2. Athens: 9th Philosophical Meeting (12 pgs.)

ACT II - CHAPTER 2

9th PHILOSOPHICAL MEETING

ATHENS

Saturday May 26, 2018

Athens Greece

The colors of the Greek team and the Hellenic flag covered the stands of the Olympic Stadium in Athens when they went to the locker room.

Alexandre scored two goals and they beat the Greek team three to zero.

“A selfie please,” a boy told him after signing an autograph at the hotel where he was staying with the team.

“Are you leaving, philosopher?” one of his teammates who was at the bar asked him.

“Aristotle is waiting for me,” he replied jokingly.

“Say hi to him for me,” he joked back.

Yellow took him from the hotel to an apartment right across from the ruins of the Temple of Zeus, a short distance from the Parthenon.

At the entrance to the building there were six security agents armed to the teeth dressed in black suits next to a tank and an ambulance.

“The ambulance was Mr. Walker’s idea,” Yellow said.

They went up to the top floor, then went down two and walked to the other end of the building.

“Hello Alexandre!” Arturo and Ricardo exclaimed when he saw him enter the apartment.

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He greeted them and then closed the curtains. Turned up the music and pulled up three dining room chairs. He was determined. He would risk telling them everything. Arturo and Ricardo looked at him intrigued.

“Are you sure there are no hidden microphones here?” Alexandre asked.

“Sure,” Ricardo responded.

“Please, take your cell phones away from here,” Alexandre said, they did so and then he spoke.

“Before going into the philosophic topics of the book, I have to tell you something about life or death,” he said in a low voice, as if he were being recorded. He spoke to them almost in a whisper and they listened attentively with their heads very close to his. “I’m going to get straight to the point. Don’t interrupt me. I’m going to take breaks so you can digest what I’m going to tell you. Is strong. You won’t believe it. You’re going to want to get up from your chairs and run. I’ll tell you everything and then when I’m done, I’ll answer all your questions. Do you agree?”

“Yes.”

“Do you promise to keep what I say a secret?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, please don’t interrupt me until the end. It’s hard to believe what I’m going to tell you, but please listen to everything. I’m going to start with the most important thing. Four nuclear bombs a thousand times more powerful than the one in Hiroshima will explode in the World Cup final in Russia. Please don’t move or say anything, just listen and you will understand everything. I know it seems absurd, but please keep listening to the end,” Alexandre said and they nodded their heads, swallowing saliva. “It is confirmed. The bomb clocks are activated and will explode in Moscow at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 15, in the middle of the World Cup final,” he said, pausing again and continued. “This information is confirmed by the secret services of several countries. The probability of it happening is ninety-five percent and this has been confirmed by various intelligence services,” he stopped and saw how Ricardo and Arturo were frowning, trying not to get up from their chairs. “It will be a false flag attack that will trigger World War III, a nuclear Armageddon that will end our civilization,” and he paused again. “I know this because shortly after we started writing the book, someone who was investigating Ronald’s death contacted me and I promised not to reveal who he was,” Alexandre said and continued.

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“He is a former KGB agent and he is helping us. Let’s call him Mr. X. He will try to stop the bomb clocks so that they do not explode and unleash a nuclear war that will turn the northern hemisphere into ashes. The truth is it is very unlikely that he will achieve it, but he is working on it. He told me to go to the southern hemisphere that will survive this Armageddon, to take my loved ones to the south because the bombs will not fall there and the radioactive damage will be less after the disaster. I’ve already made my decision. I’m not going south. If the French team reaches the final, and Mr. X doesn’t stop the bomb clocks, I will die in the Moscow nuclear explosions. You can save yourself by taking refuge in South America, Australia or New Zealand, or you can go to Moscow to see the final, whatever you want, but maybe you should go south so you can continue with the book if I die,” he said and paused again. “Talking to the president of Russia to evacuate Moscow or suspend the World Cup is not an option. It would be of no use because the president does not know, and if he finds out he would ruin the possibility of avoiding Armageddon. Mr. X discovered that this is being led by The Family, the same secret society that planted the bomb on the plane when you were returning from Edinburgh and almost left Mr. Walker in a wheelchair. Mr. X recorded a meeting where The Family talks about a new beginning that is reborn from the ashes. They want to create a new fascist world government and of course govern themselves. Nobody would listen to us if we went to the press because they would take us for crazy,” Alexandre said and saw that Arturo and Ricardo were looking at him as if he really was crazy and still trying not to move from their chairs. “Please wait, it won’t be long. Although I have never said anything to Mr. X that we are writing the book, he somehow knows it and told me that he himself would kill me if I didn’t write it. We talked two days ago. He told me that his job was to stop the bombs from exploding and that mine was to finish the book, and he made it clear to me that he would kill me if I didn’t do it.

