The Ark tl-1

by Boyd Morrison

  SIXTY-TWO

  “It’s a cave?” Locke said. Now Arvadi’s entrance reference made sense. Dilara had even called Oasis a new ark. He could have kicked himself for not making the connection sooner, but he had been so focused on Noah’s Ark as a ship that he never entertained the idea it could be a cave. “But the Bible says it’s a ship, doesn’t it? That it was made of wood?”

  “It does,” Dilara said. “‘Make thee an ark of timber planks: thou shalt make little rooms in the ark, and thou shalt pitch it within and without.’”

  “That sounds like a ship to me.”

  “We’re using the English translation of something that’s been passed down through thousands of years. It all comes down to translation and interpretation. Think of the telephone game. Little errors in the process can end up as huge errors down the line. I think that’s what happened here. What if Noah’s Ark was the structure inside a cave? A vessel can also mean a container.” She looked back to her father. “I’m so stupid. Why didn’t I listen to him?”

  “You couldn’t have known,” Locke said. He considered the language. “The cave must have been the refuge. The words would fit. But we’re talking about a huge cavern. 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, 30 cubits high. That’s 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.”

  “You were saying a few days ago that a ship that big in ancient times would have collapsed as soon as it was floated onto water. This explains why it could be so big.”

  Locke saw the irony of arguing for the case of Noah’s Ark being a boat, when before he had been the one arguing against it.

  “And the window and door?”

  “I don’t know,” Dilara said. “Openings in the cave? What I do know is that this text clearly states that Noah’s Ark is a cave inside Mt. Ararat.”

  “It does explain why no one has ever found it. New caves are still being discovered all the time. The problem is that Mt. Ararat is a shield volcano, which don’t typically contain caverns.”

  “Why not?”

  “Caves are usually carved out by water over millions of years, and Mt. Ararat is too young for that to happen. Most large caves in the world are found in limestone, which is soluble and can be dissolved by slightly acidic water.” Locke had learned that little tidbit when consulting on a sinkhole collapse in Florida that destroyed an entire mall.

  “But remember those big lava tubes that we explored in Hawaii?” Grant said.

  “I didn’t say it was impossible. How does the flood fit into all of this?”

  “The flood was the disease,” Dilara said. “Garrett told me that he had to modify the prion from its original form. Waterborne diseases were virulent and common in the ancient world. Still are. Typhoid contaminates drinking water in many countries. But when the original translators misinterpreted the ark as a ship instead of a container, they must have assumed the references to the waters meant a flood, not a plague.”

  “A flood of waters upon the earth,” Locke said, “to destroy all flesh.”

  “What if the prion disease in the amulet attacked any animal matter, not just humans?” Dilara said. “If this prion disease was released into rivers and lakes, it would wipe out every living thing in that watershed. The only trace would be bones. No flesh. To people who rarely ventured 30 miles from where they were born, it would seem like God had cleansed the earth.”

  “And Noah would have had to take all the animals he wanted to save with him. Once the disease destroyed everything, the remaining prions would die out or reach the ocean, where the salt water would kill them.”

  “If Noah didn’t know how long it would take for the disease to subside, he might have built a huge ark, enough to feed him, his family, and his animals for months.”

  “So when the Bible talks about the waters of the flood,” Locke said, “it means that the waters carried the flood, which was a plague.”

  “And if it was a particularly rainy season,” Dilara said, “it would look to Noah like the rains were the harbinger of doom. It even fits sending out the raven and the dove to see if the waters had abated. The raven never returned because it was killed by the prions. With some reinterpretation of dates and wording, everything seems to fit.”

  “But it doesn’t explain how the prions were related to the amulets. Everything we’ve found implies that the prions are inside the amulets.”

  “We’ll have to find the last amulet to know for sure, and to do that, we have to find the Ark.”

  Chirnian had been interpreting the conversation as it proceeded, and Father Tatilian had listened attentively without comment. But at this point, he exclaimed through the interpreter, “No, it would be best if you did not find the Ark.”

