Sunken Treasure Lost Worlds

by Hep Aldridge

  “Fine,” I said, “what have you got?"

  “I’m giving you this in my words, not a direct translation, so bear with me. It seems the friar set out with a contingent of soldiers into the eastern Andes. He was looking for natives to convert, and they were looking for gold. It was an arduous journey, and they lost many men to sickness and accidents. Toward the end, there were only five men left, and they turned back. They had found no gold, were low on food, and weary of the torturous mountain terrain they had to traverse. Four months had passed since they had left their main camp. The friar , however, said he would not turn back and continued on by himself, driven by God’s word and his religious zeal.

  “Three days after the departure of the soldiers, while climbing a narrow rock-strewn trail, he came upon a child of eight or nine years old lying on the ground. He was unconscious and had a broken arm. The child had fallen; he was not sure when but must have succumbed to the pain and passed out. Having also been a student of the medicinal arts while he was studying at the Jesuit monastery in Spain, he tended the child’s wound. He set the arm with a crude splint and shared his water and his food once the child regained consciousness. He noticed the child had a strange look about him, rather tall and slender but not in an undernourished way. The child’s head was elongated with no hair. He had large grey eyes with a sloping forehead.

  “At first, the child was too weak to speak or try to communicate. He seemed very fearful of this man in black robes. After two days of rest and sharing food and water, the child seemed to lose his fear and responded to the friar s attempts at communication. Although he understood nothing of what the child was saying, the language was unknown to him, the child seemed to understand what the friar was saying. So, through a series of hand gestures and pointing at objects, they established a rough line of communication.”

  “Once the child seemed well enough to travel, the friar encouraged him to lead the way, hopefully, back to his people. The child seemed hesitant at first but finally gave in. They embarked on a two-day journey through the mountains. The trails they were on were well hidden and would have been easily missed by someone unfamiliar with them. Eventually, their journey brought them to his village.

  Upon arriving, two things became apparent to the friar. One, this was a tribe of headhunters, as he noted the shrunken heads hanging from trees and make-shift display racks at the entrance to the encampment. Two, the boy he had helped was the son of someone of importance within the tribe. He was immediately surrounded by members of the tribe, speaking and gesturing excitedly. Because of the latter, he surmised, he was not killed outright but bound to a stake in the center of the village.

  “Serious discussions were held amongst the tribesmen, with several comments being interjected by the young boy. After a time, the friar was untied and offered fresh fruit, some kind of cooked meat, and water. This being the first real meal he had had in many months, after a short prayer, he attacked the food satisfying his ravenous appetite."

  As if on cue, the door to the conference room opened, and a cart of sandwiches, cold beverages, and pastries was rolled into the room.

  Fitz said, “I ordered food since it looks like we will be here for a while." I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that four hours had passed since we had started this discussion. Without hesitation, we attacked the tray of food with similar gusto to that of the friars.

  Once we had finished, Fitz said there was no reason to curtail our investigation, and we could all stay as long as we liked. He had already planned for sleeping accommodations at the on-site “barracks” for us. Meals would be provided, and any personal needs we might have would be taken care of. With that out of the way, we turned our attention back to Doc and told him to continue his story.

  Settling into his seat, he continued, “The next day, they took the friar to a hut set apart from the rest. It was a strange design, not like others in the village, and seemed to be made of some kind of metal. He was ushered inside. There, he found the boy he had helped and a man who he guessed to be his father. He had not seen him the day before. The first thing he noticed as the man stood was that he was much, much taller than the other tribe’ people. He was also slender but in a graceful way. The elongated head was more pronounced, and his grey eyes were larger. His clothing was of a different design than that of the other tribesmen. He offered the friar a seat on a rug in the center of the hut, and he sat down.

  “In one fluid move, the father and then the son did the same. It was then that the friar noticed that the child was not wearing the splint he had attached days earlier; in fact, the child seemed to have full use of the arm with no ill effects of the recent break. While staring at the arm, the father spoke, and while the friar did not understand the words being spoken, he had an understanding of what was being said. This set him back and, wide-eyed, he stared at the father who had an amused smile on his face.

  “As the conversation continued, he came to understand that the father was the spiritual leader and healer of this tribe. A shaman, the friar thought and immediately, a thought entered his head, ‘Not Shaman, much, much more.’ He looked at the father as the smile widened. He spoke to the father in Spanish, asking him what was happening, and as the father replied in the language of the tribesmen, the thoughts came to him ‘that all things would be answered in due time, but he thanked him for bringing his son back to him’ and nodded toward the child, who was smiling during this entire exchange.”

  We stopped Doc and said, "Whoa, wait a minute; this sounds like some kind of telepathic communication. Is that what you’re saying?"

