CHAPTER 23. SEVERAL INTERPRETATIONS.

January 23, 2020.

Slowly turning another page of a, for some, undoubtedly a relatively interesting book, the thirty-year-old man sighed heavily—an irresolvable, for this period of time, enigma, a mystery, a riddle once again appeared before his eyes. However, it must be admitted that the man, despite the newfound difficulty, did not for a moment cease his, it should be mentioned, very intriguing search—a search, as he believed, for truth. Hurriedly making a few short, but by no means insignificant, notes in his notebook, which seemed to be entirely written on, he did not notice how a certain man of forty, unknown to him, approached him at that very moment—but did he truly not notice him?

"Hello. What are you studying today? Are you not studying the norms of the civil code? Ah, how well I understand you! How difficult it can be, at times, to find that very legal norm that you need to cite for your own good! But, my friend, do not despair. Such norms exist, I assure you. You just need to... you just need to search for them correctly! And I see that you are succeeding quite well: if you have notes in your notebook—it means you are on the right path... it means you have an idea at your disposal!"

"No, I am studying..."

"Allow me to guess... You are studying the Bible! Well, in that case, I understand you perfectly—nothing happens in this world without God's will, and with God's help, in turn, everything happens. You are praying, you are praying today for the success of your case, or, if you will, your endeavor—and this is quite natural: if you do not understand anything in the field of knowledge and experience of jurisprudence, then the only thing you should hope for is God! Right? Is that why you are studying the Bible?"

"No, I am studying..."

"What are you studying? Tell me already!"

"I am studying the quatrains of Nostradamus—I am studying them in order to comprehend their essence, and consequently to solve them."

"The quatrains of Nostradamus? Perhaps you are joking? You have found an appropriate place and time for this!

"Precisely! Place and time—these are... those very cornerstones on which the enigmas, and consequently their solutions, of that glorious astrologer are built."

"As for me—you simply have nothing to do. It would be better to read a dozen articles in the newspaper than a dozen poems from that book—that would be better precisely for you. By trying to do the impossible, you are only tirelessly spending the time of your life, which is already exceedingly short, on a knowingly unsuccessful endeavor—solving the quatrains of Nostradamus... it is no more and no less than the labor of Sisyphus... it is no more and no less than the labor of the Danaids... it is no more and no less than the struggle of the ingenious hidalgo. It is pointless, and therefore useless. Look around... and especially, look back! This world existed long before you appeared... and you, believe me, are not the first to try to encroach on the name of 'the exceptional.' There were many such interpreters before you—and there will be no fewer such interpreters in the future. And therefore... come to terms with the fact that you are not capable of accomplishing that which, by its very nature, is impossible."

"Impossible? Impossible to accomplish? You are mistaken! I am interested in the process, but by no means the results—the result can be erroneous, but the process is never erroneous! My words awaken a smile on your lips... well, your words about newspapers have a similar effect on my lips. Newspapers! Can you, no more and no less than an enigma, no more and no less than a riddle, no more and no less than a stranger, comprehend, understand, and grasp my true intentions? By comprehending the quatrains of Nostradamus, or rather... precisely with the help of the process of comprehending these quatrains... my being is able to read modern newspapers—sometimes with a slight delay... and sometimes I am able to read those very newspapers that will not soon show their face to this sublunary world! There are not so few solved quatrains in this notebook—can you imagine... how much time has been devoted to the process of comprehending them?"

"I cannot imagine and... and I do not wish to imagine. But... if the judge is late today, and consequently if the session is also delayed, then... please... introduce me to the results of that very process that you mentioned a few moments ago."

"Only if one condition is met—if you... afterward... introduce me to the newspaper news."

"Can I refuse your offer? I am listening carefully to you."

"So... what interpretation do you wish to hear today? Perhaps about extraordinarily bloody wars or about all-crushing diseases?" the man asked his interlocutor slowly, having exclusively articulated the last word: his penetrating gaze was now finally planted among the secret mysteries of the nature of this man who tirelessly read newspaper news.

"About diseases?" the man whispered with unusual anxiety.

"Precisely. But, perhaps, taking your anxiety into account, you are not ready to hear it today."

"Why not? I am ready... ready."

"Then you will hear it after two other interpretations."

"Proceed with the presentation immediately!"

"The first of them will be the sixty-seventh quatrain... the sixty-seventh quatrain of the tenth century—a quatrain in which, I assume, Nostradamus refers us to the events of 1960. So, heed my words—heed them if you wish to comprehend them. 'A very strong earthquake in May'[1]—this is the first line of the mentioned quatrain. On May 22, 1960, the Valdivia earthquake occurred—should I mention to you not only its strength but also its consequences? 'Saturn, Capricorn, Jupiter, Mercury with the bull'—this is the second line of the quatrain. On December 13, 1960, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala concluded an agreement to create the Central American Common Market.