David laughed, without a drop of humour.
‘You’re asking me if I’m aware that four thousand tons of rocks might come crashing down, pulverising the greatest object in the history of the world? That it would destroy many years of work and an investment of millions of dollars? That it would render pointless the sacrifice of five people?’
Fuck! He’s completely different today. He’s as… contaminated by the whole thing as the professor, Andrea thought.
‘Yes, I’m aware, Brian,’ David added. ‘And I’m going to take that risk.’
66
AL MUDAWWARA DESERT, JORDAN
Wednesday, 19 July 2006. 7:01 p.m.
Andrea took another photo of Pappas kneeling in front of the stone wall. His face was in shadow, but the device he was using to look through the hole was clearly visible.
Much better, David… not that you’re exactly a great beauty, Andrea observed wryly to herself. In a few hours she would regret having that thought, but at that moment there was nothing closer to the truth. That machine was amazing.
‘Stowe used to call it an ATER. Annoying Terrain Explorer Robot, but we call it Freddie.’
‘Any special reason?’
‘Just to fuck with Stowe. He was an arrogant prick,’ David replied. Andrea was surprised at the anger displayed by the usually timid archaeologist.
Freddie was a mobile camera system with a remote control that could be used in places where human access would be dangerous. It had been developed by Stowe Erling, who would sadly not be there to witness his robot’s debut. In order to navigate obstacles such as rocks, Freddie had been equipped with treads similar to those used on tanks. The robot was also submersible for periods of up to ten minutes. Erling had copied the idea from a group of archaeologists working in Boston and had recreated it with the help of some engineers from MIT-who were suing him for going off on this mission with the first prototype, although this was something that would no longer trouble Erling.
‘We’ll put it through the opening to obtain views of the grotto’s interior,’ said David. ‘That way we’ll be able to figure out if it’s safe to knock down the wall without damaging what’s on the other side.’
‘How can the robot see in there?’
‘Freddie is equipped with night-vision lenses. The central mechanism throws out an infrared beam that only the lens can pick up. The images aren’t very good quality, but they’re good enough. The only thing we have to watch for is that it doesn’t get stuck or tip over. If that happens, we’re finished.’
The first few feet were fairly straightforward. The initial stage, although narrow, gave Freddie sufficient room to get into the cave. Crossing the uneven area between the wall and the ground was a little more difficult as it was rough and full of loose rocks. Luckily the robot’s treads could be operated independently, enabling it to turn and circumnavigate lesser obstacles.
‘Sixty degrees to the left,’ said David, focusing on the screen, where he could see little more than a field of rocks in black and white. Tommy Eichberg was manipulating the controls at David’s request, since he had a steady hand despite his chubby fingers. Each tread was operated by means of a small wheel on the controls, connected to Freddie via two thick cables that provided power and could also be used to haul in the machine manually should something go wrong.
‘We’re almost there. Oh no!’
The screen jumped around as the robot nearly tipped over.
‘Shit! Be careful, Tommy,’ David yelled.
‘Take it easy, kid. These wheels are more sensitive than a nun’s clit. Excuse the language, miss,’ Tommy said, turning to Andrea. ‘My mouth is straight out of the Bronx.’
‘Don’t worry about it. My ears are from Harlem,’ said Andrea, going along with the joke.
‘You have to stabilise the thing a little more,’ said David.
‘I’m trying!’
Eichberg turned the wheel carefully and the robot began to cross the uneven ground.
‘Any idea how much distance Freddie has covered?’ Andrea asked.
‘About eight feet from the wall,’ David replied, drying the sweat on his brow. Each minute the temperature was increasing because of the generator and the intense lighting.
‘And it has-Wait!’
‘What?’
‘I think I saw something,’ Andrea said.
‘Are you sure? It’s not easy turning this thing around.’
‘Tommy, please, go to the left.’
Eichberg looked at Pappas, who nodded. Slowly, the picture on the screen began to move, revealing a dark, roundish contour.
‘Go back a little.’
Two triangles with thin ridges appeared, one next to the other.
A row of squares grouped together.
‘A little further back. You’re too close.’
Finally, the geometry was transformed into something recognisable.
‘Oh, Lord. It’s a skull.’
Andrea looked at Pappas with satisfaction.
‘There’s your answer: that’s how they managed to seal the chamber from the inside, David.’
The archaeologist wasn’t listening. He was focused on the screen, mumbling, his hands clutching it like an insane fortune-teller looking into a crystal ball. A drop of sweat slid from his greasy nose and landed on the image of the skull where the dead person’s cheek would have been.
Just like a teardrop, thought Andrea.
‘Quickly, Tommy! Go around it and then go forward a little more,’ Pappas said. His voice sounded even more strained. ‘To the left, Tommy!’
‘Easy, kid. Let’s do this calmly. I think there’s-’
‘Let me do it,’ David said, grabbing for the controls.
‘What are you doing?’ Eichberg said angrily. ‘Fuck! Let go.’
Pappas and Eichberg struggled over the controls for a few seconds, knocking the wheel in the process. David’s face was a vivid red and Eichberg was breathing heavily.
‘Be careful!’ Andrea yelled as she stared at the screen. The image was lurching around madly.
Suddenly it stopped moving. Eichberg let go of the controls and David fell back, cutting himself on the temple as he hit the corner of the monitor. But at that moment he was more concerned with what he’d just seen than with the cut on his head.
‘That’s what I was trying to tell you, kid,’ Eichberg said. ‘The ground is uneven.’
‘Shit. Why didn’t you let go?’ David yelled. ‘The machine’s tipped over.’
‘Just shut up,’ Eichberg yelled back. ‘You’re the one rushing things.’
Andrea screamed for both of them to be quiet.
‘Stop arguing! It hasn’t fallen over completely. Take a look.’ She was pointing at the screen.
Still angry, the two men approached the monitor. Brian Hanley, who had gone outside to get some tools and had been abseiling down during the brief fight, drew closer as well.
‘I think we can fix that,’ he said, studying the situation. ‘If we all pull on the cable at the same time we can probably get the robot back on its treads. If we pull on it too gently all we’ll do is drag it and it’ll get stuck.’
‘That won’t work,’ Pappas said. ‘We’ll yank the cable off.’
‘We’ve nothing to lose by trying, right?’
They lined up, each one holding the cable with both hands, as close as possible to the opening. Hanley pulled the cable taut.
‘On my count pull hard. One, two, three!’
The four of them yanked the cable at the same time. Suddenly it felt too loose in their hands.