Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012)

by Diego Rodriguez

  The two men laughed, dug out the loose change they had in their pockets and stood either side of the girl.

  “One, two… three!” Without a second thought, they threw the coins with their right hand over their left shoulder, standing with their backs to the fountain just as tradition dictates.

  According to believers, this old custom ensures that whoever throws a coin will return to Rome someday, a wish that they all wanted to come true because it would mean that the three would survive their harrowing adventures. Throwing two coins meant that they would fall in love with a good-looking Roman, and three meant that they would marry them in Rome.

  Eventually they went into a cafe near the fountain, and sat at one of the furthest tables, hidden from view so as to avoid any interruptions. All three ordered coffee.

  After checking that nobody was watching them, James removed the book from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to his friend. “So, what have you found?”

  Richard swiftly grabbed it. He had got up before dawn to try and decode its content, because the copy was extremely unclear, much to his dismay. The author had gone to a lot of trouble to hide the message, so it must contain something extraordinary. He had succeeded in understanding virtually all the first chapter, except for a few words which were way beyond his knowledge. His pride prevented him from accepting it and so he blamed the writing, convincing himself it was illegible.

  “You didn’t make it easy for me. Your clue was very vague but I managed to crack it in the end. I used a computer program which is specially designed for cryptography and allowed me to substitute letters quickly and easily. Finally, after a lot of work, I managed to translate the first chapter of the book.”

  Mary started to get impatient. “So… tell us what it’s about already!”

  From the way he was looking at the book which he had in his hands, he seemed not to have heard her. He slowly ran his fingers over the symbol on the cover until anxiety overcame him and he couldn’t help but open it. He saw that it was divided into chapters as his friend had already told him, as well as something which left him completely flummoxed; the object which James had kept inside a random page, and which was identical to that on the cover of the book.

  “We don’t know what it is,” said James, trying to bring him back down to earth. “Yesterday we found out that there was an object at the end of the first two chapters. It might mean that there are clues lying around to help us find out what it hides.”

  Richard slammed the book shut and took out the photocopies from one of the pockets in his jeans. “James, you’re not going to believe what is written in the first chapter.” His two friends’ hopes had been significantly raised and they both listened to him wide-eyed. “It refers to an ancient civilization whose existence has gone unrecorded, except for being mentioned by Plato in an old book. Guess which civilization we’re talking about.”

  Chapter 13

  Disappointment planted itself in James’ head and for a few moments he was reminded of a seminar he had attended a while back. The topic of the day was the legacy left to us by lost civilizations and, as expected, the matter of Atlantis came up again.

  “Atlantis is a bedtime story for kids!” exclaimed one of the many attendees as he stood up. “Many have tried to find it without any success whatsoever.” His voice rose until he began to sound authoritative. “The only ancient texts that refer to this lost civilization are Plato’s dialogues; the other books written about Atlantis are merely speculation and commentary on the philosopher’s work.”

  James knew the content of those two dialogues perfectly, because he had had the opportunity to read them personally: Timaeus and Critias.

  Timaeus summarizes part of a conversation between Socrates and three of his followers in the year 360 BC in Athens. Over the course of the conversation, Critias, one of Socrates’ followers, tells his companions something that the famous Athenian politician Solon had related to his grandfather:

  The story tells of how on one of his journeys to Egypt, Solon had a conversation with a priest. He told him how the Egyptian chronicles feature tales of a war waged in ancient times, around 9600 BC, between Athens and a powerful civilization that came from the Atlantic and which intended to invade Europe and Asia. The priest was sure that the invaders came from a large island called Atlantis, situated beyond the Pillars of Hercules, which we now know as the Strait of Gibraltar. That great island, considered almost a continent, comprised numerous neighboring islands. Greece resisted the Atlantean invasion, and it even succeeded in liberating several towns which had been captured. However, all of a sudden there were violent earthquakes and tidal waves and, after one day and one night, the great island of Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea. Some say that is why navigating vessels in those parts of the sea is impossible because there is a mud bank in the center caused by the island’s sinking.

  Critias describes the island through its flora and fauna, mentioning the existence of horses and elephants. He also speaks of its administrative organization, its fleet, ceremonies and magnificent architecture. He talks about how it was destroyed, attributing it to a divine punishment for its citizens’ poor behavior.

  Another of the men who was clearly in favor of the existence of Atlantis quickly stood up and asked the other a question: “So, would you care to give me your thoughts on Diffusionist Theory?”

  The man hit back, even more annoyed. “It’s ridiculous to apply that school of thought here. Diffusionist theory states that if similar cultures arise in places that are far apart, this cannot be mere coincidence, but instead is the result of direct or indirect contact. This hypothesis is the only one that Atlantis supporters use to argue its existence, even when tectonic plates leave no room for doubt. One of those could only be destroyed due to some exceptional phenomenon.”

  A din filled the room after those last three words. The president had to remind the audience of the real reason they were gathered there, which wasn’t to debate whether Atlantis existed or not.

