WEBVTT - Season 07 Episode 18: A Dance with Mr. Dee (Pt.2 of 4)

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to part two of Unexplained, Season seven, episode eighteen,

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<v Speaker 1>A Dance with Mister d. It is late October in

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen fifty eight. Queen Mary is bedbound in her chambers

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<v Speaker 1>at Saint James's Palace in London. She flitters from bouts

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<v Speaker 1>of lucidity to states of deep confusion in the grip

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<v Speaker 1>of some terrible malady. At times, she calls out in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the night in distress, saying that she

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<v Speaker 1>has gone blind, she is dying. Mary's life had not

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<v Speaker 1>been an easy one. As a child, she suffered from

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<v Speaker 1>constant fevers, depression, and anorexia, not surprising considering the cruelty

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<v Speaker 1>of her father, Henry the Eighth. When her mother, Catherine

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<v Speaker 1>of Arrogant, was ostracized after Henry jettisoned her for Anne Boleyn,

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<v Speaker 1>Mary was forbidden from seeing her, and, as he did

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<v Speaker 1>with her mother, Henry often threatened Mary with death, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was no empty threat at that. He called her

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<v Speaker 1>illegitimate and denied her the right to call herself a princess.

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<v Speaker 1>When Mary's mother finally succumbed to illness in fifteen thirty five,

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<v Speaker 1>Mary was denied the opportunity to say her goodbyes. As

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<v Speaker 1>Mary lay dying in October fifteen fifty eight, some believed

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<v Speaker 1>she'd finally succumb to the melancholy that had dogged her

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<v Speaker 1>all her life, though it is more likely she was

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<v Speaker 1>suffering from an aspecse vily virulent strain of influenza that

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<v Speaker 1>swept across Europe that year. Towards the end, she would

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<v Speaker 1>come round from bouts of fever to tell of the

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<v Speaker 1>extraordinary dreams she'd been having and the visions of young

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<v Speaker 1>angelic children she'd seen dancing around her bed. In the

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<v Speaker 1>early hours of November seventeenth, a deep gasp escaped her lips,

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<v Speaker 1>her rib cage expanded for one last time, and then

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<v Speaker 1>her body was still. The queen was dead. Earlier that month,

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<v Speaker 1>the Catholic Mary amended her will to confirm that her sister,

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<v Speaker 1>the Protestant leaning Elizabeth, would be her rightful successor, and

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<v Speaker 1>so a week after Mary's death, Elizabeth arrived in London

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<v Speaker 1>to a rapturous reception from her supporters. As city dignitaries

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<v Speaker 1>stood in line to greet her, Elizabeth offered her hand

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<v Speaker 1>to be kissed by each of them. One after another,

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<v Speaker 1>took it and planted a soft kiss on the outside

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<v Speaker 1>of her glove. But when Elizabeth got to Catholic Bishop

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<v Speaker 1>Edmund Bonner, John Dee's employer and the man who'd done

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<v Speaker 1>so much to root out Mary's Protestant enemies, she withdrew

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<v Speaker 1>her hand before he had a chance to take it.

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<v Speaker 1>Elizabeth herself had at one point been held under arrest

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<v Speaker 1>in the Tower of London, accused of plotting against Queen Mary.

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<v Speaker 1>It was not a good sign for Bonner or his

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<v Speaker 1>fellow Catholic bishops and their associates. But while many would

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<v Speaker 1>soon find themselves exiled or imprisoned indefinitely, John d miraculously

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<v Speaker 1>once again escaped to the worst of it. Chief among

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<v Speaker 1>Elizabeth's immediate concerns was selecting a date for her coronation,

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<v Speaker 1>and the stakes could not have been higher. Though she

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<v Speaker 1>had no immediate realistic challenges to the throne, her position

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<v Speaker 1>was a precarious one. A deeply unsettled nation was about

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<v Speaker 1>to welcome its fourth monarch in just over five years.

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<v Speaker 1>That Elizabeth was female only made the job of asserting

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<v Speaker 1>her authority or the more difficult. Many openly despised the

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<v Speaker 1>sheer idea of women in positions of power or as

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<v Speaker 1>influential Scottish minister John Knox put it, such a thing

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<v Speaker 1>was repugnant to nature. On top of that, where a

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<v Speaker 1>series of strange, unsettling prophecies coming from across channel in France,

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<v Speaker 1>made by a man named Michel de Nostre Dame or Nostrodamis.