In this context, I already made the decision to publish the book in three weeks and twenty languages on the opening day of the World Cup. We will take advantage of the journalistic coverage of football to publicize the sale. The Family doesn’t expect that. It is a true surprise attack.

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“You’re crazy! Finish and publish the book in three weeks in all those languages? It’s very little time!” Ricardo exclaimed and Arturo was going to start talking.

“No! No! No! You promised not to talk! Wait please! Then you can make all the comments and questions you want. My plan is that after this last philosophical meeting we contact Mr. Walker to help us with its publication. We will have to hire translators, organize a launch with advertising and press. We could give the book a name related to football so that more people buy it. For example, Philosophy in Football Metaphors and we can put Ronald as the author. We will convince his family to tell the press that his son had written it before he died. All the journalists are going to talk about the book during the World Cup. It’s a golden opportunity in terms of marketing,” Alexandre said and paused. “We need it to be sold worldwide in all bookstores in the world. If we do a big publicity launch and pay sportswriters to talk about the book, it will be a bestseller and our best chance to get a lot of people to buy it before Armageddon. It is the best tribute to Ronald so that his book, our book, can reconstruct what is left of the world. We need to do it in three weeks, whatever the cost, we have no choice. We must also consider that it be published in the southern hemisphere where the bombs are not going to fall, supposedly. I say supposedly because, although it is less likely, Mr. X told me that some nuclear powers, in the event of Armageddon, their military doctrine is to eliminate all countries, even those in the southern hemisphere, so that after the disaster no one competes with them and thus they will be the only ones to inherit the Earth. Whatever happens, the devastation in the southern hemisphere will not be as complete as that in the northern hemisphere and perhaps more people will be able to buy the book. You make the decision you want, I’ve already made mine. I’m not going to pressure you. I’m going to put three million euros on the table to hire whoever, but we need Mr. Walker’s help,” Alexandre said in an urgent tone and made a check for that sum to the bearer, leaving it on the table and asked, “Are you with me?” and there was a long silence.

Ricardo looked at him and knew he was telling the truth. His plan made sense, taking advantage of the press coverage of the World Cup was the best promotion opportunity for many people to buy the book quickly.

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“I’ll put three more,” said Ricardo, making a check to the bearer that he put on the table.

“And I’ll put three more,” said Arturo and did the same.

“So do we have an agreement?” Alexandre asked.

“Yes,” they answered.

“Please, Ricardo, call Mr. Walker right now. He has many more resources than us and can help us,” said Alexandre.

“My channel to communicate with him is Francisca. I call her, she calls him, and he calls me.”

“Then call her now,” Alexandre said and saw that Ricardo was sending him a message through an encrypted message server and added, “It will be necessary to hire a head of front-line professionals, a team that must include translators, editors, publicists, journalists and others necessary to plan and carry out the launch, publicity and placement of the book in bookstores around the world. Ricardo, can you lead the team of professionals? I’ll be busy playing the World Cup.”

“Yes,” Ricardo answered.

“Ricardo, can you dedicate yourself only to this for the next three weeks?” Alexandre asked.

“Yes. I will speak with the club I manage in England, don’t worry, I can organize myself when there is a clear objective,” said Ricardo.

“Any questions?” said Alexandre.

“I won’t ask you questions, because I made the decision to believe that what you say is true. If a nuclear war happens and we die, it is better to be prepared in case it happens. If it does not happen, the measures we take will not be in vain. I will not allow my family to come to the final. Maybe I’ll stay in South America. I have to think better about it, but it’s true that if you die in Moscow someone will have to continue with the book,” Ricardo said.

