3
Amanda awoke bursting with energy. She lay there looking up at the golden ceiling remembering all that had happened the day before. Suddenly Goldie’s head was over her, her golden eyes shinning brightly.
“Well good morning there beautiful,” Amanda said sitting up, “and how are you this morning?” The golden cat meowed a greeting and rubbed against her. Amanda wrapped her arms around the large cat and scratched her and hugged her. The animal threw herself down and began to ‘play’. Amanda laughed and Robert stirred and woke up watching them.
“I think she has taken a fancy to you, my dear,” he said stretching and yawning. “It’s probably been a long time since she’s had any company.”
One by one the scientists woke up, washed and met in the ‘dining room’. They mapped out the different areas of the pyramid and set out to see what they could discover. Ian happily returned to the map room. Amanda and Jeffery went to the library. Hilda decided to go the infirmary and explore it further. The rest would explore the rooms still hidden within the large structure.
Amanda was looking forward to cracking the ancient language and finding out the secret of this island. She and Jeffery tackled the golden tablets with gusto. Two hours later they were no farther along than the day before.
“I don’t understand this Jeffery,” she was getting dejected, “we’ve tried all the conventional methods and still this language is a mystery. What are we doing wrong?”
“I think we have to rethink. Their language is totally different from anything we have experienced before. There has to be a clue somewhere that we are overlooking.” Jeffery looked about the room. “Amanda, what if this isn’t a library; what if this is just a lounge?
You know, with books and magazines lying about. Maybe we have it all wrong?”
Amanda thought about what Jeffery said, “You could be right Jeffery.” She looked around the room. The cat was off to the side, standing near a small alcove, as though she was waiting for something. “Jeffery, look at Goldie.”
Jeffery watched the cat for a bit, he thought about what Terry had said the night before. “Amanda, I think Terry may just be right; the cat is the key.”
Amanda turned and stared at the cat, her mind filled with possibilities. She slowly walked over to her. “Ok Jeffery, let’s just see,” and went down on one knee, “Goldie, can you help us girl; do you know what we are looking for? Where is the library located? Come on girl, show us the way.”
“Here we go again,” said a sardonic Jeffery.
The cat stared at Amanda for a moment and then she walked about ten feet down the alcove and stood before a wall. She meowed once, and then stretched her full length against the wall indicating a panel on the side of the wall. She looked at Amanda and meowed again.
Jeffery and Amanda looked at each other. “I think she wants you to touch the panel Amanda, somehow I don’t think it would work for me. Go ahead; this may be what we’re looking for.”
Amanda took an unsteady step forward. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on the panel. There was a whirring sound and then a definite loud click, like a latch being released. The panel clicked and moved inward about an inch and then slid to the right, hiding itself in the wall. They stood there transfixed; inside was like nothing they had seen before. It looked more like the inside of some kind of flying ship. The entire inside was made of the same golden metallic substance as the pyramid, only this was far more advanced, and it appeared to be rounded.
“Jeffery, this…” she looked at him with disbelief.
“Yes Amanda, it’s a ship or what’s left of a ship,” looking around Jeffery added under his breath, “or maybe I should say a flying saucer.”
The cat walked into the room and went straight to the large chair in front of what could only be called a control panel and jumped up on it. She turned to them and meowed contently as if to say, “at last!”
Jeffery began looking around immediately. He noted all the dials and levers on one wall. There was a control panel laid out before the chair, and a series of buttons. He turned to Amanda, “I think this was the control room of the craft. See over there, there are four more seats, like the one here. So there were at least four of them. What do you suppose happened?”
Amanda was lost deep in thought. There was a button on the console that matched the pictograph on the wall of the main chamber. “Jeff, come here. Look at this,” she said pointing to the button, “notice the pictograph next to it, hmm… I wonder?
“One way to find out Amanda, push the button. We have nothing to lose at this point.” Jeffery stood by her side as she hesitantly reached forward. She looked at the cat; it was busy licking its large paws, seemingly unconcerned.
“No,” she said reaching for his hand. “Together Jeffery, we do it together.”
They pressed the button and immediately heard a whirring sound. There were some clicks, and then a large screen lowered from the ceiling. The entire story was played out for them. The language was like nothing they had ever heard before, but they understood what they saw only too clearly. The picture showed a star galaxy unlike any they had ever seen. The ship was traveling at a fast pace across it. They stopped and orbited one world similar to earth; it had several deep green continents and seas of blue water. They circled it several times, their instruments taking measurements of some kind.
