Inca Gold
Encyclopedia
- For the Choose Your Own AdventureChoose Your Own AdventureChoose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
book, see Inca Gold (Choose Your Own Adventure).
Inca Gold is a novel written by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
. First published in 1994
1994 in literature
The year 1994 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Kevin J. Anderson - Champions of the Force, Dark Apprentice and Jedi Search*Reed Arvin - The Wind in the Wheat*Greg Bear - Songs of Earth and Power...
, it is the twelfth book in Cussler's Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
series.
Plot summary
In 1532 a fleet of ships sails in secret to an island in the middle of an inland sea. There they hide a magnificent treasure more vast than that of any Pharaoh would ever possess. Then they disappear, leaving only a great stone demon to guard their hoard. In 1578 the legendary Sir Francis Drake captures a Spanish galleon filled with Inca gold and silver and the key to the lost treasure, which included a gigantic chain of gold that belonged to the last Inca king, a masterpiece of ancient technology so huge that it requires two hundred men to lift it. As the galleon is sailed by Drake's crew back to England, an underwater earthquake causes a massive tidal wave that sweeps it into the jungle. Only one man survives to tell the tale... In 1998 a group of archaeologists is nearly drowned while diving into the depths of a sacrificial pool high in the Andes of Peru. They are saved by the timely arrival of the renowned scuba diving hero Dirk Pitt, who is in the area on a marine expedition. Pitt soon finds out that his life has been placed in jeopardy as well by smugglers intent on uncovering the lost ancient Incan treasure. Soon, he, his faithful companions, and Dr. Shannon Kelsey, a beautiful young archaeologist, are plunged into a vicious, no-hold-barred struggle to survive. From then on it becomes a battle of wits in a race against time and danger to find the golden chain, as Pitt finds himself caught up in a struggle with a sinister international family syndicate that deal in stolen works of art, the smuggling of ancient artifacts, and art forgery worth many millions of dollars. The clash between the art thieves, the FBI and the Customs Service, a tribe of local Indians, and Pitt, along with his friends from NUMA, two of whom are captured and threatened with execution, rushes toward a wild climax in a subterranean world of darkness and death - for the real key to the mystery, as it turns out, is a previously unknown, unexplored underground river that runs through the ancient treasure chamber.Chronology
The plot revolves on the great pre-ColumbianPre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
civilizations in the Andes is used especially often in discussions of the great indigenous civilizations of the Americas, such as those of Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
(Inca, Moche
Moche
'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. While this issue is the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state...
, Chibcha, Chachapoyas
Chachapoyas culture
The Chachapoyas, also called the Warriors of the Clouds, were an Andean people living in the cloud forests of the Amazonas region of present-day Peru. The Incas conquered their civilization shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 16th century, the...
) and Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
(the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
and Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
).
- Huayna CapacHuayna CapacHuayna Capac was the eleventh Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire and sixth of the Hanan dynasty. He was the successor to Tupac Inca Yupanqui.-Name:In Quechua, his name is spelled Wayna Qhapaq, and in Southern Quechua, it is Vaina Ghapakh...
gives to his son and heir HuascarHuáscarHuáscar Inca was Sapa Inca of the Inca empire from 1527 to 1532 AD, succeeding his father Huayna Capac and brother Ninan Cuyochi, both of whom died of smallpox while campaigning near Quito.After the conquest, the Spanish put forth the idea that Huayna Capac may have...
a great gold chain, the most valuable treasure in the world. - 1532: Francisco PizarroFrancisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
kidnaps the Inca king AtahualpaAtahualpaAtahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa , was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru...
and asks for a huge ransom. - 1533: Huascar sends his riches to the North, beyond the lands of the Incas and the Aztec, to a small island in Central America, to protect it from the brother in law.
The record of the journey is a quipu
Quipu
Quipus or khipus were recording devices used in the Inca Empire and its predecessor societies in the Andean region. A quipu usually consisted of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair. It could also be made of cotton cords...