“I’ll think about it too, but I haven’t fully decided yet. Maybe I will die in Moscow too,” said Arturo.

“Maybe it’s not a good idea for us all to die in Moscow, because someone has to lift the torch of reason to rebuild the world. It will not be enough to publish the book. We will have to promote the ideas it contains to young people who I hope will realize sooner rather than later that understanding objective philosophy will save them decades of mistakes and prevent future man-made extinctions,” Alexandre said.

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“We will do it,” said Arturo, thinking about the media influence he had.

At that moment Ricardo’s phone rang.

“Good afternoon Mr. Walker. Very well thanks and you? Glad to hear it. I’ll get straight to the point. Something urgent came up and we need to talk to you in person, it’s a matter of life and death, but we can’t talk about it over the phone. Yes. We can wait until tomorrow at noon,” said Ricardo, looking at Alexandre who nodded his head. “Ok Mr. Walker, we will wait for your plane to arrive and the three of us will be in Oslo tomorrow night. Yes, don’t worry, we will take the parachutes, good night and thank you,” Ricardo said and hung up.

“What time are we leaving?” Alexandre asked.

“His plane takes off tonight from New York. It will arrive in Athens tomorrow at noon and we will immediately fly to Oslo. We will arrive at dusk,” Ricardo said and asked, “Are you sure to go with us? What about the Football World Cup? The coach of the French team isn’t going to like you disappearing,” said Ricardo.

“Don’t worry. I can disappear for a couple of days. I can handle that,” Alexandre replied.

It was two in the afternoon in Athens and they already had a plan. In twenty-four hours, the plane would arrive that would take them to Oslo. Alexandre knew that Francisca’s father would not consider expenses to finance an impossible mission. But the first thing was to finish the book, so they opened the curtains, sat down at the table and began to eat lunch in total silence. Only the sound of silver cutlery clashing against porcelain plates could be heard as they ate until the silence was broken.

“Seeing the Parthenon in these circumstances makes me feel like one of the three hundred Spartans at Thermopylae. Here we are, the three of us, and maybe we will also change history like them. How crazy what is happening!” Arturo exclaimed at the same time that he had a fleeting thought, There are many people in the world. Life on planet Earth has become extinct many times. Maybe nature is looking for its own balance.

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After lunch they cleared the table and Alexandre turned on the recorder to discuss the themes of the final part of the book. With The Parthenon at their front, Aristotle seemed it was helping them in that difficult circumstance. They talked about the role of ethics in self-esteem and sex and also about politics and art.

They realized that choosing an erroneous moral code made true self-esteem impossible, while an objective moral code led to happiness without guilt or contradictions.

“Ethical contradictions make it impossible to connect heroic love, with sex; instinct, with reason,” said Alexandre.

“When moral doubts get into bed, they put out the erotic fire!” Arturo exclaimed.

In politics they concluded that capitalism or the free market was an appropriate system, the best, but as long as it was honest, which implied a financial system based on metallic gold and true justice, that is, judges who were not corrupt, along with balanced international relations without imperialist countries that imposed economic sanctions on the rest. Otherwise, free trade and democracy were a bad joke of corrupt politicians who behaved like clowns. If the Constitutions of the countries were written law, as Confucius had said, to govern properly the language had to be reformed. For that, there was nothing better than objective epistemology, something they had already seen in past meetings. Global institutions had to be fair and consider the harsh truth of geopolitical realism. In art they defended works that represented man as what he could and should become: a heroic and rational animal.

Alexandre wrote the final conclusion of the book with a marker on the apartment window.

“TRUE SELF-ESTEEM BEGINS WHEN MAN FOCUSES HIS MIND AND CHOOSE A PRODUCTIVE GOAL AFTER DIFFERENTIATING THE CONCEPTS THAT CONTAIN PERCEPTS FROM THOSE THAT CONTAIN FANCEPTS”

They contemplated the text with the Parthenon in the background and when they toasted, the sound of their glasses evoked the sound of three hundred Spartans striking their swords against their shields at Thermopylae.

