Did you know that Pythagoras started a cult? Because Malak did not know that Pythagoras started a cult. It's the sort of thing you would expect to be mentioned in a Mediterranean secret socieites lecture, maybe neatly sandwiched between the Eleusinian and Orphean mysteries. But Malak - and her classmates, she did check that she hadn't just missed it somehow - can recall no such lecture, so the first she's hearing about it is in her midterm prompt. "Compare and contrast the mystical and political foci of classical secret societies (Greek and Roman mystery cults, the Cryptea, and the Pythagoreans) with those of medieval secret societies. (Such as the knights templar, Hermetic societies, and the Hashshāshīn) What conclusions can you draw about the effectiveness and longevity of groups with these foci?"
Alexios isn't any help - "He was an ancient Greek philosopher who invented triangles, but that's all I know" - and the library's not much better. Bits and pieces here, bits and pieces there, but never a whole text or even a whole chapter on the subject. It keeps her busy enough Saturday morning that she almost forgets that she's invited to lunch with Boston. She's probably going to be at this problem all weekend, so she checks out a dozen of her more promising leads before heading down to the cafeteria.
