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  Nabinger had heard the argument many times. Isolationists cite natural evolution to explain this curious bit of synchronicity. They also explain many common points in the archaeological finds of these civilizations as due to man’s genetic commonality. Thus the fact that there are pyramids in Peru, in Egypt, in Indochina, in North America — some made of stone, some of earth, some of mud, but remarkably similar to one another given the distances between those sites — all that is just because each society as it developed had a natural tendency to do the same thing.

  Nabinger himself found this a bit of a leap. It would have been quite a genetic coup if all these civilizations should also have developed this same ancient high rune writing and then abandoned it, well before the first hieroglyphics were being etched on papyrus.

  The diffusionists argued the other side of the civilization coin, and Nabinger felt more affinity for their stance. They believed that those civilizations rose at approximately the same time on the cosmic scale — and exhibited all those similarities, including the high runes — because those civilizations had all been started by people from a single earlier civilization.

  There were problems with the diffusionist theory, though — serious problems — and that is why Nabinger kept his views on the subject to himself. The strongest argument against the diffusionist theory was that there was no way for people from these different locations to have communicated with one another or have had any social or cultural intercourse. Those early people would have had to cross the Atlantic and the Pacific, according to diffusionist theory. They had a hard enough time even sailing around on the Mediterranean at that epoch, never mind crossing the oceans.

  Slater’s face wrinkled as she smiled. “And you know who the number-one spokesperson for the diffusionists is, don’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Leif Jorgenson. The man who sailed the Atlantic in a Viking ship to prove that Europeans were in North America long before Christopher Columbus. And who floated from Indonesia to the Hawaiian islands on a wood raft to support his theory that the islands were colonized from the west.

  “But he’s taken all that — and more — a step further in the last ten years. He’s currently working the recently discovered ruins in Mesoamerica, looking at pyramids and the Mayan calendar and — guess what? — new high runes discovered there.

  “Four years ago Jorgenson uncovered a massive site in Mexico near Jamiltepec. Over twenty large earthen and stone pyramids covering almost seven hundred acres on the west coast of Mexico, less than two miles from the Pacific Ocean. It had been covered by the jungle and because of the mountains around it was accessible only by sea.

  “At the site he found further evidence of cross-cultural communication at a time earlier than traditional historians say is possible. There was jewelry made with gems that could only have been mined over two thousand miles away in South America. Stonework very similar to that at other sites, some on the other side of the Pacific in Oceania. He has in his possession hard evidence of a certain degree of interaction among widely spread peoples many centuries ago, but he is basically being ignored by the mainstream scientific community because they simply do not believe it is possible.”

  Nabinger was aware of the find, but he didn’t want to offend Slater. After all, he’d come to her. “How does Jorgenson think civilization originated?”

  “He believes that there was an original culture of white-skinned, long-eared, pyramid-building, rune-writing people living and flourishing at what he calls the ‘zero point,’” Slater replied. “And that civilization spread out from that zero point at what he calls a ‘zero time’—just prior to civilization developing simultaneously at all those other places that we are now studying. Civilization came from the zero point.”

  “And where is the zero point?” Nabinger asked, even though he had a very good idea of what the answer would be.

  “It is the place so many legends call Atlantis.”

  “And that is why you are so familiar with his theories,” Nabinger said.

  “Yes. Because there are connections that have not been adequately explained.” She paused. “Let me put it this way. Most people dismiss Jorgenson’s zero-point theory based on physical impracticality. They say that there is no way man at that time — somewhere around four thousand B.C. — could have made it from the zero point to the other locations around the globe, regardless of where you place the zero point. They would have had to cross the oceans.

  “Jorgenson’s reply is that while there is not enough scientific evidence to convincingly support his theory, there is also not enough to refute it. If you assume there was a way ancient man could have crossed the oceans and spread, then the evidence falls into place. Thus all the sea journeys Jorgenson has undertaken in replicas of old sailing vessels.”

  She tapped the translation Nabinger had given her. “I must give you credit, young man, for pursuing your study of the commonalities among the high runes, in defiance of the common theories. Obviously it has brought you success that many other scientists and investigators have failed to find because they accepted the standard theories and could not see the greater possibilities in thinking differently. I have tried my own hand at translating the high runes, but it is not my area of expertise.”

  “Let’s get back to the Atlantis idea,” Nabinger said, checking his watch again.

  “Jorgenson believes — and as you know there is scientific data to support this — that there was a major geological event in the Atlantic Ocean somewhere around 3400 B.C. Pretty much every culture around the globe refers to a great flood at about that time. Even the Tibetan Book of the Dead talks of a large land mass sinking into the sea at that time, and they are on the other side of the world from the Atlantic.

  “And there are so many legends referring to the same thing: a great civilization in the middle of an ocean, destroyed by fire or flood! The Mayans called Atlantis Mu. The northern Europeans called it Thule. There was also the land called Lemuria — which a Madame Blavatsky picked up for her own cult of Thule — which is the question you started this meeting with.

