33 ORIGINS

 The Devi tradition and their origin mythology often mentioned ancient Persia, the Zagros, and the ancient city of Anshan, one of the earliest capitals of the Kingdom of Elam, dating from the late 4th millennium BC.

Anshan is considered to be the origin of one of the world's oldest civilizations. The earliest evidence of Anshan can be found in the Sumerian King List, which includes many references to rulers.

The Sumerian Kings List is almost unique in all of archeology. For that reason, those Devi who wished to delve into mythologies and fantasies held the list as a canonical record of their origin.

This list contained the name Gilgamesh, the title character in the legend of ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh. ’ Of the one hundred and six Kings after Gilgamesh, 14 ruled for between 80 and 400 years, while Gilgamesh himself was said to have ruled for 126 years.

However, the issue that divided the Devi was the earlier and earliest Kings. The 27 previous Kings, from The First rulers of Uruk and the Dynasty of Kish, ruled for 100 to 1,500 years, the longest of which was Etana.

The First Kings on the List ruled for 18.600 years, and up to Alalngar, the second king, who ruled for 72,000 years. 

“I think it is absolute poppycock, Jonathan. How could you even begin to believe in any of that?”

“Let’s not get into that right now.”

“If not now, when?”

“Evelyn, we have guests coming to meet us, and Devi history is never a good topic for a dinner debate.”

At dinner, their guests were Baudouin Favreau and his companion Marjolaine Chabot.

“Lovely to see you two. Jonathan and I were so glad you could attend dinner and the Bahamas. Marjolaine, you look radiant.”

“Thank you. I am still unsure about Devi protocol, but I became Devi on my thirty-first birthday. It seems a long time since we last met. Marjolaine Chabot

“ I was a service girl of fourteen.”

 

Bringing her stubborn streak to the fore, Evelyn took hold of both of Baudouin’s hands and asked, “In what way will the revolution in Iran affect your understanding of the Devi creation story?”

“Evelyn, I told you not to mention that.”

 “Jonathan is correct; it is a touchy subject. My opinion is, it does not matter. I have seen enough and lived long enough to only worry about the future. But just for you, this is what I think.

 Once upon a time, there was no Devi; I think that even before the idea of the List of Kings, a longevity gene arose at some crisis point in human development. It was an adept evolution variant or even a mistake. A genetic aberration.”

Thanks, Baud, I waited hand and foot on Devi so that you could make me an aberration?”

“No, like, blue eyes. It is thought to be a mutation that occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago in a single individual in Europe. Or the colour Blue. Humans didn't have a clear concept of "blue" until relatively recently, with the Egyptians being the first known society to have a word for it. The ancient Chinese and Hebrews did not have a word for blue or blue in the ancient Hindu texts.

Jonathan raised two fingers. “I don’t think either lady at this table would call Paul Newman an aberration, at least not in a negative way, and I can’t think of any Devi I know with blue eyes.”

Marjolaine said, ‘My eyes were blue but are a brown-green mix. What is the English word for that?”

“Hazel.”

“Yes, my eyes are now Hazel. Jonathan, what do you think about our Devi roots?”

 

“If I must, I like the romance of the King’s Lists. It is a total wild card. Perhaps a long life was a gift in the Garden of Eden. The first eight Kings on the list are known as the Antediluvian rulers, the Sumerians, and others have them living in the mythical era before the great deluge. Methuselah’s life is in chapter five of the Bible.

In Genesis, chapter 6, Noah, his family, and all land animals are saved from a great flood. Hindu temples and sculptures depict Manu and his vessel as symbols of cosmic order and the preservation of life during times of upheaval. Everyone has a flood myth, and many cultures have super long-lived people before a flood.”

Evelyn gasped, “Back in Ireland, when Abigail and you were telling me stories about the Devi, I said, maybe you were related to Methuselah, and she replied: Perhaps we are, perhaps we are. That would explain a lot if one were to believe those stories.”

“While I was working in the Authentic’s household, Jannike always wore a Star of Ishtar, or the Star of Inanna. The Star of Inanna is a Mesopotamian symbol of the ancient Sumerian goddess Inanna. Under either name, Ishtar is a primary Mesopotamian goddess closely associated with love and war. As a goddess or even a god, she is the first known deity for which we have written evidence.

 Jonathan reached over to take hold of Marjolaine’s hand, “This woman is my champion. It could all be a coincidence, but the romantic in me would like to think our kind descended from the heavens rather than being a genetic aberration or freaks of nature. Because, when I am hitting on girls in the bars, it has more gravitas.”

“You start hitting on girls, and I will be hitting on you with a bar.”

Favreau restarted the conversation. The other big issue now is the Russians in Afghanistan, and how it affects us is the same as in Iran; the Soviets will likely be as friendly towards us as the Ayatollahs. We don’t know what the Soviets are all about. We have not had any Devi in Russia since 1917 and in Eastern Europe since ’45.”

