Chapter 5

It would take several months to establish rules of grammar and basic vocabulary. Helena had worked days at a time, using the most complete database available to her. She had the conviction, feelings and ardor of pioneers, translating the oldest written documents ever found on earth and discovering a complete new world, unknown to civilization. She progressed very slowly at first along a frustrating text. The printed books provided her with a set of reference with names and geographical descriptions of great value from a historical prospective. She translated the first book as soon as the syntax had been established. It was a novel relating the adventures of a ship captain lost at sea. It was a story depicting a strong respect for nature, with the hero finishing his life on an isolated island.

"The raft was not as seaworthy as I'd hoped. The waves repeatedly threatened to swamp it. I wasn't afraid to die."

It was fascinating for Helena to read this ancient story and the other books as well, mystery books taking place in the lost world of Caprica or Picon. The first script Helena attempted to translate was the thin handwriting found on the first page of the brown cover book. Script took longer to decrypt, because letters were not formed as clearly, but after a few attempts, Helena was making sense of it.

"To Laura, May the journey never end. Bill."

Helena sighted, looking at the handwriting and thought: "It looks like the journey ended after all."

She knew it would take a lot longer before she would get a complete mastery of their language and understand the handwritten pads with dozen of pages of text. She could already recognize that the majority of the pages were written by a different hand than the dedication at the beginning of the book. The other pads of paper were written by the same hand that signed the book. At some point, she saw both handwritings on the same pad, as if Bill had taken over Laura's writing, assuming that it was Laura writing the first set. But she knew it would be the case, because Bill had written the note on the book to Laura and so it must have been her belongings in the crate. So Bill was there with her on the African ridge.

DNA evidence helped her put Bill in connection with the books. Indeed, results of more DNA testing came in and the DNA of Laura was found on the pages of the book, strongly suggesting she was the writer of the notes. Helena had scanned carefully the pads for any biological signs. She found what seemed to be a smear of blood on the paper towards the end of the pad and traces of water on the pages, as if the pages had been rained on. She checked with the molecular biologists to see if the DNA from the blood could be extracted and soon they were sampling little pieces of paper. This is how they identified another set of DNA. There was very little of it, but amplified, it revealed to be the DNA of a man, different than Laura's, as it showed the two persons were not related by family bonds, but still similar enough to hers that both persons would be from the same ethnic group. It was the biggest breakthrough in months. Identifying the note placed Laura next to the books and her DNA was clearly on the pages, then they could identify and place the man with her. Analyzing his DNA helped find that the two persons were closer to each other relatively speaking, yet still very foreign to earth human. Just like her, he was not related to modern humans, but still part of the human race. Just like her, he was not an ancestor to modern humans. Just like her, the Oxygen of his molecules contained large proportions of isotope 18, which indicated that he did not live on earth.

Of course Helena did not want to make any inferences not based on evidence, and certainly she was waiting for the complete translation to find out about the story of Laura. Clearly the man had given her the book, as the dedication on the first page proved. The book bonded them together. But she had died on this African ridge and the population then had been moved enough by her fate to name the place after her and keep her in their collective memory, in the legends that were passed from generation to generation. A great lady had died there at her lover's side. It would make sense that Bill was the man who accompanied her to her end, Bill, who lovingly put that note in the book and who was standing next to her on the ancient photograph. Laura was sick with cancer and according to the chemical analysis had received chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Yet, Helena was sure that there was nowhere to be found any remains of any hospital building, old enough and big enough to be a medical center with all of this technology. All evidence pointed to the fact that this woman had lived somewhere else, but she died here. Why? What was she doing on earth at the first place? Why did they come here? It looked like Bill was there too, since his handwriting was seen on the notes and his DNA found. Helena started to think that Laura might have gone too sick to be able to write and that he took over with the writing, while she was sick or even after she died. So maybe this lovers' tale was true like in the local legends: a queen, who died and he, who waited for his death by her grave.

More than ever Helena was determined to translate the notes she found, knowing that her suspicions would be tested, accepted or rejected by what she would find in those pages. Helena opened the folder and started to methodically go through the scanned pages of the 150,000 years old notes. The most intense and time-consuming translation of the most ancient text ever found on earth had begun.