  “Why not?” Locke asked.

  “Because if true, this information will cause much distress and confusion. We consider the Bible to be the inspired word of God, carefully compiled over hundreds of years, so a fundamental challenge to something as important as the story of the Flood is very serious. It would undermine our confidence in our understanding of much of the Old Testament.”

  “We have to find it,” Locke said. “If we don’t, there will be no one left to debate the point.”

  “God will not let the earth be destroyed again. His covenant with Noah was clear. ‘Neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood.’ He would not let this happen.”

  “But we’re not dismissing that promise,” Dilara said. “First, ‘all flesh’ is an important phrase. Sebastian Garrett just wants to wipe out the human race, not all flesh. That’s why he spent so long modifying the disease in his lab. He specifically designed it so that it wouldn’t affect animals. Second, what if we’re the ones who have to stop him from wiping out all flesh? We could be God’s soldiers who will prevent it and preserve God’s covenant.”

  “God helps those who help themselves,” Locke said.

  “The Bible doesn’t say that,” Father Tatilian said.

  “I know. Benjamin Franklin’s words, not mine. But I think they ring true.”

  “The Bible is infallible. This story about the cave cannot be true!”

  “If we find the Ark,” Dilara said, “it will support the Bible, not hurt it. It will finally provide physical proof that the book of Genesis has an historical basis, that it’s not just a book of faith or literature. And the people who want to believe it is literally correct can continue to do so. It’s the human translators who were fallible, not the words themselves. With just a few changes to the text, the story is still accurate. So the King James version needs a little tweaking? So what?”

  The priest scowled, but he didn’t object. “I will have to pray for guidance on this.”

  “It’s up to you how you want to reveal this chamber,” Locke said, “but you’re going to have to bring the local police down here to retrieve these remains.”

  Father Tatilian nodded. “This discovery will change everything about Khor Virap.”

  Dilara stared at her father’s prone body, but her eyes held no more tears.

  “They’ll take care of him, Dilara,” Locke said.

  “I know. At least he died knowing he was right.”

  “He would want you to finish his work.”

  “And I will,” she said with conviction. “Let’s go find Noah’s Ark.”

  SIXTY-THREE

  The word would get out quickly that a map to Noah’s Ark had been found, either through the priest or the interpreter. Translating the map and text would take longer for the Armenians because they’d need to get someone with Dilara’s expertise, but Locke wasn’t worried about them. He had to assume Sebastian Garrett was on his way to the Ark, and Locke had to move fast to get to the site first.

  Locke returned to Yerevan with Grant and Dilara, where they reboarded the Gordian jet to fly the short distance to an airport in Van, Turkey. Using the plane’s satellite phone, Locke updated Miles Benson on their progress.

  Locke kept his father out of the loop, knowing the military would take
over the search and try to secure the prion for itself. Not only that, but if the Turkish government got any hint that they had discovered Noah’s Ark, their access to Mt. Ararat would be denied. They had to keep their expedition quiet if they wanted any chance of stopping Garrett without creating a major international incident and handing over the prions to another party.

  By the time they arrived in Van, it was already dark, too late to attempt to find the Ark cave. They would have to wait until morning, which gave Locke time to gather some of the supplies he needed for the expedition. He had some mining contacts in western Turkey who could provide him with what he required. While he did that, Dilara, who spoke fluent Turkish, chartered a helicopter for the 100-mile flight to Mt. Ararat.

  The final job was to acquire some muscle to add to their ranks. Garrett had at least Svetlana Petrova, Cutter, and the two guards who had been with him when he escaped. Locke didn’t like the idea of being outnumbered five to three. Grant, using his military contacts, found three mercenaries who could make it to Van from Istanbul before dawn. Locke had outfitted the jet with enough weapons to arm himself, Grant, and Dilara for the trip. The mercenaries would supply their own weapons.

