Atlantis Found
R. Garcia y Robertson
 In 7120 BC, a comet slams into North America, creating Hudson Bay, abruptly ending the last Ice Age and causing global geological and environmental upheaval. Several advanced civilizations are ended. In 1858 AD, a whaling vessel discovers a 1770s merchant ship frozen in Antarctic ice. As with most of the novels in this series, these oddly juxtaposed opening scenes become key elements to the plot as it develops. A group of U.S. scientists discover an mysterious underground chamber in Colorado and are then attacked by a group of 'tomb raiders'. The attackers leave them to drown, but luckily U.S. National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) Special Projects Director Dirk Pitt happens to be nearby and saves the scientists. The scientists were able to save an exquisitely carved skull of polished obsidian (see crystal skull). It seems unique, but curiously, another is discovered to exist&mdash;in the private collection of a descendant of the whaling sea captain from the opening scenes of the novel. Dirk and Al Giordino acquire the descendant's skull, and the two are handed over to NUMA for study and analysis. A theory develops in the organization as to whether or not they are Atlantean in origin. Al and Rudi Gunn make it to the remote island and discover another inscribed chamber that housed the second skull, and discover another larger chamber beyond it. Here, they find perfectly-mummified, pre-Hellenistic men and women, surrounded by friezes of exotic cities and strange, mythic animals. They are ambushed by 'tomb raiders' too, but manage to defeat them. Meanwhile, Pitt is aboard an icebreaker in Antarctica searching for the 1770s merchant ship. The ship is found, but Pitt narrowly escapes disaster from an attack by a German U-boat that has been missing since 1945. The U-boat is destroyed by a US nuclear submarine and Pitt recovers the body of a beautiful female officer by diving to the wreckage. At NUMA headquarters, the skulls have been examined. Inside both are geometrically exact globes. However, the continents are in different locations; Antarctica in particular is now almost temperate. Coastlines are also different, further out. The inscription symbols are fed into the computers, and translations are awaited. Pitt returns to Washington and interrupts someone stealing the latest report from the NUMA director's office. After a brief chase, Pitt overcomes the thief and discovers a beautiful twin to the U-boat officer. Blood tests of both women show not only are they genetically identical, but their systems are so resilient as to allow them a long natural lifespan. The women are relatives, but not sisters. Both women are members of the Wolf family, who in turn are descendents of Nazi escapees from Syria. The Wolfs run Destiny Enterprises, a corporation based in Argentina that is rumored to include Fourth Empire Holdings from Nazi Germany. Pitt suspects foul play. The next morning, the results are back. Apparently, the chambers are the work of a civilization calling themselves the Amenes (pronounced Ah-Meen-Eez). A nation of seafarers, traders, and wisemen, they discovered and traded with most of the world, leaving coastal towns wherever they went. However, a comet struck Earth at the end of the Pleistocene period, ending the Ice Age. This caused a world wide series of tidal waves which wiped out most of their civilization&mdash;and, thanks to the urbanization they had begun, most of their civilized contemporaries as well. The survivors were all in the uplands, and usually less advanced. However, some of the Amenes survived in isolated pockets. Banding together in a sort of priesthood, they tried to pass on their knowledge of the world, architecture, astrology, navigation, and history. However, the knowledge was transmitted inexpertly, and was twisted as a result. Depressed, the priests saved the bulk of their knowledge in a series of enclosed inland vaults, similar to the one found in Colorado, and then passed out of history. But the comet which obliterated their society had a twin. According to their impressive mathematical models, the twin would return in some 9,000 years&mdash;in other words, soon&mdash;and produce similar results. The data is passed on to an observatory for analysis. Around this time, Dirk meets Karl Wolf, the C.E.O. of Destiny Enterprises Limited, who is a direct descendant of Ulrich Wolff, Colonel of the S.S. When Dirk mentions the potential catastrophe, and the loss of life it will entail, Wolf gives and answer that seems to imply that his family may actually be planning to capitalize on the disaster. The data from the observatory comes back: the prophecy is false. The comet will actually return to Earth in another few millennia and miss the planet entirely. Pondering Wolf's comment, NUMA researchers note that Destiny is putting a lot of capital into a series of vast ships. The Wolfs have created four superships to save themselves from the cataclysm, and everything required for a future civilization. Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino take a tour of one of the ships, while rescuing again one of the Colorado scientists, who was captured for her ability to decipher the Amenes inscriptions. As well as this, information linked to a nanotech research facility in Antarctica comes to light. According to some sources, the facility is built on the ruins of an Amenes city found there by Nazi archeologists before World War II. It was intended as a submarine base, but never used. The plan ultimately comes to light: the villains intend to use nanotechnology to separate the Ross Ice Shelf from the Antarctic mainland. The loss of such a large mass will destabilize the ocean currents of the southern hemisphere, and unbalance the planet (Pole shift theory). In the resulting wave of earthquakes and tsunami, the population would be decimated, and civilization would collapse. Dirk and his friends travel there immediately, but their transport breaks down. They encounter a rich eccentric named 'Dad' (Clive Cussler) who is there with a team to recover the gargantuan Antarctic Snow Cruiser left there in 1940 during Admiral Byrd's third Antarctic expedition. Using the Snow Cruiser, they are able to make it the rest of the way to the villains' base in the ancient Amenes city. There, they deactivate the nanotechnology with minutes to spare, and the authorities arrive to secure the base. Dirk forces Karl Wolf and his relatives to leave the base on foot in the middle of a blizzard, and they die of hypothermia soon afterwards.