344 | John W. Warner IV Find us a way home, Ernst. Klemperer exited the command compartment. Im heading to the engine room to see if they need help. Ill inspect for damage along the way. A whoosh sounded from the rubber seal upon closing. Yes, many thousands, but I have never seen a map, said Shafer. Beger said with conviction one exists in the underground Vatican archive, but its just a story. The ancients, and I mean ones that far predate the Atlanteans or Lemurians, were said to have dug these tunnels billions of years ago, the Hyperboreans and Paa-Taal, the Founder Races. Supposedly they needed a secure and safe network of them between caverns and cities that exist down here. Safe from weather, asteroid and comet impacts, the suns radiation, safe from intruders or rivals. They are also said to have been conduits of trade with the surface-dwellers. Ive read accounts by explorers and geologists from all over the world, but their expeditions all ran out of food and water since the tunnels are endless and dark. As for subterranean navigation, I… The crystal astrolabe made a humming sound, and a few concentric circles moved. Whats this fancy doohickey on about? asked Bea. Ancient technology worries me. Shafer looked to the Tellus computer. This dial with symbols moved as well. Perhaps…it knows where we are heading. I think the astrolabe is for navigating under the Earth. Bernie stood next to him. This dial with number markings moves with it at a different rate. I think its a nocturnal of some sort, see the stars? This one next to it is perhaps the underground version of it. The Atlanteans must have navigated these tunnels. If I had to take a wild guess, its showing direction and depth. Shafer asked Alice: Time elapsed since engine start? She looked to a small clock with engine hours and stopwatch time. Forty seven minutes. Shafer rummaged his prized rucksack and pulled out his large notebook. Tamil…Tamil. I think I can decipher some of the symbols, at least a few Egyptian- looking ones. He moved to the navigation chart table. Now, Rodgers, if we were here at the base, then in the tunnel descending in a northeast direction…! think given our speed and time we are somewhere near… Bernie used a triangle and plotter. If my navigational skills are still good, Id say somewhere under the Caspian Sea by now. He thumbed a chart wheel calculator.