"And being in anguish and despair he [Maedhros] cast himself into a gaping
chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was
taken into the bosom of the Earth." The Silmarillion, pg. 254
As soon as the words were out of Daeron's mouth, the phone rang. Lindi snatched up the receiver. "Hello?...Emilie! It's great to hear from you...my expertise?" She glanced at Daeron wide-eyed, "You found WHAT?...Have you touched it yet?...No, not without gloves, it'll burn you...Go ahead, try it out but don't say I didn't-" Lindi pulled the phone away from her ear and Daeron heard a loud shriek. "-warn you. Where did you say you found it?...Ours was at the bottom of the ocean...We're headed in to port...See you there." She hung up and plopped down on a stool next to Daeron. "Three guesses as to what Emilie just uncovered in a lava flow, but I think you'll only need one."
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Emilie, Daeron, and Lindi were all standing around a table in Lindi's office staring at the two identical stones. Together they shone even brighter than they had previously, but it wasn't a blinding light. It was gentle but strong, throwing crisp shadows across the floor.
"This thing survived molten lava, it could even have been in the earth's core at some point, who knows where it came from. I've never seen anything like it!" Emilie waved her hands excitedly. One was bandaged tightly where she had grabbed the stone.
"As far as we know they're two of a kind." Daeron rested a hand on the table. It was also bandaged.
Lindi picked up both stones and peered at them for a moment. "Three of a kind."
Daeron and Emilie peered at her quizzically. "Wanna run that by us one more time?"
"I don't know how I know, but I just feel like there should be a third one."
"Right. I say we start searching the internet for anything that sounds like these jewels." They each grabbed a computer and started searching. After about an hour, Lindi called the others over. On her screen was an essay titled "The Silmarils: Could they really exist?" written by some young geologist. Daeron read a few paragraphs and then straightened up. "Lindi, this is crazy. The Silmarillion is a work of FICTION."
"But Daeron, think about it. The description fits, where we found them fits, what if it wasn't just fiction? What if we found the Silmarils? Maybe that's why I got the feeling there should be three."
"Maybe you read this last night and decided to play a little joke on us."
Lindi glared at Emilie, "This isn't a joke. Listen: "And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into the Sea..." which is where we found the first stone."
"Lindi, you're being ridiculous," Daeron pleaded.
She ignored him, "And being in anguish and despair he [Maedhros] cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the Earth." We found the second one in lava."
"That's enough."
"The description is right on too: "Like the crystal of diamonds it appeared, and yet was more strong than adamant, so that no violence could mar it or break it within the Kingdom of Arda...the Silmarils of their own radiance shone like the stars of Varda." If I'm right, the third stone will be in space."
Emilie's jaw dropped, "SPACE? Lindi quit it! That is the stupidest thing I ever heard."
" "Eärendil the Mariner sat at the helm, glistening with the dust of elven- gems, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow. Far he journeyed...even into the starless voids." There was a star called Eärendil in Tolkien's writings. It is supposed to correspond to Venus."
"You've finally cracked."
"We'll just see. You guys try to find a better explanation." She grabbed the jewels and marched out, slamming the door behind her.
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A meteor roughly the size of Mt. Everest slammed into Venus, sending a piece of the planet out into space, headed toward Earth. NASA detected it, determined it was too small to do much damage, and would land somewhere in the desert of Texas. They began making calls to round up a team to analyze samples once it hit.
As soon as the words were out of Daeron's mouth, the phone rang. Lindi snatched up the receiver. "Hello?...Emilie! It's great to hear from you...my expertise?" She glanced at Daeron wide-eyed, "You found WHAT?...Have you touched it yet?...No, not without gloves, it'll burn you...Go ahead, try it out but don't say I didn't-" Lindi pulled the phone away from her ear and Daeron heard a loud shriek. "-warn you. Where did you say you found it?...Ours was at the bottom of the ocean...We're headed in to port...See you there." She hung up and plopped down on a stool next to Daeron. "Three guesses as to what Emilie just uncovered in a lava flow, but I think you'll only need one."
~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Emilie, Daeron, and Lindi were all standing around a table in Lindi's office staring at the two identical stones. Together they shone even brighter than they had previously, but it wasn't a blinding light. It was gentle but strong, throwing crisp shadows across the floor.
"This thing survived molten lava, it could even have been in the earth's core at some point, who knows where it came from. I've never seen anything like it!" Emilie waved her hands excitedly. One was bandaged tightly where she had grabbed the stone.
"As far as we know they're two of a kind." Daeron rested a hand on the table. It was also bandaged.
Lindi picked up both stones and peered at them for a moment. "Three of a kind."
Daeron and Emilie peered at her quizzically. "Wanna run that by us one more time?"
"I don't know how I know, but I just feel like there should be a third one."
"Right. I say we start searching the internet for anything that sounds like these jewels." They each grabbed a computer and started searching. After about an hour, Lindi called the others over. On her screen was an essay titled "The Silmarils: Could they really exist?" written by some young geologist. Daeron read a few paragraphs and then straightened up. "Lindi, this is crazy. The Silmarillion is a work of FICTION."
"But Daeron, think about it. The description fits, where we found them fits, what if it wasn't just fiction? What if we found the Silmarils? Maybe that's why I got the feeling there should be three."
"Maybe you read this last night and decided to play a little joke on us."
Lindi glared at Emilie, "This isn't a joke. Listen: "And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into the Sea..." which is where we found the first stone."
"Lindi, you're being ridiculous," Daeron pleaded.
She ignored him, "And being in anguish and despair he [Maedhros] cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the Earth." We found the second one in lava."
"That's enough."
"The description is right on too: "Like the crystal of diamonds it appeared, and yet was more strong than adamant, so that no violence could mar it or break it within the Kingdom of Arda...the Silmarils of their own radiance shone like the stars of Varda." If I'm right, the third stone will be in space."
Emilie's jaw dropped, "SPACE? Lindi quit it! That is the stupidest thing I ever heard."
" "Eärendil the Mariner sat at the helm, glistening with the dust of elven- gems, and the Silmaril was bound upon his brow. Far he journeyed...even into the starless voids." There was a star called Eärendil in Tolkien's writings. It is supposed to correspond to Venus."
"You've finally cracked."
"We'll just see. You guys try to find a better explanation." She grabbed the jewels and marched out, slamming the door behind her.
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A meteor roughly the size of Mt. Everest slammed into Venus, sending a piece of the planet out into space, headed toward Earth. NASA detected it, determined it was too small to do much damage, and would land somewhere in the desert of Texas. They began making calls to round up a team to analyze samples once it hit.