Guest Post: “An Interview w/ Joseph de Alverado” by Jay Hartlove
JAY HARTLOVE: Hello, I am Jay Hartlove, author of The Chosen, a supernatural thriller published by Damnation Books and winner of Best Thriller by the Independent eBook Awards 2012. Today I have here in the studio a special guest from The Chosen. I would like to welcome to the show, Joseph de Alvarado. Welcome Mr. de Alvarado. Thank you for joining us. JOSEPH DE ALVERADO: It’s de Alverado, with an ‘e.’ JAY: Pardon me? Oh, sorry. Yes, I see here, it is an ‘e.’ My mistake. JOSEPH: Names matter. They have meanings. JAY: Okay. I believe you adopted this name from Silas Alverado, the man who brought you into this plane of existence. Is that right? JOSEPH: Yes. His name means, ‘Bringer of the Truth’. JAY: Interesting. Now, I know you are a very private person so I appreciate your agreeing to chat today. JOSEPH: You’re welcome. If by private you mean I don’t seek publicity, then you’re right. I rather think of myself as too busy for a lot of conversation. JAY: Too busy with your work, yes? Are you still the captain of the Purgatory? JOSEPH: Yes, among other things. JAY: You were an executive assistant to Silas Alverado. JOSEPH: I still am his Executive Officer. JAY: Didn’t that job end rather abruptly when he went missing? JOSEPH: No, in fact my responsibilities grew upon his departure. I am continuing his research work, and I am still searching for him. JAY: Do you mean you’re searching for a way to bring him back? JOSEPH: Yes. I am a reflection of the Opener of the Ways. If anyone can find a way, it should be me. JAY: You and I have chatted about this previously, but let me ask you a few questions about that for our listeners. As I understand it, you are an archangel of Ptah given physical form on Earth by Mr. Alverado. So how does that work? Magic doesn’t really function here on Earth, so how can you manifest your abilities as a supernatural being? JOSEPH: It’s not that magic doesn’t work here, it just needs to be converted. What you think of as magic breaks the laws of physics that are part of this plane, getting something for nothing, which you cannot do. To create the desired effect, you have to know how to use the laws of physics. JAY: So you had to learn quantum physics to perform your magic? JOSEPH: No, the synthesis comes naturally to me. I come from a plane where physical laws are much more malleable. I already know what the effect looks like. A human magician needs to learn the physical laws and then how to bend them to his will. My Master spent his life learning both the scientific and the arcane, because they have to be worked together to create change in this world. This is why most human magicians can’t accomplish any physical result. They have only learned the arcane techniques and not how to use them together with Physics. JAY: I imagine modern physicists would love to learn the secrets that, as you say, come naturally to you. JOSEPH: Well, that’s what My Master was attempting back in 2001. The Tablets of Aeth allow humans to understand the true nature of your physical laws, which allows humans to see how they can be molded to your will. They are literally the keys to your universe. Without these keys, I could not explain what I do to a human physicist in terms that would allow you to duplicate what I do. I don’t know how to show these secrets to you. No creature in history has been able to do so, except one. JAY: That would be the Demon Prince of Liars. JOSEPH: Correct. He alone had the audacity and the cunning to reduce these godly secrets to a form that humans can grasp. Of course, he only presented these images as part of his ruse to destroy Pharaoh. JAY: That was in the story of Exodus? JOSEPH: Yes. JAY: Were you there when that happened? JOSEPH: No. I was indisposed during that time. JAY: Were you in fact in prison? JOSEPH: Yes, I had been falsely convicted by my fellow angels of using names that can only be used by evil ones. JAY: You mean demons? JOSEPH: Yes. JAY: I believe Sanantha Mauwad and Charles Redmond thought you were a demon back in 2001. JOSEPH: They too were mistaken. JAY: Now Doctor Mauwad and Mr. Redmond believe in Voodoo, so how did you fit into their beliefs? JOSEPH: They worship my pantheon without realizing it. The gods of ancient Egypt were adopted by the peoples of West Africa and given new names when Egypt was conquered by the Romans. When those peoples were kidnapped and forced into slavery in the Americas, the Egyptian religion was blended with the Christian dogma of the slave masters to become Voodoo. The gods they worship are the gods of Egypt, just with different names. Doctor Mauwad identified that in her religion, I am a manifestation of Guede L’Orage. JAY: That’s very interesting how history and religion play hand in hand. I guess that means the Haitians were keeping your gods alive into the modern era. JOSEPH: Indeed. I found Haiti a very welcoming place. JAY: Let’s get back to your personal history. Some 3200 years ago you were unjustly cast out as a demon, then Mr. Alverado figured out you are in fact an angel, and set you free here on Earth. I guess you owe him a lot. JOSEPH: Nothing less than my eternal loyalty. JAY: Mr. Alverado was there, though, correct, during Exodus? JOSEPH: Yes, his earlier incarnation was given the position of High Priest