Covenant: Exodus

Chapter 24

Graham sat staring between Erich, Jim, Paulus, and Nagato. He was dumbfounded. The story that he had just been told was unbelievable, and yet he knew that Erich would never make any of it up. "So, what exactly would you have me do?" Graham asked as he surveyed the room, running a hand through his wavy gray hair.

"No one knows more about the great flood than you," Erich said emphatically, "or the people that survived it. We have to find where Noah and his people ended up. I don't even know where to begin looking. There are thousands of islands in Indonesia, and we don't have time to search them all. Is there anything that you have come across in your research that could give us a clue into where these people may have ended up?"

Graham could hear the desperation in his friend's voice. "I have a theory...and much of what I have learned tonight seems to substantiate my beliefs. I have believed for many years that humanity owes a great debt of gratitude to a civilization from our past...a past that we have forgotten about. I began to formulate this theory very early on in my research of the great flood myths from around the world...there were just too many similarities between the myths that I was finding from every corner of the globe. And then when Erich found the Ark, it became clear that the people that had built and sailed that vessel were not from any civilization that we knew about. That is really when my theory began to take shape, and now after hearing more from you, Paulus, about the Ari'Yet and the strange abilities that the Sala'Ma possessed I feel almost certain that I was on the right track..."

"And that track was...?" Erich asked.

"That the people that built the Ark are the same people that I have been trying to track down through my research...the great lost civilization...Atlantis..." Graham said excitedly.

"Atlantis...," Erich deadpanned, "the island that sank to the bottom of the ocean..."

Graham had expected this reaction, in fact, he was quite used to people thinking that his theories were a bit insane, "Yes and no...I believe that the people that built your Ark are the survivors of Atlantis. I do not believe that Atlantis sank to the bottom of the ocean, I believe that it is indeed covered by water, but it does not lie at the bottom of any ocean."

"How could it be covered with water and not at the bottom of the ocean, where is it?" Paulus asked.

"Antarctica... a land below this one...where everything is the same, except the seasons are different." He paused long enough to make his point, "Just like the myth that Unta told Erich that led him here said, an island below this one. Antarctica...covered in water...just frozen water."

"So, you think this lost civilization has just been on Antarctica this whole time and no one has found it yet? How is that possible?" Jim asked sounding skeptical.

"Because Antarctica is the least explored area of the world. There are no permanent residents of Antarctica, and as far as mainstream science would have us believe, there never have been. So, take into consideration the lack of people looking, the inhospitable environment, and the fact that the continent is covered in ice that, in some places, reaches two miles thick...it seems to me that it is the perfect place to find this great lost civilization." Graham said talking more and more excitedly as he continued.

"But if the environment is so inhospitable how did this ancient civilization thrive?" Paulus asked.

"Simple," Graham said, sounding surprised that everyone had not already come to this conclusion for themselves, "because it didn't use to be that way. Did you know that Antarctica is a desert that averages less than 8 inches of precipitation per year, and that..."

"Who cares?!" Erich interjected forcefully, "I don't really care about this civilization right now Graham, I'm sorry to be short, but we need to rescue Gema and Isaiah, and right now it seems that the only way to do that is to find whatever it is that Malik is looking for before he gets there. So, unless you are suggesting that we go to Antarctica, I think we need to move on."