Legend Renewed By Norma Ranieri

      It was a day that was not unlike any other Sam had experienced in his last 27 years of sailing. The sky was blue; the deep, semi-frigid waters of the North-eastern Atlantic were dark and serene, and he gazed lazily over the side, watching as the waves lapped gently against the bow of the boat. He'd seen the sight hundreds of times before, but it always seemed to amuse him. How the waves always moved and eroded away into the depths, totally independent of the actions of mankind.
      He had seen this sight many times before, but for some reason, something that he just couldn't quite grasp, this day felt different somehow. He'd sailed these same waters every year on his way to Spain to visit with his grandmother. She was an interesting lady, for lack of a better word to describe her, and when the rest of the family decided it was time to move from their homeland and start anew in America, she had refused to leave. She always denied feeling abandoned by her family, but Sam somehow felt guilty about the whole thing, even though he hadn't even been born yet at the time. He was the reason his parents had made the move; 'so that their son would be born an American citizen'. Maybe that was why he felt guilty all these years...
      He shrugged the feeling away again and altered his course slightly to the north to avoid one of the major shipping lanes. His boat wasn't what you'd call small, but it wasn't big enough to take on a huge container ship either. He enjoyed the ocean, but having never married he felt he was missing out on something by not having anyone to share it with. He was a stout man. Strengthened by his many hours at sea, but far from being unattractive. Any woman who was in her right mind wouldn't have found it hard to love him, but he had never felt the same way about any woman he'd met. He wasn't against marriage. Quite the contrary actually, but he'd never found the one woman who could capture his heart and entice him into marriage. Maybe one day he would, after all, he was only 42.
      His attention was diverted back to his sailing when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly, almost on instinct after his years of experience, diverted his course and swung by about 3 feet to the right of the long narrow object. 'A log' he decided. 'Even at sea there are trees.' He was looking away when he felt an urge somewhere in the back of his mind. One of those little tinges of thought that you usually listen to; often referred to as a second sense. He looked back at the 'log' again, but a little more closely this time. It looked superficially like a log but it was too smooth and regular to be a log. He scurried out on deck and leaned over the side to touch the object. It was cold. Of course it was cold, it's in the water. It's smooth. Smooth, no, not just smooth. It's extremely smooth! Now that doesn't fit the picture. It's..... metal! It was metal! But it was floating??
      Sam stumbled back in disbelief, tripping over a nearby deck arm and landing quite solidly on his ass. In all his years of sailing he'd never seen anything like it. He found himself thinking of a recent episode of The Twilight Zone as the image snuck into his head and he started mumbling something about there being no way that this object could have originated on earth. He felt the thump as the small boat, having drifted sideways in the current, bumped up against the object. The bump also jarred something in his head and he jumped up already running before his feet hit the deck and darted into the cabin. Fumbling with charts and compass he made his best guess-timate of his location when he first saw the 'log'. He wanted to be certain he'd have something to tell people when they asked him where he had found it. Bearing 32 degrees, 13 minutes 28 seconds North, by 29 degrees, 56 minutes, 4 seconds West. Nothing out here except an old abyssal plane and probably a lot of industrial garbage dumped years ago by the French and Spanish governments before they realized it wasn't a 'goodthing' to do.
      Well, Sam hadn't just fallen off the back of a turnip truck, so he knew that he would have to bring this thing, whatever it was, back to dry land with him. Else wise no-one would believe he'd seen such a thing. More so, they wouldn't believe its size. So Sam rigged up a couple ropes and tied them to either end and the middle in such a way that the 'log' would be pulled along behind his boat end first, but would still be pulled in several spots so as to keep the ropes from slipping off. He was putting along, feeling quite proud of himself when he saw another 'log'. This new one was even bigger than the last and sent Sam's mind whirling with new found excitement. He didn't want to risk pulling the larger one to shore, what with his limited fuel supply to consider. He made note of where he saw it and kept going.
