Lazarus Effect - Demo

Lazarus Effect

Demo

Walking through the Holy Land I came across a man who was bound hand and foot with funereal wrappings and whose face was covered in a cloth. He lay prone on the edge of the dirt road upon which I traveled. Considering myself to be a Good Samaritan, I approached closer to see if he needed any assistance. 

I uncovered his face and was greeted by a pair of watchful eyes set in a most handsome and rugged face. The traces of dirt which crisscrossed his countenance did nothing to diminish the unearthly beauty I beheld. His eyes moved to meet mine but his mouth remained still. 

I opened my mouth and a far-away voice, which surely couldn’t be mine said: “Hi, are you ok?”

“Yes,” he said curtly.

“Oh,” I blurted, not really knowing how to maintain this conversation. “Hey, do you need any help? Want me to unravel you, or something?”

“If it would make you feel more comfortable,” he said dismissively with a faint trace of a smile at the corners of his mouth.

Deciding it definitely would, I began to unravel the wrappings which bound him like some sort of sarcastic mummy. As I slowly unspooled his soiled linens, I uncovered a book which was pressed against his chest. It was a book by Frank Herbert titled Lazarus Effect. 

Once it was free from the wraps, I reached for the book to prevent it from falling. The man reached up with his one unbound hand and grabbed my arm in a vice-like grip. I could feel the burning desert heat emanating from his hold. 

“Don’t touch it!” he said. “It’s mine!”

“You wrote it?” I said and yanked my hand from his grasp. “Wait. Are you Frank Herbert?”

“No,” he said. “I am Lazarus. I have been resurrected.”

Now, I knew enough of the bible to know that this guy was not the Lazarus that Jesus brought back to life in John 11:43-44. So I looked at him with unbelieving eyes. He stared back at me defiantly.

“You do not believe me?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said and turned my back to walk away. I have had enough of this man’s games. Whatever strange thing he was into, I definitely wanted no part of it.

I heard him rise to his feet behind me and approach. I waited until I almost felt the fiery heat of his touch on my shoulder before I spun around. I wanted to catch him off guard and flip the dynamics of the situation on its head.

There was no one behind me. The only things I saw was the deserted road leading back to Bethany from Jerusalem and the still desert surrounding it. I dropped my gaze to the ground and saw something else. There was a pink and black cassette tape on the ground where the man once lay. There were three laughing on its cover.

I bent down to pick up the tape and that’s when I saw the name scribbled upon it: Lazarus Effect.

Once back in my hotel room in Jerusalem, I popped the cassette tape into my Sony Walkman and prepared a cup of Dead Sea Tea. What I heard was very exciting. It was energetic and dark music which sounded like a cross between Ministry and Bauhaus, but with a fresh and original twist to the despair. The lyrics were very hard-hitting and visual.

I was impressed with the sound and looked inside the tape for some sort of liner notes. What I found was a track listing which informed me of the names of the four songs. They were Moving In The Vertical, From All You Want To All You Have, Caught In A Drag and Rage. There was also a name and address written at the end of the track list. It read: Syncartz P.O. Box 789, Fairview, NJ 07022.

New Jersey? I thought. What the hell was this tape from a band in New Jersey doing in Israel?

The liner notes informed me of one last thing. It read Lazarus Effect is Nelson Pla. The accompanying picture showed my disappearing Lazarus with the piercing eyes. I got a sudden chill up my spine and rewound the tape to listen to it again.

I walked across my hotel room to the large picture window overlooking the city. I held the warm cup of tea in my hands and looked out across the Holy Land as the mesmerizingly mysterious music of Lazarus Effect played on.