"Damn shame, mate," Gregg replied. "She looked like a real beauty."
"It was a dream to fly. I plan on building another one when this is all over."
"Ok, mate, there's the anchor, I'll take a bearing off the it, and we'll move quickly to our starting point."
"You know, Gregg, I can see the ridge I followed along over there," Jack said, pointing. "I think we should take a bearing from there."
"Good call, mate. Follow me," Gregg responded, already underway.
As they moved over the ridge, Gregg stopped momentarily and reset his gauge. Turning on course, he pulled out his waterproof metal detector and began to scan the area in front of him while they swam. With his workload nearly nonexistent, Jack was able to concentrate fully on the scene in front of him. Looking around, he began to see things he hadn't noticed on his previous three dives.
"Wow, it's really amazing what you see when you don't have to navigate, monitor your air, time and gauges, plus look out for sharks," he said, as he paralleled Gregg's course.
"That's good to hear, mate. Your eyes are your best and strongest asset for finding treasure. Call out if you see anything unusual."
The two made their way along the ridge stopping only momentarily as the metal detector sounded out. Nearly fifteen minutes into their dive, Jack's heart started to pound.
"Gregg, there it is... there's the spot where I found the scrolls and the urns," he called out eagerly.
With a quick pump of his legs, he shot ahead of his dive partner and swam to the site of his previous excavation. Looking at the disturbed rubble, he could still see the scars in the rocks and barnacles where he had worked a month before.
"Gregg this is where I found the scrolls. A few yards more and we should be in uncharted territory," he said, excitedly.
"Let me give this a quick scan first and leave a marker here for our next dive," Gregg replied.
"Ok, I'll just swim ahead and start looking in the new area. We don't have a lot of air left," he said, as he turned to swim away.
"Whoa, mate, not cool. Remember the buddy system. We gotta stick together, ok?" Gregg shouted out, stopping Jack in his tracks.
Jack looked at his gauges. He had only fifteen more minutes of air left before he would need to turn around. Feeling impatient, he explained his situation to Gregg.
"Gregg, it looks like I've been breathing kind of heavy. I might have another fifteen minutes left before I have to turn around. Let me just move ahead ten feet or so, so I can spot anything new that might stand out while you're scanning the area. We'll still be in eye contact."
"Ok, ten feet, but no more. You've got an injury and you're breathing heavy. I really don't want to push our luck," Gregg responded apprehensively, then added, "I'm marking our position, so when we do our second dive, we'll save ourselves twenty minutes. I know you're eager, Jack, but let’s follow the playbook, ok?"
"Will do," he replied. Pointing, he continued, "I'll be up there a few feet."
Jack swam ahead. In seconds, he was at his furthest most position from his previous dive a month before. His heart began to pump now. This was it; the region he deduced was the track the ship had sunk in. With the currents running toward him, his felt sure the artifact was somewhere up current of his previous finds.
He took a moment and scanned the area. Looking straight ahead, he saw several clumps of boulders running along a line in front of him. To the right, he saw sandy patches, seaweed gardens, then more boulders. On the left, he saw long patches of sand.
"Huh. I'm betting it's in the seaweed," he said to himself.
"In the seaweed mate?" Gregg asked.
Jack forgot he was on intercom. With a small chuckle to himself, he responded, "Yeah, I know it's not just sitting out in the open, so it's got to be somewhere over there in the seaweed."
"Ok, almost done here. Give me another second," Gregg said, still recording data.
Moments later, he joined up with Jack and the two started their new search.
"Ok, keep your eyes peeled. I'll continue to navigate and make my sweep with the detector."
Unlike Jack's other dives, this one felt slow and tedious, and he now was becoming impatient. Looking ahead, he scanned the region for anything unusual as Gregg worked the device back and forth. In frustration, he said to himself, "Nothing but rocks and seaweed."
"Don't forget the sand," Gregg added.
Jack had forgotten about the intercom once again. He laughed to himself and continued his scan. Looking ahead twenty feet, the rocks ended and sandy floor continued on.