      He continued his journey to Spain, all the while pulling his prize behind him, and with constant thoughts of what it could be flowing through his mind. That was when he spotted a third. Two days after he'd seen the first two, here was another one. Now Sam was worried. His unique prize that he found at a location known only to him that he could easily return to, was no longer a certainty. Which 'log' was closest to their origin, and who else had already found one? His excitement was slowly giving way to reality and he began to doubt his efforts to return to shore with the object.
      After making note of the third log's location Sam had continued on to Spain. When he arrived his grandmother was there waiting and was far too excited to listen to his story of floating metal logs. Sam soon found himself being whisked away by his grandmother's bridge club to a meal they said he would not soon forget. And to be quite honest, after spending 3 weeks on a boat, a good home-cooked meal did sound rather appetizing to Sam, so he really didn't require a whole lot of convincing to get him to follow them.

      That night Sam laid on his grandmother's couch, staring at the plaster ceiling. Normally he would have drifted off to sleep the instant his head hit the pillow, but tonight he couldn't help thinking about his new found treasure. He knew he had nothing to fear. It was strapped to the side of his boat in the relative safety of the marina and to anyone taking a casual glance it wouldn't look like anything out of the ordinary. His thoughts were not of worry, however. Instead, he was fantasizing about the fan fair he'd receive for making such a great discovery. Of course, he hadn't a clue what he had discovered, but in his mind tonight, it was something big. Something that would change his life. It would make his life better than it had been, and he was going to be ready for anything.

      Sam awoke to the sound of rain pattering on the roof of his grand- mothers small house. Under most circumstances he'd welcome the rain. He always had enjoyed sitting back on long spring days listening to the drops as they met with they're landtop journey back to the sea, but today he did not want to hear rain. Today he wanted it to be a bright, sunny day filled with people all heading towards the docks. On their way to see his great discovery. But no. It was raining. There would be no crowds of people at the docks. Even in the marketplace there would only be the occasional die-hard traditionalist who insisted on fresh vegetables for diner. Sam knew his fantasy would have to wait another day, but that wouldn't stop him from going to his boat to make certain his treasure was still safe. Nothing would stop him from that pleasure.
      "Sammy? Aren't you going to have some breakfast before heading out?" His grandmother's voice caught him just as he was about to step out the door into the pouring rain.
      "Of course Nan. I'll be right there." He loved his grandmother dearly, and she was the initial reason he was in Spain, but she seemed almost like a second priority now. He shook his head, almost feeling guilty for thinking that way about his grandmother. She was the reason he was there after all, and if it weren't for her and his wanting to see her, he'd never have found the log in the first place. He seemed to realize that she'd actually done him a favor, even if she didn't know it yet. He smiled, with his feelings satiated and his desires to return to his boat diminishing, he became that much more appreciative of his grandmother. She had no idea what she had done for him, and probably never would.
      What Sam didn't know was that there was a group of people on the docks that day. A very large group of people. Sam hadn't been the only sailor to come across the logs the day before. Matter of fact, there were at least three others who made their way to the same harbour the night before. These individuals apparently didn't have grandmothers to whisk them away however, and they had set to work immediately to ensure their discoveries were known to all. And in most cases people had just the reactions these sailors were hoping for: total amazement.
      By the time the clouds broke up and the sun blinked in the late afternoon sky, many people had either gone home or were off gossiping to members of the community who didn't make it to the docks to see for themselves. As he approached the docks he was met by several people, all asking him if he had heard about the strange logs that had been found. With each new person who asked Sam grew more and more agitated. Someone had taken his glory away from him. Someone had robbed him of his prize and now he had to watch as they were the center of attention and he was nothing more than a mear gossiping bystander. He kept his rage well hidden, but said only the most curt replies to people's inquiries and greetings. He didn't linger to chat, nor did he voluntarily greet anyone. Instead he walked straight to his boat, which much to his shegrin was at the very end of the jetty. Not being from around here he was forced to dock his boat in an unclaimed location, thus being the most annoying and the furthest from shore. It also meant he had to make his way past all the people to get anywhere near his own boat. An accomplishment he didn't much enjoy.
