Iceland

"Then we need to find out whether there's a direct connection between the Main System and the structure at the North Pole," Harry said. "Did the Technical Group's data mention anything?"

Isabelle brought the Technical Group's latest analysis report on the third morning. It said the group had compared the spectra of the signals from the North Pole and the Main System. Their encoding methods differed, but certain frequency components were similar.

The nested pulse sequence from the North Pole contained a fixed frequency pattern. A similar pattern appeared in the Main System's signal, though it was more complex and refined.

"The Technical Group concluded that there may be an indirect connection," Isabelle said, handing Harry the report. "The structure at the North Pole may predate the Main System. Its builders might have drawn on some of the structure's features, but we need more analysis to determine exactly how they're connected."

"Then we need to dig deeper." Harry read through the report. "But at least we know there's a primordial node at the North Pole older than any known structure. Its encoding is simpler, but it may be the earliest source of the entire Ley Line Network."

Cassandra closed the Nordic Ley Line Treatise and set it on the table.

"We've gone through most of the documents in the Confederation archives. To investigate further, we may need to return to the North Pole for a more detailed sensing survey, or consult records at other ancient sites."

"Then we'll go back to the North Pole," Harry said. "This time we'll bring more precise equipment and spend longer sensing it."

Isabelle contacted Confederation Headquarters and arranged to rent the icebreaker again.

Three days later, they set out once more from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, aboard the icebreaker bound for the North Pole.

Eric came