As a part of my father's legacy to me, (along with a tendency towards non-conformism and a piano bench full of sheet music) there were several boxes of paperback books putting forth various aspects of the alternate history of humanity, all heavily annotated with marginal notes he had added. Alongside the predictable "popular" offerings by Von Daniken and Velikovski (Chariots of the Gods,  Worlds in Collision) there were several lesser-known authors with formidable credentials, whose theories carried quite a bit of weight as a result of their extensive research. It was this collection of writings which apparently had led him to formulate his own theories on "How We Got Here" and inspired him to begin writing this unfinished book.

WE ARE THE MARTIANS!
By Keith Jarvis D.C.

The book will be told from the point of view of a Know-it-all Martian Historian. Some of his statements will be what I consider to be "facts" from other authors; and some will be projections to a logical conclusion. Pieces of information came my way over a thirty year period. Gradually the shadow of a story began to appear.For the next ten years I searched for factual information to support my theory. It came from the Old Testament, Immanuel Velikovsky (Earth in Upheaval), Erich Van Daniken (Chariots of the Gods)  and Josef Bloomrich (Spaceships of Ezekial) and many more who have left vivid insights in my mind.

 I am only presenting a skeleton of an idea that will hopefully get some specialists to look in this direction and perhaps fit a few more pieces into this jig-saw puzzle, to put a body on this skeleton.

As a distant descendant of the Martian Colonists of this earth, I feel I have some insight into these historical events. I am not claiming some unique privilege for myself, for you are of their lineage as well. In fact all of us "human beings" are, along with all other mammals and the coniferous trees. The idea will not rank very highly on the credulity scale, compared with Evolution or Creationism; but it does fill some of the gaps in both theories. It could be a compromise solution for these two sides of the debate; but personally I expect to be crucified by both.

The essence of my interpretation of the old testament is the ancient meaning of the words "Cloud" and "Glory of the Lord" as found in the book of Ezekiel Chapter 1 verse 4 : "...behold a strong wind came out of the north, and a great cloud with brightness round about it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire as it were gleaming bronze" and 1 -28 :"Such was the appearance of the likeness of the "Glory of the Lord" and when I saw it I fell upon my face and I heard the voice of one that spoke."

Ezekiel had undoubtedly heard of "clouds" just as we have heard of "Flying Saucers" and he would have had to describe them in terms of reference to the likeness of things he knew.  (see Spaceships of Ezekiel - by Josef F. Bloomrich) Apart from those like Ezekiel and others in their time, (Uriel for instance)  we in this century are the first to know that it is possible to fly and to witness actual travel through space. After the last of these sightings of "clouds" shortly after the time of Jesus, these descriptions cease to have been recorded; but sightings may well have continued, only to be dismissed or debunked.

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And this is where my father's introduction to an unwritten book ends. I remember a few conversations we had over the years, when he expounded further on his theories of ancient astronauts and the origin of humankind on Mars. Much has been written on the subject since this time and his speculations no longer seem as contraversial as they once did. I recommend the curious reader to seek out the works of Zecharia Stichin and Graham Hancock. A more complete set of references can be found on the Great Library Backstage page ;->  http://recordingsunlimited.com/great-backstage-page.htm

THE GREAT LIBRARY - MISSION STATEMENT
50 years ago I first started to notice something fishy in the accepted notions  of how our world came to be the way it is. (blame my dad for allowing me  access to his eclectic library). Science and religion had different explanations; but both left serious gaps and contradictions unresolved. As I grew up curious, with an enormous appetite for reading material of all types, It became clear that at some point in our past, there has been a cover-up, a redaction of the historical record; and that everything after that point has been based on faulty or missing information. Some persons needed to bury certain information in order to gain and maintain power.

Over the years I found many clues as to what kind of knowledge had been lost; but only a few specifics. What we are left with is a legacy of questions and enigmatic artifacts; but one thing has become obvious - that the dividing moment of our understanding is not before and after the birth of Christ. The watershed event marking the schism of history is the destruction of the Library of Alexandria, and assassination of Hypatia during Easter week, 415 AD.