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<v Speaker 1>He predicted that when Elizabeth took the throne, England would

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<v Speaker 1>suffer many calamities, weepings and mournings, with civil unrest in

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<v Speaker 1>which the lowest in society would rise up against the highest.

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<v Speaker 1>Like most people of the time, Queen Elizabeth was deeply

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<v Speaker 1>superstitious and convinced of the power of astrology. She wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure that the day of her coronation was

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<v Speaker 1>one that could give her the most luck for a

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<v Speaker 1>successful reign, one that the very stars in the sky

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<v Speaker 1>had picked out for her. She needed not just someone

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<v Speaker 1>of high learning to calculate it for her, but someone

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<v Speaker 1>with a suggestion of sorcery and arcane knowledge about them,

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<v Speaker 1>someone who people felt would bring more more than mere

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<v Speaker 1>logic to the equation to help prevent the dire predictions

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<v Speaker 1>from coming true. There was nobody better for it than

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<v Speaker 1>John d At the time d still lived in Upton,

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<v Speaker 1>just outside of the city of London. There, the local

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<v Speaker 1>children was said to run screaming from him in fright.

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<v Speaker 1>Such was his growing reputation as a magician and conjurer.

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<v Speaker 1>Only a few weeks after Mary's death, d received the

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<v Speaker 1>request to make a judgment on what would be the

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<v Speaker 1>best day for Elizabeth to begin her reign. No sooner

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<v Speaker 1>had he received it, d was in his library frantically

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<v Speaker 1>searching his shelves for any ancient texts to seek out

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<v Speaker 1>precedents and auguries of good fortune for the day. Having

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<v Speaker 1>compiled everything he needed, he drew up a horoscope and

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<v Speaker 1>concluded that January the fifth, fifteenth fifteen fifty nine was

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<v Speaker 1>the optimum day. As was explained to the Queen in

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<v Speaker 1>waiting later on that day, Jupiter would be in Aquarius,

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<v Speaker 1>which promised impending greatness and statesmanship, while Mars was in Scorpio,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning that Elizabeth would have the necessary passion and commitment

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<v Speaker 1>to be the country's monarch. Elizabeth was impressed. Queen Elizabeth's

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<v Speaker 1>coronation was an all day spectacle, involving the new queen

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<v Speaker 1>being taken through the throng streets of London on a

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<v Speaker 1>golden litter, essentially a large ornate box carried by servants.

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<v Speaker 1>The parade was embellished with a series of five pageants

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<v Speaker 1>designed to be essentially brand establishing propaganda. The pageant themes

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<v Speaker 1>variously stressed the new monarch's virtuousness, her Englishness, and her

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<v Speaker 1>descent from a family that had ended years of civil

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<v Speaker 1>war in England. The fifth pageant drew parallels between her

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<v Speaker 1>and Deborah, an Old Testament prophet who supposedly rescued the

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<v Speaker 1>House of Israel, then ruled successfully for forty years, and

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<v Speaker 1>once again John D was at the center of it all.

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<v Speaker 1>But not long after Elizabeth was crowned, D completely disappeared.

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<v Speaker 1>For several years, There was no historical record of where

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<v Speaker 1>he went and what he was doing. The most likely

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<v Speaker 1>explanation is that he returned to Europe in pursuit of

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<v Speaker 1>a new quest. When known accounts of D resume in

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<v Speaker 1>February fifteen sixty three, he was staying at an inn

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<v Speaker 1>called the Sign of the Golden Angel in Antwerp, Belgium.

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<v Speaker 1>This time, it seems D's quest was to understand the Kabbalah,

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<v Speaker 1>a mysterious text containing ancient Hebrew knowledge based on mathematics

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<v Speaker 1>and mysticism going back to the first century. This text

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<v Speaker 1>was said to contain the secrets of the universe. Among

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<v Speaker 1>its most important insights was the apparent role of angels,

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<v Speaker 1>who were said to provide the key to understanding God.

