Icejacked
by
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It is rare that news grabs me, a history major; the nature of my work keeps me in the buried in the past. Even though I know that the past has brought us to where we are now, and my knowledge of history helps me better understand the unfolding world events; current affairs rarely give me the buzz that I get from historical events. But this morning was different. A news item caught my attention and I quickly turned up the volume; I didn’t want to miss a word. A body had been discovered on a Tyrolean Mountain on the Italian side, a search party, whilst seeking missing climbers, had stumbled upon a body totally encased in ice. The report went on to state that an investigation had been launched to discover the identity and origin of the body, because there were currently no missing climbers, the climbers that were being sought by the search and rescue team had been found safe and well, they had returned via a different route. “Can we go and have a look at the body.” I say, trying to mask my impatience. “Well no,” he replied, “I’m sorry but you can’t. There isn’t a body any longer, not in the sense that we in the morgue understand that word.’ I was rather bemused, I opened my mouth to speak but he held up his hand and stopped me before I could begin. “Let me tell you what has happened then you can make up your own mind about what to do next.” I grin at him and walk over to the window, I point to myself, “Gerhardt Shynder,” and then I point out of the window and say, “St. Gallen, Switzerland.” Leddicus is looking more alert now; in fact he seems to be enjoying the game. Pointing to himself again he says slowly, “Leddicus Palantina” then he points out of the window as I did, and says “Caesarea Philippi.” I sit down in the chair with a thump, I feel as if all the air has been sucked out of the room. Now I am the one struck dumb, I know where Caesarea Philippi is, or was, it was once a very great city, today, it is an archaeological site located in the Golan Heights. What can this mean? My thoughts are whirling in confusion.
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About the Book
A group of climbers is missing in the Tyrolean Mountains. A search and rescue team is dispatched. The mission is soon cancelled, the missing climbers are located, having returned by a different route.
In the knowledge that the climbers are safe, the rescue team heads back down the mountain, en route they discover a body frozen in a slab of ice. The ice slab is airlifted to a local laboratory and as the ice melts, it quickly becomes clear that this is a discovery of undeniable archaeological significance. And then, to everyone’s amazement, the body gradually warms and is found to have a pulse. Swiss PhD student Gerhardt Shynder is catapulted from his sedentary university life to take charge of the ancient Roman, Leddicus Palantina. And thus begins an implausible adventure that goes global and changes both their lives beyond recognition.About the Author
Adrian Hawkes lives in Multi Racial North London and has spent his life travelling to every continent. His entrepreneurial philanthropy has left a trail of schools, orphanages, refugee havens and foster care support, from as far afield as Sri Lanka, Kenya and continental Europe. Icejacked is his first work of fiction.