SHA’EL’S CHOICE
1
Back at the Glacier Queen, the adults sat about for some time talking quietly in hushed tones. Each had watched their sons and daughters climb down the stairway and enter the longboat. They had watched as the dolphins arrived, took the ropes about them and headed off down river pulling the longboat behind them. Less than an hour later a crewman came in and informed them that the dolphins had returned the longboat. Ian looked about and recognized what was happening and decided to take action.
“All right people,” he boomed out standing in the center of the room, “we have an expedition to get ready for. Now what do we need, what kind of supplies and gear do we need to take with us?”
It was just the jolt they needed to wake them from their approaching depression. Being scientists they quickly rose to the occasion and began to call out, “ropes, and plenty of water, picks and shovels, lamps and flashlights, sleeping bags, and the small pop-up tents.”
“Didn’t Josh say that the Dolphin told him there was plenty of food on the island? We can limit the amount we bring with us and maybe bring some extra things,” offered Jonas Waite.
Ian smiled, happy that he had accomplished what he had set out to do - get their minds thinking again. He gathered his crew and selected four men to accompany them. An hour later they had gathered all their gear together in the lounge.
Ian took the lead and suggested, “I’ve been thinking about what Josh said; I think we should stay together and head for the ancient city. He said we would find all the answers to our questions there, so I propose we start there. We can always go off in different directions later; but for now I suggest we stay together.”
“Agreed Ian,” Robert said quickly, “I was going to suggest the same thing.”
By 11:00am all their gear was loaded in one of the longboats and they were headed for the ancient stone pier. The water was calm and crystal clear allowing them to see a long ways down. As they approached the stone pier they spied some stairs on a lower landing leading up to the main walkway. They coasted close to the landing and two of the crewmen leapt out of the lead boat and tied it up. They walked over to the second and grabbed the lines tossed to them and tied it up too. All the scientists climbed out and everyone went to the second boat and unloaded it. Each grabbed something and they all turned and faced the stairway.
Ian and Robert took the lead and began the climb up the stairway. As they stepped onto the landing, a large golden catlike animal met them. It was sitting there staring at them with large violet almond-shaped eyes; the size of a large tiger, it blinked once and then threw its head back and let out a long howl. Both men froze in their tracks.
“You think it’s dangerous?” asked Ian under his breath.
“Well, the dolphin did say nothing on the island would harm us,” Robert answered shakily.
“Oh you two,” Amanda exclaimed in disgust. She had come up behind them and quickly taken in and assessed in the situation. She stepped between them and pushed them apart as she went down on one knee. Licking the back of her hand she extended it to the creature all the while saying in a singsong voice, “well hello there, my my, aren’t you beautiful! Come on, come here, I won’t hurt you,” she said stretching her hand.
The creature arched its back and stretched itself and then jauntily pranced to her. It sniffed her hand, licking it once, and then rubbed itself against Amanda almost knocking her over. Amanda scratched the creature’s head and neck and it purred loudly. The rest of the party came up onto the landing and watched as Amanda interacted with the creature. She ran her hand over its thick furred body stroking it gently; it looked up at her and purred even louder.
She laughed, “I bet it’s been a long time since someone gave you any attention, my sweet golden girl. Oh such a beautiful girl you are, yes sweetie-pie.” Amanda stood up, “well, we have to be on our way girl, would you care to come with us?”
The cat meowed once and, tail in the air, pranced down the pier to a pathway that led off into the jungle. There she sat waiting for the scientists to join her. Amanda laughed and headed off after her turning around to the others.
“Well, come on you guys, you aren’t afraid of a little cat, are you?”
With that she turned around, adjusted her backpack, and headed off down the pier to the waiting feline. Everyone laughed and joined her quickly.
As they moved along they could see that this had once been a road long ago; now overgrown with vines from the encroaching jungle. The cat-like creature continued on its way with unconcern. Amanda, in the lead, followed along commenting on the flora and fauna surrounding them. One of the scientists, Hilda Edelman, a veterinarian turned marine biologist, informed the group that many of the ferns they were passing were from long extinct species. Every mile or so and she would exclaim, ‘Look here’, and then, overly excited, revert to her native language of German, spewing out a long explanation. She begged them to allow her to camp in the jungle and examine it further. They promised her that once they reached the city and set up a base camp, they would allow her to return with two of the crewmen as guards.
