the mineshaft. The rocks were wet,
and it was a treacherous endeavor, not made any easier by the fact he could not
use his hands to help him. Christopher had been to the mine many times, but
never alone. He had always come with his grandfather, but not tonight. Tonight
it was all up to him.
    Christopher made his way down into the
mineshaft and the flame from the lantern began to steady itself until it was no
longer in danger of being extinguished from the wind. He stopped and set the
lamp on a large rock, then knelt down and warmed his hands over the flame. He
was drenched to the bone, his wet shirt and jeans clinging to his youthful
frame. He was cold and should have worn a jacket, but the rain felt good after
such a long winter. As cold as it was, it was worth it; Christopher was smart
enough to know that he could die on the way back to the farm tonight, and he
loved the feel of rain on his skin. Any chance he could, especially now, he
would go out in the rain. Anytime could be the last time.
    He picked up the lantern and started
walking deeper into the mine. The shaft was long, and it would take him some
time, one of the things he had little of, but his instructions from his grandfather
were clear. A flashlight would have been better suited for the task at hand,
but every time they visited the mine, his grandfather had always insisted that
no metals other than copper and zinc be allowed in. Brass, being an alloy made
of both copper and zinc, was also permissible. His grandfather had explained
why to him once when he was younger, something about the special
electromagnetic properties of the rare-earth minerals contained in the shaft
and surrounding veins, but the lecture had come the same day that he had
discovered the love of his young life, and Christopher had been daydreaming at
the time, and at many times since.
    “Are you an honest man?” Christopher
whispered into the darkness, hearing his own words echo down the shaft. It was
a tradition he and his grandfather had started the first time they had explored
the mine. A simple question whispered into the darkness, followed by a pause to
await the echoed return. He had always been fascinated as a young child by the
stories his grandfather told him of Diogenes of Sinope, and even with
everything going on in the outside world, Christopher could not help thinking
of him while carrying his own lantern into the darkness.
    Diogenes of Sinope was a Greek philosopher
and one of the founders of cynic philosophy. Diogenes believed that virtue was
better revealed in action than in theory, and he used his simple lifestyle and
behaviors as a way to criticize the social values and institutions of what he
saw as a corrupt society. Diogenes even once publicly mocked Alexander the
Great, something most people did not do back in those days, and he quickly
became notorious for his philosophical stunts. Most notably, Diogenes was known
for wandering around ancient Greece carrying a lantern in search of an honest
man, which he never found.
    Christopher had no expectations of finding
anyone, honest or otherwise. The mine had been abandoned off and on