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“A disk, roughly four inches in diameter, hewn from gold and engraved with symbols of some kind. The disk, when used in conjunction with two other disks and a special map, would pinpoint the Theurang’s final resting place.”
“You know nothing else about it?” Sam said.
“I know the name of the place.”
“Which is?”
“The ancient translation is a bit complicated, but you would it know it by its popular moniker: Shangri-La.”
20
LO MONTHANG,
MUSTANG, NEPAL
Karna said, “I can see by your expressions you think I’m winding you up.”
“You don’t strike us as a winding-up kind of guy,” Sam said, “but you have to admit that Shangri-La is a bit of a fairy tale.”
“Is it? What do you know about it?”
“It’s a fictional utopia, a valley located somewhere in the Himalayas, filled with ridiculously happy and worry-free people.”
“You forgot immortal,” Remi said.
“Right, sorry. Immortal.”
“That’s Shangri-La as depicted in the novel: James Hilton’s 1933 Lost Horizon. Another example of popular culture shanghaiing and adulterating a fascinating—and possibly true—tale.”
“You have our attention,” Remi said.
“Mention of Shangri-La, and its analogues, can be found in many cultures in Asia. Tibetans refer to it as Nghe-Beyul Khimpalung. They believe it is in the Makalu-Barun region or the Kunlun Mountains or, the most recent candidate, the ancient city of Tsaparang in western Tibet. Several places in India have also been proposed as the true location, as well as dozens in China, including Yunnan, Sichuan, Zhongdian . . . Add to the list Bhutan and the Hunza Valley in northern Pakistan.
“Now, here’s the truly interesting part: as you know, the Nazis were a bit mad for the occult. The expedition Lewis ‘Bully’ King was a part of in 1938 . . . One of its objectives was to find Shangri-La. They felt certain it would be home to an ancient master race, Aryans unspoiled by time and genetic impurities.”
“We didn’t know that,” Remi said.
“Perhaps King Charles isn’t after the Theurang alone but Shangri-La as well,” Karna said.
“Anything’s possible,” Sam replied. “But King doesn’t strike me as a big believer in the fantastic, true or otherwise. If he can’t touch it, see it, or smell it—”
“Or sell it,” Remi added.
“Or sell it, he’s not interested,” Sam finished. “What do you believe, Karna? I assume you believe it’s real? Of all the possibilities you presented, which one fits?”
“None of the above. My research and my instincts tell me that for the people of Mustang, Shangri-La represented a wellspring—both the birthplace and the eternal resting place of the Theurang, a creature they believed was their universal ancestor. I suspect what we today call Shangri-La was where the Theurang was originally discovered. How long ago, I cannot say, but that’s what I believe.”
“And if you had to place money on its location?” Remi asked.
“I think the Tibetan etymology holds the key: shang, which is also tsang, combined with ri, together means mountain, and la, means pass.”
“So, Tsang Mountain Pass,” Remi said.
“Not quite. In the royal dialect of ancient Mustang, la also means gorge or canyon.”
“The Tsangpo Gorge,” Sam replied. “That’s a lot of territory. The river that runs through it—the Yarlung Tsangpo—is how long? A hundred twenty miles?”
“One hundred fifty,” Karna answered. “Bigger than your Grand Canyon, in many ways. And the mountains are thickly forested. Some of the most daunting terrain in the world.”