The Descent into the Maelstrom (The Phantom of the Earth Book 4)

Copyright © 2015 by Raeden Zen

All rights reserved.

The Descent into the Maelstrom
includes exhibits and text from
Algorithmic Puzzles
by Levitin and Levitin (2011), including puzzles 5, 31, 68, 78, 98, 112 on pp. 16, 47, 50, 55, 59–60, 68, 85–86, 146, 170, 186;
by permission of Oxford University Press, USA (URL:
www.oup.com
)
.

The Phantom of the Earth
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

World Map circa 368 AR

Capital City Map circa 368 AR

Cartographic Notes

Archimedes River:
runs from Area 51 in Boreas to the Shore, Piscator, where it mixes with the man-made lagoon at the border of the continent where the earth meets the Gulf of Yeuron; the portion of the river from Wenlock City, Jurinar, to Pragia Village, Luxor, flows
beside
the Visea Basin rather than running off into it; the portion of the river from Alpinia City, Marshlands (approx. 2,457 meters deep), to Vivo City, Vivo (2,527 meters deep), descends deeper into the Earth.

Beimeni River:
runs from Area 51, Boreas, to Yeuron City, Yeuron.

Beimeni zone:
a layer of the Earth that is, on average, between two thousand and two thousand five hundred meters deep; some parts of the commonwealth are deeper and some parts have shallower depths.

Haurachesa Territory:
cities of Port Newland and Huatervian City accessed from the sea and established in 217 AR and 227 AR, respectively; territory not reachable via traditional transport until 335 AR, when a tunnel was constructed beneath the Gulf of Yeuron to the Phanes Beltway.

Hillenthara River:
runs from the North Atlantic Ocean to the fork in Gubertiana Territory where it empties into the Archimedes River.

Inaccessible:
the regions in the Beimeni zone considered to be off limits to expansion owing to seismic activity within Earth.

Island of Reverie:
known as Manhattan, Before Reassortment; lies in the surface zone above Reassortment Hall.

Lochkafka River:
runs from Nurino City, Zereaux, to a fork in Portage Territory where it empties into the Beimeni River.

Masimovian Center:
though it’s labeled as #23 in the city map key, it’s unlabeled on the city map; includes Masimovian Tower and Buildings #2–#7.

Nyx Territory:
known as Angeles Territory prior to the collapse of Angeles City in 214 AR. Angeles City was renamed the City of Eternal Darkness the same year.

Phanes Beltway:
the commonwealth’s largest transport terminal. (
See
Appendix 6.)

Phanes Citadel:
unlabeled in the city map key and on the city map; is on top of the Swann Tower in the capital’s Plaza District.

Reassortment Hall:
located in the Earth’s crust beneath the Island of Reverie in the Beimeni zone.

Surface zone:
the surface of Earth.

Valanginian River:
runs from Palaestra City, Palaestra, to Phanes Lake, Phanes.

Visea Basin:
a network of deep prehistoric caverns that served as a runoff for many natural underground rivers and streams.

Zwillerzweller River:
runs from Area 55, Boreas, to Zanclea City, Reanaearo, where it empties into the Visea Basin.

Fountain of Youth, Beimeni City, Phanes Territory, Underground Central

Livellan vs. Gregorian Calendars

Source: Office of the Chancellor.

Pregnancy and Development Timelines

*Low and high ranges are approximations; there are exceptions.

**
See
Appendix 6 for additional details on “Development.”

***Data from 368 AR to 370 AR is estimated.

Source: Department of Communications and Commonwealth Relations.

Harpoon Exams and Lower Level Data: 185–335

*Candidates who do not receive a bid at the Harpoon Auction are sent to the Lower Level.

**As of 367 AR, 180,776,206 candidates have been sent to the Lower Level since the inception of the Harpoon Auction in 186 AR.

Source: Department of Communications and Commonwealth Relations.

Harpoon Exams and Lower Level Data: 335–400E