  Doc replied, “I’m only recounting what the friar wrote in his journal as best I can. However, as I read it, I thought the same thing. I don’t know, but like I said, the weird meter is now officially pegged! And it gets better… With that, the discussion with the father ended, and the son led him out of the hut back to the waiting tribe. Moments later, the father emerged and said something to the gathered crowd. There was more discussion and some raised voices, but the boy’s father spoke again in a stern, voice and all before him bowed and seemed to accept what had been said. The father returned to his hut, and they led the friar to another hut that was unoccupied.

  “Inside, he found blankets, a small fire pit, a makeshift table and his backpack that had been taken from him when he entered the village. Moments later, a woman entered with bowls of water and fresh fruit. She had a woven pull over garment and sandals which she laid next to what he thought was his sleeping area, covered with blankets and a fur skin of some sort. She bowed and backed out of the hut, leaving the friar alone. He sat down next to the table and as he ate, tried to make sense of these recent events.”

  “Over the next few days, they gave him his freedom to explore the village, although it was obvious he was being watched at all times. One afternoon, he was summoned from his hut by a young girl and brought to a gathering in the center of the village. It looked as if all the villagers were there and, standing to one side were the father and son. It was obvious they were presiding over this gathering. When he arrived, the father nodded in his direction and addressed the group. As he spoke once again, the friar could follow what was being said, not through the language, but through his thoughts. The father, whose name he had found out was Anutu and his son, Theos would be leaving the village.

  “Anutu then pointed to the friar and told the group the man in the black robes was the chosen one and was to be kept safe and obeyed. There was mumbling, but at a hand gesture from Anutu, they all turned and bowed toward the friar and accepted his word. The friar was stunned and looked at Anutu, who held up a hand halting any question that he might have spoken. More was said, but the friar didn’t quite get all of it. The group dispersed and left Anutu, Theos, and the friar standing alone. Once again, he was led into Anutu’s hut and invited to sit down. When all three were seated, Anutu spoke again, and again the friar understood not the words but the thoughts.

  ‘You must take care of these peo
ple now, nurture, protect, and teach them. They will listen to you and protect you.’

  “The friar spoke in Spanish, ‘“Why me?’” he asked.”

  ’We have been waiting for you for a long time, and now you are here, and our task is completed; yours has begun,’ Anutu said.”

  “The friar asked, ‘Waiting, for me, what do you mean, for how long?’ The multiple questions tumbled out in a rush.”

  “Anutu smiled and said for ‘many thousands of your years’ and handed the friar a book with a metal cover and binding. ‘This will help you along the way. You will find many answers within, and know this, your people will reward you for your efforts from this day forward. Now, go, we must prepare.’ And with that, they rose, and the friar left the hut more bewildered than ever.

  “He went back to his hut and sat down to study the book.” Doc paused, “What happens next is where the weirdness really begins. The friar doesn’t remember reading the book or falling asleep. He remembers waking, and it was the next day. He went outside, and life in the village seemed normal, except now people acknowledged him with a smile and a slight bow as he made his way toward where Anutu’s hut had been with a thousand questions on his mind. However, when he got there the hut was gone. There was nothing left, in fact, you could not tell that any kind of structure had ever been there. He stood in awe and turned back toward the village and thought, ‘“I have been touched by the hand of God, and his angels have shown me my destiny.’”

  Chapter Seventeen

  We sat there in stunned silence. Doc got up and headed to the bar and spoke over his shoulder, “I have been giving you a close translation so far, but I skipped forward through the journal here, and so will give you the highlights of what I saw as I went through. This guy was one hell of a chronicler, and there seems to be a lot of detail I want to go back and study, but I need to tell you about the part I found in here that pertains to our current discoveries." He sat back down with a large tumbler of Jack Black, neat, and thumbed through the journal for a moment. When he stopped, he took a large swallow of his drink and started again.

  “Okay, so this guy stayed with this tribe for years. He learned their language, their customs, in fact, everything about them except for one thing.” We all looked at one another and then back at Doc. “As close as I can tell, after about five years, say around 1709, he had earned their trust and was accepted as part of the tribe. He had healed many of the tribe that had gotten ill and taken care of many injuries. After that, members of the tribe began bringing him gifts much like payment for his services or offerings. He received gold and silver statues and sheets of hammered metal with strange markings or writings on them. When he questioned the chief about them, he said they were special offerings for him from the gods. Having seen none of the tribesmen doing any kind of metal, work he asked where they came from and was told the gods’ holy city. When he questioned the chief, he refused to answer any further questions.”

  “This went on for over a year with no additional information Coming forth about the location of the holy place, but he found out it housed many wondrous things made of metal the color of the sun and others the color of the graying sky and glistening stones of many colors. He thought this could only mean gold, silver and other valuables. Sometime around 1710, he sent a message to the king through a network he had developed of tribes and traders, telling him of the immense wealth that lay at his fingertips and said he would send examples to Havana to be delivered to the Flota and taken to the king.” “I’m sure the king got the message, and now, I believe he sent the ship we’re looking for to pick up the package,” Doc said. We nodded, and he continued, “All right boys put on your aluminum foil hats and get out your Reese’s Pieces.”

  There was a collective “Huh” around the table as Doc continued.

