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NO REMEMBRANCE
Prologue I
Santorini 1990AD
Mac Paterson and his two closest friends from university were taking part in their first professional survey, an expedition to dive just off Santorini, to check out an anomaly that they thought required further investigation. At first Mac thought, like others, that it was an old fumarole. There were signs of basic life forms clinging to the fumarole and just a little further away, hidden behind some volcanic debris, was another fumarole showing recent signs of thermal activity.
The man in charge of the survey was Professor Mason Dale, an American from San Francisco. Professor Dale was mainly interested in the archaeological side of Santorini. He had done a couple of dives in the submersible and had reached the conclusion that there was nothing of any further significant scientific value on the site, and intended to close the survey down. Mac disagreed strongly with the Professor as he thought that the second smokey needed more investigation. Why was the lava debris a different colour from anything else that they had found? Lava had flowed over the sea floor in westerly direction only, was that significant?
The professor had a theory about Atlantis that he was going to publish. No smart-arsed students were going to mess things up for him now, no matter how “brilliant” they were supposed to be. This was his time and he intended to ensure that his theories became facts. Professor Mason Dale, to his credit had spent most of his career studying the Bronze Age Minoan Civilization, so named by the eminent British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans at the beginning of the 20th century, after the legendary king Minos. His intention was to have his name revered just as highly as Sir Arthur Evans if not more so and now it was time for him to bathe in academic sunshine. Anyone getting in his way would be asking for trouble.
As far a Mason Dale was concerned, Mac Paterson was a full time troublemaker. There was something irksome but familiar about Paterson that irritated Dale immeasurably: sometimes an expression that would cross Paterson’s face, violently urged Mason to hit out at him with all the ferocity that he could muster. These feelings frightened Mason because he could not for the life of him, think why this one student should be the cause of such violent emotion in him. One thing was certain Mason would be very pleased to see the back of him.
“Professor, Sir, we need only a couple more days to dive this site, there is something down there, I can feel it, I know it!” Mac pleaded. Mac thought that the Professor was letting his passion for archaeology overrule the other subjects on the survey: geology, volcanology, marine biology, in fact anything that did not conform to what the Professor required was “secondary”.
“There will be no more diving here after today. We will spend the final days of this survey at Knossos and I will brook no more argument.”
“Sir, I object, you cannot pull the plug on this now. We are onto something big here! For God’s sake Sir, please let just the three of us stay”.
“NO!”
“Professor…”
“The last dive is this afternoon and then it is finished. Do you understand me Mr Paterson!?”
“Yes Sir”.
Mac, Jeff and Sharkie prepared for the final dive in the submersible. Only two people would be able to dive. Other survey team members voted that Mac could take one place having due regard for his battles with the professor. The other was Sharkie Ward – a volcanologist and marine biologist.
“Professor Dale will not change his mind Mac, he’s got what he came for, or so he thinks. He’s going to be the Master of Dartmouth University with the help of the results from this survey, for heaven’s sake. If he wants to, he will stifle any attempts we make to show volcanic activity in this area,” Jeff whispered as he helped his friends prepare for the final dive. “You know we cannot predict any eruptions, he has us over a barrel!”
“No he does not!” Mac hissed back. “He is not the only one capable of research, writing and discovery – we are too. This is still an open case and so it can’t be shut down just on his say-so. There is something down there. We may not find it today but one day that secret will reveal itself to us. We can wait for a little while.”
Professor Mason Dale had other, more important matters occupying his mind. In a couple of days, he would be a guest on board a Mediterranean cruise ship lecturing on his chosen subject, The Minoan Civilisation. Whatever it was that the geology students wanted to study, it would have to wait until another time. Next time he supervised any fieldwork at Santorini, he would make sure that it was for archaeology only. The geology department would find funding a little more difficult to find since he was now in charge of their University department’s purse with regard to field expeditions, Mason would make sure of that. In fact, he was about to be appointed to the Committee that would approve all international grants in the fields of geology and his favourite archaeology. He was going to be a government man and make sure that life would be very difficult for Mac and his friends if they chose to work in the USA. Right now, he needed to be with his counterparts on board the cruise ship, getting his theories and papers accepted. There was a lot happening in Greece just now and he needed to abreast of everything archaeological.
By the autumn of 1990 Mac and his friends had returned to their university and Professor Mason Dale had published his theories. Over the next few years Mac, Jeff and Sharkie would settle down to their various researches but in private, they made plans to “dive the Med site” once again.