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<v Speaker 1>Antwerp was a bustling merchant town as well as home

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<v Speaker 1>to numerous printing presses and publishing houses, with the booksellers galore,

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<v Speaker 1>which was why D was there. He was hunting a

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<v Speaker 1>rumored copy of one of the most secret valuable manuscripts

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<v Speaker 1>of the age, of which there were said to be

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<v Speaker 1>only three or four copies in existence, Called the Steganographia,

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<v Speaker 1>It was written by a German abbot called Johannes Trithemius

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<v Speaker 1>and was essentially one of the first ever works on

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<v Speaker 1>cryptography the science of codes. D finally got his hands

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<v Speaker 1>on a copy and spent a feverish ten days copying

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<v Speaker 1>it out. The book outlined an elaborate system for sending

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<v Speaker 1>messages between two people, like an early version of the

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<v Speaker 1>Second World War German code making machine, the Enigma, except

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<v Speaker 1>rather than utilizing a machine, this system required the user

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<v Speaker 1>to utilize an incantation to summon spirits, who would then

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<v Speaker 1>communicate the coded transmissions between sender and recipient. After finding

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<v Speaker 1>the steganographia, John D was eager to return to England

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<v Speaker 1>and determined to make his way into Queen Elizabeths in

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<v Speaker 1>a circle. He excitedly wrote to one of Elizabeth's key advisers,

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<v Speaker 1>William Cecil, describing the mysterious book and its rituals. He

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<v Speaker 1>believed it would be of great use to the nation

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<v Speaker 1>as it could help decipher other texts like the Book

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<v Speaker 1>of Souger, thought to contain a divine message from God,

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<v Speaker 1>which was supposedly written in the first ever language that

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<v Speaker 1>was spoken by Adam, the first human being. But Cecil,

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<v Speaker 1>who had no time for or belief in codes that

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<v Speaker 1>required invoking help from spirits, was unimpressed. D finally returned

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<v Speaker 1>to England in June fifteen sixty four and made renewed

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<v Speaker 1>attempts to secure a post at the Royal Court. He

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<v Speaker 1>approached William Cecil again and offered to take on the

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<v Speaker 1>role as the Queen's court philosopher. D described how his

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<v Speaker 1>years of travel, his great knowledge, and his acquaintance with

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<v Speaker 1>many of the great thinkers of the day meant that

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<v Speaker 1>he was ideal for such a post. He promised to

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<v Speaker 1>bring the wealth of Renaissance, Europe's finest thinking to England,

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<v Speaker 1>but again Cecil was uninterested. Under ThReD D made his

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<v Speaker 1>way to the Queen's court at Greenwich Palace, accompanied by

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<v Speaker 1>a noble woman who'd offered to reintroduce him to the Queen.

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<v Speaker 1>A short time later, the tall and slender D, with

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<v Speaker 1>his long, pointy beard, found himself in the royal presence chamber,

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<v Speaker 1>surrounded by courtiers who chatted politely among themselves as gentle

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<v Speaker 1>music from minstrels suffused the room. Then eventually he was

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<v Speaker 1>brought before the sumptuously clothed, bejeweled and heavily perfumed Queen.

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<v Speaker 1>Bowing deeply, John D produced a book from the folds

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<v Speaker 1>of his gown. It was the Monus Hieroglyphica, a controversial

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<v Speaker 1>text containing what many considered to be pagan magical ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>including astrology, cosmology, and mathematics. It was a huge gamble

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<v Speaker 1>that could easily have repulsed the Queen, but instead, she

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<v Speaker 1>was intrigued. She asked D to stay and disclose the

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<v Speaker 1>book's secrets to her. John D and Queen Elizabeth sat

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<v Speaker 1>side by side as D patiently took her through the

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<v Speaker 1>text Elizabeth was entranced as D proceeded to explain all

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<v Speaker 1>about the strain astrological symbols it contained. After that, D

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<v Speaker 1>gained regular audiences with the Queen, the kind of access

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<v Speaker 1>that was most unusual for someone who wasn't of noble birth.

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<v Speaker 1>Over the next few years, he was frequently called to

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<v Speaker 1>court to converse with her, including on matters of some intimacy,

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<v Speaker 1>such as her proposed marriage to the Duke of Anjou.

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<v Speaker 1>It was said that the pair developed their own code

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<v Speaker 1>language to relay messages to one another, and that they

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<v Speaker 1>even used code names for each other. In his diaries,

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<v Speaker 1>D used the capital letter E topped with a crown

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<v Speaker 1>whenever he wrote about Elizabeth. The Queen who called D

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<v Speaker 1>at this time her special eyes denoted him with two

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<v Speaker 1>zeros to represent eyes, followed by D's favorite mystical number seven.

