The Split

Introduction

To those who may find this,

The following pages were first found in Hangzhou, China in 1052 AD. A young temple initiate named Ao said he was gazing at a pool and the pages appeared to him. He pulled them out of the water, fascinated as the pages stayed dry and the ink did not run. He eagerly took it to the monks of his temple, who studied it for decades. Though it was just a few pages, they were unable to make out the strange markings. Convinced it was from the heavens, the monks guarded it jealously for centuries, and the papers were treated like a treasure as they passed from empire to empire.

The next sighting was in 1493 by a sailor named Gonzalo Franco. Like Ao, he pulled a small collection of papers from the water near his ship. In the cover of night, Gonzalo was able to retrieve them without his crew seeing and stashed them with his belongings. Several years later, Gonzalo made it back to Spain from what his captain called the "New World". Denied the treasure he was promised, Gonzalo traveled for years trying to find someone to translate the pages. He finally found someone years later in London who said they could help. Gonzalo's account ends there and I assume he was murdered.

The next 400-500 years were a haze as various powerful groups like the Vatican and the British Crown greedily gathered the pages, keeping their accounts of discovery to themselves. Many times the letters were turned over in war or stolen by thieves, led by promises of fortune and wealth told of these "Pages from Heaven."

It is through many dangerous journeys and no small financial expense that I, Arthur Fila, was able to acquire around 200 of these pages and have marked them with my name and date.

Like my predecessors before me, I have marked in the corner of each chapter the date, location, and means by which acquired it, or the party before me acquired it.

The date below each chapter heading however, is part of the original document. It seemed the author wished to set the scene for a hapless researcher like myself who only has portions of the book's entire work. However, this is probably wishful thinking, and it would be more likely that it was just part of the way he recorded the narrative like a type of journal.

through careful research I have deciphered much. The language that had eluded scholars and priests for centuries had been nothing but postmodern English. I estimate the writer lived between 2000-2050 AD based on the vernacular and colloquialisms of that time.

Humanity has reached a dark place, crumbling from within and facing extinction. I continue to put my faith in these pages to bring us new understanding about our history and future. The few I have told about my search and discoveries, laugh at me, calling the stories behind the papers a hoax and my efforts a "worthless pursuit".

I fear they may be right, I have rearranged the papers in nearly every configuration and still the truth eludes me. It's like there are parts left to be written and I have but a fraction of a greater story, and sometimes feels like there might even be two stories woven together. Perhaps in another time or reality someone has a complete copy, I just hope it provides them the wisdom that I seek. I know nothing of the author or how he landed in his predicament described, or even how his account resolves, but I will continue my toil.

Arthur Fila, March 1st, 2094.