It took them four hours to reach the city. One minute they were in the jungle, and the next they passed thru tangled grass six feet high into a clearing. Before them was a huge grassy plain, the pathway led up towards a hill, the cat waiting patiently for them at the top. As they approached, they could see the city laid out before them. Several commented that it reminded them of Machu Picchu. It differed only in that in the center of this huge city was a golden pyramid. All roads and side streets were centered around and leading to the great structure. They slowly made their way down the path and stood at the entrance to the city with mixed emotions. Fear, apprehension, and great curiosity filled them all.
It was Robert who took the first step thru the archway. Turning he called to his fellow scientists, “well what are you waiting for? This is a once in a lifetime chance, come on!”
They entered the city and moved thru its deserted streets quietly, almost in reverence. They followed the cat as it zigzagged along as it seemed to know where it was going. Looking around at the buildings they almost expected someone to come out and greet them. It was very eerie; there was no sound except for the shuffling of their boots on the stone ground. They came out of one of the side streets and found themselves in a plaza with the golden pyramid before them. There appeared to be a deep moat around the entire structure, long since dried up. The cat kept moving, following the roadway along the side of the structure. They pursued close behind, slowly looking about them carefully. As they came around the corner of the pyramid they could see the cat had stopped midway, waiting.
They came up to her and looked about and realized that they were standing at the archway to a long bridge that led directly to the doors of the pyramid. As the sun shined down on the two massive golden doors they could see there was something etched onto both of them. The closer they came the clearer the image became until they recognized the etchings; there was a giant Dolphin on one door, and an Orca on the other.
“Do you see Robert?” Amanda said breathlessly, “This all fits into our dreams, I think all our answers lay inside.” She looked about, “but how do we open it? I see no latch.”
They fanned out and inspected the door and the walls on each side. They found nothing to indicate a lever of any kind. It was Amanda who figured it out. As they were all looking for an opening, she watched the cat; it was sitting there as if waiting for something. After all that had occurred in the past several days, Amanda put it all together and came up with an idea. She knew if she said anything they would think her mad, so she simply acted upon it. As she was approaching the cat, Robert turned and watched. Waving his hands he called the others over and pointed to Amanda; they all watched curiously.
She went up to the cat and knelt down and speaking in a soft voice asked, “My we go inside and see the wonders waiting there?”
The cat rubbed itself against Amanda and stepped forward onto a golden plate in the floor. She threw her head back and howled loudly. There was a loud clicking noise, as if a series of locks were being released, then the doors began to slowly swing open. There was a hissing sound as the old trapped air escaped in a rush. They all stepped back and waited until the doors were wide open. Learning quickly, they waited for the cat to step thru the opening before they continued. They followed her down a long hallway and were taking out their flashlights when the place seemed to come alive. Giant urns at least ten feet tall, one on each side of the hallway, burst into flame illuminating the area. They found themselves in a long golden hallway.
The cat continued on and they followed her to another set of huge doors, these obviously led to a room of some kind. Amanda saw more etchings on the door and inspected them carefully. She noted that one resembled a handprint of sorts. She placed her hand on the print and the doors hissed and began to slide open into the room. They were standing on a landing, stairs leading downward. Six more gigantic urns around the room burst into flame allowing them to see what no man had seen in thousands of years.
For all intents and purposes, they were in a classroom of sorts, or possibly a library. There was no other explanation for the scene below them. They could see stone benches spread throughout in six different groupings. Each centered about a long stone table, and on each table were a stack of gold metal tablets. They all looked towards Jeffery for an explanation.
Jeffery Hyde-White was famous for his ability to read ancient languages and maps. He had an uncanny ability and often worked with Amanda on projects; so often, in fact, that they treated each other like brother and sister. He looked about the room, went to one of the tables and inspected the tablets saying he believed the tablets were books of some sort. But he did not think they were gold.
On closer inspection, Amanda and Robert both agreed that it was not gold, but metal. And they both insisted, like no metal either of them had ever seen before. All of a sudden Jeffery reached over and took the tablet out of Amanda’s hand and turned it over.
“Look Amanda.” On the tablet were a series of hieroglyphics. “Look here at this ideogram, doesn’t it look familiar?”
Amanda looked at the tablet carefully. Her eyes flew wide in excitement, “I recognize this one and this one here too! Jeffery, there are ideograms from three, no, four different ancient languages! My God Jeffery, what have we found here?”
