“I believe it served as an observation base and command post for space launches,” the supreme master said. “Perhaps it was also used as a closed-system designed to test long-duration space flights. It produces its electricity, recycles the air, and can store significant amounts of food. Using diving equipment, people would come through the underwater access point, spending here weeks or even months, isolated from the rest of the world. At some point, it seems they also began to use it as a data center, gathering all these books to preserve them for future generations.”
“Have they left any notes?”
“I haven’t found anything in the library so far. Right now, Rongo is exploring the console. However, as he’s not familiar with the Old Script, it may take him a while to find something useful.”
This was not a place they could explore in detail in just a few hours. A large team of people would need weeks to make sense of everything. Kolin decided to change the topic of discussion:
“Do you think they kept any movies in the library?”
“There is a console behind a shelf over there. It might give you access to their digital data. I haven’t checked it yet.”
In the meantime, Lila and Solis also entered the room.
“Are there any books we can read?” Solis asked.
“Check that shelf from the corner,” Anh replied without lifting his eyes from the book he was browsing, repeating what he had just said to Kolin.
“I’ve found the console!” Kolin cried from behind a shelf half-way from the entrance. “It seems they have a video database, too. However, as everything is written in the Old Script, I have no idea how to navigate through it.”
Pushed by curiosity, Solis and Lila joined him a few seconds later.
“Just chose whatever happens to be at hand, then we’ll see whether it’s worth watching or not,” the girl suggested.
“Good idea. So, let’s check this one then.”
The display was showing a view from space, with a planet in the center. However, it was not Atlantide but an unknown world, with more land and less water. A female voice began narrating in an unknown language. The planet became larger and larger, the view zooming in, crossing the atmosphere until it focused on a single building made mostly of glass and shaped like a cube. It seemed to be a science department. Inside, a man was teaching a class to a dozen of students seated in long benches. Complex equations filled the whiteboards behind him. Apparently, it was a physics lesson.
“There won’t be any fun watching this. We can’t understand anything, even if most of the math symbols look similar to what we use today,” Lila concluded.
Solis closed the video and tried to find something more entertaining, but all the files they managed to open were instructional materials.
“Perhaps they have a movie database somewhere, but until we can read the menu, it will take a long time to find it. Let’s better check the few books they’ve got in the Modern Script,” he decided.
The shelf mentioned by Anh had perhaps thirty books with recognizable symbols. Most of them were treaties of physics, math, or engineering; one was a novel, one a poetry anthology, and one a history textbook. The youngsters picked up the three non-technical tomes and left the library.
Solis checked his wristwatch. It was already past 20. He said:
“I think I’ll take a shower, then lie in bed and read until I fall asleep.”
“I’ll do the same,” Kolin agreed.
“I suppose there’s nothing better to do for me, either,” Lila concluded.
The three teenagers entered the shower room, each choosing a cabin. A cupboard was mounted on the wall near the entrance, filled with large, fluffy, white towels. The walls, floor, and ceiling were blue, reflecting the white light of three square lamps from the ceiling. The cabins, separated by thick, dark panels of stainless glass, contained shelves with soap and shampoo. And they also had faucets with cold and hot water mounted on top.
“The glass quality is top-notch!” Kolin exclaimed, examining the walls of his cabin while getting undressed. “You’d swear it came from the best factories in Vitria.
“I have to agree, all this place looks impressive,” Solis called from the neighboring cabin. “It would rival any good hotel.”
“I think the best hotels from Konkordo and Dianto have better soap and shampoo,” Lila laughed from the opposite direction.
Nevertheless, the soap and shampoo were more than OK to clean their bodies. The hot water felt wonderful on their skin.
“So, where does this artifact come from? What do you think?” Kolin asked.
“It must belong to the forbidden technology. Something made before the war,” Lila replied. “To think it’s been so long ago… I suppose the world back then looked so different from now….”
“Almost like another planet,” Solis added.
Their minds began wondering, trying to imagine that strange world. However, it was impossible to visualize those times. An era where people used to travel to other planets, and perhaps even to other stars.
“Why have we stopped going to space?” Lila asked, surprised by her question.
Kolin tried to say something but realized he couldn’t possibly find an answer. On the other side of the glass, Solis also stayed silent. Suddenly, the world had become a lot larger and way more mysterious.
They spent about twenty minutes under the hot stream, chatting happily through the thin cabin panels. Then, clean and refreshed, the teenagers left the shower room and headed towards the dome.
Here they found Anh and Rongo seated at the circular console. Rongo was talking in a low voice, showing Anh something on the touch-screens from the circular console.
“The showers work great!” Lila cried, waving towards the masters. “You should try them, too!”
“A bit later,” Rongo replied, keeping his eyes to the screen. “We were checking the map of this facility. There seems to be another level below, ampler and better equipped than this one.”
“Are you trying to access it, too?” Kolin inquired.
“It would be great if we could get there. This whole place is fascinating,” Anh responded, lifting his eyes from the displays and gazing at the youngsters.
“Can you reach it with the artifact?” Solis asked.
“I’ve tried, but it’s shielded against this type of connection,” Anh said.
“Please let us know if you need any help,” Solis added. “We’re going to the bedrooms.”
