Tomb of Atlantis (5 page)

In creating the video, Jack had spliced together footage from both cameras. The next minute of footage came from the camera on the wing. As the plane touched down and slowed nearly to a stop, he could see a glint of light shining up through the water. This was it.

The next video clip was taken with a handheld camera. Jack slowed the video and watched as a bright light appeared on the computer screen. The camera’s focus faded in and out, as it struggled to overcome distortion caused by reflecting light off the ocean’s surface. The years that passed had faded his memory. As he watched the next sequence, he remembered the frustration he felt as he worked to video the next shot.

“Come on, I know you can do better than that,” he called out, now becoming anxious with each frame that passed.

For a split second, the camera’s focus sharpened, then quickly blurred once more. Jack stopped the DVD, went back and played it back, frame by frame. With each click of the mouse button, the computer’s image seemed to become more refined.

"This can't be. It just can't be," he said under his breath.

Suddenly, he stopped clicking. There on the computer screen was the object in question. Clear and distinct, a pyramid shined in front of him.

Jack saved the picture off the DVD and loaded it into his photo processing software. He finished making his fine adjustments, then began to zoom up on the image. Little by little, he moved in closer until the object became unrecognizable. With a few clicks of his mouse, he zoomed out to the optimum setting that gave the sharpest picture.

Jack recoiled back in his chair in surprise, mesmerized by the image on the screen.

“Holy Crap! That’s it!” he yelled loudly. “It’s the all-seeing eye. It
has
to be.”

Jack examined the picture closely. His heart nearly dropped to his stomach as he began to realize his discovery.

"I knew it. Holy Shit, this is big," he blurted loudly.

He sat for a while and stared at the screen. It was all he could do. He then pressed the printer button and sent the image off to the printer. In seconds, Jack had his proof in hand.

"Wow, where do I go from here?" he questioned softly, his mind twisting through various tangents as he struggled to make sense of his newfound discovery.

"Well, first things first...
Dr. Burton Samuelson," he finished with a wily smile. "This should prove entertaining."

ONE MONTH LATER:

Jack stared at his watch in frustration. He noted the date and resigned himself to the possibility of rejection. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and reached for the phone.
Standing in his kitchen, he nervously dialed the overseas number and listened to the strange sounding tone characteristic of that country – Egypt.

“Good morning, Dr. Samuelson's office,” Jack heard in his earpiece.

The receptionist voice was soft and delicate, with a slight Egyptian accent. Jack's heart started to race as he searched his memory for the rehearsed introduction he'd been practicing since he mailed off the photo to the doctor's temporary office in Egypt. He had tracked down Dr. Samuelson's office with some degree of difficulty, at one point disguising himself as a fellow archaeologist in order to gain their confidence and information.

"Good
morning, my name is Jack Roberts. I recently sent Dr. Samuelson a photocopy of an artifact relating to his recent discovery of ancient scrolls and was wondering if he had a chance to review it?" Jack started nervously.

"Jack who?" inquired the receptionist.

"Roberts. That's Jack Roberts. I'm from the U.S. About a month ago I sent Dr. Samuelson a photocopy of an artifact that looks exactly like one of the symbols on his Egyptian scrolls," Jack replied, feeling a bit put off. "Do you know if he received the package I sent?"

"Jack Roberts
, you say?" she replied. Before he had a chance to respond, the receptionist announced, "Please hold."

Silence echoed through the earpiece, cutting Jack off in mid-thought. He felt somewhat frustrated that his inquiry was severed so quickly, but resigned himself to the fact that he carried no clout and that his picture alone was probably not enough to incite enthusiasm.

This might prove more difficult than I estimated,
he thought.

He heard a slight click through the earpiece and then, "Samuelson here. How can I help you?"

Jack felt stunned for a moment. He hadn't anticipated the doctor picking up so quickly. Knowing the next few words would be the difference between success and failure, he searched his mind for the right wording.

"Hi, I'm Jack Roberts," he responded quickly. "Doctor, I recently sent you a photocopy of something I photographed. I believe it
’s the same symbol as one on the ancient scrolls you found. Have you had a chance to review the photo?"

"Jack Roberts you say? Stand by..." Dr. Samuelson replied.

Jack heard the unmistakable sound of the phone being dropped, then some shuffling of papers. Moments later, Dr. Samuelson retrieved the phone and continued.

"Ok..., Jack Roberts...Ah yes, I have the photograph right here,"
he started. "Jack, this photograph is very fuzzy. Not a lot of detail. I can see the basic shape of the pyramid as you described in your letter and I can make out some kind of circle above the pyramid, but honestly, I just don't see the all-seeing eye in that photo."

Jack's heart sank. He had hoped for a more positive response. He knew he was losing the doctor's interest. Quickly, he added, "Doctor, I understand that the photograph isn't as clear as we'd both like it to be but let me tell you, I know what I saw. From my vantage point, that circle above the pyramid contained far more detail than that picture alludes to. I'm not one prone to wild fantasy or distortions of truth. I’m certain of what I saw and I believe what I saw was the eye above the pyramid."

"Jack, what’s your occupation?" Dr. Samuelson inquired.

"I'm an engineer," Jack replied simply.

"Hmmm, an honorable profession. Had you told me you were a lawyer, you'd be speaking to a dial tone right now," Dr. Samuelson said, with a bit of humor.

