The Chaos Code Read Online Free Page A

knew what it was from when he’d borrowed the computer before to do his homework – ‘parchment.’ Dad had talked about setting up Matt an ID of his own, but he hadn’t done it yet.
    While the computer loaded the desktop and connected to all the things it had to connect to, Matt picked up the book that had been lying with the disc across the keyboard. It was called
Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings
and was written apparently by Charles Hapgood. Just the sort of book Dad would be reading. Just the sort of book that Matt found really boring. He flicked through it – the dense-looking text, diagrams and old maps confirming his opinion.
    As he did so, a sheet of paper fell out. Matt picked it up, feeling a bit guilty at having lost Dad’s place in the book. It was a printout from a travel agent company, some sort of itinerary. He glanced at it, and saw that it must be a trip that Dad was planning – flying to Copenhagen, then by train and boat to somewhere called Valdeholm. Digging up boring bits of pottery, most likely.
    Matt was about to push the paper back between the pages of the book, when he saw that the other side had writing on it – notes scrawled by Dad, probably as he read through. They looked just about as boring as the book and itinerary did, but Matt skimmed through them as the computer continued the click and whirr and show him its hourglass.
    Piri Reis & Oronteus Finaeus cf Mercator and
Buache. Show America and Antarctica clearly.
Ant. ‘discovered’ 1818 but mapped by Russians
b4 – and Mercater = 1569!!
Buache (1737) shows Antarctica landmass
pre-glaciation (as in 13,000 BC ??) – seismic
survey didn’t confirm shape till 1958.
M & B both based on older maps – from
Alexandria (or Constantinople & taken by
Venetians 1204?)
Conclusions – obv
.
    â€˜b4’ was Dad’s way of writing ‘before,’ and ‘obv’ was his abbreviation for ‘obvious’ though Matt knew from experience that what was obvious to Dad wasn’t always apparent to anyone else. He tucked the paper back into the book.
    The top drawer of the desk seemed to be where Dad kept his pens and stationery – stapler, sticky tape, Post-it notes. Matt helped himself to a pen and found a blank piece of paper. Then, on an impulse, he stuffed the book of ancient maps and the clay disc into the drawer. Maybe Dad wanted them kept safe and together.
    The web page that came up was blank apart from an entry field headed: ‘Password.’ Matt stared at it for a moment, then typed ‘parchment.’ But there was only room for eight letters, which appeared as blobs in the box. So he actually typed ‘parchmen.’ The screen changed – but only to display a single line of red text beneath the now empty entry field:
Password incorrect
    Maybe he’d mistyped the address and gone to the wrong page. He checked it against Dad’s letter, but found it was the correct website. So what was the password? It would be something Dad would expect him to guess. Matt had no idea what the secrecy was about, but obviously Dad wanted Matt to be the only one able to see whatever was on the page behind the passwordscreen. Otherwise he’d have simply written whatever message he wanted to get to Matt in the letter. He’d need to work out the password to find out why Dad was being so cautious. Or maybe it was a game – Dad had arranged treasure hunts with cryptic clues when Matt was younger. But he was too old for that now, surely.
    But someone had taken the letters, Matt realised. He sat rigid, staring at the screen as he thought about that. Had Dad sent this letter to Mrs Dorridge because he
knew
that his mail was going to be stolen? Was it Matt’s letter that the intruder had been looking for? Matt’s mouth was dry, and swallowing did no good.
    He picked up the letter and read it again. Maybe there was a clue to the password in there, but it