(prototype form of written record by knot, held by a quipumayoc) held in a small jade box.
- 1547: Spanish ConquistadorConquistadorConquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s discover the Naymlap's tomb in the city of Tiapollo. The armor of the mummy of Naymlap is an aid to discover the hidden treasure. - 1577: Francis DrakeFrancis DrakeSir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
set sail for the Pacific with four ships. His will be the first English ship to pass through the Strait of MagellanStrait of MagellanThe Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...
via what will be called the Drake PassageDrake PassageThe Drake Passage or Mar de Hoces—Sea of Hoces—is the body of water between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica...
. - 1578: The biggest treasure Spanish galleon of the Pacific Armada Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, commanded by Juan de Anton and armed with only 2 cannons, set sails from CallaoCallaoCallao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
in the Incan lands to the colony in PanamàPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, to pass the istmo by mule and send the richness to Siviglia.
The English Corsair galleon Golden Hind
Golden Hind
The Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for its circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake...
, commanded by Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
and armed with 18 cannons, approaches using a Spanish Flag and take over the Spanish galleon. The gold is taken on the English vessel and the religious articles, including the small jade box holding the quipu, is left on the Spanish one.
- The Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, captured and commanded by Drake's second Thomas Cuthill, is stormed by a TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
in the inland near Panama. - 1580: The Golden Hind returns to PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
with the gold, Drake is dubbed Sir by Elizabeth I - 1594: A PortuguesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
expedition find in a village on the Amazon RiverAmazon RiverThe Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
Thomas Cuthill. He speaks of Drake and the Conception, but is left as a mad man. - 1922: Tiapollo's armor is stolen from the Regional Archaeological Museum of Siviglia.
- 1939: Nicholas Bender publishes a book on the ancient path of the hunter for EldoradoEl DoradoEl Dorado is the name of a Muisca tribal chief who covered himself with gold dust and, as an initiation rite, dived into a highland lake.Later it became the name of a legendary "Lost City of Gold" that has fascinated – and so far eluded – explorers since the days of the Spanish Conquistadors...
. - 1964: Two subs die exploring the CenoteCenoteA cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico and Central America, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath...
. - March, 1998 Steve 'Doc' Miller of the Pennsylvania UniversityPennsylvania UniversityPennsylvania University may refer to one of two unrelated universities:* University of Pennsylvania, a private university* Pennsylvania State University, a state-related university...
goes in Peru and is killed by Tupac Amaru. Cyrus Sarason of the Solpemachaco takes his place. - October 10, 1998: Dr. Shannon Kelsey, an expert in the Chachapoyas cultureChachapoyas cultureThe Chachapoyas, also called the Warriors of the Clouds, were an Andean people living in the cloud forests of the Amazonas region of present-day Peru. The Incas conquered their civilization shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in Peru. When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 16th century, the...
, and the operator Miles Rodgers, dive in the Cenote, and don't come back.
Trujillo
Trujillo, Peru
Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the third largest city in Peru. The urban area has 811,979 inhabitants and is an economic hub in northern Peru...
military base asks for NUMA
National Underwater and Marine Agency
The National Underwater and Marine Agency , originally an organization within the fiction of author Clive Cussler, is a private non-profit organization in the United States...
intervention.
An helicopter with Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
and Al Giordino
Al Giordino
Albert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
take off from the NUMA seismic vessel Deep Fathom
Deep Fathom
Deep Fathom is a novel by James Rollins. Ex-Navy SEAL Jack Kirkland surfaces from an aborted underwater salvage mission to find the earth burning. Solar flares have triggered a series of gargantuan natural disasters. Earthquakes and hellfire rock the globe. Air Force One has vanished from the skies...
.
Tupac Amaru, with a band of Sendero Luminoso (Peruvian Maoist guerrilla group), kidnaps the scientists and the students, and take them in the Viracocha
Viracocha
Viracocha is the great creator god in the pre-Inca and Inca mythology in the Andes region of South America. Full name and some spelling alternatives are Apu Qun Tiqsi Wiraqutra and Con-Tici Viracocha...
