Galactic Treasure Hunt II: Lost City of Atlantis 9781939149107, 1931882622

Table of contents :
Cover
Front Matter
Prologue
1 Nojo Returns
2 Blast Off
3 Back to the Wormhole
4 Atlantis Below
5 Smooth Sailing
6 Beasts in the Market
7 There is a Map
8 Earthquake
9 Attack of the Saber-Tooth
10 Charge of the Wooly Beast
11 The Tsunami
12 Surfing the Curl
13 The Vailixi Taxi
14 Back to the Twenty-First Century
15 Atlantis Beneath the Waves
16 The Map to the Waypoint
17 Shark Attack
18 The Light-Saber Defense
19 The Sands of Egypt
20 The Tunnel of the Gods
21 The Curse of the Mummies
22 The Guard-Bot and the Waypoint
23 Delphian Guard Leads the Way
24 Trapped
25 Where Is the Door?
26 Just Visiting Egypt
27 Home Again
Real or Fiction?

Citation preview

Galactic Treasure Hunt – The Lost City of Atlantis

Written by Jamie Childress

Illustrated by Chris Braun ISBN: 1-931882-62-2 Text Copyright © 2006 by Jamie Childress

Cover and Illustrations Copyright © 2006 by Chris Braun All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America First Printing July 2006 Published by



Adventures Unlimited Press

One Adventure Place

Kempton, Illinois 60946 USA

[email protected]

www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com

For: Cameron, Finn, Kira and Hatcher… …for reminding us that every day can be an adventure.     Special thanks to all of our friends and family who helped edit this book and to everyone who bought enough copies of our first book to encourage us to try another. A final thanks to our friends at Island Park School: Jacob Sandager, Eric Kim, Paige Robertson, Shannon Cavenaugh, and Isabel Jamerson         About the Author – Jamie Childress: When he’s not writing stories Jamie Childress is an aerospace engineer who works for Boeing’s “Phantom Works” research and development division. If he could go back in time he would definitely want to visit Atlantis.     About the Illustrator – Chris Braun: Chris works as a graphic illustrator for the Boeing’s Commercial Airplane Training Division. When he’s not doing that he enjoys playing with his kids, karate, drawing and computer games.

Table of Contents

Prologue 1 1    Nojo Returns 2    Blast Off 3    Back to the Wormhole 4    Atlantis Below 5    Smooth Sailing 6    Beasts in the Market 7    There is a Map 8    Earthquake 9    Attack of the Saber-Tooth 10  Charge of the Wooly Beast 11  The Tsunami 12  Surfing the Curl 13  The Vailixi Taxi 14  Back to the Twenty-First Century 15  Atlantis Beneath the Waves 16  The Map to the Waypoint 17  Shark Attack 18  The Light-Saber Defense 19  The Sands of Egypt 20  The Tunnel of the Gods 21  The Curse of the Mummies 22  The Guard-Bot and the Waypoint

23  Delphian Guard Leads the Way 24  Trapped 25  Where Is the Door? 26  Just Visiting Egypt 27  Home Again Real or Fiction?

Prologue It had started out as a typical lazy summer on Stone Circle Court. Jake and his little brother Scott were enjoying their summer vacation, having just graduated from fourth and first grades. Fortunately for Jake and Scott, their donothing summer blasted off into adventure when a space alien named Nojo landed in the woods behind their house.

Nojo is a space archeologist from a planet in the distant constellation of Orion. He is searching for lost Delphian treasure. The Delphians were an alien race that vanished thousands of years ago. They left behind fantastic riches all over the galaxy. Nojo is searching for a great treasure called the “Pillar of Knowledge”. The Pillar of Knowledge is the ancient computer library of the Delphians. It contains answers to mysteries of the universe and fabulous inventions that could help humans and Orions alike.

When Jake and Scott first met Nojo, they accidentally touched a spherical key he had found. The computer codes in the key were transferred into Jake and Scott. Now they are the key keepers, and their heads hold the computer keys to unlock the waypoints to the Pillar of Knowledge. A waypoint is like a road sign along the path to the Delphians’ long lost treasure. To find the treasure they have to find the next waypoint. Nojo needs Jake and Scott to open the waypoints, so now he takes them on his adventures to far away places. The two brothers’ last adventure took them to the moon and now their next adventure awaits.

1 Nojo Returns Several days after Jake and Scott got back from the moon, they were playing catch in the backyard when a humming started coming from their pockets. Each boy pulled out of his pocket a metal disk that looked like one half of a ball. When they put the two pieces together it turned into the radio that Nojo had given them at the end of their last adventure.

Nojo’s British accented voice came out of the radio at once. “Hey-ho lads, how’s your summer?” “Aaah, just fine, Nojo. How about you?” replied Jake, thrilled to hear from the little alien. “Good, good,” said Nojo quickly. “I missed you boys though, and I think I’ve figured out where the next waypoint is. I don’t suppose you’re up for another trip are you?” he inquired. “Are you kidding?” they responded in unison. “Yeaahh!”

“Where are we going?” asked Scott, excitedly.

“Well, that’s the tricky bit, isn’t it?” replied Nojo. “It’s not so much a where, as it is a when. We’re going back in time . . . way back.” “Will we get to see dinosaurs?” exclaimed Scott, while making a growling sound in anticipation of seeing a T-Rex in action. “Maybe not that far back,” said Nojo. “We’re going to the lost city of Atlantis.” “Atlantis?” questioned Jake. “I thought that was just a legend.” “Oh no,” replied Nojo. “Atlantis was very real. Unfortunately, their home island sunk into the ocean thousands of years ago”. “Okay, so Atlantis was real,” agreed Jake. “Why would the waypoint say to go there?”

“Ahhh, that’s the interesting part,” said Nojo. “It turns out that the Delphians used to visit Atlantis and they gave the Atlantians’ a waypoint. So, we’re going to go back in time to visit Atlantis before it was destroyed and get a look at that waypoint.”

“Is this going to take long?” asked Scott. “I’ve got a baseball game this afternoon and coach Johnson gets really mad if we’re late.” Nojo laughed. “Well, we wouldn’t want that. I promise to have you home in time or I’ll eat a Dyrillian lobster.” “What’s a Dyrillian lobster?” asked Jake.

“It’s about the ugliest and nastiest thing in the universe,” replied Nojo. “Now, meet me in the meadow where we landed last time. I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” “You got it, Nojo!” the boys replied.

2 Blast Off

Jake ran to the back door of the kitchen and called to his mom, who was making an apple pie for dessert. “Mom, can Scott and I go into the woods to see our space alien friend, Nojo? His spaceship is going to be landing real soon.” “That sounds like fun,” his mom replied. “Just be back before Scott’s ball game.” She paused for a second and then offered a motherly suggestion, “If you go back to the moon, be sure to wear a helmet.” “Thanks mom, but we’re going to Atlantis this time!” yelled Jake, already running across the yard after Scott, who’d started down the trail. “Oh, then take your bathing suits. I hear it’s underwater!” she joked as the boys hurried off toward the meadow. When the boys got to the meadow where they first met Nojo they took a quick look, but Nojo’s ship wasn’t there. So, they stood at the edge of the grass and watched the sky, expecting to see the ship lazily drift over the trees at any moment. Suddenly, they saw a brief streak of light come straight down from above. If they’d blinked they’d have missed it.

They glanced back at the meadow and Nojo’s silver craft was gently floating a few feet off the ground. There hadn’t been a sound, flashing lights, whirlpools of wind, or anything like that. The ship had simply appeared out of nothing. It was absolute magic.

The boarding ramp in the rear of the spaceship lowered and Nojo bounded out to them with a big grin on his face. “Hey ho lads, it ’s wonderful to see you!” he said as he gave them each a big hug.

“It’s great to see you too!” said Jake. Unable to control his curiosity, he asked, “So, how did you make the ship just appear out of thin air?” Nojo laughed, “Like most good tricks, it was simple. I just flew in very, very, fast; almost the speed of light actually.” He looked at the boys and his grin got wider than they thought possible. “Now then, if we’re to get you back in time for that baseball game we’ll have to get going. It’s off to Atlantis!” They all trotted up the ramp into the spacecraft and went straight up to the bridge deck where the ship’s controls are. Jake and Scott were very excited to be back in the starship and even more excited to be on another adventure.

“Take your seats, gentlemen and we’ll blast out of here,” said Nojo as he sat in the middle seat in front of the navigation console. Scott sat in the seat to Nojo’s right and asked, “Hey Nojo, could we buzz the baseball field? Coach Johnson is still talking about the maze you made

last time.” “Sorry mate,” replied Nojo with a shake of his head. “It’s against the rules. That’s why I had to make a light-speed landing. When we Orions visit Earth, we’re only supposed to come at night. We can’t have lots of people watching us putter about the sky. If we buzzed your school during the day, the next thing you know we’d be on the news and I’d be in a lot of trouble. When we do come during the day we have to fly so fast that we can’t be seen. That’s why most earth people have never seen a starship.”

Nojo pressed a button on the control stick. The meadow outside their viewing screens suddenly blinked away in a blur of light and they were in outer space. Earth shrunk rapidly below them, looking like a baseball flying away at blistering speed. In just a couple of heart beats they were in orbit around the moon. Because they traveled in a gravity bubble they couldn’t feel the incredibly strong acceleration of flying at light-speed. It was like watching a movie. “Wow!” said Jake with eyes wide, “Now THAT was magic.”

3 Back to the Wormhole “We’ll go back in time using that same wormhole we flew through when we visited the city on the moon,” declared Nojo. Scott pointed at a shimmering black patch of space right in front of them. “I think I see the wormhole now,” he announced.

“Good eyes, Scott,” confirmed Nojo, as he typed alien symbols into the navigation computer. “I’m going to slow us down before we go in. It ’s important to enter it at the correct angle and speed if we want to come out the other side at the right time in history. You definitely don’t want to hit a wormhole at light-speed; unless you want to end up in another universe.” “Another universe?” protested Jake, “I thought the universe was everything in . . . well . . . you know, the universe.”

Nojo laughed, “Yes, of course. Our stars are just two stars among billions in the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky Way is just one galaxy among billions in this universe. But this universe is just one of billions of universes. You just can’t see them because they are in other dimensions. But they are there all the same. We’ll go visit one someday, but not today. Today we’re going to Atlantis.”

The starship slipped into the wormhole and the stars that had filled their screens disappeared. It was like falling into a tunnel of light on the most outrageous roller coaster imaginable. Brilliant colors raced past them in streaks of rainbow and then the wormhole began to sing a single note. It was a hum that filled every nook and cranny of the ship. It filled the boys. It seemed to fill the universe. Their skin tingled and the very atoms that made up their bodies began to vibrate to the song of the wormhole.

When they popped out of the wormhole, Nojo peered at the symbols on the navigation screen. “According to my calculations, we should be arriving at Atlantis just the day before it sinks into the ocean. So, we’ll have to be quick. No sight seeing tours.” Nojo took their ship out of moon orbit and turned toward Earth in the distance. It looked pretty much like the same old Earth, only different somehow. There was lots of snow covering the northern and southern parts of the earth, much more snow than Jake and Scott remembered.