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<v Speaker 1>D became the first double O seven agent in Her

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<v Speaker 1>Majesty's service. It was said that Elizabeth had a strong

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<v Speaker 1>sense of the cosmological forces supposedly acting on her, and

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<v Speaker 1>that she felt D provided the kind of mystical revelations

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<v Speaker 1>to help her govern which other members of her administration

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<v Speaker 1>could not. She took to referring to D as my philosopher.

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<v Speaker 1>When a strange wax effigy of the Queen was found

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<v Speaker 1>under a tree in Lincoln's Inn Fields in the center

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<v Speaker 1>of London, stuck all over with pig bristles, John D

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<v Speaker 1>was called on to determine its meaning. When the Queen

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<v Speaker 1>suddenly fell ill of an undiagnosed mystery illness, D was

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<v Speaker 1>once again called to determine its severity. And when one

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<v Speaker 1>night an unusually bright star was observed in the sky,

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<v Speaker 1>it was D who was asked to decipher what it meant.

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<v Speaker 1>Despite John D's devotion to the Queen and what some

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<v Speaker 1>believed was a magical hold over her, he was never

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<v Speaker 1>offered the official position of court philosopher that he so desired. Nonetheless,

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<v Speaker 1>D continued his studies of astronomy, astrology, alchemy and magic,

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<v Speaker 1>with the ultimate goal of understanding the truth of the universe.

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<v Speaker 1>In fifteen sixty six, D moved in with his mother,

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<v Speaker 1>who lived in a ramshackled, sprawling cottage in Mortlake, a

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<v Speaker 1>village by the Thames about eight miles west of London.

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<v Speaker 1>On moving in, D set about arranging the massive collection

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<v Speaker 1>of books and manuscripts he'd amassed on all his train.

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<v Speaker 1>Among them was Johannes de Burgo's occult text Treatise on

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<v Speaker 1>Magic and Secretum Secretorum are treatise on the Nature of

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<v Speaker 1>Immortality attributed to Aristotle. Before long, D's mother's cottage was

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<v Speaker 1>transformed into one of the largest libraries in Europe. It

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<v Speaker 1>was so big, D even added extensions to the building,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as acquiring neighboring buildings to house all the material.

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<v Speaker 1>Neighbours spoke of laboratories that he'd also set up, full

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<v Speaker 1>of all kinds of apparatus containing unknown substances that bubbled

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<v Speaker 1>away mysteriously. No one saw his inner sanctum, though, D's

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<v Speaker 1>most private study, where he stored his magical equipment and

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<v Speaker 1>books like Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa's fifteen thirty one Tome Diaculta

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<v Speaker 1>for Low Sophia about the powers of magic. This was

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<v Speaker 1>a time of growing interest in alchemy, a medieval type

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<v Speaker 1>of chemistry which its adherents insisted could transform elements and

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<v Speaker 1>materials into other elements and materials. The major focus was

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<v Speaker 1>to find a method of converting base metals into gold

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<v Speaker 1>via a secret ingredient known as the fabled Philosopher's Stone

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<v Speaker 1>not an object as such, but rather a chemical concoction.

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<v Speaker 1>If one could establish the correct recipe for it, they

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<v Speaker 1>could be wealthy beyond their dreams. It was also rumored

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<v Speaker 1>to make anyone who drank it immortal, though no one

0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:50.760
<v Speaker 1>knows exactly what D was doing in his laboratory. In

0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:55.679
<v Speaker 1>the early fifteen seventies, he fell seriously ill. Much of

0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:59.639
<v Speaker 1>alchemy revolved around the use of mercury, which is a

0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:05.000
<v Speaker 1>high toxic substance. D would eventually recover, but by the

0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:08.159
<v Speaker 1>time he was well enough to continue his work, he

0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:12.119
<v Speaker 1>was broke once again. In desperation, he wrote to the

0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:16.120
<v Speaker 1>Queen's court and was granted another patronage of a few

0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:20.600
<v Speaker 1>hundred pounds per annum, But it wasn't enough because D

0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:24.080
<v Speaker 1>had set his sights on a new series of experiments.