      His boat was just as he had left it, but it was nothing like what he had dreamed. There should have been hoards of people milling about and asking him questions. He should have been the center of attention, but instead, the only things paying any attention to him were a pod of dolphins which seemed very interested in his boat. Now why would dolphins be interested in his boat? Sam wanted people and admiration, not the petty interest of a few Dolphins. But forget that, why were there so many dolphins in the harbour? He glanced back towards the other boats which were along the jetty. A few dolphins were up there with the crowds, but not nearly as many as what were here.
      Now dolphins are normally playful creatures who do very little that doesn't serve to amuse them, but these dolphins didn't seem to be playing. Instead they looked almost like they were guarding. But guarding what... Then Sam noticed it. The only boats with dolphins hanging around were also the only ones that had crowds of people, and the ones which had brought logs into the harbour. The dolphins were watching the people? Why would dolphins care what people were looking at? Now this was getting really strange. No wait... they're not watching the people, their watching the same thing the people are watching: the logs. But why would the dolphins be interested in the logs? Now Sam, being the engineering type that he is, wasn't concerned so much with why they were doing it, but more-so in if anyone else had noticed it besides him. They may have taken one prize from him, but he'd make good on this deal one way or another.
      Sam watched the dolphins, as they in turn watched the logs and the people watched the logs, and some people watched the dolphins watching the logs. One big watch fest. It was all pretty strange, but then again, this entire trip had been filled with strange things. As he watched he noticed three dolphins coming into the harbour to join the already large number of dolphins present. They mingled about the group for a minute then three different dolphins left the group and headed off in the same direction from which the original three had arrived. What was this? The changing of the guard or something? Well, Sam wasn't one to give up a chance to find out. He quickly unlashed the log from his boat, under the careful scrutiny of about 15 dolphins, and securely fastened it to the jetty. He then started up his engines and left the dock at a speed entirely too fast for common- sense in a harbour.
      It took him a few minutes to find the small group of dolphins but they weren't hard to follow. They weren't in any kind of hurry and were practically coasting along in the water, almost as if they wanted to be sure not to lose their tailing friend. They playfully swam along for about 5 hours before they dove. Sam cut the engines and brought the boat to as close to a stand-still as possible and frantically searched the nearby waters, but the dolphins were nowhere to be seen. Sam began inventing a few colorful metaphors most human beings had never thought of before and stomping his feet on the deck. Of all the idiotic things... following dolphins, was he insane... they were just fooling with him... making it so easy for him to follow them... follow them out into the middle of no- where. He'd been so wrapped up with following them that he hadn't been plotting his course. He had no clue where in the Atlantic he was, and no real way to find out.
      He was grumping and pouting and more or less acting like a really big, nasty, baby when he saw one of those weird logs off in the distance. Normally the sight would have made him happy, but at this point in time it only served to aggravate him more. It was those logs that put him into the position he was in now. If it hadn't been for them he'd be home at his grandmothers house safe and warm being pampered and served more hot food than he could ever dream of eating. But no. Instead he was out here in the Atlantic with no clue where he was and nothing to show for it but chapped lips and an empty stomach. Yes, Sam was a big baby when it came down to the pinch but he'd never admit it in a million years.

      Sam spent that night drifting in the water, his thoughts becoming more and more full of anger and worry as he became more hungry and had less to show for his efforts. Morning arrived slowly and found Sam pretty much were he was when it got dark... lost. The one thing that saved Sam from probably heading off in a totally chaotic direction was the sight of a dolphin. Not the three he had been following, but a lone dolphin off his port side. It surfaced, looked purposefully directly at him, and swam 2 feet to it's left, dove down for a minute, and came straight up, then back down again. When it surfaced again it almost looked pissed off, which was not exactly a normal expression for a dolphin. Sam only laughed as he noticed that if this had been a dog instead of a dolphin he'd be sure the thing wanted him to follow.... That's it! It wanted him to follow it. Oh sure, now only if Sam were a fish this might have been plausible.