  “Later that year, the chief took him into the mountains. After almost a full day’s climb, they came to a significant clearing where a monumental building complex was being repaired. There were 200 to 300 workers moving about the area. The friar realized that this workforce must be individuals from multiple tribes since in his village there were only 150 members, including men, women and children. This showed a level of cooperation between tribes in the area he had not seen before. When he asked the chief about it he said they were working to restore the city of the gods. As the friar looked around, he saw that the site was much larger than he had first noticed and that many of the structures were covered by jungle growth or hidden by trees. The structures were immense, many of them pyramidal, but looking as if some disaster had ravaged them. There were huge stones lying around in a jumble as if kicked over by a giant foot in a fit of rage and many of the other buildings looked to be in serious disrepair. As he peered into the jungle down what must have been the main colonnade, he saw that it led into a canyon of sorts. Inward sloping sides of immense height blocked out much of the sunlight. In the mists above, he could see the opposing sides never touched, thus creating a shining slit high above. Buildings and their remnants lined the sides of the colonnade, and in the misty distance, he saw what looked to be gigantic carved figures, carved into the natural sloping sides of the walls. He stood in awe of the spectacle before him. It was then he saw two men standing next to a carved block of stone that must have weighed at least ten to 15 Quintals (2,000 to 3,000 lbs.). From where he stood, it looked like they placed a shiny object on top, made some kind of change, and then pushed the stone forward as if it weighed nothing.

  “The friar was awestruck and asked the chief how the men were moving such an immense stone, and the chief replied that the men weren’t moving the stone… the gods were with the sweat of the sun. As the friar moved forward to get a better look, the chief stopped him and said this was a very sacred place and he could not enter… yet. The friar watched as the stone slowly glided along and then was pushed into place by the two workers. Once in place, they removed whatever it was they had placed on top of it, and there was a thud as the stone settled. The two workers went back toward another huge stone.” Doc paused and looked around the room.

  Fitz was the first to speak, “Doc, are you telling us these guys some kind of anti-gravity device?”

  “Not at all,” Doc said, “I’m just telling you what I read in the friar’s journal; the reality of it remains to be determined.”

  Nils said, “It sure the hell sounds like that’s what he saw.”

  “I know,” Doc replied. “But these are just words on paper; we have nothing to substantiate it.”

  “There may be a plausible explanation,” I added.

  “Yet…” Joe said, “This has gone from Indiana Jones to E.T to Close Encounters in a matter of minutes.”

  “If,” Fitz said, “and that’s a big if, we can document what he is saying somehow…” he left the sentence unfinished.

  “I was hoping someone would say that,” Doc replied. “Let me skip ahead toward the end of the journal. Remember, years have passed since that passage. The friar now states that, along with his journal, he is including material and ‘devices’ (my words, Doc acknowledged) from the Holy City and a sacred place under the earth. From what the chief said, he thought it was a cave of sorts. While he is still not sure what these things were, they told him they were devices (my words again) or tools of the gods. The friar tells the king that his next communication with him will have the location of the cave. He was told by the chief he would be shown its location soon. He would describe its contents, which he was assured by the chief is immense and fills many rooms of great size. He signs it and packs it away in the box.”

  A pause, and then Doc continued with a laugh, “Eat your heart out, Steven Spielberg!” As had happened so many times within the last 24 hours, we sat, dumbfounded by what we had just heard. The room was electric; we had discovered what sounded like a record from the 1700’s, describing what can only be called advanced technological devices. Anutu and Theos…could this be evidence of possible contact with another lifeform not from this planet? I
mpossible, or was it?

  I leaned back in my chair to a room as silent as a graveyard at midnight and looked at the clock. It was three a.m., and no one seemed to notice; we all sat there, not saying a word.

  Doc spoke up, “Gentlemen, I thought our discovery of the gold from the longboat was the pinnacle of my career, but I see now that that seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. I think you’ll all agree that with our discoveries today and with those that I know we will make,” he said with a chuckle, “we are about to change the world.” He raised his half-empty glass as our own glasses left the table in salute, “Here’s to a bunch of regular guys who just changed the freaking world.” Hear, hear we chorused.

  As I looked around the room, I realized the only person who hadn’t raised his glass was Nils. He was just staring into it, head down.

  I said, “Nils what’s, up, man?"

  He looked up from his glass with a distant look on his face and said, “All the years I worked at NASA, there was talk about this discovery, this moment, by the Astrophysicist and Planetary geologists, the astronauts, and all their buddies, but a lot of them never sounded convinced of the things they said. It was like it was a rehearsed speech for a sound bite, and the whole time, I believed it. I mean, I really believed, wondering if I would live long enough to see it happen, and now, not only did I live long enough, I’m part of the group that just confirmed it’s true, we are not alone!”

  As I looked at him, I thought I could see him getting misty-eyed and right, then I knew why I called him a friend. He never strayed from the path of his beliefs, and I guess he kept a lot of it bottled up inside.