Beyond The Glowing Whirlpool

Chapter 2: THE QUEST

"There is no going back now." Thought Stacie, as she took one last look around her apartment, her little workspace, and a personal little library of some of her favorite book collection. "I sure am going to miss this place. It was my very first place that I owned, ever since I ended up on my own. Sure I don't have to give it up, and in case the project doesn't go well or aborted, I'll need a place to come back to, but who knows how long it's going to be before I see it again." She hesitated for a bit, then sighed, and locked the door. As if closing the last page of a chapter, before moving on to the next.

-I am ready for the new and epic adventure! - She said to herself - Atlantis! here I come! - A wave of butterflies swirled in her stomach at the thought of Atlantis. 

She took a deep breath, and made her way down the stairs, carrying a couple of well-packed suitcases. A car that was sent by the chairman to pick her up, and take her to a whole new life, was already waiting for her in the parking lot around the building. She recalled the interview, at the chairman's office.            

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-Congratulations miss Maclay. You are now a part of the history-making venture. Welcome on board to the "Pegasus Operation" project!

-Thank you.

-Now, allow me to explain what "Pegasus Operation" is about. Have you ever heard of "Atlantis" miss Maclay?

-It's believed to be a mythical city, full of unimaginable treasures, secrets, power, and technology beyond our understanding. That Atlantis?

-The very same.

-Of course, I know of it. It's my childhood dream. I only owned every book and film in existence about it. - She laughed - But, it's only a legend. A myth from very old folklore stories, no?

-Was, until today.

-What... what do you mean until today? - Stacie blinked at the chairman in a confusion. - Are you... trying to say it's... real?! - She gave him a quizzical brow.

-As you and I. - Replied the chairman.

She gawked at him in disbelief. She couldn't wrap her head around what she just heard. Here she is, sitting in government-owned headquarters, with the organization's chairman, telling her, that the Atlantis, a mythical city from children's storybooks, actually... exists? Is this for real? Is... is it some kind of joke?... But then again, why would the chairman of the government secret affairs office be joking about something like that? She stared at him wide-eyed, with her head spinning out of control in confusion, and for some odd reason, there was this strange flutter steering up in her stomach. 

"Can it be...? My fantasies...." She thought to herself. "NO WAY!"

-I know it's hard to take in, but believe me, miss Maclay, what I'm telling you is the real truth. And in short while, you will confirm it for yourself.

-So then... the top-secret grand discovery you were talking about, is actually... Atlantis?!

-Yes.

-Thee Atlantis... - Stacie kept asking as if repeating it a hundred times will somehow make it more believable.

-That's right. - He answered calmly.

-Wha... where?... sss somewhere?... Beyond the red line border?*

-No.

-Then... Where?! Is it under the ocean? There were theories that Atlantis if ever existed, may be hidden underwater somewhere. Well, what would be left of it by now...

-Heh, well, yes. It was hidden underwater until we found it and brought it up to the surface, and believe me, it is quite intact. But it's not on Earth actually.

-Not on Earth? What do you mean...

-Erm... this may sound absurd and unbelievable to you, but we have discovered a way to um... travel beyond our planet, so to speak.

-What?!... - Mouth drop open, Stacie gaped at the chairman. - H... how?...

-Through a teleportation device, called Stargate.

-Star... gate...?

-Yes. It's a device that creates a sort of wormhole through which you can travel to another world within seconds. - He tried to explain - Now, I'm not sure, the world where we discovered Atlantis, is whether in some other galaxy of our Universe somewhere or in a whole other dimension, that part we haven't figured out yet. I mean, it only has been a year since we got there, but that place has its own space full of galaxies, with many planets that are inhabited by different races of people. And each planet has its own stargate portal. So, now at least we know, where the one we discovered on Eart, came from. The question is, how it ended up all the way here...

Stacie stared at the chairman in a total stupor. A ton of questions mixed with the attempt of trying to comprehend what she heard just now, swirled in her mind like a storm, as she was starting to realize how much she still doesn't know, even though she spent years studying history and science of her world. The chairman looked at her bewildered expression and sighed.

-I see that you are at a complete loss. Well then, I guess I'll start from the beginning.

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To make the long story short here's what happened. A few years ago, some archaeologists stumbled upon some strange relics under tons of layers of Antarctic ice and snow, that were thousands of years old, yet appeared to be of some alien supreme technology. After months of digging around that area, they uncovered something very peculiar. It looked like an enormous ring, made of some strange metal and covered in weird markings all over it, that very much resemble some ancient hieroglyphic symbols. Later, after tinkering with it for a good while, gathering data, deciphering, and cross-referencing with a centuries-old circulating legend, they were finally able to figure out what it was. It turned out to be a stargate portal that supposedly leads to an ancient mythical city of untold riches, wealth, and technology. Soon after, they figured how to activate the gate, and about a year ago, the very first group of explorers set foot into this mythical city. Naturally, everyone assumed that Atlantis, if exists, is somewhere on earth, in some still unexplored part of the planet, but it actually turned out to be somewhere either in space, or a whole different dimension. The Stargate turned out to be a hyper-traveling teleportation device that creates an artificial wormhole, with preset coordinates that lead straight inside the Atlantis city. How that works, the scientists have discovered, is in a very similar way to a telephone. Each stargate has a dial and its own unique code. In order to activate the stargate in a place where you want to go, you need to dial up the code of that stargate. But the one on earth had no dial, and only one-way code programmed in it. A code to the Stargate inside Atlantis. And Atlantis' Stargate had Earth code dialed on the panel, and left there as if that was the last place whoever dialed it, visited back who knows when. When the first group of Earth scientists that discovered the Stargate, had arrived in the Atlantis, they found it asleep and submerged underwater, protected by a powerful electromagnetic forcefield shield, that kept it from flooding, and any unwanted intruders, with the only way in, is through a stargate that was located on Earth.