Valley, in the mythical death city Pueblo de los Muertos.
- Dirk Pitt frees the prisoners and steals an Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
, an old soviet helicopter, to return to the Deep Fathom.- Rudi GunnRudi GunnRudi Gunn is a fictional character in the Dirk Pitt adventure novels by acclaimed novelist Clive Cussler. He is played by Rainn Wilson in the movie Sahara....
,comes to the Deep Fathom and joins the party.
- Rudi Gunn
- October 15, 1998: Pitt and Shannon return to the Cenope to recover the dead corpse of Dr. Miller and find an explosive trap.
- Julien Perlmutter is asked to find evidence on the Concepcion. He searches the archives at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. He contacts Frank Adams, the publisher of the book titled On the Trail of El Dorado by Nicholas Bender and obtains the author's phone number. Mr. Bender graciously offers to give St. Julien the journal of Cutthill
Dirk Pitt asks Hiram Yaeger to find evidence of a Tsunami in the zone.
Pitt flies to Lima and receive a EG&G
EG&G
EG&G, formally known as Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., is a United States national defense contractor and provider of management and technical services. The company was involved in contracting services to the United States government during World War II, and conducted weapons research and...
magnetometer
Magnetometer
A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of a magnetic field either produced in the laboratory or existing in nature...
from the NUMA ship. The Geometrics G-8136 is an airborne proton magnometer, similar to the old G-801 Gunn is used to. Pitt hopes to be able to locate about 1 ton of iron in the wreck from a height of 50–75 meters.
Pitt, Giordino, and Gunn board a commercial flight to Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
, the capital of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. A petrol company in debt to NUMA lends them a McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
NOTAR
NOTAR
NOTAR is the name of a helicopter anti-torque system which replaces the use of a tail rotor. Developed by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems , the name is an acronym derived from the phrase NO TAil Rotor...
MD900 Explorer helicopter, a two-turbine modern helicopter with no tail rotor.
They fly to the Bay of Caraquez and follow the Chone River
Chone River
-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.* *...
inland, until they reach the rapids. Then they fly a grid composed by 2 km-long lines parallel to the 1578 coastline, from 2 km inland to 7 km, spaced 75m.
They find the galleon on the original grid at the 7th km, meaning the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
would have carried the 570-ton ship 7 km over the land.
Pitt goes down to retrieve the jade box while Gordino and Gunn refuel at the Manta
Manta
Manta is a mid-sized city in Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is the second most populous city in the province, the fifth most populous in the country and, economically, the third most important city of Ecuador. Manta has existed since Pre-Columbian times. It was a trading post for the Mantas....
airport. Pitt finds an anchor, mother-of-pearl and turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
artifacts, a 3 meter pit viper, an oil lamp and finally the jade box. Pitt hops a flight to Dulles airport, Washington, where Deputy Loren Smith picks him up in a 1953Allard
Allard
The Allard Motor Company was an English car manufacturer founded in 1936 by Sydney Allard. The company, based in Putney, London. until 1945 and then in Clapham, London, produced approximately 1900 cars until its closure in 1966....
J2X.
Taken to NUMA, Yaeger uses his computer to analyze the information in the quipu.
The Golden Body Suit of Tiapollo is taken to the Logan Storage Company, a warehouse complex near Galveston, and taken to an underground complex under the Zolar International.
Trivia
- Dirk Pitt wants a DixielandDixielandDixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
Orchestra to play Waiting for Robert E. Lee ("Way down on the levee in old Alabamy..."). - The First Attempt, a yacht owned by the couple that rescues Dirk Pitt in the Gulf of California, is also the name of a NUMA ship found in The Mediterranean Caper.
External links
- http://www.bc-alter.net/dfriesen/derrotero.html The Lost Treasure of the Inca
- http://ns.gov.gu/galleon/ on the real Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion, which was sunken in 1638 with Chinese riches.
- http://www.geometrics.com/ Producer of the magnometer used to localize the galleon