On a Peruvian mountaintop ancient wisdom is unearthed and changes the world with a challenge and a map of salvation.

The People Say:

"A fabulous book about life, love, strength and weakness. The values are timeless but the insights are as fresh as the e-book-- downloaded dynamite!"

"Actually, I find it to be more profound than the inspirational predecessor The Celestine Prophecy."

"I wonder if there's going to be a workbook. Read it!"

"We all want to be the savior--to make our mark on the star stuff. The Tessellatian Mystery makes its mark."

"It's iconoclastic--Ross Perot with dreadlocks."

"Finally, something fresh. I'm always looking for new stylists. This guy is great, if a little bit funky. The trendiness is mind-blowing."

..... "filled with 'chaotic symmetry', clearly a poet's prose. Wonderful."

         The Tesellatian Mystery is a satire of the spiritual journey that takes up where The Celestine Prophecy leaves off. It has its own sometimes humorous and sometimes profound messages. I relied heavily on Graham Hancock's Footprints of the Gods to provide authenticity to the Peruvian sites and legends.
         The prologue sets a grand theme, claiming that the story stretches from the dawn of time until its end, but the focus is on a simple love story, brotherhood and the hope of overcoming greed and competition in the next millennium.
         Chad Savage is an ex-priest, ex-marine, psychotherapist who has taken the archeological discoveries of Hy Swanson, a Harrison Ford wan-a-be, and has transformed them into Tessellation Theory which is an unelaborated theory that apparently explains everything in the universe. The word "tessellation" as used in the novel is a synonym for "pattern" so that Tessellation Theory is a theory that reveals the pattern of the universe, science, and human relationships.
         Tessellation Theory is so comprehensive that it becomes instrumental, somehow, in uncovering the Lukewarm Fusion Process.
         Carter James, a recovering alcoholic and manic-depressive, ex-tobacco farmer turned reformer, diplomat, tofu manufacturer and mad scientist, accidentally unlocks the key to make desktop fusion work. Commercial application proves to be an easy step.
         Clement Fielding, Neo-Nazi bad boy and maniac in his own right, wants to claim the Fusion Process for his own ends.
         Adrianna Batchelor met Chad Savage seventeen years ago while he was temporarily blinded after a CIA mission. Chad and Adrianna have sought each other ever since and will find each other and love in Peru.
         Anne O'Leary, Jewish American princess, is escaping her third marriage and is on her way to Peru for an adventure. She plans to see her brother at the dig, but she meets Swanson on the way and they are abducted by the Neo-Nazis.
         Chad, Adrianna and other new friends must rescue Swanson in an assault on the Neo-Nazi camp. Swanson and Tesselation Theory are saved, but Fielding escapes.
         In the final chapter, the mysterious Lizard Jack, Rastafarian Jamaican rummy, reveals the secret origins of Tessellation Theory. It becomes a world property like fire, but the book ends with the profound question, "Why wasn't fire enough?"
         Throughout the story, references to R. Buckminster Fuller's battle with the "scarcity principle" crop up. The new millennium may bring an end to competition and greed. There is hope but with a warning.
         As the story unfolds, we learn the nine, or perhaps ten principles of Tessellatian Theory. They are frivolous but profound at the same time. We learn how fatal flaws heralded the extinction of certain species. The extinction stories are funny and corny but warn us all to be wary of our own and our society's fatal flaws.

Interview With The Author~~

Q: You call The Tessellatian Mystery a parody but it is more than a simple parody of The Celestine Prophecy. What is it?

A: It's a satire and the elements aimed at The Celestine Prophecy are minor. I use Redfields's book as a diving board. I wanted to go a little deeper than Redfield. I used his basic devices and I refer to "the other ruins" but the parody elements are subtle and that's not what the book is really about. It's really about values. I can't stand the political pratter on this subject because I think we've lost something that we desperately need to find again.

Q: But they are hardly traditional values, are they"

A: They are and they aren't. I like paradox. Life isn't always crystal clear. Sometimes we have to make decisions. Values and morals get mixed up with religion. That's what I don't like about The Celestine Prophecy. It set out to become a religion and regrettably it has become one, albeit a small one. My values are traditional except in areas where traditional values have gotten politicized.

Q: But isn't your book religious? What' this stuff about Fat Mamma God?

A: God is God -- he, she, or it has to have a sense of humor. God gets twisted up with politics, too. Many religious sanctions arose from political concerns. I don't think God frowns on what people do in their bedrooms. I think he, she, or it does grieve. Look at the spiritual abuse of man against man and man against the environment. Those are the real sins.

Q: What do you really think of Redfield?

A: I'd rather not say. Some have called his book The Celestine Profit Motive. Like Chad Savage would say, "I don't know". If he really believes we are going to evolve into transcorporeal beings, then I really don't know what to think of him. I try not to.

Q: You didn't like the The Celestine Prophecy, did you?

A: No, I didn't like it. I found it to be poorly written, not researched at all; and well, just too Deepak Chopra, new age, pandering, Y2K, Earth Day, Rainbow People-like. Cults are not the road to fulfillment. They are the road to engulfment. Give up your mind and follow me. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Heaven's Gate, or Redfield -- they are all the same. And they are all dangerous. When people are encouraged to not think, that's dangerous. That's how you get a Hitler.

