Searching For Andromeda

People visited and frolicked around Lima, the capital of Peru, whilst they rummaged through these iconic tourist desti2nations—and tourists did not only comprise of sightseers who traveled to take pictures. There were people who came to these locations carrying items meant to examine and amalgamate relics. People who came to investigate both scientific and historical significance of bits and pieces they could find.

Archeologists.

Machu Picchu has been known to be settling high in the slopes of Andes, its ruins continue to reveal the secrets of the Inca Empire. Incan Empire, or Inka Empire, was considered to be the biggest domain in pre-Columbian America. The city of Cusco harbored its administrative, political, and military center. In the 13th century, the Inca civilizations arose from the Peruvian highlands and then continued to develop over the course of many years.

Hiram Bingham III, an explorer, had encountered Machu Picchu in 1911 upon searching for Vilcabamba, a different city. It was a capital to which the Incan had fled after Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1532. As time pa.s.sed by, it was then recognized as the legendary Lost City of the Inca. Bingham spent most of his life with the argument about Machu Picchu and Vilcabamba. He had told people both cities were the same; his theory lasted until after his death in 1956. It seemed like the real Vilcabamba was situated in the jungle about 50 miles west of Machu Picchu. Recent research has cast doubt on whether Machu Picchu had ever been forgotten at all. When Bingham reached Machu Picchu, three families of farmers were living at the site.

The stones in the most striking edifices all the way through the Inca Empire used no mortar. Precisely were these stones had been cut, and compressed so closely together, even a card cannot be interleaved in the middle of the compressed rocks. Notwithstanding the apparent appeal of the building style, engineering advantages are also found within the infrastructures. Peru is a seismically unstable country—both Lima and Cusco have been steamrolled by seismic activity—and Machu Picchu itself was built on the crest of two fault lines. When an earthquake occurs, the stones in an Inca building are said to "dance;" bouncing through quakes and then fall back into place. Without this construction technique, innumerable preeminent structures at Machu Picchu would have malformed a long time ago.

Despite the fact that the Inca are the best dredge up for their beautiful walls, their civil engineering developments were exceptionally radical as well. They had a culture that did not include the utilization of draft animals, iron tools, and wheels. The site people often see nowadays had to be carved out of a notch flanked by two small crests by moving stone and earth to create a fairly even s.p.a.ce. The engineer Kenneth Wright has estimated that 60 percent of the construction done at Machu Picchu was underground. Much of that entails of unfathomable building bases and crushed rock used as drainage. Machu Picchu, after all, receives a chockfull of rain.

A trip to Machu Picchu is costly. The train tickets from Cusco can run more than a hundred dollars each, and entry fees range from $47 to $62 depending on which is the chosen option. In between, a round-trip bus trip up and down the 2,000-feet-high slope atop which the Inca ruins are located costs another $24. The steep path roughly trails Hiram Bingham"s 1911 itinerary and offers astonishing views of the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary, which looks almost as it did in Bingham"s time. The climb is strenuous and takes about 90 minutes.

The theory proposed by the Italian archaeoastronomer Giulio Magli states that the journey to Machu Picchu from Cusco had a ritualistic reason: reverberating the otherworldly voyage according to the first Inca"s tradition when they departed the Island of the Sun in Lake t.i.ticaca. Rather than merely following a more practical path along the banks of the Urubamba River, the Inca constructed the impractical but an appealingly spectacular Inca Trail, which according to Magli, arranged wayfarers for entry into Machu Picchu. The final leg of the journey would have finished with ascending to Intihuatana Stone, the peak in the main ruins.

Archeologists could find hiking straining during this time, but of course, it was a part of the job to go examine and go to perilous lengths to embark on such expeditions. It was a prerequisite to have a trained body in order to last in these strenuous trips. Archeologists cannot possess a body that is compromised in terms of physiques; this is why archeologists are usually tan, with tone bodies and callous hands. They were trained to handle the risks treks could bring. Expeditions, after all, had taken innumerable lives of archeologists. That"s how dangerous the job could be.

Ephraim has had a trip to several countries as per the subject requirement. It was a dig with mostly simple relics and already discovered bits and pieces of items. But it was the first time Ephraim had been on an actual dig. The archeological site was a cave situated in America. It was the usual dig students would be first exposed to.

Ephraim knew one of his cla.s.smates had taken an elective in Anthropology, the scientific study of humans, human behavior, and societies in the past and present. Anthropology is the study of what makes us human. Anthropologists take a broad approach to understand the numerous aspects of the human experience called holism. They consider the past, through archaeology, to see how human groups lived hundreds or thousands of years ago and what was important to them.

In the dig they explored as a prerequisite, BS Archeology students have seen several things that had emphasized ancestral habitation. These comprised of materials that emphasized historical significance—markings, relics, and trails. The first time Ephraim saw such a thing, he was fascinated. He was deemed speechless and amazed, just like everyone. They were like young birds learning how to fly—they were learning the ropes.

In the blink of an eye, Ephraim Ignacio Hughes was an official archeologist, a graduate of one of the top private inst.i.tutions. He wasn"t just Ephraim now, the boy who dreamt to explore. He was a young man with a bright future ahead—colors he could see from his spectacles were the color of beige, brown, orange, and yellow; the color of the sand. The color of temples. The color of mud. These were the colors of the past.

