A bookstore

I had just moved to town. Exploring the streets, I came across a bookstore.

The sign intrigued me, so I went in. The front counter was unmanned. And not a soul could be seen in the shop. were

I went to the first shelf of books. Wild. Indie books. Hundreds of them all printed. Opening a cover of a book titled: Bolivian Time Traveler. The book immediately impressed me with the adventure story. A writer trapped in parallel spacetime worlds. Traveling back through time to watch the end of the time of tribulation. The author. An expat from Montana. He wrote about how he had awoken been kidnapped from his reality. And lived day by day in parallel realities so close to him that few people would know the difference.

Setting the book aside. I turned to the next book. The Mystery of Shade and wood stamps. An introductory book to Chiaroscuro. Turning the page. They delighted me to see the dark printings of master works. The light caught the edges of the sculptures. Making them look shadowy.

Reading more into the book. It gave details of the first painter to use this technique as an Apollodorus Skiagraphos. The mystery here was the book showed old photos of his work. However, from the dates ascribed to the photos and works shown made me think this was a fictional book. Reason? Some of the color photographs were in Russia in the early 1900s. To be more specific. Czar Nicholas’ personal library collection of antiquities was in some subtitles. Reading more into the book. The author seemed to show that the library still existed and that KGB still had control of it. This made me smile. KGB had not existed for some time now. So I looked at the published date 1969.

I suppose the book could reflect what the author knew. The book ascribed a certain magic to some paintings. Reading on. The author followed up with a story. Of Skiagraphos last known painting according to the author. There were three photos of Czar Nicholas. One holding what looked like a miniature vase detailing hunting with dogs. A portrait of some man. And a temple.

Reading farther into the book. I discovered more detail about how the technique had gone out of style for a time. Then reappeared with Leonardo da Vinci. Here the author again showed photos of works from the 1900s. One with Czar Nicholas holding a lovely, shadowy woman. Subtitled Mona Lisa. The book in Russian subtitle also had an English translation. Which seemed to show that Czar Nicolas held at one time a miniature Mona Lisa painting. Then the next photo showed a larger version of Mona Lisa. Seemed to show that they took the photo in Saint Petersburg 1903.

The book went into details. How the KGB was hiding some of the more notable Skiagraphos paintings from earlier times in a cold vault. The author detailed how underground vaults and cities were being prepared. To keep humanity’s history alive. Now, I knew this was getting into fictitious reality. Why? The author detailed how Stalin had put together a plan to hide the best of the best communist. In cities underground. Then to use Russian resources to build large cities hidden so that no satellites could see them.

Seemed to show that the USSR considered prepared for an invasion from space as a likelihood. Let alone that. But the author spent a chapter detailing how these cities of the shadow. How they would or could be constructed in secret. From key cities in Russia’s underground railroad.

Someone evidently used the paintings as subtitles secrets. This was to hide how the USSR used two million slave laborers. To carve tunnels outside of the great Russian cities. Into underground bunkers designed to withstand attacks from space and nuclear war. The book went into details of the shadowy realities. Seemed weird to me.

I read the next chapter, which became even more of a shock. The author wrote a complete story of how two of Czar Nicolas’ daughters escaped. Then lived in the shadows outside of Russia. My rough memory of the chapter.

The tale of the princesses from memory, mind you. The author of the book named Jack.

The group on the train is a combination of US and British soldiers with train men from the states. Jack got to know the brake man. He learned the entire group was off to save the Czar Nicholas II of Russia and his family.

The train adventure was something out of an old medieval war story. The train, being a steam engine, would puff and stop due to the lack of coal. Several times along the way they put the whole attachment forth to cut wood, and or look for coal. Jack was useful knowing a little Russian and Yiddish from his grandfather. Jack also got to learn how to slow the train down by applying the brakes going downhill.

