I am eternally grateful to all those who have helped and guided me throughout my life, in particular, my parents to whose memory this book is dedicated, and all who have helped in the completion of this, my most adventurous and satisfying project to date. Especially, I would like to thank:

- my children for being; Xana Burckhardt for her continuing support under adverse conditions; Clement Bedeau for caring and showing it; Renada Gabriel for contributing so generously her invaluable editorial skills;

- my preview 'guinea pig' readers (friends, colleagues and associates), whose honest, objective, devastating, challenging, constructive and caring criticism of the drafts (some reading chapter by chapter for several months), have helped make this novel what it is (though none of them should be blamed for that or any of the content, for which I take full responsibility), Adong Apira, Alistaire Abrahams, Ayo Badejo, Bankole Agbaje, Carole Pyke, Chris Eames-Jones, Clement, Delita Whitfield, Desmond Johnson, Jimmy Chambers,  Judith Jacob, Lester Lewis, Osakwe Osifo, Renada, Rose Foster, Sheila Ndow, Vanessa Summers, Xana;

- for their patient assistance in translation: Alistaire, Sol Amarfio.

If I failed to mention anyone, please forgive me, I hope to be able to show my appreciation in some other satisfying way.

Also, I would like to thank everyone who wanted to help but for whatever reasons, found it impossible to do so.

The Maãt Mystery is a journey of discovery through the human mindscape, plumbing the depths of individual and collective depravity, degradation and self-destruction and scaling the heights of supreme enlightenment.

This is a pilgrimage through time and space, spanning three continents. Our quest begins in Europe, with Carol and Hans. In North America we meet the mysterious Aiysha, Fundisi the Teacher and Shango. In Africa, we experience the marvellous, ancient wisdom of Nenen Haiti and learn to see the modern world with different eyes.

This word vision is also a sexpense thriller with real people such as George, the unfortunate victim and Gertrude, the "rude gal", dealing with life's ordinary issues in extraordinary ways. Laugh and cry, live and die with these key characters as they interact with each other, continuing their personal quests for fulfilment, seeking, among other things: acceptance, identity, knowledge, love, material acquisitions, power, more power, sexual satisfaction and vengeance.

Experience the joys and dramas of human transformation as members of a proud, peaceful, loving people, once Gods, attempt to rewrite their destiny (as prescribed by others), dragging themselves out of a pit of subhuman subsistence and stepping boldly onto the path of right living towards eternal life.

If some characters, concepts and/or events appear familiar to you, it is because of your own experience of them. If, on the other hand, they appear new, strange or alien, it may be due to my own inability to overcome intellectual, legal, moral, practical and social constraints and present a clear enough picture and/or it may be due to our current level of collective consciousness.

The Maãt Mystery is written in the spirit of Maãt and presented to you in the name of our great Ancestors, Modin Kane. Thank you for listening. Oyi wala don.