“Oh Jeffery, they were explorers, scientists like ourselves,” Amanda blurted out.
Jeffery agreed quickly, “They’re studying the planet,” obviously thrilled he continued, “Oh this is so exciting!” They continued to watch in fascination as several different pictures flashed across the screen of the planet.
The image shifted to the interior of the ship, and they got their first look at the explorers.
The aliens were very tall, about eight or nine feet; thin and very graceful in their movements. Amanda and Jeffery watched as they glided about the ship effortlessly. Their faces were not unlike humans, only elongated. Their hands only had three long fingers and a thumb.
The pilot was a female, or appeared so, as did the other scientists. Or perhaps their race all looked like this Jeffrey mused. Their hair, if you could call it that, was golden and unlike anything Amanda had ever seen. Almost like a lion’s mane. Huge almond shaped eyes looked back at the camera expressionless.
The scene shifted to a picture of Earth, from far away in space. As they got closer there was a flurry of activity onboard the ship. They seemed to be excited about something. The pilot, or captain, said something into the screen and then the camera shifted around till the earth filled the screen. It zoomed in on an area of landmass; as they watched the camera zoomed in further and the picture cleared. There was a small herd of mammoths on the plain below. As the camera panned out a bit, they could clearly see they were being stalked by a band of cavemen! The captain said something very excitedly, and they all watched as the cavemen singled out an old mammoth, separated it from the herd and took it down. It was all done very skillfully. The other mammoths ran off; and as they watched, the leader of the cavemen delivered the coup de gras; putting the animal out of its misery. Then a curious thing happened. They all gathered around the dead animal in a circle, and they performed some kind of ceremony. To Amanda, it looked like they were praying, or giving thanks for the large kill.
“What does that look like to you Jeffery?” She whispered curiously.
“It looks like we’re going to have to re-think what we know about cavemen,” he said sarcastically. “They apparently were not mindless brutes.” He was grinning from ear to ear as he continued, “Terry is gonna love this!”
They continued to watch as the ship glided over the countryside below, clicking and observing everything. They seemed to be comparing pictures and data from previous trips. The ship now sailed over the white covered arctic and hovered over an area. The clouds beneath the ship seemed to part and dissolve and the island came into view. The ship began to descend and they could see a landing area. This was a base of some kind; they had been here many times in the past. For the next hour they watched as the scientists went about their daily routine of measuring the changes in the planet. They did not interfere with anything, simply observed.
The truth dawned on both Amanda and Jeffery at the same time; these scientists were studying the evolution of the planet.
“Amanda, they were studying our planet,” Jeffery exclaimed. She turned and looked at him in stunned silence. “Think of it, the actual evolution of life on the earth.” Jeffery’s voice rose in his excitement, “Think of it, my God Amanda, this is the find of the century!”
“Jeffery, take a deep breath, I think there is a lot more to all of this.” Amanda looked about the control room, Goldie was curled up and sleeping contently. “Let’s just keep watching.”
The scene now shifted and they appeared to be flying over a huge mountainous area. Interspaced between the mountains were lush fertile valleys. Valleys with areas that had towns and villages, and neat little rows of growing vegetables; these were farmers! The camera panned back and they took in the whole picture of the towns and the valleys. They were cut-off from the rest of the surrounding area, like a world of their own. And flying overhead they could clearly see were dragons; dragons with humans on their backs!
“Oh my God!” both Jeffery and Amanda exclaimed.
The lead scientist was now explaining something, and thru the pictures she kept referring to, Amanda and Jeffery got the idea that this particular group was apart from the rest of the world. Their area was so remote, and so far from the jungles and dinosaurs that they were evolving at a different pace. The scientist said something and they watched in fascination as the camera recorded three large reptiles, not unlike Raptors making their way up the mountain ridge. They must have been cut off from the mainland by an earthquake or something; they were way far from their normal habitat. They were having a tough time trying to make it up the side of the mountain. They fell several times before climbing over the top and descending into the valley below. They were obviously starving, as they took no caution in their descent, growling and roaring as they came down the mountain. The camera now recorded one of the humans sounding an alarm and all below rushed across the fields and into a large cave. Then from above the dragons swooped down and flames burst forth out of their mouths cutting down the three monsters. They circled around and fired again, until there was nothing left but three piles of ash. The ‘all clear’ was given and the people returned to their tasks.