"Well, you'll be happy to know that I have no intention of ever running for public office either," he added, continuing the mild humorous banter.

Jack detected a slight chuckle on the other end of the line, then: "Ok, Jack, you have my attention. Let's suppose that you did indeed take a picture of the ancient symbol depicted on my scrolls. Could you elaborate on how you came in possession of this symbol?"

"Well
, Doctor, I don't actually have the symbol in my possession. The fact is, it's sitting on the bottom of the ocean. I was flying and saw it flashing under the water. I flew down to the surface for a closer look and saw this shiny object far beneath the surface. What was remarkable was how clear the pyramid looked from my position. At first, the eye above the pyramid had me stumped. Honestly, I thought it was some kind of decorative circle or a sunburst. That was until I saw your interview on TV last month where you showed the all-seeing eye in detail. As I said earlier, the photographs don't describe what I saw, but I’m quite certain that what I did indeed see was your symbol. There is little doubt in my mind," Jack said, his voice carrying conviction in its tone.

"Under the water?" Dr. Samuelson asked with uncertainty in his voice. "How deep would you estimate the water to be?"

"I'm not sure, but honestly, if I could see the artifact from the surface, how deep could it be? I'm thinking not more than fifty feet," Jack responded.

There was silence on the other end. Jack could tell the doctor was processing everything he was saying.
Dr. Samuelson then cleared his throat and continued.

"So what do you think it was? What I mean to say is it has a yellow color to it. Do you think you found a golden artifact under the water?"
he asked.

"I'm not sure. At times, it appeared gold in color, but other times it took on the appearance of a white light. Hard to say what it was made of," Jack replied.

"And you say it was flashing under the water? Could you have stumbled upon an emergency lighted beacon that somehow drifted to your location by strong currents?" Dr. Samuelson asked, his tone turning skeptical again.

"Doctor, I know what I saw. This was not a beacon. The flashing was irregular. At times it flashed quickly and at other times it was a slow erratic flash," Jack defended.

"Hmmm. Could be the surface distortion and reflection, I suppose," Dr. Samuelson added.

"I don't think it was a surface-based anomaly. Something down there was causing the artifact to flash. Maybe there was particulate in the water that was causing the refracting of the light at the surface, or maybe something was passing by it, like seaweed or tiny fish, blocking the light as they swam by. Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to spend investigating. At the time, I needed to keep an eye on a variety of safety factors," Jack said.

"I'm curious, Jack. Why didn't you investigate further? I mean, after you landed. Why didn't you pursue this in the future?" Dr. Samuelson asked.

"Well, quite frankly, life got in the way, what with school and then work. After a while, chasing a strange anomaly in the ocean just didn't factor in. I just became too busy.
As time went by, it sort of got pushed far back in my mind," Jack answered.

“Hmm, I see. Ok Jack, so exactly where did you see this artifact, the Mediterranean or the Red Sea?” Dr. Samuelson asked, trying to second
-guess Jack's next reply.

“Well, actually neither. I saw it in the Atlantic, just off the coast of Caicos Island in the Caribbean,” Jack replied.

Jack waited for a response, but heard nothing on the other end… Only an uncomfortable silence.

“Doctor, are you there?” Jack asked suspiciously.

Slowly, Dr. Samuelson responded, “Jack... I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this has turned out to be a waste of time for the both of us. It is no secret that the ancient Egyptians were great sailors, but the simple truth is they never sailed any further than the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. I'm not sure what it is you saw down there, but I’m certain it is not Egyptian and therefore not the symbol from the scrolls.”

Jack was stunned. He stood there in silence, trying to make sense of the doctor’s statement. Finally, he spoke.

“Dr. Samuelson, I know what I saw. I know the pictures aren't that sharp or convincing but I'm telling you, what I saw under the water is that symbol. Couldn't the Egyptians have traveled to the other side of the world somehow? Couldn't they have traveled a northern route across land? Couldn’t the land masses have been much closer back then, enough so they could have traveled to the West? Isn't it possible someone overlooked something?” Jack implored, now desperate to hang onto his dream.

“Jack, I'm sorry. I know this seems like quite a blow, but believe me, there was no way for the Egyptians to have traveled that far west. Their boats were too small and flimsy to withstand the great storms of the Atlantic. They would have perished with the first patch of rough seas,” Dr. Samuelson said, doing his best to let Jack down easy. He then added, “Jack, I've been doing this for many years, more than I care to count. Sometimes, our great discoveries turn out to be not so great after all. It comes with the territory.”

“I hear what you're saying, Dr. Samuelson, but this just doesn't make any sense to me. If you're saying that what I saw was not Egyptian, what was it then?" Jack challenged.

"I don't know, Jack. It's very probable that you were looking at something modern in nature, as I suggested earlier, maybe something from a shipwreck or maybe some kind of metallic object that came off a ship during the course of its crossing. The possibilities are nearly endless if you think about it,” Dr. Samuelson elaborated. He paused a moment, then continued, “Jack, I'm sorry but I
can’t involve myself any further in this matter. I’m stretched pretty thin as it is, but I do encourage you to continue investigating if you have the time and energy for it. Archeology is a fascinating world and even though we come up empty handed most of the time, the lessons we learn in the pursuit are often invaluable. A good place to start might be to research the possible wrecks that have been recorded in that area. Also, if you have opportunity, you might even consider diving for that artifact, providing you can still locate it."