“I’ll admit it’s been a pretty bad week.” Sam squatted down and touched the edge of the pond, even putting his hand near the ground sucked the warmth out of his hand. “Any idea what caused it?”
“None whatsoever. I was hoping you two might shed some light on it?”
“I’m a marine biologist and Billie’s an archaeologist. What assistance do you think the two of us could provide?”
“I have no idea, but you tend to know about some sort of impending cataclysmic event. I have no idea what’s causing it, but whatever it is, I’m telling you now – it has begun.”
Sam listened to the words. If Demyan only knew how right he was. “All right, what about this ice tunnel. Has anyone been down it yet?”
“Down it?” Demyan shook his head. “Why would anyone want to do that? A young man was burned to death in the pond. You can still see his bones, frozen in the ice. His fiancé told me he’d brought her here to propose just this morning.”
Sam looked at his watch. It was 3 p.m. and somehow in that short time the pond had gone from boiling to freezing. Something about the thought stuck with him. “Why is the pond still freezing? Why hasn’t it thawed?”
“I know. It’s nearly ninety degrees Fahrenheit outside, so why hasn’t the pond started to thaw?” Demyan took a deep breath. “The temperature coming out of the tunnel is nearly thirty degrees below freezing.”
“You got any explanation for that?”
“No.”
Sam looked around, the area was riddled with scientists. “Where’s the girl, now?”
“Who?”
“The unlucky fiancé.”
“She’s over there.” Demyan pointed to the other end of the pond.
Sam glanced at the woman. She was tall and athletic, with pale white skin that looked like it was rarely exposed to the sun. She was reading something. Apart from the slight reddening around her eyes where she had no doubt been crying earlier, she appeared well composed. She had a strong face with a well-defined jawline. If he’d met her in any other circumstance, his first impression would have been that she was pretty. Instead, all he saw was the tremendous burden of fatigue and guilt now etched on her face, as though she should have somehow foreseen the danger. He wished someone had contacted one of her friends or family, someone she knew well, who could take care of her.
He asked, “Why is she still here?”
Demyan shrugged. “Says she wants answers. Adamant she’s not leaving here until someone can find a scientific explanation for the impossible.”
“What did you tell her?”
“The truth. I have no idea.”
Sam glanced at the deep funnel of ice. “Any guess how deep that thing goes?”
Demyan smiled. “Look. I’ve seen a lot of things happen that I never thought would be possible. But none compare to this. I mean, this entire island is full of hot magma. There are five active volcanoes on the island and one submarine volcano to the south. Whatever opening ripped through the Earth, it’s deeper than the roots to this island. Heck, the closest climate cold enough to cause this sort of thing would be above the Arctic Circle – but it beats me how this tunnel should reach there. If you’ll excuse me, I want to take another set of samples from the ice. We’re measuring the gasses inside – it might give us some indication of where this tunnel originates.”
“All right.” Sam looked at Billie. “You got any ideas what we’re doing here?”
She shook her head. “Beats me. The coincidence between this location and the one we spotted on the stone tablet we retrieved from the Tepui Mountains is too much to be just that. But I can’t see how there could be a temple anywhere near here. Unless you want to go walking down that tunnel to the frozen center of the Earth.”
Sam looked up at the sky through the filtered canopy of the jungle. It was a light blue, without any signs of an afternoon rain. It was going to be a nice afternoon, despite their icy location. “From what Demyan tells us, that tunnel might well be as long as the Aleutian Portal and defy the logic of science just as much.”
“So, what are we supposed to be doing here, while the sands of time are running out?” Billie asked.
“I don’t know. There must be something. I’m going to go talk to the girl.”
“Who?” Billie asked.
“The tourist. The one who just got engaged.”
Billie bit her bottom lip. “I believe her fiancé got boiled alive and then frozen today.”
“Even so. With the exception of her fiancé, she’s the only person who was here when this happened. If there is anything to be learned from being here, she might be the only one to tell us.”
“You think that’s wise?” Billie asked.
“No. But I’m not leaving here until we’re certain this event isn’t connected to the missing temples.”
“Suit yourself.”
“You coming with me?” he asked.
Billie shook her head. “To speak to the woman who just lost her fiancé? Hell no.”
Sam shrugged and walked around the frozen spring. He noticed that the unlucky tourist was rapidly scanning a book on the history of volcanoes in the region. She was transfixed in its pages, as though within them, answers might be revealed.
She spotted him glancing at her, and looked up. Her dark brown eyes examined him like a scientist dissecting her specimen. She smiled – without attempting to hide the fact that it was forced – but he guessed it would have been usually quite stunning. “May I help you?” she asked.
He offered his hand. “I’m sorry. My name’s Sam Reilly. I was told you were here when this happened.”
She took it without hesitation. Her handshake was firm. “I watched my fiancé burn to death.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said, hopelessly. “I understand nothing I, or anyone else is going to say to you will ever make that any better.”
She asked directly, “What can I do for you, sir?”
