Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly [34]
‘Okay . . .’ Saladin said.
Epper wasn’t finished. ‘Now, we have geological records of similar mass global water-risings in the past—specifically in the years 15,000 BC, 10,500 BC and 6,500 BC.
‘The flood of 15,000 BC is believed to have been the giant oceanic movement that flooded the Persian Gulf; while the flood of 10,500 BC is widely acknowledged as the "Great Flood" mentioned in religious texts worldwide: Noah’s flood in the Bible, the floods mentioned in ancient Sumerian texts; even the Australian Aborigines refer to a Great Flood in their Dreamtime folklore.
‘The most recent global flood, that of 6,500 BC, broadly correlates with the worldwide episode of water-rise known as the Flandrian transgression, where entire coastlines were submerged by about twenty metres.’
Epper leaned forward to make his point: ‘All three of these major global floods occurred during a Tartarus Rotation.
‘The thing is,’ he raised a finger, ‘in 2,570 BC, during the most recent Tartarus Rotation, no such mass global flooding took place.’
Saladin frowned. ‘You’re saying that something stopped the cataclysm? Something to do with the pyramids?’
‘Yes,’ Epper said. ‘It’s complicated but, you see, prior to King Djoser in 2,660 BC the Egyptians never built pyramids. And after Menkaure in 2,503 BC they stopped building giant ones. The fact is: for a period of 160 years, the Egyptians went on an absolute frenzy of pyramid-building, the high-point of which was the Great Pyramid. And then they never did it again.
‘They just stopped . . . immediately after the Tartarus Rotation of 2,570 BC. Later Egyptian architecture was certainly impressive and colossal—but it didn’t involve pyramids.’
‘So you think the Egyptians knew something about the coming of this Tartarus Sunspot?’ Saladin said. ‘What, were they visited by aliens or something and told to build the Great Pyramid and put this special Capstone on it?’
Epper just raised his bushy eyebrows theatrically. ‘I don’t know why the Egyptians started building pyramids. But they did. In a rush and on a scale never seen before then and not seen since. And for some reason, the Tartarus Sunspot had no effect on planet Earth in the year 2,570 BC. The Great Pyramid was built, the sunspot passed—harmlessly—and the Egyptians took down the Golden Capstone, hid it, and stopped building pyramids.’
‘So how do you explain it?’ Saladin asked.
‘Putting aside for the moment all the occultist literature, I believe the crystals in the Capstone are the key. I think the Capstone is a polariser, a crystal array that absorbs the superhot rays of the Tartarus Sunspot, rendering them harmless.’
‘And the occultist literature? These tales about obtaining global power for a thousand years?’
Epper’s face became grave. ‘The scientist in me scoffs at them. But something else gives me pause before discarding them completely. I’ve seen enough in my life to know that some things defy scientific explanation.
‘The inscription on the summit of the Great Pyramid tells of placing the “Benben”—that’s another word for the Capstone—at sacred site, on sacred ground, at sacred height within seven days of the arrival of the minor sunspot, Ra’s Prophet.
‘This is a reference to an ancient ritual, a ritual passed down through the Cult of Amun-Ra, a ritual to be performed at the arrival of the Tartarus Sunspot. This ritual involves the intoning of a sacred incantation—the words of which are carved into the very Pieces of the Capstone.
‘But this ritual can be performed in two ways: one for good, the other for ill. With the Capstone in place atop the Great Pyramid, if you utter the noble incantation—known as the ritual of peace—the world will be spared the wrath of Tartarus and life will go on. This is also to our advantage: if we fail in our quest to obtain a Piece of the Capstone, we could yet be able to utter the good incantation over the replaced Capstone.’
‘And the evil spell?’ Saladin asked hesitantly.
Epper’s face went grim.
‘The evil incantation—the ritual of power—will also spare the world from the blaze of