“Hey, it snowed while we were gone,” said Scott. “Not while we were gone,” said Nojo. “It snowed long before we left. Remember, we’re in the past now. We went back in time almost twelve thousand years. We’re now in a time when the last ice age was still gripping the earth. This is the time of the Atlantians.” “So, who are the Atlantians?” asked Jake. “I know there was a fable about them, but no one has ever found Atlantis.” “The Atlantians were the first great civilization on earth,” explained Nojo. “Back then, most of Earth was inhabited by savages barely out of the stone-age. But the Atlantians were amazingly advanced for their time. They lived on a large island in the Atlantic Ocean. They were great explorers and visited all parts of the earth in their ships, even trading with the few other people that were civilized. Sadly, Atlantis was destroyed by a great earth quake and a colossal flood. With their home gone, the few remaining Atlantians never recovered from the disaster. In time, all that was left of Atlantis was just a legend and a fantastic city at the bottom of the ocean.”

Nojo pointed out the window as they descended through a cloudless sky toward an island that stretched almost to the horizon, surrounded by a deep blue sea. “And there it is now, Atlantis,” he said with wonder in his voice.

4 Atlantis Below

The boys stared wide-eyed as they approached Atlantis. They could see a great city on the end of the island nearest them. The city was laid out in rings, all starting from a round building at the center of the city that looked like a small sports stadium. Rings of buildings and roads radiated out from the center to the harbors and foothills at the edge of the city. Between each ring of the city was a moat of water with bridges connecting the rings. Most of the buildings were made of stone and the roads were stone as well. A wall surrounded the city and huge statues stood on the walls and along the roads. From the air the statues looked like giants guarding this grand city of the Atlantians.

Scott pointed out the window at a couple of football shaped air ships that floated above the city near what seemed to be some sort of airport. “Hey, Nojo, what are those things?”

“I told you Atlantians were the very advanced for their time,” replied Nojo with a knowing smile. “Those are called vailixi. Vailixi are sort of like blimps or zeppelins. They’re filled with hydrogen gas and fly very gracefully.”

Nojo banked the ship and headed down toward the southern shore of the city. “We’ll land the ship in the water just outside that harbor, boys,” he said as he pointed to a large harbor with big wooden sailing ships at anchor. “That way we won’t attract too much attention.” “If we land in the water, how are we going to get to the city?” asked Scott.

“We’ll take our sailboat of course,” said Nojo calmly as he brought the spaceship down gently and hovered just above the water. “We’ll make one using our molecular assembly machine.” Nojo walked over to the wall next to a platform above the loading ramp and touched a few alien symbols on a control console. The platform came alive. A ring of energy waves rose up from the floor, looking like a slowly turning tornado of electricity. As it gradually climbed upwards a small wooden sailboat and set of sails was knitted out of thin air.

“That looks kind of like the boat our grandpa John let’s us sail when we visit his cabin on the lake. I can skipper if you want.” said Jake proudly.

Nojo smiled a secret smile. “Sounds like a good plan to me,” he replied. “I have to confess that I’m not much of a sailor myself, so I’m glad you’re going be the skipper.” I’ll make us some Atlantian clothes while you get it ready to sail.

Jake and Scott pushed the sailboat to the edge of the loading ramp. They tied the bow to the starship, then shoved it into the water and set up the sails. “She looks mighty shipshape to me,” called Nojo as he came down the boarding ramp. “You boys are obviously fine sailors.” He was wearing a robe of bright blue feathers with a hood on the back. A gold mask was tucked into a pocket on the robe. He looked like a wizard in a fairy tale. Nojo saw the boys staring at him and bowed theatrically. “These are the clothes of an Atlantian priest.

“You will be a boatman,” said Nojo to Jake, handing him pants, tall boots, and a shirt all made of fine deer skin. Jake ran his hand over the light brown leather and marveled at how soft the clothes were. In addition, Nojo

handed Jake a bronze dagger with a carved wooden hilt and a stiff leather belt to tuck it in. “Now be careful with this knife, it’s sharp” he said in a serious tone and Jake nodded back. “Scott, you will be my apprentice,” said Nojo, giving him a cloak of red feathers, shirt and pants of fine cloth, and short leather boots. The boys changed quickly and threw their regular clothes on the loading ramp while Nojo untied the boat. Soon they were sailing away, the loading ramp closed behind them, and Atlantis was dead ahead just beyond the harbor entrance.

5 Smooth Sailing Jake took the tiller and guided the boat toward an opening in the giant sea wall at the edge of the harbor. “So, once we get into the harbor where should we go?” he asked.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure, Jake,” replied Nojo honestly. “Like any good explorer, we’ll wander around and ask people if they know anything about a gift from the gods. Let’s just pull into the first dock that looks like it’s near a market and we’ll try there first.” “Thanks for the super cool cloak, Nojo. This is awesome,” said Scott proudly. “I’m like a bird man.” “That’s not too far from the truth, Scott,” replied Nojo with a nod. “When the Delphians visited the Atlantians, the Atlantians naturally assumed the Delphians were gods. As I’m sure you remember, the Delphians look sort of like birdmen. So Atlantian priests wanted to look like the Delphians and wore feathers. You and I are dressed in religious clothing because we are on a pilgrimage to visit the waypoint, which, as far as the Atlantians are concerned, is a gift from the gods.”

As they chatted about the Atlantians, Jake guided their small boat into the harbor and past fantastic wooden ships. Some of them were double-masted Atlantian ships with many men on board and some were small coastal boats not much bigger than the little dingy that Jake was steering. They wandered among the many ships until they came to a dock where sweet smelling spices were being unloaded from the hold of a small boat onto pallets just outside a giant outdoor shopping mall. “What do you think, Nojo?” asked Jake. “This looks like a good spot to me.”

“Brilliant sailing, Jake,” replied Nojo, getting very excited about finally setting foot on Atlantis. “Let ’s tie up here and go exploring.”

As the boys tied the boat up at the dock Nojo pulled the gold mask out of his robe and put it on to hide his alien face. It had holes for his eyes, a small beak where a nose should be and a small slit for a mouth. Combined with the hooded robe Nojo looked very mysterious indeed. As bizarre as Nojo looked, he fit right into the scene they entered as they wandered from the dock into the market proper. People milled about in all kinds of strange clothing. Some people wore robes of brilliant and elegant cloth and others were nearly naked, wearing only scraps of animal skins. The dock ended in an open-air market where every conceivable thing, and some things not easily conceived, was for sale. It looked to Jake and Scott like a colossal yard sale and smelled like a wild stew. There were pots simmering on fires, bronze tools stacked in racks, wicked looking swords, glistening armor, exotic clothes, bolts of cloth, vegetable stalls, woven baskets filled with grain, and many objects that defied description and whose purpose was a mystery to the travellers.

Suddenly Scott stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes grew large and his mouth dropped open. Finally, he pointed down a wide boulevard that lead into the market. “Nojo, wha’, what is that thing?” he asked, stunned and amazed by what was before him.

6 Beasts in the Market Nojo and Jake both turned to where Scott was pointing. A giant shaggy beast the size of a dump truck lumbered slowly down the middle of a cobble stone road. It looked something like an elephant, only bigger than any Jake or Scott had ever seen. It had massive tusks that curved into wicked points and long brown hair that hung almost to the ground. An entire store of goods was strapped to the beast’s back with ropes that circled its belly. There were rolls of cloth, planks of wood, bundles of straw, and sacks with unknown contents.

“That, my good lads,” said Nojo with excitement “is a wooly mammoth!” Jake stood and stared in disbelief, “But wooly mammoths are extinct,” he protested.

“Twelve thousand years ago, it would seem they were very much alive,” replied Nojo. “I hoped we would see one, but even I’m surprised that the Atlantians . . .” “Wow, look at that!” Jake interrupted before Nojo could finish. “Is that what I think it is?”

Jake was pointing to a market stall near the mammoth. In a wooden cage a very large cat paced back and forth. Two giant curved fangs hung from its upper lip and a low growling sound came from deep within its throat. “Holy cow!” shouted Scott, “it’s a saber-tooth tiger. We studied those in school. I’ve got to check this out,” he said, taking off toward the two animals. “Stay clear of the mammoth,” warned Nojo, as he and Jake chased after Scott, “he could squish you flat as biscuit.” “Don’t worry Nojo, we’ll be careful,” promised Scott. The wooly mammoth was coming down the street straight at them. All three of them stepped into a clothing stall to let the mammoth pass. The stones beneath their feet trembled as it slowly marched by. A powerful smell of rotting wool followed the massive animal as it continued down the street.

“Pee-u, he needs a bath,” commented Scott as he ducked back out of the stall and made a bee line for the saber-tooth tiger’s cage.

The boys went as close to the cage as they dared and watched the mighty tiger in fascination. The caged animal looked at them warily, then stopped pacing for a moment. He seemed to be sizing them up as a possible snack. “A very formidable hunter to be sure,” remarked Nojo as he stood behind the boys watching the tiger. “But we’re here to find the waypoint.” He pointed to a stall across the street. “That merchant over there seems to be selling religious statues. He’ll probably know something useful. I’ve been learning to speak Atlantian. Let ’s give it a try, shall we?” With that, the three of them hurried across the wide and busy street in search of the waypoint.

7 There is a Map Nojo and the two brothers walked up to the small open air store. They noticed right away that the little statues the bearded man was selling looked very much like the Delphian guard-bots they had fought on the moon. “They’ve met the Delphians all right,” whispered Jake into Nojo’s ear.

Nojo nodded, and then opened both of his hands, palms up in front of himself, and broke into a language the boys did not understand. It was the sweet and slow language used by the Atlantians. “May the stars and the sea bless you with their gifts,” Nojo said, using the traditional greeting of the Atlantians. The man, who was dressed in a simple cloth robe with a necklace of brilliant blue shells, responded with his own hands held out and a nod of the head. “May the wind bless your journey,” he said, looking carefully at Nojo’s fine clothing and his gold mask. “How may I help someone as great as yourself?”

“We are on a pilgrimage,” replied Nojo. “We are here to witness the gift from the gods. Can you tell us where the altar it rests upon is located?” The merchant furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe Nojo. “But you are a priest, surely you know the pyramid of the gods is not here.” Then he paused for a moment, and asked cautiously, “Why do you wear this mask, great priest?” Nojo was stunned by the news that the waypoint wasn’t in Atlantis, but he recovered quickly. “Of course we know the pyramid is not here. We are from a land far, far away, and do not have a map to the altar. We were hoping to purchase one here on Atlantis,” he explained. “I wear the mask because I am a great wizard. To look upon me would bring such fear that your heart would stop, but I will remove it if you wish,” he added.

