Islands in the Sky Page 5

  "I don't know, but the real question is; how did all this get here?" she inquired.

  There were a great many theories floating around about the age of the continent of Antarctica and how long it had been frozen under kilometers of ice. Some estimates claimed it to hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions; but then there existed anomalies, such as seafaring maps from the early 1500's which closely charted the coastline of the land which had been locked under a vast ice sheet and disguised from view. This put into question just how old the ice covering the coasts of Antarctica might actually be?

  That was the reason Professor Logan was here. He had delved into studies of antiquity and lost civilzations since was a young lad; and made it a subject of personal interested throughout his long career. He had retired years ago with a modest nest egg from his decades of research at various universities and institutions; and had placed every last dime of his savings into pursuing his dream. He believed the source of myths and legends from countless ancient and forgotten civilizations all led here; and now fate had led him upon this wonderful discovery buried deep within the ice.

  "Look ahead!" Logan cried aloud as he made his way past the inset pillars at the end of the bridge.

  There upon a great cleft stood a broken archway standing above a path which led down in a vast cavern of ice. Swelling like stone ornaments tossed about the open grotto, where several standing ruins of an ancient city. We stood there in awe looking down upon this hidden city; wondering how something so impossible could exist. Alexander gave out a huff of laughter from the sheer shock of it.

  "Wondrous!" breathed the Professor as he cautiously made his way down the slippery steps. There were great stalactites of ice hanging from various breaches in a carved rocky dome covering the metropolis. The center of which was once open to the sky, but now covered in a thick sheet of glacier ice making it look like a giant crystal sun overhung the city; casting in a soft blue light into the chilled air.

  "How is this cavity still free of ice after all this time left buried beneath the glacier?" Mica inquired towards Logan.

  "It may very well be the same abnormality which radiates from the iron tree," he exclaimed as they made their first steps into the ruined city, "let us collect some samples for carbon dating. Alex, don't dally; get some photos of this place!"

  It took a moment for Alexander to stop gawking and to pull the camera out of his bag. Mica grabbed some small jars and bags from her side pack and began choosing small bits from the scattered debris to secure for testing once they got back.

  "Taking samples is all great and dandy, but they're not going to do us any good if we can't find a way out of this place," Tom stated in a harsh tone.

  "Ah, good point Thomas," Logan spouted in response, "why don't you and Allen scout the edges of these ruins and search for traces of an exit."

  Tom nodded to the logic of that decision, and motioned for me to tag along. We dropped our packs in the central square and agreed to meet back there in twenty minutes. Tom took one side of the complex while he directed me towards the other; so we could cover more ground. I tried to be excited about exploring an ancient city, but still felt a sense of dread creeping upon me; wondering if we would end up buried and forgotten among these ruins if we couldn't find a way to the surface.

  I found myself distracted by the array of seemingly simple to exquisitely intricate designs I found etched into the architecture. However, there seemed to be a lack of sculptures of any kind which weren't thoroughly demolished beyond recognition. It was almost as if they had been intentionally vandalized. Here or there you could find the broken base of such an elaborate carving, only to find its remnants shattered to pieces left scattered about the floor. It made me wonder what chaos might have reigned in the last days of this long lost civilization.

  Making my way through an antechamber, I searched several nooks and crannies hidden within the shadows beyond a placement of pillars. One room after another seemed to blur together as I kept my quickened pace to explore the outer edges of the city to find a passage out. Each one either came to a dead end or was blocked by a wall of solid ice. I found little in the way of explanation to who these people might have been, since there were no bones nor bodies left mummified by the numbing cold. After searching in vain, I turned around to make my way back and noticed something peculiar.

  A triangle carved through the ceiling of the doorway high above, streamed in a ray of bright blue light from the center dome into the room where I stood. In curiosity, I backtracked to each of the buildings I had entered before and found the same pyramid shape drilled through the stone structures in roughly the same place; all facing the central opening of the dome above. Unable to assess their function, I continued to scout the edge of the ruins until I once again ran into Tom.

  "Did you find anything?" Tom asked with a tired huff as he climbed down from a rooftop on the edge of a broken pillar to my level.

  "No way out as far as I could find," I conveyed, "however, there were a few passages blocked with ice which could possibly be concealing our route."

  "Dammit!" Tom barked, "It seems like this section is a dead end. We better find the others," he ordered.

  Weaving our way back through the ruins and broken statues, we found Logan and Mica studying a circular structure at the center of the metropolis. Looking up, I took note that it was located directly below the opening in the dome high above us.

  "If you would Mica, please go find Alexander and bring him back here," Logan asked his assistant. Mica placed down her pack and scurried off in search of Alex, while trying not to make to much noise by calling out to him in fear of the precarious formation of ice above our position.

  "We couldn't locate an exit," Tom mentioned to the professor.

  "That's unfortunate, but perhaps we can find another way, or backtrack to take the stairway outside the doorway to another level," Logan mentioned with a mild lack of concern, "however, Mica and I suspect there is a chamber below this structure that seems worth investigating."