The team had arrived in Lima first, the capital of the country. After Cairo, this expansive city is the second-driest world capital, mounting directly above an elongated seash.o.r.e of disintegrating sea cliff. Tourists usually climb on the wave of chaos that spans high-rise condos constructed together with pre-Columbian temples.

Lima is the capital and the chief metropolis of Peru. It is situated in the Chillón valleys, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central seaside of the country, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Alongside Callao seaport, it forms a neighboring urban region branded as the Lima Metropolitan Area. With a population of more than 9 million, Lima is the most populated urban area of Peru and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the Americas.

The team had arrived in Lima after a sickening several hour flight. It was Samuel who came out of the plane first and vomited to the nearest garbage can. He continued vomiting, his back being stroked by Berthold. Hiroaki again came out last and leaned to a wall with his arms crossed. He closed his eyes again and had dismissed everyone else.

Esmeralda, on the other hand, came out with Ephraim. They were holding to several things; some bags, and several other things such as sweaters. After Samuel finished puking, they proceeded to find the ones who were tasked to pick them from the airport.

A Lamborghini once again came to pick the task force, with the exception of the president being there. He had already told them he had an unoccupied penthouse in Lima, and the task force, as said by the president, was "more than welcome" to stay—as if it was a vacation.

The penthouse was near to the coast and had a magnificent view of Lima"s Oceanside. When Ephraim and his task force arrived finally at the modernly cozy penthouse, it somehow felt like a vacation. Ephraim had never been in a fancy place before—especially ones in another country. He already stayed in a penthouse (in one of the group expeditions) but not in one as fancy as this. The president was certainly pampering them—and for some reason, Ephraim had a peculiar feeling about it. But he wasn"t so sure. This was his first job as an official archeologist; he didn"t know exactly how it"ll feel being on an actual dig. He didn"t know if the president was being generous, or if it was normal to provide so much for them.

"Fancy." Samuel starts, his face wasn"t as pale now. He had been puking ever since he came out of the plane (Berthold told them Samuel"s weakness was long hours of transportation and physical activities). Samuel certainly looked tired, but he looked a hundred percent better now compared to an hour ago.

"That president"s been givin" us too much lax time," Samuel whistles. "Fancy place. Beach. Is this a vacation?"

"No, Sam," says Berthold. "This is work."

"Che," Sam"s eyes drifted towards Esmeralda, who was eyeing everything in awe.

"First time, hag?" Samuel teasingly exclaims.

Esmeralda frowns.

"First time in a penthouse?"

"S-so what?" Esmeralda retorts, crossing her arms.

Samuel flashed a c.o.c.ky smirk. "You"ve been drooling while you stared,"

"Wha—?!" Esmeralda blushed furiously, and then the two of them chased each other around the penthouse.

"Aha . . . children," Berthold says as he walks to Ephraim who had now walked towards the veranda, staring vacantly at the penthouse which faced the ocean.

"Ephraim?"

Ephraim turned his head to face Berthold to smile.

"Raim is fine,"

Both Berthold and Ephraim stared at the oceans of Lima—they were nowhere in Peru. It wouldn"t be long until they go to Machu Picchu, where ANDROMEDA is located. Ephraim welcomed the warm breeze of the ocean, staring at the sun setting with his favorite hues; the color of orange, with a tad of purple, blue, and sandy beige. It was the shade of the past.

"So, Raim," Berthold starts. "You"re the team leader. Machu Picchu is an unexplored site. . ."

Ephraim"s eyes set to Berthold, who was staring at the ocean.

"Do you plan to excavate?" Berthold asks. "After we search for the research in ANDROMEDA?"

"Hm. . ." Ephraim smiles. "I don"t really know, but,"

Berthold eyed Ephraim, who was staring again at the ocean vacantly.

"I"m not sure." Says Ephraim. "I don"t think I"ll let the opportunity to pa.s.s."

"So you plan to disobey the president?" Berthold chuckles as he asks.

"Not necessarily." Ephraim flashed his usual smile.

"Oh . . ."

Ephraim sighed as he hears two bantering voices getting louder as time pa.s.ses by.

"You"re so uncharismatic!"

"Short, short, short!"

"I"m the researcher of this task force!"

"And I am the biologist. I can DO the research!"

"Aha! I do research on EVERY kind!" Samuel retorts.

"I don"t care. You"re still immature!"

Samuel says, sticking his tongue out. "Hag, you"re older than me but you"re short!"

"Don"t blame me for your misfortune!"

"Ah . . . here they go again," Berthold exclaims tiredly. "I should calm those two down."

"Doctor," Ephraim starts.

"Yes?"

Ephraim eyed Berthold keenly.

"Nothing," Ephraim exclaims. "Get enough sleep. We are all going to have a long day tomorrow,"

"My jetlag extends tomorrow," says Samuel. "Don"t wanna go to ANDROMEDA yet."

"Sam . . ." Berthold scolds.

"What? There"s a beach outside. No one said we"re rushing this project." Samuel grins. "Right, hag?"

"Wh-what!?"

"Short, uncharismatic girl here wanna go to the beach, saw her drooling over the oceans earlier!"

"Wh-wh-what! No!" Esmeralda points at Samuel. "But your jaw dropped when you saw the city! You"re the one who"s excited!"

"N-no!" Sam argues back, and then they started fighting again.

Berthold sighed as he smiles, while Ephraim examines the room, and then he realized one thing—

"Where"s Hiroaki?"