Dark Dig Prolog

Prolog

When does an adventure begin? For the vast majority of us the answer is – never! We live out our carefully choreographed lives, void of drama or any life-threatening events that might threaten the tranquility of our mundane existence.

For some, the adventure begins when unexpected happenstances are tangled into a web of events not clearly understood (perhaps that was what Shakespeare meant when he wrote about “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”).

There are a few, however, who seem to realize, early on, there is more to life than meets the eye. Perhaps, Carol Dunmore was one such soul. At birth, she may not have fully known her destiny, but all her life she knew there must be more to life than what her small town had to offer. She never vocalized the feelings stirring within; she never felt it was necessary. When asked why she acted as she did, she only shrugged her shoulders and asked, “Why do you need to ask? Do you know why you act the way you do?”

Carol learned that success in life requires mastering challenges. From the moment of her birth, the lessons started. Early on, she learned precious lessons from the secret school for girls. Pink is for girls – blue is for boys. Yes, she quickly learned all of the dos and don’ts defining the feminine gender.

Over the years, she learned to keep her knees together and the proper way to cross her legs at the knee, or the ankle in a respectable fashion. She learned how to dress appropriately and how to be knowledgeable of current fashion trends. . . Most importantly, she learned the acceptable methods to exhibit her sexuality in a discrete way. For self-preservation, she internalized the fears all women carry just beneath their consciousness, never to be ignored - the constant knowledge of the threat men posed!

She learned of the glass ceilings, requiring women to stifle their ambitions and goals in order to avoid some form of male retaliatory aggression. Carol noted with disgust, the way women in general and especially her strongest female role models appeared to be prisoners of the same pervasive prison of cultural compliance known as the ever- present “GLASS CELLING”.

Over the years, she grew from child to young adult and then to womanhood. As she grew, she became more aware of some driving force deep within her, a force that refused to accept the norm. At the same time, the natural process of hormone distribution made her acutely aware of her sexuality.

Carol honed her physical skills and studied hard to acquire knowledge. Thus, she became a master of her craft. She wielded all the weapons at her disposal like a ninja warrior in the gender war.

Being a keen observer of the ways of the world around her, she learned sex could be an enjoyable shared emotional event between lovers as well as a tool or weapon if need be. Depending upon the situation, she could focus her powers as a weapon, or a useful tool to gently coax men to comply with her. She became very skillful in her ability to flaunt or withhold her sexuality, making it her most effective weapon. A weapon she knew most men were venerable to.

Yes, Carol learned the lessons well, but something deep within her rebelled at the restraints placed upon her. She was not consciously aware of the struggle raging inside her psyche, but the rebel within her, silently waged an internal revolution driving her to seek adventure.

She refused to be stuffed into some neatly labeled pigeonhole. If she was going be called anything she chose to be called a “FREE SPIRIT”. This rebellious spirit within moved Carol onward and guided her quest for adventure and nothing in her small town could hold her back.

The Adventure Begins

Kindergarten was Carol’s first big adventure. On her first day in school, she was overjoyed. The school opened up new horizons and she could feel the rebel within surge. All the new sights captivated her. Being exposed to a larger number of people acted as a catalyst to her quest.

The big maps, depicting the vastness of the world, fascinated Carol and fanned the flames smoldering deep within her soul. She just knew adventure was waiting for her out there in the big world. Realizing the world was greater than her humble hometown spawned a determination burning at her very existence to explore all the possibilities.

At that moment, she felt something deep inside her spring to life, like some wild beast seeking freedom. Captivated by the maps, she spent hours studying them, trying to learn their secrets. Carol let her imagination run free and envisioned all the adventure waiting out there beyond the city limits sign. She wanted to be free and explore.

Carol refused to be just a young girl in a small town with big ambitions. She was preparing for flight while everyone told her she had no wings. The inertia of the common, collection of community wisdom was staggering. Tensions mount within a young girl when the body and the soul are not in-sync.

Determined to fly free, Carol found her wings. The magic of modern technology gave flight to her vivid fantasy. She was able to sore through space and time to explore what ever caught her fancy. The beckoning call of distant adventures made her unhappy with the confines forced upon her by small town expectations and the tons of stifling religious dogma.

“Boring”; Boring was the only word that came to her mind, to describe her family. Boring described the whispered small-town gossip. Boring, Boring, Boring!

Oh, Carol knew of the small-town dramas. She was very much aware of the not so secret “secrets” played out in the bars and cheap motels. To her, these scandals represented nothing more than a desperate attempt, by people caught in the web of small-town reality, to make their drab lives more than the sum of their mundane existences. The small-town dramas only made her more determined to explore the universe of possibilities, unimagined by those who accepted the established path.

All through school, she strove to excel. While her friends frivoled away their time hanging out at the local hamburger joint or squandering the summer vacation engaged in the mindless pursuit of domestic bliss, Carol haunted the quiet halls of the library and learned to use the computer to research items not available locally. She perceived school as a means to escape.