  The entire circumference of the flattened formation appeared as if it might fit into the slot of the dome straight above us like a plug. Why it was located on the ground was a mystery. If it had fallen from that height, then it certainly would have been shattered into a thousand pieces, but it was nearly unblemished except by age. Beyond the outer edge of its rim there we found another series of tiles embedded with a silvery metal. Outside of that border were several interlinking blocks which seemed to have no purpose beyond their odd design.

  Logan traced one path cut in the stonework back to a podium which sat below a broken archway. Within its center sat a ring deeply engraved upon the image of a tree. Logan seemed to be enthralled by this find, and brought our attention to the figure.

  "Hmm, there must be a device that would operate this. A large ring or cylinder which acts like a key," Logan exclaimed.

  "What are you talking about, it's just a decorative carving," Tom answered back, wondering what Logan had meant by his reference to a device.

  "I suspect that this dome in front of us is a type of ancient mechanism, which might help us discover a way out of here," Logan proclaimed, "Did you happen to notice anything that might fit this casting while you were exploring the ruins?"

  Tom and I shook our heads that we had not as we turned to see Mica and Alex as they made their way to our location.

  "Professor, there is a trove of jewelry and relics back there!" Alex spouted as Mica dragged him along in his reluctance to leave the treasure behind.

  "They were more like curious artifacts rather than jewelry," Mica corrected, "most were broken remnants."

  "Did you bring any of them with you?" Logan asked with intrigue.

  "No, no, I wouldn't disturb a find like that without fully photographing and cataloging their placement before moving a single artifact," Alex explained. Alexander Beaumont was a former study of archeology and held a high regard for the handling of antiquities.

  Bringing
his camera over, he showed Logan the digital images he had taken. Agreeing that it was worth further investigation, he led the team up to the temple where Mica had found him. Once inside, we found the floor littered with debris of what were once intricate statues, now reduced down to the broken bases. I held up one fragment showing the broken face and eye of a woman with a beaded headdress. Beyond this chamber we found an adjacent circular room littered with bits of metal and strange artifacts of curious design. None of which we could decipher their function.

  "Perhaps these are parts to some type of machine?" I offered to suggest as I began to pick on up. However, Alex slapped away my hand just as I grasped a metal trinket which clattered back to the floor.

  "Don't touch anything until we catalog it!" Alex demanded. I just gazed at him in stupid dismay by his reaction.

  "Hate to tell you bud, but all this precious junk is worthless if we die down here and nobody ever hears about it," I snapped back to attack his sense of logic. I could see regret in his eyes as he began to realize that we could perish down here among this pile of broken trinkets. If there was something useful here, then we would have to find it.

  "Yes, okay. Sorry about that lad," he apologized, "just let me take a few more photographs and we can see what we have here," Alex added humbly.

  Agreeing with that assessment, the team stood back while Alex turned on his flash and began taking photos for the records before we disturbed their placement. After he was done, Mica began sifting through the bits and pieces of metal while Tom made it clear that he couldn't make heads or tails from the scrap around us. Fumbling through the odd devices and ornaments, something glinted out of the corner of my eye. Brushing away the frost that covered the thick layer of dust, I found a circular burnished ring.

  The item was large enough to go over my hand, and appeared as if it could fit the etched section on the podium. A part of it had a dull glow to it which intrigued me. Placing the ring in the shadows, it displayed a noticeable luminescence on a small part of it. After I turned on my flashlight to get a better look at the ring on all sides to inspect its details I noticed that it had absorbed the light and was glowing on its own after I switched off my lamp.

  Showing this to Logan, he determined it a most curious find. After testing the rest of the room with direct light from the beams of our lanterns; we found no other similar devices in the pile. Mica collected a few of the smaller trinkets as samples while Logan directed us back to the podium in the courtyard. With high expectations, he placed the circlet within the central depression encompassed by the image of the tree. When nothing happened, he gave a scowl of disappointment.

  "Well, what do we do now?" Tom asked Logan with a sarcastic edge in his voice.

  "This metal ring fits within the cavity perfectly, I don't understand it," the professor whined while he scratched his head as he twisted the ring in various positions.

  "Ring ...a ring," Mica thought out loud, "perhaps it is tonal device, activated by the frequencies of the ringing bells!" she suggested.

  Even though the large bells were located within the hallway far above them, Mica was adamant that it was the most plausible conclusion she could come up with at the moment. Tom accompanied her as they made their way up the steep path to the hall of bells, while the rest of the team remained below to operate the device. Personally, I was skeptical that whatever mechanism the professor suspected drove the device might be frozen or damage from age. Regardless, with her embedded knowledge as a geologist, Mica wanted to give it a try.

  "Here, take these," Tom offered as he tore out wads of cotton from his undershirt, "stuff these in your ears."

  Mica complied and tightened her hood over her head. Starting from the rear, they positioned themselves on either side of the corridor. With a nod, they began to rock the first set of bells. In unison, the giant chimes began to ring. Their ears muffled, they moved to the next pair and gently pushed the bells into motion. The reverberation could be felt under their feet as the second set fell in tune; strengthening the percussion.

