He looked at Tom’s disappointed face. “Well that was somewhat anticlimactic.”
“Yeah. I mean, any civilization that went to such lengths to protect something in here must have at one stage stored something pretty special. Heck, if the Antiqui Nautae stored an entire horde of gold in their hull, you’d think this would be teeming with rare stones, at least.”
Sam ran his hand along the smooth pitch black wall. He was surprised to find that, despite its glassy appearance, the entire place was covered in tiny raised dots. They looked black just like the rest of the obsidian room. “Hey, turn your light off for a second. I think I might have found something.”
“Gold?”
“No. Possibly something better.”
They both switched their flashlights off. Sam closed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When he opened them again, the entire room was lit up with tiny blue stars.
“What is this place?” Tom said without concealing his awe.
Sam grinned. “I couldn’t tell you for certain. But if I had to guess, I’d say these are the main constellations of stars, as seen from all over the world. A perfect mathematical depiction of the stars as you move around each longitude and latitude. Each star was probably made by inserting fluorite or some other florescent mineral.”
“Which means the Antiqui Nautae had travelled the entire world hundreds of years ago.”
“That’s why they went to such lengths to conceal this place. It was sacred to them, because it was their map of the world.”
“We still don’t know where they came from?” Tom pointed out.
“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the last we see of the Antiqui Nautae. Any civilization that far advanced in the 17th century couldn’t have been killed off by the European colonies without a trace. They’re out there somewhere.”
Sam then removed the golden eagle from inside his carry bag.
“What did you carry that heavy thing all the way into here for?” Tom asked.
“A hunch,” Sam replied.
He then examined the marking on the eagle, which represented the constellation of the Southern Cross. Matching it up with the constellation depicted on the wall, he placed it hard against the wall, so the glowing blue stones on the wall shined through the holes in the eagle.
Nothing happened immediately — then the golden bird pulled solid against the wall, as though a secret magnet had been activated. Sam tried to pull it off, but it was locked hard. The glowing blue then increased as it radiated through the holes and then out the open mouth of the eagle, and then glowed on a single rectangular stone in the floor.
“I’d say that just pointed directly towards something,” Sam said.
He and Tom took a few steps and stood on the stone.
Still nothing happened.
Then the ground below their feet moved. A series of steps formed below. They both had to crouch down to follow the secret passage.
Sam’s heart raced in anticipation.
The ancient staircase descended fifteen feet, and then leveled out into a short rectangular chamber. They followed it until it reached a dead end.
There, a single stone table held something more valuable than any of Sam’s prized possessions. The remains of long since used candle wax stood next to a book.
Sam carefully opened the book.
One glance at the ancient writings and he knew what he was looking at. “This is the ancient journal of the Master Builders.”
It’s a recording dating back so far that I don’t even understand the system of calendar being used. It was written in the language of the ancient Master Builders. Sam started to decipher some of the words. It would take weeks to make sense of it all, and he wished he could contact Dr. Billie Swan, the archeologist who had helped him prove the existence of the unique race who built a number of extraordinary wonders of the world, over the millennia.
The last time Sam had seen her, they had discovered Atlantis. After that, she’d disappeared following a lead about the existence of a fabled City in the Clouds in which the Master Builders once lived, like gods who watched over mere mortals.
“Make any sense of it?” Tom asked.
Sam nodded his head. “Some words and numbers — looks like a journal of events. It will take time to understand all of it, and it would be easier if I could track down Billie.”
Tom’s eyes drifted over the incomprehensible writings, his face pensive. Tom and Billie had been close, and Sam knew he would have liked their relationship to progress, but finding the home of the Master Builders was an obsession for Billie more important than love. She would sacrifice everything else in her life to get closer to finding the truth. “Still no word from her?”
“Not since we lost Atlantis.”
“She would be thrilled if she knew this existed,” Tom said.
Sam nodded his head in agreement. Then he gently opened the next page of the ancient book. The writings only covered two thirds of the page. Like the entry to a journal, it appeared the author stopped and hadn’t yet returned to make another entry.
He then swore.
“What?” Tom asked.
“These are definitely journal entries, dating a long way back. So far back, I don’t even know what type of calendar system was being used for the older entries. But this page is using our current system measured in months and years A.D.” He then pointed to the final entry. “And this one here — shows the emergence of Atlantis just three months ago!”
Tom looked at him. “That means at least one of the Master Builders is still alive!”
Sam grinned. “And he or she was here only a few months ago.”
After taking a detailed recording of each page of the ancient book, they decided to leave it there in the hope that they might still find the last author when he or she returns to make a new entry. They then returned to the Maria Helena. Sam and Tom had barely climbed out of the moon pool and entered the dive room before Matthew and Elise approached them, looking concerned.
“We’ve had a call for assistance in Antarctica,” Matthew said. “The Pegasus Station, a research lab, has declared an emergency. Apparently we’re the closest vessel capable of making the rescue.”
Sam unclasped his BCD and lowered his dive tank into its holder. “What’s the problem?”
“Their vessel was crushed against the ice shelf by the movement of a floating island of ice. They’ve managed to return to the station by foot, but they’re not equipped to last the approaching winter.”
Elise brought up the satellite images of the area. “Have a look at this. The first image was taken a few days ago, now look at this one.”
Sam studied the image. Without recognizing the exact location, he could see that the landmass in the bay had nearly doubled in size.
“That photo was taken today.”
Sam shrugged his shoulders. “So, we’ve had another break away from the continental ice shelf?”
“That would make sense, but there’s no place missing such a massive landmass of ice.”
“Have you looked everywhere? I mean, that’s a lot of ice — it’s going to stand out on satellite imaging somewhere that there’s a new coastline.”
“That’s just it.” Elise showed him the satellite image of the surrounding coastlines. “It appears the island just arrived from nowhere.”
Sam studied the two images intently. “And you’re certain that this hasn’t broken off any known ice formation?"
“Certain.”
Sam shook his head. He would have gone to save life, but the deal just got sweeter with such a puzzle.
“Then I guess we’d better pack warmly. It’s going to be cold in Antarctica.”