So I figured it out. The code the numbers station gave me. It was kind of simple, so all my tough thinking was for nought: each number corresponded to a letter, a 1, b 2, et cetera. The whole thing read "K-A-T-A-B-A-S-I-S-S-T-A-T-I-O-N."
Katabasis Station. Katabasis means a trip downhill or a descent to the underworld. From what my research is telling me, "Katabasis Station" is an abandoned radio transmitter down in Baja, California. Apropos, no?
I remember my foster mother telling me the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Not really an appropriate story for an eleven-year-old girl, but I loved hearing it anyway. Poor Eurydice, bitten by a snake on her wedding day. Poor Orpheus, who goes down to the underworld in order to rescue her. However, the only way Hades and Persephone will let her leave the underworld is if Orpheus goes first and never looks back to see if she was there. He doesn't quite make it and she's forced to stay in the underworld.
There are some who say that the moral of that story is you should have faith in things you cannot see. But that's stupid. For one thing, Orpheus already knew Eurydice was real, he just wanted to make sure she was behind him. Imagine having something behind you, but you're never able to look at it. Wouldn't it drive you crazy?
No, the real moral is: gods are bastards.
Thus endeth today's lesson.
-- Number Nine
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