The Atlantis Stone (22 page)

CHAPTER 55

In Virginia, Elizabeth eyed Nick and the others. The long flight from Egypt had left them looking like something Burps had dragged in from outside.

"You're certain nothing is left?"

"Not a chance," Nick said. "I've never seen anything burn as fast or as hot as that. Karimi said the heat brought down the roof. Everything is buried under tons of stone."

"Do we have any other leads we can follow? Selena?"

"There's nothing, Elizabeth. There might have been a clue in the undersea ruins but they're gone too. I had the stone in my hands but now it's gone. Whatever the secret was, it's lost."

"The French succeeded in translating the writing on the museum tablet. They're calling it a hoax."

"That doesn't surprise me," Selena said. "Anytime something new shows up challenging accepted dogma, people attack it. The French and everyone else will always resist any idea of an earlier civilization."

"General Karimi knows what happened," Nick said.

Elizabeth said, "He blamed the damage to the pyramid and the Sphinx on ISIS. The government is throwing money at him to protect what he calls 'Egypt's sacred history.' It's not to his advantage to say anything."

"No one would believe him anyway."

"There's been some interesting fallout in Russia," Elizabeth said. "Rostov's boss has been arrested. He's being accused of crimes against the state, whatever that means."

"It means Orlov blames him for what happened."

"That's my reading," Elizabeth said.

"Who's going to replace him?"

"No one knows. There are rumors Orlov may reconstitute the KGB and bring foreign and domestic security back under one roof. If he does, General Vysotsky could be the new director."

"Nothing ever changes, does it?" Lamont said.

"The Russians are consistent, if nothing else. In a way, it makes it easier to know what we're up against. Orlov is a throwback to the days of the Soviet Union. People don't want to admit it, but we're in a new Cold War."

"As long as it doesn't get hot," Ronnie said.

"It might get hot around here," Elizabeth said. "I've been subpoenaed."

"What? Why?" Nick asked.

"Congress is after DCI Hood. It's political. They're doing everything they can to discredit President Rice and his party before the election. Clarence is a sideshow that will play well in the media."

"Why you?"

"Because of this."

She passed over the picture from the tabloid.

"You can see what's happening. It's a perfect opportunity for the vultures in Congress who hate the idea that they can't control what we do. The president won't tell them what they want to know about our operations. They want to take down two birds with one stone, if you'll pardon the cliché. This picture is an excuse to start the hue and cry."

"Those assholes on the hill don't understand that we're fighting a war," Lamont said.

"They don't have to do the fighting," Ronnie said. "For them, it's a game they talk about in committees and watch on TV."

"This subpoena will cause problems," Elizabeth said. "I don't think any of you will get dragged in, but it's always possible. Meanwhile you deserve some time off. Enjoy it while you can. We're still in business and something's bound to come up."

"Are you and Hood seeing each other?" Selena asked.

Elizabeth blushed. Nick hadn't ever seen her do that before.

"He's only a friend," Elizabeth said.

CHAPTER 56

That night Nick and Selena lay in bed, resting after making love. It was a pleasant evening in Washington, the humidity low, the temperature hovering in the 70s. A breeze brought the smell of the Potomac through the open windows of the loft, cooling their overheated bodies. Somewhere on the river a boat horn sounded.

"I wish those ruins were still there to be explored," Selena said.

"At least we have pictures."

"It's not the same. Pictures will never be enough proof for people who don't want to believe Atlantis ever existed. All they have to do is claim they were faked."

"The French have that tablet. That should be enough to make people want to follow up."

"Everyone thinks that tablet is a hoax."

"How do they explain the fact that it weighs a lot less than it should?"

"They haven't, yet. I suppose they'll analyze it and come up with something. But with nothing to back it up it will end up being dismissed as an oddity. Like I said, a hoax."

"What about the Egyptians?" Nick asked. "There could be something left in that room. Fragments of the stone. Something that could be studied, analyzed."

"They'll never look for it," Selena said. "Even if there is something there, it's crushed under tons of rock. Besides, they don't want to find anything that threatens their interpretation of history. No one will ever be able to prove Atlantis was real."

"We know it was real. I guess that has to be enough. Why don't you blow up one of those pictures and frame it? Put it on the wall. Maybe that stone face. Or that picture you took in Paris of the tablet."

"Like another piece of art?"

"Why not?"

"One thing that bothers me is that no one is taking the language on that tablet seriously. It's a precursor of Linear A. It should be studied."

"Write a paper about it."

"It won't do any good. Once something is identified as a hoax, everything about it is dismissed."

"Even with your credentials?"

She was silent.

After a few minutes Nick said, "Are you still thinking about that tablet?"

"I was thinking about Valentina. I wonder how she's doing."

"Oh."

"What am I supposed to do about her?"

"There isn't anything to do. She's loyal to her country. She's a lot like you, really."

"You think so?"