Amanda stopped the record here. “Jeffery, this is… is… unbelievable! I can’t even begin to understand,” Amanda was reeling from information overload.
Jeffery agreed with her, this was too much, too fast.
“We have to limit this to small doses; our minds can’t handle all this information at once. I suggest we stop for now; take a break. And Amanda, we need Jonas in here with us; he’s the archeologist, maybe he can shed some light on some of this. And I want Terry in on this too; she has a different way of looking at things.”
They left the control room and went to the dining area.
They sought out Jonas and Terry and in hushed tones related what they had found and asked them both to return with them. Jeffery suggested that he and Amanda get something to eat before returning. Both Jonas and Terry were chomping at the bit to get going. They were like little kids who saw a present and wanted to open it right away. Once back in the control room Amanda brought up the screen.
“This is the find of the century,” said an excited Jonas, “Can you replay it from the beginning?”
“I think we need to, so you can get an idea of these people and what they were doing,” explained Jeffery, “The longer we watched, the more we seemed to understand what they were saying. I can’t explain it; you’ll have to experience it for yourselves.”
“How beautiful they are!” Terry exclaimed at the image of the captain on the large screen. “Look at how graceful they are; this is unbelievable.”
They continued watching up to the point where Amanda and Jeffery had stopped the record. “Well, what do think so far?” asked Jeffery.
Jonas was in shock. “This totally discredits those stiff shirts who claimed that cavemen were just brutes. The species wouldn’t have evolved if that were so. Did you see how they gave thanks after killing the mammoth?” He looked up at Jeffery, “And the dragons…?”
“You know,” began Terry, “I once read about an account of a dragon and rider saving a town from an approaching lava flow. It was so long ago I can’t remember all of it.” She looked at Jeffery grinning.
“Oh no,” he said holding up his hands, “don’t get started on the dragon thing again.”
“I’m just saying that there are stories from every ancient culture having to do with dragons. You must admit that, Jeffery.” Terry’s passion for ancient stories of dragons was beginning to show in her voice. “The Aztecs, Incas, even the ancient Chinese cultures had dragons. They have found references to them in Egyptian, Phoenician, and Babylonian texts and art. The myth had to have started somewhere.”
“I suggest we continue the record,” interrupted Jonas. “And by the way Amanda, you’re right, I am beginning to understand some of what they are saying.” Eyes dancing in excitement he continued, “This is really quite interesting.”
Amanda continued the recording and they watched in silence. The camera panned back and seemed to be hovering over the area. They watched the daily routine of the farmers and their interplay with the dragons and riders. The captain came on and began to discuss this interaction between the two. They quickly understood what she was trying to get across.
“I think I just understood what she was trying to say,” said an excited Jeffery.
“So did I…” agreed Amanda.
“Me too!” joined Terry, wide-eyed.
“Not surprising,” commented Jonas. “Immersion, total and complete immersion,” he looked at their disbelieving faces, “well it’s not unheard of, you know.”
From what they could understand, this particular scientist believed that that there was a higher hand at play in all of this. She convinced the others that they should leave this group alone. This was not meant for them to observe. They had a heated discussion about it that ended with an agreement that they would keep clear of the dragons and their mountainous lands, for now.
They continued to explore the world and now concentrated on the seas. They had a craft that allowed them to explore under the oceans, unobserved. The screen was filled with wondrous sights of species now long extinct. They saw a barracuda-type fish that was at least 40 feet long; its razor sharp teeth cutting a whale in half. It was an enormous eating machine; feeding on everything it came in contact with.
“How’s that for a monster movie?” said a laughing Terry.
As the alien craft explored further they came to a thriving civilization. It was located in the middle of what we now call the Pacific Ocean, nothing around for hundreds of miles.
“Lumuria, it’s got to be!” shouted Terry triumphantly.
“Hush woman,” laughed Jeffery quickly.
They stayed out of direct contact, but observed nonetheless. The people lived in harmony with the sea around them. Theirs was a peaceful culture that seemed to center around the sun and the moon. Their entire city seemed to be powered by a huge crystal mounted in a strange device. The lead scientist seemed to be saying; another anomaly on this very strange planet. The ship returned to their home base and for several days they remained there studying some plant and ocean life. This scene played itself out for several days as the scientists reported on their various experiments and the results they yielded.
