7. “The Secret of Canis Major and the Mediterranean Island of Malta”
Starting November 2023, The Korea Daily is excited to publish the fantasy novel series “Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years” on our website. This new captivating series follows a trio of young adventurers on their quest to uncover the mysteries of ancient civilizations, including the Maya and Inca. In an exciting development, Netflix is currently adapting the novel’s storyline into a film.
The ‘Sword of Malta – Lightning in 72 Years’ is the latest novel authored by Jeeyoon Ha, who created the “Pangaea series.” Ha’s debut novel, “The Pangaea: Finding Xibalba,” was selected by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2022 as part of their initiative to support the global export of fantasy literature.
Readers can eagerly anticipate the online publication of two installments each month, with new chapters appearing bi-weekly, offering a regular escape into this magical realm.
“Wait… I just had an idea, Sabi… You said it’s the distance between planets and the address of a specific star, right? I’m going to reveal a huge secret… I am the genius wizard Marblem~”
Suri started connecting the other stars with a colored pencil, starting from the brightest specific star. Each time they were connected by a line, light burst out and the constellation was revealed.
“How about it? Can you recognize it?…The Canis…Major?”
Sabi looked at the showing-off Suri with admiration.
“You got it! Look at the ear part of Canis Major… The triangle with the brightest star Sirius at the apex… And the unknown island that this triangle holds? …See? Haha.”
Suri laughed as though he owned the world.
“…There’s an island like this in the universe?… Nah, that’s impossible.”
“It is possible… First, there are numbers at the bottom of the map… 357.06.83333.45.3 361.08. .91.141.73..666.16.66.42.7. 58.146.017… These numbers cannot possibly be longitudes or latitudes. It implies that it’s an island in the universe.”
Sabi, who couldn’t believe it, explained to Maru, spitting out her words.
“Second… The oldest known map is a stone tablet from the Nubia region, and the cosmological map of the ancient Babylonian region is a clay tablet. Admiral Piri Reis’ Antarctic map is made of gazelle skin… But this map is neither a stone tablet, a clay tablet, nor leather. So it must have been made by someone in the universe.”
Sabi’s voice was trembling.
“…Well, now that we’ve solved the secret of Canis Major, let’s solve the secret of these numbers… There was a painter in the Middle Ages named Lorenzo Moni. He painted a famous picture called ‘Maria Magdalene’. But this picture is a complete magic. Because when you shine a light on the painting, the letters ‘LVX’ appear on Maria’s face… This is real magic, what else could it be? It’s a cryptographic technique called steganography, which hides confidential information in images. It was used by spies during the Cold War and even by drug dealers. Anyway, ‘LVX’ is Latin for ‘light’. So… what secrets might be hidden beneath these numbers? Let the magic unfold…!”
Suri shone a torch on the numbers.
“Exactly… it’s the flag of a knight’s order, see?”
Suri looked triumphant.
“What’s a knight’s order flag?”
“Sabi, you have a dependency on genius… haha. The country that received the George Cross, a medal awarded for ‘the most heroic or most conspicuous courage in extreme danger’ from George VI of the UK during World War II? The country still guarded by the knights? The country protected by the Triangle of Canis Major? Doo-doo-doo-doo… where could it be? The Knights of Malta… it’s Malta…!”
Suri was already excited as if he had arrived in Malta.
“That… the Mediterranean? All the evidence points to Malta.”
Sabi was already a runaway spirit who had arrived in Malta.
“That address is in Malta in the Mediterranean?… You’re funny…”
Maru could only sigh.
“Maru, shut up! …Suri, even as I say this, I’m getting goosebumps. People first arrived in Malta about 7900 years ago. This map was drawn using the orthographic projection method. It’s drawn from the perspective of looking down from above. But the first balloon was in 1783, the glider was in 1804, and the airplane was in 1903. Does that make sense? When was this map of Malta made, by who, and why?”
“Idiots… How can Malta in the Mediterranean be in Canis Major in the universe? Explain that.”
While Sabi’s face was flushed, Maru stomped his foot.
“And, Suri, you said you saw thousands of stone temples in that arrogant dream, right? But can there be thousands of stone temples in Malta in the Mediterranean? Malta is a tiny island that you can drive around in half a day…”
Maru’s face turned red and then pale.
“Again! Is Malta in Canis Major or in the Mediterranean? …If it’s in Canis Major, how are you going to get there? Walk? Fly?… All this fuss because you found out a little thing?”
Maru flicked a booger at Suri.
“What? That could be… I won’t ignore your rational ignorance. We have to solve the greatest mystery in history. Then, could the island in the Triangle of Canis Major be Luna Mirror… something like that? Or a parallel universe? Dumb dumb.”
Suri flicked the booger back at Maru.
“What? Luna mirror? Parallel? …What’s this new nonsense? Are you serious?”
Maru got a booger straight in the face.
“Both of you stop. Didn’t you know that in 1969, Apollo installed a reflector on the moon’s surface? The reflector is made up of many small mirrors. These mirrors precisely reflect the laser beam shot from the earth, allowing us to accurately measure the distance between the earth and the moon. This is called laser ranging, and by measuring the time it takes for the laser shot from the earth to return, and multiplying that time by the speed of light, we can know the distance between the earth and the moon. Why? Are you surprised because I’m too knowledgeable? Anyway, neither of you are completely wrong. The Black Panther alien gave Suri the exact direction. So, the island in the Triangle of Canis Major and Malta in the Mediterranean could be clones existing at the same time… or someone in Malta is shooting a laser… or the other way around.”
Sabi, who had put on her glasses as if to show off, gave a straightforward explanation.
[To be continued…]