The man shook his head quickly, “No, no, leave it on. I meant no disrespect. I have no maps to sell, but you don’t need to buy a map. On the walls of the great temple in the city center are tile pictures of the gods. They show the location of the pyramid and resting place of the holy gift.” The man then bowed his head and lowered his eyes, afraid he might see Nojo’s face. “I hope I have been of some small service, great wizard.” “You have been of greater service than you know,” replied Nojo kindly, and he handed the man a gold coin for his assistance. Nojo turned and continued quickly down the side of the street with the boys following closely. “So, what did he say?” quizzed Scott. “Where is the waypoint?”

“Unfortunately, he said that the waypoint isn’t here,” replied Nojo as he lead the boys deeper into Atlantis, “However, there is a map that will show us where they’ve put it on the walls of the temple. The temple is that large, round building in the very middle of the city. So, we’ll take a look at the map there and then fly to this new place. As our consolation prize, we’ll get a quick look at this beautiful city.”

The boys hadn’t really noticed in all the excitement, but Nojo was right, it was an impressive city. They walked past tall stone buildings with beautiful pictures carved into the walls. Giant statues of Atlantian kings stood guard at every intersection and people bustled about. Suddenly, they heard a loud tearing sound and the cobble stones beneath their feet danced for a moment. Bits of plaster showered down from shaken buildings and everything seemed to sway, but only slightly. It was as if the entire city had just shivered. “Oh no,” said Nojo, his eyes growing wide in alarm. “I’ve made a very big mistake.”

8 Earthquake

Nojo ripped off his golden mask, threw it on the ground, and pulled his control wand from inside his robe. He held the wand protectively and stared at the brothers with a grave look on his face. “Now listen to me closely, boys. I must have made a navigation error coming through the wormhole. We didn’t arrive the day before Atlantis sinks. We arrived only minutes before it sinks. It’s sinking now. We have no time to waste. There is about to be a giant earthquake. We have to run for the boat!” “What about the map?” protested Scott weakly, staring at Nojo and not fully understanding what was happening. “Forget the map, run!” shouted Nojo, as he grabbed both boys by their shoulders and shoved them back toward the harbor. That seemed to snap them out of it and the brothers started sprinting down the middle of the street, back the way they’d come. Nojo ran after them, but the boys were much faster than Nojo. The harbor was less than three blocks away. At the very end of the street they could see the dock

where their boat was tied up. If they could make it to the boat they might be safe. Without warning, the entire world lurched sideways and downward. The road rose and fell as if it were a wave in an ocean. Buildings along the side of the road started to crumble and people ran confused in all directions. Unlike the first tremor, this shock didn’t end quickly. The trembling of the ground continued without stopping. The sinking of Atlantis had begun in earnest.

“Keep running!” cried Nojo. “Head for the docks! Don’t stop for anything!” Even as he said the words, Nojo saw a giant statue of a warrior king start to topple toward the boys, who were half a block in front of him. Nojo pointed his wand at the statue and tried to hold it in place with a gravity field. The wand’s gravity projector was too weak to stop the statue, but Nojo managed to slow it down long enough for Jake and Scott to run past before it fell. The statue hit the road with a mighty crash just behind the boys. Jake and Scott stopped and turned to see what had happened. The statue had fallen across the street right next to the buildings and now blocked the entire street. They couldn’t see Nojo anywhere.

“Nojo,” Jake yelled. “Are you all right? Where are you?”

“I’m all right,” Nojo yelled back from the far side of the statue. “I can’t get around the statue. I’ll have to take another road. You boys keep going! Get to the boat and take it to the spaceship. I’ll meet you there.”

“No!” Jake shouted. “We’re not going to leave without you.” “I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you at the ship. Now go!” insisted Nojo.

Jake stared at the statue for a moment and then turned to his brother. “Come on, we’ve got to go,” he muttered, reluctantly. The two brothers started running toward the boat again. They were back in the outdoor market, almost to the docks. Broken stones, market wares, and crumbled stalls littered the road. The boys frantically jumped over anything in their way. The ground shook, but at least they were away from the tall buildings now so nothing would fall on them. Suddenly, a blur of motion caught their attention. A creature jumped out of the wreckage in the market and confronted the boys. Jake and Scott stopped in their tracks, frozen by the sight of the saber-tooth tiger, now loose from its shattered cage.

9 Attack of the Saber-Tooth The saber-tooth tiger crouched low and stared at them with wild eyes. A low unearthly growl rumbled from deep within its throat.

Jake pulled the bronze dagger from his belt and stood facing the tiger, his feet wide, ready to dodge if a charge came. “Get behind me, Scott,” he said protectively. “If he charges, run.”

Scott picked a large stone up off the road and stood his ground to the right of Jake, refusing to hide behind his brother. “If he charges, I’ll throw

this rock in his face,” he replied defiantly, his hand pulled back, ready to throw at an instant’s notice.

The huge cat tilted its head back and the two great saber-teeth rose in the air while the lower jaw opened wider than either of the boys thought possible. The tiger looked like it meant to swallow them whole. The cat let loose a blood-chilling scream and the entire universe seemed to pause for a moment. Then it leaped straight at Jake.

Jake dodged to the left and spun sideways, dagger at the ready. At the same time Scott threw his rock with expert aim, hitting the cat in the side of the head. The impact of the rock confused the saber-tooth tiger and it stumbled between the two boys. Jake slashed at its side as the cat passed him, but it was a glancing blow at best.

“Good throw, Scott! He’s no match for your fastball,” said Jake, catching his breath and closing ranks with his brother. Scott picked up another rock. “That’ll teach him to mess with us,” he replied with bravado, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Scott was breathing hard, but he had a triumphant look on his face, as if he’d just hit a home run.

The tiger recovered after a few yards and spun to face them. It paced back and forth for a moment, then for a second time the tiger crouched low and opened its huge jaws. A single blow from its wicked teeth and it would all be over. The road shook beneath their feet, for the earthquake was still fighting with the ground below. Stone walls crumbled down the street, sounding like thunder that echoed through a city canyon.

The boys barely noticed the earthquake. Their full attention was on the wicked fangs of the saber-tooth. The brothers once more stood their ground side-by-side, ready to take on the mighty animal. Defiance was on their faces and their eyes narrowed into fierce slits as if daring the great beast to charge. Jake gripped his blade tightly, ready to move. “Steady, bro,” Jake whispered to his brother in a low voice.

Scott raised the rock in his hand and stared hard into the face of the tiger, waiting for it to spring. “Like a rock,” his brother replied. The tiger noticed it first. A thundering sound that came from their left. The boys heads turned as the stall next to them erupted in an explosion of wood and fabric. A wooly mammoth burst through the wreckage of the stall and was charging blindly toward the brothers.

10 Charge of the Wooly Beast Jake saw that the giant animal would just miss them. A load of trade goods still clung to its back and ropes dangled from its sides. He thought quickly and acted even quicker. He shoved the knife back in his belt and yelled to his brother. “Scott, grab a rope and hang on. We’re going for a ride.” “Good idea,” responded Scott in a flash, dropping his rock and getting ready to leap.

The boys dodged out of its way, as the mammoth sped toward them. Just as it passed, each grabbed one of the ropes that hung from the harness on its back. They were swept off the ground as if they’d grabbed onto a rollercoaster zipping past. The wild gallop of the wooly creature made for a rough ride. The boys whipped uncontrollably against the sides of the mammoth and it took all their strength to hold on. The wooly mammoth carried them to the far side of the road and then turned toward the docks.

After a few jarring moments they were close enough to the docks that Jake thought they would be safer on the ground. “Jump!” he yelled between bounces into the mammoth’s rough wool. The boys pushed off as best they could and hit the ground in a stumbling run, just barely avoiding the rear feet of the charging beast.

Jake stopped and stood for a moment, trying to catch his breath. “You okay, little buddy?” he asked. “Yeah, I’m fine,” replied Scott, breathing hard himself. Then he smiled, “I just wish they had that ride at the carnival.” Jake laughed, “You crack me up. You’re on; the next time the carnival is in town I’ll ride the Whip-O-Whirl with you. But right now, let’s get back to the ship before something else happens.” He turned toward the dock and saw their boat still tied up just a few yards away. “Come on, let’s grab our boat and get out of here.”

The boys jumped in the boat, quickly raised the sail, and cast off. A breeze blew across the bay and filled their sail. With Jake at the tiller, they had no problem navigating between the large ships anchored around them. The sailors on the boats they passed gazed in disbelief at the disaster that was once the market and watched them sail by. Jake and Scott were making good time toward the mouth of the harbor, when they noticed that they were starting to move faster and faster, even though the wind was not blowing any harder than before. Soon, their little boat was racing out to sea, as if it were in a giant river, not in the ocean. “Yeah! Now we’re moving. Good job, big bro’,” complimented Scott, glad to be getting away from Atlantis as fast as possible.

“It’s not me,” replied Jake quietly. “For some reason the water is just leaving the harbor. It’s okay though. It’s taking us toward the spaceship, so that’s good,” he told his little brother. But Jake wasn’t so sure it was good. It was strange, and in the last few minutes strange had generally been bad. The swiftly moving water got them out of the harbor quickly and Jake turned the boat toward the spaceship. He could see it still hovering over the water less than a mile away. Jake was sure that when they reached Nojo’s ship everything would be okay. “Hey Jake, what is that thing in the water?” asked Scott, sounding more curious than concerned. He pointed far away toward the edge of the ocean, where a line seemed to be growing out of the sea. Jake looked at the line that stretched clear across the horizon. The line grew taller and taller with each passing second. It was coming straight at them. After a moment Jake realized why the water had rushed out of the harbor. It had been sucked out, just like the water that gets pulled off a beach before the next wave comes. “It ’s a wave,” he said, in a matter-offact voice, as if he’d been waiting for it all day. “A big wave, a really, really, big wave.”

11 The Tsunami There was nothing else they could do, Jake continued to sail toward the spaceship while he explained it to his brother. “It’s a tidal wave, buddy, a tsunami. The same earthquake that shook the city probably caused it. The earthquake moved the ocean floor, which moved the water, which made a big wave. It’s kind of like splashing in the bath tub, a very big splash.” “So, what do we do, go back to the harbor?” asked Scott, starting to get concerned. “No, the wave will smash the harbor. We’re better off out here,” replied Jake, thinking hard about what to do. After a moment, trying to sound more confident than he felt, he said, “it’s big, but it’s still just a wave. As long as it doesn’t break, maybe we can just sail over it. No big deal.” The two boys bravely sailed on, while the wave got closer, bigger, and steeper. Before long it towered over them, a massive mountain of green water as tall as a sky-scraper ten stories high. When the base of the wave reached them their boat was gently pulled up toward the crest. The little sail boat rose higher and higher up the wall of water and then the boat started to surf.

“Hang on tight, buddy,” called Jake to his brother as the boat picked up speed straight down the face of the wave. “This is going to be a wild ride!” “Cowabunga!” shouted Scott in response, gripping the side of the dingy as hard as he could.

The wave was getting steeper and soon the boat was hurtling downward. Water sprayed up from the bow like a thousand squirt guns, white water churned in their wake, and wind whistled through the rigging, whipping the sail into a frenzy. The bow was starting to dig deeper into the water and Jake was on the ragged edge of losing control. He didn’t dare turn the tiller hard, or they would flip for sure, but he needed to get the boat moving sideways on the wave. So he turned the tiller slowly, guiding their boat to the right. “Lean into the wave!” Jake shouted to Scott above the roar of the rushing water.