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Stacie stared at the chairman with eyes wide open, listening to his story. She knew of Atlantis, an incredible, magical city that everyone wished to find. She herself even dreamed of it when she was a kid. She read every book about it, they were her favorite stories. And partly responsible for her love for archaeology. Many times, while working on archaeological sites, among those ancient relics, and ruins, she imagined that one day she might discover Atlantis... but that's just it. It was only an imagination. And those were only children's books. She still had a hard time getting it all straight in her head. Her thoughts tangled, and she felt like she's been dreaming this whole time.

-Therefore, we need someone as reliable and capable as you, to be a part of the team stationed in the Atlantis, to assist with learning that incredible city's secrets, history, and... everything else it has to offer. - The chairman concluded.

-I am... honored. - Stammered Stacie through her bafflement. - But... why me?... I mean, how did I end up, getting selected for this, of all the capable people?

-The top University you attended and graduated from in DC is under our surveillance.  - Replied the chairman. - We observe all the students carefully and choose those who we think are specially gifted... "proteges"... if you may, and select them for special educational programming, in order to train specific workers for secret projects such as this. We then later, bring them on board, when we feel they are ready and can offer us invaluable experience. You have been put through specific programming, within a year of your enrollment have you not, miss Maclay?

-Well... Yes, I have! That was your program?

-Indeed. And you have proved to be the most outstanding student. I have your credentials right here. - He gestured to the laptop on his desk. - You were exceptionally good at solving puzzles and ancient cryptograms, so we started giving you side projects, to translate some of the Atlantis' relics for us. Therefore, this is another reason why we summoned you. You are not aware of this miss Maclay - continued the chairman - but you actually have been a part of this project for a while now. And you have proved yourself to be invaluable, so we decided to bring you on board.

-What?!... Really?! - Stacie blurted out as if stung by an electric shock - I was?! What projects? When?

Her shocked expression was so funny, that the chairman couldn't help himself and gave out a soft laugh.

-Settle down miss Maclay. I will explain everything in a minute. - He got up, and closed the blinds on his windows, then pulled down the projector screen, and started showing her pictures of some relics and artifacts with some sort of writing on them - Do you remember those? - He asked.

-Yes. Those are the artifacts I was asked to analyze and translate by the University! They never told me what those were, or where they were from. They just asked me to do it as if an extra credit project.

-And this? - He pulled up a charted diagram of some strange hieroglyphs with their translation.

-Oh! My diagram! I created it based on the writing of those artifacts. How did it end up here?

-Those are the projects I mentioned earlier. This Diagram of yours serves as a great help back on Atlantis, even now. Thank you for creating it. You really are good at languages. Now, I will have my Secretary walk you through in detail, what is expected of you, the role you play in this project, And how to prepare for it. We are looking forward to cooperating with you.

-Thank you, sir. I am looking forward to being a part of this quest as well, and extremely flattered and honored, to have been selected, out of many, and given this opportunity to be a part of something big. - Stacie shook the chairman's hand with a heart pounding in her chest, and an emotional lump stuck in her throat.

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"Are you ready, miss?" Asked the driver as he took her luggage from her, and stuffed it into a trunk of a black, small limo. They were going to drive to the government's private airport, where a small jet was waiting for them, that will take her to the secret location of the Stargate, which will almost magically transport her to a whole new world. Stacie was going through all sorts of emotional roller coasters. She felt excited, and nervous, frightened and exhilarated all at once. Wow! A different part of the world! What's it like out there? What waited there for her? She wondered with anticipation. The chairman mentioned that there are other dwellers too. 

"This whole thing sounds like some real-life sci-fi adventure! Wormholes, another side of the Universe... other planets and their dwellers... does that mean they're actually aliens? Hmm... I wonder what they look like?"  Thought Stacie. "Are they scary and hideous, like the ones you usually see in movies? Or are they really are a little green man with huge black eyes, just like people originally imagined aliens to be?" she smiled at the thought. "I guess I'll find out soon enough." She sighed with the slight turning of her stomach, feeling excited and anxious at the same time about what she may discover in that new world.

*Redline border - Dangerous and untouched by civilization part of the Earth, somewhere in the sss rain forests of South America.