Chapter Forty-Four
Siberia occupies about 5.2 million square miles, corresponding roughly to 9 percent of Earth's dry land mass. It is bounded by the Ural Mountains in the west and by the Pacific Ocean in the east. To the south lies central Asia, Mongolia, and China, and to the north, the Arctic Ocean.
Lake Cheko is a small freshwater lake in Siberia, near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, thought by many to have been formed by a meteor that caused the otherwise unexplained Tunguska event — but all attempts to examine the lake have failed to prove it had any connection to a meteor that fell in 1908.
Somewhere in the middle of this giant landmass of snow and ice, a Russian-built, gigantic all-terrain vehicle known as a "Kharkovchanka," and built to conquer the Arctic and the Antarctic Circle, rolled toward a new history. Its truly gargantuan scale did not prevent it from moving at 30 miles an hour, and climbing 40 degree inclines.
“Where the hell did you get this monster from?” Tom asked.
Sam considered how much he should say. Then, trying to keep it to the simple facts, said, “Genevieve once knew a guy in Russia. Let’s just say their love parted, and he stayed there, while she joined our crew on board the Maria Helena. He owed her a favor, and she owes me several — so now we’re even.”
The massive snow machine drove onwards, while Sam tried to guide it toward the little dot on his GPS that represented Lake Cheko. Its massive tank tracks continued to turn effortlessly through the complete whiteout known as Siberia’s winter landscape of snow tundra. It turned to the right, skipping the deepest section of a snow-buried river. Slowly, its tracks turned as they dropped toward the river’s stony bed, and then up the 30-degree incline on the other side.
On the other side, Sam drove the snow machine through another series of ragged and struggling pine trees until he reached the crest of another hill. Through the opening of their heated windscreen a world made entirely of white came into view. Sam looked slightly perplexed. He tentatively scanned the GPS. They were close. And then he gently moved the throttle for the right tank tracks into forward.
The massive snow machine turned on its axis to the left, presenting him with another hill to climb. He put the engine into low gear and crept upwards at a 40-degree incline — nearing the maximum capabilities of the machine. As Sam reached the top of the hill, his view of the sky ahead was replaced by his first vision of Lake Cheko. It was a small bowl-shaped lake, roughly 2500 feet long and 11,000 feet wide. As with the rest of the landscape, its surface was frozen solid. It would have been easy to drive across it, missing it entirely, although the Kharkovchanka’s 38 tons would have most likely prevented them surviving the crossing. A dilapidated wire fence barred their way. Its purpose left no doubt with a sign that read, Stay Out — Or You will be Shot on Sight.
“The fence doesn’t appear well maintained given the importance of this site.”
“Perhaps it’s no longer valuable?”
“And perhaps this is all a lie?”
“I’m sure it is. But whose lie?”
Sam left the question alone and continued to drive toward the lake’s outer edge. Mindful that his Kharkovchanka would crash through the ice, he left himself ample distance as he parked.
“It doesn’t look very big,” Tom pointed out.
“No, I’d say it would be pretty hard to hide anything substantial inside that for a number of years.”
“Like Atlantis?”
“Yeah, that seems impossible to me.”
“So then, what are we doing here, Sam?”
Sam scanned the lake again and then with a confidence he didn’t quite feel said, “Oh, something’s here all right. Billie told us to come here for a reason. If Atlantis isn’t hiding here, I bet you my dad’s Gulfstream, there’s a clue to Atlantis that Billie wants us to find.”
“And the Russians haven’t already found it?”
“No. Whatever it is, the Russians most certainly know about it.”
“So, why not come out with it and tell the world?”
“I have no idea. But there’s only one way to find out.”
Chapter Forty-Five
Covered in Arctic Survival Suits, Sam and Tom stepped out their Kharkovchanka and climbed down the ladder on its side. Sam’s boots sunk into the heavy snow. He then slowly made his way to the back of the massive all-terrain vehicle.
“Hey, the tourist information brochure says Lake Cheko is no more than fifty feet deep,” Tom said.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “Really, is that what the guide book says? I guess we didn’t have to haul these heavy ass diving suits here, after all.”
Tom laughed as he unlatched the back cover and opened the roller door to the Kharkovchanka, revealing two enormous atmospheric diving suits, which more closely resembled space suits out of a 1960s science fiction movie.
The atmospheric diving suit, or ADS, is a one-person articulated submersible of anthropomorphic form which resembles a suit of armor, with elaborate pressure joints to allow freedom of movement while maintaining an internal pressure of one atmosphere. The ADS can be used for very deep dives of up to 2,300 feet for many hours, and eliminates the majority of physiological dangers associated with deep diving; the occupant need not decompress, there is no need for special gas mixtures, and there is no danger of decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis.
The two ADS 2030 units sitting on the back of the snow machine were prototype diving suits, based on the ADS 2000, which the U.S. Navy built for submarine rescue. The ADS 2030 provided increased depth capability. Manufactured from forged T6061 aluminum alloy, they used an advanced articulating joint design based on the Newtsuit joints, and were capable of operating in up to 3,000 feet of seawater for a normal mission of up to 48 hours.
It had a self-contained, automatic life support system. It even provided the occupant with food, water and the ability to excrete bodily waste through a system comparable to that used by astronauts. Additionally, the integrated quad thruster system allowed the pilot to navigate easily underwater, while the hydraulic powered limbs allowed equal maneuverability and strength while out of the water.
Sam and Tom removed the two machines from the back of the snow machine and put together a winching system to run their safety lines, so that each of them could be returned to the surface. The device looked like a giant tripod with a large free-turning pulley attached its point with a large bolt, which allowed a safety line to be connected to the snow machine. The two men quickly put the system together and then attached themselves to a safety line, which in turn was attached to the automatic winch at the front of the snow machine. They then walked along the hardened ice surface of the lake. The three sharp bases of the tripod slid along the ice like skates.
Sam held out a GPS in his hand and watched as it picked up more than six satellites, providing it with the maximum accuracy. Satisfied that he was directly over the coordinates that Billie had left them Sam began to screw a round hook into the ice. “Okay, this is the spot.”
Tom stepped forward and attached the second tether to the hook. Waiting for the automatic winch to take up some tension with the ice, he started his power saw. “Here goes.”
In a slow and definitive motion Tom cut four lines in the foot-thick ice. Despite his cutting through it, the ice remained solid.
Sam looked at him. “You ready for me to start the winch?”
“Go for it.”
Sam switched the remote control and the tether began to slowly furl. A moment later the ice pulled free, leaving an opening into the dark blue water eight feet by eight feet. The large square block stood on the water’s edge and together, the two men were able to push it to the side, allowing a clear run for any cable from the opening.