The Atlantis Code by Charles Brokaw Read Free Book Online Page B

oral and written, in addition to his work on languages in the computer field. According to legend, only those special few born every generation could read what was written on any of the instruments. “I can’t.”
    “Then why do you want it so badly?”
    Tenderly, Murani replaced the bell in the case, reseating it carefully once more into the foam cutout. “Because this bell is one of five keys that will open the greatest treasure in the history of mankind.” He gazed at the bell. “With this, we will be closer to knowing God’s Will than we have ever been.”
    The cardinal’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He answered it smoothly, hiding the excitement that coursed through him.
    “Your Eminence,” Murani’s secretary, an enterprising young man, said.
    “What is it?” Murani asked. “I gave express orders that I wasn’t to be disturbed this afternoon.”
    “I understand that, Your Eminence. However, the pope has requested that everyone from his offices give a written statement of support for a dig site in Cádiz. He wants the statement now.”
    “Why?”
    “Because the archeological excavation is drawing fire from some of the media.”
    “Surely the pope can issue a statement on behalf of the Church.”
    “The pope feels that he is so new to his office that statements should also be issued by senior members among his staff. You were one of those named.”
    Murani agreed, said he would attend to that upon his return, and closed the phone.
    “Problem?” Gallardo asked.
    “The pope’s worried about Father Emil Sebastian’s efforts in Cádiz.”
    “Talk radio is filled with speculation about why the Vatican would take such an interest in those ruins down in Cádiz.”
    At a stoplight near the Piazza del Popolo, Gallardo reached back between the seats for a copy of
La Repubblica
. He opened the national newspaper for Murani to see. The banner headline proclaimed:
     
    VATICAN SEARCHING FOR LOST TREASURES OF ATLANTIS?
     
    Murani scowled.
    “The paper is poking fun at the Church’s interest,” Gallardo said.
    Unfolding the paper, Murani quickly read the accounts of how the concentric rings in the swamps near Cádiz had been located through satellite imagery. The site was located not far from the Nature Parks near the basin of the River Guadalquivir north of Cádiz.
    Cádiz was the oldest city in Spain. In 1100 B.C ., the city started out as a trading post. The Phoenicians named it Gadir, and most of the goods exported from there were silver and amber. The Carthaginians followed, building the seaport up and increasing the trade still more. The Moors followed, but Cádiz had come into its own by then and was accepted as the main trading port to carry on business with the New World. Two of Christopher Columbus’s voyages launched from the city’s docks. Later, the city was invaded by Sir Francis Drake. Napoléon Bonaparte was nearly taken there by his enemies.
    And now, perhaps, Atlantis had been found there. For millennia, since Plato had first written of the fabled city that had experienced some kind of environmental disruption and sank into the sea, all mankind had talked of the glories that might be found in the lost civilization. Claims that Atlantis was a city of superscientists, of magicians, and even of aliens from another star system all constantly circulated through the conspiracy Web sites on the Internet.
    No one knew the truth.
    No one except the Society of Quirinus.
    And Cardinal Stefano Murani.
    And he didn’t plan to share his knowledge.
    “Truthfully, I wondered at the Church’s interests there,” Gallardo said.
    Murani said nothing as he read the story. Happily, it was tissue-thin, nothing but speculation. There were no concrete facts, only guesswork on the part of the reporter. Father Emil Sebastian, the director of the dig, was quoted as saying the Vatican was interested in recovering any artifacts that might once have belonged to the Church. A sidebar, much more factual,