ATLANTEAN

“Remember, Falcon,” Doctor Rachel Wolfcub asserted, “our objective is to heal your injured brain, as well as retrieve as much of your past as possible. And digging into the memory of a childhood experience, whether real or imaginary, is an important step!

“It took us days before you managed to recall this event. And yes, this recollection may, or may not have been part of your childhood. Nevertheless, what you’ve described — through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old girl — is the history and culture of the legendary Atlantis. In fact, I would surmise—”

“Atlantis...?” I cut her off, mid-sentence. “What does Atlantis have to do with this hallucination of mine? And forgive me, Doctor, if I’m wrong, but I’m assuming that Atlantis is a place or a country I no longer remember.”

“Not exactly,” the doctor remarked quietly. “Atlantis was the name given by the ancient Greek writer and philosopher, Plato, to a fabled mid-ocean land.

“Interestingly, according to Plato, the Atlanteans where reputed to be the most educated and technologically advanced people of their age. Which is remarkably similar to the way you described the people of your birth island.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense.” I objected, shaking my head. “You’re in fact, suggesting that, either, I’m an immortal, born thousands of years ago. Or else, given the maps I’ve checked on the Net, this homeland of mine is invisible. A large mid-ocean island that the world has somehow failed to spot, where semi-civilized, mostly stark-naked people using stone and copper-age tools reside.”

“Not quite,” the doctor replied with a chuckle. “According to Plato, the legendary Atlantis disappeared without a trace about nine-thousand years before his time, wiped-out by a massive earthquake and volcanic eruption, causing it to break apart and sink into the ocean.

“If you’re interested, search the Net. You’ll find quite a number of sites dedicated to Plato and Atlantis. As to your first point, regarding your age... You’ve got me there. My tests indicate that, physically, you are about twenty-eight to thirty years old. So, I’m as confused as you are.

“I’m sure, however, that as more of these... oh, let’s call them, ‘hallucinations’ — to use your quaint expression — rise to the surface, the closer we’ll get to your true-life memories.”

“Forgive me, Doctor, but I am not sure... Not at all. In fact,” I said, shaking my head, “I’ve difficulty buying any of this! I’m even contemplating the notion that the ‘police report’ you received, regarding the alleged assassination attempt on my life, was a bureaucratic blunder — to be charitable.

“I also think, that it’s more than likely that this so-called ‘recollection’ I’ve just had, is nothing but fantasy, however all-encompassing it may sound. Either that, or somehow while in my two-and-a-half-decade coma, my brain — or whatever is left up there after the slug was dug out — picked up the fable of Atlantis, as you call it, and is now feeding it back to me, complete with folk-wisdom and imaginary folktales,” I added cynically, rolling my eyes.

“As unlikely as your suggestion is… It is a possibility,” the doctor conceded calmly and with a straight face. “Another possibility is that somehow, through a process not yet scientifically understood, your mind gained factual knowledge of the real Atlantis, which you call, KhoBelYam.”

“Ridiculous!” I stated emphatically.

“Is it?” Doctor Wolfcub asked, raising an eyebrow. “Let’s examine some of the highlights from your recollection. To begin with, it relates the origin of the people of KhoBelYam. Or if my supposition proves correct, the origin of the people of Atlantis. Then, of course, Plato described Atlantis as a mid-ocean island, or land, encompassed by disc-shaped circular landmasses, carved by spoke-like canals. Which is a remarkably close description to the flower-shaped group of islands in your recollection.

“Atlantis was also described as a technologically advanced society. And this, again, fits nicely with your description of a society where the pursuit of knowledge is the cornerstone of its culture. And lastly — though there are other similarities — the story of Atlantis, or more correctly, of an advanced society that lived on a land in mid-ocean, is a recurring legend around the world. That, too, links nicely to the fact that the people of KhoBelYam sent Seekers to search the world for new technologies. Obviously, these Seekers told the story of their homeland to the people they encountered. Which explains why the legend is so wide-spread yet so similar. And why Atlantis is known by almost as many names as there are languages.

“No, Falcon. Wherever this recollection of yours came from, one thing I am sure of... It’s not a simple hallucination!” she asserted.

“Alright, Doctor, I surrender…” I said, too tired and unsettled to argue. “In any case, I intend to search the Net for this Atlantis of yours.”

“You do that,” the doctor responded with a knowing smile.

Join Falcon on her exciting journeys. As a young girl, we follow her tribe’s transformation from a European cave-dwellers into the Island’s advanced society. As a teenager, she sails to ancient Egypt in search of knowledge, and participate in activities that lead to the elevation of Osiris, Isis and Horus to the status of gods. And upon maturity, she witnesses events that are enshrined in the Bible.

Are these journeys just a convalescing woman’s hallucinations, or is Falcon an immortal?