In 1986 I found Carl Sagan's book COSMOS wherein he spells out this conclusion coherently and convincingly. Having read his impassioned argument I felt driven to somehow share this awareness with a wider audience. I imagined it happening in the form of a collection of songs and vignettes which could portray the struggle of ideologies and issues surrounding this crime against humanity. I began collecting pieces of the puzzle in scenes, stories and music to be assembled in the form of a Musical Theatre presentation. A Modern Opera which seems to have become my life's work

In the past few years I realized the content had far outgrown the original concept and so decided to make the work public while still in  process, hoping to attract some supporters, collaborators and co-creators who would have an interest in seeing the story unfold.  I expect to continue working on this for the rest of my life, with or without the support of anyone else.

However, with your participation and appreciation The GREAT LIBRARY will grow at a much faster rate than it could with me plugging along alone. ACT 0 has thirty minutes of music, text and images which you can check out here >

 http://www.recordingsunlimited.com/great-library.htm 

 I could really use some feedback and sincere critiques here. I've been guided by instinct and mostly working solo on this project. Over the past year and a bit I've been trying to build an audience and a team with whom I could share this journey. I've had to invent a new medium in order to tell the story of Hypatia and the Library.

The Religious Right and the New Feudalism

The first republicans, recognizing that the world was set to be polarized along a rift determined by the world's opposing philosophies, showed great foresight in seizing the linguistic moral high ground and claimed the designation "The RIGHT" as their banner. Leaving the scattered, unorganized masses opposed no option but to identify themselves as "The LEFT" (or else be called the wrong).

The noble houses, masters of the arts of bargaining, accumulating wealth and maintaining privilege, were supporters of and supported by a strong centralized governing body, namely the land owners who were in lawful possession of the means of food production (since they were the makers and manipulators of  law).

The workers, captured slaves or dispossessed peasantry had no choice but to work the land upon which they found themselves, and were allowed to keep just enough of the fruits of their labours to sustain life and breed new workers. Generations of landless serfs were caught in the web of dependency on the landlords, who maintained the feudal system through the enshrined concepts of inherited wealth and private property.

So, not surprisingly,  the nobility were always the firmest upholders of the status quo, and employed armed guards and armies to defend these rights against all comers. These families insinuated themselves into positions near the throne to be supporters or rivals of those enthroned who ruled by divine (church-granted) right.

By employing/exploiting artists, scientists and rewarding most useful expressions of "popular" opinion, the patrons of the arts picked the creators of a culture which best expressed their aims and ambitions. Those selected for these honours were less likely cast doubt on the ones to whom they owed their success and so the arts and sciences of any place and time would naturally reflect or serve the institutions under the control of the leading, upper class, arbiters of taste and bestowers of glory. Those dissenters who dared question the validity of the class structure were easy to trivialize, labelled as crazy or, if they became too popular, eliminated.

 The ruling class came to be so entangled with the best aspects of civilized life that any attempt to extricate them would seem to threaten the entire edifice of civilization, the economy and individual security. Obviously it was much better to suffer the outrageous iniquity than to risk descending into utter barbarity. The ones who would suffer most and should have worked together to change the arrangement were instead forced to compete with each other for the scraps which trickled down from the heavily-laden dining tables of their "betters". Individuals would contend for the more rewarding positions of servitude, jobs and positions in service of the paymasters, or settle for their benign neglect rather than openly defy a whole society at the risk of imprisonment, ostracism or death.

Today, especially in America where 80% of the wealth is held by 1% of the population The working "middle class"  are the new peasants and poverty is now slavery.    

  We, the people, who in the pyramidal scheme of things comprise an overwhelming majority, continue to compete for favours rather than cooperate in a fragmented world where the manipulators of the game are nowhere to be seen. Having set out the rule of laws and enforcing obedience, the masters are untouchable, non-combatants like referees in a life and death struggle to survive. Their lofty position frees them from the role of players, who need to spend most of their precious time earning a living. We work to  support the parasitic corporations and elevate the top layer of management to far-removed lands of prestige.