  Then it was a matter of waiting for daylight. Locke told the pilots to find a hotel in town, but he, Grant, and Dilara stayed with the plane, sleeping in the cabin. Even with the comfortable furniture, they slept fitfully.

  By early morning, the equipment that Locke requisitioned had arrived, followed soon after by the three mercenaries, who reported for duty straight off their plane. Locke briefed them about the mission, leaving out any mention of Noah’s Ark. He simply told them that they would be joining Locke, Grant, and Dilara on a mission into hostile territory and that they should be ready to fight. The helicopter would drop them on the eastern flank of Mt. Ararat and fly off to a staging area to the south. When they were ready to be picked up, Locke would radio the chopper. He didn’t want the helicopter around to tip off Garrett in case Locke arrived first.

  The helicopter charter was a surprisingly new Bell 222, roomy enough for all six of them and their gear. During the flight out, the pilot told them that oil and mineral exploration had jumped dramatically in the last five years. For a fifteen-year stretch starting in the mid-80’s, Mt. Ararat had been off-limits to non-military personnel because of attacks by the Workers Party of Kurdistan, or PKK. The Kurdish rebels had taken tourists hostage and set off bombs in the southeastern cities of Turkey. But when the PKK leader was arrested in 2000, the attacks had become rare. The mountain was re-opened to tourism, and business interests in the area had grown.

  The new openness allowed the pilot to fly them to Mt. Ararat without prior military approval, but they would be monitored closely by the listening posts that dotted the mountain to provide advance warning of any Armenian encroachments. The listening posts were the reason Locke hadn’t been able to fly to the mountain directly from Yerevan, which was much closer. There was a long and bloody history of conflict between the Turks and Armenians, and a helicopter flying over the border wouldn’t just arouse suspicion. It might be shot down.

  The flight to the mountain took only 30 minutes. The rugged slopes were lined with rock-strewn valleys and overhangs that could have hidden hundreds of caves. The helicopter was above the tree line, but some plants survived at this altitude because it was below the permanent snow line. The chopper flew over the approximate location shown on the map in Khor Virap, and they began searching for a distinctive rock outcropping described in the text.

  It was depicted on the map as the prow of a boat jutting from a cliff face and topped by a sail mast. That’s the way it would look from the southern view. The Ark door would be found 100 paces south of it, and the window would be another 100 paces beyond the door. The biggest problem would be if the outcropping no longer existed.

  Mt. Ararat was a dormant volcano, and in the previous 6000 years minor eruptions and earthquakes could have easily destroyed it. Locke remembered New Hampshire’s famed Old Man of the Mountain formation, which resembled a bearded man peering from the side of Cannon Mountain. It was so well-known and loved that it adorned the state’s quarter. Ironically and tragically, the rock formation collapsed soon after the quarter was circulated, showing just how suddenly the topography of a mountain could change. The odds that the prow formation had survived were not good.

  They made six passes from the south before he heard Dilara shout and point out the left window. Sure enough, the profile of the bow end of a sailing ship extended from a rocky cliff face. They were directly over Noah’s Ark. Dilara grinned at Locke, her excitement obvious. His own enthusiasm was tempered by caution.

  They circled to see if they could spot any signs of others. The mountainside appeared empty of any human presence, but the terrain was so harsh, a company of soldiers could be hiding down there without being noticed. Locke instructed the pilot to set down on the nearest flat spot, which ended up being almost a mile away.

  Locke, Grant, Dilara, and the three mercenaries jumped out and quickly pulled out their weapons and equipment. The mercenaries were armed with heavy automatic rifles, while the rest of them carried pistols and submachine guns. Because of how Dilara had handled the MP-5 inside Oasis, Locke had offered one to her as well, and she accepted without hesitation.

  The helicopter dusted off, and the six of them began the hike to the entrance of Noah’s Ark.

  “What’s our altitude?” Grant asked.