"I do. You even look sort of the same. Something in the way you both move. The way you do the same things sometimes."

"Like what?"

"Haven't you seen her brush her hair away from her forehead? Just like you do."

"Now that you mention it. I wonder how she really feels about me?"

"She tried to get her gun to you. That tells you something."

"I wonder if I'll see her again."

"You keep crossing paths," Nick said.

"We can't seem to get the Russians out of our lives."

"We won't, as long as we're working for Harker."

"That's another thing. I've thought a lot about quitting. But I can't do it now, not when Elizabeth is under attack. It wouldn't be right. Besides, if I quit I'll never see Valentina again."

"We'll both know when it's time."

"Would you quit if I did?"

"I don't know."

"At least you're honest about it."

"I'd be lying if I said I never think about it."

"Every time we go out on a mission, I'm not sure we're coming back. I feel like we're tempting fate."

"Nobody lives forever," Nick said.

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The Atlantis Stone

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NOTES

I always backup my stories with facts and elements of truth. When it comes to Atlantis and the history of Egypt there are many possible truths, speculations and theories to choose from.

For example, reliable scientific examination of the Sphinx reveals patterns of wear on the stone that could only have been caused by exposure to years of heavy rains. It has been many thousands of years since Egypt had that kind of rainfall. It would have ended long before the various dates given for construction of the Sphinx and the pyramids.

The Sphinx is supposed to have been constructed by Khufu at the same time as the great pyramid. The story of finding a commentary saying the Sphinx was buried in sand up to its head before the great pyramid was built comes from the nineteenth century. It has been dismissed as historical revisionism, but that may be part of a consistent pattern of denial by the Egyptian Ministry of antiquities when it comes to any challenge of the accepted timeline.

No one can really trust records left by the pharaohs. It was common practice to erase the achievements of their predecessors and take credit for themselves. Is it inconceivable that one of them claimed credit for the Sphinx even if he had nothing to do with its construction? In fact there are unresolved arguments about which Pharaoh may have been responsible.

There are many unexplained mysteries about the pyramids. The case can be made that they were never originally built as tombs. If the pyramids were not tombs, what were they for? If the dating of the Sphinx is called into question, so is the timeline for the pyramids. If they are much earlier than supposed, who built them?

How were the elaborate hieroglyphic decorations created inside the pyramids done without leaving smoke stains on the walls? What did the artists use for light? Some believe the pyramids generated energy and that this energy was used to power light for the painters.

There are indeed hidden chambers in and near the Sphinx. New sonar scan technology recently revealed a sealed entrance to a tunnel in the great pyramid. There are many known underground tunnels in the Giza complex. Most have been sealed since they were built and have not been opened. The ones that are open cannot be toured by the public.

An opening was discovered in the left hind quarter of the Sphinx years ago during an early restoration. It led to a tunnel ending in a wall. The tunnel was then blocked off with an iron gate. Photos still exist. The opening in the side of the Sphinx was sealed.

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities does not permit exploration of the hidden tunnels or chambers. All suggestions that the pyramids or the Sphinx are older than the third century BCE are brushed aside as absurd. No one wants to change the accepted historical timeline regardless of what scientific proof may be offered. Contrary evidence is routinely denied.

The information in this book about Plato is correct. The historian Crantor was an actual person who did write that he had seen pillars with the history of Atlantis written on them.

The story of Atlantis captures the imagination. There are serious researchers who believe Atlantis existed, although indisputable proof has not yet been found. It presents one of the great unknowns of Western civilization. Several locations for the vanished civilization have been suggested, among them the Azores.

The Azores were formed by volcanic action and the region is still seismically active, as is the Mediterranean. A Portuguese fisherman claimed to have discovered and scanned an undersea pyramid off the coast o
f
Terciara. If there are any actual underwater ruins, they've been down there for a long, long time.

The weapons used in the story are real. The Russian APS rifle is a brilliant piece of weapons engineering. The H&K underwater pistol carried by Lamont is as described and must be sent back to the factory for reloading. Shooting something underwater is a major challenge.

As for moving tons of stone through the air with a simple push, modern science is now beginning to touch the possibility of creating devices capable of defeating gravity.

Thanks for reading
The Atlantis Stone
.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My wife, Gayle, as always. I'd have a hard time doing this without her support.

Special thanks to Gloria Lakritz, Paul Madsen, Tina Malone and Eric Vollbreght.

Thanks to Neil Jackson for his excellent cover.

Wikipedia Commons for the public domain image of the interior of the pyramid.

Finally, thanks to you, the reader. You are why I write...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Lukeman
writes action/adventure thrillers featuring a covert intelligence unit called the PROJECT.
Alex is a former Marine and psychotherapist and uses his experience of the military and human nature to inform his work. He likes riding old, fast motorcycles and playing guitar, usually not at the same time. You can email him at
[email protected]
. He loves hearing from readers and promises he will get back to you.

       
http://www.alexlukeman.com