“Aye, aye,” responded Scott, immediately doing what his brother asked. Jake kept turning the boat into the side of the mighty wall of water. It was working; the boat was slowing down and seemed to be in better control. Now they were heading down the face of the wave at an angle, just like a surfer. The wall of water skidded past them at an alarming speed, but strangely it all seemed under control.

Scott watched the wall of water on the right side of the boat for a moment, then reached out and touched it with his finger. A spray of white

water leapt from his finger tip. He wiggled his hand and traced designs in the water that vanished in the foam behind them. “Hey, check this out, Jake,” he shouted above the wind. “This is cool.”

Once again, in spite of the danger, Jake had to laugh at his little brother, who managed to find fun even in the middle of a tsunami. At times like this Jake thought it wasn’t easy being the big brother. Jake had to at least try to keep Scott safe, and it was a big responsibility. Still, as Jake watched Scott draw in the wave for a few moments he started to relax a little. It was then that he noticed a new sound coming from behind him. It was a roar, different from the now familiar whistling sound of the boat surfing the mighty wave. This was a deep rumble, that reminded him of the sabertooth’s warning growl. Jake looked back to see what it was. What he saw was the crest of the wave a few hundred yards behind them. It was curling over at the top and starting to break. White foaming water tumbled off the crest of the wave and was crashing down in a giant waterfall. The curl of white water was eating up the wave behind them and moving their way at alarming speed. Soon a mountain of water would slam into their boat from above.

12 Surfing the Curl “Art class is over, Scott. Just hang on, it could get rough,” warned Jake as he angled the boat steeper down the wave. The boat accelerated like a wild animal running from a leopard, but it wasn’t fast enough. The crushing curl was chasing them down faster than they could surf away. A torrent of white water thundered behind them, blocking out all other sounds.

Suddenly, the sun seemed to fade away and the two boys glanced up to see the curl of the wave starting to form over them. The wall of water they were surfing along curved into a tube. A curl of foaming ocean cascaded downward on the far side of their boat. They were inside the curl! A giant moving cavern of water was swallowing them, as if it were a mighty sea monster!

“We’re going to shoot the curl,” shouted Jake as he angled down toward the bottom of the curl, trying to get as much speed as he could.

Scott couldn’t hear Jake above the roar of the water, but he did see something. It was a rope. Unbelievably a dangling length of rope had suddenly appeared as if by magic just outside the pipe of water. Scott turned to Jake, shouted at the top of his lungs and pointed to the rope. “Jake, a rope; go for the rope!” It took a second for Jake to understand, and then he, too, saw the rope dancing about unsteadily a short distance in front of them. Now he just had

to speed up somehow, get out of the water tube, and reach it. He was already going down as far as he dared without running into the outside wall of the tube, how could they go faster? Then he looked up at the sail. It was flapping like a maniac, giving them no help at all and slowing them down. Jake screamed at Scott, while holding out his bronze dagger. “The sail! Release the sail!” Scott looked at the sail and understood immediately. “Can do!” he replied, grabbing the dagger from Jake’s hand and quickly cutting the lines that held the sail to the mast. When the last line was cut, and the sail flew behind them, the little boat lurched forward. They were gaining on the entrance to the curl. As quickly as it had swallowed them, the monster wave let them escape back into sunshine.

When they reached the dangling rope, Jake yelled, “Grab on and climb up. I’m right behind you.” Scott needed no encouragement. As soon as it was within reach, he grabbed the rope and started climbing hand over hand as fast as he could. Jake maneuvered the boat until the rope was right beside him, then he let go of the tiller and jumped for it in one swift motion. The moment Jake grabbed the rope, it pulled them up and away from the wave to safety. Both boys looked down at their brave little boat as it went

out of control below them, flipped over, and was swallowed whole by the colossal wave. Only after watching the mountain of water pass safely below did they look up to see what had saved them from an ocean grave. Above them was a giant air ship, an Atlantean vailixi. The rope they were holding onto was being slowly pulled up through a hole in the gondola at the bottom of the air ship. When Scott was almost inside the hole, Nojo poked his head out. He held out a hand to help Scott and said, “Hey ho, lads! Very sorry I’m late, boys. That was a close one.”

13 The Vailixi Taxi Nojo helped both boys up into the small cabin of the vailixi’s gondola. The brothers were so glad to see the little space alien, they just sat there grinning at him. Nojo gazed back, with a mixture of wonder, concern, and relief on his face.

“So,” said Nojo finally. “I see you’ve had a bit of an adventure on your boat ride. I saw you just as you started to surf the wave. I would have gotten here sooner, only this Atlantean airship I borrowed is not exactly the fastest thing in the universe.” Nojo paused, then added quietly, “Are you all right?”

“Are you kidding?” replied Scott, his face still wild from the rush of the escape. “That was an outrageous ride! They need one of those at Wild Waves Park. But you should have seen us take on that saber-tooth. Now that was cool!” By the time Scott finished telling Nojo all about the saber-tooth tiger attack and the charge of the wooly mammoth, Nojo’s transparent eyelids were fluttering and he shook his head slowly. “You two never cease to amaze me,” he said. “It ’s hard to imagine two braver and more resourceful boys in all the Galaxy.” “Scott was the brave one,” said Jake, who suddenly felt embarrassed by the praise, then he changed the subject. “So, now what? Did the starship get smashed by the wave?” “Oh no,” replied Nojo confidently. “It would take a lot more than a big wave to hurt that starship. We could fly it into the heart of a volcano, if we wanted. Then he pointed out the open window of the gondola. “It ’s right over there.”

They all sat quietly for a few moments enjoying the safety and quiet of the ancient airship. Jake watched Nojo pull on cords and push on levers at the controls of the fantastic machine. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him. “So, how does this thing work?” he asked. “It is a marvel of ingenuity, isn’t it.” Nojo replied. “It’s built very much like a modern blimp, the big bags above us are filled with hydrogen. The hydrogen is lighter than air, so it floats, just like a party balloon.” Then he pointed out the side windows at the two propeller pods on either side of the gondola. “Those pods have little steam engines in them that turn the propellers. There’s a boiler under the gondola. You steer it by sending more steam to one pod or the other with these levers.” Scott immediately raised his hand and asked, “Can I try it?”

Nojo chuckled, “Yes, yes of course,” and stepped aside to show Scott which cords and levers to pull. Jake watched his brother steer the lumbering aircraft, and suddenly realized something. “We still don’t know where the waypoint is,” he announced. “We need to get back to the city center to find the map.”

Nojo shook his head. “I think we’ve all had enough adventure for today. I’ll just take you home and I’ll come back some other time to look at the map.” Jake and Scott both starred at Nojo replying together as if on cue, “No way!” Nojo looked at them, his eyelids blinking rapidly. “It’s under water, for heaven’s sake. The earthquake is still going on. It isn’t safe, and that is that.” “No problem, we just go back in time one more day,” declared Scott confidently. “No, we can’t,” replied Nojo absolutely. “We can’t jump from this time to yesterday, because we’re already in a time where we don’t belong. I know the time jump calculations were correct, so there must be something odd about the wormhole and this piece of space-time. If we try to go anywhere else but back to the time we started, we could get lost in time and never get home.” Jake thought about that for a bit then responded, “Okay, I’ve got it. We go back to our own time. Then we take the ship underwater to the ruins of

Atlantis and find the map. If your spaceship can fly into the heart of a volcano, it can fly underwater.” Nojo knew he had been beaten. He shook his head slowly, and then finally smiled, “All right, we’ll do it.” The boys did a high-five. “Yes!”

14 Back to the Twenty-First Century The starship was hovering above the water just like they’d left it. As they approached, Nojo waved his control wand and the loading ramp opened. They landed the vailixi with a big splash next to the ship. All three of them pulled off their boots and shirts, then jumped into the ocean and swam to the ramp. They quickly changed into their regular clothes and soon were headed back to the wormhole.

As Nojo adjusted their approach to the rift in space-time, Scott asked, “So, how will we find the map, now that Atlantis is underwater?” “Good question,” replied Nojo absently, concentrating on his navigation. “I’ve been thinking about that,” said Jake, turning to Scott. “We know where Atlantis is now, and we know that the map is on the wall of the temple at the city center.” “And the temple was the round building with a dome on it that we saw in the middle of all the city’s rings,” injected Scott.

“Right,” replied Jake. “All we have to do is take the ship underwater like a submarine and find the center of the city’s rings.” “Boys, we’re entering the wormhole,” announced Nojo, pointing out the windows at the streaking lights. Scott glanced up. “Yeah, cool,” he said casually, then turned back to Jake. “So, once we find the city center we’ll have to get into the temple somehow.” Not giving up that easily, Nojo prodded again. “Don’t you think the humming of the wormhole is rather musical?” he asked smiling. Jake looked at Nojo and nodded politely, “Great tune, for sure,” then turned back to his brother. “I figure we’ll have to leave the ship with dive gear to get into the temple.” “Sweet!” said Scott, getting excited. “I’ve always wanted to go scuba diving.”

Nojo just smiled at the two young adventure seekers, while he guided their spaceship, out of the wormhole and back to earth. In a short time they descended through the earth’s atmosphere and were skimming over the ocean once more. Only now they were back in their own time again and Atlantis had been beneath the ocean for twelve thousand years.

“This is the spot,” announced Nojo, bringing the spaceship to a hover over an unremarkable patch of clear blue water, under a bright sunny sky. No land was visible in any direction.

“Are you sure?” questioned Scott, looking at the waves. “I don’t see anything.” “Bud, it’s underwater,” laughed Jake. “If you could see it on the surface, someone would have discovered it by now.” “I knew that!” protested Scott. Then turned to Nojo and changed the subject. “Can I drive? Please!”

“Umm . . . I don’t know,” mumbled Nojo. “I’m not sure it’s safe,” he continued apologetically.

Scott tried again. “I know that on the last trip to the moon you said it would be a hundred years before your heart recovered from Jake driving, but then we went back in time. So, it’s been thousands of years and your heart should be better by now.” Scott paused and looked at Nojo pleading. “Really, it’s been thousands of years.” Nojo’s face burst into a gigantic grin and he couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right, my heart is much better. You can drive,” then added quickly, “but slowly, please!”

15 Atlantis Beneath the Waves “Remember,” instructed Nojo as he turned the controls over to Scott ’s seat, “you simply push the control stick in the direction you want to go. Gently now, we don’t want to crash into anything.” Scott was excited but nervous. He didn’t want to crash either. “I’ll be careful Nojo,” he promised.

Scott took the control stick on the arm of his seat and gave it a gentle push straight down. The spaceship slowly started moving down into the sea. The water flowed and gurgled around them and trapped air bubbles made little popping sounds against the hull as the ship submerged. Soon they were diving through crystal clear water and a few fish swam by, curious about the strange craft.

