Lapis

The mystery that surrounds the pyramids is put to rest in this novel. Or, at least, the footprints on the lost trail that lead to resolving the mystery are uncovered. And, although life's purpose remains perplexing, death's final curtain is revealed for what it is; as non-existent as the invisible material of the emperors new clothes. It is not our gullibility, however, that materialises the final curtain that puts life squarely and solely on the stage, but it is the pollution of our senses that creates it. Our world was infected by the scourge of human greed and self-interest over two millennia past. This novel tells of how fate conspired against the odds to allow an opportunity for that damage we inflicted so long ago to be put right. Albie Shalit is an engineer living in New Zealand. He had lost everything that mattered to him when his wife and daughter were killed in a tragic accident. By chance, Albie meets Larry who owns an antique shop in Manila, in the Philippines. Larry convinces Albie to go to Manila to help a friend of Larry's on a school building project. Larry gives Albie a gift; an unusual object. The object, unknown to both Larry and Albie, was stolen by soldiers in the first world war. Two opposing groups, who represent the so-called owners from whom it was stolen, are still trying to retrieve the object and will do everything they can to retrieve it. The object had been stolen from the family of Babar long before the American soldiers stole it. Babar was related to Genghis Khan who had obtained the object from the heirs of Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great had taken it from a Pharaoh's tomb. The Pharaoh had taken it from a group of cave dwellers in Ethiopia. The story moves to Ethiopia where Albie and his colleagues are presented with an opportunity to make amends for a great injustice humans had caused so long ago. As events unfold Albie is forced to reconsider the fundamental basis of his belief system, including his scientific mind-set and the western concepts of 'ownership' and 'rights'.