The Martian Accounts: The Accounts, #1

By S. Sol

Book 1 of The Accounts series.

 

Humanity has finally managed to launch its first archaeological expedition to the planet Mars.

 

Following decades of unmanned missions, and their confirmation of artificial structures there, a team has been sent to the red planet to excavate the ruins.

 

They already knew about the Pyramids. They already knew about the Face. But what they discover about the people who built them and other structures like them is beyond their wildest dreams and their darkest nightmares.

 

They expected to find the remains of a highly advanced civilisation. They expected to learn from its former inhabitants. What no one was expecting was the malevolence that overshadowed it all. Knowledge came at a high price here. It affected the Martians, and will eventually affect the team.

 

The Martian Accounts is all that remains of that expedition, and is the last testimony of the men and women who risked everything to bring to light that which should have remained hidden.

• Language: English
• Publisher: S. Sol
• Release date: Apr 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393456995

S. Sol

For several years, I have been doing my own private research on the early chapters of Genesis from the Bible, with an attempt to address certain questions that others have been trying to answer, such as the location of the Garden of Eden, the so-called Nephilim, etc. I originally started writing my work as an academic book, but then changed the style into a type of fiction, namely because people are more prone to read fiction rather than academic non-fiction. I have therefore presented my views in a style that (for want of a better word) I would call 'Pseudo-Sci Fi’, and have inserted clues everywhere regarding my findings. In fact, the purpose of my writings is to encourage people to do their own research, to think out of the box, and to learn how to challenge established ideas. My first novella (The Martian Accounts) looks at the possibility of artificial structures on Mars (such as the Pyramids and the Face) and attempts to explain them through Genesis, while my second novella (The Earthen Accounts) examines Genesis more closely while at the same time linking it with early mythologies as well as anomalous archaeological finds on Earth. Both books are part of a series, called 'The Accounts', and there are three more waiting to be written (they are still in my head!). I hope you enjoy reading them, and feel free to ask me any questions. My email is [e-mail], but I have to warn you: I am a bit ‘old-school’, and therefore not always hooked up to the internet, so I may take a few days to get back to you... - S. SOL

Book preview

FORETHOUGHT

Dear reader, know that we went with many hopes and many dreams and much to look forward to. I kept a log of what we found. And, hoping that one day someone like you would find it, I rewrote my entries in a format that you would find easy to follow and easy to understand. The following is so arranged. Call them sections or chapters; they are all in chronological order according to what we discovered.

My name is Samuel. Captain Samuel Taylor. Head of the first archaeological expedition to the planet Mars. A position I applied for, and a position I got. That's all I wanted, and for my sins they gave it to me. They knew what they were doing, and they knew what the mission was really about. Hence the name of our ship: the Genesis. Only later was I to realise the significance of that name.

My name is Samuel. That is the name my parents gave me. They were devout, and that is how they raised me. Which is why what I found disturbed me so. Had I not been brought up the way I was, perhaps it would not have affected me. But it did. Greatly. How I wish we had left everything as it was, undisturbed. What we did, we did in innocence. We were pawns in the game.

My name is Samuel. Dear reader, remember me in your prayers; for what I uncovered, I will surely burn in hell.

THE CUBE

I knew we should have explored the second structure first. It was a hunch to begin with, which soon became a certainty once the first building was looked at. The first one had appeared promising to begin with, but there was nothing really inside, just empty space made up of roughly carved corridors, looking more natural than artificial. True, the corridors themselves were intriguing, laid out in a type of labyrinth; and its outside had indeed pulled us close to it, as it was clearly artificial, made with care and attention to detail.

The second structure, on the other hand, looked almost like a cube from a distance. The sandstorm had prevented us from getting a clearer view of it and ascertaining its overall importance. And so the consensus had been to start with the more promising first building.

However, it was only after we had finished exploring it, and had started heading back to Base because it was getting dark, that the storm lifted and we were just able to get a clearer view of the second structure. It was not a roughly cubic construction at all. It was a perfect cube, with smooth sides and sharp corners. Moreover, there was all around it what could only be described in human terms as scaffolding, layers and layers of it. Despite the growing darkness, I was too impatient to wait for the morning to start the explorations, and so decided to equip myself with a strong flashlight and head over to it. One of the crew, 1st Lt Jarrell, insisted on accompanying me and so off we went. Radio contact was to be maintained with the crew and Base at all times. Although whoever had lived in these ruins was long gone, safety was of paramount importance.

