Prophecy 5

Translation

chupacabra mapinguari kikiyaon drang yaquaru selkie rondor denebian slime devil mokele mbembe popo bawa gazanga diprotodon snagriff species alh shaihulud it is time storms not over last sons quest truth and madness ears are everywhere time to leave future vice president naman no man black zero lives lsd ord mkultra leave nothing unturned the big apricot reelect raoul bloodworth become the truck you must return i will choose intruders pay heed papers hold answers come to me break on through you will obey lonely battle maiden belay fleeting fame banish bitter fortune healing the rift you cannot escape

Key

Hidden Message

None.

Interpretation

chupacabra mapinguari kikiyaon drang yaquaru selkie rondor denebian slime devil mokele mbembe popo bawa gazanga diprotodon snagriff species alh shaihulud

These are all mythical creatures and other elements of various folk legends.

chupacabra	"The goat sucker" in Spanish; sucks all the blood from Puerto Rican goats. There have been more than 2,000 reported cases of animal mutilations in Puerto Rico in the last few years attributed to the chupacabra. Puerto Rican authorities maintain these deaths are due to attacks from groups of stray dogs or other exotic animals, such as the panther, illegally introduced in the island's territory. Some witnesses have seen what they describe as a small half-alien, half-dinosaur tail-less vampire with quills running down its back. Others report a panther-like creature with a long snake-like tongue. Others have seen a hopping animal that leaves a trail of sulfuric stench. Some think it may be a currently unknown dinosaur. Some are convinced that the wounds on animals whose deaths have been attributed to the chupacabra indicate an alien presence. However, they do not attribute the "mutilations" to the aliens themselves, but to one of their pets or experiments gone awry. Such creatures are known as Anomalous Biological Entities [ABEs] in UFO circles.
mapinguari	The Bigfoot of the Amazon. This is large nocturnal animal with a frightful screaming cry. Locals describe the Mapinguari as being about two meters in height when standing on its hind legs. It is covered in red hair and emits a foul odor. Its feet are turned backwards, and its claws are capable of ripping apart the palm trees upon which it feeds.
kikiyaon	A sharp-clawed flying monster that appears to combine human and avian traits. It is described as resembling a large owl, with a huge beak and raking talons on its arms and feet. The Bambara people say it has a huge pair of feathered wings that grow from its back, and the shoulder joints are tipped with sharp spurs-- a deadly weapon if its talons fail. The most terrifying feature is the presence of razor sharp talons, much like those of a large owl, at the end of well-muscled legs. Kikiyaon is said to be covered in short greenish-gray hair and may have a short, tufted tail. The most commonly heard call is a deep throated grunting that carries for miles across the savannahs, and another cry begins as strangled cry uttered from deep in the throat that becomes a screaming moan that drifts in the night air. This sound has been likened to that of a man being strangled slowly.
drang	Something that invades or gets into someone's body; German origins. This sounds like the parasite from "Rush."
yaquaru	The Guarani Indians of Argentina believe in yaquaru, a monstrous feline-type creature with wooly yellow fur, a long tapering tail, tusk-like fangs, and powerful claws.
selkie	The seal people. Female Selkies supposedly can shed their skins and come ashore as beautiful women. When a man finds a skin, he can force its Selkie to be a good, but somewhat sad, wife. If she recovers the skin, she will return to sea and abandon her husband. Male Selkies cause storms and sink ships to avenge the hunting of seals.
rondor	An exceedingly rare creature whose single large horn emitted strange radiations that could cure any deadly illness. This is a creature from pre-Crisis Superman comics, just like the Snagriff. A "rondor effect" may have been used to heal the horse in "Visitor," Martha in "Fever," etc. The Season 5 spoilers on KryptonSite point to the introduction of a villian who once tried to gain immortality by giving himself poewrs of a rondor...
denebian slime devil	A four-legged aquatic animal that can change colors depending on its environment and mood; its eyes turn red when it feels trapped. One of these creatures was mentioned in the original Star Trek series. This would be the second ST alien to appear in these prophecies.
mokele mbembe	A supposedly living dinosaur in the Congo, Cameron, and Gabon. It is described as a sauropod, or brachiosaurus-type dinosaur, that has huge, clawed footprints (about 7 feet apart in some areas). This creature is rumored to be about 30 feet long. It is rumored to have a frill or crest around its head and reportedly roars like an oncoming earthquake.
popo bawa	The sex-crazed ghost of Africa (no, I'm not making this up). It is said to prey on and molest Tanzanians, mostly men, who sleep in their own beds. It leaves an acidic smell behind, and if its victim doesn’t reveal what happened the next day, the ghost will return that night. A similar ghost was said to have terrorized children.
gazanga	No one has been able to come up with anything about this term.
diprotodon	An extinct animal from Australia; resembled a hornless, hairy rhinoceros.
snagriff species	A winged, dinosaur-like creature from Krypton.
alh	ALH 84001 is the meteorite from Mars that caused speculation about life existing or having once existed on Mars.
shalhulud	Visitor Leo points out this is the freman name for the sandworms of the Dune series.

