"I want you to bring back the original of this photograph and a map that accompanies it. The map will date to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. It should be easy to identify. The address where everything was sent is in the folder, along with a picture of the woman and a summary of who she is. Do not underestimate her. She is part of a direct action team, highly trained."
"She's a woman. I can handle it."
"Don't let your balls get in the way, Major."
Yeltsin stiffened at the rebuke. "Sir."
"This mission requires discretion. It would be much better if you avoid any wet stuff but if it comes to that, make sure you are not apprehended. There must be no trace of our involvement. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Pick your team and let me know when you are ready to leave. Make it soon."
"I can leave later today."
"Excellent. Dismissed."
Yeltsin snapped his heels together and left the room.
As he walked down the hall he looked at the picture of Selena.
An attractive woman, he thought. It would be interesting to interrogate her.
He thought about how he would question her and began to whistle as he walked.
CHAPTER 5
"You need a break." Nick set a cup of black coffee in front of Selena. Steam rose from the surface. "You've been sitting in that chair for hours."
Selena's desk was littered with notes and references. She leaned back, stretching.
"Thanks." She picked up the coffee, blew on it and took a sip.
"Did you learn anything new?"
"The pillar was erected during the reign of King Menes, which makes it more than five thousand years old. What I've translated so far falls right in line with legends about Atlantis. Sometimes legends are all that's left when history has disappeared."
"How is the inscription like the legends?"
"It describes a city built on a plain with a mountain in the center. It has three concentric rings marked off by canals, with the ruler's palace in the central ring. That fits with Plato's description."
"You really think this is about Atlantis." It wasn't a question.
"It's beginning to look that way."
"What did Plato say?"
"The first known mention of Atlantis comes in two of his dialogues, Timaeus and Critia. According to Plato, Athens is supposed to have defeated Atlantis in a great naval battle. There's no historical record of a battle like that ever taking place."
"Why write about it if it never happened?"
"His dialogues are mostly political allegory meant to glorify the Athenian way of life. There have always been people who think Atlantis was real. They argue Plato was using an historical example that the people of his time would have recognized. A historian named Crantor was a contemporary of Plato. He claimed to have interviewed Egyptian priests who showed him the history of Atlantis written down on pillars. The pillar in the photograph could be one of those."
"That's a pretty big stretch."
"It fits, doesn't it?"
"It still doesn't prove Atlantis was real."
"No, but what if it was? What if this inscription is referring to a source of power that could be re-discovered and used? It would benefit everyone."
"Or it could be turned into a weapon," Nick said. "That would be another reason for the Russians to go after Sokolov."
"The implications of this are endless," Selena said. "Take the pyramids, for example. Archaeologists still argue about how the Egyptians built them using those huge blocks of stone. Some of them weigh hundreds of tons and they're fitted together with perfection. How did they get them into place? If the inscription describes something real, it explains how it was done."
"I thought they dragged them behind slaves and built ramps as they went up. Like in the movies."
"Maybe for the lower levels, but there's a point where that can't be done anymore." Selena tapped her notes with her finger. "One of the theories is that the pyramid builders had something like what's described on this pillar and used it to to lift the stones through the air. Antigravity, if you like."
"Next you're going to tell me aliens did it."
"The UFO people would probably say something like that but you don't need aliens if this inscription is accurate."
Nick shook his head. "I've never seen anything that backs up the idea the pyramids were built by people from Atlantis. There isn't any proof Atlantis ever existed."
"This photograph could be the proof. Besides, no one is quite sure how old the pyramids are. Some archaeologists think the pyramids and the Sphinx are a lot older than they're supposed to be."
"How much older?"
"Most think the great pyramid was built about 2560 BCE. The Sphinx is supposed to be from around the same time. But there are experts who insist there's enough evidence to date the Sphinx as early as 10,000 BCE or earlier. The face of the Pharaoh may have been carved out at a later date."
"That's impossible."
"Not if the Sphinx was placed there by an earlier civilization. There's an account from the time of Khufu that says it was buried up to its neck in sand when it was discovered. Khufu is supposed to have built the great pyramid."
"Without more than this photograph there's no way to verify any of this," Nick said.
"That's why we need to go look for that pillar. There might be something in the rest of this inscription that could do that."
"And if there isn't?"
"We still have the map."
"You want to look for more records in Egypt?"
"It might be the only way to prove this one way or the other."
Selena sipped her coffee.
"I was thinking about the Russians. If they caught up with Sokolov, they'll know he sent the picture and the map to me. They might want them back."
"The thought had occurred to me." Nick sighed. "If they're serious, they'll come looking for it."
"I'll say one thing. Things haven't been dull since the first day we met."
Nick laughed. "That's not a day we're likely to forget."
"I don't ever want to have another day like that one." Selena picked up the photograph. "Something's bothering me about this. I think I've seen this writing before, but I can't remember where."
"It will come back to you."
"Or not. I'd better get back to work."
"I'm going for a run," Nick said. "There's still plenty of light."
Selena turned back to her study of the inscription on the pillar. Vaguely, she registered the door closing behind him as he left.
An hour later, she finished translating a long passage.
Wait until Elizabeth hears this.
CHAPTER 6
Nick and Selena were in Elizabeth's office.
"A stone?" Elizabeth said. "They used a stone to move things?"
"It could be some kind of crystal. Maybe a meteorite. I can't tell from what I've seen so far. They called it the Stone of the Gods."
"Selena, I have to ask you this. Please don't take it the wrong way."
Selena waited.
"Have you been taking drugs? A new prescription, perhaps?"
Selena snorted. "No, Elizabeth, no drugs. No funny cigarettes or anything else. I can't help it if this sounds like something out of an opium dream."
"The whole thing is fantastic," Elizabeth said.
"There's more. The inscription mentions an underground archive where all the knowledge of Atlantis was stored for safekeeping."
"An underground archive?" Elizabeth looked at Selena, astonished. "Are you sure?"
"An archive or a library. "
"Where was it located?"
"All I know is that it's underground and that it's guarded. That could mean anything. If we could find it, it would be the greatest archaeological discovery ever made. Nothing else even comes close."