The Temple Mount Code

19

‘These people came a long way to leave their mark. Can you imagine the hardships they faced? After being chased out of their own lands by flood and by warring factions, they faced the bitter, unforgiving cold of these mountains every day.’

Standing to one side of the American news team shooting footage of Gloria Chen as she recounted the story of the ‘Scholar’s Rock’ immigrants as those people were currently being called, Lourds smiled. He leaned over to Professor Hu, who stood beside him. ‘She’s getting really good in front of the camera.’

Hu nodded. ‘She shows a knowledge of her subject, yes, and she appears very confident.’

‘Of course she’s confident. She has a reason to be. At this moment, she’s one of the foremost authorities on the “Scholar’s Rock” people.’

Hu sighed and shook his head. ‘We really need to find a different name to call them.’

‘What?’ Lourds shrugged. ‘It’s like with rock bands, all the really good names are already taken. We used a lot of them on the Native American tribes.’

‘Of course. Well, back to work.’ Hu patted him on the shoulder and walked away.

Lourds watched the man walk around the news crew and return to the temple. At the center of the crowd, Gloria grinned and answered questions from the rapt reporters like she’d been doing it all her life.

He laughed at the sight, then went back into the temple as well. There was still a ton of cataloguing to do.

‘Rice?’

Lourds looked up from the Jiahu script he was attempting to decipher.

Gloria stood there with a steaming bowl in her hands. The spicy smell made Lourds’s belly growl. She grinned at him. ‘I suppose you missed lunch again?’

‘It’s lunchtime?’

‘This is dinner.’ Gloria placed the rice bowl on the floor next to Lourds.

He sat on the floor with his legs crossed, a notebook and pen in one hand and digital printouts of the Jiahu script in his other hand. He’d been sitting long enough that his legs had gone numb, and he hadn’t noticed it. He stretched them out now, wincing as pinpricks of boiling pain flared along his thighs and calves.

‘Honestly, Thomas, you need a keeper.’ Gloria lay back on the bed and yawned.

‘You’re not the first to tell me that, you know.’ He put down the notebook and pictures, then picked up the rice bowl. ‘However, I believe I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.’

Gloria snorted.

‘You looked good out there today.’

She rolled over onto her side and grinned at him. ‘With the reporters?’

‘Yes.’ Lourds blew on a spoonful of rice and ate it.

‘I was good, wasn’t I?’ She smiled, and it looked a little smug though he didn’t begrudge her for it.

‘Natural talent wins out.’

She gazed at him. ‘I know you and Professor Hu have been pushing me in front of the cameras.’

‘Maybe a little.’

‘Why?’

‘We wanted you to have a chance to shine. But to be honest, we also wanted to put a new face on our disciplines.’

‘Someone younger?’

Lourds mock grimaced, but he wasn’t totally unmarked by the observation. ‘Yes. Seeing you answering questions, the audience — including people who fund the research we do as well as young college students looking for a field — believes doing what we do is really sexy.’

‘Flatterer.’

‘You’re welcome.’ Lourds ate more rice.

‘You’re kind of sexy, too.’

‘“Kind of”?’

‘You’re also incredibly vain.’

‘That’s a failing I’ll own up to.’

‘Because people accept that from you.’ Gloria smiled. ‘I bet most women you’ve known wouldn’t want you any other way, and at the same time they were irritated by the way you can be so involved with them and at the same time be so aloof.’

Lourds decided that was a topic best left unexplored. Gloria’s evaluation of him was dead-on, though. His work was everything to him, and he couldn’t fathom the day that anything — or anyone — would take him away from that.

‘So how are you coming with your papers?’

‘All right. I’ve been writing press releases for various news agencies as well.’

That surprised Lourds.

‘You didn’t know that, did you?’

He decided to be honest and shook his head. ‘Been caught up in my own studies, I’m afraid. I haven’t deciphered much of the new Jiahu script we’ve found, but I believe that’s going to come. I just wish the progress would come faster.’

‘It will. That’s what you’re good at.’

‘I know.’

‘I also got a book-deal offer.’

That really surprised Lourds. He finished up the rice and put it aside. ‘That’s fantastic.’ His own agent was already putting together a submission to take to auction. His other books had been bestsellers, and there was no reason to think this one wouldn’t be as well.