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They finished at one in the morning, but there were many things to polish before publishing the book. Alexandre said goodbye and Yellow took him back to the hotel where the France team was. The next day the plane would arrive and Yellow would pick him up at the hotel at noon to go to the airport and fly to Oslo with Ricardo and Arturo.

“Pay attention. I will contact you when Mr. Walker’s plane arrives,” said Yellow when Alexandre said goodbye to Ricardo and Arturo.

“Will you pilot?” Alexandre asked when Yellow left him at the entrance to the hotel.

“Yes. Tomorrow at noon I will pick you up to go to the airport, so be vigilant” he replied.

“Alright. I will be vigilant and waiting for you to arrive,” said Alexandre, getting out of the car to enter the hotel.

The next day Alexandre woke up rested, but expectant of Yellow’s news. He bathed in the large hotel pool. He called Victoria every hour to check on her.

After noon he couldn’t see Yellow anywhere and Ricardo still hadn’t called, so he decided to call him.

“What’s wrong Ricardo? Has the plane arrived?”

“I don’t know. Probably it has been delayed.”

“Yellow is not here at the hotel. Have you heard anything from him?” Alexandre asked.

“No.”

“Okay, let’s wait a little longer,” Alexandre said and sighed, frowning.

He tried hard to stay calm when he played pool with some friends from the French team. He felt that he had to tell Victoria everything. They had planned a trip to Venice before the opening of the World Cup and he thought this would be his chance to talk to her. If the bombs were going to explode at the World Cup final in Moscow, Victoria had to go with its family to see it at her cousin’s house in Sydney, because London and the surrounding area would disappear in the nuclear Armageddon.

When the afternoon fell, he called Ricardo again and he didn’t know anything about Yellow. They decided to continue waiting.

“What is wrong my love? Why do you call me so much? I love you too,” Victoria told him.

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“Ricardo, it’s 10 pm! The plane should have arrived six hours ago! Call Francisca and tell her to call Mr. Walker to call you now!” Alexandre exclaimed into his cell phone.

Half an hour later Alexandre walked like a caged lion and called Ricardo.

“What happened with Francisca?

“She doesn’t respond.”

“And Yellow?”

“I don’t know anything about him either.”

“Okay, let’s stay calm. I think I know how to contact her,” Alexandre said through gritted teeth and called Victoria.

“Yes love, please urgently contact Francisca right now and tell her to call Ricardo.”

“Who is Ricardo?”

“Victoria, I’ll tell you later. Trust me. Please do as I say and call me later. It is urgent!”

Alexandre put the pool balls on the table and started practicing alone. He ordered a whisky with peanuts at the bar. At that moment his cell phone rang.

“She doesn’t answer me,” Victoria said.

“Did you leave her a message?”

“She forbade me, she doesn’t want me to send her anything in writing.”

“Break the rule and leave her a message.”

“But…”

“Just do it! Please! Keep calling her until she answers!”

“Sure,” she said and didn’t dare ask.

Alexandre walked through the entire hotel looking for Yellow, went out into the street and remembered the first time he had seen him with his yellow beret. Where was he? Where was Francisca? He sighed and called Victoria again.

“Nothing? Did you leave her a message?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any other way to communicate with her?”

“No.”

“Are you OK?” Alexandre asked.

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“Yes.”

“Are you in your apartment or with your parents?”

“With my parents. Whatever is happening is that bad?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll tell you later, maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. I love you darling. Take care, please. Goodbye, a kiss and say hello to your parents for me. Let me know when Francisca contacts you!”

“Sure.”

“Good night and sleep well.”

“Good night.”

When it was midnight, he called Ricardo and there was no news. He watched his pulse tremble and took another whisky. He lit a cigarette, then, another and another. He walked and thought for over an hour until he had a plan. At two in the morning, he called Ricardo again.

“When do you have to return to your club?” Alexandre asked.

“I already warned that I would arrive on Tuesday, so I have three days,” said Ricardo.

“And Arturo?”

“The same,” Ricardo responded.

“Is with you now?”

“Yes.”