“I realize you’ve already told your story to a dozen or more people, but I’d like to ask you some questions about when this happened.”
“Why?”
“Same reason you’re still waiting here. I want answers.” He sighed. “And right now, I can’t even guess where they might come from.”
“Okay.” She smiled at his honesty. It looked genuine. “What’s your role here?”
“I was asked to come here for my unique insight into the highly unusual phenomenon.”
“You’re a volcanologist?” she asked.
“No. A marine biologist.”
“Really?” Her face scrunched up in a gesture of surprise. “What’s a marine biologist know about seismic activity?”
“Nothing.”
“So why are you here?”
He answered her question with one of his own. “Have you ever heard of thermohaline circulation?”
“Sure. It’s a system of currents throughout the Earth’s oceans, trying to achieve temperature equilibrium. Warm water to cold areas and vice-versa.”
“Exactly.” Sam was surprised by the confidence of her response, and instantly wondered about her background, but thought better of asking her – it wasn’t directly related to their problem. “In the past two weeks, the magnetic poles have moved farther away from their respective positions and closer to the equator. This has effectively altered the course of the thermohaline system.”
“You think the direction of the current’s changed, meaning that instead of warm volcanic water running beneath the Phoiki spring, it’s drawing its water from the Arctic?” she asked.
The question was astute, one that Sam himself had considered. “The thought’s crossed my mind, but it’s pretty farfetched. But I don’t have any other theories.”
Her dark brown eyes fixed on his with defiance. “Why are you really here, and why did you bring an archaeologist?”
“Who said I brought an archaeologist?”
“You did, while you were talking to Demyan Yezhov, the volcanologist.”
“You have good hearing.” Sam looked down and then met her piercing eyes. “You really want to hear my story?”
“Look. I’m not blaming anyone for Adrian’s death. It was a freak accident, nothing more. I just want to know how it happened. You’re not the first person to lie to me today. But I have a feeling you might just be the first to tell me the truth.”
“Okay. The truth is, I have no idea what caused this bizarre event.” Sam sighed, heavily. “Yesterday my friend and I were examining an ancient stone tablet we believed to be a map of four very important temples. It depicted a set of stars that matched a constellation. Another friend of mine is a mathematical genius. She superimposed the map, the constellation, and an image of the world. Only one of the locations was over land – which isn’t all that surprising, given that seventy percent of the globe is covered in ocean.”
“You came here because an ancient map told you to come?”
Sam’s lips curled in an incredulous and wry smile. “Yeah, well you can imagine our surprise when we found out what happened today.”
“Okay.”
“Okay, what?” Sam asked.
“Thanks for telling me the truth.”
Sam shook his head. “You wouldn’t accept that I’d come here to help because I was a marine biologist, but you’re willing to take my insane story at face value?”
“Sure. You’re a terrible liar. You tend to hold your breath more when you’re lying.”
“I don’t!”
“It’s all right. It doesn’t matter.” Airlie laughed. “I’m sorry you didn’t find your temple. Was it important?”
“Right now, it’s probably the most important place on Earth.”
“What was the constellation?”
“Aquila.”
“Do you have a picture?”
“Sure. Do you know anything about astronomy?”
“As a matter of fact, I just completed my PhD in astrophysics.”
“Get out of here!” Sam unlocked his cell phone and showed her a picture of the stone tablet, under a black light, where the four unmarked sapphires depicted the hidden temples that made up the constellation of Aquila.”
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it. But the constellation isn’t Aquila.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain. See this bright star here?”
Sam nodded. “Altair?”
She nodded. “It looks like Altair, but it isn’t. See how it’s to the left, where it should be to the right of this triangle of stars. It’s easy to confuse because it’s so bright.”
Sam swallowed hard. “Any idea what it is then?”
“Sure. That’s the constellation of Contrarian, because it’s a mirror image of the constellation of Aquila. Although I don’t think your stone actually refers to the same body of stars.”
“Why not?”
“Because Contrarian was only recently discovered using the Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea.”
“Any chance an ancient race, highly advanced in astronomy could have spotted the constellation first?”
Airlie laughed. “Not a hope in the world.”
“Are you certain? From what I’ve seen, the world had some extraordinary astronomers ten thousand years ago.”
“I agree, but seeing Contrarian would have been impossible by the human eye without very powerful assistance.”
Sam sighed. He was grasping at straws. “Just out of interest, I don’t suppose you know what Contrarian means in English?”
“I sure do. It means opposite.”
“If this map were made today, do you think its cartographers would have wanted us to know that the locations identified mean the opposite?”
“Maybe. That’s more your expertise. I deal with the stars rather than the Earth’s antipodes.”
“What did you say?” Sam asked.
“I deal more with the stars than the Earth’s antipodes… why?”
Sam called out to Billie. “Get your laptop out.”
Billie stepped toward them, removed her backpack and started her computer. “What’s up?”
