The Grandkids’ Guide to Atlantis

By Bob Hodge

WHERE IS ATLANTIS?
Plato the greatest Greek philosopher first revealed this ancient lost civilization, but no-one believed him. It’s the world’s most famous mystery.
WHO CAN FIND IT?
Not Chris, Demi and Alex, surely. They’re too young, with too many problems of their own. But they’re given a mission by their Granddad: ‘Follow my clues and find Atlantis. Which I never could.’ He was a super-Nerd who knew Greek. But dead. Wasn’t he?
THE ISLAND
Granddad’s tech takes them back to deep time. Plato becomes their friend, Athena their goddess. They stand on Atlantis and see what it was and how it fell. They succeed where top scholars failed. And along the way Atlantis provides some neat solutions to their personal problems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Sep 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781504319355

Bob Hodge

Bob Hodge earned his PhD from Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Australian Humanities Academy. He spent thirty years searching for Atlantis on land and sea, in ancient texts and sacred sites, while using his mind, soul, and computer. He is the author of twenty-two scholarly texts, but this is his first young adult novel.

Book preview

PART 1

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1

A RE YOU CHRISTOPHER Johnson? The man wore a dark blue jacket with gold letters that spelled Super Express Deliveries.

Chris looked at him suspiciously. I guess so.

Can you sign here? The courier indicated the place. And initial the time, sir. Six p.m.

Sir? What a wanker! Chris looked at his watch, and yes, it was 6:00 p.m. But what was going on? This man looked like he wouldn’t be seen dead in Mount Druitt, Sydney’s sh—hole suburb, and here he was delivering an upmarket package to an Abo. Lucky you didn’t get lost, with your nose stuck so far up your bum.

Chris read the name of the sender: Professor Michael O’Connor, c/o Richards, Patrick, and Associates, Legal Practitioners, Martin Place, Sydney.

That’s Granddad! he exclaimed. But he’s dead. Isn’t he?

He looked at what he’d just signed for. A padded envelope addressed to him. No mistake there. Two boxes; one had a computer logo on it. Obviously a computer. Duh, Sherlock. What was the other one?

He carted them all into his tiny, crowded bedroom and sat on his messy bed. The mysterious boxes created even more clutter. His sixteen-year-old body had too much energy to hold inside. He felt so angry he wanted to kick the boxes.

Demi got home earlier than usual, and just as well. At 4:00 p.m., a courier was waiting for her beside the front porch—that fancy, fake Greek structure Dad was so proud of. She had to sign for a package and some boxes. Even weirder, the courier wanted her to initial the time. Why?

Mum was home but not answering the door for the usual reasons. Drinky-time had already begun, and Mum wouldn’t want to interrupt that. Dad was still at work. Demi said nothing as she opened the padded envelope, but she was puzzled and excited.

Inside was a smaller envelope, addressed to her: Ms. Demetra Vine, 125 Brookman Road, Peppermint Grove, Western Australia, 6016. Rather formal. Mum and Dad only called her Demetra when they were cross with her.

But Granddad wasn’t cross, was he? He was loving but distant. As well as being dead. For five years, Mum told her. That was pretty dead, wasn’t it?

Was it for her birthday? In the past, he always remembered that. But her fifteenth birthday was still five weeks away. Maybe he had these lawyers send it on his behalf, and they got the date wrong.

Alex was as puzzled as the others by the courier. Coonabri was too small and too far from Sydney to see many express delivery services, and one that arrived at a precise time must have cost a bomb.

He was fascinated by the objects in the bottom of the padded envelope. Something like a compass, but strange. A blue 132 GB flash drive. Ah! That was his kind of language. They called him a nerd, but he was happy that that was what he was. It was what bound him to Granddad.

Granddad was not only a nerd, he was a professor of nerdery. Granddad’s title was professor of digital futures—long words just to say that he and Granddad were the same: nerds. Alex held the stick as if it was communicating directly to him. From Granddad to him. And from him to Granddad?