“That, my dear Amanda, is the million dollar question. This can only mean that there was a civilization that existed long before our recorded one.” Jeffery was grinning like a wild man; he had an almost maniacal look in his eyes.
“Think of it Amanda, long before we ever began to record our history, this civilization was flourishing. Something must have happened, some kind of huge catastrophe, and it was split apart. That would explain the similarities between all the ancient languages we have come across around the world. My God, do you realize that if you combine Ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Phoenician, and then Mayan and Aztec languages, it leads to one central language. It’s nothing short of mind numbing. Do you think we could do this, Amanda?” he asked smiling.
“Amanda,” Robert called in a loud forceful voice. She and Jeffery were brought out of their revere and back to reality. “I can see that you and Jeffery will have your work cut out for you. If you have no objection, we will leave you here with two guards and continue on exploring this place, Ok?”
“Yes, yes Robert. Oh wait!” She walked around the large stone table and went over to the landing where the cat had laid down waiting for them to return. She knelt down and scratched its back once again, producing a loud purring.
“My little friend,” she began, “would you be so kind as to show these people around your beautiful temple? I am going to remain here.”
The cat stood and stretched itself and proceeded to go to the top of the landing. It turned around and meowed at the other scientists as if to say “Come on, follow me.”
Robert chuckled and remarked, “Seems you have a way with our new friend, my dear.” He kissed Amanda on the cheek and hurried up the steps and joined his fellow explorers as they headed down the hallway.
Amanda returned to the table that she and Jeffery were working on. They decided to turn over all the tablets and have a look. They picked one with several characters on it they recognized and began the process they had developed years ago. Amanda took out one of her notebooks and began. She took the ideograms she knew one at a time and wrote them down in the order they were shown, and left a space for the ones she didn’t know. Several hours later they looked at what they had.
“This doesn’t make any sense Amanda,” Jeffery said, perplexed. “Generally we can get an idea of what they are trying to say, but this is all gibberish. We’re doing something wrong here. Maybe it isn’t a book, maybe its just signs; you know, to teach children. ”
“No, it’s not that Jeffery, no… let me think a moment. I’ve seen this before somewhere.” Amanda was stumped; she lowered her head in her hands and sighed deeply.
“Look, we’ve been at this for hours.” Jeffery was tired too, “Let’s call it a day, we are both tired. Let’s go and get something to eat and drink; clear our minds for a bit. We can come back refreshed in the morning. Besides my eyes are burning from the fumes from those urns.”
“I think you may be right Jeffery. Let’s go and find the others.” They left their backpacks on the stone table and headed up the stairway inquiring of the two crewmen as to where the others had gone.
“Just follow the lights ma’am,” he said pointing, “each place they went is lit up like a Christmas tree.”
“Wilson, isn’t it?” Amanda asked as the man nodded, surprised that she remembered his name. “Thank you Wilson, please come along with us, we’re finished here for the night.”
“Yes ma’am. Joe,” he said calling for the other man, “come on, we’re leaving.” Joe came sliding out from behind the door; they never even knew he was there.
“Good protection,” murmured Amanda approvingly under her breath in surprise.
They found their fellow explorers in what appeared to be a dining hall. There were many tables and several small alcoves with small chimeras in them. Private dining areas they guessed, for a more intimate setting. They were getting a fire started in one, and several of the MRE’s they carried with them were on the table.
“Robert,” Amanda called out as she came down the stairs, “we’re calling it a day. It’s just too much to take in all at once,” she said exasperated. “We’ll go back and continue tomorrow morning. What have you found so far?”
“Amanda,” he said smiling, “Jeffery,” nodding in his direction, “glad you’re here. This place is full of surprises; it’s an absolute treasure trove.”
Amanda looked around the room, “Robert, where’s Ian?
“Oh, yes of course!” Robert became very animated, obviously excited, “yes, the best room of all; we couldn’t get Ian to leave. It’s a chart room Amanda! Rows and rows of charts, and it there was a giant mural on the wall of all the oceans of the world. The currents are all marked and there are some places Ian didn’t recognize. He was in heaven; flat refused to leave the room. He’s in there now going over the place with a fine toothcomb. I just didn’t have the heart to force him to leave; besides, we’re on no timetable.”
“I’m not arguing with you Robert,” Amanda chuckled. It had been a long time since she had seen him so excited.
