บท 1: The Beginning
"Careful! Everything here is at least thousands of years old.." With an excited tone in his voice, he instructed the newly descended personnel that came from the hole above the site they discovered.
Almost a decade of dedication to his work finally led him here, to the land that once cradled a powerful civilization.
"Congratulations, Mike." A familiar voice greeted him as soon as he unfastened the harness connected to his suit. "This would make a big breakthrough in your career and to history as well."
Even though we were both wearing a full body suit and a mask which covers our faces, I could still recognize the man before me.
"Ben? What are you doing here?" I asked. Ben is a friend that believes in my work as well as a business entrepreneur.
Like the people with the same career, he usually won't have the luxury to spend his time visiting places such as this.
"I took the fastest flight the moment you told me you dug something up. Don't want to miss the possibility of being the first few people who will see a city that can change history." He chuckled. "I mean, what meeting is more important than being in a historical event for mankind?"
"Let's not jump to that just yet." I said as I hid the excitement in my voice. "But if this really what I think it is, it would be a big breakthrough in OUR careers. You funded most of my digs remember?"
"The excitement alone proved that the investment is worth it." He replied and laughed. He surveyed the place as far as the installed dim lights would allow.
"Sir." One of the hired personnel approached us and said, "Ma'am Alison asked for you. She says that they've found something good."
I raised an eyebrow and remembered that Alison has a different standard of "good".
"Lead the way. Ben, you coming?"
"Of course." He replied.
The city extends very far. It might take us years or so before we could unearth every nook and cranny of this city. The buildings of the city were organized in such a way that one wouldn't be confused on which way to go.
The residential and commercial areas are separated and have clear distinctions between them.
We took the path that leads to the center of the city and arrived at the place where Alison is in.
"Alison!" I called.
"Mike, you wouldn't believe it!" She exclaimed, only a little short from hugging me due to her excitement.
"Woah, calm down. What did you find?" I asked.
"It's a library." She paused waiting for me to ask.
"And? What's in it that makes you so excited?" I asked.
"It's filled with books! Every shelf! Preserved!" She must've shouted every word. "I'm sorry. I can't handle it." She said and tried to calm herself down.
"Aren't libraries supposed to be filled with books?" Ben asked from the side.
Alison immediately made a frown on that comment but she did not entertain the question.
"No, not this one." I said. "Books would not be able to survive through the trial of time. Imagine the knowledge that they might contain which could help us understand this civilization's way of living, its history, government, figure the others yourself." I explained.
"I can't wait for you to see it!" Alison suggested as she gestured to the entrance of the Library. "Shall we?"
When we entered the library, I was greeted by people with excitement. People were busy with installing the lights all over the place while others were examining the books that they carefully took from the shelves.
"Woah." I heard Ben said in amazement.
I laughed at his reaction. However, I could not blame him. The place is really something to be amazed.
The place is filled with shelves of books extending all the way to the ceiling. We couldn't see how high but as far as the light goes, we can tell that the building is quite tall.
I surveyed the room and a structure in the middle caught my attention.
"What's that?" I asked Alison.
"Where?"
"There at the center." I said and pointed at the structure. There's only a few lights installed near it so I can only see its outline.
"Oh, we don't know exactly its purpose yet but it looked like a pond to me. Weird isn't it?" She said. "Anyways, we have no plans of touching it yet before the lights were properly installed."
"Well, I'm intrigued. I'll go take a look at it." I said.
"Suit yourself. I'll go check on the books first. Take this flashlight." She handed it to me. "Don't take too long, okay?" She said and scuttled away.
"What a woman." Ben said once she was out of ear's reach.
"Who would put a pond inside a library?" He asked as we walked the way to the structure.
"The owner of the library apparently." I replied sarcastically while keeping a serious face.
"Yeah, forget your friend and support your girlfriend over there." Ben teased.
"Shut up. She's nice but I never thought of her that way." I said.
We finally reached the structure and I can't help but be captivated at its beauty. The structure is not that big but not that small either. I estimated that it has a diameter of 25 - 30 meters. There is also a little island at the center of the pond but I could not see any path leading to it.
If viewed from above, this structure must look like a donut.