A mobile phone, also blue. He already had one, but this was customised. It could probably do far more than his present one, especially as part of this system. Knowing Granddad, it would be part of a system.

It was already charged. That was neat. The screen lit up at his touch, and he saw two icons, a pretty girl and a serious Aboriginal boy. His cousins, Demi and Chris, on a special speed-dial. He didn’t know them well, but they were OK. Chris was two years older, which made a difference, but he probably knew nothing about computers.

On an impulse, he pressed both icons. Maybe that was Granddad’s point in insisting on the delivery time. Chris was on Eastern time, the same as Alex, but Demi in the West was two hours earlier. Granddad was using planning and technology to bring them all together.

But the others wouldn’t know unless he told them. He was the youngest cousin but the nerd in chief, and that carried some responsibilities. Granddad needed his assistance.

Demi answered first. Hi, Alex! Great to hear from you. She sounded enthusiastic but surprised.

Hi, Demi. Yes, it’s Alex. I’m guessing we all got a package from Granddad.

Yes, me too. Chris now joined the link. WTF is going on?

Let’s all read the letter and find out, said Demi.

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Dear kids,

This is a letter to all three of you. I love you each very much. You are all unique and special, and I connect with you in different ways. But you also have many things in common. I am grandfather to you all, and this is my gift to you all. Your inheritance.

I should explain a few things.

I wasn’t always a good person in my life. I wasn’t always a good husband to your grandma, as you may have heard. Don’t believe everything you hear about anything, but I’m ashamed of some things I’ve done.

After the marriage broke up, I never saw enough of your parents, and I still wasn’t on speaking terms with them when you came along. You never knew how much I loved you from a distance. I had my reasons, which I couldn’t tell you. Still can’t.

But enough of that. I want to describe the package, your inheritance.

I know a bit about computers. That was my day job. But I also spent many years studying Plato’s Atlantis.

My obsession with the classics began with my mother’s dad, Sir Edward Jones. He loved the classics, and he taught me Greek and Latin when I was young. I loved them, and I loved him teaching me. It became our secret code. None of my cousins knew the languages.

He left me his complete classical library. I wish one of you had learned Greek and Latin so I could leave them to you. But I know you are modern kids. You can download things my grandfather didn’t dream about, but you have no time to learn old languages.

Demi felt angry.

"Don’t judge me without knowing me, Granddad! Actually, I pestered Mum and Dad to let me learn modern Greek. I’m really Greek on his side, though he refuses to admit it. Vine’ s really Venezelos. He’s ashamed of it. Now I’ll learn Ancient Greek. One-up for Mum’s side."

Chris laughed. Good on you, Demi. Suck that up, Granddad!

They continued reading.

My gift, then: Atlantis. Everything I know about Plato’s Atlantis to get you there, and all the resources you’ll need on the journey.

I imagine you’ve all heard of Atlantis. And Plato.

Plato tells the story of an amazing island empire that flourished more than ten thousand years ago. It sank beneath the waves in a mighty catastrophe—in a day and a night, he said.

But in spite of its fame, Atlantis is still a mystery and a secret. No-one knows where it is, and many doubt that it ever existed. Did it have ancient wisdom and incredible science and fabulous treasures? Plato, the greatest philosopher of all time, was the keeper of that secret.

But what do you learn about Plato or Atlantis at school?

Alex used his new phone to Google.

Granddad’s right, he said. I’ve heard of Plato, but not in school. The figures are massive. In a list of famous philosophers, Plato gets 91 million hits. Aristotle comes next, with 24.1 million hits. Socrates, Plato’s teacher, has 22.9 million hits. Pretty good, but Plato’s the dude! Atlantis gets 95.3 million hits. That’s huge. Even more than Plato.

Not bad for a place that doesn’t exist, Chris commented.

Granddad’s text continued.

I think there’s a curse on Atlantis.

I know. I’m a victim. When I was young, I studied classics at Oxford University and applied for a junior fellowship at Trinity College, Oxford. That was the tops in classics. I entered an essay, Plato’s Atlantis—Was It Real?