"Huh, that's strange. All the rocks are gone beyond the ridge, just sand. It's like someone just swept them all away," he noticed.
Giving the scene a quick glance, Gregg responded, "Yeah, that happens. Not too unusual. From time to time, you'll run into vast areas of just sand."
As Gregg moved forward, Jack floated higher to get a better look. Fifteen feet above Gregg, the scene took on different feel. He began to see the ridge line in a different way. A month before, with his attention divided between a multitude of tasks, his perception of the area was different. Now, with his mind free to explore the possibilities, he started to see a pattern forming.
"I'll be darned," Jack said to himself.
Just then, an alarm sounded.
"Ok mate, times up. We need to head back. We'll come back to this area a little later," Gregg said.
"Hang on, give me a few more minutes," Jack said, now engrossed in his observation.
"Sorry, mate, that's not how we work. We do it by the book, that way no one gets hurt," Gregg insisted.
Jack felt disappointment. He knew he was onto something, but just couldn't put it together in his mind. Acquiescing, he turned around and quietly began to swim back with Gregg.
Sensing Jack's disappointment, he said, "Don't worry Jack, we'll find it. We're just taking in the playing field. Once we have it mapped out, we'll have a better idea where to look."
Jack didn't respond. Lost in thought, he began to process his memory. Visualizing the ridgeline in his mind, he saw its length and began to think about the shape. Over and over, he replayed the scene in his mind as he swam next to Gregg. Suddenly, it hit him. Jack’s heart started to race and he smiled a great smile.
"It should be interesting to see what data the other two teams picked up. Once we view the footage from all the cameras, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to pin point exactly where to search next," Gregg said.
He waited for a reply from Jack, but there was none.
"Jack? You with me buddy or are you off in la-la land," Gregg asked.
Turning around, he stopped in his tracks.
"Jack! Where the hell are you?"
With no response from Jack, he quickly turned back and began to retrace his steps, calling out Jack's name as he went.
"Gregg, what's going on down there?" Javier asked, as he monitored the communications.
"Jack's missing and not answering. I'm heading back to our last location," Gregg replied, in worried tone.
"Ok, keep us posted," Javier replied nervously.
Pumping his legs hard, Gregg swam like a machine. He covered ground quickly and in no time, passed the marker he placed for identification. Moving past, he continued to kick his fins, gaining greater speed. Suddenly, he saw movement far ahead. The figure rolled off the rocks and settled in the sand by the seaweed. The figure knelt in the sand momentarily, then began to swim toward him. Moving fast, Gregg quickly identified the figure as Jack.
"Jack, what the hell are you doing here? We're supposed to be ascending. We're way behind schedule. Move your ass, now!" Gregg shouted over the intercom.
"Sorry, I was..."
"Sorry don't cut it, man. If you want to dive with us, you got to do it by the book. You endanger everyone down here with stunts like that. I was about to call the others over here and help search for you. If I had done that, we all would have risked the bends looking for you," he continued, his voice growing louder and angrie
r with each sentence.
"Sorry, as I was just trying to say...”
"Oh, man, just stow it. I don't want to hear your bullshit. You almost got yourself killed the last time, now you're doing it again and trying to take others with you," he shot back, cutting Jack off as he tried to explain.
Jack didn't say a word. He swam next to Gregg ensuring he kept up with him as they quickly made for the surface and the hanging tanks. Minutes later, having ascended eighty-five feet, six men hung fifteen feet below the surface and waited out their time in decompression. Jack was conspicuously quiet.
Thirty minutes later, Jack hung back and allowed the other divers to exit the water. From the side of the boat, Serena and Javier glared at him as he waited his turn.
"Ok, mate, come on. It’s safe to come out. I'm not going to bite," Gregg said jokingly.
Without a word, Jack floated to the ladder, removed his fins, snorkel, mask, and other gear, and placed them in his haul bag. Stepping up on the ladder, Gregg reach down and helped him up into the boat.
"Up to your old tricks again, I see," Serena said, in mock anger.