One time people were out searching for fuel for the train. A group of locals dressed as Mongolians attacked the train with swords and arrows. The sentry with the steam-powered machine gun made temporary work of them. The British had to bribe both the White Army of the Czar, Bolsheviks, wild revolutionaries, and the Red Army of Vladimir Lenin. To get through the Siberian train railroad. Bribing into the White Army was easier said than done. A lot of the old Czar’s military felt betrayed by the Czar by his lack of leadership. One White General even ordered a bayonet charge against the train. While it was pulling away from a station. The tale of that ride brought me back for several visits to Jack, the junkman in Terry, Montana. There was the Japanese army of a million men who were taking up positions on the road. The bribe was a jewel the size of a baby’s fist to the general in command. Different groups attacked them several times. They held the train with three machine guns and a cannon.

One of the more memorable tales was. When Jack’s train had to back up fifteen miles because of no side rails to let the train of General Kaledin by. Jack’s wild story here was more reflective in his face. Talking about how hard braking downhill was easy, but keeping a whole train at a steady pace. Sometimes on how going backward in snow was terrifying. After that he was tired however because he knew some Russian and Yiddish he was forced back to work.

The tale Jack had. Described as General Kaledin. Then invited the officers, and he was drafted as their messenger for a night party. The party was like a medieval banquet inside a train. Drinking wine, vodka, and dancing with women. His tale was of several professional night ladies. The dancing, singing, and drinking more vodka and spirits than he could remember doing so in his life. All he did was watch. According to many medieval tales, the General was not such a good guy. During the night, General Kaledin required an extra bribe. Which the Brit paid several costly jewels and another ruby the size of a handful was the description.

After that the train went to two stops to find the Czar. The first was a lost venture. Meaning the Czar had been moved, and the second was Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. They reached Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. This time an American office, a British officer/royal, and Jack, as a scout, went into Yekaterinburg. The British officer spoke flawless Russian, however, no one in public wanted to speak with him. Jack took the lead, asking for some bread. Jack was a quick child. Knowing some Yiddish allowed him to ask the right kids around the train yard to find the family. Upon getting to the house, there was not much to the tale. The officers bribed the local official. They were preparing to leave with the entire family. However, the family doctor said they could not move Alexei. The Czar would not go without his son. Finally, the four daughters could go. Getting back to the train yard, there was a run-in with the locals.

One daughter was murdered there. Jack’s description was not of an execution. More like a disagreement with the person accepting a bribe. Then that person trying to retake the four girls. Anastasia Nikolaevna got separated during a melee between the Brit and five Russians. The Brit pulled out a sword and rushed the Russians, cutting three of them down and forcing the other two to flee. Knowing that name Anastasia, I asked what happened to her? He said Anastasia was next to a building when the local official pulled out a pistol. And five men rushed the Brit and were being restrained by the Brit when the gun went off. They shot Olga dead. Jack only said that after they had shot Olga that Anastasia just was not there. One moment she was and the next no sign. There was snow, so he looked but could not find her. Anyway, after looking for a few minutes. Both officers, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna and Jack, got back to the train. That was Jack’s saving a princess tale.

The fighting on the way back across Serbia was a wild tale. Jack, on over one occasion, was put in charge of brakes for the train. While the regular trackman went to sleep. Or was repairing parts of the train which kept moving as fast to the east as possible. There were three melees that Jack gave great detail about. First was when the Red Army in front of the train required that everyone get off the train and be searched. The diplomatic papers and bribes were not working this time. So the plan laid out by the Brit rather was to engage the Reds upon seeing them and open fire with the machine gun. This was the plan. However, the Reds brought only a few soldiers to the train. Someone easily bribed them when the wrong officer was in charge. Pulling out of the blockade. Things got crazy and the machine gun was used, cutting into several soldiers of the Red Army.

The train moved along for hundreds of miles without seeing a sign of human life. Then suddenly there was a vast amount of people escaping the Red Army. The melee here was more sad. The people, Jack, said the people were just trying to escape the cold. But their numbers and rioting were slowing the train down. They ordered the soldiers on board to clear a path, which they did with swords and bayonets.

The final big melee was between the Japanese and Red army. Which had sent several thousand troops into the area to secure the railroad? This part was interesting in that the Japanese at first deferred to the General. That had let them pass through the first time. But during their passing a new General arrived. He was more honorable or had not been bribed and was trying to retake the train. The melee was short of the machine gun, cutting down several hundred soldiers in an open field.

The book said that the British officer married Titiana. That Maria ended up as a missionary in Africa. The book tale was fun.