“The city is directly below us, about seventy feet down,” said Nojo looking at alien symbols on a computer screen. “Just go slowly. You’ll see it soon enough.” Scott pushed a little bit forward on the control stick and angled down through the ocean. He quickly found that the spaceship was just as easy for him to fly underwater as it was for Jake to fly it to the moon. He experimented with the control stick until he was confident he could stop, turn, and make the ship do what he wanted. Soon the bottom came into view. What had once been an island was now the top of an underwater mountain. It was covered with coral and sea life of all kinds. There were millions of bright colored fish, sea fans, sponges, sea turtles, stingrays, barracudas, and sharks . . . big sharks. Scott glided down low over the coral, thrilled to be flying with the fish. He was also looking hard for the city, but not seeing it. “Are you sure this is the right place?” asked Scott finally. “I don’t see a city down here.”

“It’s here all right,” replied Nojo. “See that curved canyon of coral down there,” he said, pointing out the forward window at what looked like a long curved wall of coral. “That is one of the rings of the city. It’s just that everything has been underwater for thousands of years, so it’s covered with coral and sea life.” “He’s right,” said Jake enthusiastically. “Look, there are smaller rings of coral canyons inside the bigger rings.” Jake pointed toward the center of the ring of coral and said, “Scott, go that way.” “Aye, aye, skipper,” replied Scott, heading for the center of the coral city.

The rings of the city passed under them and they could see that some of the mounds of coral looked like buildings. Some of them even looked like fuzzy statues. Finally, they came to the center of the city. There below them was a giant round dome of coral held up by columns of coral, sitting in a big flat square that looked like an underwater playing field. Some of the spaces between the columns were overgrown with coral, but a few of them still had openings, so it was possible to get inside.

“Good driving, Scott,” said Jake. “That has to be the great temple.” “I think you’re right,” said Nojo nodding his head. “Scott, set the ship down very gently please.” Scott brought the ship down to hover just above a good flat space in front of the temple. The spacecraft looked like a giant manta ray with its wings spread over the reef. “Well done,” complimented Nojo. “Now, I’ll make us some scuba gear with the molecular assembly machine, and we’ll go look for this map.”

While Nojo was busy making diving equipment out of thin air, Jake and Scott watched fish swim past the forward windows of the bridge deck. Suddenly, a grey shark, twice the size of a full grown man, appeared from below the ship. It glided past the window and stared straight at the boys. Then, with one flick of its tail, the shark was gone. “You don’t scare me,” Scott whispered to himself under his breath.

16 The Map to the Waypoint As the brothers suited up in their wet suits and scuba diving gear, Nojo gave them instructions. “These wet suits will keep you nice and warm, but more importantly they’ll protect you from getting scraped by the coral. Don’t touch the coral, or any spiny things, or anything else if you can avoid it, because you just might get a nasty sting.” “Nojo, you’re starting to sound just like our Mom,” remarked Jake. “I take that as the highest compliment, Jake,” replied Nojo, as he helped Scott adjust the scuba tank on his back. “You’ve got an hour’s worth of air in your tank, which should be plenty. The dive masks fit over your entire face. They’ve got radios in them, so we can talk to each other.” He paused, watching them pull their masks over their faces and take a few trial breaths. Finally, he handed each of them a flashlight. “These will be handy when we’re inside the temple. Any questions?” he asked. Both boys gave him a thumbs-up. “We’re good to go, Nojo,” said Jake, his voice sounding metallic inside his own mask.

Nojo led the boys down the open loading ramp to a pool of water that rippled at the bottom of the spacecraft. It was awkward to walk in the swim fins, and the scuba tank felt heavy on their backs. But once they entered the water it was as if they became weightless. One moment they were boys in a bunch of heavy equipment and the next they were fish. “This is like flying,” marveled Scott. He kicked hard with his fins and did a front roll through the water. It was nothing like swimming in the pool. Next, he swooped after a bright red and yellow fish that was swimming by. But no matter how hard Scott swam, the fish managed to stay just a few feet in front of him. “You’re too fast for me, buddy,” Scott called to the fish when he finally gave up.

Not to be outdone, Jake started doing barrel rolls, spinning around and around as he effortlessly swam along the top of the coral reef. “This is even cooler than walking on the moon, Nojo,” he commented. “I’m glad you like it,” Nojo replied, pleased to see the brothers take to the water so quickly. “Now, let’s head for the temple and see if we can find our map.” All three of them kicked with smooth strokes which sent them rapidly toward the columns of coral and the round roof they had spotted from the ship. It only took a few moments to get there. They swam through a gap they found between two of the columns and each of them turned on their flashlight. As he entered the gloom beyond the entrance, it seemed to Scott as if he were floating like a ghost into a dark and spooky cave. A little light filtered in from where they entered, but the far side of the cave was a solid wall of black. Fish swam slowly through the inky water, staring at Scott with shining eyes when his flashlight swept across them.

“We’re in luck!” cried Nojo’s excited voice over the underwater-radio. He was pointing his flashlight on the back wall of the temple. “The temple wall is mostly free of marine growth. It must have been too dark in here for coral to grow. Look, there’s the map!” Jake and Scott swam over and added their own lights to the sight that was revealed for the first time since the last ice age. On the wall was a mosaic picture made of colored tiles. The picture showed a desert landscape with a giant river running through it. It was very elaborate and detailed. In the

scene were lots of people, animals, buildings, and even palm trees, all made from bits of colored tile. “Look, a Delphian!” said Scott excitedly, using his flashlight to point to a spot where several humans were shown kneeling in front of a hawk-faced Delphian. The Delphian was holding out a black pyramid to the people. “That must be the waypoint the Delphians gave to the Atlantians.”

“And look there,” said Nojo, pointing out another part of the picture with his own light. “That giant pyramid has a small black pyramid in the center. That must be where they put the waypoint”. Jake studied the picture. Next to the pyramid with the waypoint was a giant statue. The statue looked like a crouching animal that was half man and half lion. A line of red tiles connected the paw of the animal statue to the pyramid. “Hey, I know that place,” said Jake in amazement. “That statue is the Sphinx. If the pyramid is next to the Sphinx then that it must be in Egypt.” Scott was gazing in wonder at the picture on the wall, when he felt something behind him. It wasn’t like something touched him or anything like that. It was more like a chill running down his spine. He slowly turned and pointed his light behind him. An immense shark flashed through the light.

17 Shark Attack “Shark!” yelled Scott into his dive mask. Jake and Nojo instantly spun away from the picture on the wall and waved their flashlights into the deep blackness surrounding them. Nothing was there but water and ghostly shadows.

“Scott, are you sure you saw a shark?” asked Jake. “I don’t see anything.” “I’m sure, I’m sure!” gasped Scott, sweeping his light around the dark cavern, looking for the shark. “There!” As if on cue in a horror movie, a giant shark appeared at the far end of Scott’s light beam. It was headed straight for them. The mouth of the monster opened slowly showing them row upon row of needle sharp teeth. It came within a few feet of them, then turned sharply and disappeared into the black with a flick of its mighty tail. “Okay, I believe you,” said Jake, more calmly then he felt. “That was definitely a shark.” “We’re going back to the ship,” ordered Nojo. “Jake, you go first. Scott, you stick right behind him, and I’ll watch your backs.”

“Roger that, Nojo,” said Jake, starting to swim back toward the columns where they’d entered the temple.

They’d barely gone halfway to the entrance when a shape rocketed out of the inky deep, heading straight for Jake. It was coming from the side and Jake hadn’t seen it. It streaked through Scott ’s light beam just before it struck. “Jake, on your right!” Screamed Scott. Jake turned at the last moment and saw a pointed nose and jaws larger than his own head open up in front of him. His only weapon was the flashlight, so he rammed it straight into the nose of the shark. The shark thrashed wildly, its body slamming into Jake and knocking him back toward Scott. Then the creature was gone once more.

Nojo swam over quickly, held Jake by the shoulders, and looked into his facemask. “Are you all right?” he asked, grave concern in his voice.

Jake wiggled his body to make sure nothing was broken before he replied. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he gasped between quick breaths of metallic tasting air from his scuba tank. “That was close, though. Wait till the kids at school hear about this one!” “Hitting him in the nose was brilliant,” congratulated Nojo. “Shark’s noses are very sensitive. That should make him think twice about having us for lunch. Now let’s get out of here before he comes back.” They made their way quickly back to the passage between the two columns, feeling more confident as they approached the well-lit world outside the temple. Jake was still in the lead and swam through the opening and out onto the reef. He stopped just a few feet past the entrance and simply stared. Scott came out behind him and saw what had stopped Jake in his tracks. Four gray sharks, each one bigger than a grown man, were cruising the reef around their ship. “It looks like your buddy has some friends, Jake,” commented Scott. “You’re the one who saw him first, Scott,” replied Jake dryly. “So, I’m happy to share.”

18 The Light-Saber Defense Nojo swam up beside the boys and looked out over the reef. The four mighty sharks were swimming back and forth between them and the ship less than a block away. “No worries lads,” he said with exaggerated confidence. “We’ve got our flashlights. If they try anything we’ll just bop them in the nose.”

“I wish my flashlight was a light-saber,” said Scott. “Yeah, now we’re talking,” joined Jake with a grin. “They wouldn’t mess with us then. Hey Nojo, how come you didn’t make us light-sabers?”

Once again Nojo had to laugh in spite of their situation. “My apologies for the oversight, boys. Next time we’re attacked by sharks, I promise to have light-sabers for everyone.” Then he paused and said in more serious voice. “Let ’s move out slowly. We head straight for the ship and stick very close together, side-by-side. Tally-ho.” As they swam slowly for the ship, Scott turned to Nojo next to him and asked, “Can my light-saber be green? Yoda’s is green and he’s my favorite.” “Sure,” said Nojo casually, as if they were taking a stroll in the park. “You can have any color you want.” Then, he turned to Scott and winked a transparent eyelid. “I like Yoda, too.” “Shark on the left,” called out Jake.

One of the sharks headed right toward them. They all stopped swimming, faced the shark, and hovered in mid water. They held their flashlights in front of their faces, ready to whack it in the nose if the shark got within

striking range. Scott held his flashlight in both hands like it was a lightsaber. The shark seemed to hesitate for a moment, then turned and swam away. It knew that it was facing a determined team and would go after easier prey. This must have been some mysterious signal to the other sharks, because all four of them vanished in a swirl of tails.

“He was afraid of my light-saber,” said Scott with conviction as he watched them go. “I’m quite certain you’re right,” replied Nojo, who knew that believing you are invincible is often the key to winning the battle. “Now come on, let ’s get back to the ship and get that next waypoint to the Pillar of Knowledge.” In just a few short moments they were back inside the ship, peeling off their equipment, and drying off. “So, what now?” asked Jake as they all took their seats on the bridge deck. “Once again, a good question, Jake,” replied Nojo, taking the controls and guiding the ship toward the surface of the ocean. “That pyramid we saw on the wall of the temple was pretty big compared to the Sphinx, so it had to be the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Egyptians claimed they built that pyramid. But, there have always been many strange things about it. It is starting to look like the great pyramid was built by the Atlanteans thousands of years before the Egyptians came along.”