  “Only about 9,000 feet,” Locke said looking at the peak that reached another mile and a half above them. Previous searchers had expected the Ark to be higher in the mountain, but the lower altitude made sense. To get building materials and animals into the Ark, it had to be accessible enough to walk to. The climbing wasn’t easy, but the grade was wide and flat enough to allow pack animals to climb.

  The summer hadn’t fully abandoned the mountain. Even though it was October, the sky was clear, and the air was a brisk 50 degrees. As they walked, one of the mercenaries ran his hand over some leafy plants with fading purple blooms, just the idle move of a bored hiker.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Dilara said, nodding at the mercenary. The man gave her a look that said give me a break and kept doing it.

  “Why not?” Locke said.

  “Because that’s monkshood. The leaves and flowers contain a deadly poison that can be absorbed through the skin. It’s been used throughout history to poison the tips of arrows.”

  The mercenary ripped his hand away as if the bush were on fire and wiped it on his pant leg.

  “If your hand goes numb for a little while,” Dilara said, “don’t worry. It’ll go away. Just don’t lick your fingers after lunch.”

  After 30 minutes, they reached the rock formation, and Locke began counting his footsteps. Given his long legs, if he got to 100 before they saw the cave, it meant he’d passed it. But he didn’t have to worry. When he got to 93, he saw a dark hole in the mountain face. A cave.

  The cave opening was a 20-foot-diameter semicircle, and from this angle, Locke couldn’t see the back of it. If Garrett were already here, the cave would be a perfect place to stage an ambush. Using hand signals, he instructed the mercenaries to circle below the view of the cave entrance and approach from the opposite side. When they were in place, Locke popped a flare and threw it into the opening.

  No shots rang out, but he didn’t expect them to. Cutter and his men were too disciplined for such a simple ruse. From his pack, Locke removed one of the pieces of equipment shipped to him: a remote control vehicle with large knobby rubber tires. It was the size of a loaf of bread and had a camera mounted on top.

  Locke set the vehicle on the ground and took out the controller, which had a pistol grip with a trigger for the accelerator. A small wheel allowed him to control the steering with his other hand. He gently pulled the trigger, and with a muted whine, the vehicle leapt forward and darted into the cave. A color LCD screen above the controller’s wheel showed the view from the camera.<
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  Lit by the flare, the cave had a uniform shape all the way back to a wall at the rear 50 feet beyond. He could make out a few objects, but nothing large enough to hide behind. No one was inside.

  Locke gave the all-clear. He replaced the vehicle and controller in his pack. He picked up the flare and walked farther into the cave, followed by Grant and Dilara, who used their flashlights. The mercenaries stayed outside on guard duty.

  Halfway in, Locke saw a pile of boxes, some broken, some still intact, lying against the cave wall. He bent down to look at them. They obviously didn’t date from Noah’s time, but they weren’t new. They must have decomposed in the cave for 20 years. There was crude writing on the nearest box. It looked Turkish.

  “What does that say?” Locke said to Dilara. He saw another box that was partly open and peered into it, pushing the flare in close to light it better.

  “I can’t read it,” Dilara said. “It not Turkish. It’s Kurdish.”

  The flare lit the box contents. When he saw what was inside, Locke jumped back before a spark from the flare could fall into it.

  “What?” Grant said.

  “Remember the PKK?” Locke said. “The Kurdish separatists the pilot told us about? This must have been one of their hideouts. If Dilara spoke Kurdish, she’d be seeing the word dynamite on the side.”

  Dilara froze when she heard the word “dynamite.”

  “Get up slowly and ease away from the explosives,” Locke said. “Be careful not to touch the boxes.”

  “Sweating?” Grant said as Dilara moved backward.

  “Like a fat man in a sauna.”

  If dynamite is left in an uncontrolled environment, the nitroglycerine inside will weep from the sticks, leaving behind crystals on the sticks and pooling in its liquid form. From Locke’s short glimpse, he could see the sparkle of thousands of crystals on the dynamite, which were cheaply made, not the newer sticks that resisted sweating. The boxes must have been there for years, subject to the extreme weather that blew into the cave.