“Team, there was an earthquake near the Pachanga tower earlier this morning. Headquarters has been monitoring seismic activity across the world and says that there has been abnormal behavior with an abundance of tectonic plates worldwide. They said we could return home now or they would like us to spend the entire day airborne, just until they can get a better idea about what's going on with the plates. They don't want to place us near the mountains if the seismic activity is still abnormal,” said my father.
The cabin of the chopper was silent for a few long seconds while everyone gathered their thoughts. I had questions that I wanted to ask but felt that maybe now wasn't the right time.
DING!
The notification alert could be heard throughout the chopper.
“We will be lifting off in T-minus ten seconds and we sure as hell are not heading home,” said Donald as he fired up the propellers, trying to lighten the mood.
The chopper flew gracefully through the soft clouds that hugged the L.R.R. sky. There wasn’t a breeze in the air which, in turn, kept the turbulence at a minimum.
Thoughts of the Pachanga territory began to flood my mind as our journey to the Tower began.
The territory had an extremely detailed history of fossil discoveries, many of which I had only seen pictures, replicas, or heard stories of.
My father was rather quick when it came to informing me about the importance of fossils. It wasn't that I was unaware of how vital they were, I found many of them to be frightening. I often wondered if some of these creatures still existed in the jungles and mountains today. Fossil discoveries of huge llamas with tapir-like noses, rhinoceros-like animals, giant amphibians or bones of human-like skeletons that couldn’t have been over a foot long. These fossils are what scared me the most. Specifically, the human-like fossils. They just seemed so developed yet the physical characteristics they possessed were so foreign to the rest of the world.
The human-like discoveries struck a sense of fear in everyone around campus; to the point our scientists felt obligated to reassure everyone in the L.R.R. that the alien-like fossils were due to the climate and nutrient deprivation thousands and thousands of years ago.
The scientific reassurance of our experts still wasn’t very comforting. The caves still scared most people and I refused to scurry through the small channels and caverns, even though most of the caves were extremely well mapped.
As I stared outside at the thick jungle and all the various shades of green, thoughts of my mother filled my head. I couldn't help but think about her safety and if she was doing okay. I wondered if any of the seismic activity had affected her, although I was certain that my father would have informed me if she was in any danger.
I was still a bit concerned about all the potential chaos that involved C.O.C.A. As much as I tried to keep my mind occupied, the potential power they possessed was frightening. I started to wonder what kind of updates the rest of the world was being exposed to or if C.O.C.A. was policing any information that went global. For all we knew, C.O.C.A could be conducting mass murders and the rest of the world could be left clueless.
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what their officials would do the second they stepped foot on the L.R.R. soil. I thought about their regime and what type of orders they’d be given. I empathize for the Americans. I know C.O.C.A.’s drive for geopolitical dominance would stop at nothing. I was anxious to see how C.O.C.A. would handle the religious people of America, especially since C.O.C.A. has done away with what used to be known as freedom of speech and religion within their walls.
DING!
As we approached the Pachanga tower, the notification alert light lit up the cab of the chopper.
Donald's voice was heard over the intercom.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The seismic activity has calmed down and we have just been given clearance for landing. Your destination is straight ahead, and we should be landing in approximately three minutes,” said Donald, with a light chuckle.
I glanced at the screen between Donald and my father that displayed the geographical coordinates, landing lights, and the numerical countdown to the Pachanga Tower.
My thoughts about C.O.C.A. must have quickly turned into nightmares as I couldn't recall falling asleep.
The jungle of the Pachanga tower appeared to be miniature in comparison to the jungle of other towers.
The term “miniature” probably wasn’t the best description, the territory’s trees were smaller but still bore plenty of fruits and flowers.
I knew it was fundamental science that different species would be present throughout different territories of the L.R.R.
Marina and I prepared for our landing by putting away our electronics. My father pushed the notification alert and then turned towards the cab of the chopper.
DING!
“Well team, six towers left! Does anyone have any questions, comments, or concerns?” he asked.
The three of us shook our heads. We couldn't help but lock our eyes onto the presence of the Pachanga tower.
The tower’s beautiful architecture was so energizing and contributed to a majority of the zest of the territory.
Once we finally landed, humidity filled the air and heat hit our faces. Drops of sweat immediately fell down my forehead.
I could tell the sun was going to make it a very warm day and was looking forward to putting on a research suit shortly.
The team grabbed their packs as we all made our way towards the tower.
As my father entered the passcode for access into the tower, everyone stood silently, patiently waiting and taking in the entourage.
Once the tower door unlocked, the familiar earthy smell filled the air. We all made our way down to the fourth floor.
Abdi and Marina went to do a security check on the lower three levels of the tower, to see if any damage from the earthquake could be accounted for.
As I dropped my pack on the ground, I saw that someone had left behind a futbol. I kicked it lightly and watched it bounce off the wall of the tower, only to bounce back towards my father. He immediately began to pretend he was actually playing in a match as he imitated some sports announcer.
