The Thrones of Eden 3 (Eden) (6 page)

When she assigned the archaic value to the corresponding symbol—

—the symbols became:

She then translated these archaic numerals into current ones, using a scratchpad:

“Now we have to find the missing number from the six below, and then insert the correct value into the missing slot inside the numerical keypad.” She examined the listed answers closely before applying the values onto the scratchpad.

The answers were one of the six:

So the only possible answer to fill in the gap was 8, 10, 4, 7, 9 or 2.

“Mathematics,” she said, “is the universal language.” She turned to Savage and called to him. “John.”

He stepped forward. Seeing patterns was his forte, even more so than Alyssa’s.

“Do you see a numerical pattern within this table?”

He studied the model.

 “Yeah, I do,” he said. “Every vertical and horizontal row adds up to the number fifteen. So in order to maintain the pattern, you have to insert the number eight.”

The number 8 was represented by the archaic number ɛ
¥¥¥
,
which was assigned to the symbol
.

Now became:

She pointed to the specific symbol on the wall. “That’s it,” she said. “That’s the one.”

“The one that’ll what?” asked Demir.

“The one that‘ll get us to the next level.”

“Press it, Alyssa.” Savage’s voice was filled with confidence, even though he could only manage a wan smile. “Do it.”

She looked at him, both remembering what happened in the Temple of Eden whenever they came upon such a puzzle, and the mayhem that sometimes followed.

She pressed the icon, the image falling into the wall as stone grated against stone.

Then the world began to tremble beneath their feet.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

There are more than 30,000 species of scarab beetles worldwide. Some were no larger than one-half inch whereas others were as large as a clenched fist. Inside the warrens of Eden, scarabs numbered by the tens of thousands. And by nature’s design they subsisted on the dung of other animals, feeding off the nutrients and creating shelter from fecal matter. But when the temple of Eden imploded and the
Megalania Prisca
disappeared, the food chain altered, the scarab now forced to adapt in order to survive.

With the major source of their sustenance now gone, with little feces being produced, the beetles were tailoring themselves to become more carnivorous by scavenging on the carcasses of the
Priscas
.

At first the bounty was plentiful, the beetles propagating uncontrollably until there were too many to feed, their numbers swelling beyond the means to eventually sustain themselves. And cannibalism was impossible, their shells too thick for their curved mandibles to cut through.

But when the earth began to move and the walls shifted, their senses suddenly magnified. Through pores on their antennae they could detect movement and smells with the same heightened ability as a shark when identifying a drop of blood from a half-a-mile away.

They perceived movements and odors, their olfactory senses validating a new source of food that were too few in numbers to defend themselves against such overwhelming predators.

Legs ticked against the floor or against the shells of neighboring scarabs, mandibles clicking in symphony as tens of thousands of scarabs sounded off like cicadas on a warm summer night, loud and cacophonous.

When the earth began to settle, the orchestration succumbed to silence that was complete and absolute, the area becoming sepulchral as the scarabs lay dormant with the stillness of death.

And in darkness they would wait until man drew closer.

And they would wait with overwhelming numbers.

And when the opportunity availed itself . . .

. . . they would feed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Wall of Symbols separated in the middle, the divided halves parting and sliding into the side walls, disappearing until an amphitheater was revealed.

“That seemed relatively harmless,” said Hillary. “Certainly nothing like the drama you expressed in your articles.”

Alyssa wasn’t so sure. And neither was Savage. Like most prey, they could intuit danger on the wind.

Together they took tentative steps forward with their lights reflecting off the surrounding walls of black silica. The ceiling was domed with chips of crystal embedded in the silica to resemble the placement of stars in the universe. When lights flashed against them they sparkled like gemstones, like star-point glitters of light. 

In the dome’s center were the three major stars of the Orion Belt: the Alnitak, the Alnilam, and the Mintaka. The large crystals of the constellation were situated directly above the center of the amphitheater’s floor, the precious stones serving as the possible representation points regarding the origin of God—or Gods—as recorded by Sumerian, Egyptian and Peruvian cultures.

The amphitheater was circular and multi-tiered with rings of black silica seats surrounding the area’s central point like concentric circles. The outer rings were higher on the level to allow an unimpeded view as the entire area angled downward like a funnel.

At the center of the amphitheater floor was a sculpture that appeared to hover several feet in the air, an immovable object.

As the team converged, the object shined against their lights. The surface of the sculpture was polished, an ebony beauty of black silica.

The ministers circled the structure in awe, as did Savage, Alyssa and Hillary. The Maroon Berets, however, maintained a perimeter along the top tier and looked down with repressed fascination.

On closer examination they discovered that the figure wasn’t suspended at all. It was situated on top of a crystal-clear plinth which proffered the illusion that it hovered above the floor.

The ministers made notes, took photos, and gathered into council with the American group—with John, Alyssa and Hillary—and attempted to fathom the shape. It was something Alyssa had seen before—something John Savage had seen before.