0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:28.400
<v Speaker 1>For these, he would need enough money to dedicate months

0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>and months of his time concentrating solely on the task

0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:37.359
<v Speaker 1>at hand. If successful, he would have the power to

0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:53.280
<v Speaker 1>grant anybody whatever they wanted. In November fifteen seventy seven,

0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:59.040
<v Speaker 1>something strange appeared suddenly in the night sky, as bright

0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.400
<v Speaker 1>as the moon. It was some kind of celestial object

0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.600
<v Speaker 1>that seemed to shimmer from a burning fire inside a

0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:11.680
<v Speaker 1>dazzling cloud, with a vast dusty tail stretching out behind it.

0:20:13.320 --> 0:20:18.119
<v Speaker 1>Observers all over the world were mystified and horrified in

0:20:18.240 --> 0:20:23.119
<v Speaker 1>equal measure. To a number of the Queen's advisers, it

0:20:23.280 --> 0:20:27.800
<v Speaker 1>was a clear portent of doom. A few days later,

0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:34.240
<v Speaker 1>Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's chief spy, uncovered an Austrian plot

0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:38.600
<v Speaker 1>to unseat the queen. As the Queen and her courtiers

0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:42.800
<v Speaker 1>debated how best to respond, John d attempted to speak

0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:46.760
<v Speaker 1>with the Queen once again to request a recognition as

0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:50.679
<v Speaker 1>her court's official philosopher to raise more money for his

0:20:50.840 --> 0:20:55.399
<v Speaker 1>new experiments. Dee was forced to wait his turn for

0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.560
<v Speaker 1>an audience, and by the time he got it it

0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:03.560
<v Speaker 1>was clear his chance gone. However, visiting the Queen at

0:21:03.600 --> 0:21:07.800
<v Speaker 1>the same time was a rather loud, stout, and sturdy

0:21:07.880 --> 0:21:13.840
<v Speaker 1>looking man with a fetching mustache. The man was Francis Drake,

0:21:14.560 --> 0:21:19.000
<v Speaker 1>a slave trader, privateer, and a constant thorn in the

0:21:19.119 --> 0:21:23.040
<v Speaker 1>side of King Philip the Second of Spain, whose nation

0:21:23.640 --> 0:21:28.320
<v Speaker 1>was the leading colonial power of the time. Drake had

0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:31.439
<v Speaker 1>come to update the Queen on an epic voyage he

0:21:31.560 --> 0:21:34.960
<v Speaker 1>was preparing to embark on that she and a number

0:21:35.000 --> 0:21:39.760
<v Speaker 1>of her associates were financing. The plan was to complete

0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:44.080
<v Speaker 1>a circumnavigation of the globe to discover what other lands

0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:47.760
<v Speaker 1>might exist in the world that they could exploit, while

0:21:47.800 --> 0:21:51.520
<v Speaker 1>taking out as many Spanish vessels as they could along

0:21:51.560 --> 0:21:57.720
<v Speaker 1>the way. John d saw a golden opportunity. With all

0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:02.080
<v Speaker 1>his knowledge and experience of cartoggraphy and being close to

0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:06.840
<v Speaker 1>some of the world's greatest cartographers, he offered his services

0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:11.960
<v Speaker 1>in assisting the voyage with the Queen's full attention. Once again,

0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:16.080
<v Speaker 1>he outlined a scheme for England to lay claim to

0:22:16.119 --> 0:22:19.600
<v Speaker 1>the fabled New World in a direct challenge to the

0:22:19.680 --> 0:22:23.960
<v Speaker 1>King of Spain. As he told the Queen, it was

0:22:24.000 --> 0:22:27.960
<v Speaker 1>based on some historical and magic research that he'd been

0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:32.440
<v Speaker 1>apparently carrying out for a while. It revealed that now

0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.280
<v Speaker 1>was the time for her reign to shift into a

0:22:35.359 --> 0:22:39.760
<v Speaker 1>new expansionist phase in pursuit of what he called a

0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:45.199
<v Speaker 1>new British Empire. The Queen couldn't help but be impressed.

0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.320
<v Speaker 1>A short time later, Dee presented her with his Britannity

0:22:50.560 --> 0:22:55.560
<v Speaker 1>Imperial Limiter, the limits of the British Empire. In it,

0:22:55.680 --> 0:22:59.040
<v Speaker 1>he predicted that the English Navy would become the key

0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:02.560
<v Speaker 1>weapon with which he could challenge the King of Spain's

0:23:02.640 --> 0:23:09.919
<v Speaker 1>global supremacy. D's immediate financial future was once again secured.

