‘No,’ she insisted, ‘it was here. You saw the model, you know that.’
‘I don’t remember it down to the last centimetre though.’
‘Don’t you?’ she sounded surprised.
‘No. And obviously neither do you. Because you’ve made a mistake.’
‘Have you looked at the floor?’ she asked.
‘The floor?’ Matt looked down, wondering what she meant. He knew at once when he saw the thin trail of sand scattered from the bottom of the stairs. It ran across the flagstones, ending at the tapestry. ‘Like in Dad’s study,’ he said quietly.
‘Let’s test a theory,’ Robin said. She reached out and grabbed the large tapestry, pulling it to one side. It was heavy, and she struggled to shift it. But even so, it moved enough for Matt to see the door hidden behind.
The room could have been in a modern office block. The desk was pale wood, and the fittings chrome and steel. The desktop was clear apart from a computer screen, mouse and keyboard, and a telephone. But Harper’s attention was focussed on Venture.
‘So on balance,’ Venture was saying, ‘we think the most likely location would seem to be this Scandinavian island.’
‘But you’re not one-hundred percent sure.’
‘You can never be one-hundred percent sure in this game,’ Venture told him.
‘Maybe not, intellectually speaking.’ Harper clapped his palm over his chest. ‘But you can tell, you can feel it here. You just instinctively know sometimes when things are right.’
Venture did not reply.
The hidden door opened into a narrow stone-walled corridor that led downwards, into the depths below the pyramid.
‘We’ll be under the mountain itself if we keep going much further,’ Matt said. ‘Where do you suppose this leads?’
‘Let’s find out,’ Robin told him.
Matt wasn’t at all sure he wanted to. Harper had already told them off for prying where they shouldn’t. ‘Maybe it’s just abandoned. Maybe no one ever comes here.’
‘Yeah, right.’ Robin paused and turned to look at him. ‘That’ll be why there are lights.’
Matt hadn’t thought about that. There was lighting at floor level like the stairs down into the basement of the pyramid. Obviously, now Robin pointed it out, the tunnel was in use. At its far end was a warm glow which might be sunlight.
‘It’s just another way in and out of the pyramid,’ Matt said. ‘It probably comes out on the other side of the waterfall.’
‘Tradesman’s entrance?’ Robin said. She didn’t sound convinced.
‘OK,’ Matt admitted as they reached the end of the tunnel. ‘Not the tradesman’s entrance.’
The tunnel emerged onto a wide ledge. One of the tunnel walls continued, while the other was gone, affording a view out over the incredible sight below. The ledge was a paved walkway that was part of the top of a ruined structure that had been built into the rock.
A huge amphitheatre. Matt and Robin were standing at the back, on the top level, looking out over rows and rows of curved terraces leading down eventually to a circular area at the bottom of the structure. The terraces were interrupted by entrances and exits cut into them – tunnels leading off from the amphitheatre and disappearing into darkness. The terraces stretched round about two-thirds of the structure. The last third, behind the circular stage, was a sheer rock wall. Between the stage and the rock wall was a black mass that seemed to shimmer and move. Water, Matt realised – an underground river running lazily through the ancient structure.
‘How old is this?’ he murmured.
‘Older than the pyramid,’ Robin said. ‘Much, much older. The pyramid is built on top of it. This is what Harper’s calculations actually led him to when he worked out where there was an undiscovered ancient site. The pyramid above isn’t old enough to have been important.’
‘You think he knows this place is here?’ Matt realised how stupid a question that was as soon as he said it. He put his hand up to stop Robin pointing it out. ‘OK, OK. Of course he does. You could hardly miss it. And there are the lights.’
‘And people have been working down here,’ Robin said. ‘It’s being excavated – look.’
The whole place was bathed in a yellow light cast by enormous floodlights standing on metal gantries and poles arranged at intervals along the terraces. They were almost lost in the scale and grandeur of the place. The sheer size of it had impressed Matt so much he hadn’t noticed that some areas were roped off, divided up into squares like an archaeological dig. Whole stretches of terrace were buried in sand and rubble. Broken pillars of stone lay where they had fallen, probably centuries if not millennia ago. Roots and creepers had grown through from the forest far above and snaked across the whole site. In some places they had obviously been cleared away, but in others they stretched across the terraces and up the walls like dark veins against the pale stone.
‘Have you seen this?’ Robin asked. She was pointing to the stone wall behind them, at the end of the tunnel.
‘What about it?’
A thick creeper was hanging down the wall close to them. Large, veined leaves gripped the crumbling stonework as the creeper looped in a lazy S shape towards the sandy floor. It reminded Matt of something. He felt suddenly cold. ‘It’s just like the wall in the computer model. Where we created that avatar figure.’
‘Before the ancient world as we know it,’ Atticus Harper said, ‘there was another civilisation.’
‘It’s an interesting theory,’ Venture told him. ‘One that is gaining some credibility, I believe.’
‘It is the only theory that fits the facts. Yet still the academic world as a whole refuses to accept it.’
Venture nodded. ‘It steps on too many academic toes; too much of the current thinking would be invalidated if your theory were true.’