“Of course not my dear, yes, oh, and we came upon one room they must have used as a bathhouse. The minute we came in and stood on the landing water began to flow into the large pool in the center of the room; it was crystal clear and warm!” He took her hands in his and spun her about. “We have a date for later my dear!” He whispered in her ear and the glint in his eye left no doubt as to what he had in mind; Amanda blushed and chuckled.
Robert caught his breath and continued, “Another room was an arboretum, the plants were still growing in there Amanda, all laid out in rows. Someone or something is still tending them… all very strange. And then we found a hospital; at least we think it’s a hospital. We need time to explore it more. There is just too much to take in all in one day. We stopped here when we found it and decided to call it a day. We’ll have days to spend here and explore.”
Jonas Waite joined them, “Look at all the panels lining the walls around the room, Robert. This was definitely a kitchen or dining area of sorts.”
Amanda felt the cat rubbing her legs and looked down, it was purring loudly. She knelt down and asked, “Are you hungry Goldie?” The cat walked over to the wall and meowed. She sat and looked back at Amanda as if waiting then she meowed again.
Curious Amanda went over to her, “what is it baby, what do you want?”
Goldie looked up at the wall and meowed again. Amanda looked up and inspected the wall carefully; it looked the same as the other walls around this room. Then she noticed the panels on these walls went all around the room. There were pictographs, displaying various animals all down the side of the wall in front of her. The one Goldie was staring at so intently had a picture on it resembling her. On a hunch Amanda reached out and touched the wall panel. There was a clicking sound, and the panel slid open, a long tray came forward with some kind of food on it in a golden bowl.
“Look at this,” she yelled. The others came over quickly. Amanda took one of the bowls that was on the tray, and smelled it. “Seems okay,” she touched it, “it’s moist and fresh,” she placed the bowl on the floor and the cat began to eat greedily.
“This is just plain crazy!” Jonas blurted out, “I would venture to say that no one has been here for at least a thousands years if not more. Yet the food is fresh?”
“This only deepens the mystery about this place,” Amanda said to no one in particular.
Terry Blair, the mathematician of the group, stepped back and scrutinized the panels along the wall. There were pictures of a variety of species; birds, the cat, a dog-like creature, and a small mouse like rodent. She went to one of the other panels and pressed it; nothing happened. She watched Amanda open another panel; and then noticed the cat rubbing against her. Aha! She thought to herself in triumph. She turned and went to the back wall and stood there staring at the panels. There were pictures of different fruits on many of the panels; an apple, a pear, an orange-like fruit, a large one that resembled a cantaloupe. She touched a panel and nothing happened. She stood back thinking for a moment. She turned back and watched as Amanda was talking to Jonas, nonchalantly, she scratched the cat’s head. Suddenly, like a fog lifting Terry understood. Aha! She thought to herself in triumph as she began to laugh loudly.
“Amanda, Robert, all of you, come over here quickly!” They came in a rush to see what had happened.
“Terry, what, are you all right?” Jeffery asked.
Terry went over to the cat and knelt down, “Hello my pretty,” she said as she stroked the animal, “My beautiful secret agent. May we have some of the food here; we are a bit hungry and need to replenish our bodies too.” The cat meowed and leaned in and rubbed herself against Terry’s arm. Smiling, Terry rose and went back and joined the others smiling.
“Amanda, would you like a cantaloupe? Or…” she was scanning the pictographs on the wall, “perhaps an apple?” she hit the panel and they all heard a clicking and then it slid open. Lying on a golden plate was an apple cut neatly into six slices.
“Maybe an orange or a pear would suit you better?” She touched two panels and two trays slid out with an orange on one golden plate and a pear on another, sliced.
Amanda picked up the orange, it felt strong and pliable, she smelled it, “Oh my God, it’s fresh,” she exclaimed excitedly. She picked up one of the apple slices and took a bite. “It’s sweet!” she said as she shoved two more slices into her mouth.
The others scientists scanned the other panel and touched them, but nothing happened. Terry began to laugh. They looked back at her and waited for an explanation.
“It’s the cat!” They looked at questioningly.
“For some reason you have to make contact with the cat. Once you pet her, and she knows you, and accepts you, everything works!” Terry held her hands up, “It’s so simple, and yet so ingenious!”
Robert called them all to attention, “Look, I think we’ve had about all we can take for now.
Sensory overload to our minds; there’s just too much to see here. Let’s call it a day and settle in here for the night.”
