LOT# 5 THE PEACHES OF IMMORTALITY 6

LOT# 5: THE PEACHES OF IMMORTALITY

“In 1974 Chinese workers digging a well in 1974 made the archeological discovery of the century for China: thousands of life-size terracotta figures of an army prepared for battle. You are no doubt familiar with the now famous “Terracotta Army”?  The figures located in three pits near the city of X'ian in China's Shaanxi province.”

“The pits are situated in parade review formation less than one mile to the northeast of an earth covered pyramid shaped mausoleum constructed for Shihaungdi, First Emperor of a “unified” China.”

“It is BELIEVED the figures were created to symbolically serve the emperor in the afterlife. Curiously, when the emperor created this army he had it face east, not toward the frontiers of his empire but rather toward the territories he had already taken. Why he did this is a mystery to the wider world. But we know it was because he had meant to rise from his death, take command of his army and conquer the world.”

“With clay soldiers? And how do you know?”

“We employ several members of his original staff. Ying Zheng, as he was originally known, had become an adept practitioner or magic at some point in his life as a soldier of fortune with a particular talent for what is commonly referred to in the west as “Golem magic”. His intent was to rise from his grave, animate his soldiers and march across the world. During his reign he sent many secret envoys across the then-known world to recover all manner of esoteric paraphernalia. It was one such envoy that returned the peach pit.”

“A peach pit?”

“It is no ordinary seed. It is the means by which to grow the Peaches of Immortality. The favorite banquet item of the Chinese immortals. These immortals were of course exactly that. Having discovered the nature of the fruit millennia earlier. Several of them are still active though reserved and insistent on privacy.”

“Why the ratty old box?”

“We retain our artifacts in the condition in which we recover them. This not only assists in establishing a pedigree and trackable history but over time we find that containers can and do in a sense become “part” of the item itself.”

“The official stance of the Chinese Government has always been that the Emperors tomb will not be excavated until “sufficient archeological methods” are devised. This however is a lie. The government secretly sank a mining tunnel into the mid base to allow a reconnaissance team to investigate the interior. We assigned an Acquisitioner to arrange a local to be our agent.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have been aware of this specimen’s existence for some time, again owing to members of the Emperor’s staff in our employ.  The Chinese officials had no idea of its existence and therefore were both unsuspecting and unprepared for our involvement.”

“The initial workers to enter the tomb, peasant slaves from a political labor camp included our agent.”

“As they splashed down into the deep sludge, mud and muck covering the floor they lifted their lanterns and saw the wealth of the god king before them: A vaulted tomb with a three-dimensional map of his kingdom laid out in miniature encrusted with precious metals and stones beyond comprehension. As the workers howled their amazing reports back up the tunnel our agent followed very specific instructions further into the interior. It was in a niche, at the base of the Emperors jade sarcophagus that he recovered this miniature of the Emperor himself. Positioned to forever survey his kingdom.”

“Our agent was able to recover the statuette, escape during his return to the work camp with our assistance and flee to the Lintong district of the Xi'an Provence.”

“Both his escape and theft were discovered by authorities shortly after his departure and a massive manhunt ensued. They captured him of course.”

“Did he talk?”

“No, he died in custody before he could be questioned, but not, thankfully before he had reached the post office as directed.”

“They killed him?”

“No, he died of massive Mercury poisoning.”

“Why?”

“The poor fool was doomed like all the others that entered the tomb. While wading through the sludge and muck the men never even suspected the truth: that inches below the seemingly thick, muddy water they were in fact wading hip-deep in pools of Mercury that the tomb builders had used to fill the miniature rivers, streams and lakes of the model kingdom for grandeur and decoration. This is why the government put out the statement about NOT excavating the tomb. It and all its riches are a massive biohazard.”

“But if the Emperor HAD the peach why did he die?”

“He didn’t have the peach. Where and how his envoys acquired it is unknown but what they recovered was a peach PIT.”

“And that won’t make you immortal?”

“No, a tree must be grown from it and then the fruit eaten.”

“Why didn’t he do it?”

“According to corroborated legend, the immortals had to wait six thousand years before gathering the peaches. The tree requires three thousand years to grow. Once grown, the peach tree put forth leaves and blossoms and requires another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen.  This accounts for the relatively few legendary eaters of the peach in Chinese mythology.”

“Where did these Peach trees come from?”

“We believe they are a botanical mutation from the same period that produced Lot # 4.”

“Sadly, the Emperor made three fatal mistakes:  entrusting his inner circle of heirs, councilors and devotees to follow his commands after death, to grow the tree, mind it and protect it for millennia, then squeeze its juices into his corpse’s mouth to be reanimated. Eating one while alive makes one immortal, the juice introduced to a corpse will resurrect the dead. In his hubris he believed that his empire would or could survive such expanses of time and that his instructions left to his dynasty would survive with it. But as is almost always the case his empire fragmented, less than four years after his death. All loyal subordinates failed shortly after his death in the ensuing revolts, throat slitting, escapes and profiteering that always accompanies such royal upheavals. As such the pit was hidden away with his body.”
“Interestingly the Pit has been found to be deeply impregnated with Orichalcum. Hence the metallic sheen.”

“Impregnated with what…?”

“Orichalcum. A metal reputed to be of Atlantean or Lemurian origin. A curious alloy whose unique geophysical characteristics were only to be found on the now destroyed continents.  It is not merely an incredibly durable metal, stronger than titanium, lighter than aluminum and resistant to intense temperature extremes it is also a power source in its own right. Producing electro-chemical power from sunlight. It forms amongst naturally occurring radioactive materials but forms in such a way that not only is it NOT harmful to life forms but even beneficial.”

“Beneficial?”

“It can actually “clean” a person’s genetic code during prolonged exposure. Detecting and correcting flaws which can result in life threatening diseases and debilitations. It also responds to a human mental and emotional states when in proximity.”

“So, if it takes that long to grow how could I use it?”

“You are the leader of a world-wide faith movement. Your monetary resources are vast. Surely you could attempt the Emperors plan of resurrection by devotees, but this has proved a tremendous gamble for more than one would-be immortal. However, the more secure method we recommend is that of modern science, in this case modern Botany and genetic research. It may be capable of analysis and diagnosis previously impossible. As well as genetic manipulation. One could, with enough funding conceivably manipulate the seeds genetic structure to expedite growth and maturation. Though what effect this could have on the resulting tree and fruit is unknown.”

INSPIRATION: Chinese Legend.