‘I know you’re going to do a book too.’

‘Probably.’ Lourds was going to do the book. He just didn’t know whom he’d be doing it for yet.

‘In a way, we’re going to be competitors.’

‘I wouldn’t look at it that way. We’ve both got different things we’re bringing to the party.’

‘The old guard versus the new, is that it?’

Lourds’s smile was wry this time. ‘I’d describe it as youth versus experience. I’ll be very interested in reading your conclusions when your book is published, Gloria.’

She rose to her feet and headed for the door. ‘And I yours, Thomas.’

Lourds watched her go, his smile still in place. Competition, indeed.

Down in the hidden cavern the next day, Lourds was hunkered over a strange stone tablet that held not only the Jiahu script but a type of cuneiform he’d never seen before. It reminded him of Egyptian writing before the written language had fully developed there. But this wasn’t Egyptian.

Kneeling beside him, Hu surveyed the stone tablet. ‘We’ve never known the Jiahu tribes to use stone as a medium. Their writing tools were more suited to tortoiseshells and bone.’

‘I know.’ Lourds rubbed his beard thoughtfully. ‘They didn’t remain static while they lived here. They progressed.’

‘On their own? Or from contact with others?’

Lourds shook his head. ‘Hard to say. Perhaps a combination of both. There’s always been trade traffic through these mountains. These people could have met caravans, adopted members into their tribe from other cultures. We’ll know more when DNA — if any — is processed. You and I know a lot of languages — especially written ones — were spurred on by trade. Original languages get bastardized and diluted, spun in different directions because of mutual needs.’

Hu nodded. ‘There had to be an accounting of profits and debts, of stock and merchandise, of people traded with.’

‘And of births and deaths and property.’ Lourds stared down at the stone tablet. ‘Those people lived in these caves for a long time. I wish I knew why.’

‘Get those documents translated, and maybe you’ll know.’

Lifting an arm, Lourds mopped sweat from his face. With all the bodies and high-intensity lights packed into the cavern, the ambient temperature had steadily risen. ‘I hope so.’ He paused. ‘Did you know Gloria had gotten a book deal?’

Hu hesitated just long enough that he knew lying wouldn’t work. He shrugged. ‘Yes. One of the aggressive independent booksellers, as I understand. They’re hoping to cash in on the youth market.’

Lourds nodded. ‘It’s a good angle. Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘It wasn’t my place.’ Hu studied Lourds. ‘Does it bother you, Thomas?’

‘No.’ He knew that wasn’t exactly the truth, but he was pretty sure he didn’t know what the truth was. Things had gotten blurred.

‘In some ways, my friend, Gloria reminds me of you.’

Lourds resettled his hat, conscious of the people around them, but no one was paying any attention. ‘Me?’

‘Yes. She’s ambitious, driven, consumed by her passion for what she does.’

‘I suppose.’ Lourds wasn’t sure how to respond to the remark, particularly given how accurate it was.

‘Professor Lourds?’

Turning, Lourds spotted Gelu motioning to him from the cavern’s entrance. Lourds walked over to the Sherpa.

‘There’s a man here to see you. He wants to speak only to you.’

Lourds shot a glance at Hu. ‘My admiring public awaits.’

Hu waved to him.

At the cavern mouth, Lourds strapped into the climbing harness, then attached himself to the safety line that ran up the side of the chasm wall. Secured, he heaved himself up the pitons, climbing with ease even though there was some soreness. Repeated ascents and descents had taken their toll on him the last few days.

At the cavern mouth where the false wall had been, Lourds looked down at all the media people in the Scholar’s Rock cavern. Many of them had left now that that the initial furor had died down, but several working on long-term projects — such as Rory and the BBC team — remained. Everyone here seemed busy.

Gelu heaved himself up beside Lourds.

‘Which man, Gelu?’

‘There.’ The Sherpa pointed, singling out a tall, dark man in winter wear. It was obvious he’d come straight to the cavern. ‘Say he know you.’

Lourds studied the man, but wasn’t certain. Something about the his features seemed familiar. Then a younger face surfaced in Lourds’s memory. He grinned and waved. ‘Big Mike!’

The young man glanced up and smiled, waving excitedly. ‘Professor Thomas!’