She saw school as her own personal underground railroad to freedom. Carol could only shake her head in disbelief when she heard her friends defending their lack of knowledge. They acted like as being ignorant was somehow “PATRIOTIC” They would proclaim their street smarts were in some way superior to getting educated and how they thought good grades were in some unexplained way undesirable. To her, their argument of common sense is better than “book learning” was just a feeble shield, an inept attempt to, in some way, justify their ignorance.

The term elite and nerd became the battle cry of those who chose the lazy path and retreated from the challenges of education. Carol found this mindless attack on intelligence hilarious because it was the NERDS who were creating all the wonderful gadgets everyone thought were to “DIE FOR”. After all, everyone knew, life could not exist without a smart phone.

Carol noticed that all these clever devices, promising total access to limitless knowledge, actually offered the ultimate escape from reality in the form of mind-numbing games. Carol remembered reading someplace that Einstein warned of such a future when he wrote.

“I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots.”

Being young and a bit naïve, Carol never considered the consequences of mass delusion from a populous lacking basic knowledge. At the time, she saw their lack of interest in achievement as a positive, because it made it easier for her progression.

All of her hard work paid off, she scored high on all the college entrance exams and went way beyond the standard scholastic requirements. She was determined to be prepared for any adventure and explore the endless opportunities of a big city.

Carol compiled a list of universities she considered her best path for her future. Her outstanding academic achievements paid off. Her hard work and intensive studying resulted in a scholarship to a university near the top of her wish list. The best part was it was close to the throbbing heart of New York City. This would be a big move, but she was determined to be all she could be. Carol was not at all sure if her sheltered life made her too naive to comprehend the realities of the real world. Undaunted, she forged ahead with a cry of, “ready or not – here I come,” echoing in her heart, soul, and mind.

The Challenge

College was a real revelation. She felt both excited and lost. Her roommate was nice, but didn’t make any effort to be close friends. Carol did not let her roommate’s attitude bother her. She relied upon her years of preparation and buried herself in a heavy class load.

Her love of History and Art, lead her to take classes in Ancient Greek Culture. One reason she chose that class was the guest lecturer, Dr. Marcus Atonasis. The moment she saw his photo on the synopsis, she felt something deep within her start to stir. From the first day in class, Carol knew there were feelings being set free, over which she had no control.

Carol loved everything about Ancient Greek Culture. Each lecture gave her mind wings and whisked her to the faraway places she only knew from her obsession with maps. The fact Dr. Atonasis personally conducted the lectures made each class an adventure.

Marcus dominated the room the moment he stepped to the podium. He was not a tall man, only five feet seven inches in his expensive Italian loafers. His hair was jet black, cut short with a hint of a curl. His face looked like a statue chiseled from a block of granite with a dark Mediterranean complexion. Carol was sure she was not the only female to be attracted to his overpowering masculinity.

When Marcus looked at her, Carol felt his gaze penetrate deep into her soul. He made her feel like she never felt before. No, it was not some little school girl crush, she knew what they were from her high school years. These feelings were new to her, both exhilarating and frightening. Carol felt the stirrings of the ever-present inner self, buried deep within, wanting to gain control of her emotions. These powerful stirrings made her fight harder to stay focused on her studies. Yet, she found she was spending a lot of time trying to learn more about this man of mystery.

From the first day of class, Carol felt mesmerized by Dr. Atonasis’ presentations. Listening to him speak of the ancient world made the old static maps in her small-town school suddenly spring to life. All this only made her more determined to learn everything there was to know about the subject.

All the hours of hard studying paid off. Marcus invited the top students to attend a special fundraising event. The voice deep inside could no longer be ignored. The beast of rebellion within shouted for her to take advantage of this adventure.

Carol wanted to make a favorable impression on more levels than she was aware. All week before the event, Carol rushed around trying to find the proper dress, get her hair styled, and doing computer research on the subject material. All the while, the demon within fought for freedom.

On the evening of the event, Carol arrived early to ensure a good seat. This also provided an opportunity to walk around and examine some of the exhibits. When she noticed the room was filling up, she rushed to find a seat with a good view.

Marcus opened the presentation with a short monolog to cover the nature of a dig before he started a short video. The video opened with panoramic views of the rugged terrain and then zoomed in for a close-up examination of the treasures thus far uncovered.

The images captivated Carol. She felt the power of the images sweep her away to a different time and a distant place. The voice within demanded her to take action. Before the end of the presentation, Carol knew she had to volunteer to work on the dig and become a part of Dr. Marcus Atonasis’ program.

After the presentation, Carol sought Marcus’ attention. With so many wealthy guests surrounding him, it was difficult to break through the crowd. Deftly slipping between the tangle of people, Carol managed to pick up little bits and pieces of conversations around her. She heard several guests mention a secret warehouse where more items were stored and only shown to people who wanted to make a large donation. She heard enough to spark her curiosity.

