The following is a work of fiction based on actual facts.Names,places and incidences are subject to modifications from actual existence.
Washington, 28th December 2004, 2:00 pm.
He read out his name from the shield. Jonathan Bolt Smith. He liked the feel of it. It was the first recognition he received and he hoped there were more to come. The Geological Survey of the US of A awards the prestigious “Breakthrough of the year” award to one of its members every year and this year Jonathan, Joe had gotten lucky.29 years old and now he had an office of his own, a gift from Smith sr. who was an Archaeologist. He was sitting in his office admiring his brand new furnishings and reliving those moments he was sure he’d cherish for a long time. He was lost in thoughts while the computer screen in front of him popped him the arrival of a new mail.
From: Cynthia
Sub: Heyyy!
Hi there! Cheers again on the breakthrough. Must have been a blast last night. Sorry that I couldn’t make it. A cover story was waiting and now something says this might fetch you another shield. Don’t get too excited but something seems prospective. Meet me at the usual at 5.
Cynth.
He had 3 hours to kill. Cynthia was not someone who insisted on meeting personally unless it was something really important. He had a report to finish and the weekly article on his web-log to compile. He sat out to work putting the meeting out of his mind.
He reached a few minutes early. He did not have to look at the watch to know it was five. If she was there it meant it was five. Both her hands were busy carrying old tattered books whose contents he couldn’t guess from a distance. He ordered two lattes, one black for himself.
“Seems you require more than two hands”
“You bet. Give me a hand. So much to say, so little time.”
“I’m game. Catch your breath before you start with the news of my next breakthrough”
She laughed.
“You never know. First, tell me if you’re free for a couple of weeks from now.”
“New office done with furnishing, reports sent, Well, I guess there’s nothing that would keep me busy for a while.”
“Perfect. We don’t even have time to pack. Hop into my car. We’re starting right away.”
“Where?”
“Athens”
Before he could answer he was thrust in his hands with the books and she was already on her way out. He had no option but to follow. Pretty girl calling, of course you can follow without questions. But Greece seemed far fetched.
They were at JFK in no time. Reckless driving is something he always accused her of. Bold, tall and straightforward, Cynth, Cynthia Jane Adams was a perfect reporter material. She briefed him that she had gotten a call from one of her trusted friends who was on a vacation to Greece. He listened carefully to whatever she said and assumed things would be clearer once he reaches the scene. All he got from what she said was they had found a specimen on the shore in someplace he didn’t bother to ask again and this had interested her as it made her recollect something that they had discussed a few months before.
Before he could put his thoughts together he was hearing the boarding call for the flight GAE11707 which meant he will be airborne to Greece in a few minutes. He made a quick call to his dad en route to JFK and informed about his trip. It was official and he was being sent representing US of A. Cynth always managed to pull strings but one couldn’t always get Lear jets like the heroes who chased stories.
He was moving at about 12,000 miles an hour at a height of about 30,000 feet. Cynthia was too excited. She looked like an animated bunny, poring through notes and he loved to see her this way.
Ancient Delphi, Circa 14 A.D
While all of Delphi was praying to Eos, Ouranus was busy gazing at the sky looking out for signs of Venus. He was far in thoughts from all of Delphi put together. It was Calypso’s wedding in three days and Daedalus did not want anything to go wrong and so did his subjects. The people of Delphi worshipped Daedalus literally. Next to the Gods he was everything. They believed he was Zeus in disguise. Ouranus did not like people considering the King as God. It was insane according to him. He was practical and was interested in Nature. He kept insisting people that everything was not magic. He believed there was a reason behind everything. From chirping of birds to chopping of trees. Hyacinthius admired him for that. She was the daughter of Arachne, the advisor to the King. Arachne did not like his daughter falling for some local lad who did not even have a means of livelihood. Ouranus used to meet people of the locale everyday and speak about logic, reasoning and Nature. Daedalus hated him. He was waiting for a perfect moment to trap Ouranus, but this was not the time. He was busy overlooking arrangements for Calypso’s wedding. The wedding was to be held on Friday at dawn, with the blessings of Eos, which will be presided over by the King himself and witnessed by the whole of Delphi.
It was Thursday morning and Ouranus was up earlier than usual. He did not sleep properly. He was considering the calculations he made the previous evening. Something did not add up. He tried to locate the early morning moon. He found it and went back to his calculations. It was several hours past noon when he moved away from his desk.
Hyacinthius happened to meet him at the Agora and they spoke for a long time and Ouranus explained the possibility of an eclipse the next day. He was excited and happy as this was his closest prediction ever and if it really did happen he would be accurate for the first time.
It was the eve of the wedding and Calypso was sent to the temple of Apollo as per the tradition. The bride should spend the night at the temple praying to all the Gods for a long life and prosperity of her marriage. The wedding procedure will begin once the first rays of the Sun are visible above the horizon. Helios’s sign that the day has begun and darkness is dead.
Daedalus saw the first rays of the Sun and declared that the proceedings to begin. It was time for the bride and the groom to get into wedlock and suddenly it was suddenly dark everywhere. The crowd let out a gasp. Arachne and others were worried. Daedalus was angry. The crowd started murmuring. They believed Helios was angry. None knew what was happening. Ouranus was smiling to himself. He tried to explain it to the King. He reasoned why things turned this way. This angered him even more. In a jiffy he ordered execution of Ouranus. The wedding was called off.