0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:14.679
<v Speaker 1>It was time to start the next phase of his experiments.

0:23:21.880 --> 0:23:25.760
<v Speaker 1>Thick velvet curtains are drawn across the windows of a

0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:29.040
<v Speaker 1>wood paneled study to keep out the chill of the

0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:33.840
<v Speaker 1>midwinter night. At its center stands a great wooden desk,

0:23:34.480 --> 0:23:39.480
<v Speaker 1>surrounded on all sides by endless bookshelves stuffed with books

0:23:39.480 --> 0:23:44.240
<v Speaker 1>and papers. Stacks of books and manuscripts litter the desk

0:23:44.400 --> 0:23:49.320
<v Speaker 1>in untidy heaps or pushed to one side. In their

0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:54.840
<v Speaker 1>place are two tall, white, flickering candles, the only light

0:23:54.960 --> 0:23:59.680
<v Speaker 1>in the room besides that cast by glowing embers smoldering

0:24:00.080 --> 0:24:05.640
<v Speaker 1>in a large stone fireplace. Two bearded men sit across

0:24:05.680 --> 0:24:10.320
<v Speaker 1>from each other, both gazing intently into a large crystal

0:24:10.520 --> 0:24:14.359
<v Speaker 1>orb on the floor between them that scatters sparkles of

0:24:14.440 --> 0:24:20.359
<v Speaker 1>light across the dim chamber. The men are John d

0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:25.119
<v Speaker 1>and his associate Barnabas Saw, and they are sitting in

0:24:25.240 --> 0:24:30.560
<v Speaker 1>D's in a sanctum. It's mid December of fifteen eighty one,

0:24:31.080 --> 0:24:38.000
<v Speaker 1>but in that moment, time seems to have completely stopped. Huh,

0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:43.119
<v Speaker 1>I see him clearly, says Saul in a hushed voice.

0:24:43.520 --> 0:24:48.640
<v Speaker 1>Welcome a Nal, he says with a dramatic flourish. An

0:24:48.680 --> 0:24:51.400
<v Speaker 1>Ale was said to be one of the seven Angels

0:24:51.440 --> 0:24:55.679
<v Speaker 1>of creation. D was convinced he was the angel of

0:24:55.720 --> 0:25:00.480
<v Speaker 1>Intelligence who roared over the entire world. On the way

0:25:00.600 --> 0:25:04.360
<v Speaker 1>Saul describes the entity he's claiming to see in the orb,

0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:10.680
<v Speaker 1>D isn't so sure it's him. Ask him to identify himself,

0:25:10.960 --> 0:25:16.280
<v Speaker 1>urges D, gazing into the ball, where, sadly, unlike Saul,

0:25:16.560 --> 0:25:23.679
<v Speaker 1>he sees nothing. Saul hesitates for a moment. Barnabas Saul,

0:25:24.160 --> 0:25:29.280
<v Speaker 1>a self proclaimed Scria crystal gazer and channeler of spirits

0:25:29.280 --> 0:25:33.760
<v Speaker 1>and angels, arrived at Mortlake a few days before, claiming

0:25:33.800 --> 0:25:37.480
<v Speaker 1>to have rare books to sell to D. D had

0:25:37.560 --> 0:25:40.920
<v Speaker 1>enough knowledge of books and booksellers to doubt he had

0:25:40.960 --> 0:25:44.880
<v Speaker 1>anything he needed, but was impressed by the man's apparent

0:25:45.000 --> 0:25:49.760
<v Speaker 1>sensitivity for the occult. At the time, D was on

0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:52.679
<v Speaker 1>the lookout for a partner to help him with his

0:25:52.840 --> 0:25:57.000
<v Speaker 1>latest experiment, the thing he'd been building up to all

0:25:57.040 --> 0:26:03.440
<v Speaker 1>this time. An attempt to contact angels. Though D had

0:26:03.480 --> 0:26:07.440
<v Speaker 1>the material knowledge of what was required, he knew deep

0:26:07.520 --> 0:26:11.200
<v Speaker 1>down that he wasn't possessed with the kind of psychic