  Even as the noise pierced through the bindings around their ears, they advanced to the third row and set them in motion. A rumble began to shake the floor and they both gave each other worried looks if they should dare to trigger a fourth row. The frequency began to shake the very foundation and they dodged loose blocks of stone and ice which rained down from the high ceiling of the chamber. Soon the noise became painful, and they rethought their choice to start any more bells in motion.

  Stumbling through the doorway, they pulled off their hoods to find the cotton swabs they had stuffed in their ears were dabbed in blood. Looking to the dome above the ruins, the vibration they had triggered had begun to send showers of ice raining from the frozen canopy above. Alex, Logan and I turned our heads skyward as an enormous boom echoed through the ruins as an enormous crack split through the plate of thick ice covering the section of the open dome. We gazed at one another in a moment of worry, wondering what a reckless idea it might have been to pull this stunt while we were standing directly beneath untold tons of shattered glacier ice.

  A thin shard broke free and came tumbling down like a spear the size of a ship; crashing into the buildings below. A strong shaft of sunlight glinted through as the crack widened around it. I glanced around to see several thin shafts of light streaming through the ruins; now focused by prisms of glass which had been inset within the triangular cuttings in each of the buildings facing inward. When direct sunlight splashed upon us where we stood around the podium, the silver band began to shimmer brightly.

  The ring twisted in place forward and back; and eventually locked itself in place as light poured from it to fill the inset tree surrounding it. We jumped back as the rings of silver metal embedded within the floor began to glow, and the partial dome on the floor before us began to spin as it slowly began to rise. We jumped back as another large chunk of ice the size of a small house fell free; smashing upon the stone shell rising slowly above where we stood. The debris cracked into smaller pieces and crushed several buildings as it tumbled off the roof. The ascending dome acted as a shield against the barrage of falling debris raining around us.

  Tom and Mica stood their ground, seeing the dangers befalling us below as they felt an ache of regret for triggering this carnage. Alex huddled under the broken arch, which provided little, if any protection; while Logan and I moved closer to the rising cap of the dome where it ascended to plug the gap above. As more ice fell free it served to clear the breach; sending in rays of light streaming throughout the frigid cavern. We could now observe that the stone dome-cap was supported by three pillars spinning like corkscrews as the cap rose ever higher.

  In a dreadful moment, we heard a deafening crunch as the umbrella of stone broke through the lodged ice and sealed the cavern. We gritted our teeth as bits of broken ice and rock showered down around us, until the barrage finally slowed to a stop. The glowing silver metal inset within the floor began to dull, and we could now see a spiral staircase which had been concealed beneath the lifted dome. Tom and Mica quickly made their way down the path to our position once the falling ice had stopped.

  Alexander was the worse for wear, as his spectacles were drenched in frosted tears; the trauma of the destruction having overcome his sensibilities.

  "Oh my, well this is certainly promising," the professor breathed with excitement as he peered into the darkened depths of the staircase. He took his first steps upon it even before Mica and Tom had arrived to check on our condition; as if he had entirely forgotten about the rest of us.

  Logan's sudden advance encouraged us to follow, so we grabbed our packs and equipment and started the decent into the well behind him; coming to a landing only a few stories below. There we found a large circular slab ten meters wide and a full meter thick, leveled around chest height. Shining our flashlights from around its circumference, we peered below it to discover to our astonishment that the enormous stone slab was firmly floating midair just a few feet off the fl
oor. We stood there stunned by this impossible artifact; wondering about the true nature of this strange forgotten civilization we had stumbled upon.

  Nine Kingdoms

  Logan was intrigued as were the rest of us, concerning what appeared to be a several ton block of stone and how it could resist gravity. Upon further examination, the top outer edge of the round block was covered with lines of script etched within. It appeared to be the same ancient cuneiform which included several decorative embellishments equally spaced along its rim. Being of shorter stature in our group, Alexander stood on his tip toes while adjusting his spectacles to get a better look at the text lining its circumference.

  "These circular decorations here seem to contain some sort of metal inlay," Alex proclaimed as he felt the smooth surface.

  "This text is beyond any conversion of dialect I am familiar with," Logan concurred as he inspected the areas Alex had mentioned.

  "What do you think it's for?" Mica inquired as she circled the stone slab, "I mean, what function does this thing serve?"

  After encircling its entire circumference, Logan reached Mica's side of the slab and tested its weight by giving it a forceful nudge. The stone gave a slight resistance at first, but required notably less effort the faster he turned it.

  "Amazing, I might guess that this device may be achieving levitation by magnets imbedded within its structure," Logan presumed, "but I concur that I am at a loss to its function," he granted to his assistant.

  I conceded that I could not fathom the reason for this floating monstrosity, which spun in place as if it were some child's toy. Perhaps I was puzzled by the simplicity of its operation; which became apparent when the dome cap above us began to quickly descend. The spiral shaped columns untwisted like screws, lowering the giant cap back into the place where it once sat undisturbed until our arrival. Tom tried to race up the stairway, but Mica surpassed him as she jumped outside to the podium and snatched the metal ring from its setting.