Hiding in Plain Sight
Dr. Nostradamus was at Starbucks when I arrived the next Wednesday and he resumed the storyline of his life.
He mentioned the Wikipedia pages that chronicle what is known, or thought to be known about the historical Michel de Nostradamus.
"Most of what you read is fairly accurate with a few significant exceptions -- the date of my recorded death, the state of my health, and the character of my writings.
"In June of 1566, I was 66 years old, living in Salon-de-Provence, in the south of France just north of Marseille. Contrary to the historical record, I was in excellent health, as would be expected of a man in his early thirties, not his sixties. But mine was increasingly a life of deception. As a medically trained person I had years earlier started to feign the appearance and ailments appropriate for a man of my supposed age. I added grey to my hair and beard and could walk the walk and limp accordingly. I adopted the facial expressions, gestures, and speech patterns of an older man. I learned how to act.
"My purported prophetic writings which are now famous were simply musings and diversions fashionable at the time. I have read many of them on line and don't recognize any, even those that have some claim to authenticity. So let me say it for the record, and you can quote me:
Most of the quatrains, prophecies, and quotations attributed to me in books and on the internet are complete fabrications. Signed/ Michel de Nostradamus.
"My wife Anne died in early 1566. My children were grown and had their own families.
"On June 30, 1566, I took leave of my household and left for a horseback day trip into the forest southwest of my home.
"On July 2, 1566, a riderless horse found its way back the stable. Dr. Michel de Nostradamus' saddle bags were intact and contained alI he had packed for his trip.
"A week later a young man of obvious wealth and good family sought lodging at the best Inn in Marseille. He stayed for three days and then left by carriage. His name is lost to history.
"From the port of Marseille I sailed to Barcelona. From there I made my way down the Iberian peninsula and up the Western seaboard, through Portugal, and France and from there to Normandy and beyond to the Netherlands where I settled and became a banker.
"I amassed a fortune and learned how to hide it. I lived under various names, as circumstance required. I traveled widely and studied. I found a home at the Paris-Sorbonne which has since served as the hub of my life and travels.
"The details of my life since I left my home and identity as Dr. Michel de Nostradamus would no doubt be of intense interest to historians but for me they are only a background from where I was able to observe and understand the patterns that ebb and flow in the natural world and in human history. That is what I am about.
"For some time now I have returned to using my birth name. It is a fairly common French name and no one apart from crackpots will dare fantasize that I am the original. Serious readers will consider my use of the Nostradamus name as an innocuous literary device.
"Thus I now hide in plain sight."
"But you are not hiding, Sensei." I said, "You are publishing all this -- even this very conversation -- under your true name, in Nostradamus Speaks. I don't understand.
"Do you want to really come in from the cold? I can arrange interviews. We might start out small but in no time you could be on the Today show; maybe 60 Minutes. The reality show people will snatch you up in a heartbeat.
"Face it, Dr. N, the numbers you get from your sleeper cells are minuscule compared to what they could be."
Our meeting concluded with a jumble of thoughts rushing through my head. This could be big, really big.
Dixi
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