Connexion : The Atlantis Project, Book.1 (36 page)

“
I can’t see anything on that ball,
Charlie – except our reflection, of course.”

“You’re right; there’s nothing on it. I had
hoped there would be some symbols or writing or figures engraved in
the metal, but apparently that’s not the case.”

“
Do you think we can touch it? I’m curious
to know whether the metal is cold or if it gives off heat. It looks
like a miniature sun, don’t you think?”

“Maybe, with a lot of imagination; but I
mainly see a manufactured object that must necessarily hold a
source of information or some kind of device.”

They got up in the end and each placed a hand
on the perfectly smooth surface of the sphere. It was impossible to
tell if it was hot or cold through his suit so Jacques began to
take off one of his gloves but Charlie suddenly interrupted him
forcefully.

“Don’t do that! The outside of these suits is
sterile, but not the inside. We’re right up by her face – I forbid
it!”

“
Sorry, I’d forgotten that
detail.”

“For you it’s just a detail, but for her it’s
a matter of life and death!”

“
Okay! Let’s forget it, Charlie. I
understand your concern, and it’s completely justified. Tell me
what you count on doing now.”

“If there’s nothing on the outside, maybe
there’s something inside it.”

“
How do you plan on opening it?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Victor knew. He
must be the one who hid a message in it. He must know how to open
it. He might even be the one who designed it, or maybe it was his
brother.”

“
His brother? You never told me he had a
brother.”

“We’re alone now and nobody can listen in on
our conversation here. I was waiting for the right moment to tell
you.”

“
Tell me what?”

“Victor had a brother, a renowned scientist
who was working on an alternate project to the hibernation
caves.”

“
You mean there are other caves like this
one?”

“Yes, there are others all over the
planet!”

“
How many giants are there?”

“I don’t know. Probably tens of thousands,
maybe more; it’s impossible to say. How many survived? That’s the
real question.”

“
Do you think Giuseppe knows?”

“No, I’d be surprised if he did and I’m in no
hurry for him to find out. He could see it as a threat to
humanity.”

“
Wouldn’t he be right? They’re huge and
their technology is nothing like ours. What would happen if they
all came up above ground? Did you think of that?”

Charlie took the time to think before
answering the disturbing question.

“I don’t know how to explain this, Jacques,
but I have faith in Victor. We’ll see where it leads us.”

“
I don’t know Victor, but I do know you. I
guess I have to trust you. How are you planning on asking him for
the manual to this super medallion?”

“That won’t be necessary. I not only know how
to read their language, but I also remember a lot of his memories.
Let’s keep exploring! I feel hopeful that we will end up finding
something that I will recognize.”

Jacques complied, leading the way, unstable
on this soft and supple terrain. They walked around the object
several times, feeling all over it until Charlie noticed a
miniscule triangle that they only saw because it was right under
their noses.

“There! Look, Jacques, that’s an
on-button.”

“
It’s miniscule.”

“That’s the whole point of the system. Even
though we’re ten times smaller than them, we still almost missed
it.”

“
It reminds me of Gulliver’s Travels,
except that I used to identify more with the giant than with the
Lilliputians. Now it’s the opposite. I feel so small.”

Without hesitating, Charlie reached out and
pressed on the little triangle with the tip of his finger.
Immediately, the sphere lost its shine and became completely matte.
A map of a planet soon appeared before their eyes, with its oceans
and continents grouped around a central axis linking the two poles,
which were also clearly visible and distinguished by a much lighter
color than the rest of the land. Inscriptions also appeared along
the central band in the form of writing which had remained shiny
while the rest of the metal became matte. The contrast was enough
to make them visible to someone who knew what to look for.

“
What is that? It looks like a planet
similar to Earth but the land masses are laid out
differently.”

“It really is the Earth, Jacques, except that
we’re seeing it as it was millions of years ago, at the time when
the N.H.I’s must have been the dominant species. Back then, the
land was grouped together in a sort of supercontinent which began
to break up very gradually due to movements of the Earth’s crust.
Ever since, the fragments have continued moving to form the Earth
as we know it today.”

“
If what you say is true, that means that
they lived on the Earth at least two hundred million years ago,
maybe more! That’s highly unlikely. How could they have survived
for so long? No technology – no matter how advanced – could work a
miracle like that.”

“And yet, that’s what happened, Jacques. They
existed well before the dinosaurs.”

“
How can you be sure? To my knowledge no
one has ever found the slightest trace of their existence on the
Earth; no fossils, no artifacts. A civilization like that couldn’t
go noticed. I can’t believe it.”

“When I was exploring Victor’s memories I
discovered that the N.H.I.’s were trying to flee the Earth to
escape some cosmic cataclysm; probably an asteroid shower which
threatened to annihilate all life on the planet.”

“
What do you mean by ‘escape’? You mean
out in space?”

“Yes. At least, that’s the project they were
working on, but they started too late for everyone to be able to
leave. That’s why they built these underground bases. They were
supposed to protect them from the impact and its consequences while
those who had been able to escape were organizing a rescue
mission.”

“
And they never came, if I understand
correctly.”

“No, that’s right. I don’t think they did. To
tell the truth, I don’t even know if they survived the escape into
space.”

“
But then, that means that unless we do
something, they’re all condemned to die?”

“Maybe not.”

“
What do you mean?”

“You know as well as I do that they’re in the
waking phase. That’s the whole reason why we’re here. Remember what
Francisco told us? He thinks some sort of signal could have been
sent to set off the process to bring all the N.H.I.’s out of
hibernation. He actually made a link between that signal and the
mysterious explosion we were victims of, but nobody could ever tell
us anything more about that. I’m certain that they aren’t telling
us everything. They must have managed to get to the bottom of that
incident. A catastrophe of that type can’t escape notice. They had
the technical, political and financial means to investigate the
matter and they would have used them, believe me.”

Jacques’ face was getting progressively paler
as he understood the true significance of this cave. Much more than
a sensational discovery, it may even mean the end of the world; the
end of human domination which nothing until now had ever
threatened.

“They’re coming back!” he said aloud. “And
we’re helping them! Isn’t that it, Charlie? You’re their ally
now.”

“No, I’m no one’s ally – and even less, their
plaything. Neither is Victor, actually. Nothing tells us that the
signal came from outer space. I have good reason to believe it came
from somewhere on Earth.”

“
What are you talking about?”

“There’s more: there’s another base – or
rather, a city – founded by Victor’s brother. It’s somewhere under
Antarctica.”

“
Another hibernation base – what
difference does that make? Is that meant to reassure me?”

“I don’t know if the project succeeded, but
it’s not a hibernation base. It’s an actual city, designed for
gathering all those who did not trust the Exodus project or putting
their lives on hold. Even the members of the Council didn’t know
about it. It’s a secret city whose name, translated into our
language, would be something like ‘Australopolis’, according to
what Victor told me. That’s the real reason we came here, Jacques!
I was looking for the coordinates to that city, and I’ve just found
them! Look – the medallion is a globe of the world and the
inscriptions along the equator are actually geographical
coordinates: the coordinates to Australopolis.”

“
What do you expect to find there,
Charlie?”

“I don’t know, but we only have a few decades
ahead of us. We have to solve this mystery before the waking phase
is over or it will be too late.”

End of Book One