Alison is right. It looked like a pond though there's no water in it.
While Ben was talking about how he would also make a pond in his own library, I noticed the drawings at the edges of the pond which seemed to be a continuation of each other.
I circled around the pond to try and make something out of these drawings. However, I must've circled the pond twice and noticed that the drawings don't repeat even after I went back to my starting position.
"Strange." I thought.
"Hey Ben, can you get me a wider light?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure. Where?" He asked.
"Just ask Alison, she should know where that is." I replied and continued to examine the edges.
After I did a few more rounds, I suddenly discovered a path that wasn't there before and it leads to the little island at the center.
"Ben, where are those lights?" I shouted.
I am perfectly standing in a position where there are not many lights installed, it would be hard to see the path from their point of view.
"Just a moment." I heard Ben shout back. "We're getting it from the bags!"
I trailed the path with my light to get a clear view of the way to the island. From here, I could barely see the outline of a structure standing in the middle of that small island.
My adventurous personality suddenly kicked in and made me anxious to see what lies there.
Maybe I should wait for Ben before I explore the place? I thought.
Or I could explore the place now?
I pointed the light to the little island and tried to make out what's in there. I tried to fight the impulse of going there alone but after waiting for a few moments for Ben to get back, I decided to brave the path.
I must've focused too much on what's on the path rather than my surroundings that I didn't notice that I arrived at the island faster than it should take me.
A 15 steps worth of distance was covered in just 5 steps but the lack of light must've made it unnoticeable.
I turned around and pointed the light to the way back and discovered that the path is no longer there.
"Ben!" I called but I got no answer.
I called once more and it's still the same.
They must be still getting the lights from the bags, I said to myself. I waited for a couple of minutes but decided to walk around.
Things are going a little bit creepy and I would admit that I am getting scared, a bit.
From here, I could still see someone nearby installing lights and if something goes wrong I could immediately ask for help. At least that made me calm down.
The small island is clear of anything except that structure in the middle. Pointing the light towards it, I could now see that the structure is actually a stone pedestal.
The little island must've been flourishing with flowers and grasses based on the remnants left on the island. With how many years that must have passed, only the stone pedestal is left recognizable in the island.
I approached the pedestal and soon discovered that there is a book lying on top of it.
Surprisingly, the pedestal is made at the perfect height which made it easier to examine the book.
Careful not to disturb the artifact, I examined the appearance of the book from a distance.
The book is covered by a thick layer of webs and dust but not enough to totally cover it.
The book is thin unlike the thick ones you usually see in a library. Based on its thickness, it may only have just a little over a hundred pages.
When I moved the light to the side of the book I was shocked and momentarily lagged, if that was possible, as golden light was reflected back at me.
"Gold sheets as papers?" I exclaimed.
In the entirety of my career, I have never found any document written in gold sheets.
In olden times, people held great importance to anything that is made in gold as influenced by their culture, belief or by superstition.
I do not believe in such things, but I do know that at that time, documents that are written in golden sheets are seen with great importance - so much that it could dictate the rise and fall of their civilization.
To think I would actually discover not just a page but a book!
Should I just take it?
Should I open it?
Should I call for the others as well?
I am torn between choosing among these options. I could not contain the excitement I have right now.
Thinking that I should at least inform them, I yelled for Alison's and Ben's names and started to slowly open the book.
They should get here in no time, I thought and started to examine the contents of the book.
I must've accidentally slid my finger against the edge of the page as I noticed that there is a trail of blood on one of them. I looked at my hand and saw a small cut on the suit where my index finger is.
I tried to wipe the blood away in an effort to hide the crime, but then the drawing on the book suddenly came to life as they started to move.
I was caught off guard by the sudden change and in my shock, I hurriedly put the book back.
As if a force was compelling me to, my attention was still glued to the book, albeit on the moving drawings that looked like an animated movie.
As the "movie" progresses, the pages start to turn by themselves and begin to glow brighter and brighter as it does.
Like being hypnotized, I didn't mind these changes as I continued to watch.
By the end of the "movie" a blinding light was released from the pages and the next thing I knew, I woke up lying in a hard wooden bed.
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