By Ryan Bush
“They’re going to cut your funding, Jakk.”
The words slammed into me, but I continued adjusting the excavation bot’s parameters, pretending I hadn’t heard. When I finished, I watched the bot whir into the air, hovering above our floating platform before zipping to the jungle to join its companions at the archaeological site below. Dozens of bots dug through the soil, identifying and mapping the ancient city. A few human volunteers examined artifacts in the shade, but the bots did most of the work.
Straightening slowly, I glared at Dr. Zzahnthon Weatherby, esteemed archaeologist. He looked properly chagrined, but I knew his heart leapt with glee.
“Why is the Academy cutting my funding?” I forced through gritted teeth. “I’m closer than ever, and they want to cut me off now?”
Zzahnthon shrugged. “You know the rules as well as I do, Jakk. The Academy claims to promote all scientific endeavors, but there’s a line. Your work is… unorthodox, and they’re tired of pouring money into a fairytale.”
“New York City is not a fairytale!” I roared, and he recoiled, making our hover platform’s fans whine loudly to keep us balanced. “I’ve shown how prevalent it was in American societal literature and myth! New York City appears in dozens of ancient cinemas and books, and there are hundreds of other obscure references to it. These myths must have a kernel of truth to them!”
“It’s not me you have to convince,” Zzahnthon said dismissively. “You have an intriguing premise, Jakk, nothing more.”
“But the ruins show such promise! This site—”
“Is like countless other sites throughout the continent,” Zzahnthon cut me off. “The ancient Americans had dozens of megacities along their eastern coast. You’ve spent a decade here, with nothing that proves New York City ever existed! You’re done, Jakk. Your funding lasts through the end of the week.”
Zzahnthon stepped off my platform, letting his hoverbots gently lift him to his personal speeder waiting high above us. His vehicle shot away, quickly diminishing from sight. Zzahnthon’s wealthy Academy patron allowed him to pursue his every archaeological whim, performing excavations with the most expensive and cutting-edge technology.
“And I’m stuck with last-century bots and untrained human volunteers,” I growled as I glared at the jungle site below me. Well, if I had only a week left, I might as well use it.
I should’ve been asleep hours before, but I stared up at the walls of my tent in fury. How dare they? Why did those blind fools throw money after men like Zzahnthon while I had to beg for scraps?
Someone laughed in the distance. My crew was unbothered by this change of fortunes. Most of them were archaeology students, along with a couple of retirees looking for adventure in the jungle. What did they care if this site was shutting down? They’d just move on to something else.
Someplace less mythical.
Snarling, I crawled out of my tent. I wasn’t sleeping, so I might as well make use of my time. I glanced toward the campfire where everyone was gathered, then skulked through the jungle to the equipment bay. Tonight, I didn’t want to speak with anyone.
Dozens of bots sat on their charging stations, and I tapped the last bot in line. It whirred to life, beeping its activation signal.
“Follow me. Prepare for ground scanning mode, but don’t start until I tell you.”
The bot hovered behind me as I hiked into the wilderness, my aging eye implants flickering occasionally. They weren’t perfect, but I could still see in the dark well enough.
The vague outlines of hidden rubble jutted out of the jungle all around me. With our limited resources, we still hadn’t mapped all of these ancient ruins, but I knew where the majority were clustered. I followed the tiny compass built into my eye’s internal display, heading toward the edge of the city.
I’d been chasing a fairytale so long; I might as well go all the way. If New York City truly existed, why not other ancient fables? There were several references to a giant green statue of a goddess on an island near New York. What if it was real? No maps from that time had survived, and the landscape had changed drastically, altering the former coastline into an inland jungle. But if the idol had existed, it wouldn’t be near the other remains. I kept trudging.
Hours later and soaking with sweat, I stumbled into a clearing. Gasping, I gestured to the bot.
“Scan for large metal objects.” I hesitated, then shook my head. It would only find more buildings. “Narrow the scope of your search. Only scan for copper or bronze.”
It was a fool’s errand. But I had nothing else. The bot zipped through the air, aging scanners whirring as it tried to accomplish the impossible. Despondently, I slumped down at the base of a tree.
Hours later, an incessant beeping woke me. I blinked at the bot.
“What is it? Are your batteries low?”
The bot beeped twice. Stupid machine. Its sensors were probably broken again. Maybe it had found one of those ancient American pennies. A nice find, but hardly worth the effort.
“Very well, show me what you found.”
It hovered through the jungle at a slower pace, letting me keep up. I followed it for fifteen minutes, before suddenly coming to a freshly dug pile of dirt.
“Oh no,” I groaned. “Stupid bot, you excavated! You were just supposed to scan!” It probably wouldn’t have enough power to get home now.
I scrambled over the dirt and peered down into the dark pit. When my eye implants adjusted to reveal the bottom of the pit, I gasped.
Staring up at me from the dirt was a face. An enormous face, all in green. Howling with laughter, I scrambled down the slope and touched its nose, almost as tall as I was.
“Eureka,” I whispered.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
fun!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
I like how you developed the temporal backdrop in this piece! Thank you for sharing it!
Haha, thank you! I enjoyed imagining what fun technologies the world might possess far in the future. Hopefully someday we’ll get those flying cars!
A fun and entertaining read!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Wow! The archaeology of the future sounds cool! I’d like to know more about what happened to change the landscape of the US so much!
So would I… Maybe it was an alien invasion, or perhaps emus got released into the wild and disrupted the natural ecology?
This was such a cool read! I love how you went forward to a time where today is ancient history and combined it with archaeology. I don’t see much of that, if any!
Thank you, I enjoyed playing with that concept! I think I’ve seen it vaguely with Star Trek or the Wheel of Time, and it’s certainly a fun topic to write about!
I like the perspective of a civilization further off and how we are the myth. Nicely done.
Thanks! I’ve spent enough time studying ancient civilizations and their “myths,” it seemed like a good opportunity to turn the tables and do the same to the 21st century!
What a fun take on the future! (Albeit a little scary.)
That reminds me of a joke I heard, about what Disney resorts would look like in the future to archeologists… “These people had whole cities devoted to worshipping a rodent?”
Haaa! That’s pretty good. We also have a joke in the archaeology world, “If we don’t know what the object is, it must be ceremonial.” I can see all the future historians talking about ceremonial roller coasters and the Cult of the Rodent!
That is so funny! 🤣 I’ve gotta remember that one…
Fun!