“Craigio Matthews makes his way towards midfield,” mimicked my father.
I adored his energy and found myself pretending I was some futbol legend as well. Suddenly, my legs began to cramp, and I immediately stopped to stretch them.
Noticing my discomfort, my father grabbed a plastic bottle that held some orange fluid inside it and lightly tossed it towards me. “Drink this, your body needs electrolytes. It has 10 times the number of electrolytes than those sports drinks you normally drink after Jiu jitsu.”
I thanked him as I began to drink the thick, citrusy fluid.
“Craigio, will you pass me one of those bottles, please? My old buddy from back home would always drink one of those after a weekend out on the town. Not the best tasting, but they always treat a hangover,” said Donald as he clapped his hands, waiting for my father to toss him a bottle.
My father tossed Donald a bottle of the thick fluid and began to pour a few cups for the rest of the team. He suggested that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if we all consumed a few fluid ounces due to the heat and humidity.
When my cramping subsided, I immediately began to prepare for our hike. I met Marina and Abdi one floor down.
The protocol for cave research was unlike that of the other territories, it required every L.R.R. employee that participated in caving research to watch a short three-minute video about safety prior to each exit of the Pachanga tower.
I began to quickly put a braid in my hair to keep it out of my face during the hike.
I tried to imagine every piece of equipment that I would possibly need as I turned to Abdi and Marina.
“Was there any damage?” I asked as I stared at the cave protocol posters.
“Nothing to the naked eye,” answered Abdi.
The Pachanga tower had modified
research suits that had built in hard hats, knee pads, and plenty of light sources for the expeditions into the caves.
I really enjoyed wearing all the equipment during our caving hikes. The hard hats and abundance of ropes and lights always made me feel like I was a part of something big or life changing.
The dark tunnels and silence of the caves often scared me the most. Having a cocktail of light sources on demand was very comforting.
“Team, the cave equipment and research suits should be in the closet. Try to hurry please,” said my father.
Donald was the first to open the closet. He began sorting through the equipment.
“Anything I can help you with?” I asked as Donald handed me a research suit.
“You can help me shed 100 pounds,” said Donald as he placed both of his hands on his stomach.
“Oh Donald, don’t be so hard on yourself. You know you could always start training Jiu jitsu. It's never too late... I have heard stories of people losing more than 100 pounds,” I said.
“Really? People have lost more than 100 pounds just from karate?” said Donald as he seemed to contemplate the thought for a quick second.
“Well... it's Jiu jitsu, not karate, Donald,” I said as I grabbed a canteen for our hike.
Before Donald could respond to my statement, his attention was drawn to my father and Abdi, who were toying with a few Ani-cams in the room.
They must have found a few research suits in another room. They were already prepared for our hike with their hands full of rope and other cave supplies.
“Alright team let's do this!” said my father as he clapped his hands loudly.
The entire team began to head downstairs with their packs on their backs and their research suits on.
We spiraled down the staircase, when suddenly my father stopped and pointed out of the 3rd floor window. Outside of the window was a nest the size of a small car. On it was a Rocha Macaw. Various shades of purple sparkled as the macaw laid majestically. The way the bird’s enormous body and pretty feathers laid over its eggs was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen one this close.
I immediately began taking a video and a few pictures, so I could show my mother.
The Rocha Macaw was the largest of the parrot species and had only been recently discovered.
After taking in the Rocha Macaw nest, we spiraled down the staircase and made our way outside the tower from the ground level.
I could tell the air was thinner than it was at the previous tower, yet something about it seemed so refreshing.
We didn’t walk as close to each other this time, only because the jungle wasn't as dense, and more light was able to penetrate the trees.
My father, Donald, and Abdi still carried their dart guns as Marina, and I began to just walk and take in the visual art of the jungle. Trees with various colored flowers hanging down from their branches made me feel like I was a princess of some sort or that I was getting married. The smell was wonderful as well.
The reason a research tower was built here was to aid in protecting the caves, the numerous burial sites and paintings that were found in the region. New plant and animal species were still being discovered annually in the territory. However, the findings inside the caves were extremely important -- or at least that's what my father would always claim.
Whenever Marina’s husband would visit, he and my father would spend a lot of their time exploring the caves of the territory. Detailed cave-maps would allow them to precisely explore the deep and dark crevices of many places few would dare to go. They would often spend days away from campus basking in their research. I often feared they wouldn't make it out alive at times or that seismic activity would cause the caves to collapse, trapping them inside.
I can recall nightmarish stories that C.C. would tell my father about his colleagues from the Alliance of African Affairs that were killed because rocks fell and trapped his men deep inside the caves of Africa.