Scott watched through the forward windows as their starship broke the surface of the water and started accelerating into outer space. Then, he chimed in, “So no big deal: we go to Egypt, get into the pyramid, find the waypoint, and go home.” “That sounds simple enough,” replied Nojo, while making some quick navigation inputs to the computer. “The one snag is that I have no idea how we’re going to get into the pyramid.”

19 The Sands of Egypt Soon Nojo and the boys were coming back from space and descending on the pyramids. It was twilight in Egypt, just dark enough that Nojo didn’t have to worry about being seen. So, Nojo flew slowly over a part of Egypt called Giza, just on the edge of the capital city of Cairo. There in the sands below them were several pyramids, one of them much larger than the others. Not far from the largest pyramid was the giant statue of the man-lion called the Sphinx. The statue was old and parts of its face were broken off, but it was clearly the same statue they had seen in the picture on the wall of the temple. “Look there,” said Nojo, pointing at the largest pyramid. “That pyramid is called the Great Pyramid of Giza. The waypoint should be in the middle of that pyramid.” “And there’s the Sphinx,” said Jake. “But where is the line?”

“What line?” asked Nojo, sounding puzzled.

“There was a line in the picture that connected the Sphinx to the pyramid. I figured it was a road or something, but all I see is sand,” replied Jake. Scott thought for a second, then blurted out, “It ’s a tunnel! The line is a tunnel between the Sphinx and the pyramid!” “Brilliant thinking, boys!” said Nojo, his eyes wide with pleasure. “The line in the picture started at the paw. I’ll bet there’s a secret entrance in the paw. Now we just need a nice quiet spot to land.” Jake looked down and saw that even though it was getting dark, there were lots of tourists and people selling souvenirs still wandering about. Lights were starting to come on, lighting up the Sphinx and the pyramids. They didn’t want to set the spaceship down in the middle of a crowd. Alien spaceships tend to create a big fuss. Then he saw what looked like a big tent and a corral full of camels at the back of the Sphinx. Everything around it was dark. “There!” said Jake pointing to the dark tent and corral. “We’ll land behind the corral. It ’s close to the Sphinx and there’s nobody there.” “Good eyes, Jake,” said Nojo, quickly bringing the ship around and swooping down on a dark patch between the corral of hump-backed camels and the side of the Sphinx. As Nojo landed the spaceship, they could see that it was a place where tourists rented camels. The office had had shut down for the night and the camels were happily munching dinner in their stalls. A few camels glanced up, but they seemed to give the starship no more attention than they would a passing horsefly. As soon as Nojo opened the loading ramp, the rancid smell of camel dung hit Scott ’s nose like a stink bomb. “Pee-U!” he cried. “Now I know why nobody else wants to be anywhere near this place.”

“No kidding!” agreed Jake, holding his nose. “I’d rather fight a sabertooth tiger. Let’s find the waypoint, quick.” With that they all rushed down the ramp and onto the hot desert sands of the pyramids.

20 The Tunnel of the Gods “If there is a secret entrance in the statue’s paw, with any luck the key keepers can open it,” said Nojo, as he led them toward the front of the Sphinx. “We haven’t tried opening anything in a little while, Nojo,” said Scott. “What if the alien codes in our heads have vanished or something?”

Nojo stopped when he reached the side of the giant paw and looked closely at the stone. “There’s only one way to find out,” Nojo replied, pointing at a very old and very worn bowl shape carved into the stone. “I think that may be a key hole for the key keepers.”

Jake looked at Scott and shrugged. “Okay, let ’s do our stuff, Scott. On three, like always.” The two brothers stood on each side of the bowl shaped depression and counted together, “three, two, one, touch.” The boys touched the center of the bowl at the same time and once again strange symbols flashed through their heads. There was a slight tingle in their fingers and then nothing. No door opened, nothing happened.

“Maybe it didn’t work, Noj . . .” Scott started to say, when suddenly the sand beneath their feet disappeared and they were falling into darkness. A moment later they were all tumbling down a slide in the dark. Sand showered down on them from a hole above. There was just enough light to see that they were zipping down a stone slide toward the unknown. Nojo reached into a pocket and pulled out his wand. The wand lit up instantly, so now, at least they could see. A few moments later the slide leveled off and they all piled into each other at the bottom. “Well,” croaked Nojo, clearing his throat, “at least we know that your key keeper codes are still working.” “Hey guys,” warned Scott, staring wide eyed down at the floor of stone tunnel they’d fallen into. “The floor is moving.” Jake and Nojo stood up and glanced down. Sure enough the floor was moving, or crawling really, crawling with bugs. Dozens of scorpions, centipedes, and beetles scurried through the sand on the floor. “Yeeaaw! Get off me!” screamed Jake, swiping at a big black scorpion on his leg. He shook the scorpion off and ran down the tunnel, with Nojo and Scott close on his heels.

After a few yards, Nojo shouted, “Stop!” He looked down at the ground and saw nothing but hard stone floor. “I think it’s okay now. They must have just fallen into the trap door the same time we did.”

Jake looked around and didn’t see any scorpions, but he did spot several ancient torches on the walls. Next to them, on a shelf, were two chunks of rock. On a hunch he grabbed one rock in each hand and struck them together. A shower of sparks appeared where they hit. He struck them again next to one of the torches and sure enough it lit on fire.

“Jake, can you light one for me?” asked Scott, as Jake lifted the burning torch from the wall. “No problem,” said Jake, using his torch to light two others. All three of them started down the tunnel with torches flaring. The tunnel was bare, no paintings, or statues along the walls, just smooth stone. After several minutes walk they entered a small room. The light from their torches flickered and danced about the scene in front of them. They were not the only ones in the room. There were eight or nine others as well. Some of them were sitting on the floor, some of them were leaning against the walls, a couple of them were lying on their backs, but everywhere they looked there were mummies.

21 The Curse of the Mummies “Wooh,” whispered Scott. “This is very creepy. They’re not alive, are they?” “They’re just mummies, buddy,” replied Jake, in a confident tone, while looking at their shriveled bodies wrapped in cloth. “They can’t hurt us. They’ve been dead a long time.” Nojo bent down to look at one of the mummies sitting on the floor in front of him. He noticed a cloak of blue feathers on top of the cloth wrapped shoulders. “This cloak looks like the kind that Atlantian priests wear. I’d say the Atlantians left these mummies. This may be a burial site for the priests who guarded the waypoint.”

“Look at this,” cried Scott walking boldly over to a tall, plump wooden statue next to the right hand wall. The statue looked like a human with the head of an eagle. It was a statue of a Delphian, with a painted face and painted feathers in red, blue, and gold. A brilliant, oval red ruby was set into the chest of the Delphian figure.

The ruby flashed like fire in the flickering light of their torches. The statue had a hinge along the left side of the figure and a seam ran along the other side. Amazingly, it looked practically new, though it was almost certainly many thousands of years old. “That’s called a sarcophagus,” explained Jake. “In ancient Egypt they used to put the mummies of very important people in them. The painting on the outside is usually of the person inside. I wonder if there’s a Delphian mummy in this one?”

“Check out how big this ruby is,” said Scott reaching out to touch the large stone in the figure’s chest. “It’s probably best not to touch these relics, Scott.” Warned Nojo, but it was too late. Scott was already feeling the cool touch of the ruby stone. A moment later a soft whirring sound came from within the sarcophagus and Scott felt the ruby start to vibrate. He jerked his hand away and jumped back. A grinding sound slowly grew within the chamber and they all stared at the sarcophagus as the seam along the side began to open. Once again, Jake had a feeling that this wasn’t good, but he didn’t say that. What he said was, “This could be cool, Nojo, maybe we’ll get to see a Delphian mummy.” They each held their torches high and watched the front of the sarcophagus swing open like a big door. But when they peered inside, it wasn’t a mummy they saw. The thing inside looked more like another statue of a Delphian, only this statue was very detailed and held a long pointed

staff across its chest. They all recognized it instantly. It was a robot, a Delphian guard robot to be exact, just like the ones on the moon. “It’s not moving,” observed Scott as they all stared at the guard-bot. “Maybe its batteries are dead.” No sooner had Scott spoken, when the guard-bot’s eyes blinked open and the robot’s head turned directly toward Scott. Its beak opened and a highpitched chirping-screech erupted from the bot. It sounded something like an eagle and a parrot screaming at each other. Nojo knew they couldn’t escape the way they had come, so he looked quickly for another exit and saw a passage at the far side of the room. “Run!” he commanded, pointing toward the tunnel. “Run that way!” As they all sprinted out of the room, the Delphian guard-bot stepped out of it ’s sarcophagus and struck the base of its staff on the ground with a sharp whack. The point at the top of the staff opened up like a flower opening its petals. Electric sparks crackled and danced at the tip. The bot let out a warning in the form of a piercing shriek that echoed down the tunnel. Then it turned toward the running humans and aimed its staff.

22 The Guard-Bot and the Waypoint Nojo and the boys had fought the Delphian robot guards on the moon, so they knew they would be attacked at any moment. They ran like the wind, the flames on their torches streaming behind them. Suddenly, a blinding flash lit up the tunnel just as a bolt of lightning slammed into the stone ceiling above their heads with a thunderous crack.

“Keep your heads down,” shouted Nojo “That might be our only warning shot.” As if on cue, a second bolt of electricity struck the wall just to their right. Thunder echoed frantically in the narrow tunnel. Fortunately, just in front of them was a set of stone stairs. They raced up them, taking two steps at a time. Soon they were above the level of the tunnel ceiling. For the moment, they were safe from the guard-bot ’s lightning weapon. The stairs continued up and up until finally ending at another small room. This room had two tunnels leading out of it.

“Which tunnel do we take, Nojo?” panted Scott. Nojo caught his breath for a moment, then pulled out his wand. “We must be inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. Now, we need to get to the waypoint,” he said. “On the moon, the guard-bots became our friends once you keykeepers touched the waypoint. I think this guard-bot will be our friend once you touch this waypoint.” Nojo then waved his wand at each of the tunnels, and it warbled at the one on the left. “Left!” he said quickly. It wasn’t far to the waypoint, but there was another surprise. At the end of a short tunnel was a room like nothing any of them had ever seen before. It was about the size of a typical living room, but there the similarity ended. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made of solid gold. Life sized statues of Delphians made from gold and precious jewels stood along the walls, all facing the center. Their eyes were blue sapphires, their mouths were red rubies, while green emeralds and shimmering diamonds decorated their golden robes. In the center of the room was a small gold and silver table. Floating in mid air just above the table was the waypoint. The waypoint itself was nothing fancy; it was just a small pyramid that was blacker than the deepest night. “Holy cow,” whistled Scott, watching the jewels sparkle in the flickering torch-light.