  “Lemuria was a land that scientists in the nineteenth century postulated must have existed because of the presence on Madagascar of a certain type of monkey, the lemur, that was also found in India. They believed Lemuria had been in the Indian Ocean. Blavatsky’s followers, with the stroke of their pens, moved Lemuria to the Pacific, tying the legend in with the statues on Easter Island, which loops us back to Jorgenson’s large-eared race. The statues on Easter Island are of, as you also know, a large-eared people.”

  Slater laughed. “I can tell you even better myths and stories. In 1922 another German published a book about Atlantis and claimed it had originally been occupied by a genetically perfect people. But the perfection was marred when an outside woman arrived and taught them how to ferment alcohol. So much for the perfect society. Because of this imperfection Atlantis was then destroyed by the tail of a comet! The continent burned and only a handful of people escaped.”

  “Where do these people get their ideas from?” Nabinger asked.

  “Ah, ever the scientist,” Slater said. “You want source material?” She went to her crowded desk and searched for a minute, before pulling out a dog-eared hardcover book.

  “This is the original mention of Atlantis from the Timaeus, a treatise on Pythagorean philosophy written by Plato. I have it here in the original Greek. Allow a little bit of leeway for my translation, as I don’t often converse in the language.”

  She turned several pages and ran her finger down the writing. “As is traditional with the Greeks, this manuscript takes the form of a dialogue among several persons, Socrates being one of them. In this passage Solon is telling the story of some of the Greek legends — for example the flood of Deukalion and Pyrrha. He is rebuked by an older priest: Solon, you Greeks are children. There have been and will be many destructors of mankind, of which the greatest are by fire and water.”

  She turned a few pages.


  Many are the truths and great are the achievements of the Greeks. But there is one that stands out above all the rest. It is in our history that a long time ago our state stopped a mighty host which started from a distant point in a distant ocean and came to attack the whole of Europe and Asia. For the ocean in that long ago day was navigable outside of what we call the Pillars of Hercules — there, there was an island which was larger than North Africa and Asia Minor put together and it was possible for travelers to cross from it to our land.

  Slater looked up from the book. “There are many who believe Plato is referring to North and South America, but then those people run into the same problem that Jorgenson has. The technology of the day rules out an ocean voyage across the Atlantic, so whatever Plato is referring to, if it is real, had to be closer to Europe. Of course, Plato is also saying something that goes against conventional thought: that the ocean outside the Pillars of Hercules, the Strait of Gibraltar, was navigable to people at that time.”

  She turned another page.

  On this island of Atlantis there was a confederation of very powerful kings who ruled the island and many other islands and lands. Here, through the Pillars of Hercules, they ruled North Africa as far as Egypt and over Europe as far as Tuscany. The kings of Atlantis at one time tried to enslave both the people of Greece and Egypt, but the Greeks, in a noble fight, stopped the invaders.

  At a later time there occurred earthquakes and floods, and on one grievous day the entire island of Atlantis was swallowed up by the sea and disappeared.

  “And now for an especially interesting detail,” Slater said.

  Atlantis disappeared and the ocean at that spot has now been made impassable, being blocked up by mud which the island made as it settled into the ocean.

  Slater smiled. “You know, of course, about the Sargasso Sea to the east of here. And the water around the islands here is relatively shallow in many places. If the ocean level were a bit lower, it would be almost impassable to most ships.”

  “So you believe you are sitting on the site of Atlantis?” Nabinger asked.

  “I don’t know,” Slater said candidly. She pulled a volume off her bookshelf. “Take this with you, along with photographs of the runes. It has more about the legend of Atlantis that you might want to look at. I hope I have given you the information you wanted.”

  “That and more,” Nabinger assured her, although there was little she had told him that he didn’t know and he already had most of the high rune images on file. He had just enough time to get to the airport and catch the hop back to Miami and continue with his trip. He hoped Von Seeckt had more.

  “One thing,” Slater said as they walked to the door. “What do you think was in the black box that was taken out of the pyramid?”

  Nabinger paused. “I don’t have a clue.”

  Slater nodded. “My reference earlier to the use of data from the concentration camps: I did not make that idly. This man you are after, this German, Von Seeckt. If he is part of what I think he is part of, then you might be getting into something that you need to be very careful of.”

  “And that is?” Nabinger felt the minutes to his flight tick down.

  “Ask him when you see him,” Slater said. “If he evades answering, ask him specifically about Operation Paperclip.”

  “What was that?”

  “Something I heard whispers about when I worked in Washington.” Slater stepped back toward her house.

  “Is there anything else I should know?” Nabinger asked, poised at her gate.

  “I know you were humoring me,” Slater said. “You knew nearly everything I told you, but you stopped by anyway. Why?”

  “It was on the way,” Nabinger answered honestly. “But also, I hoped you might have some new information, since you keep up with this area of research. Your information on Von Seeckt might prove helpful.”

  Slater was standing in the shadow cast by the peaked roof of the house. “They found something unusual at the Jamiltepec site in Mexico about eight months ago.”

