Ancient Echoes

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Frustrated by her scientists’ lack of progress, Jennifer Vandenburg had done some of her own digging, and to her surprise, she came across amazingly persuasive documents about a means to extend life.

In fact, the reason she came across such a bizarre subject was nearly as remarkable as the subject itself.

After she had been made CEO of Phaylor-Laine Pharmaceuticals, she grew increasingly curious about the man she had succeeded. The founder of Phaylor-Laine Pharmaceuticals, Calvin Phaylor, had been essentially fired by the company’s board of trustees. Whispered rumors said Phaylor had lost his mind. She decided to see if his papers reflected that or if the board had, in fact, staged a coup. If so, she needed to be wary about them doing it again...to her.

When she learned PLP’s computers kept records of everything, including personal emails and papers, she called up Calvin Phaylor’s and read them.

She was shocked to discover his interest in alchemy. Perhaps the board was right, she initially thought, and the man had gone crazy.

But the more Jennifer learned about alchemy, however, the more convinced she became that there really might be something to it. All the men initiated into its arcana weren't gullible fools. Throughout history many people believed in its power, including most of the outstanding minds of their time—men such as Roger Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, Carl Jung, and Leonardo da Vinci. To be fair, she ought to include the bad with the good—Adolf Hitler.

If they had believed in alchemy, why couldn't she?

The alchemist would create a philosopher's stone and somehow end up with gold. The common man perceived alchemy as a sort of ATM for Krugerrands.

But the master alchemist, the true believer, did not stop there.

Jennifer’s excitement spiked as she learned of this “higher” aspect of alchemy. It became, for her, an obsession—and a hope.

From pure gold, the alchemist could produce a "pill of transformation," a means for a man to achieve his ultimate self, his perfect self: a man who would not die but live forever in immortal splendor.

That was the alchemist's ultimate goal.

The ultimate goal of Calvin Phaylor.

And now, the ultimate goal of Jennifer Vandenburg. Stopping a person from aging would allow her daughter to live. She could not, would not, fail.