Decipher by Stel Pavlou Page A

Chinese might buy cocaine from South America and sell it on to Egypt or an intermediary without ever having used the stuff. It did not necessarily mean Egyptians ever went to South America. But could some have sailed as far south as the Antarctic? He wasn’t so sure.
    Pearce and Matheson started spreading out their sheets of paper. It was a big job and Scott, November and Hackett had no other choice but to watch for a moment. Spread out across the table were maps—primarily maps of Antarctica—and geological surveys from Rola Corp. Some were copies from ancient sources, but others were military surveys from satellites.

    Scott had to know. He eyed everyone around the table. This was more than just a translating job. Much more.
    â€œExcuse me,” he asked quietly, “but just what is it you think you’ve found?”
    Gant was candid. “Atlantis,” he said.
    CHARTS
    Scott’s shoulders tensed. He looked to Hackett and November in turn. Yes, he had just heard that right.
    Atlantis be damned! Hare-brained theories over the existence of Atlantis had been floating around since Plato first told of Solon’s meeting with the mystical Egyptian high priests. It had been ripped apart in the Atlantic Ocean. It was in the Bahamas. The Mediterranean. It was in South America. It was all over the damn place and it couldn’t be proven one way or the other. Atlantis was in the purview of the fruit-loops, the astrologers and the crystal-ball gazers. But this was the military. They were not fools. What did they know that he didn’t?
    Matheson pointed at the table. “Antarctica was discovered in 1818, right?”
    Scott took a moment to remember, but when he did, he nodded. “Yes.”
    â€œHere’s a copy of a map drawn up for a Turkish Admiral named Piri Reis in 1513. On the map, he expressly says it was based on an original that was kept elsewhere. Said his sailors had never authenticated the map because the others he used were based on the same older sources which always proved to be accurate. This map shows the coastlines of West Africa, South America and more importantly, Queen Maud Land and other parts of Antarctica. They’re so accurate the USAF authenticated the detail using satellite imagery, because the map shows the actual coastline of Antarctica—not ice floes. Have you ever been to Antarctica, Dr. Scott?”
    â€œNo.”

    â€œNo? Well, since I just got back I’ll tell you why that’s so incredible. Because it’s only been sixty years since we’ve had the technology available to see through the ice and take a look at the real coastline. And that particular stretch of beach hasn’t been free of ice for at least six thousand years. So how was somebody supposed to draw a map of it, unless they had a ship capable of taking them there—which automatically means civilization, and considering the accuracy, automatically means an advanced civilization?”
    Pearce nodded vehemently. “Piri Reis’s maps were based on originals that were sacked from the great Library of Alexandria, in Egypt, and brought to Constantinople,” he said. “But he wasn’t alone. Oronteus Finaeus drew one in 1531, based on ancient charts, that showed the whole of Antarctica with mountains and rivers. That means you needed to know the interior, not just the coast, and it had to be free of ice.”
    â€œDo you know how big Antarctica is, Dr. Scott?” Matheson asked. Scott shook his head. “It’s big. It’s twice the size of the United States. You can’t just go chart rivers and mountains, and get them exact in a couple of days on the back of a raft. I design stuff for a living, so people can go to far-off places and work, and mine and drill for oil. I’m screwed without a map and a geological report. But these old maps—they got everything!”
    â€œIn the mid-1500s,” Pearce continued, “we got a guy