It was Monday, same place in front of the giant sculpture of Apollo at the Mount Parnassus. The sun dial had the Themis inscribed on it.
το θείο δίκαιο τιμωρεί τους ενόχους με θάνατο
(The Divine Law punishes the guilty with death)
Usually prisoners were tied to a giant rock and were rolled down the slopes of the Parnassus. Ouranus was to meet the same fate. Hyacinthius pleaded The King to show mercy. She claimed Euripides would not allow such a mistake to happen. Arachne threatened her of Thantos, death, the same fate and ignored her.
The execution took place. Ouranus was known to be one of the last few to meet such a brutal fate. Hyacinthius killed herself at dusk the same day.
Athens 28th December 2004 6:30 pm,
They were descending. Joe had gotten hang of what Cynthia meant. He got the feeling that this might indeed be a breakthrough. Award did not matter. This would be a personal triumph. They landed. He got down half expecting an ATV, All Terrain Vehicle originally designed by the Archaeological Society of the US of A for which the Pentagon took credit. He was surprised to see an SUV. He was joined by Thomas Walker, the one who had called Cynthia earlier that morning. It would’ve been the Andalusian sun that would’ve got Joe’s attention if not for these thoughts running on his mind.
South Hampton, 13th April 1912.
It was a perfect British weather. Not too cold not too hot. The early morning mist had not settled down. The port got busy even before sunrise. Porters, passengers and sailors were engaged in getting ready for the day’s journey. This was not an unusual scene for the eyes of Zeus Brian Zorowsky, who was a frequent traveler and a notable personality among the local crowd. He was part Polish part Italian, nevertheless he was more Brit than most Brits.
The Eastern window, a tiny bar near the port was always crowded. It was like it existed forever. None really knew when it was set up. Zorowsky was having a chat with a few people a while back. There was the ship’s captain among those men. He was proudly boasting of the luxuries she carried. Seven fully furnished cinema halls, an ice-skating arena, Pool tables, eleven bars, five floors, you name it and it was there. Zorowsky was excited as it was the first time he was going aboard this ship. Least did he know there were far more excitements in store.
The passengers were aboard and Captain Edward.J.Smith started another one of his proud journeys across the globe from South Hampton. The vessel halted at Queens town for supplies and sailed with its bow high across the vast expanse of the Atlantic towards the world’s fastest growing country.
On the night of Sunday, 14 April 1912, the temperature had dropped to near freezing and the ocean was calm. The moon was not visible, being two days before new moon and the sky was clear
At 23:40, while sailing about 400 miles (640 km) south of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland lookouts Fredrick Fleet and Reginald Lee spotted a large iceberg directly ahead of the ship. Fleet sounded the ship's bell three times and telephoned the bridge exclaiming, "Iceberg, right ahead!” First Officer Murdoch gave the order "hard-a-starboard", using the traditional tiller order for an abrupt turn to port (left), and adjusted the engines. The iceberg brushed the ship's starboard side (right side), buckling the hull in several places and popping out rivets below the waterline over a length of 299 feet (90 m). As seawater filled the forward compartments, the watertight doors shut. However, while the ship could barely stay afloat with the foremost four compartments flooded, the foremost six were filling with water. The water-filled compartments weighed down the ship's bow, allowing much water to flood the vessel, accelerated by secondary flooding as regular openings in the ship's hull became submerged. Additionally, about 130 minutes after the collision, water started pouring from the sixth into the seventh compartment over the top of the bulkhead in between. Captain Smith, alerted by the jolt of the impact, arrived on the bridge and ordered a full stop. Shortly after midnight on 15 April, following an inspection by the ship's officers and Thomas Andrews, the lifeboats were ordered to be readied and a distress call was sent out.
Around 02:10, the stem rose out of the water exposing the propellers, and by 02:17 the waterline had reached the boat deck. The last two lifeboats floated off the deck. Shortly afterward, the forward funnel collapsed, crushing part of the bridge and people in the water. On deck, people were scrambling towards the stern or jumping overboard in hopes of reaching a lifeboat. The ship's stern slowly rose into the air, and everything unsecured crashed towards the water. While the stern rose, the electrical system finally failed and the lights went out. Shortly afterward, the stress on the hull caused ship to break apart between the last two funnels, and the bow went completely under. The stern righted itself slightly and then rose vertically. After a few moments, at 02:20, it also sank.
Of the 2,223 people who were on board when the ship unchained anchors at South Hampton, 706 survived.
Captain Smith, Fredrick Fleet, Reginald Lee and Zeus Brian Zorowsky sank along with 1514 others on board the RMS Titanic.
28th December 2004 7:00 pm
Joe, Cynth and Tom were riding through valleys and hills. Joe was reading a runes book that Cynthia had brought along. The more he read the more he believed things could be true. Cynthia was holding a paper titled “Investigations on the biggest accident in history-Negligence or Nature’s vengeance?” They were on the way to Delphi, place where Daedalus ruled. The place which hold the famous Temple of Apollo on the Mount Parnassus. They were to study a rock specimen which ended up at the shore due to the recent earthquakes at Java and Sumatra. Joe was explaining how ice, when accumulated over time would lead to giant icebergs like the one that made Titanic meet its end.
Like the one on which Ouranus was to die.
Like the one they were going to study.
Everything has a reason and logic from chirping of birds to chopping of trees, thought Jonathan Bolt Smith.