The masters smiled. Then, as the teenagers were leaving the dome, they turned back to the console and their secrets, only meant for the initiated. Inside the dome, the simulated stars continued their slow, uniform movement: a small sky of stone mirroring the night sky above.
“Have they left any notes?”
“I haven’t found anything in the library so far. Right now, Rongo is exploring the console. However, as he’s not familiar with the Old Script, it may take him a while to find something useful.”
This was not a place they could explore in detail in just a few hours. A large team of people would need weeks to make sense of everything. Kolin decided to change the topic of discussion:
“Do you think they kept any movies in the library?”
“There is a console behind a shelf over there. It might give you access to their digital data. I haven’t checked it yet.”
In the meantime, Lila and Solis also entered the room.
“Are there any books we can read?” Solis asked.
“Check that shelf from the corner,” Anh replied without lifting his eyes from the book he was browsing, repeating what he had just said to Kolin.
“I’ve found the console!” Kolin cried from behind a shelf half-way from the entrance. “It seems they have a video database, too. However, as everything is written in the Old Script, I have no idea how to navigate through it.”
Pushed by curiosity, Solis and Lila joined him a few seconds later.
“Just chose whatever happens to be at hand, then we’ll see whether it’s worth watching or not,” the girl suggested.
“Good idea. So, let’s check this one then.”
The display was showing a view from space, with a planet in the center. However, it was not Atlantide but an unknown world, with more land and less water. A female voice began narrating in an unknown language. The planet became larger and larger, the view zooming in, crossing the atmosphere until it focused on a single building made mostly of glass and shaped like a cube. It seemed to be a science department. Inside, a man was teaching a class to a dozen of students seated in long benches. Complex equations filled the whiteboards behind him. Apparently, it was a physics lesson.
“There won’t be any fun watching this. We can’t understand anything, even if most of the math symbols look similar to what we use today,” Lila concluded.
Solis closed the video and tried to find something more entertaining, but all the files they managed to open were instructional materials.
“Perhaps they have a movie database somewhere, but until we can read the menu, it will take a long time to find it. Let’s better check the few books they’ve got in the Modern Script,” he decided.
The shelf mentioned by Anh had perhaps thirty books with recognizable symbols. Most of them were treaties of physics, math, or engineering; one was a novel, one a poetry anthology, and one a history textbook. The youngsters picked up the three non-technical tomes and left the library.
Solis checked his wristwatch. It was already past 20. He said:
“I think I’ll take a shower, then lie in bed and read until I fall asleep.”
“I’ll do the same,” Kolin agreed.
“I suppose there’s nothing better to do for me, either,” Lila concluded.
The three teenagers entered the shower room, each choosing a cabin. A cupboard was mounted on the wall near the entrance, filled with large, fluffy, white towels. The walls, floor, and ceiling were blue, reflecting the white light of three square lamps from the ceiling. The cabins, separated by thick, dark panels of stainless glass, contained shelves with soap and shampoo. And they also had faucets with cold and hot water mounted on top.
“The glass quality is top-notch!” Kolin exclaimed, examining the walls of his cabin while getting undressed. “You’d swear it came from the best factories in Vitria.
“I have to agree, all this place looks impressive,” Solis called from the neighboring cabin. “It would rival any good hotel.”
“I think the best hotels from Konkordo and Dianto have better soap and shampoo,” Lila laughed from the opposite direction.
Nevertheless, the soap and shampoo were more than OK to clean their bodies. The hot water felt wonderful on their skin.
“So, where does this artifact come from? What do you think?” Kolin asked.
“It must belong to the forbidden technology. Something made before the war,” Lila replied. “To think it’s been so long ago… I suppose the world back then looked so different from now….”
“Almost like another planet,” Solis added.
Their minds began wondering, trying to imagine that strange world. However, it was impossible to visualize those times. An era where people used to travel to other planets, and perhaps even to other stars.
“Why have we stopped going to space?” Lila asked, surprised by her question.
Kolin tried to say something but realized he couldn’t possibly find an answer. On the other side of the glass, Solis also stayed silent. Suddenly, the world had become a lot larger and way more mysterious.
They spent about twenty minutes under the hot stream, chatting happily through the thin cabin panels. Then, clean and refreshed, the teenagers left the shower room and headed towards the dome.
Here they found Anh and Rongo seated at the circular console. Rongo was talking in a low voice, showing Anh something on the touch-screens from the circular console.
“The showers work great!” Lila cried, waving towards the masters. “You should try them, too!”
“A bit later,” Rongo replied, keeping his eyes to the screen. “We were checking the map of this facility. There seems to be another level below, ampler and better equipped than this one.”
“Are you trying to access it, too?” Kolin inquired.
“It would be great if we could get there. This whole place is fascinating,” Anh responded, lifting his eyes from the displays and gazing at the youngsters.
“Can you reach it with the artifact?” Solis asked.
“I’ve tried, but it’s shielded against this type of connection,” Anh said.
“Please let us know if you need any help,” Solis added. “We’re going to the bedrooms.”
The masters smiled. Then, as the teenagers were leaving the dome, they turned back to the console and their secrets, only meant for the initiated. Inside the dome, the simulated stars continued their slow, uniform movement: a small sky of stone mirroring the night sky above.
(to be continued...)
Books by Marian C. Ghilea:
BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/photos/bathroom-3346387/
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