Tomb of Zeus (Atlantis) by Christopher David Petersen Read Free Book Online

you don’t want to,” he paused for effect, then continued, “That’s why I’m calling. It’s time to pull you back up to the top again.”
    “This isn’t one of those stupid interventions, is it?” Jack joked.
    “No Jack, no stupid interventions… and no tricks or gimmicks either. How would you like another adventure?” he asked with growing excitement.
    “No thanks,” Jack said, dryly.
    “No seriously, Jack. I’ve made a new discovery, here in Atlantis,” he said.
    “Don’t tell… let me guess. You’ve found Poseidon’s toilet.”
    “Ha ha, very funny. No, I’m not certain, but I think we’ve found Zeus’ burial chamber.”
    Javi listened but heard only silence.
    “Jack, you still there? Did you hear what I just said?”
    “Sorry Javi, I was taking a sip of my beer. Yeah I heard you.”
    He overheard Javi exhale in exasperation.
    “So what do you think? Exciting right?” Javi asked.
    “Not really. We already knew there was a possibility of another burial chamber on the right hand side of the pyramid… old news.”
    “No Jack, that right hand chamber you’re talking about turned out to be just a shadow we misread on the imaging printout. There’s no chamber on the right hand side.”
    “So what chamber are you talking about?” Jack asked, now mildly interested.
    “Well, it’s not quite confirmed yet, but I think we might have found a chamber deep below the pyramid, at its center.”
    “Below the pyramid? As in underground?”
    “The pyramid was carved out of solid limestone, so the chamber is somewhere below the base level, carved deeper into the stone. Not really underground per se, just lower in elevation than the base level.”
    “Like a vault, then?” Jack asked.
    “Yeah, sort of.”
    “Hold the phone there professor. I think you’re forgetting something,” Jack started, sarcastically.
    “And that is?” Javi groaned.
    “The city of Atlantis was wiped out by an enormous tidal wave. That wave also buried the pyramid. We found a thick layer of silt that had seeped into the corridors and chambers when we entered the pyramid. That was at a relatively high elevation. If you’re talking about a vault deep in the ground, wouldn’t it be chocked full of dirt?”
    “I thought of that too, but if they had drainage specifically design to handle that kind of flow, we might see very little sediment buildup after the tidal wave. It’s pretty clear the Atlanteans knew about the underwater rivers that flowed deep beneath the surrounding mountains of limestone. I’m thinking they accounted for the flooding at some point in their calculations and built drains to handle the problem,” Javi explained.
    “They were clever little devils, weren’t they?” Jack joked.
    “So what do you think? Impressive, huh?”
     
    “I guess so,” he responded dryly.
    “You guess so? Jack, if my hunch is correct, this’ll be the greatest find since… since…”
    “Since the last greatest find?” Jack teased
    “Yeah, sort of. Maybe even greater. Who knows where this could all end up? Just think of the possibilities.”
    “Sounds exciting,” Jack responded, his voice lacking enthusiasm once more.
    “Jack, I want you here for this. After all we’ve been through, it wouldn’t be right to find Zeus without you. What do you say?”
    “I don’t know, Javi. I’m kind of busy right now,” he said, realizing the absurdity of his statement. “Well… I plan on being busy shortly.”
    “Jack, come on. We both know you don’t have any plans. In fact, I’m betting if I was to hang u p the phone right now and call back six month later, you’d be doing exactly the same thing you’re doing now… which is nothing,” Javi stated in serious tone. “This is it, Jack. This is the opportunity of a life time.”
    “I don’t know, Javi. I just don’t feel up to it,” Jack said, taking another sip of his beer.
    There was a long pause between the two. Javi finally broke the silence.
    “Jack, I