By the time we reached the Cube, it was pitch black. Night came quickly on Mars. We looked for an entrance, and it was only just before we came across one, that we heard a sound coming from within. To our great surprise and amazement a door opened in front of us. At first we thought it was just the wind, still remaining from the sandstorm. But the smoothness with which the door opened and the firmness with which it stood still indicated something else. It was not the wind that caused it to open, but definitely a mechanism; nothing natural.

What happened next could only but be described as a figment of a child's imagination. For suddenly, an object appeared to come out, long and elongated in shape, looking funnily like a bowling pin, but waist high. It was completely unaware of our existence as it bobbed out of the Cube, made a half circle path in front of us, and returned again. There was little doubt that it was artificial, and there was no indication of any intelligence in it either. It was rather more like an automaton of sorts, obeying commands installed in it long ago, still faithful to its creators.

After a brief hesitation, Jarrell and I decided to enter the Cube through the entrance that the 'bowling pin' had emerged from. It was dark inside to begin with, but as our eyes adjusted it became clear that there was an artificial light of some sort. Although weak, it nonetheless meant that we could do without our flashlights. As we did a visual survey of the interior, without moving lest we come across another 'automaton', to our astonishment we saw straight ahead of us an escalator! Moreover, it was in motion, moving upwards. It was not at all unlike the escalators that one finds in shopping malls back home. But how could this be, a human escalator on Mars, and still working after so many thousands of years?

Needless to say, the Lieutenant and I were rather hesitant about taking up its invitation. At the same time, though, we knew that there was really no other choice. Our expedition had been sent with one purpose: to explore the artificial structures that had been confirmed by previous unmanned missions.

Thus, we headed towards the escalator and allowed it to take us to wherever it was going, which turned out to be the second floor, nothing more spectacular than that. When we got off it, we started to walk around in the dusk-like darkness, now more accustomed to it. To the right of us there appeared to be a room of some sort. We made our way towards it, and what we saw took us even more by surprise. There, on the second floor of the Cube, on the Martian surface, was a roomful of bumper cars! They were all moving, devoid of passengers, but swirling around as if driven by an invisible force. Neither Jarrell nor I had any inclination to explore this semi-sane apparition in front of us, and so we decided to head to the other side of the second floor. We did not want to take any risks due to having lost radio contact with the crew from the moment we entered the Cube. Nonetheless, we knew that our head cams were recording everything, both visually and acoustically, and sending a live feed back to Base. In case of danger, there would be someone here in a matter of minutes. And so, equipped with this 'comforting' thought, we proceeded to the rest of the floor.

This section was quite different from the 'bumper car' room. It was open and as we got closer, it became brighter, as if it had a light source of its own. What we saw next truly astonished us. There, before our eyes, lay a small purposely planted garden, complete with pots. This was the first sign of life that we had yet to come across. Quite frankly, we did not know what to do with it, as we had not expected to find any life on this planet at all. The toxic gases and the lack of a decent atmosphere had ruled out that possibility long ago. Jarrell and I looked at it but did not go near, fearful that we might disturb a delicate eco-system. At this point, we decided to call it a night and head back. We descended the escalator, exited the Cube and returned to Base.

When we arrived, the frightened and worried look on the crew's faces was not what we expected. We were ready to encounter curious looks and a myriad of questions in regard to what they too had seen through our head cams. Instead, we were welcomed as if we were someone coming back from the dead. When we asked them what they thought of the head cam feed, they looked at us in bewilderment. 'What head cam feed?' was the answer. 'Not only had you lost radio contact with us, but the head cam feed was only static. We thought something terrible had happened and were just preparing to launch a search party.' Jarrell and I then started to explain to them what we had seen. Needless to say, it was a very difficult thing for them to believe. And so we waited until the following morning to go down there and explore the Cube properly.

At the first sign of dawn, all geared up with helmets and suits, I led the crew down, leaving only two others behind, along with Jarrell who had had quite enough of an adventure the night before. Both the daylight and the lack of any sandstorm afforded us all a much better view of the structure than the previous evening did. It was indeed smooth on all sides, with sharp corners. The material was