When we left the car, our enemies were still in a distance. Professor suggested not to waste the precious time and try to buy us some time by changing our route slightly. We were running in the direction of a beautiful temple. Professor said it was Po Lin Monastery.
Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist monastery. It was founded in 1906 by three monks visiting from Jiangsu Province on the Chinese mainland and was initially known simply as “The Big Hut” (Tai Mao Pung). It was renamed to its present name in 1924. The main temple houses three bronze statues of the Buddha – representing his past, present, and future lives – as well as many Buddhist scriptures. The monastery boasts many prominent architectural structures, such as the Main Shrine Hall of Buddha, the Hall of Bodhisattva Skanda.
I was happy to see that the temple was crowded. Our chances to escape multiplied. When we entered the temple some of the monks looked at us as if they knew us and were ready, we would come. They said something in Chinese and Professor smiled at them with gratitude and respect. He said that these monks were here to protect the hidden path from the strangers and enemies of the dragon and help the friends and the true successors of the power of light. I did not get half of what Professor Silicon was saying but was happy to know that we were not alone.
As we were leaving the temple through the secret passage, we could hear that our enemies have approached the temple. Lextor asked me to calm down and stop worrying, those monks knew what to do as they have been protecting Lantau for centuries.
Despite it was morning, the sun was burning the ground. It was extremely hot and humid as if we were in a boiling pot. Shortly we were facing the stairway leading to the Tian Tan Buddha. It was a long vertical stairway with what looked like thousands of steps. Without delay we started to run upstairs jumping three or four steps at a time. Once again, I was surprised to see how Professor Silicon managed to keep up with me. At such times you would never tell he was much older than me, he was happy and as bright as the sun. Many could envy his energy for sure.
In less than five minutes we reached the top. The Tian Tan Buddha seemed huge when we saw him from the distance. Now we could see how truly tremendous and amazing he was. And the view from above was breathtaking. You could see dozens of small islands around Lantau. Everything seemed so tiny and distant from here. Professor said that this place was special even before the monument was built. For centuries it was preserved and guarded.
The Big Buddha was constructed beginning in 1990, and was finished on 29 December 1993, which the Chinese reckon as the day of the Buddha’s enlightenment. When the statue was completed, monks from around the world were invited to the opening ceremony. Distinguished visitors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United States all took part in the proceedings.
The statue’s base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. One of the five large Buddha statues in China, it is enthroned on a lotus on top of a three-platform altar. Surrounding it are six smaller bronze statues known as “The Offering of the Six Devas” that are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These symbolize the Six Perfections of generosity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary for enlightenment.
The statue is 34 meters tall and was constructed from 202 bronze pieces. In addition to the exterior components, there is a strong steel framework inside to support the heavy load. The Buddha’s right hand is raised, representing the removal of affliction, while the left rests open on his lap in a gesture of generosity.
There are also three floors beneath the statue: the halls of the Universe, of Benevolent Merit and of Remembrance. One of the most renowned features inside is a relic of Gautama Buddha, consisting of some of his alleged cremated remains. There is a huge carved bell inscribed with images of Buddhas in the show room.
Together with Professor we started to search for any clue or sign that could help us to find the hidden path. We walked around Buddha several times, studied every detail of him, but found nothing. Professor Silicon was mumbling that we need to hurry while we are still alone here. But soon our friends from the temple won’t be able to resist thousands of tourists coming from Hong Kong.
Twenty more minutes passed but nothing changed. We had no idea what to do. And when we started to think that we might be doing something wrong I noticed that something was glittering on the right side of Buddha when I was passing it. I saw it several times before but thought it was sunshine reflection. But now when we looked closer, we saw a small shining silhouette of a dragon, just like the one I received from Li.
I took out the dragon and pressed it inside Buddha. It was absorbed in a second, and there was no sign of the silhouette anymore, and the Buddha started to tremble. When it stopped, we could see that there was another stairway behind that did not exist a minute ago. We found the path. We finally found it.
The path led to the hidden part of the island. The minute we took it, we could see no Buddha behind, only tropic forest around and our tiny path ahead. It was very calm here, and we could feel the energy of this place. All trouble and worries were left behind, it was like we were just born. With every step we made I felt more power, and I felt I was here before, or maybe I dreamed about this place before. But I was sure it was familiar.
Very soon we reached what we were looking for. The Temple of Silicon Dragon. I thought it would be as tremendous as the Tian Tan Buddha, but it turned out to be a very old wooden temple standing on a shore of a lake. There was a small dragon on top of it, same with the one I used to unveil the path, only bigger. There was no one around. And there was nothing inside.
Professor asked me to enter alone. There was nothing there. It was an empty room with many drawings and hieroglyphs on the walls. It seemed they were telling some legend, or a true story, something that happened long time ago, or something that is yet to come. The story of a man who controlled the light and a man who came from darkness. The story of Amperman and his evil enemy.
The book everyone was looking for never existed. The temple of Silicon Dragon was this book. Only the one destined to enter could see it and read. The temple was telling the story. The temple was a source of thousands of years of knowledge, the wisdom of generations, a timeline of the events past, present, and future. It was the source of power.
I was standing inside the temple feeling that everything around me is moving very fast, images, letters, words, sounds, voices, light, energy. I felt I was levitating. I felt light coming through me. It was so familiar. It was similar to the feeling I had during the explosion in the lab. And now I remembered everything. And now I knew who I am. I am Amperman.