“I’ve got a better idea Robert,” Terry said with an amused look on her face, “let’s ask the cat where the living quarters are; I bet she knows.”
“Can’t hurt to try,” Amanda said walking over to the cat. “Hello Goldie,” she said as she went down on one knee. Scratching her head she asked sweetly, “Well, you heard what we were discussing girl, will you lead us to the living area? We really are tired and we would really appreciate it.”
The cat stood and shook herself, and then went to the landing. She turned back and meowed as if calling them. Amanda picked up her traveling bag and climbed the stairs with the others following. The cat set off down the hallway and turned left down one they hadn’t explored yet. After about 25 feet she came to a set of doors with water and flowers etched on it. Amanda came forward and placed her hand on the panel and the doors opened inward. This room had two wide levels; each level had six secluded cubbyholes of a sort. In the center of each was a large oval puffy mat, almost like a mattress. A shelf about twelve inches above encircled it and there were pillows and blankets folded on the shelf.
“Communal living quarters,” said Jonas, “similar to the Lamurians; or so the ancient scrolls indicate. If you notice, there are six alcoves on each side of the landing and they face to the landing below. That means twelve private rooms; what do you think? Perhaps only twelve people lived in this temple; maybe they were priests or priestess’s.” Jonas shook his head, “More questions, always more questions,” he lamented.
They decided to use the sleeping alcoves as they were all very tired. The day had been very exciting, and their minds were reeling under all the information that had been discovered. They were exhausted both physically and mentally trying to decipher the secrets of this place. After a quick discussion they decided to give it a rest for the night. Tomorrow they would continue to explore all the rooms of this amazing place.
They decided to take turns using the bathing room. The first to bathe was Jonas, who informed them that the water was warm and refreshing and added that there was a definite aroma of some kind of flower. Aromatherapy, he called it, he said he felt extremely relaxed after the bath.
Hilde was next and 25 minutes later she came in yawning loudly, agreeing with Jonas about the bath; she was asleep in minutes.
Bill and Beverly Swanson, the oceanographers, were next. They returned 40 minutes later grinning like two young lovers.
As Amanda was gathering hers and Robert’s bathing things she noticed Terry slip out the door. She was about to call her when Robert pulled her back indicating she should watch. To Amanda’s surprise, Terry greeted Jeffery in the hallway with a passionate kiss, and they both went into the bathing room laughing. Robert smiled saying he had suspected for some time. They returned together and Jeffery gathered his things and moved them to Terry’s alcove.
No one made a comment as it seemed so natural.
Robert and Amanda were the last to use it and stayed much longer than the others. They discussed the effect that this place was having on everybody, and the strange sequence of events that led them all here in the first place. Amanda commented on the sweet aroma coming from the steamy water. As she and Robert relaxed in the water she found herself increasingly aroused and filled with a strong desire for Robert; he obviously was feeling the same as he reached for her and she all but jumped him. Later, their sexual appetites filled, they commented that whoever built this place didn’t leave anything out!
After everyone was finally settled in the different alcoves, the urns in the room dimmed. As they lay there staring at the ceiling, it became darker and darker. Suddenly it seemed to disappear, and the night sky was played out before them on the giant ceiling. They watched in fascination, relaxed and at ease, some drifted off to sleep immediately.
Amanda heard Jeffery and Terry arguing over the sky. Jeffery finally asked, “Is anyone else having a problem finding the Big Dipper, or Orion’s Belt? I can’t find any reference points.”
“Jeffery,” said Jonas sarcastically, “give it a rest, please?”
Amanda went up on one elbow, “wait a minute, he’s right, I don’t see any… oh my God! ”
She sat up quickly, “Jeffery! Jeffery this, this… isn’t our sky at all.”
“Right you are Amanda,” he replied in triumph. “I don’t know what galaxy it is, but it most definitely isn’t ours.”
“This place is full of secrets,” said a sleepy Terry, “we need to explore more.” She drifted off to sleep.
“Maybe we’ll be able to find out more tomorrow,” Amanda said yawning. She lay down once again, “mmm… let’s get some sleep.” She curled herself up next to Robert and was soon fast asleep.
Goldie waited till everyone was deep asleep, then she pranced over to Amanda and Robert’s alcove. She sniffed once at Amanda, rubbed against her shoulder, and then settled herself. It had been a long time since humans had been in the temple. She was most pleased to have them here once again.