it is time

A statement from Jor-El to Clark, demanding his compliance, heard in "Calling" and "Exodus."

storms not over

last sons quest

Clark is the Last Son of Krypton. The quest is probably the quest to discover his heritage and destiny... And the quest to locate and acquire the three Crystals.

truth and madness

Lex's pursuit of the truth eventually led to his chemically-induced madness in "Shattered" and "Asylum." This is also part of a line Lex said in "Calling."

ears are everywhere

A reference to Lex's bugged mansion.

time to leave

Jor-El's command for Clark to leave Smallville and accept his destiny.

future vice president

According to Superman lore, Pete Ross will one day be Lex's Vice President. In "Forsaken," when Lex saved Pete's life, he made a comment that Pete will return the favor someday.

naman no man

Naman is Clark, not Jeremiah Holdsclaw ("Talisman").

black zero lives

According to the Superman mythos, Black Zero is the only Superboy clone who lived to maturity...

lsd ord mkultra

The CIA conducted mind-control experiments with LSD in the 1950s. MKULTRA was the project name, and ORD was the Office of Research and Development.

leave nothing unturned

Possibly refers to when the "FBI" stormed the Kent Farm in Season 3.

the big apricot

The City of Metropolis' nickname.

reelect raoul bloodworth

Raoul Bloodworth is an X-Files character. This is the alias of CGB Spender, played by the same actor who played Mayor Tate ("Relic"). Raoul Bloodworth was the penname of "the Smoking Man," the character behind all the bad stuff in The X-Files.

become the truck

Instructions given to Whitney in "Kinetic" to teach him how to move through objects.

you must return

Jonathan said this to Clark in an attempt to make him return to Smallville.

i will choose

Possibly Clark saying he'll choose his own destiny.

intruders pay heed

A warning to intruders who defile the Kawatche caves. Look what happened in "Rush," after all...

papers hold answers

Another reference to the Hamilton papers.

come to me

Jor-El said this to Clark in "Covenant" when trying to get him to come through the fissure in the cave walls to be reborn.

break on through

Clark broke through the ground on his motocross bike, discovering the caves.

you will obey

Season 2 ended with Clark driving off to Metropolis and Jor-El saying, "You will obey me..." Foreshadows Clark's eventual kidnapping by Jor-El in Season 3.

lonely battle maiden

The name Heloise means "battle maiden." And, interestingly, "Heloise" is a form of the name Lois. See Prophecy 18.

belay fleeting fame
banish bitter fortune

These are words starting with b's and f's. bffbbf is one password to the LuthorCorp website. Also, Prophecy 6 is filled with b's and f's that needed to be decoded to be meaningful.

healing the rift

This is a reference to Clark reading Dr. Justin Bishop's Families in Crisis: Healing the Rift ("Insurgence"). Clark wants to resolve the conflict his parents are experiencing due to Martha's employment by Lionel Luthor. It is also important to note other characters have referred to rifts between them. In "Prodigal," Lionel asked Lex, "All right, Lex. How are we going to repair this... rift between us? Hmm?" In "Calling," Chloe said to Clark, "I just feel like there’s this huge rift between us and no matter how hard I try, I can’t get back to you." Also, in "Insurgence," one of the women Lex hired to bug his father's office was named Bishop... And she ended up attempting to break into the vaults.

you cannot escape

Yet another reminder that Clark, and Lex, for that matter, can't escape destiny.

By its awesome power
Is clarity bestowed
But fear colors the future

This may refer to either the ship turning Lana's Kryptonite necklace clear in "Visage" or the caves and the key enlightening Clark. Another possibility is that this refers to the scroll that "enlightened" (and tattooed) Lana in the Parisian church ("Crusade").

You were all I wanted
All my dreams
Have fallen down

These are lines from Remy Zero's "Save Me," the theme song of Smallville. They performed this song live at the Spring Formal in "Tempest." Sadly, the group broke up.

A prince wishing to keep his state
Is very often forced
To do evil

This is a quote from Machiavelli's The Prince. As previously noted, Lex is the prince. But what evil is this passage foreshadowing?

By the creekside
Elucidation was granted to me
Torment was imposed on me

This refers to Ezra Small, who was both enlightened and tormented by his prophetic visions.