We have been repeating this pattern daily over the centuries, by simple everyday actions. We participate in our mass culture by attending entertainments. We go to the movies or crowd into stadiums to witness music concerts or sports contests and in doing so we donate our collective wealth, dollar by hard-earned dollar  to the Big Entertainment Conglomerates, which then pay dividends to the stars they create. In our millions we toss our tribute into the collective pot to be shared among the collectors, further entrenching their monopoly of the media: newspapers, magazines, massive stadiums and the telecommunication infrastructure.

The potential exists for these events to consolidate the masses in a common cause; but most often this unity finds expression through soccer riots or rock concert hysteria. We are hypnotized by the spectacle, isolated observers, removed from the show by the geography of designated seating and we can only influence the proceedings by lending our support or by refusing to participate.

More of us watch the news than those who create the stories. And when we do become the subjects of news reports it is usually as tragic heroes, villains or victims of tragedy.

So what can we do?
The world seems to have been run along these lines since the beginning of history, because the memory of
times preceding the written record has been relegated to the age of Myth, the Golden Age when all humans were equally at the mercy of the gods and goddesses.

I think most of us actually know what ought to be done to set human society on a more sustainable, equable course; but would prefer to leave the taking of drastic measures to others. Some of the things we have become accustomed to must be sacrificed. Some of us know people who have taken some of these steps. Some of us are these people.  

The first step in effecting actual change is to identify those businesses whose aims run contrary to the good of the world. This is made more difficult by the persistent misuse, by these same interest groups, of the news media to disseminate material promoting their efforts as "progress", offering limitless energy and promising to feed the world. Be skeptical of such claims.

Withdraw your support from these deceptive, wrongful industries. Vote with your dollars, shop elsewhere, find alternatives. Though it is not easy to find ways around the monopolies of energy, oil and other polluting practices there are options if you're prepared to adapt your habits for the sake of long-term benefit to the entire planet.

Avoid the use of money wherever possible. Exchange services, goods and information freely or by barter. All currency is taxed. Remove yourself from the grid. Invest in renewable energy and ergonomic housing. Grow your own or support your neighbours who do. Reuse, recycle and reduce dependency on centralized  resource distributors. Get inventive. Do more with less. Build what you need, create beauty and utility. Give away what you don't need. Share information, technologies and things.

Meditate as an alternative to consuming time-wasting entertainment and distractions. A positive attitude and constructive, esteem-building activities will do far more for your health and well being than all the doctors, therapists and medicines.

Build community. Help create situations where you can gather to enjoy each other's company. Celebrate, raise spirits, spread love and share your lives with your neighbours. Seek out the people whose lives, practices agree with your aims and offer whatever kind of support you can, even if nothing more than encouragement. Allow the idealists to prosper.

Cultivate an appreciation of the absurd. Be amused by the ironies abounding in the world. Laughter is the most potent tool of change. Point out the prevailing  ridiculous attitudes and activities you see.
The greatest fear of tyrants is that they will  not be taken seriously.

The GREAT LIBRARY online musical theatre collaboration. Support your local idealist
http://www.recordingsunlimited.com/great-library.htm

Late Breaking News Flash:

  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  :                                                             



 We are living in a world shaped by a criminal conspiracy against humanity, which deliberately deflected the course of history and placed a self-appointed organization of elites in control of our collective destiny.  The defining event was a politically-motivated murder of an influential and learned figure by a mob incited to violence by a few religious fanatics. Their aim was to secure the dominance of a newly formulated belief system over all other philosophies; and to eradicate or discredit scientific achievements and recorded histories up to that time.

 More devastating than the genocide of a race, or the extermination of a country, this criminal act obliterated a world view which had spanned many countries and cultures, to be replaced by a conspiracy which effectively buried the arts, literature, and sciences which had shaped the world during the preceding millennium.

The assassination happened 15 centuries ago in Alexandria, Egypt. The target was the last director of the Great Library, a physicist and philosopher named Hypatia.