      The dolphin looked disappointed by Sam's reaction, but the look soon changed, as if a light had been turned on in it's head. It dove once again and disappeared. 'Oh great, now I've lost my chance', Sam thought. He slouched back against the railing and became aware of the tilting of the boat as the waves passed underneath. Waves? He was supposedly out in the open water where the depth would reduce any wave energy to nothing more than small swells. Why was his boat rocking, unless the water wasn't as shallow as he thought it was. His thought was broken by the noise of a few resurfacing dolphins behind him. He turned to see three dolphins pushing what appeared to be a diving wetsuit toward the boat. He leaned over the side and hauled the suit onto the deck while the dolphins waited patiently about 4 feet from the boat.
      OK, so now he'd seen everything. The dolphins were delivering a diving suit to him so he could follow them? Guess they meant business. Sam was about to put the suit on when three more dolphins arrived bringing a SCUBA tank and vest. 'Now if that tank actually has air in it then I'll really be impressed', thought Sam. He hauled it on board too and the 6 dolphins waited patiently in the water. Dolphins were intelligent, but they had mearly lucked out when they picked him because he happened to know how to SCUBA dive. Sam was putting his feet into the suit when he realized the previous owner hadn't fully vacated it. He let out a very disgusted squeal and leapt away from the suit, the remnants of something indescribable still clinging to his feet. He took a flying leap over the railing, still holding onto it so his feet hit the water and he was hanging off the side of his boat. He kicked his feet furiously to get the stuff off of them and then had a very unsettling look for the dolphins watching him. Sam made a mental note he never intended on forgetting... 'Dolphins can be very intelligent, but they have about as much tact as an IRS agent'.
      He hauled himself back into his boat and without much deliberation decided to forego wearing the suit. He'd be a little cold, but he was used to that. As for his thoughts of himself ending up the same way as the last person who wore that suit, well they were far overshadowed by his need to know what it was these dolphins wanted to show him. He didn't have much to lose after all, and this was probably his only chance of making good of this entire ordeal.
      He put on the vest and the tank and tested the amount of air left. Not bad, now let's just hope this thing hasn't been sitting on the bottom of the ocean so long that it'll break 5 feet down. Then again, 5 feet would be better than 50. He grabbed his flippers from the box and prepared to enter the water. The dolphins all moved back as if they were used to making way for an entering diver. A rather unsettling thought when you stop to think about it, but Sam continued none-the-less.
      Before long he was following the dolphins down toward an undersea ledge. 'So this was the structure generating those waves earlier', he thought to himself, but his attentions were soon diverted to a number of shining objects along the rocks. Now these were something Sam had never seen anything like before. He started over closer to the ledge but his path was soon blocked by a very determined dolphin who proceeded to nudge him back toward the group who were now descending along a steep rock cliff. His mind flashed back to the remnants in the dive suit and he wondered if that wasn't what happened to the last visitor who didn't listen to instructions.
      He quickened his stride a little and glided along next to the dolphins. Now, ordinarily a human being would be pretty much frozen stiff by this point in time considering he was swimming without a wetsuit, but he was far too excited to even feel the cold. Here he was being lead somewhere by dolphins who represented a story he could sell to any movie company on the planet at the very least, if not something much more profitable. They continued to descend but the strange thing was that it didn't seem to get any darker. Sam could no longer see the surface of the water, but there was still plenty of light. Each time they passed by one of those flat shiny objects embedded in the cliffs the light level increased, almost like they were the source of the light. Finally the dolphins allowed him to swim close enough to one to actually see what it was. They were huge crystals which were reflecting the light downward and intensifying it enough each time to allow it to reach the next crystal on the cliff, thus perpetuating the light all the way down.
      It was around this time that Sam started to feel the pressure in his ears and especially on his face where his mask was pressing into the bridge of his nose. Even his efforts at equalizing the pressure in the mask by breathing out through his nose seemed to be in vain, but he refused to miss out on this travel with the dolphins.