“More like a herd of holy cows,” whispered Jake, awed by the sight. Even Nojo was stunned by the riches in front of them. “Spectacular,” he muttered. “Truly amazing.” They were so spellbound by the glitter around them that they didn’t hear the guard-bot approaching until he burst into the room and pointed his staff menacingly at Nojo. “Quick, the waypoint,” yelled Jake. Both boys threw their torches to the ground, took a running leap at the table, and touched it at the same moment. Just like when the boys touched the first waypoint on the moon, this waypoint lit up with stars, planets, comets, even swirling galaxies. The suns in the waypoint radiated such brilliant light that it made the riches in the chamber sparkle as if they too were stars in the sky. The guard-bot froze in its tracks. Then it slowly knelt before them and placed its staff on the ground. It was theirs to command.

“Now, that’s a good robot,” breathed Scott with a relieved smile, as he picked his burning torch off the ground.

23 Delphian Guard Leads the Way Now that the waypoint was turned on, it was the most fascinating object in a room full of fascinating objects. The worlds that swirled within it were not just pictures of planets and suns but actual worlds. The waypoint was made of space-time itself and was as magical an object as Nojo had ever encountered.

Jake looked at stars twinkling inside the waypoint and then took a good look at the gold table the waypoint was sitting on and said, “That table looks heavy, Nojo, I don’t think we can carry it. Is it okay to carry the waypoint by itself?” “I don’t think we have to move it at all,” replied Nojo walking up to the waypoint and looking at it very closely. Nojo hesitated for a moment, then touched his wand to the top of the waypoint pyramid and muttered something in a mysterious language. Immediately his wand started to glow. At the same time the stars, planets, and galaxies in the waypoint began to move toward the spot where Nojo’s

wand was touching it. It looked as if the night sky were being sucked out of the pyramid and into Nojo’s wand.

When all the stars in the waypoint were gone, Nojo turned to the boys and smiled. “I thought that would work,” he announced with pride. “Now that I know how to read these waypoints, I can just copy the information into my control-wand and we’re done. Now we just have to get out of here. I’ll bet our guard friend knows the way. I’ll ask him to guide us out of the pyramid.” Just as Nojo had done on the moon, he used his wand to write Delphian symbols in the air so the Delphian robot could read them. The guard-bot watched Nojo, squawked back to him in a complex parrotlike language for a few moments, and then turned around and started walking. “What did he say?” asked Scott, as the three of them held their torches high and followed the robot back to the top of the stairs and then into the other tunnel that went to the right. “I have no idea,” confessed Nojo. “I’ve only seen Delphian written before. This is the first time I’ve heard it spoken. But I told him to take us to the surface, so this must be the way.”

After a minute’s walk down the tunnel, the guard-bot stopped so suddenly that Scott, who was following closely on the robot’s heels, ran into him with a gentle thud.

“Sorry,” mumbled Scott. Then seeing the guardbot turn back toward him with a look of warning in his electronic eyes, Scott added, “Don’t get mad at me, you should have put your brake lights on.” The Delphian robot turned his staff sideways and pushed Scott gently back a few feet until he was standing with Jake and Nojo. Then the bot chirped some undecipherable instructions to them and nodded his head. “He’s not mad,” said Jake, nodding back at the robot, “but it was a warning. I think he wants us to stay here. So, stick with us, Scott.” Jake put

his hand on his brother’s shoulder, just to be sure he got the message. The guard-bot turned back around and continued down the tunnel. He had taken no more than a half dozen long steps when a deafening sound filled the passage. Dozens of tiny explosions ripped along both sides of the walls just in front of Nojo and the boys. The entire tunnel surrounding the robot became a blurr of flying metal, sparks, smoke, and dust.

Nojo and the two brothers stood stunned. No one spoke a word, not that it would have mattered much, since their ears were ringing from the horrendous noise. As the dust and smoke cleared they could see that the robot was still standing, even though his body was pierced by dozens of small metal rods. Because of the ringing in his ears, Jake didn’t hear the door sliding so much as he felt the vibration in his feet. He looked past the guard-bot a few yards down the tunnel and saw a massive stone moving out of the right hand wall. It was starting to block the tunnel in front of them. Instinctively, he turned around and saw that the tunnel behind them was being blocked by a stone wall as well.

“It’s a trap!” Jake heard himself scream over the ringing in his own ears.

24 Trapped

The guard-bot turned toward Nojo and the brothers. A metal spike was sticking out of the bot’s left eye and sparks were coming out of the hole. He squawked an urgent and shrill command at them. The noise of his warbling sounds blended with the ringing in their ears but added nothing to their understanding of the nightmare scene. The bot then turned toward the stone door that was closing in front of them and lurched for it. The robot’s left leg had been damaged and it jerked wildly, but that did not stop the machine from moving forward in spastic hops.

“The guard is a traitor!” yelled Scott, seeing the door closing behind them. “We’ve got to go back!” “No!” responded Jake, grabbing his brother’s shoulder, and looking into his wild eyes to make sure he understood. “The guard triggered the trap on himself to protect us. He is showing us the only way out. We have to follow him through that door before it closes the rest of the way. Hurry!”

“Wait!” commanded Nojo, “I go first, just in case there is another boobytrap.” With that Nojo dashed ahead, thinking he might be skewered just like the robot. When he made it almost to the robot, with no new explosions, he waved for the boys to follow him. Nojo’s wave was a waste of motion, because Jake and Scott were already hot on his heels. Their torches blazed in their hands and determination blazed in their eyes. The stone door in front of them was more than halfway closed by the time the guard-bot got there. But instead of going through, he shoved his

staff between the moving stone and the far wall. The bot then held the shaft in the middle, so it wouldn’t slip, and stood to the side so they could get through. The shaft bent under the strain, but the closing stone seemed to slow down.

Nojo and the boys reached the door a moment later. Nojo shoved Scott through the opening beneath the metal staff and Scott rolled into the room beyond. Jake was in the rear, so he shoved Nojo through the gap and then, finally, dove through himself. Just as Jake’s feet cleared the door he heard

the metallic ping of the robot’s staff snapping in two. With sudden speed, the stone slammed shut with the guard-bot still on the other side. Scott sat on the floor next to his burning torch. “Now THAT was a rush,” he announced, both dazed and excited to be alive. Scott rambled on, “did you see that bot’s eye, it was like . . . like freaky-wild, and those things, . . . the spikes, . . . I mean what was that?” Then he paused for a second as if he’d just realized something. “Hey, we made it.” Jake sat catching his breath and calming down before he spoke. “That bot saved us from being skewered with darts and trapped,” said Jake. Finally, he added with a note of sadness, “he was a good bot. I wish he’d made it through the door.” Nojo stood up slowly, then picked up his torch and started looking around the room. It was not large, not much bigger than a living room, but it had a tall ceiling. It was a very simple room with no paintings or ornaments of any kind. The only objects in the room were a pair of slender columns reaching to the ceiling and a chain that hung between them. What made the room unusual was what it didn’t have. “Our robot friend was brave and I, too, wish he’d made it this far,” said Nojo in a slow and deliberate voice. “Maybe then he’d be able to show us what to do, because I’m afraid this time we really are trapped. This room has no door.”

25 Where Is the Door? “No, I don’t believe it,” said Jake. He picked up his own torch, stood up, and started looking at the walls closely. “The guard-bot destroyed itself taking us here. He wouldn’t have led us into another trap. There has got to be a way out. We just need to find it.” “Jake’s right, Nojo,” echoed Scott, standing up and looking around himself. “Maybe the door is just hard to see.”

Nojo thought for a moment, all the while looking around the room. Then he smiled and said, “Scott, you’re a genius. Yes, the door is hard to see. In fact, it’s a door only the key keepers can show us.” “How do you know that?” asked Jake hopefully.

Nojo nodded toward the only things in the bare room, the two columns with the chain between them. The columns were standing at the far side of the room near the wall. He pointed at the chain, far above their heads near the top of the columns, and said, “See that chain. I’ll bet some kind of ladder used to hang from it, because on the wall just below the chain, it looks to me like a keyhole.” Jake and Scott both looked up high on the wall and sure enough there was a circular hole with the now familiar touch knob in the middle. If they could both touch it at the same time it might open a hidden door. Nojo continued talking, looking at the chain, and plotting how to get the boys up so high. “If we were back on the moon, Jake could just throw Scott up there, but that won’t work here,” he muttered. “I wonder if the boys standing on my shoulders would be tall enough?” he asked himself, then answered his own question. “No, no, that won’t work, how would the second boy reach the keyhole?” Nojo was starting to run out of ideas, when he noticed the boys spitting on their hands. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Getting ready to climb up to the keyhole,” replied Jake casually, as both boys walked over to the columns.

“But there isn’t anything to climb,” insisted Nojo, looking at the smooth walls of the room and the polished sides of the round columns. “That’s what you think, Nojo,” replied Scott with a smile. “Our Dad doesn’t call us the monkey boys for nothing.” With that, each boy wrapped his arms around one of the columns then placed his feet on the sides and started to shimmy up. It was just like climbing a coconut tree.

Nojo burst out laughing, “Your Dad is right, you two are monkeys.” When they reached the chain the brothers grabbed it and swung out away from the columns, so that now they dangled high above the floor. Then, they moved hand over hand along the chain until they were both in the middle, next to the keyhole. Jake looked over at his little brother and asked, “Are you good, little buddy? Can you let go with one hand and touch the wall?” Scott glanced down quickly, but if the height had him scared, he wasn’t going to tell his brother. “I was born on the monkey bars,” he replied, while letting go with one hand and reaching for the keyhole. Unfortunately, he came up a few inches short.

“No problem, dude,” said Jake quickly. “Grab on with both hands, I’m going to swing us hard.” Scott held on tight while Jake planted his feet against the wall and gave them a big push. The chain swung backwards and then both boys started pumping with their dangling bodies to make it swing harder still.

“I’ll count each swing,” Jake instructed, starting to feel the strain in his own hands. “Three,” he yelled, waiting for the beat of the swing each time, “two, . . . . one, . . . . touch!” The boys each released a hand and reached out in unison. This time Scott was able to touch the keyhole. Instantly a flash of symbols floated through their minds as they swung away.

26 Just Visiting Egypt By the time the boys had swung back to the columns and shimmied down they could hear the soft grinding of stones sliding in the wall below the keyhole. A few seconds later a crack opened up along the top of a pair of stones and pale light came into the room from a short passageway as the stones sank into the floor. “Yeah baby!” shouted Scott, pumping his fist and doing a winner’s dance.

When the door had fully opened, all three of them happily snuffed out their torches and stepped into the Egyptian twilight. They found themselves standing at ground level on the side of the Great Pyramid of Giza. A moment later, the secret door behind them closed and no evidence of its existence was visible in the stone wall of the pyramid. As Nojo and the boys stood there breathing in the fresh desert air, they suddenly realized they were not alone. Standing just a few feet away down a sandy path were

five kids staring at them with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open.

