Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 13:02:10 +0100
From: Theo <Eternity@netikos.de>
Subject: Eternity-3

I know it's been a long time but my computer decided to commit suicide
together with my harddisk. Most of the work has to be rewritten now, and I
don't have so much time anymore. So here we go on with chapter II, I hope
you like it.

Theo


Chapter II

The story unfolds


	The room was stoically furnished, with a table in the middle of it
and a bookcase next to the door. Through the only window at the south side
of the wall you could see the tree tops and the sea in the distance. Two
people were sitting opposite each other. The one young, somewhere in his
early twenties, a chaos of papers spread in front of him. The other man was
in his late fifties, waiting patiently till the other spoke.

`Have you seen the notes sir?'

`Indeed I have and I must admit they are pretty remarkable, although I
still don't understand, why you have approached me with this case'

`Well I'm kind at a loss about which action I should follow. The patient is
in all physical tests which we tried healthy...'

`You mention only physical? Is there something wrong with his psychosocial
attitude?'  The older man said as he took notice of the hesitating tones in
the younger man's voice.

`Nothing apparent, as you know the patient came to us complaining about
headaches, memory loss and nightmares. In the beginning we thought he may
have a tumour, but as I said the patient is healthy, so we thought that the
patient may have psychological problems, which manifested as physical
symptoms.  We asked him to visit a psychologist and he did and till
recently he couldn't find either anything wrong with him.'

`Did anything happen to change that?'

`He hypnotized the patient. The procedure is standard, but what happened
during the procedure scared the hell out of the doctor.'

The younger man reached in his coat pocket and took a tape out. He walked
towards the bookcase where he took a cassette player from the selves. He
placed the player on the table, inserted the tape and pushed play...

One hour later, the same room. The older man was sitting in silence. He
couldn't believe what he had just heard on the tape. All the beliefs, all
the facts that he had found during the years were nothing compared to this
tape. Now he understood why the younger man, still sitting on the other
side of the table and studying him, came to him. It wasn't what the patient
said. It was the language which he used to say it. He had never heard
anything like that in his life, but he knew what it was the moment he heard
it.

`What would you like to know?'

Resignation tainted his voice and though his was only fifty, he felt like
another fifty years laid on his shoulders, after he had finished listening
the tape.

`Excuse me doctor but before we went through with this would you like
perhaps something to drink?'  He rose from his seat and moved again towards
a small cabinet where coffee and some other refreshments were.

`The first time I heard this tape, about a week ago, I needed more then a
simple cup of coffee to get over the initial shock...' The young man said
as he poured himself a cup `... but unfortunately we only have coffee and
some beverages here' A tone of regret could be heard through although he
tried to suppress it.

`Coffee would be fine...by the way do you mind if I smoke?'  Before
awaiting for an answer he lit a cigar which he had taken out of a box from
his jacket. Deep blue smoke filled the room and the aroma of expensive
tobacco.  He drank a bit from he coffee the younger man had placed in front
of him before he spoke again, taking the time to organise his thoughts and
try to bring them back from the chaos loop in which they had deteriorated.