Well, what a reaction! I didn’t get that fellowship, and I later found I was blacklisted for all jobs in the classics. Just for an essay on Atlantis!

The curse of Atlantis killed my career in classics.

So I turned to computers. They were the coming thing, and I already used them in my work. I got a job in computing sciences in Australia, and the rest is history.

Chris exploded. Poor Granddad, getting by on a professor’s salary! You ought to meet some Aboriginal families from Mt. Druitt. You’d know what it’s like to hit a brick wall in life.

I found out that my main enemy was Sir Denys Conyngton, now Regius professor of Greek at Oxford, which is a big deal in classics. He wrote the definitive guide to Plato. I include his book in the library on the flash drive. To beat curses, you use their power for yourself.

It’s not a bad book, and it isn’t always wrong. I include it for balance. What if Sir Denys and others are right, and I’m wrong? So I’m careful. Everything I tell you is as right as I can make it, whether or not it supports me. I give you all the evidence for you to decide for yourself.

The other box contains a virtual reality kit. They made this to my specifications. I haven’t tested it out myself, which I always do. Nothing in the world of computers works exactly as it’s meant to. Not even my inventions.

I programmed my first electronic post to arrive today at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, 6:00 p.m. in the West, to give you time to read this letter.

From then, new posts will arrive every week. Your journey will unfold, step by step, till you reach the goal.

Atlantis.

Scrawled beneath the computer-generated print text was his signature, in faded brown ink, handwritten in large, wobbly writing: Love from Granddad.

Demi felt a sense of shock. Real Granddad was much less smooth than computer-assisted Granddad. And more fragile.

2

A LEX HAD ALREADY set up the computer. He quickly installed the flash drive and opened it to see all the programs.

Demi was less eager. It was that time of the month, an unwelcome return after a five-month holiday from the mess and the pain. But she couldn’t talk about that to her cousins. A new computer could replace her clunky old one, which Dad wouldn’t replace till she got better marks in maths. But she didn’t have a laptop, and she liked the look of Granddad’s gift. It was like a small space capsule, an interesting shade of blue. Atlantis blue, she decided.

Chris looked at his new computer with a sense of failure. He didn’t have his own, like Demi and Alex. If this was going to be his story with Atlantis, he didn’t like it. The same old story: second-class Chris.

Alex’s icon flashed on his phone.

Hi, Chris. Would you like any help with the set-up? Your friendly neighbourhood nerd at your service.

Nah, mate, I’m cool. But thanks.

Granddad’s icon flashed on all their screens.

They clicked it, and Granddad’s text filled the screen. A trace of Granddad’s face was faintly visible like a watermark on the screen. It was a kind face surrounded by wild hair.

Granddad spoke the words as they scrolled down. Granddad’s voice as they remembered it, with his posh English accent. How’s he doing it? Alex wondered.

Welcome, my beloved grandchildren. I’m so glad we are all together here. You’ll learn as we go about how we communicate. First off, see my Granddad icon on the screen? Double-click it to communicate with me. Communication is always two-way. Next to it is the Truth icon, a diamond. Click it if you doubt anything I say. It makes me tell the precise truth, if I’ve wandered off a bit.

Before we start, there’s something you all need to do. See that flashing ‘A’ icon? That’s the Atlantis button. Click it to formally enter the quest. But you don’t have to go on the quest to get your inheritance.

I’m in, Demi exclaimed, and she clicked. Alex said nothing, but he too clicked it.

Chris had only just set up his computer and opened the flash drive, and he felt pressured. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, he said aggressively.

To their shock, this whole exchange immediately became part of the written text.

"Since history began, heroes’ journeys have followed a pattern. They start with the hero. You three—or two for now. Heroes begin young and weak, driven from home in a suffering land. In classic stories, heroes have a task that someone gives them—me, in this case. On the way, they meet many difficulties. They pass through valleys of death to be reborn as heroes.