The sky forebodes to us
Through clear signs and fixed stars
That the time of its sudden change is approaching

Three lines of a Nostrodamus prophecy (Century III, Quatrain 46). The missing fourth line is Neither for its good, nor for its evils. A sure reference to impending Armageddon.

Beneath its protective skin
Within its nurturing womb
Lies one possible fate

In silver and black
He lives a dream
The last for his father--and for him

With Lex's help, Whitney played for the Metropolis Sharks (the team's uniforms are silver and black) one day to fulfill a dream he shared with his father.

Just a brief passage
He will observe it
But he will not comprehend it

Lex observed the writing on Dr. Walden's cell in "Calling," but he wasn't able to discern its meaning: "The day is coming."

Disorder will come from order
Fear will come from courage
Weakness will come from strength

Simple bands of platinum
How strong must they be
To bind two wary hearts

The wedding bands of Lex and Helen.

You don't look
Because you don't want to see
All will be revealed

Lionel said this (or something similar) to Chloe in "Exodus." He told her that love blinds us from the truth; strip it away, and you see someone for who he or she really is.

The illustrated men
Move through thin air
And thick walls

The kryptonite-enhanced thugs from "Kinetic" were tattooed (illustrated) and perpetrated their crimes by passing through walls, like walls of bank vaults.

When the crow on the tower made of brick
For seven hours continues to scream
Death foretold, the statue stained with blood

This passage is three lines of Nostradamus' Century IV, Quatrain 55. The last line is Tyrant murdered, people praying to their gods.

As the lights lower
The magic begins
The world outside disappears

Refers to either the magic of the Spring Formal or to something Lana said about the Talon when a movie begins.

My land will soon be watered
With the blood of my brothers
Ad astra per aspera

Ad astra per aspera means "to the stars through difficulties."

It soars and gleams
Steel and glass monument
To greed and excess

The Luthorcorp building in Metropolis: the perfect symbol of corporate vice.

A princess will cross the pond
And buck some roads
To romance and commerce

Originally, I was sure this passage referred to Victoria Hardwick, the rich girl from England who attempted to seduce Lex to con him out of money and LuthorCorp. Lex even said "And you’ve crossed the pond..." to Victoria in "Rogue." However, many of the Prophecies have double meanings, so I think this could also refer to Smallville's hometown princess, Lana Lang. Lana applied to the Paris School of the Arts at the end of Season 3; by doing so, she crosses the pond (the Atlantic, same as in the Victoria theory) and bucks romance (any hope of reconciliation with Clark) and commerce (she gave up the Talon).

Between subtle shading
And the absence of light
Lies the nuance of illusion

This is part of the encrypted message on the sculpture Kryptos at the CIA Headquarters. To date, all of the passage has been deciphered... Except for its last 97 characters, which remain unsolved.

In three decades will appear
A thief in the temple, a silent temptress
Base instincts will lead to chaos

A reference to the Nicodemus flower in Season 1's "Nicodemus." Lex obtains a book called The Nicodemus Diary and reads the following excerpt: "On God’s green earth, this flower was the thief in the temple, the silent temptress that, with a single sneeze, brought out the basest instincts in men and drove them to violence."

You're never more alive
Than the moment
Before you die

Pete said these words to Clark in "Rush" after he was infected with the cave parasite.

My descendent will fight for justice
Fail in marriage but succeed in family
Change a young future

Ezra speaks of Henry Small, his descendent. Henry Small is Lana's true father, and her discovery of this changed her life.

In the year of the exodus
A great shock will sweep the heartland
The chasm will be uncrossable

In "Exodus," Clark destroyed the ship by inserting an octagonal key made of kryptonite into its "ignition." When the ship exploded, it sent a shockwave across Smallville, killing Martha's unborn baby and driving Clark out of Smallville. This was the finale of Season Two, and episode one of Season Three was "Exile."

Death shall come on swift wings
To him who disturbs
The peace of the king

This is engraved on the outside of King Tut's tomb. If this relates to Smallville, it's fair to assume Lionel is the king; crossing Lionel will get one killed. Interestingly, though, Lex is explored Egypt in search of artifacts in Season Four's premiere, "Crusade."

Oh mortal man
Is there anything
You cannot be made to believe?

This is a quote by Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Illuminati, a secret society supposedly seeking world domination. Cult references about in the Prophecies (Raelians, for example), as do conspiracy references.

Bolts will pierce them both
And both will be illuminated
But only one will emerge enlightened

Both Dr. Walden and Clark inserted the octagonal disc into the cave wall. Both were pierced by bolts from the wall, but only Clark was able to receive the kryptonian knowledge safely.

From Bakerline to Queensland Park
Hell's Gate to Park Ridge
His name will be known

According to Superman lore, Bakerline, Queensland Park, etc. are areas of Metropolis.