  “James,” said Richard, bringing him back to the present moment. “Ever since you sent me the fax, I’ve been trying to decode it. It has taken me a lot of time and there are even certain parts that I still don’t understand. What I can tell you, at the moment, is that the author of this book was the abbot of an Italian monastery and Grand Master of a secret order that dates back a thousand years. His name was Simone Di Benedetto. In the first chapter, he mentions the existence of a large island located in the Atlantic Ocean, which in ancient times was destroyed and flooded with water. What island could this be, other than Atlantis?”

  The future university president looked at him sadly. “I’m sorry to break it to you, but the subject of Atlantis is the one that has most fascinated me throughout my life. I’ve read all kinds of speculation regarding its possible location in the Atlantic and I’ve even believed some of them, but after the amount of research into tectonic plates which has been carried out, the results leave no room for fantasy; Atlantis couldn’t have existed. No continent of the dimensions described could vanish into thin air so easily.”

  Richard didn’t want to buy into his friend’s skepticism and tried to convince him. “But James, the first chapter talks about the flora and fauna of a lost civilization and it corresponds quite well with Plato’s description of Atlantis. According to the book, it had many forests that provided an unlimited supply of wood, an endless array of animals, both tame and wild, as well as a number of foods which came from the land.”

  “The vast majority of Mesoamerican civilizations were great harvesters,” said Mary, who until that moment had been paying attention to the conversation. “That’s nothing new.”

  From the beginning, Richard had been aware of his friend’s skepticism, but not that of the woman. It was disheartening, because now he would have to convince both of them. “According to the documents you gave me, we’re talking about a civilization capable of creating superb buildings, from houses to temples for their gods.
Of course,” he stressed, looking at them both. “They adored Poseidon, just like the inhabitants of Atlantis did. Their architects were capable of creating a city surrounded by water through which boats were navigated. In fact, they could be used to reach almost any part of the island.”

  “Plato describes a grandiose city formed by several concentric circles, each of them surrounded by water. It bears a striking similarity to the description given to us in the book.”

  Richard smiled, the woman was beginning to give in. In a final attempt, he tried to make James see another similarity. “It also states that the city sunk to the bottom of the ocean over twelve thousand years ago, the same as Atlantis. Come on James! You can’t deny that the author of the book is referring to the lost continent! It’s obvious!”

  “I’m not disputing that. Clearly they are talking about the same city, but perhaps it’s because the abbot of that monastery had previously read Plato’s writing.”

  Richard’s face showed desperation. He knew his friend inside out and he had always wanted to have an opportunity like this to leave his mark on history, to be remembered as the discoverer of something magnificent, something that would cause his name to span the boundaries of time, as so many before him had managed to do. And now that it lay before him, it was slipping through his fingers!

  “Richard, I consider myself to be one of the most ardent admirers of Atlantis. I’ve attended numerous congresses and meetings where this subject has been discussed to death.” His friend nodded his head, he knew this perfectly well. “Plato didn’t agree with contemporary Athenian society at all, including its economic and social aspects. Many of the hypotheses indicate that this may have inspired him to create his dialogues, detailing what happened on some nearby islands which he would certainly have been familiar with. He was looking to change the behavior of his fellow citizens and increase their conscience. He thought this was a good idea.”

  Richard knew James was talking about the island of Santorini, also known as “Thera” or “Thira”, and the city of Helike, both of which were destroyed by terrible natural phenomena. Both men were fully aware of this.

  Santorini is what remains of an enormous explosion which took place some 3500 years ago on the island of Thera. It destroyed it with a force similar to that of a hydrogen bomb, creating gigantic waves which caused part of it to become submerged. Researchers have found written evidence from other civilizations that an ash cloud blighted the sky from China to Egypt, with remains of ash even being found in modern day California and Greenland.

  Just like Atlantis, Santorini was a peaceful civilization which reaped benefits from merchants because it was situated at the heart of trade routes across the eastern Mediterranean. It was only logical that they should have a great fleet of ships.

  Excavations revealed wide streets with two-story houses and an ancient drainage system. Even now, the inner curve of the island is the same rounded shape as the center of Atlantis, which Plato describes as being surrounded by water.

  The people were warned of the danger in advance but their attempts to escape were in vain. The island was split in two, with half of it sinking below the waves.

  There are so many similarities which point to the fact that Atlantis was, in reality, the island of Thera. Everything coincides, except for the date of the explosion. The island was destroyed 3500 years ago, one thousand years before Plato was born. Atlantis was destroyed twelve thousand years ago, some 9500 years before the philosopher was born.

  Working on the basis that this story was related by an Egyptian priest, and that at that time the Egyptians measured time in lunar months or solar years, it is possible that there was a small error in translation and that the 9500 years are, in fact, 9500 months, which would coincide with the cataclysm of Thera.

