properties. And we’re much stronger than your kind.”
She wasn’t sure how much of what he was telling her that she believed, but some of it made a perverted sort of reason. She’d learned that her own senses were the only things in the world she could trust, and she’d spent the last few days under water without drowning. So, if she wasn’t locked up in a mental ward in some sanitarium and she wasn’t in a coma and delusional, maybe ... just maybe there was truth to it.
“All right, while we’re playing twenty questions. Why are you—why am I dressed like someone out of a Hollywood version of ancient Greece?”
“When I take you to Atlantis—and sooner or later I’ll have to—there are historians that can explain our similarities more fully, but the simple answer is that Atlantis existed first. Egypt, Greece, and, to some extent, the Mayan and Roman civilizations copy from our culture. We certainly taught them architecture, medicine, and science. Ours were the first roads, as you know them, the first coined money, and the first writing. The Phoenician alphabet is very close to Atlantean.”
“Sorry, sandals under the water seem silly.”
“They are more formal wear than for open ocean, or ...” He spread his hands, indicating the space around them. “Or as we are now, in a land situation. Certainly humans have their own curious customs. Men’s suits and ties? The necktie, I’ve read, was once necessary when your people traveled by horseback and needed a length of material to bandage a mount’s injured leg. I’ve never observed that men like wearing them, but they seem to buy them in great quantities.”
“All right.” She chuckled. “I’ll give you that point. Neckties on men are ridiculous. But the notion that all the great civilizations in the world came from Atlantis is stretching it.”
“Not at all. Do you think it’s a coincidence that there are similar pyramids in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America? Or that there are symbols carved into the walls of Peruvian cities that are identical to some I could show you in Ireland or the oldest section of Atlantis? And I never said that all civilizations developed from ours, only some of the greatest. And we can’t take all the credit. Much of our ancient knowledge came from outsiders, travelers from the stars who visited Earth long ago.”
She blinked, suddenly feeling a little dizzy. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“You asked for the truth.”
“But how is it possible? If you ... if your civilization exists beneath the ocean ... why haven’t we had contact before? Humans and Atlanteans?”
“We have.” His gaze met hers and she read not only sorrow but anger. “Many times. But your kind dismisses ours as myth. Children’s tales. Northmen, Britons, Koreans, and South Sea Islanders all have tales of mermaids and seal people. Sailors of every nation tell of strange beings they’ve sighted at sea, and all are laughed at. Your kind recognize the intelligence of whales and dolphins, yet you continue to hunt them for food and destroy them for sport.”
“Not all humans.”
His mouth tightened into a hard line. “Most.”
“You sound as if you don’t think much of the human race.”
“I don’t,” Alex said. “And with good reason. Humans murdered my mother.”
CHAPTER 9
“I’ m sorry,” Ree said. She believed him. He wasn’t lying about this. She’d been taught to withhold the truth and give false information, and she’d learned how to distinguish the two in an opponent. Human or not, Alex’s mind worked the same as hers, and on a gut level she knew that he was being absolutely honest with her.
“I wasn’t looking for sympathy.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
His pupils darkened. A muscle twitched along his cheek, and she noticed the faint shadow of fine gold hairs on his jawline. Alex barely had any body hair, other than that on his head and his groin area, making him a rarity in the men
She wasn’t sure how much of what he was telling her that she believed, but some of it made a perverted sort of reason. She’d learned that her own senses were the only things in the world she could trust, and she’d spent the last few days under water without drowning. So, if she wasn’t locked up in a mental ward in some sanitarium and she wasn’t in a coma and delusional, maybe ... just maybe there was truth to it.
“All right, while we’re playing twenty questions. Why are you—why am I dressed like someone out of a Hollywood version of ancient Greece?”
“When I take you to Atlantis—and sooner or later I’ll have to—there are historians that can explain our similarities more fully, but the simple answer is that Atlantis existed first. Egypt, Greece, and, to some extent, the Mayan and Roman civilizations copy from our culture. We certainly taught them architecture, medicine, and science. Ours were the first roads, as you know them, the first coined money, and the first writing. The Phoenician alphabet is very close to Atlantean.”
“Sorry, sandals under the water seem silly.”
“They are more formal wear than for open ocean, or ...” He spread his hands, indicating the space around them. “Or as we are now, in a land situation. Certainly humans have their own curious customs. Men’s suits and ties? The necktie, I’ve read, was once necessary when your people traveled by horseback and needed a length of material to bandage a mount’s injured leg. I’ve never observed that men like wearing them, but they seem to buy them in great quantities.”
“All right.” She chuckled. “I’ll give you that point. Neckties on men are ridiculous. But the notion that all the great civilizations in the world came from Atlantis is stretching it.”
“Not at all. Do you think it’s a coincidence that there are similar pyramids in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America? Or that there are symbols carved into the walls of Peruvian cities that are identical to some I could show you in Ireland or the oldest section of Atlantis? And I never said that all civilizations developed from ours, only some of the greatest. And we can’t take all the credit. Much of our ancient knowledge came from outsiders, travelers from the stars who visited Earth long ago.”
She blinked, suddenly feeling a little dizzy. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“You asked for the truth.”
“But how is it possible? If you ... if your civilization exists beneath the ocean ... why haven’t we had contact before? Humans and Atlanteans?”
“We have.” His gaze met hers and she read not only sorrow but anger. “Many times. But your kind dismisses ours as myth. Children’s tales. Northmen, Britons, Koreans, and South Sea Islanders all have tales of mermaids and seal people. Sailors of every nation tell of strange beings they’ve sighted at sea, and all are laughed at. Your kind recognize the intelligence of whales and dolphins, yet you continue to hunt them for food and destroy them for sport.”
“Not all humans.”
His mouth tightened into a hard line. “Most.”
“You sound as if you don’t think much of the human race.”
“I don’t,” Alex said. “And with good reason. Humans murdered my mother.”
CHAPTER 9
“I’ m sorry,” Ree said. She believed him. He wasn’t lying about this. She’d been taught to withhold the truth and give false information, and she’d learned how to distinguish the two in an opponent. Human or not, Alex’s mind worked the same as hers, and on a gut level she knew that he was being absolutely honest with her.
“I wasn’t looking for sympathy.”
“I didn’t think you were.”
His pupils darkened. A muscle twitched along his cheek, and she noticed the faint shadow of fine gold hairs on his jawline. Alex barely had any body hair, other than that on his head and his groin area, making him a rarity in the men
Similar Books