CHAPTER 1
USA Spring 2007AD
Professor Mac Paterson pulled off the road onto the parking area most popular with tourists for viewing the Grand Canyon. Today was his lucky day because he had it all to himself. There had been a few earth tremors over the past few days accompanied by some rock-falls in the canyon close to the tourist area so many tourists were “put off” from visiting the area for a while. Mac’s visit was of a professional nature. To his peers, he was a renegade – an “Indiana Jones and Crocodile Dundee” rolled into one. Mac was an extremely well educated “Brit” and he had gained the highest degrees possible in his chosen subjects – volcanology, seismology, geology, geography, archaeology and palaeontology, why did he need anymore “ologies”? He was damned good at what he did and he could never understand why they should think that way about him.
Mac was thirty-six years old; still a bachelor, six foot two inches tall, lightly tanned and in his prime. He was not what one would call strikingly handsome, but he had an air about him that commanded every woman’s attention whenever he entered a room. He was not averse to this attention, he thoroughly enjoyed it. Female students outweighed male students in all his classes. He was not exactly the snappiest dresser in town either, favouring khaki trousers festooned with zipped pockets, all containing something, boots designed for rough terrains and white shirts. Sometimes he would wear a checked shirt – if he had not remembered to do his laundry. Mac found teaching in Las Vegas’ University a bit of a bore but it had the facilities he needed so he would suffer the inconvenience.
Mac stared out at the magnificent view before him and as always it fair took his breath away, but this time he felt somewhat uneasy, like it might be the last time he would see it and he needed to get as much of the view as possible before driving on. The day was beautiful and nothing was shaking so why was he so uneasy? It was time for him to go as he had an appointment to keep that might prove interesting.
Sharkie’s Meeting
The flight to Washington proved to be uneventful, as Mac had slept through it and was woken by the flight attendant on arrival. Even getting a taxi proved easy on this trip. He booked into his hotel, checked out all the “paperwork” he needed on his laptop and recapped on the items he thought might arise. After all, he would have to “perform” as the renegade everyone knew him to be Mac smiled to himself. This time however, he would take notice if only covertly because of its mystery and why it should occur at this moment in time. Something that happened in the Mediterranean years ago may have severe consequences now. He had muted his theory fifteen years ago but none had listened, or appeared to listen. Now it was back on the agenda: not yet trumpeted from the rooftops or classified as Secret, just a non-descript academic meeting that will not draw any attention. This fact alone was enough to be more than of interest to Professor Mac Paterson. As Mac went to bed, he thought of his friends. They would already be at the venue. Jeff Calendar would be setting everything up and getting very flustered. Sharkie Ward would be looking to see if the bar was open. Both were university professors and both good at their jobs, but not very good with other people.
Jeff, another “Brit” was a typically quiet academic, giving the appearance of a man anyone could push around, if he were so inclined. Jeff’s appearance could be very “misleading”; his favourite relaxation pastime was karate.
Sharkie gave the impression of being a hard drinker when out of his element and that, as his nickname suggested, was the sea. Professor Thomas Ward’s first love would always be the sea or more accurately, what lay beneath the sea. Sharkie also had strong “British” connections. He had discovered something on one of his private trips to the Mediterranean that had proved interesting to a third party. Before disclosing more information, Sharkie would consult with his two closest friends.
It was now 0830 a.m. and Mac elected to sit in the window of a café overlooking the entrance to the venue for the meeting that was due to start in half an hour. His friends were already there but he hoped to be able to identify others he knew that would attend. He was not disappointed. He watched as the delegates arrived and then noticed three academics arriving together that he knew would not normally attend such a “low key” event, and who in the past “rubbished” his work. “So you just happened to be in the area. What a coincidence”, Mac murmured to himself. It was time to go.
Mac walked over to the venue and found the meeting room. As he expected, Jeff and Sharkie were there with some people he had not met before. The other three individuals were not there – yet. Jeff and Sharkie greeted Mac and introduced him to the other delegates. Mac asked if the three people he had seen outside were invited – “no”, was the reply. Mac warned Jeff and Sharkie that they were nearby and that they should not be surprised if they came uninvited. Sharkie and Jeff were not surprised by the news and Mac smiled wryly, so he had been right, there is something that is about to be revealed.
“Nothing will be revealed yet” Jeff whispered to Mac, “besides you already know what this is all about This is a kind of planning brief, we’ve got official funding Mac – it’s on at last.” “When are we leaving?” asked Mac, “NOW”, said Sharkie, sounding very sober indeed.