Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1

by LEMPEREUR

  Sitting alone together, or rather, sprawling on those gigantic, incomparably soft, natural cushions, Jacques and Charlie allowed themselves a moment of complicity. They were reveling in the pleasure of life; the pleasure of adventure; of a life full of the novel and unexpected, full of challenges. A life where they were in the foreground, where their opinions mattered, where the most improbable or foolhardy actions (such as climbing a giant necklace) made sense, and justified risk-taking – oh how exhilarating for people who never took risks! Tired out and worn down by physical and emotional fatigue, for a minute, a precious moment, they allowed themselves to forget everything, or almost.

  “I like seeing you like this, Jacques. You know, you’ve changed a lot lately too. I haven’t noticed you being cynical in ages. And you’re more discreet, less hotheaded than before. Sometimes I even feel a bit lonely, if I’m honest. It’s a new feeling for me which is a bit disconcerting.”

  “You and I will never be alone, Charlie; never completely, and I’m glad. You should be too, you know.”

  “Right now, I am!”

  Several long minutes went by in thoughtful silence which they were reluctant to end. They contemplated Rosaline’s peaceful face and the large, gold ball that lay just in front of them. The golden sphere turned out to be perfectly smooth, shining like a thousand suns that someone might have tamed to cater to the whim of a pretty woman. The twins could see their slightly deformed reflection in the large, convex mirror. Viewed that way, their usually squat, stocky body seemed a lot slimmer and taller than it really was. It was all artificial, but it added to the general atmosphere, symbolizing in some way the levity and happiness of the special moment.

  “I can’t see anything on that ball, Charlie – except our reflection, of course.”

  “You’re right; there’s nothing on it. I had hoped there would be some symbols or writing or figures engraved in the metal, but apparently that’s not the case.”

  “Do you think we can touch it? I’m curious to know whether the metal is cold or if it gives off heat. It looks like a miniature sun, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe, with a lot of imagination; but I mainly see a manufactured object that must necessarily hold a source of information or some kind of device.”

  They got up in the end and each placed a hand on the perfectly smooth surface of the sphere. It was impossible to tell if it was hot or cold through his suit so Jacques began to take off one of his gloves but Charlie suddenly interrupted him forcefully.

  “Don’t do that! The outside of these suits is sterile, but not the inside. We’re right up by her face – I forbid it!”

  “Sorry, I’d forgotten that detail.”

  “For you it’s just a detail, but for her it’s a matter of life and death!”

  “Okay! Let’s forget it, Charlie. I understand your concern, and it’s completely justified. Tell me what you count on doing now.”

  “If there’s nothing on the outside, maybe there’s something inside it.”

  “How do you plan on opening it?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure Victor knew. He must be the one who hid a message in it. He must know how to open it. He might even be the one who designed it, or maybe it was his brother.”

  “His brother? You never told me he had a brother.”

  “We’re alone now and nobody can listen in on our conversation here. I was waiting for the right moment to tell you.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Victor had a brother, a renowned scientist who was working on an alternate project to the hibernation caves.”

  “You mean there are other caves like this one?”

  “Yes, there are others all over the planet!”

  “How many giants are there?”

  “I don’t know. Probably tens of thousands, maybe more; it’s impossible to say. How many survived? That’s the real question.”

  “Do you think Giuseppe knows?”

  “No, I’d be surprised if he did and I’m in no hurry for him to find out. He could see it as a threat to humanity.”

  “Wouldn’t he be right? They’re huge and their technology is nothing like ours. What would happen if they all came up above ground? Did you think of that?”

  Charlie took the time to think before answering the disturbing question.

  “I don’t know how to explain this, Jacques, but I have faith in Victor. We’ll see where it leads us.”

  “I don’t know Victor, but I do know you. I guess I have to trust you. How are you planning on asking him for the manual to this super medallion?”

  “That won’t be necessary. I not only know how to read their language, but I also remember a lot of his memories. Let’s keep exploring! I feel hopeful that we will end up finding something that I will recognize.”

  Jacques complied, leading the way, unstable on this soft and supple terrain. They walked around the object several times, feeling all over it until Charlie noticed a miniscule triangle that they only saw because it was right under their noses.

  “There! Look, Jacques, that’s an on-button.”

  “It’s miniscule.”