  Meanwhile, Helike was one of the most important cities in Ancient Greece and very similar to Atlantean civilization. They even worshipped the same god, Poseidon. A great earthquake, together with a rare geologic process called liquefaction, caused it to sink into the ocean. This earthquake gripped the city and the pressure underground pushed water to the surface, giving rise to numerous fountains which expelled water from the ground and liquefied the earth as if it were quicksand. This is what is known as liquefaction. The most likely explanation is that a current of water coming from the Gulf of Corinth penetrated the area, which was suddenly lower than normal, and the city became a lake. With time, the rivers filled that lake with sediment, thus turning the submerged city into a buried city.

  It would have been impossible for Plato not to have been aware of the incident because it happened during his lifetime and only a hundred miles away, in a famous city which rivaled Athens. Furthermore, Plato wrote his dialogues some years before the tragedy occurred - too early. It is possible that Plato used it to create his Atlantis and that it was an allegory for the story of Helike.

  “I know what you’re getting at,” said Richard, slapping the table. “You think they could be stories or fables invented by Plato to fight against poverty - a way of making people aware of it and forcing them to see the more powerful cities were destroyed by the arrogance of their citizens. However, you know better than us that in certain cases legends can be true and that they can be used, by taking them word for word, to find archaeological remains. What would have happened if Heinrich Schliemann, discoverer of Troy, had paid attention to those people who asked him to stop and he had given up completely? Or if Johann Ludwig, the man who found Petra, hadn’t wanted to check if the story he was told was true? Or even worse, if the person who discovered Machu Picchu hadn’t given it the importance it deserved?”

  Troy and Petra were two of the ancient cities that James had studied during the last three years. At first it was thought that Troy was a myth created by Homer in The Iliad, his epic poem about Ancient Greece. Many scoffed at those who still thought it existed and were squandering fortunes searching for it.

  Petra is the capital of the ancient kingdom of Nabatene, situated in Jordan. The most famous remains of Petra are undoubtedly the structures which have been carved from the rock of the valley. The facade of the building is sculpted into the mountain rock itself with the resulting room lying inside, and it was used for trade purposes.

  James’ favorite, Machu Picchu, was built in the Andes as a retreat for an Incan governor in the Andes.

  “At least let me tell you something else I discovered and which Plato doesn’t mention in his book.”

  James nodded as he finished off his coffee. Then he glanced sideways at Mary, who hadn’t stopped staring at the street outside without losing track of the conversation.

  Chapter 14

  Two Italian police cars headed for Rome at top speed. Scarcely four hours had passed since the security guard in the Florentine station had been brutally struck, rendering him unconscious. He was admitted to a hospital straight away where the police officers had already taken a statement from him. From the way the security guard had been hit, the police knew they weren’t dealing with average criminals, but real professionals. However, events didn’t stop there. The station cleaning team had boarded one of the company’s trains, only to discover that a tramp had been murdered with a gunshot to the head. His body was covered in cuts, as if it had been used in a satanic ritual.

  No sooner had they heard the news than the Italian police got to work and, within a couple of minutes, one of the most experienced inspectors in the force was making his way to the scene of the crime: Inspector Carlo Tardelli.

  He was one of the most famous agents in the police force. Recently, he had successfully broken up a powerful mafia ring which had been covertly trying to control Florence.

  Of average height, thin and always immaculately turned out, he had won the respect of his colleagues over the years. He was famed for his bravery and intuition earning him the nickname the “Warden” among his colleagues, thanks to his knack for getting the vast majority of criminals behind bars.

  After analyzing the si
tuation and questioning witnesses, he was able to ascertain what happened. Two very well-built men were chasing a couple who were last seen boarding one of the cars on the train heading for Rome. The witness was a sixteen-year-old boy who had caught them on camera with his cellphone before they got on the train. The faces of the two pursuers had been captured on the station’s security cameras. After analyzing the recording, they found a series of frames where the attackers were looking directly at the camera and, although they weren’t of the best quality, it was a start.

  Tardelli immediately contacted the security personnel at the station in Rome, but it was too late. The train had already left the station for another destination. However, when one of the guards saw the photos, he recognized the man as the passenger who had asked him for a first-aid kit to take care of some cuts. He hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.

  The search for those four suspects in Rome had gotten underway.

  In a bar near the Trevi Fountain, Richard was still trying to convince his friends of the authenticity of the book. “As I’ve already told you, the book tells us the story of a city which sank below the waves, but, in this case, some of its inhabitants managed to survive, moving to other parts of the world where they formed new civilizations which inherited their customs. It is obvious that they never attained the same level of technology as their ancestors, because many of their discoveries were lost in the tragedy. However, the book claims that their archaeological remains still exist today.”

  “Maybe it’s referring to the Mayans or the Egyptians?” asked Mary.

  Richard was getting excited. “Precisely! Many hypotheses have persisted over the years which hint at an alleged encounter between Mayan and Egyptian civilizations in the past. They have too many things in common to be attributed to coincidence. It is even thought that they could have ancestors in common.

  “But that’s impossible. It would have been madness to try and cross the Atlantic at that time,” replied James, expecting confirmation.