"Ah, leave him alone. I think I chewed enough of his ass off to make an impression," Gregg said to Serena. Turning to Jack, he continued, "Hey buddy, sorry I was so harsh down there. You really gave me a scare, though."
"Yeah, I guess my enthusiasm got the best of me. It won't happen again. I'm done," Jack said, bluntly.
"What do you mean, you're done? Dude, it's ok, you're forgiven. Dumb mistake. Everyone makes them. Don't worry about. Let's put it behind us and make the next dive count," he replied.
"Nope, I'm done. I'm not going back down there again," Jack said, now standing in the middle of the boat.
"I don't get it," Gregg responded, now puzzled.
"Yeah, me either, " Serena said
"Jack, what's going on with you? You alright? You feeling ok?" Javier asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine. I'm just not going back down there," Jack responded, cryptically.
"But why? I don't get it," Serena asked.
Jack sat down on one of the built-in seats that lined the bow. Unzipping his wetsuit, he winced a bit as he took a deep breath.
“Well, as I was viewing the ridgeline down there, I got to thinking... rocks in the middle of all that sand. It kind of looked peculiar to me. I don’t know why, but it just did. So, I floated higher and took a broader view of the whole landscape. As I hovered above Gregg while he took in his data, I started thinking about the ship and how it must have sunk. As we were swimming back to the decompression site, it dawned on me. Those ridgelines weren't just ridgelines. Those were remains of a ship broken in two. The rocks and boulders are simply seven thousand years of barnacles, scaling, urns, sand, and whatever else that found its way on top of the pile, accumulated over time. Once I realized what I was looking at, I had to go back and take another look. Sure enough, with my second view, it all fit together. I knew I was looking at an ancient ship. The bow was at the far point of our search and the stern near the anchor point."
"I don’t know mate, I’ve dove on many wrecks in the past twenty years and that ridgeline looked like just another pile of rocks to me," Gregg responded.
"I kinda have to agree with Gregg. I mean, how could you actually tell it was a ship?" Burt now added.
Jack pulled his dive bag in front of him. One by one, he reached in, pulled out pieces of his diving equipment, and laid them on the deck of the boat.
"I'll tell you how I can tell, ‘cause I found this!"
Jack reached into his pack and pulled out a crystal ball the size of a bowling ball. At its core was the golden pyramid with a round golden eye suspended above it. The surface of the crystal was intricately carved with a map of the earth. As he held it out with both hands, he slowly turned it to a clear spot on the surface. Like an intense magnifying glass, the pyramid and eye shown up through crystal with great intensity, almost blinding in brilliance.
"Oh my God! Jack, you found it," Serena shouted, excitedly.
"So that's how you were able to see it so clearly under a hundred feet of water," Burt said, now realizing the secret behind the original photo.
"That's magnificent, Jack. In all my years, I don't think I have ever seen anything so exquisite," Javier added, reaching out and touching the crystal's surface.
Eying Jack with a serious stare, Gregg's expression softened.
"Not going back? Huh. Good one. Good work, mate."
OFFICES OF JAVIER ARISTA:
Inside the lab, Javier and Burt examined the crystal globe, which rested on a gel pad. The two carefully inspected every detail of its engravings.
“This is exquisite. I’m nearly speechless. Look at the detail of the land masses and the oceans surrounding them," Burt said, struggling to contain his excitement.
"Yeah, and look at the land masses that are missing. Where are the America’s?" Serena asked.
"It appears they hadn’t yet traveled to the west seven thousand years ago, otherwise those continents would’ve also been depicted on the globe. So, the Atlantean’s escape from the Egyptians probably was the first transatlantic journey to the new world. How exciting," Javier said.
"Looks like the polar continents are missing too," Serena continued.
As Burt rotated the crystal globe under a stationary magnifying glass, he stopped at an area of the greatest concentration of detail.
"Look at the detail around the western Mediterranean region. This is an area that was obviously very well-traveled," he said.
"I agree, but more importantly, look at the shape of the various land masses. They have a much different shape then, than they do now," Javier added.