As time passed, the crowd thinned. Carol was shocked to hear Marcus’ voice whisper her name behind her.

“Oh, Dr. Atonasis, you startled me. I thought you were busy with the guests. I was not sure you even knew who I am” Carol managed to squeeze out of her suddenly tight, dry throat.

“You can call me ‘Marcus’ here, we are not on campus. I’m very glad you attended the presentation. I invited all the top students, but only you and two others actually showed up. I’m afraid it will have no impact on your grade, but then why would you want extra credit when you already have 100%,” Marcus said with a grin.

“So, you do know I’m one of your students! I keep hearing people talk about a ‘secret warehouse’ where you have more artifacts hidden. I would really love to see more of the discoveries you have made,” Carol replied.

“Must not be much of a secret if everyone is talking about it,” Marcus quipped. “But they must be referring to the warehouse where the items are sorted that are of a more mature nature,” he continued.

“I see. Well, I’ll be 21 in a few months. Could you arrange for me to view the warehouse? It might help me get extras credit from Professor Pontus,” Carol pleaded her case.

“Professor Pontus is very demanding, but I’m sure he already knows you are a star student. He would however, be impressed by your eagerness to expand your knowledge by going to study the exhibit. Well, if you have time now, you could come with me. The ‘SECRET WAREHOUSE’ is not far from here,” Marcus replied.

“Oh please, let me see everything. I took your seminar because Professor Pontus recommended you, as a great-hands-on, expert in Greek History. I have been fascinated by history and the adventure lurking just beyond the horizon all of my life,” Carol confided. Carol continued to explain why she was interested in history. She caught herself babbling like a school girl, as she followed Marcus to the warehouse.

Once inside, her eyes tried to adjust to the glare from the bright, bluish light from the fluorescent tubes suspended from the ceiling. She stood by the door waiting for the fluorescent lights to stop flickering and blinking.

With great effort she focused her eyes on the vast array of shelves filled with precious relics. The shelf closest to her held earthen pottery adorned with images of nude figures engaged in every form of sexual activity.

“Oh, now I see why you keep these items out of public display,” Carol said as she leaned forward to get a better view of the artwork.

“Yes, I am here to raise money, not controversy. These pieces are already sold to museums that have set up special areas to display art of this nature. The fact this dig site has such a large quantity of sexually explicit art has made it hard to determine what the area was used for. It seems to have a lot of references to the God Eros. That could mean it is some sort of temple built to honor him. But it could just as well be the summer retreat of a wealthy Athenian who built a pleasure palace to indulge his personal lust. In order to learn more, I need to raise money to pay for the operation,” Marcus explained as he guided her through the collection.

“I’m so happy you brought me here. I must admit the images were more erotic than I expected, but they show such high-quality craftsmanship. I mean I have been to other museums with similar exhibits, but none of them were so graphic in detail. The person who created this artwork must have been very famous. So, do you know of any other of his works from different locations?” Carol inquired as she paused to study an image of two young women engaged in mutual sexual stimulation.

Marcus stopped and took a closer look at Carol. He knew she was well versed on the subject as her performance in class was of the highest level and now her conversation showed a depth of knowledge beyond what he encountered even among Professors in the field.

“That is a very wise observation. We are currently comparing these artifacts to others found at different locations to answer that question. That is why I need to get more funding to continue the operation. One way to cut the costs was to engage highly motivated students. I have been very lucky to attract many volunteers to spend summer break working at the site,” Marcus summarized.

The last statement caught Carol's attention. Suddenly her inner self tugged against all restraints of convention and logic. The beast within would not be ignored. Carol’s mind was filled with images of her with Marcus at sunset standing on a windblown plain overlooking the site where they had uncovered the answer to the great mysteries of antiquity.

There was no doubt in her mind. She had to volunteer to assist Marcus on this noble quest. It took Carol several weeks and all of her acquired womanly skills to get Marcus to think it was his idea to take the relationship to the next level.

She dressed to attract his attention, but was careful not to appear as a slut. She would stand very close to him to allow him to breathe in the heavy fragrance of her expensive perfume. She explained how she was no longer one of his students and she made it very clear she was not just some silly school girl with a crush.

At long last, she cracked his resistance and he tossed caution to the wind. After a delightful dinner at a lovely restaurant and more than just a few glasses of dark red Greek wine, she let Marcus believe it was all his idea to take her to his apartment. The ensuing events were a blur of erotic explosions. All too soon the unrelenting morning sun burned its way into her consciousnesses and she awoke in his arms. In that moment of a blissful half dream, she told Marcus how she felt compelled to volunteer to work on the dig.

The only question remaining was how to deal with her family’s resistance. After careful consideration, Carol was positive she would never get her parents blessing so she decided the less they knew the better. Thus, Carol decided it might be better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.