      Before long the light level brightened even more so and Sam was greeted by just about the last thing he had ever expected to see at the bottom of the sea. There, below him, with what seemed to be hundreds of dolphins milling about like little citizens was a... City. Not just any city, but a human type city with big buildings and roads and everything you'd expect to see on -dry- land. There was a group of smaller dolphins chasing after a squid off to the right. Further down the street on the left side there were two adults swimming along-side a very young dolphin, off in a clearing to their immediate left were a number of dolphins who were playing a game which could only be described as a game of tag. Every building and tower had little bubbles percolating from their depths and a crystal on top producing huge amounts of light; relatively speaking of course. The only thing that kept Sam believing he was underwater was the trees he'd expect to see along the sides of the roads were kelp fronds and seaweed instead, and the inhabitants, namely dolphins, were swimming five feet above the road.
      Sam was astonished. The whole thing looked like something out of a Sci Fi movie, but he was really living it. Or was he? Maybe he was simply having a very elaborate dream induced by his grandmother's hot olive meatballs. But he was returned to reality by the gentle nudging of a dolphin guiding him towards one of the closer buildings. Sam did as he was told and swam over to the building. Once inside he saw the next least thing he expected... Dolphins breath air, right? So how could dolphins spend time so deep under water, and for so long without breathing? Well, Sam was getting his answer. In front of him was a room, full of air. Well, not quite full, the floor was water, and housed a very dense crop of vegetation. A kind Sam couldn't name but then again, he wasn't a botanist either. Each little leaflet on each little plant in each little room of the building was covered by little bubbles of, you guessed it, air. And each time the dolphins swam by these little air bubbles would drift up and join the air pocket near the ceiling.
      Now Sam was getting right into trying to figure out how all this worked. The crystals reflected the light through, which allowed the plants to grow and photosynthesize, thus producing oxygen which the dolphins in turn breathed. The dolphins then exhaled carbon dioxide which would join with the pure oxygen in the air pocket contaminating it just enough to lower the oxygen levels to non-harmful levels. Carbon dioxide, being lighter than air would collect more near the ceiling and slowly bubble out causing the bubbles appearing from each building and preventing the collection of carbon dioxide from making the air unbreathable. And all the while a small amount would also dissolve into the water and be used by the photosynthetic plants. It was remarkable!
      He wasn't sure how long he'd been floating there contimplating the workings of the place but he was once again being nudged somewhere by a dolphin. This time he figured they wanted him to come up and breath with them instead of depending on the SCUBA equipment. He complied, chastising himself the entire time for acting like such an idiot. He was depending entirely on the dolphins to tell him what to do, when he knew darn well what he should have been doing all along. He'd just been too zoned out to realize anything for himself. He took off the mask and swam around on the surface, examining the room he was in. Might as well try and find out what the place was. The dolphins were intelligent, but there was no way they were the creators of this place. Flippers just don't have the dexterity required for such a job. Despite the fact that the place seemed almost to be renovated for the sole purpose of housing dolphins.
      Sam continued his eye-balling of the walls: statuettes of marine creatures and flora, carvings of long eroded shapes, pillars, archways. Every single thing rounded and smooth, either done on purpose or as result of many years of water erosion. Hmmm... and the walls almost looked like they were made out of logs, like a log cabin. The logs that were floating! They came from here! Of course, that's why the dolphins were so interested in them. Sam's mind was coming up with lots of strange theories now. Even he wasn't sure if it was oxygen deprivation, water pressure, or pure excitement, but he was having fun. Dolphins are mammals, maybe they had humanoid ancestors who made this stuff but who evolved to the sea. He chuckled at that one. Or maybe this is a human city that was flooded, or maybe a war, or a great catastrophe caused it to sink into the sea. Nawwww, that couldn't be it, there would be damage to the city and this place looked emaculate. Then he saw the one thing which gave him the answer he sought and sent his mind whirling all in one shot. A single plaque, made of a bronze looking metal that said one word in archaic type English.... 'Atlantis'.

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