‘Hardly my theory, Julius. Since the geologist Robert Schloch suggested the erosion on the Sphinx was due to rain and not sand back in 1991, the establishment has sought to discredit anyone who backs a theory that doesn’t match their cosy view of the ancient world.’
‘Schloch has to be wrong,’ Venture agreed, ‘as do West and Hancock and Brennan and all the others. Because if the Sphinx was standing when there was such heavy rain in Egypt then it must be far older than the historians would like to think. It doesn’t fit, so it can’t be right. In short, they cannot be wrong.’ He watched Harper carefully as the big man tapped at his keyboard for a few moments. ‘Is that why you’re after the Treasure of St John?’
Harper was frowning at the screen. He returned his attention to Venture. ‘Yes,’ he said simply. ‘I’m sure there are other papers and articles and relics of note in the so-called treasure. But most of all, I am after whatever was rescued from the library at Alexandria. If I can prove – really prove – that a civilisation existed long before any other and passed on its knowledge …’ His eyes were shining and his brow creased with an intensity and passion. ‘If I can find proof of that, then it really will be remembered as my theory. My discovery.’
‘You want to be remembered as someone who changed archaeology,’ Venture realised. ‘Someone who changed how the human race sees itself in the light of history. Someone who changed the world.’
Harper smiled, the intensity fading. But the passion in his eyes was still there. ‘Everyone wants to change the world,’ he said. ‘If you can’t control it, surely that’s the next best thing.’
Venture swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.
The terraces were like enormous steps, each about three-feet high. They jumped down from one to another, towards the flat circular area that must be the stage.
‘It must be Roman,’ Matt said. ‘Or Greek.’
‘In South America?’ Robin said.
‘A copy, then.’
‘It’s older than the pyramid. Much older.’
‘Ancient Greece was hundreds of years BC,’ Matt pointed out. ‘That’s older.’
‘This is older than that,’ Robin s
aid. ‘Ten-thousand years older, I’d say.’
Matt gave a low whistle. ‘That is old. How do you know? How can you tell?’
She had turned away. ‘I just know.’
Matt thought about this. She had to be wrong, but she’d never admit it. ‘So how come it looks Greek if it’s that old?’
Robin jumped down another huge step, then turned back and looked up at him. She spoke slowly and patiently, like Matt’s history teacher at school. ‘Before the ancient world as we know it, there was another civilisation. I mean thousands of years – perhaps as many as twenty thousand – before ancient Greece and Egypt.’
Matt had heard this from Dad, though he’d never paid much attention to it. He had been surprised his father gave it so much credence. ‘That’s just a theory.’
Robin ignored him. ‘Its ships sailed the world from China to the South Pole,’ she said. ‘They had advanced knowledge of science, maths, astronomy and geometry long before anyone else.’
‘It’s just a myth, you know. There’s no proof. It’s just a story.’
‘But it’s a story of a civilisation that was wiped out by a great catastrophe – floods and earthquakes or whatever. It doesn’t really matter, not any more. But what if the survivors escaped to Egypt, and to other places? Including South America. It is their knowledge which informed these ancient societies. That enabled the pyramids to be built, and not just the pyramids…’ She opened her arms and turned a full circle.
‘So you’re saying this place was built by some ancient lost civilisation?’
‘I’m saying it might have been built using knowledge that was passed on from that ancient civilisation. Knowledge that enabled them to move stones weighing thousands of tonnes; to map the heavens and the earth with terrific accuracy without ever going into space; to hollow out stone to make vases with necks so narrow a child can’t get its finger inside.’
‘That’s crazy,’ Matt told her. ‘No one’s ever going to believe that.’
Robin stared at him, her pale face framed by her black hair. He thought she was about to lose her temper, but instead she smiled. ‘You’re probably right,’ she said. ‘Come on, I’ll race you to the bottom.’
Harper was concentrating on the screen. He barely listened to what Venture was saying, almost all his attention was focused on the graphic the computer was displaying. He angled the screen to be sure that Julius Venture could not see it.
‘The author Robert Graves made a distinction between what he called Lunar knowledge and Solar knowledge,’ Venture said. ‘That’s really what we’re talking about here, isn’t it? Lunar knowledge, the knowledge of the ancients if the theories are born out, wasn’t based on calculation and synthesis of data which underlies the modern so-called scientific method.’
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Harper said, without looking away from the screen. He moved the mouse and the wire-frame model he was examining shifted and turned.
‘No, this ancient knowledge system was all to do with intuition, to do with having a unified view of the universe and of our own existence.’ Venture gave a short laugh. ‘And there’s talk now about a unified theory, as if it’s something that can be calculated or discerned, rather than something that just is. You know,’ he went on, ‘some children can tell you how many sweets there are in a pile just by looking. It’s a vestige of that knowledge system, before it evaporates under the pressure of modern teaching. The children simply know how many sweets there are just by glancing at it from a distance. They don’t need to count them individually.’ He paused, as if sensing that Harper was not listening. ‘Or how many paving slabs there are in a causeway just by glancing at it from a helicopter.’
The circular stage was far bigger than it had seemed from the back of the amphitheatre. The sand was so deep across it that with the water on the other side, Matt felt as if he was walking on a beach.