“Hi,” said Jake, giving them a small wave. The kids waved shyly back and then a tall boy spoke up. “Hi,” he said, glancing at the wall they’d just stepped out of. “Do you guys live in there or something?” Scott laughed, “Are you kidding me? We’ve been trying to escape that place!” He immediately launched into a rapid-fire explanation. “See, we went to Atlantis in a spaceship to find a treasure. But the treasure was really here. Then, after the robot got shredded in a trap, Jake and I had to climb up some columns, because we’re the key keepers, and then we got out,” he ended breathlessly. At first the kids didn’t know what to make of Scott’s bizarre story, then they noticed Nojo and suddenly it all made sense. “Are you from Mars?” A girl asked Nojo, while staring at his grey and alien face. Nojo blinked rapidly, flustered by the question. “Umm, no, I mean of course not. Oh sure they have tours and that sort of thing, but no one lives on Mars, young lady,” he responded, finding it hard to believe they didn’t already know this. “Nojo’s from the constellation Orion,” explained Jake, as if that pretty much settled the matter. Then he added, “I’m Jake, and this is my brother Scott.”

Oddly, this cryptic explanation seemed to be more than satisfactory to everyone. The tall boy spoke up again. “I’m Jacob and this is Isabel, Shannon, Eric, and Paige,” he said, pointing to each of the kids in turn.”

Isabel piped in, “We’re here on a tour.” Then she pointed to a group of adults buying souvenirs from a man in a turban further down the path. “They’re our parents. We all go to Island Park Elementary School. That’s on the planet earth,” she added just to avoid any confusion. Nojo giggled, “I suspected it wasn’t on Mars,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. Paige announced. “I’ve never met a space alien before. You don’t look that weird. How come you don’t have four arms? Do you have super powers? Can you read our minds?”

Before Nojo could answer the flurry of questions Eric piped in, “I saw this show once about an alien spaceship that crashed and the aliens had

weird eyes, kind of like yours.” He pointed to Nojo’s froggish face and then asked, “Did you guys crash or something?” “We didn’t crash,” explained Jake. “Our spaceship is over there behind that tent with the stinky camels,” he said pointing toward the Sphinx.

“Wow, you have a spaceship here!” exclaimed Shannon. “Can we go for a ride? I think my mom will let me go, if we don’t go too far.” “I’m sorry,” said Nojo. “We’d love to give you a ride another time. But we’ve really got to be going.” “I’ve got a baseball game,” explained Scott, “and coach will be mad if I’m late.” At the mention of the baseball game, Jake realized that they really did need to hurry and had an idea. “Hey, we need to get back to our ship and we don’t want everyone who sees Nojo to bug us. Could you guys give us a hand by creating a diversion?” “Sure!” the kids said in unison.

27 Home Again Jake, Scott, and Nojo waited next to the secret exit and watched their new friends running toward a group of adults, standing at the corner of the pyramid. Suddenly, they heard one of the kids screech, “It’s a snake!” A moment later all the kids were yelling, “Snake, snake!” As planned, everyone around the pyramid ran toward the kids to help the children. Nojo and the boys used the distraction to hurry into the gathering dark toward the Sphinx unnoticed. “Thanks, guys,” they called out softly as they raced along the stone path.

A few moments later they started laughing when they heard one of the kid’s dads say in a loud voice, “Hey, that’s not a snake. That’s just a piece of rope.” They got back to the ship in a couple of minutes and a short time later Nojo was blasting them into orbit. Once he got them out of Egypt, he quickly turned to his computer and started to analyze the information he had pulled out of the waypoint. He seemed distracted for a moment and then, without even looking up, he announced, “I’m going to be busy for a few minutes. Does anyone want to drive?”

In an instant both boys raised their hands and yelled, “Me!”

Jake and Scott looked at each other and Jake said, “We’ll take turns. You can take us back to America, but I get to land.” “Deal,” Scott replied with a grin as he took the control stick. Nojo looked up smiling. “Good compromise,” he said. “Now, keep it under light-speed, don’t hit any satellites, and no buzzing your friend’s houses. I’ll never hear the end of it from the Orion council if they find out I’m letting kids drive a starship.” “I’ve got my eyes peeled for satellites, no problem,” replied Scott, as they zipped half way around the earth. “I’ll set us down so gently you won’t even notice we’ve landed,” promised Jake.

Scott and Jake were true to their word and each piloted their part of the flight with the natural skills that long hours of video games had given them. They touched down in the little meadow behind their house and everything was exactly as they had left it, almost as if they’d never been gone. Nojo looked up from his computer console as the boarding ramp lowered and announced, “I’ve done some preliminary analysis of the new waypoint and I think I see where it ’s pointing. Would you like to know?” “Are you kidding? Of course we want to know,” said Scott quickly.

“This morning, when we were going through the wormhole, I mentioned that if you enter it faster than the speed of light, you could end up in another universe,” he reminded them with a gleam in his eye. “Well, it turns out we might want to do that, because the next waypoint appears to be in another universe.” Then he added quickly, “I’d understand if you don’t want to go, sometimes other universes can be very strange places. It might even be dangerous.”

Both boys laughed at the thought that anything could be more dangerous than the adventures they’d already had. Finally Jake replied, “Nojo, danger is our middle name and strange places are always our favorite destination.” Scott chimed in, “We’re in, Nojo. All you need to do is give us a call.” Nojo’s face beamed with pride. “I’d have expected no less from you two. Keep your radios handy. I should have this worked out in just a few days.” With that Nojo walked them down the ramp and gave them each a big hug goodbye. Just as Jake and Scott raced into the backyard, their dad stepped out of the house with a bag of trash in his hand. “Good timing guys,” he said, “We need to leave for Scott ’s ball game pretty soon. So, what were you two monkey boys up to today?” “Nothing much,” replied Jake vaguely. He glanced at Scott and then shrugged his shoulders. “Spaceships, giant waves, saber-tooth tigers, and robots, all that kind of stuff.” “And sharks,” reminded Scott, “don’t forget the sharks or the mammoths.”

“Right, there were also sharks and mammoths,” repeated Jake. Their dad smiled at them and replied, “You guys have such great imaginations. You must get that from your mom.” Jake and Scott just smiled back and didn’t say a word. If you want to find out what strange things might happen in another universe on Jake and Scott ’s next adventure, decode the secret message by translating the Delphian words found at the beginning of each chapter in order Fortunately for you, Nojo was kind enough to leave a copy of the Delphian alphabet decoder.

While Jake and Scott were flying the ship, Nojo had time to write down the clues to the secret message for you. Isn’t he helpful?

Real or Fiction? Although the Galactic Treasure Hunt series is pure science fiction, we go to some effort to put as much science into the fiction as we can. Most things that happen in the Galactic Treasure Hunt series are at least theoretically possible. So, just in case you’re wondering, we’ll tell you what we really think about some of the fantastic things that happen to Jake and Scott.

Atlantis Many people have tried to find Atlantis and some have even claimed to have found it. However, no one has shown conclusively that the ruins they

have found are Atlantis. So, no one knows for sure if Atlantis was real or where it was. What we do know is that Atlantis was described in great detail by the great Greek philosopher and historian Plato. Plato did not write fiction, so it is likely that something like Atlantis did once exist, though the details may be different, since Plato himself was never there. Plato lived more than two thousand years ago in 347 BC, and claimed that he was told about Atlantis by the Egyptians. In this book we tried to make Atlantis look very much like the Atlantis that Plato described. Even the vailixi flying machines were from Plato’s description. The one thing we added was that they had saber-toothed tigers and woolly mammoths. However, since Plato describes Atlantis as having sunk 9,000 years before his own time, which would have been the end of the last ice age, so it would have been plausible that tigers and mammoths existed in Atlantis, assuming Atlantis existed at all. Maybe you can be the one to find Atlantis.

The Pyramids and the Sphinx Most archeologists agree that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built by the Pharaoh Khufu in about 2,500 BC. There is lots of evidence to support that conclusion, so it is likely true. However, there are some “rogue archeologists” who claim that both the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx were built much earlier by an advanced race prior to the arrival of the Egyptians, and that the Egyptians simply adopted them as their own. Some of the evidence they point to is apparent water erosion on the Sphinx which could only have happened many thousands of years before the Egyptians arrived. Also, they observe that the great Pyramid of Giza is superior in construction to any other Pyramid, even those Pyramids that were built later. Finally, they note that, unlike most pyramids, the Great Pyramid is not a tomb, and the Pharaoh Khufu was not buried in it. To this day, the exact purpose of the Great Pyramid of Giza remains a mystery.

Maybe you can solve the mystery of why and how they built the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Space-Aliens There are billions of galaxies in the universe and many billions of stars in each galaxy. Scientists now know that most star systems have planets. From this basic data it is estimated that there are at least a trillion star systems in the universe with habitable planets. On earth, life started less than 500 million years after it cooled down enough for life to form. So, if a planet can sustain life, it probably does. Thus, it is a near certainty that there are space aliens on other planets in this vast universe. Some of them are probably a lot more advanced than us earthlings. The only real question is: are they visiting earth? Many people claim to have seen alien spacecraft. Some of those sightings can be explained away as being secret military aircraft, or some other natural phenomena. However, a number of sightings have occurred where strange spacecraft and aliens were observed close up by entire groups of highly skilled observers, such as police or military people. Other UFO sightings appear on radar and move at fantastic speeds, much faster than anything made on earth. Such sightings are much harder to dismiss as simply mistaken identity. What do you think, do alien spacecraft visit earth?

Time Travel Everybody knows that seconds turn into hours and hours turn into days, but exactly how time works is something of a mystery. To a student of physics, time is considered just another dimension, the fourth dimension. So, any three dimensional object, like this book for instance, has three dimensions of space and a fourth dimension of time that allows the atoms in the book to change by moving around. The ocean of space that atoms swim in is known as space-time.

In normal space-time the clock always ticks forward. However, the mathematics of space-time appear to allow you to jump backwards into a past time by going into a fifth dimension. Think of it like this, lets say that the world that we lived in was only two dimensional. In a two dimensional world everything is flat, just like the page of a book and there is no such thing as up or down. In a two dimensional world, time would be the third dimension and with each second of time you would turn a page of the book. In this two dimensional world you can never go back and look at a previous page. However, if we could slip out of our two dimensional world into a third dimension of space, we could go down through the pages and “go back in time” to a previous page. In a similar way, if we could go into a fifth dimension, we could go back to a previous time in our three dimensional world. There is a theory of space-time called string theory. String theory says space-time is made up of tiny strings of energy. These strings exist in many dimensions, possibly as many as eight or nine dimensions. In this model of the universe, a wormhole is a tear in this stringy fabric of space-time that allows you to move into other dimensions that we can not see. By going into one of these other dimensions in a wormhole it is mathematically possible to go back in time. We don’t know for sure if wormholes exist because we’ve never found one. Maybe you can be the first person to find a wormhole in outer space. If you could go back in time, where would you go?

If you enjoyed this exciting Galactic Treasure Hunt adventure, be sure to check out Jake and Scott’s first encounter with Nojo which took them to an ancient Delphian city on the moon.

Galactic Treasure Hunt: Lost City of the Moon

Available now from adventuresunlimitedpress.com, amazon.com or pick one up at your favorite local bookstore.