This journal is actually a serial letter written by Lord Reginald Roland, Roberts, Fellow of the Royal Society, to his wife when Roberts was captain of the H.M.S. Centaurus. The Centaurus was a British antarctic exploratory vessel that went missing in February, 1935, only to show up as a “ghost ship” in New York Harbor two years later. The whereabouts of Roberts are unknown; he is presumed dead.
To My Dearest Clara
Thoughts written by the light of the bright memories of home by Lord Reginald Roland Roberts, RFS, captain of the H.M.S. Centaurus
1/21/34 – My dearest Clara … it has only been hours since our final kiss on the docks, and yet I miss you terribly … The men are eager for the adventures our quest to the Antarctic will undoubtedly yield. I, of course, share this excitement.
10/3/34 – My dearest Clara … The ice mountains loom ever larger and closer to the Centaurus. This morning Midshipman Essex caught sight of the Royal Society Range. We have arrived!
11/1/34 – My dearest Clara … The hunt is on! We have scouted the known quantities of the Scott and Bellemy Islands, and move our hunt to the Amundsen Sea. I know, with all my heart, mind, and immortial soul, that the object of our quest is near.
11/11/34 – My dearest Clara … Triumph! Victory! Glory to the King and God in all things! We have found it! Shrouded in ice and obscured by mists but we pierced through that natural veil and found the island I knew would be there. I shall name it Clarus Island in honor of you my dear!
12/2/34 – There are wonders in the ice. Forget Shackleton and Scott; it is the name Roberts that history will never forget. I have had the men take samples of the find, and they will transform our understanding of mankind!
12/24/34 – It is Christmas Eve and though my heart and body long for your embrace, my mind is filled with the possibilities of our latest find. History will not merely remember me, it will be rewritten in light of what we have found here.
12/25/34 – Deeper still. So far from the memories of light, to a place forsaken by the sun. The earth, she yields up her mysteries to me. We have found something more wonderful still, something tha tmakes the discovery of the neanderthal a mere foot note to history. It will take time to understand, but it is time I will soon have.
1/25/35 – It is done. We have learned all that we can on this expedition. We must return home so that the world so that its re-education can begin, and then begin planning our return to this place. I love you, sweet Clara, with all my heart, but history will soon be my mistress!
2/7/35 – Words fail me. Why do words fail me? Before it made sense. Before the words flowed. Now … I find they dance to the remote corners of my mind and refuse to be commanded. I shall find the words. I shall find them, and bind them once again to my will.
2/9/35 – Yal dran tor fa millsterant. Ack der mar talvern zal frock, mordalsen’tis. Tergal dis Ra! TERGAL DIS RAY!