From one side of the stage, Robin waved to him to join her.
‘What have you found?’ he asked.
There’s a narrow ledge running along the side of the river,’ she said, pointing to where a shelf of rock disappeared into the shadows.
‘So?’
‘So you were right. Well, sort of. Judging by the orientation of this amphitheatre, that leads to the back of the volcano.’
‘If it goes all the way.’
She smiled, tilting her head to one side. ‘Want to find out?’
Matt smiled back. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘But I think we should be getting back. Goodness knows what Harper would do if he knew we were down here. He’d go ape.’
‘Ah, Katherine.’ Still Harper did not look away from the screen. ‘It seems we are all off to Scandinavia. Perhaps you and Julius could make the necessary arrangements?’
‘How soon are we travelling?’ she asked.
‘As soon as possible. If that is all right with Julius and his … party?’
‘I’m sure Matt will be keen to bring things to a satisfactory conclusion,’ Venture said. He stood up, sensing that the meeting was at an end.
‘I’m sure he will,’ Harper said. ‘He’ll be keen to find the Treasure in the hope it will bring his father back to him.’
Katherine Feather gestured for Venture to precede her out of the study. She waited a moment – just long enough for Harper to look up at her from his computer.
The screen showed a wire-frame computer-generated model of an amphitheatre. In the middle of the picture, two small stick-like figures were clambering up the steep terraces towards the tunnel leading out. If he had zoomed in on them, filled in the texture and rendered the data fully, Harper would have seen that one was a tall, thin boy and the other a girl with long black hair. But he already knew that.
Harper nodded to Katherine, and she followed Venture from the room. Leaving Atticus Harper alone with his thoughts.
Chapter 11
A few days ago, Matt had never been in a helicopter. Now it seemed as if he was spending most of his life in one. The trip back to Rio was every bit as spectacular in reverse, and it lost none of its beauty and interest with the repetition. Matt hoped they would have time to explore the huge city, but Harper’s plane was already waiting to take them on to Copenhagen.
Passport checks and security were barely a formality, and it was clear that the authorities were more than happy to have Harper as their guest. Even with the air conditioning full on in the aircraft, Matt could feel the heat. He was still tired from the last journey and it wasn’t long after they were airborne before he was drifting off to sleep again.
He woke, feeling refreshed but with a bitter taste in his mouth, and realised he was hungry as well as thirsty. Robin was sitting close by, eating a salad. He went to the galley to get himself some food and then joined her.
Venture, Harper and Katherine Feather were sitting round the conference area in the jet talking about the island and how to go about researching where to look when they arrived. So Matt took the opportunity to talk quietly to Robin about the amphitheatre under Harper’s pyramid.
Outside, the sky was a deep blue with wisps of clouds drifting past. If there were shapes in the clouds, then it was probably just the water vapour reacting to the air currents and the temperature. If there were faces, peering in at the windows, then Matt did not notice them …
There was a limo waiting at Copenhagen to drive them from the airport into the city centre. Katherine had booked them into a large, modern hotel right in the middle of the city. It was impersonal and unremarkable and reminded Matt of where he had stayed for a day when he came to Copenhagen with his mum. It was late afternoon when they arrived, and Matt and Robin left the others to their discussions and walked through the nearby Tivoli Gardens.
In one of the buildings, there was an exhibition of holograms that fascinated Matt. They were lit by bright spotlights that enhanced the three-dimensional effect. Pictures of faces, vehicles, flowers, even a model of a dinosaur. Matt was intrigued by the way the images seemed both real and unreal at the same t
ime. The way that light could be so clever.
‘You know,’ Robin told him, ‘all the information about the image is held in every part of the hologram.’
‘So what does that mean?’ he asked.
‘It means that if you break one, shatter it into pieces, then each piece will show a smaller version of the complete image. Not a fragment of the picture, but the whole thing. Order out of apparent chaos.’
They had dinner together on the terrace of one of the restaurants, overlooking the spectacular gardens as the evening drew in. It surprised Matt that Robin had a credit card.
She shrugged. ‘Makes things easier,’ she said.
They lapsed into silence, looking out over the lawns and flower beds as the shadows of the trees lengthened.
‘You think we’ll find the Treasure?’ Matt asked.
‘I don’t care about the Treasure,’ Robin said. She turned to look at him, her deep blue eyes fixing on Matt. ‘Neither do you.’
‘No,’ he agreed. ‘No, I just want to find Dad.’
Robin reached across the table and took his hand. ‘Me too,’ she said. ‘Let’s hope that we find the Treasure and that brings us a step closer to your dad. But … but just don’t expect him to be waiting there with it. All right?’
Matt hadn’t really expected that at all. But all the same he felt his eyes stinging with disappointment. ‘We should be getting back to the hotel.’
• • •
They had a section of the hotel to themselves, including a conference centre with several meeting rooms. Matt slept well in a huge, soft bed. When he woke the next morning, he was surprised to see how late it was. He was served breakfast in the dining room that was part of the conference centre, and Robin joined him for coffee.
‘Dad and the others are discussing what we do now,’ she explained, leading him through to the largest of the meeting rooms.
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