Q: And you want us to think then. But sometimes it's hard for me to tell what you want us to think about.

A: I want people to think about tessellations -- the patterns in our lives and in our history. I want them to realize that everything makes a difference -- everything we say, do, and think. And I want people to stop being so self assured. Progress moves on theory. We reify our theories or deify them. We now know that the earth is not flat or cubical -- at least most of us do. Rodney King asked a good guestion.

Q: We are too rigid in our beliefs?

A: Well yes. (laughs)

Q: What is the alternative?

A: It's in the book. It's not new news; it's forgotten news. We give it lip service. Be true to yourself, for example; "don't discard your inner liner", keep recycling it.

Q: Recycle?

A: That's what God does. Earth to earth. There is nothing new under the sun. The same atoms that were here in the beginning are here now. The same amount of energy is still here. We have what we need. It's our job to recycle -- to use our resources better. Back in the sixties Bucky Fuller tried to teach us that the "scarcity principle" is a bunch of crap. We now know he was right but we still aren't acting on the knowledge. When I talk about recycling I'm not talking about just aluminum cans. We have to recycle ourselves. Life is about learning and using that new knowledge. That's one of the main messages in the book. There is enough to go around. I'm sure Redfield would agree with that part -- you know -- the end of money and all that. But I see it coming about differently. Technology has the potential to save the planet or to destroy it. So what's it going to be. It's time to recycle back to some common sense but with a twist -- one of my readers called it "Ross Perot in dreadlocks". Recycle.

Q: But what about your "absolutes" and "constancies"? We don't recycle them.

A: They are like the protons and neutrons, positive and negative. They are always there if you look for them. They leave trails. The negative absolutes leave trails of destruction and despair. The positives lead to fulfillment -- heaven on earth or heaven in heaven, whichever you prefer. When we rediscover something useful that we have lost, we are recycling.

Q: You are very traditional in many ways, but you talk about looking at things from other points of view. That's part of recycling?

A: That's what I call being "casual". To me it's the opposite of rigidity. But I caution "carefulness" also -- not to lose yourself in another viewpoint. I hate cults; they lead to bigotry and I hate bigotry. To paraphrase Roosevelt, "The only thing we should be bigoted about is bigotry itself." It's time to take bigotry to the dump. It's something we dont' need.

Q: You cover a lot of ground in your book, but let me move on to the extinction stories. You are warning us to beware of our fatal flaws or else. Do you really believe what you say?

A: Absolutely. But my extinction stories cover very little ground really. I touch on a few of our bad habits, but there are many more. I think a lot of people believe that we should clean up our act at a national, global, but first of all personal level. We are driven in our society by fear and willfullness -- it's the wrong road, folks. And if you haven't read the book yet, then I'll tell you. It's about courage and surrender. Surrendering to fate but using courage, not willfulness to mold that fate. Bravery and surrender seem like a paradox and they aren't. I told you I like paradox. I like oxymoron.

Q: Redfield talks about "coincidence" and you talk about "accidents". What's the difference?

A: None. The word "accident" usually has a negative connotation. And like I just said I like paradox. I like to look for the positives. Accidents and coincidences are sometimes good, sometimes bad. I have told many of my clients who seem to feel trapped by life, "If you feel you are in a jail cell, then find a way to decorate that cell." Old news again, my critics will say. And that's true. Life is what you make of it. But there are still too many of us making a mess of it. And it goes on to the nation and the planet. We have to stop disregarding the "positive absolutes".

Q: What else do you think your critics will say?

A: I dont' know. It's easy to criticize, it's hard to create.

Q: I'm not a critic, I'm a fan, but I know what you mean. Will there be a sequel?

A: Absolutely not, what would I want to do that for? Chad Savage has the sensitivity of a psychotherapist, the spirituality of a priest, and the macho of a marine. I'm not him. I don't want to be anybody's savior but my own. Read my lips -- no sequel.

Q: But with the readership you're attracting, won't there be a demand for a sequel?

A: I've been asked that question before. As I said -- no sequel. I don't believe in giving in to demands. To demand is a negative absolute. Unrealistic and internal demands lead to shame. Externally they lead to anger. We have enough war -- national and personal. And we have shame in the world. We need to tend to accomplishment and pride and to acceptance and tolerance of those that are different from us. The Tessellation Mystery is satire. I poke more fun at the idea of gurus than at any one particular guru. The last thing in the world that I would want to become is a guru. We have gurus of self-help, political gurus, gurus of porn, new age gurus, and old economy gurus. It's not a party that I'd like to attend.

Q: What next then?

A: Well, I have a job and I'm currently editing a book of poetry. Beyond that, I don't know. I have some ideas but I like to keep my cards close to the chest.

Q: I have to return to the cult thing. You are so emphatic. With the way the book is selling, how are you going to deal with it. There will be demands. You'll have to go on the lecture circuit.

A: They can email me. I will answer.

Email the author at: barrymiddleton@yahoo.com

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