In your quest, Atlantis is the goal. Find Atlantis and claim your treasure. In classic stories, the heroes have special objects, magic weapons they are given at the beginning, which they learn to use over the journey.

That’s just like video games, said Alex.

Very like, Granddad answered. "And who invented it? The classics! My gifts are magic weapons for the quest.

First, the mobile phones. These are GPS-linked to connect you to each other, and to the hard drive and cyberspace. As you noticed, they’re self-charging. Wherever you are, they tap into available power sources.

Isn’t that illegal? Alex worried.

Not at the moment, because the law hasn’t caught up with the possibility. As soon as it’s illegal, the system will tell you.

I like it! Chris said, approving of something for the first time.

What about the compass? Alex asked, double-clicking the Granddad icon.

It’s an analogue-digital hybrid, Granddad replied. It’s linked to everything else in your digital world, but its core is an ancient analogue device. A real magnet that seeks north wherever you are.

And what’s analogue when it’s at home? Chris asked, grumpy again.

Alex felt uncomfortable explaining. Digital I know about. It’s the binary code at the heart of all modern computers. Today, digital technologies are taking over analogue codes. I don’t know why Granddad wants to go back there.

Because Atlantis science was analogue, Granddad replied.

I don’t need it, Chris grumbled.

Dear Chris, Granddad said in a kind voice, "Aboriginal culture was built on seeing and making patterns. Aboriginal art is analogue thinking, and Aboriginal people are amazingly good at it. In football, you see patterns quickly and create new possibilities. That’s analogue thinking.

"Magnets are part of analogue science, a science of forces like Einstein’s. Plato himself talked about magnets. In Ion, an early dialogue, he compares inspiration to magnetism.

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This stone not only attracts iron rings, but imparts to them a similar power of attracting other rings.

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"Plato just drops this in casually as if everyone knows about it, but this was leading-edge science. Plato was a deep philosopher and a brilliant scientist combined. That’s what you need to find Atlantis.

"The virtual reality device is like a magic carpet to take you to distant places and times at the press of a button. Or it’s a helmet of invisibility. You can be there and see everything, but no one sees you. You’ll understand how it works when you try it. Basically, a metal band with four projectors creates a bubble with a one-metre radius around your head, like a screen all around you. You can expand or contract it as you wish.

"The screen is semi-transparent, so your VR space seems to go on forever in all directions like you’re really there. Or you can make the screen opaque like a bubble.

"The controls are analogue, and you work them with mittens like haptic gloves. A screen appears in front of you, containing all your computer settings.

"The sound comes through earphones. I’ve added total sensory capacity. The helmet beams electric signals through your scalp and into your brain. It’s crude, but you feel things with your other senses—smell, taste, touch, and movement.

"The flash drive is a bundle of weapons and spells. The instructions are as simple as I can make them.

"The Granddad icon will flash for each new post. They basically follow Plato’s text. They guide you on your journey to Atlantis.

"In each post, we look at specific clues and find hidden meanings about Atlantis and Plato’s world.

"I put each clue in a box. These are Plato’s clues about Atlantis. Most come from Plato’s two great works, Timaeus and Critias, which are in the appendix. Click the T or the C in the reference, and a hyperlink will take you straight to the full text. When you’ve looked at all the clues, you’ll know more than anyone alive about Atlantis. Even Sir Denys.

Finally, let me introduce you to your team of helpers: the gods.

Demi was excited.

I love the gods! She double-clicked the Granddad icon. I want to know more about them on this trip. Can you do that, Granddad?

"Yes, Demi. In Plato’s world, the gods were important, and they’re very different from what people think today. The gods are your helpers, as they were in Plato’s time and in the time of Atlantis. Each main god has an icon. Thirteen icons for thirteen gods of Olympus, plus a few other important ones.

Athena’s our main god. She’s goddess of wisdom and of Athens, and her sacred tree is the olive. But she has a scary side. Her sacred bird was the owl, a bird of night, and she’s a snake goddess.

She gets 77 million hits, nearly as many as Plato, Alex said.