“It’s obvious that something happened. If we don’t hear from them until early tomorrow, I’ll visit you and we’ll have to redo the plan. I already thought of one and I want to show it to you. Do you agree?

“Yes.”

“Well. We’ll talk tomorrow at breakfast, good night,” Alexandre said, ended the call, sighed with a frown and lit another cigarette. Then he went to his bedroom and fell asleep watching television. This is how that fateful Sunday ended.

“Oh no! I fell asleep!” Alexandre exclaimed in loud voice when he woke up at 10 in the morning the next day, Monday, May 28.

He grabbed his phone and called Ricardo, but he didn’t answer. Then called Victoria, but she didn’t answer either. For a moment he felt terrified and the room seemed to spin. He took a deep breath and went straight to the shower to bathe with cold water. In the middle of the shower, his cell phone rang and he ran out to answer it, naked and wet.

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“Darling, why don’t you answer me?” Alexandre asked.

“Sorry, I had my cell phone far away and I didn’t hear it.”

“Please don’t walk away from your cell phone. Did you try to contact Francisca?”

“I’ve lost count of all the times I’ve called her and left her a text message. She has me worried. What is happening? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know, but I hope so. Are you okay?” Alexandre asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“They’re calling me now. I’ll call you later,” he said and hung up.

“Ricardo! You disappeared!” Alexandre exclaimed annoyed.

“I was in the shower.”

“Something new?” Alexandre asked.

“Nothing.”

“I finish showering and go over there.”

“Alright.”

Leaving his room he headed to the hotel reception, then to the dining room and the pool room. He was looking for Yellow and asking the staff if they had seen him giving his description. He soon realized the absurdity he was doing. He had to recognize that something had happened and it wasn’t good. Or maybe Yellow would show up at any moment and the plane was simply delayed. But he knew that couldn’t be. What was happening was totally out of the ordinary. He felt helpless. He thought at one point that it would be a good idea to send an SOS message to Boris. Idiot! Don’t bother him! He is looking for the pendrive to stop the end of civilization! he thought and reproached himself, Let him look for it in peace! He completed his rebuke. He went out into the street desperate and still hoping to find Yellow, and nothing. Resigned, he took a taxi and headed to where Ricardo and Arturo were staying.

He explained the plan to them and it was very simple. If there was no news before noon they would have to continue alone. Nothing he had told them changed.

“Ricardo, can you direct the publication of the book alone without Mr. Walker’s help?” Alexandre asked.

“Yes.”

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“With 9 million euros I think something can be done. And here’s another check for three million to hire the best bodyguards,” said Alexandre, placing the bearer check on the table. “Unfortunately, I can’t do anything else. I have to go with the French team to the World Cup. I won’t be able to stay longer.”

“You stay calm and we’ll organize ourselves,” Ricardo said.

“Don’t worry? I’ll try. If Yellow shows up after I leave, fly to Oslo without me. Can you go alone?” Alexandre asked.

“Of course! And I will take the parachute, but I hope I don’t have to use it,” said Arturo, who had not yet made a free jump.

Ricardo immediately called the club he managed and told them that he had an emergency and would arrive a week later. Arturo did the same with the club he managed in Dubai.

“Do we publish the book by ourselves or with a publisher?” Ricardo asked.

“I don’t know, now you’re in charge. I know you will make the best decision,” Alexandre said.

They discussed the issue and concluded with a publisher, but needed to be big. They called the most important publishers from different parts of the world. They were told that publishing a book in twenty languages and advertising it in three weeks was impossible. They thought their best option was to look for a small publishing house in Athens. They just needed to find the right professionals and pay them very well.

When the afternoon arrived, they said goodbye to Alexandre and wished each other good luck.

No one wanted to talk about the possible reason for the disappearance of Mr. Walker, Yellow and Francisca, but they were determined that, whatever happened, they would publish the book together with the opening of the World Cup in three more weeks, on June 14.

When night fell Alexandre went to the Athens airport to fly to Barcelona and then he would go to London to tell Victoria everything. Sitting in a cafeteria he was waiting for the plane watching the news on the television in front of him and he read the word Walker. At the bottom of the screen, it said: “RAGNAR WALKER KIDNAPPED”

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