  That was news to Nabinger. “What did Jorgenson find?”

  “Jorgenson didn’t find it,” Slater said. “I have only heard rumors. Jorgenson was away lecturing. His people were deep under the main pyramid when they found a passageway leading down. They were getting ready to open it when they were shut down. The Mexican army came in claiming that it was an historical site, but anyone with enough cash could have had them do that.”

  “What happened?” Nabinger asked.

  “From the whispers I’ve heard, it appears that Jorgenson’s team had been infiltrated. Some say by the Mexican government, since it was their army that shut the dig down; others say it was the CIA. That’s because there are rumors that Americans were seen working the site after Jorgenson’s people had to clear out. He made a stink, but once the Mexican government pulled his authorization there was little he could do.”

  “Any idea what was down there?”

  “Not a clue, my son. Not a clue. But you might want to ask Von Seeckt.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Outside Of Kingman, Arizona

  T — 117 Hours, 15 Minutes

  Turcotte drove, Kelly navigated, and Von Seeckt sat in the backseat, watching the countryside. They were in Kelly’s rent-a-car heading southwest out of Las Vegas in the approximate direction of Dulce, New Mexico, via Phoenix.

  Since there was only one road that went in that direction out of Las Vegas — Highway 93 to Kingman Arizona — Kelly’s mind was not much preoccupied with the map on her lap. It was over eighty miles to Kingman with no turns in between. “You told me they found the mothership in its hangar, but you never said if they found the bouncers there too,” she said, turning in the seat and glancing back at Von Seeckt.

  “Ah, the bouncers,” Von Seeckt said. “Yes, the mothership was the first find the Americans made. There were also two bouncers found near the mothership in the same chamber.”

  “And the other bouncers?” Kelly asked.

  “They were not found there,” Von Seeckt said. “They were recovered and transported to Area 51.”

  “Recovered from where?” Kelly asked.

  “From another location.” Von Seeckt’s attention was on the desert flowing by. Kelly met Turcotte’s glance across the front seat, then returned to the backseat. “Another location? Where is that? Remember, you hired me, and my currency for payment is information.”

  Von Seeckt finally turned his attention inside the car. “I thought your payment was finding your friend.”

  “Johnny Simmons is not here in this car,” Kelly said. “I hope and pray that we find Johnny at Dulce and can get him out safely. But you are here in this car and the more information we have, the better our chances are of getting Johnny out of there.”

  “The bouncers are back in Area 51,” Von Seeckt countered. “Why are you concerned with their history?”

  “You said we’re going to Dulce to find tablets that related to them,” Kelly argued.

  Kelly was startled when Turcotte slammed a fist on the steering wheel. “Listen, Von Seeckt, I don’t want to be here. I didn’t want this damn assignment from the start. But I’m here and I’m helping you people. So you help back. Clear?”

  “Your assignment?” Kelly asked, her reporter instincts still working. The two men ignored her question.

  “I took an oath of secrecy,” Von Seeckt said to Turcotte. “I am only violating that oath to prevent disaster.”

  “It’s a little damn late for that now,” Turcotte said. “And we’re helping you. I took a few oaths of my own, and I violated one of those when I saved your life and the lives of that couple up in Nebraska. You’ve crossed a line and you can’t go back. Understand that. We’re in this now. All three of us. Whether you like it or not, and personally I can tell you I ain’t too fucking thrilled, but I’m here and I accept what that means.”

  Von Seeckt pondered that for a few moments. “I know I crossed a line. I suppose much of what I feel is just hab
it. I have been so used to being quiet and not speaking. I have never talked to anyone outside of the program in all my life since being recruited in 1942. It is quite strange to speak openly about this.

  “There are nine atmospheric bouncers. We know they are linked to the mothership because of their technology and the material they are constructed of and because there were two buried with the mothership — Bouncer One and Bouncer Two, as they are so elegantly called.

  “We also know the others are related to the mothership because it is through material discovered in the mothership hangar that we were able to track down the other seven bouncers. When they found the mothership in 1942 they also not only found the first two bouncers, but several of the tablets we have already talked about. Although the people in the program could not decipher the symbols on the tablets, there were drawings and maps that could be understood.”

  “Wait a second,” Kelly said. “You’re telling me that the best minds the government could gather together couldn’t decipher these high runes? We’ve got computers that can break codes in seconds.”

  “First,” Von Seeckt said, “you must remember that it is extremely difficult to decipher a language or system of writing with so little material to look upon. That rules out effective use of computers — not enough data. Second, we did not necessarily have the ‘best’ minds, as you put it, working on this. We had those who could be recruited and pass a security check and also sign an oath of secrecy. In reality that left many of the best minds out of the field. And because of the secrecy of the program, those minds never got access to the data. Third, those who did work on the problem of deciphering the runes were limited by the conventions of their discipline. They did not understand that these runes found near the mothership could be related to runes elsewhere. Fourth, because of security requirements, the information they were working with was highly compartmentalized. They didn’t have access to all the data that was available.”