0:26:11.320 --> 0:26:17.240
<v Speaker 1>sensitivity that he believed was needed to make contact. What

0:26:17.320 --> 0:26:21.520
<v Speaker 1>he needed was a scria, someone with the supposed power

0:26:21.800 --> 0:26:26.640
<v Speaker 1>to communicate with other entities. So D took a chance

0:26:26.720 --> 0:26:29.840
<v Speaker 1>on Saul and asked him to stay at his house

0:26:29.920 --> 0:26:34.760
<v Speaker 1>and assist him. Before long, they were ensconced in his study,

0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:39.600
<v Speaker 1>chanting incantations into the air as they worked through spell

0:26:39.640 --> 0:26:44.879
<v Speaker 1>after spell from these many occult texts. Back in the

0:26:44.960 --> 0:26:51.680
<v Speaker 1>study on that mid December night, Saul's face contorts strangely. Aha,

0:26:52.200 --> 0:26:57.400
<v Speaker 1>a second spirit has now appeared, he exclaims. D stares

0:26:57.520 --> 0:27:01.240
<v Speaker 1>harder into the crystal orb, though he still can't see

0:27:01.280 --> 0:27:05.000
<v Speaker 1>anything other than the reflected flames of the candles. He

0:27:05.119 --> 0:27:09.119
<v Speaker 1>senses the light glitter and flash even brighter as it

0:27:09.240 --> 0:27:14.000
<v Speaker 1>dances in the darkness above the men's heads. This one

0:27:14.040 --> 0:27:19.920
<v Speaker 1>is very beautiful, continued Saul. He's clothed in glittering gold robes.

0:27:20.520 --> 0:27:24.960
<v Speaker 1>Beams of light blazed from his head. He has eyes

0:27:25.119 --> 0:27:36.600
<v Speaker 1>of fire as Barnabas Saul continues to describe the entity

0:27:36.680 --> 0:27:40.520
<v Speaker 1>in the crystal orb, D can feel the hairs rise

0:27:40.640 --> 0:27:44.640
<v Speaker 1>up on the back of his neck. Now this sounded

0:27:44.720 --> 0:27:49.080
<v Speaker 1>more like a nail. I can see characters writ upon

0:27:49.119 --> 0:27:54.080
<v Speaker 1>the crystal in shining gold, explained Saul, who hurriedly scribbles

0:27:54.119 --> 0:27:58.320
<v Speaker 1>them down and passes the paper to D. It's Hebrew,

0:27:58.640 --> 0:28:03.520
<v Speaker 1>says D, taking excitedly ask him if any angel is

0:28:03.560 --> 0:28:06.840
<v Speaker 1>assigned to this stone, presses D, grabbing one of the

0:28:06.920 --> 0:28:12.320
<v Speaker 1>other smaller crystals nearby and placing it next to the orb. Saul.

0:28:12.720 --> 0:28:16.679
<v Speaker 1>Julia reports that this second crystal would in due course

0:28:17.119 --> 0:28:21.600
<v Speaker 1>reveal the archangel Michael, as named in the Holy Scriptures.

0:28:22.560 --> 0:28:27.199
<v Speaker 1>A nail foretells that Michael shall appear to thee after Christmas,

0:28:27.560 --> 0:28:32.639
<v Speaker 1>says Saul. He says, thou must prepare thyself to prayer

0:28:32.720 --> 0:28:37.520
<v Speaker 1>and fasting, and in the name of God, be secret.

0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:42.920
<v Speaker 1>D laps it all up. I am a nail. I

0:28:42.920 --> 0:28:46.440
<v Speaker 1>will take my leave now, says Saul, spelling out the

0:28:46.560 --> 0:28:54.880
<v Speaker 1>name letter by letter A N N A E L.

0:28:56.880 --> 0:29:02.640
<v Speaker 1>D frowns. The angel's name was spelt with only one N.