The enigma


	Although lights illuminated most of the chamber, it still seemed
dark. The dust of ages still lying on the floor together with artefacts of
a long forgotten time swirled in the air, like ghosts of an era past which
greeted the intruders, as people walked inside with flashlights in their
hands and some with small brushes and bags. It had been one of the greatest
archaeological discoveries for the human race although in that time they
didn't even knew
 the consequences it would have to all future generations.
	The chamber was found deep inside the jungles of the Amazon as
foresting company were cutting a road through the thick plantation, a
project
 that was soon abandoned after the discovery of the small deserted
city. Soon the great wood cutting engines sounds were replaced from those
of brushes
 and scalpels as well as some of the other equipment that archaeologists
used during that time. Of all the buildings found, this was the only one
still left intact from the outside, the only one which ages of fierce root
attacks from the trees surrounding it from all sides as well as from nature
catastrophes.  After of weeks spend in clearing the building from the
native flora and still a few weeks of puzzling why the main entranced
couldn't be opened, they had managed to detect a mechanism of buttons,
several combinations later most of the team knew that they had discovered
indeed something completely historically unknown. Pictures were taken and
send for an analysis to different universities around the globe, the
resulting scientific turmoil could have matched an earthquake of the level
ten in the `Richter table'. The most brilliant scientific minds in
mathematics, archaeology, linguistic and deciphering were arguing over the
problem and trying to find a solution. Some had suggested to just blast the
door open but were soon discouraged from that specific course of action as
no one knew what may be damaged in the interior of the building.
	When the solution finally came it was an even greater shock for
those who had spend endless hours trying to find it. A young man in a
psychological institute for the mentally ill found one day, a patient of
his drawing strange marks on a piece of paper. After a more careful
examination on what the patient was doing he called the doctors
immediately. The patient had shown for the first time after twenty years of
retreat a sign of life in him.  Most of the doctors were interested on the
patient and none even noticed the strange marks on the papers till the same
young man that had found the patient called their attention towards
them. Ten minutes later the patient was forgotten and all the telephone
lines were busy for hours.
	It seems that the architects of the building thought in
geo-symmetric designs and the lock was made so that it could only open if
the appropriate
 symbols were pressed in the same way our solar system is represented on a
three dimensional graph. Beginning with the earth on the third elliptic and
moving through the planets depending on their distance from the sun. The
greater surprise came when the ninth planet was recognised on the symbols.
	By then over two hundred people of the most peculiar occupations
had gathered in the excavation site and were awaiting for the moment the
doors would miraculously open. Most of them would have done that through
the night but the original team insisted that the person who should open
the door would be the person who found the solution to this enigma of the
ancients. So most of them had to wait for a few days till the ill mentally
patient arrived, who was now known as the `Loony Wiz' thanks to some
unrespectable newspapers.
	Finally the day came and the atmosphere was buzzing with
anticipation. `Loony Wiz' helped by the same young male nurse who had found
him two weeks ago, walked in front of the door and pressed the symbols in
their appropriate row. For about thirty seconds nothing happened and the
only sound was of the birds and whatever wild life endured the noise of the
campsite, then as one a great sigh escaped from all the people there as the
doors slid inside the ground, and as one the moved back as the reek of the
chamber hissed out towards them to be replaced with fresh air. The head
archaeologist
 had to sustain the crowds from rushing in like a tidal wave and appointed
that none should enter the chamber before the air inside it had been
purified, as it seemed that it had been sealed airtight.
	The next day, man stepped inside the chamber after a span of over
seven thousand years and soon was followed by more men who were to install
 some basic lighting as no windows existed on the walls to let the sunlight
in.


Questions?

	The structure of the chamber is so designed that almost no natural
catastrophe except the most formidable could destroy it. The technology
used in creating it's symmetrical design and it's internal mechanism is
still a mystery as most of it is hidden inside it's walls. Some speculation
was made that the actual size of it, is much bigger than actually thought
of and there still must be a chamber bellow it but after a thorough
investigation nothing was found
 and the idea was abandoned.
	Of all the artefacts found one puzzled the scientists around the
world as much as the door mechanism had. A small almost round object, that
after a closer examination proved to be an exact miniature of earth. The
first thought was that it was a prank, something smuggled in from the
outside, only after the carbon tests were done most of them were convinced,
but a small minority remained sceptic. By accident a young technician
discovered what the globe was meant for, as he misdirected his laser
pointer towards and on impact the globe emitted a blast of light that
almost blinded the poor guy.
	After it's intensity had subsided and the young technician could
see again, he discovered some strange imprints on the wall behind the
globe, on closer examination they proved to be words but they were fading
fast. More experiments were done till the engineers discovered a beam
intensity that made the letters flow in the air, then the existence of the
globe was hushed from the public as a pranksters attempt and only a few
were allowed to know of it's true meaning.
	Of those few one of them was sitting opposite a young man breaking
an oath with the government from the moment he began telling him of this.
But this young man was special as it seemed he had a patient that knew
exactly what those symbols meant and even spoke them.
	While hearing them in the beginning of the tape he didn't recognise
them as for what they were. Not until his subconscious mind made itself
know in one of those rare moments in our life and compared the computer
vocalisations attempts of the script and those of the patient. Not until
know did he realise, that more had to be in this as it was till now taken
for granted.