"Or, they just didn’t have a grasp of cartography," Jack reasoned.
"I doubt that. Any civilization that would have the skills and resources to create something of this complexity, would almost certainly have knowledge of cartography," Burt countered.
"This is amazing. We now have record of the land masses from seven thousand years ago and can easily see the changes that have occurred compared with the present," Javier said.
"Look at the islands around Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea. A lot of the islands we see today were larger islands seven thousand years ago," Burt continued.
"This is fascinating. Look at Crete. It was completely intact when this globe was made. When we compare it to a modern day map, we can easily see where the coastline was changed by the Santorini volcanic eruption and tidal wave twenty-five hundred years ago," Javier pointed out.
As Burt rotated the crystal globe, a tiny light flashed from its surface, catching Serena’s attention.
“Did you see that?” Serena blurted loudly.
“See what?” Burt asked.
“What was that flash of light?” she asked again.
“I didn’t see it,” Javier replied, excitedly.
“Burt, can you rotate it back toward Greece again?” Serena asked.
“Certainly."
He slowly rotated the globe and instantly, a tiny flash of light reappeared.
“Stop! There it is. Did you see it?” she said, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
“Yeah, how strange. It’s coming from the tip of Greece,” Burt replied.
Burt moved the crystal globe back and forth until he found the source of light. Bringing the magnifying glass in close, he examined the area.
“Well, I’ll be…” he started.
“What is it? What do you see?" Serena asked.
“Maybe you should see for yourself,” he said, motioning to the glass.
Serena moved closer and looked directly upon the magnified surface area of the globe. Immediately, she spotted something gold in color.
“Huh. What is that? Kinda looks like a…"
“A pitchfork, right?” Burt said, cutting her off in mid-sentence.
“Yup, it sure does,” she concurred, still looking at the globe.
Serena stepped back and let Burt
continue. With his nose nearly touching the surface of the magnifying glass, he examined the object of his newfound interest. Embedded in the surface of the crystal sat a tiny golden pitchfork.
“What the hell does that mean?” Serena asked.
Burt’s face lost all expression. For a moment, he collected his thoughts.
“Burt? You don’t look good. What’s going on?” Javier asked.
“Remember the hieroglyphic of the pyramid and man with the pitch fork?” Burt asked.
“Yeah?” Javier replied, simply.
“Say hello to the King of Atlantis,” Burt responded.
“Oh, my God, Burt. You’re right. It’s got to be. It makes sense,” Serena shouted, excitedly.
“So if that represents the King of Atlantis, then that must be the location of Atlantis, itself,” Javier theorized.
“I’ll go you one better. I’m betting that’s the exact location of the Kings of Atlantis’ Pyramid,” Burt speculated.
“No Way!” Jack blurted excitedly.
“Or where it used to be, anyway?” Serena added. “Before the tsunami washed it away.”
“Wait a minute... Look where that pitch fork’s located,” Burt continued.
The other three leaned forward and stared intently.
“It’s miles inland,” Burt said. “There’s no way a tidal wave washed it away. Any wave large enough to cover that much ground and still have the energy to wipe out a pyramid would probably have wiped out the entire lower peninsula of Greece. That didn’t happen. So…”
“It still exists?” Jack questioned, cutting off Burt.
“Yup, I’m betting it does. I’ll stake my reputation on it,” Burt said, resolutely.
“But why hasn’t anyone found it after all these years?" Serena asked.
“It’s buried,” Burt said, simply.
“Buried? Like deep beneath the ground? I don’t think so. Greece is a solid bed of rock,” Javier countered.
“Not beneath the ground, above it. I think it’s probably covered in sand from the tidal wave,” Burt said.
“But you just said the tidal wave couldn’t have reached it,” Serena said, now questioning Burt's logic.
“I never said that. I only said it couldn’t have been washed it away. I do think the tidal wave could have covered it in mud though. If Atlantis was washed away, where do you think all that mud went? Certainly not all out to sea. There’s always residual debris left behind,” Burt reasoned.
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