The Library and "paganism" itself did not survive the attack of the new leaders who proceeded to take over the reins of power from the decaying Roman Empire. This transition from a secular government to the "Holy Roman Empire" marked the beginning of the Dark Ages, an era of intolerance and superstition during which the church wielded supreme authority over most of Europe. Their power was consolidated and maintained by ruthlessly demonizing and eliminating those opposed to their faith, labeling them heretics, extracting confessions by torture and making public displays of their fiery executions, as a warning and foretaste of the fate awaiting disbelievers. Their domination was nearly absolute for a thousand years, controlling kingdoms by arranging international treaties and royal marriages.

Although the age of discovery and the subsequent renaissance in the 16th century did much to release the world from this anti-scientific paradigm, the modern age continues to suffer the effects of the totalitarian rule which the religious right held and still holds over many believers.

 Try to imagine what our world would be like today if the Nazis had defeated the Allies in WWII; and succeeded in effecting the "final solution", exterminating not only the Jewish people; but also all records of achievements by Jews in the arts and sciences, allowing only the official "Pure Aryan" version to survive. What kind of place would the world be after a thousand years of such revisionism? Could the people living in that hypothetical world know anything, outside of the propagandized version of history?

 This is much the same situation in which we live today, cut off from the world view of our "pagan" past. Some fragments and myths which survived the drastic censorship have been brought to light. Some of the works of Homer, Archimedes, Socrates and other luminaries were recovered.

The truth has yet to surface.

 This journey I've been taking through time and the world of mind began in 1986 when I first encountered Dr Carl Sagan's astonishing book "COSMOS" (later a TV series on NOVA). Here I encountered for the first time, an historical tale of such monumental significance that I could not believe I had never heard of this pivotal event. An assassination which set the stage for all that would come after, right up to and including our modern age.

 Dr. Sagan was referring to the Great Library of Alexandria and the last director of that library, Hypatia, "...whose martyrdom was bound up with the destruction of the library in 415 AD." There is, in his telling, a sense of anguish and deep regret that the perpetrators of this attack were able  to effect this cultural lobotomy and cut the whole of humanity off from its collective accomplishments in the arts, literature and sciences, effectively making an end of history. 

 The circumstances surrounding this crime against humanity only become clear in the greater context of the failing Roman Empire and the rise of the Roman Christian Church which would come to supplant it. The History of the world up to that time was the story of what came to be called Paganism, in all its varied forms. The newly legitimized church, grated toleration by Emperor Constantine in the early years of the 4th C. A.D. had grown in influence throughout the ancient world. This was especially true in Alexandria, where Alexander the Great's policy of respect for all gods and cultures had allowed a lively community of scientists, artists and creative minds to flourish, particularly within the Library and Museum since their formation around 300 B.C.

  Hypatia was very much at the centre of this early research institute and oversaw the functioning of the Library, chaired the NeoPlatonic school of philosophy, and gave regular lectures on Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics. Her influence in the pagan world would bring her into conflict with the Archbishop of Alexandria, (later to be canonized as St. Cyril). It was his animosity which led to her being attacked by a fanatical mob during Easter week of 415 AD. She was dragged from her chariot while returning from a lecture, stripped and flayed in the streets, her bones broken by paving stones, carried into the church where her remains were burned and her ashes thrown into the Nile. Her written works remain lost, though there are  writings by some of her students and contemporaries who held her in the highest esteem.

 The Great Library and its collection of handwritten scrolls, representing a collection of all works from around the world  amassed over 700 years  was utterly demolished and the writings lost or scattered. The immediate effect was an age of darkness, intolerance and superstition lasting a thousand years, till the Age of Discovery and the Renaissance  began to loosen the intellectual restraints imposed by the church and the divinely-ordained temporal feudal rulers of the western world.

  Today's world still bears the stigma and scars of the millennium of fanatical repression, inquisition and persecution of those who delve or dabble in the realm of science, philosophy and the arts.
  
That is why I felt I had to tell this story in the most complete and compelling way I know. As an ongoing work of new-media interactive musical theatre.