They were watching as the captain gave her morning report when suddenly everything started shaking about violently. The picture looked as if an amateur were holding the camera, shaking badly. The camera shifted to the console and a lever was pulled and the canopy in front of them slid open, revealing their location. Far off in the distance smoke was rising up in big black columns. The camera zoomed in to reveal a volcano erupting. Huge explosions were spewing up giant geysers of molten rock the size of tractor-trailers. The earth was reacting with quakes that were toppling everything as tectonic plates shifted beneath them. There was a series of wide cracks and the movement was heading straight for the aliens base. The ships’ gyroscope steadied it, and the scientists could be seen running about pushing buttons. They attempted to lift off, but before they could rise up they were bombarded with huge boulders from the exploding volcano.
Fire rained down on the island and it seemed to be breaking apart. One of the scientists shouted a warning of some kind and then they were hit again with a huge boulder that forced them to crash onto the side of the mountain. They hit with such force that there was damage to the underside of the ship. It sealed itself off immediately and they rose up, positioning themselves a safe distance from the disaster below. There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone watching in the room.
The scientists began recording the eruption and noting the effects it was having on the surrounding sea. Suddenly one of the smaller scientists burst into the room and shouted something, some kind of warning. Everyone froze and looked to the captain. She turned with an expression of horror on her face. She asked a question and the answer only doubled the look of fear on her face.
She turned and looked out at the sea and back at the volcano. In the space of seconds she had assessed the situation and made a decision. She turned and asked a question, the little scientist that burst into the room looked at her with tears in her eyes and nodded yes. The captain looked at all of her crew and said something; they looked at each other as if making a decision, and then nodded to her in agreement. The captain went to the control panel and shifted some levers and pushed a button. A beam shot out of the ship and hit the volcano; it slowly quieted. She flew the ship over the island, and every hundred feet or so a beam of white light shot out of the ship to the earth below; the island settled itself.
“Good Lord above!” Jeffery exclaimed jumping up. He began to pace back and forth. “The power this ship holds is astounding. Terry, she actually stopped the volcano from erupting!”
“Calm your self my dear,” answered Terry, “I think we’re about to find out what happened and why they remained here.” They sat down and Amanda continued the record.
The great ship landed back on the base and there was a flurry of activity. All of them raced below, and it was now that they were able to get a view of the interior of the ship. At a word from the captain, the camera seemed to come alive as it followed them below. There were three levels; the control room, the living quarters, and the bottom level. This was where the laboratories and scientific equipment were located. They stopped at a doorway and it slid open. As they entered it was apparent that this was where specimens were kept. There was a crushed rear wall and a gaping hole held together by some kind of force field. The captain walked to the rear and inspected the opening. She turned and scrutinized the lab and the tables with their specimens. She pointed to the table at the crushed wall; it was empty. She said something in a very commanding voice that ended in ‘DuGan!’
A small female scientist jumped and bowed and said something ending a word the modern day group was familiar with, ‘krakin’. Her fellow scientists took in a collective breath and the look on their faces was one of horror.
Terry grabbed Jeffery’s hand and squeezed tightly, the small group watching could tell that something was very wrong.
The small female called DuGan went to the center of a sidewall and a screen dropped down. She brought up an ugly looking beast on the screen and pointed to it. Then she brought up a picture of a dark world, completely alien terrain, far different than earth. In one of its murky frothing seas they saw a horrible beast moving about on the bottom; undulating along, like an octopus, only this creature’s legs appeared to be alive themselves. The one named DuGan was giving some kind of report about the creature. She pointed to the stats about the planet; and then she brought up the earth, with its stats alongside. She pointed to several things, and made a comparison of some kind.
“Good heavens,” uttered a shaky Jeffery, “she’s comparing the oxygen and nitrogen levels of both planets." Amanda stopped the recording.
Jeffery took a deep breath, “Amanda, I think this is too big to keep quiet. We need to inform the others of what we found.”
“I agree Jeff,” said an ashen faced Terry.
“I’m going to be sick…” Jonas fled the cockpit.
Amanda, visibly shaken, nodded in agreement, “… yes, we must inform the others.”