At 11:00 p.m. on January 10, 1938, the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan was empty. The Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info it was closed at this point, and John was sitting alone in the corner of room 315 in the main reading room. In the light of a bronze Tiffoni lamp, he was absentmindedly flipping through a copy of Philmac Ken Burns's "The Civil War."

Although his father was one of the main donors to the New York Public Library, and John often sat in his current position while studying at Columbia University, he never came here so late. At this moment, of course, John is not here to read the book, he is waiting for a meeting that will have a huge impact on his future life.

It all started with his phone call with Harold a few days ago. At that time, he called Harold to see if he could help him connect with the bigwigs in the Justice Department and unblock the relationship with the security company he was planning. However, after listening to John's statement, Harold was silent on the phone for a long time. At first, John thought Harold was in a bit of a quandary and was about to stop the conversation, but Harold asked him a seemingly unrelated question.

"John, remember the ring your father left you?"

John, of course, remembers that it was the day he graduated from college, and it was handed over to him by William's cousin. Before his death, his father gave the ring to Sam Bolsakim for safekeeping. When he died, he told his eldest son, William's cousin, to return the ring to him when he graduated from John's University. It is a seemingly ordinary silver ring with symbols engraved on the face of the ring consisting of a scale, a ruler and a book. That's right, it's a Masonic heraldic ring. Rules, rulers, and books (codes) are indispensable tools for Freemasons to complete their personal practice, break through the triple darkness, and regain the light of reason, and are called the "triple great light."

In his previous life, John had read Song Hongbing's book "Currency Wars". The book's argument that the Rothschilds and Freemasons control the world is very popular among later conspiracy theorists. They believe that the Freemasonry led by the Rockefeller family manipulates the world economy through Wall Street, and uses the US dollar, the world's settlement currency, as an offensive weapon, and has swept away RB, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Russia since the 80s of the 20th century.

In his life, however, John had never heard of a prominent member of the Rockefeller family participating in Freemasonry. In fact, the Rockefellers have been members of another secret American elite organization, the Skull and Bones Society. Instead, John's father and many members of the Vanderbilt family, such as the Third Uncle and William and Arrod, were Freemasons. When they gave the heraldic ring to John, they asked him if he wanted to join Freemasonry. So, John also learned something about Freemasonry through them.

Freemasonry, also known as the Miscellaneous, literally means "Free-Mason". Legend has it that the ancient Freemasons were a religious brotherhood. Its members call themselves the descendants of Cain, who are well versed in the mysteries of heaven and earth, nature, and the universe, and have fought a century war with the Roman Catholic Curia for more than 200 years. However, in terms of the symbolism of the rules, rulers, and books, John is more inclined to believe that Freemasonry was a social organization born in the Middle Ages to protect some special intellectual inheritance from religious persecution.

The official emergence of modern Freemasonry began in England in 1717. At that time, London's aristocracy and high-ranking clergy held some high-class club-like gatherings, most of which were mainly social activities, entertainment and food, more like a high-end cultural salon. In the Enlightenment, many famous thinkers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot, and the Marquis de Condorcet were Freemasons.

The American Masonic Order is a direct descendant of the Masonic Lodge in England, where Founding Father Benjamin Franklin founded the first Masonic Lodge in the United States in Philadelphia in 1733. These American Freemasons played an important role in the process of American independence. With the exception of George HSD and Benjamin Franklin, at least eight of the 56 signatories to the Declaration of Independence were Freemasons. At least 10 of the first U.S. Constitution of 1781, at least 9 of the 40 signatories of the 1789 U.S. Constitution, and at least 31 of George HSD's 63 founding generals were Freemasons.

Although William and Harold had expected John to join Freemasonry 10 years earlier, he did not agree at the time. At that time, John, who was not well versed in the world, was not too interested in secret societies such as Freemasonry. Of course, this was also influenced to some extent by the famous Morgan affair.