  “That’s the whole point of the system. Even though we’re ten times smaller than them, we still almost missed it.”

  “It reminds me of Gulliver’s Travels, except that I used to identify more with the giant than with the Lilliputians. Now it’s the opposite. I feel so small.”

  Without hesitating, Charlie reached out and pressed on the little triangle with the tip of his finger. Immediately, the sphere lost its shine and became completely matte. A map of a planet soon appeared before their eyes, with its oceans and continents grouped around a central axis linking the two poles, which were also clearly visible and distinguished by a much lighter color than the rest of the land. Inscriptions also appeared along the central band in the form of writing which had remained shiny while the rest of the metal became matte. The contrast was enough to make them visible to someone who knew what to look for.

  “What is that? It looks like a planet similar to Earth but the land masses are laid out differently.”

  “It really is the Earth, Jacques, except that we’re seeing it as it was millions of years ago, at the time when the N.H.I’s must have been the dominant species. Back then, the land was grouped together in a sort of supercontinent which began to break up very gradually due to movements of the Earth’s crust. Ever since, the fragments have continued moving to form the Earth as we know it today.”

  “If what you say is true, that means that they lived on the Earth at least two hundred million years ago, maybe more! That’s highly unlikely. How could they have survived for so long? No technology – no matter how advanced – could work a miracle like that.”

  “And yet, that’s what happened, Jacques. They existed well before the dinosaurs.”

  “How can you be sure? To my knowledge no one has ever found the slightest trace of their existence on the Earth; no fossils, no artifacts. A civilization like that couldn’t go noticed. I can’t believe it.”

  “When I was exploring Victor’s memories I discovered that the N.H.I.’s were trying to flee the Earth to escape some cosmic cataclysm; probably an asteroid shower which threatened to annihilate all life on the planet.”

  “What do you mean by ‘escape’? You mean out in space?”

  “Yes. At least, that’s the project they were working on, but they started too late for everyone to be able to leave. That’s why they built these underground bases. They were supposed to protect them from the impact and its consequences while those who had been able to escape were organizing a rescue mission.”

  “And they never came, if I understand correctly.”

  “No, that’s right. I don’t think they did. To tell the truth, I don’t even know if they survived the escape into space.”

  “But then, that means that unless we do something, they’re all condemned to die?”

  “Maybe not.”

  “What do you mean?”

>   “You know as well as I do that they’re in the waking phase. That’s the whole reason why we’re here. Remember what Francisco told us? He thinks some sort of signal could have been sent to set off the process to bring all the N.H.I.’s out of hibernation. He actually made a link between that signal and the mysterious explosion we were victims of, but nobody could ever tell us anything more about that. I’m certain that they aren’t telling us everything. They must have managed to get to the bottom of that incident. A catastrophe of that type can’t escape notice. They had the technical, political and financial means to investigate the matter and they would have used them, believe me.”

  Jacques’ face was getting progressively paler as he understood the true significance of this cave. Much more than a sensational discovery, it may even mean the end of the world; the end of human domination which nothing until now had ever threatened.

  “They’re coming back!” he said aloud. “And we’re helping them! Isn’t that it, Charlie? You’re their ally now.”

  “No, I’m no one’s ally – and even less, their plaything. Neither is Victor, actually. Nothing tells us that the signal came from outer space. I have good reason to believe it came from somewhere on Earth.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There’s more: there’s another base – or rather, a city – founded by Victor’s brother. It’s somewhere under Antarctica.”

  “Another hibernation base – what difference does that make? Is that meant to reassure me?”

  “I don’t know if the project succeeded, but it’s not a hibernation base. It’s an actual city, designed for gathering all those who did not trust the Exodus project or putting their lives on hold. Even the members of the Council didn’t know about it. It’s a secret city whose name, translated into our language, would be something like ‘Australopolis’, according to what Victor told me. That’s the real reason we came here, Jacques! I was looking for the coordinates to that city, and I’ve just found them! Look – the medallion is a globe of the world and the inscriptions along the equator are actually geographical coordinates: the coordinates to Australopolis.”

  “What do you expect to find there, Charlie?”

  “I don’t know, but we only have a few decades ahead of us. We have to solve this mystery before the waking phase is over or it will be too late.”

  End of Book One