C.C. and my father shared a passion for caves and for trying to piece together the lineage of human evolution. C.C. was borderline obsessed in finding the missing link to the hominid species and was always so informative about Africa and the beginning of mankind. I remember when I was younger, my mother would frequently joke that C.C. and Marina would get married and live in a cave eventually.
C.C.’s life’s work has contributed to many rare fossil discoveries throughout a variation of locations across Africa. The whole Eastern side of The African Alliance from Ethiopia all the way down to Mozambique seemed to have harbored some sort of clue to the past of mankind. So rare that the caves that housed a lot of the earth-shattering fossils were constantly under surveillance.
Recent discoveries across the world in North America, Africa, and the L.R.R. forced many of our scientists and scientists from across the world to seal them off from human and animal interaction.
The reason for sealing off entry to the caves across the globe was to get a better understanding of the delicate cave formations and to see what could be learned about life before us. It was actually C.C. who discovered the ancient burial site of the foot-long skeletons that seemed so alien and foreign to me.
Marina spent a lot of her time recording videos and taking pictures of any cave she encountered inside and outside of the L.R.R. She would take photos or gather samples so that she could later show her husband, in hopes of stimulating a new train of thought.
We arrived at the first cave that was on the eastern side of Mohs Mountain. “Chelene Cave” a sign read near the mouth of the entrance.
Warning signs and descriptions were engraved into the massive, shiny metal doors. The entrance to the cave reminded me of something I had envisioned from reading fantasy novels or had seen in fantasy movies.
The cave had to be opened via a pin number, followed by a handprint. Some of the caves were used by the military of C.O.C.A as a safe haven for many of the battles or wars that C.O.C.A. always seemed to find themselves in.
Loud sounds from the locks could be heard once my father placed the palm of his hand into the sensor. We all immediately turned on the built-in lights of our research suits.
The first chamber of Chelene cave was fairly large. At least a dozen Hendricksun lamps lit up the channels and circuits of the caves resembling streetlights of sorts, the rays from the lamps were cave friendly.
Chelene Cave, as well as an abundance of the caves in the territory, were home to a variation of prehistoric cave paintings. The paintings were enough to send eerie chills down anyone's spine; the age of these paintings may have had little to do with that.
We moved deeper into the cave, walking down a small slope. The bottom of the slope was where some of the oldest cave paintings in the area could be found: paintings of faces, unknown animals, and other symbols or characters that I couldn’t quite make out or interpret.
I thought that maybe these faces, or paintings were gods of some sort that the ancient pre-Columbian people worshiped or maybe they were just stories for the elders of the tribe to tell their young.
As I gazed at an image of a hairy man or perhaps an ape, my imagination was racing at the thought of what the jungles at one time were home to. My father told me that Indigenous people thousands of centuries ago used to worship monkeys in the area.
“So, what is everyone's interpretation of the paintings?” I said curious at what everyone would have to say.
“I just think it is a painting of a chief or maybe a warrior that the ancient tribes chanted to before their hunts,” said my father.
I took a second to analyze the paintings. Some of the paint appeared to be mud, while others seemed to be dye of sorts. I could see the rest of the team making their assessment of the cave paintings, as well. I walked over to Marina and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
“What do you think it is a painting of?” I asked her.
“I am going to agree with Craigio here. My husband always claims that a lot of the paintings were done to mimic a modern-day photogr
aph so they could save memories or teach their young,” said Marina as she stared at the big painting of the face.
Donald was eavesdropping on our conversation and quickly provided his input. “It scares the hell out of me. Why would anyone come here in the first place? Nothing but trouble and darkness,” he said, seeming frightened.
“I am sure a lot of people came here because of the shelter mostly. I don’t think too many humans actually lived in caves, but then again...what do I know? Maybe these were painted during storms of some sort,” said Abdi, letting out a slight chuckle.
“Does anything appear to be damaged at all?” asked my father.
“One second, Craigio,” said Marina as she was using some sort of scanning device to take measurements of the cave. “It appears that nothing has been here for at least six months.”
“That sounds about right. C.C. and I came here around that time to look for some fossils,” said my father.
As Donald logged into a computer monitor inside the cave, he did a diagnostic test of each chamber that was inside the cave. Suddenly a series of chirps could be heard from the monitor.
“Craigo, it looks like the Hendricksun lights in Chamber 4 might have been damaged,” said Donald.
My father nodded his head in confirmation. “Well I want to get a full assessment of the cave while we are here and I will bring some supplies to repair the lamps of chamber 4,” he said.
The thought of the research team searching for fossils or doing maintenance inside the cave was frightening.
This chamber was the deepest I ever traveled inside the caves. I usually helped monitor the cameras and drones that were used in the caving explorations from this level. Many of the chutes and channels were just too much for a claustrophobic person like me. Some of the areas required a person to walk sideways for close to a mile with the cave pushing on both sides of their body, only to encounter another chute and channel that required a person to crawl into what seemed like an unknown maze of earth's core.
The Mother of All Page 5