Sam said, “Dr. Swan, this is Dr. Chapman. She just pointed out that we were wrong about Aquila. It’s actually the constellation of Contrarian, meaning opposite…”
“Or antipode!” Billie beat him to it.
“Exactly.”
Billie put her laptop on the volcanic rock in front of the three of them. An antipode was the direct opposite mark on the planet. Like the old concept that if you keep digging a hole through the Earth’s crust, you’ll reach China, an antipode is a mathematical opposite to any given coordinate on Earth.
She typed the current coordinates into her world map software. Mathematically, the geographical coordinates of an antipodal point can be calculated by converting each coordinate to the opposite latitude. For example, 45 degrees North becomes 45 degrees South. Then the longitude needs to be subtracted from 180 degrees. For example, 25 degrees West will be 180 degrees minus 25 degrees, making the antipode 155 degrees East.
Billie clicked enter and the program gave the answer immediately.
She shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“What is it?” Sam asked.
“The antipode to the Phoiki Hot Pond is somewhere in the southern half of Africa.”
Sam’s eyes widened and his lips curled into a grin. “Let me guess – the buried pyramid of the Kalahari Desert.”
Billie nodded, “Exactly.”
Chapter Forty-One
Within five minutes Billie had the exact locations of the four hidden temples.
Sam stared at the list of locations. The computer had automatically identified the closest known town or spot to the location. The sight took his breath away.
Orvieto – Italy.
Kalahari Desert – Namibia
Sigiriya – Indonesia
Lord Howe Island – Australia
Airlie glanced at the list. “Nice list for a vacation.”
Sam nodded. “If the extinction of the human race weren’t riding on it.”
“That bad, hey?”
“That bad.”
Sam grabbed his cell phone again and dialed a number. “Tom! We found something. I need you and Genevieve to head over to Arizona University. The Professor there will give you one of the sacred stones. I need you to take it somewhere.”
“Sure, where?” Tom asked.
“Orvieto, Italy.”
“Anywhere in particular. Or just the walled city?”
“I have no idea. Just get there as soon as you can. I’ll get Billie to email you with the information we found. Good luck.”
He hung up and then pressed the contact number for Professor Douglas Capel. The phone rang. Twice.
On the third attempt, the Professor answered. “What?”
“We found the location of the hidden temples. Tell me you worked out how to move the sacred stones!”
“I’m still putting it all together, but the stones should be transferable within the next couple hours.”
“That’s great. Tom will be by to pick one of them up. Billie will send you an email with the locations where we need to send the other three stones. How would you like an all-expense paid trip around the world?”
“At my age, I’d just as happily stay at home. But, why not?”
“Good. Just out of interest, how did you resolve the problem of transporting the sacred stones of blackbody?”
“I constructed a vacuum. No air meant no electrons to steal. The stone remains a constant weight inside.”
“That’s great. Well done.”
Sam hung up. He glanced at Airlie. “Dr. Chapman, I can’t tell you how much you’ve helped us. Your information might just have saved the entire human race from extinction.”
Airlie stood up and started to pack her small travel bag. “I’m coming with you.”
Sam grinned. “Where?”
“Wherever it is you’re going. To the antipode of this place. Where that
constellation is directing you.”
“Shouldn’t you wait here?”
“My fiancé’s dead. There’s nothing I can do here to bring him back. But if I come with you, I might just find a way to make it so that he didn’t die in vain.”
Sam remained silent. The last thing he needed right now was a tag-a-long.
“I won’t slow you down. But I might be able to help. If you’ve told the truth about anything today, we both know you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
He knew the importance of having something to concentrate your efforts on after a terrible event like losing someone close to you. Sam didn’t know what she could do, but he wasn’t going to turn her help away, either. “Look. I need to check something out. I’ll be back in a few days. Give me your number and I’ll contact you.”
She took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right. I should probably tell his family. Call me if there’s anything I can do.”
“Of course.”
Demyan greeted him as he was leaving. “You found something?”
“Yes. Not here though.”
“That’s great news.” Demyan swapped cell numbers. “If I find anything I think you might need, I’ll call you. You’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, right?”
“Of course,” Sam promised.
Chapter Forty-Two
Orvieto – Italy
The historic red and white funicular lurched forward with a jolt.
Tom Bower gripped Genevieve’s hand affectionately as they traveled beneath a thick forest of Italian pine, which formed a natural arbor through which their carriage ascended. The medieval walled city of Piazza Cahen rose majestically out of a great volcanic plug that extended more than five hundred feet above.
The single line carriageway used two cars and a central pivot point to allow simultaneous uphill and downhill routes along the constant sixteen-degree slope for the entire duration of the nearly two-thousand-foot route.
Tom glanced at the approaching carriage. It traveled downward and toward them, at a combined speed of forty feet per second. He watched, half-waiting for the two to crash into one another. At the last moment, the approaching carriage shifted to the right as theirs shifted to the left and the two passed with no more than a few inches to spare on either side.
The Sam Reilly Collection Volume 3 Page 68