“This is close to my heart as my dear, very late Father spent time in Kabul helping the crown with King Shah Shuja. He said that the Afghans were the nicest people and the kindest,”

“Well, with American arms, the group calling themselves the Mujahideen may be able to hinder the Russians and someday restore order to that mountainous land and bring peace,” Baudoin added.

The Mujahideen did, in a way, were the cause and the effect of liberating their land. The Russian empire was starting to crumble, and the war in Afghanistan was one of the final nails in its coffin. The Russians withdrew in 1989, and the Soviet Empire collapsed in 1991.

 

1991 was the year John and Evie left Los Angeles and moved to Recife, Brazil, a city John had a business in while he was in Lisbon in the mid-1500s.

The city had obviously changed in the last 500 years, but his feelings and the distinct smells of the air remained the same, or so he felt.

Evelyn had some difficulty with her Portuguese, as her dialect was almost a century and a half old.

They bought a residence, a condominium from another Devi, for a nominal price in the Boa Viagem area of the city.

On the R, Barao de Souza Leao is just over a tenth of a mile or 0.2 kilometres from the oceanfront and the beach.

“Oh, my god, Johnny, what did we do?”

“What is the problem now?”

“I loved California, and there were hot, cool, dry and windy seasons. But here, it is hot, humid, hotter and then reset. There is no break.”

“Well, we are about 550 miles from the equator and back in the southern hemisphere.”

“In Christchurch, we could travel to see snow; here, the ice melts too quickly in my drinks.”

“Poor baby, the things you do for love.”

Jonathan once again took up his old profession as a printer, publishing an English and French tourist guide for the area. There were other publications, but his was done in very small batches, published twice a month, and dealt with up-to-date information. Furthermore, he was able to customize it for each area. If it were in a hotel or club in the northern part of the city, his advertising would only be for that area.

Thursdays were Eve's Pilates classes; she was in the changing room of the condo tower’s gymnasium when her cell phone rang.

“Sra, St Croix, one of the Ile’s Paris, and then Royal Avenue East in London?”

“May I ask who this is?”

“I am Lechosław Pawlak, Commissionaire at the Romanian consulate here in Recife.”

“Yes, I may be the person you are looking for, what can I do?”

“Sra, if you could, could you please come to the consulate tomorrow at 10:30?”

“It is best that we discuss this in person.”

 

“I don’t know, Jonathan; I have no idea. But as he mentioned Paris and London, he must know something about us.”

“We will call the Colette in Rio and ask about other Devi in Recife.”

“She says there are no Devi by that name in Recife or area, but there are two in Rio. But she did say that there is are O.T.I.D contacts by that name in Romanian. And that one has been posted to South America. So, the call may be legit.” 

 

They arrived at the Consulate shortly after 10:00 and were taken to the reception room.

“Sra St Croix, greetings. If the two of you would please follow me.”

They sat beside each other as the official moved behind the desk.

“I invited you here as a refugee claimant back in our county’s capital, Bucharest, and she mentioned you. She has an interesting story, and the Ministry directed it to my desk here in Recife.

The story this woman told the Directorate was that in a round-up of undesirable civilians in Austria in 1940, a woman by the name of Thiess was arrested. This was on the grounds of asocial lesbian activity. She was sent to a Polish camp, given a black triangle to wear, and for more than four years, she struggled in a labour battalion.

At the time of the liberation of the camp, the Soviet army needed assistance in logistical support, and instead of fully liberating many of these individuals, pressed them into assisting the military in crushing Fascism. Many former camp inmates were more than glad to help fight their oppressors. Stalin, being as paranoid as he was, at the close of the war, shipped these poor souls far east to Siberian gulags.

The story goes that this woman and what she called ‘others like her’ escaped their new camp and established themselves in a remote village, marrying, having children, and living in a primitive but safer environment.

The village was so isolated that they were unaware of the collapse of the Moscow regime for two years.”

 

“Oh, Lord, a child of Julia is alive, and she listened to her mother on how to find us.”   

“Find you? This woman 's story started early in the war. You would be 100 years old or more if she were referring to you.”

“Oh no, Sir, I meant us as a family reference.”

“Understood. Would you sponsor her immigration to Brazil with the proper clearances, applications, and paperwork, such as a visa?”

“Yes, oh my god, yes.”

Driving away from the Consulate, Eve was sitting silently until turning to look at Jonathan. “Oh, John, this could be Julia’s daughter or granddaughter.”

Jonathan pulled the car to the curb, walked out and opened Eve’s door. “Out, we need to talk.”

“What, John? Are you angry at me?”

“Eve, I believe that, given the trauma of the war, the camps and living in a Siberian peasant village would not be sustainable for a Devi child.”

“Are you saying this woman is lying and making everything up?”

“No, I am saying that the woman in Bucharest is likely Julia Theiss.”

Evelyn turned white and collapsed.