Carter decided not to tell anyone about finding the Ark of the Covenant. He said only that they went to Axum and visited the famous church, but that the ark there was only another replica. When asked how they thought to go there from Turkey, he explained that he got the idea because the Titanic map had more detail in Ethiopia than any other place except for Mt. Ararat. He made no mention of the invisible lines. Instead, he put forth the idea that perhaps the Ark of Covenant was built using wood from Noah’s Ark, and this notion was promptly disregarded by scholars.
Carter walked out into the yard, down to where a small, babbling brook traversed his property and ran downhill to the city below. It wasn’t always running, only after enough rain, but it was now. Smiling, he took the piece of the Ark of the Covenant from his pocket it and turned it over in his hands. So much history, so many people’s lives affected by this piece of wood…
Reaching the stream, he held the fragment of the covenant lid in his hands for a moment, turning it over as he contemplated it. Then he tossed it into the water. He watched it drift away, slowly at first, then picking up speed as it left his property and started downhill toward the city, toward humanity, toward the future.