Masters of Reality

1


The Plato
Project 2017

The Goddess was christened on the 4th of January, 2017. She immediately put to sea for six months of testing.

The bathyscape had submersible capabilities of up to ten thousand feet, and looked more like a spaceship than a sub. The interior was not cluttered and dingy like navy-designed vessels; the Goddess could comfortably accommodate thirty people. Combining the latest technology with luxurious living, she was the ultimate observation and research vessel made to date.

Tory Alexander and her brother Brian had commissioned the design and building of the submersible for a specific project they had in mind. It was entirely funded by their father, whom most of the world saw as the aging Professor Renford Alexander -- Tory and Brian, who knew him better, named the submersible's two smaller reconnaissance subs after him: Merlin I and Merlin II. Each vessel had a separate holding bay that also served as a launch pad. They could disembark from the mothership either above or below the waters' surface. If submersed, the containment bays would be flooded, the hatch doors opened and the probe vehicles launched.

As the bathyscape was privately-owned, their project was beholden to no one. This was all-important because Tory had a map in her possession which identified the exact location of the lost continent of Atlantis, and she claimed that it pinpointed the major cities of this fabled landmass. The richest of these had been Chailidocean, Plato's 'City of the Golden Gates' that, according to Tory, was currently residing under ten thousand feet of water off the coast of Spain.

'Deep Sweep', a project based in the Azores and headed up by Dr John Pearce of the Institute of Oceanography, had for many years used navy-owned submersibles to explore the floor of the Atlantic. They had discovered many galleons and warships, but no evidence to support the theory of Atlantis.

John Pearce was an associate of Tory's husband, Miles Thurlow. Miles, Tory and Brian had joined the project early in 2001, intending to prove Tory's map to be correct, but the project had been put on hold around that time. The navy had recalled all their equipment after the Californian quake of 1999 had virtually destroyed an area stretching from Los Angeles to San Francisco. In the years following, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions kept the Navy occupied with massive rescue and salvage operations, and 'Deep Sweep' was finally cancelled altogether in 2012.

Dr Pearce was somewhat of a sceptic with regard to the lost continent. He'd seen the rocky chasms and miles of vast white sand on the seabed of the Atlantic, but no traces anywhere of a superior culture that might once have existed. Yet Miles Thurlow was a Professor of Archaeology, one of the most highly regarded authorities on antiquity, and also a clever businessman. John knew Miles would never consider going into such a project, that had now been dubbed the Plato Project, if he wasn't at least ninety per cent certain it was a winner. John Pearce and his family were intrigued by the Project and were easily persuaded to join the team in the search for the lost continent.


* * *

After running the Goddess and her mini-subs through their paces in the shallow waters around the Azores in the first months of 2017, the hush-hush search for the lost city began on the 30th of June.

That day the weather in the North Atlantic was glorious. The sun was shining and the conditions were calm. There seemed no reason not to take advantage of it.

Most of the crew and the dive team were hovering around Sub Bay One as the hatch doors opened to expose Merlin I still perched in its cradle.

'Merlin One, this is the Goddess.' Teo's voice came through the headsets to Brian and Tory, who were already inside the tiny sub. 'Are we comfy '