“You said that you studied with Sam?” Tom asked.
“That’s right. Why do you ask?”
“You studied archeology… what else did you major in?”
“Ancient maritime archeology.”
“You were looking for Atlantis?”
She laughed, “No, I’m searching for something very different, and much more elusive.” Billie said, mysteriously. “Not that I don’t believe Atlantis existed. That’s for certain, but the shape of the world would have been very different all those years ago. It was probably some other land-based civilization that became buried with the turn of an ice age.”
“Then what drew you towards the ocean?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Was that how you met Sam?” he pestered.
“No, that’s a different story.” Her smile told him that there was a lot more to it than that, but that she wasn’t going to reveal her and Sam’s history. “Let’s just say, I’m a third generation archeologist, and I’m still trying to find the answer to a question which plagued my grandfather his entire life.”
“What was he looking for?”
“Materiana — A mythical lost city in the clouds.”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Tom acknowledged.
“The search for its answers drove my grandfather insane — or so we thought, until it got him killed. Obviously, someone took interest in his research.”
“Did your father continue with his research?”
“No, my father knew better. There are people out there who would kill to find it, and those who would kill to keep it a secret.”
“And that’s what you were searching for in Antarctica?”
She looked out the porthole and replied, “No, that’s just what drove me to the field of maritime archeology. Like my father, I know when something is too dangerous.”
Her evasive answer only served to intrigue him more, but he could see that he was making her uncomfortable.
“Was it Sam who introduced the Master Builders into your world?”
She ignored the question and continued reading the known schematics for the mine below the pyramid from her tablet.
There was no way Billie was going to be pushed into speaking about the Master Builders — even though they were now deep under water, where prying ears would struggle to listen.
As the dive bell reached the bottom, the two geared up and prepared to commence their dive.
“Are you ready for this?”
“Let’s see it…”
The tower looked grand up ahead.
“It’s not as large as Sam made out. It looks similar to the great pyramid of Giza, but nowhere near large enough.”
“Just wait until you see what lies beneath the sand. Veyron has left a dive hub on the seafloor, in front of the pyramid’s entrance. A place where we can base ourselves over the next few days while we work.”
Slowly, they kicked their fins toward the entrance, and then descended the tunnel. At the very end of the tunnel, his flashlight shined on the remains of the wrecked Sea Witch.
“Yours?” she asked.
“That one was Sam’s idea. He used it to stop the flooding of the mine below us. A desperate attempt, and one that nearly got us killed — but it saved a lot of lives.”
“That sounds like my Sam.”
To the very left of it, a small hole had been drilled, just big enough for the two to swim through. On the other side, the tunnel narrowed and descended vertically. At the very bottom, Tom turned down the tunnel to the left.
“What’s that way?” she asked.
“About a million tons of concrete. That’s the side that had the leak. It’s been filled with concrete, and the owner of the mine is paying for it to be repaired and then excavated from the other side.”
“Gotcha…”
They dived the next hundred feet down the diagonal tunnel, which ran along the inside of the pyramid.
The pressures were tremendous and the tunnel narrow, playing havoc on the most seasoned diver’s emotions. Many, without any previous knowledge of claustrophobia, would discover a fate worse than death in such a place.
“How you doing?” Tom asked.
“I’m fine… I’ve been in much worse places than this,” she teased. “How about you?”
An image of the incident that nearly killed him last time he was inside the pyramid’s tunnel flashed across his mind. It was no more than a second, but enough to give him pause before he spoke.
“I’m fine… just so long as the walls don’t cave in on me this time.”
He shined his bright flashlight down the tunnel. Its powerful LED light shined like a laser, reaching the bottom of the pyramid.
“There it is… the bottom.”
“I can see it.”
Making the sharp turn, and with self-regulating neutral buoyancy built into their dive suits, it was disorientating whether or not they were now moving laterally, diagonally or vertically. Tom, a confident cave diver, felt the reassurance of bubbles floating on the top of the granite blocks above their heads, allowing him to orient himself.
They were now level.
A little over a hundred slow kicks with his fins and the opening to the first of the three chambers came into view.
It still glowed.
“It’s glowing?” Billie voiced her surprise.
“Yeah, it sure is.”
“Do we know what’s causing that incandescent light?”
“Some sort of large crystal at the center of the King’s Chamber that radiates straight through each level of the tomb.”
“Somehow drawing light from above?” she suggested.
He kicked his flippers gently, propelling himself closer to the entrance ladder, and replied, “No, that’s what we assumed at first, too. Then, when we stayed overnight, the light seemed to just keep glowing.”
“Any ideas what would make that happen?”
“None. We were hoping you might just find out for us, because we sure don’t have any idea.”
“Must be some sort of marine creature… or element that radiates light…”
“No, it’s not that simple…
“What do you mean?” Billie’s voice betrayed her surprise, “Why not?”
Sam gripped the first rung of the ladder before replying, “You’ll just have to see it. Can you make it up that ladder?”
“Sure can,” she replied, climbing with the additional 80 pounds of dive equipment as though it were nothing. She was fit, that was for sure.
Tom followed her and, climbing into the first of the three chambers, removed his dive helmet.
Billie paused, “Are we certain it’s safe?”
“The cyanide?”
“I’m an archeologist, but even I know how lethal it can be.”
“It’s safe, but just in case, our life support watches will let us know if there are any changes.”
“And the air in this room?”
“It’s good. We should have several days’ worth of oxygen to look after us.”
Tom left all of the equipment they would need for the next few days at the first chamber, and they climbed the ladders to the second and then up and into the last one. The King’s Chamber.
Watching her enter the room, Tom saw her reaction immediately…
“Motherfucker! He’s found the Master Builders…”
Chapter Nine
Sam gripped the throttle of his dive scooter, propelling himself towards the dark tunnel ahead. Two had already been searched thoroughly, but this was the first opportunity that he’d had to travel through any of them.
The tunnel was wide, providing ample room to maneuver the specialized underwater craft. With its narrow lines, it resembled a miniature torpedo more than the life sustaining dive machine that it was. Its propellers broke hydrogen bonds that formed to create water, releasing oxygen for the rider. In addition to its carbon fiber dive tank, it had the ability to provide enough breathable gas for its rider, up to 5 hours.