Church's Diary, Part 8:
We continued sailing north.
The underwater ruins are located northeast of Maria Teresa Reef, at 150°W and 30°N. It's a strange coordinate system; if you connect it to the Earth's center and draw a straight line from the opposite side of the Earth, it would be exactly where the pyramids along the Nile are located.
Did the Ancient Egypt really know that the Earth was round four thousand years ago and sail to the Southern Islands? Perhaps the Māori are descendants of the Ancient Egypt, when this sea was still a continent. In any case, they look very similar and may belong to the same race.
If that's the case, it makes sense. The Ancient Egypt fleets traveled thousands of miles to the other side of the world, built pyramids among the islands of the Southern Islands, and then settled down, becoming the natives of the South Pacific. The fragmented islands and the harsh marine environment severely hindered the development of civilization. Thousands of years later, they no longer remembered who their ancestors were, and the magnificent projects built by their ancestors sank to the bottom of the sea.
There is much controversy surrounding the race of the Ancient Egypt, perhaps because it is the oldest civilization and everyone wants to claim kinship with them, but no one can convince anyone else. It is said that the archaeological evidence about Ancient Egypt is concentrated in the hands of Europe and Arabia, but they become very secretive when it comes to the issue of race.
When this issue came up, Mrs. Larry angrily cursed, "Just a bunch of cowards who refuse to face reality!"
She said Egypt are neither Caucasians, nor Arabia, nor Black. If they were white, the Germany and France, who possessed the evidence, would have already made it public; if they were Arabia, the Egypt government wouldn't have kept it a secret for so long, even enacting laws requiring all genetic experiments on the Egypt to be conducted under its control. Why not? Because of economic interests and political needs. If the whole world knew that Ancient Egypt civilization had nothing to do with the nonsense they preached, they wouldn't earn a single penny!
I asked her what race the Ancient Egypt were, but Mrs. Larry wouldn't say, only that speculation without any evidence was not in line with scientific principles.
At this point, Anderson chimed in again. He said, "They were just Asians! Look at those murals, it's clear. The Ancient Egypt nobles all had yellow or reddish skin; the black and white people were slaves. Look at their facial features and those hieroglyphs. Even if they weren't the ancestors of modern Asians, they must be related to the China. Those experts who do genetic testing don't test the pharaohs; they only test commoners' remains—some masters, some slaves—making the Ancient Egypt look like a hodgepodge. Ask them what the genetic results are from the Mummy! Hey, they won't tell you! They'll say it's very difficult to extract genes from the Mummy; hundreds of experiments have failed. My God, you can test bone fragments dug up from the ground, but not perfectly preserved the Mummy? What a lie! They just don't want the whole world to know that their ancestors were slaves of Asians, haha!"
After he finished speaking and laughing, he carried his fishing rod to the stern of the boat, ignoring everyone else's reactions.
Anderson always manages to surprise me. I wonder if he's one of those legendary hermits who know everything, are capable of anything, yet are content with a simple life? Sometimes I really want to ask him where he learns so much strange knowledge—did the fish tell him?
His words made the white people very uncomfortable, and the majority of the people on board were white, including Anderson himself.
Mrs. Larry did not comment on Anderson's words, but it was clear that she was not particularly opposed to the viewpoint; otherwise, given her temper, she would probably have launched into a tirade on the spot.
Robbins said that if our scientific expedition is successful, it could very well overturn people's preconceived notions about Ancient Egypt, the pyramids, and human civilization, and may even influence the development of modern science.
People have forgotten the unpleasantness caused by the disappearance of Ghost Island. After all, the main task of this scientific expedition is the underwater ruins, and Ghost Island is just a side project. As for its disappearance, it's not the first time in history, so let's just treat it as another mysterious event and wait for future generations to discover its secrets.
Now, everyone is looking forward to tomorrow. In just over ten hours, when the Sun rises above the eastern horizon, we will reach our destination.
Church's Diary, Part 9:
Last night's voyage went very smoothly. Before dawn, we reached our destination. The GPS positioning system showed that we were around 30°S latitude and 150°W longitude.
The gray sky and sea blended seamlessly, like a dark, gloomy egg. Whenever I sail through the night, I wonder, are we really at sea? Or are we just wandering in some void of the vast universe?
I know that in a little while, the Sun will peek out from the distant horizon like a mischievous child. Sailors on ocean-going ships see this dozens, even hundreds of times a year, but we still love to watch it. Because that moment of radiance makes us feel that we are still on earth, and lets us know that we and our families are bathed in the same sky and earth.
Just as I was hesitating whether to wake the others to watch the sunrise together, I heard Anderson's loud singing voice ring out:
Somewhere beyond the sea
(Somewhere across the ocean)
Somewhere waiting for me
(Waiting for me somewhere)
My lover stands on golden sands
(My lover stands on the golden beach)
Then watches the ships that go sailing
(Watching the large ship sail across the ocean)
Although I admit this guy sang well and it was quite fitting for the occasion, I had to tell him that singing at this time would disturb everyone's dreams. Just as I was about to stop him, I heard hurried footsteps and chattering voices.
Everyone got up, but no one blamed Anderson; they were all incredibly excited to be nearing their destination. The first thing they did after getting up wasn't to admire the beautiful sunrise over the sea, but to rush into the captain's cabin to ask me if we were sure we had arrived.
I said yes, ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived. But I suggest you go back and put on some extra layers so you can enjoy the sunrise. The weather is great today, and you'll witness a moment you'll never forget.
However, their hopes were dashed when a thick fog suddenly rolled in at sea, so dense that nothing could be seen.
It seems God is unwilling to show us the best side, so I had to tell everyone to go have breakfast first. We definitely won't be able to see the sunrise; I just hope the clouds and fog clear up soon, as foggy weather easily affects one's mood.
Moreover, although we reached the designated location, the coordinates on the map still covered a vast area in the boundless Pacific Ocean. The scientists who previously discovered the ruins had marked the surface with buoys, but the dense fog made it impossible for us to move. Unless the fog dissipated, we would be unable to find it, just like the map.
But by the afternoon, the fog hadn't dissipated; in fact, it seemed to be getting thicker. Apart from Anderson, who was leisurely fishing in the fog, everyone else wore expressions of disappointment and unease; they all felt this was a bad omen.