Thanks, Alex. The Greek gods aren’t dead yet! said Demi.

Click Athena’s owl when you need wisdom, Granddad continued. Zeus was the Greeks’ main male god.

With 73.2 million hits, Alex reported.

Lots, said Demi. But less than Athena!

"Another god we’ll meet in the journey is Poseidon. He was god of the ocean and of earthquakes. And he was the special god of Atlantis. Click his three-pronged fork to find out about disasters.

"Zeus and Poseidon were brothers, two of the big three Olympians. The third brother was Hades, god of the underworld, also called Pluto. Hades/Pluto was also the god of wealth. Do you like that? Death and money!

"Hades’s skull icon accesses money for the journey. Click it and type in the amount in any currency. The program will ask you the reason, but pretty well any reason will do. Hades is very generous. Being dead obviously helps.

"Then there’s Hermes. He’s god of communication. He communicates with the living in cyberspace and the dead in hell. His icon is a computer screen with wings.

Hephaestus is less well-known, but he’s important in Plato’s story. He’s the god of metalwork. Ask him about technology.

Demi felt brave enough to interrupt Granddad with her first use of the Granddad icon. She double-clicked it.

What about Demeter?

Granddad answered instantly. His answer filled the screen, and he sounded warmer. Great question, Demi! It’s your name, I know, and she’s a wonderful goddess to be. Demeter means ‘Earth-Mother.’ The great goddess. Her sacred animal was the horse, a symbol of fertility in Atlantis. Her icon is a white mare’s head. Click it to know about goddesses and gods.

Granddad continued, his answer to Demi now part of his text. Your final helper god is Apollo. Apollo was the god of light, disease, and healing. He was also the god of prophecy. His shrine at Delphi was the most important oracle in ancient Greece. Click his icon to find hidden knowledge.

Demi wanted more. She clicked the Demeter icon.

Demeter, please tell me the myths of Delphi—from a goddess point of view.

A new text appeared on the screen with a lilac font.

I am happy to, my daughter. The voice was warm and sexy. Like Angelina Jolie’s, Demi thought. But Granddad couldn’t use that without permission. Or would Angelina approve?

"There was a shrine at Delphi long before Apollo came, sacred to Gaia, goddess of Earth, whose priestess was a prophet. The shrine was taken over by Apollo’s priests sometime after 1000 BC.

"Myths of Delphi carry traces of this history. They say the oracle was originally sacred to a goddess who had the form of a monstrous snake. Athena was a serpent goddess too. Beneath her armour, Athena was sister to the goddess of Delphi.

Apollo fought the serpent and won. But he made a deal about her shrine. She and her priestesses controlled the shrine’s power, but Apollo’s priests managed it. And kept the money.

Granddad’s text in normal font took over.

"The goddess is totally right. There are many similar stories in Greek myths. Male gods kill, rape, or marry women. They sleep around and have countless bastards. Modern versions clean the stories up, but it’s hard. Without all the rape and violence, there isn’t much of a story.

Plato objected to these stories. He said the gods weren’t like that.

So why the stories? Demi asked.

"Some scholars believe they are traces of history, describing invaders who worshipped male gods and took over the shrines of goddess worshippers. I’ll show you how it worked. The main myth about the gods of Olympus starts with Cronus, who overthrew his father, Uranus, and cut off his private parts. Cronus was afraid his children would do the same to him, so he swallowed them all.

But Zeus, the youngest son, survived and made Cronus vomit up the children, including Demeter, Poseidon, and Hades. They won a great war against Cronus and his allies.

Demi asked: So you think this story codes a real war?

Granddad replied. "Well, at least that makes sense, whereas Cronus’s digestive problems don’t.

The story connects with Atlantis. Cronus’s forces were led by the Titan Atlas. The name Atlantis comes from Atlas. Atlas carried the heavens on his shoulders. He was god of astronomy, and maps were named in his honour.

Alex googled. "Atlas has 334 million hits! Far more than Zeus,