0:29:03.760 --> 0:29:06.840
<v Speaker 1>Either the angel didn't know how to spell its own name,

0:29:07.400 --> 0:29:12.000
<v Speaker 1>or Saw had been mistaken, or he'd been making the

0:29:12.080 --> 0:29:16.600
<v Speaker 1>whole thing up all along. Early in the new year,

0:29:17.040 --> 0:29:21.640
<v Speaker 1>Barnabas Saul was accused of committing the crime of consulting

0:29:21.760 --> 0:29:26.000
<v Speaker 1>with spirits. It's unclear why D was not included in

0:29:26.080 --> 0:29:29.840
<v Speaker 1>the charge. Perhaps Saul had been less secretive in his

0:29:29.960 --> 0:29:34.120
<v Speaker 1>work for other clients. At his hearing the following month,

0:29:34.480 --> 0:29:37.880
<v Speaker 1>Saul was acquitted due to a lack of evidence, But

0:29:38.040 --> 0:29:43.600
<v Speaker 1>on returning from court, perhaps fearful of another prosecution, Saul

0:29:43.680 --> 0:29:48.040
<v Speaker 1>admitted to D that he neither saw or heard spiritual

0:29:48.080 --> 0:29:54.080
<v Speaker 1>creatures anymore. D was once again on his own, but

0:29:54.120 --> 0:29:56.920
<v Speaker 1>the news was out that he was looking for a

0:29:56.960 --> 0:30:02.840
<v Speaker 1>spiritual partner to fulfill his ambition. Then, on the afternoon

0:30:02.960 --> 0:30:06.160
<v Speaker 1>of March eighth, there came a knock at his door.

0:30:07.280 --> 0:30:10.480
<v Speaker 1>Waiting for him. On the doorstep was a mister Clerkson,

0:30:10.880 --> 0:30:15.520
<v Speaker 1>an agent for men purporting to be spirit mediums looking

0:30:15.600 --> 0:30:19.920
<v Speaker 1>for wealthy clients. Clerkson had brought with him a so

0:30:20.000 --> 0:30:23.720
<v Speaker 1>called friend of his, who he introduced as twenty six

0:30:23.800 --> 0:30:27.760
<v Speaker 1>year old Edward Talbot. Perhaps he could be the man

0:30:27.920 --> 0:30:33.200
<v Speaker 1>that D was looking for, Clerkson suggested. D. Agreed to

0:30:33.240 --> 0:30:36.320
<v Speaker 1>meet them for dinner the following day to discuss the

0:30:36.400 --> 0:30:42.240
<v Speaker 1>idea further. Later that evening, as it approached midnight, D

0:30:42.680 --> 0:30:46.040
<v Speaker 1>was poring over a manuscript in his study when he

0:30:46.160 --> 0:30:50.600
<v Speaker 1>sensed a shift in the air. All about the room

0:30:50.800 --> 0:30:57.080
<v Speaker 1>was ablaze with a strange red ambient light. D rushed

0:30:57.120 --> 0:31:03.120
<v Speaker 1>outside and stared up in disbelief. The entire night sky

0:31:03.720 --> 0:31:07.760
<v Speaker 1>appeared to be burning in fiery flames, as though a

0:31:07.840 --> 0:31:13.600
<v Speaker 1>great fire had just risen above the earth. D should

0:31:13.600 --> 0:31:21.880
<v Speaker 1>have taken it as a sign. You've been listening to

0:31:21.960 --> 0:31:28.040
<v Speaker 1>Part two of Unexplained Season seven, episode eighteen, A Dance

0:31:28.160 --> 0:31:32.440
<v Speaker 1>with Mister D. Part three will be released next Friday,

0:31:33.000 --> 0:31:38.200
<v Speaker 1>April fifth. This episode was written by Diane Hope and

0:31:38.400 --> 0:31:44.080
<v Speaker 1>Richard McClain smith. Unexplained as an Avy Club Productions podcast

0:31:44.600 --> 0:31:48.760
<v Speaker 1>created by Richard McClain smith. All other elements of the podcast,

0:31:48.840 --> 0:31:54.719
<v Speaker 1>including the music, are also produced by me Richard McClain smith. Unexplained.

0:31:54.760 --> 0:31:58.080
<v Speaker 1>The book and audiobook, with stories never before featured on

0:31:58.160 --> 0:32:02.280
<v Speaker 1>the show, is now available to worldwide. You can purchase

0:32:02.320 --> 0:32:07.400
<v Speaker 1>from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please

0:32:07.440 --> 0:32:11.040
<v Speaker 1>subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts,

0:32:11.320 --> 0:32:13.640
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0:32:13.720 --> 0:32:16.960
<v Speaker 1>or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show,

0:32:17.200 --> 0:32:19.640
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0:32:19.680 --> 0:32:23.320
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