William Morgan was a bricklayer who joined Freemasonry in New York. Resentful of his delay in escalating within Freemasonry, he declared that he would make the secrets of Freemasonry public in the local newspaper. This betrayal angered the other Freemasons, and soon the local newspaper office was set on fire and Morgan was imprisoned for being accused of defaulting on a large debt. Later, a man claiming to be a friend of Morgan's went to the police station to bail Morgan out and take him away, and the two men have not been seen since.

Morgan's disappearance quickly escalated the incident, and more and more people joined the movement to protest against Freemasonry. Since most bankers, judges, wealthy businessmen, and politicians were Freemasons, this added to the unease and anxiety of the people at the bottom. New Yorkers began rallying to ban Freemasons from the government system, as then-President Jackson was also a Freemason, and they also formed an anti-Freemasonic party to participate in the next two general elections.

Harold was surprised to bring it up again after many years. "Michael (Harold's nickname), why do you mention this all of a sudden?"

"I think after all these years, you should know the importance of the organization." Harold's words are meaningful.

"Of course, combinations can give power to an individual that does not belong to him. But there is a price to be paid for mobilizing this force, and I can't afford it right now and I don't need to, do I?" John asked rhetorically.

"No, you still don't understand. When your own power is weak, the relationship between you and the organization is unstable, unequal, and fragmented. So when you refused, William and I didn't say anything more. But now it's different, and you're already eligible to join a relatively healthy and stable social system. Harold patiently explained to John.

"Is there really such a thing?" John was still a little resistant to joining the Freemasonry in his heart, and felt that it was a bit of a fox and a tiger.

"John, sooner or later, everybody joins a certain system of social organization. The real power comes from your position in the organization, and with your position you have the corresponding resources, and then you can use those resources to achieve your own goals, such as the things you just mentioned. ”

"Then why does it have to be Freemasonry?"

"You don't have to be a Freemason, it's that Freemasonry is best for you. I'll tell you the truth, your father was Senior Warden, the president's deputy, for Freemasonry New York. In some areas, in the absence of the president, the senior supervisor will preside over the meeting, be called the "president," and may oversee everything in the clubhouse on behalf of the president. ）

I see, the doubts in John's mind for many years were finally solved. It is no wonder that my father has never been in business or politics in his life, and he has not even had a serious job, but he has always been able to occupy a place in the family decision-making level.

"And what do I have to give?" Later rumors about Freemasonry still had an influence on John. Although he was a little moved by what Harold said, he still had some concerns in his heart.

"Not as serious as you think," Harold heard John's concerns, "all exchanges of resources are voluntary and equal, and no one can force you to do anything, as long as you follow the Freemasonic Charter and keep the organization secret." ”

"Okay, so what do I do?"

"Tyler will reach out to you."

A week after the phone call with Harold, on the evening of January 10, John was at the New York Public Library waiting for a meeting with the gatekeeper of the Masonic New York Clubhouse. John did not know who he was, except that the gatekeeper was responsible for reviewing the qualifications of newcomers, in addition to "holding a sharp sword out of the sheath to ensure that only those who were qualified to attend the clubhouse meetings passed through the gate."

"John. C. Vanderbilt? A deep male voice rang out from behind John.

John turned his head and was startled by the man in front of him. The gatekeeper was the director of the FBI, Edgar Hoover. It seems likely that later rumors that Hoover was the Honorary Inspector of Freemasonry 33 (the highest rank in Scotland) were true

"Hello, Mr. Hoover!" John hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"Hello, little John! We've been waiting for you for a long time, don't be nervous, today is just a review process. Hoover, who had always been serious, rarely smiled.

"Male, over twenty years of age, having lived in the precincts of the General Assembly for at least twelve months, believing in the existence of God (no religion, not a religious, but by no means atheist), having no criminal record, having not been denied membership by other Freemasons, and having two members as introducers, you have all these requirements. Now there is only one question, John, please answer me truthfully, did you join Freemasonry of your own volition? ”

"Yes, sir."

"The great is the master of the truth, and the great is the just soul. （GreatistheMasterofMa’at，GreatisthespiritofMa’at）。 Welcome, little John, do you need an initiation service? ”

"As you wish, Mr. Gatekeeper."

When John left the New York Public Library in the early hours of Jan. 11, he didn't know whether the decision was right or wrong.