Chapter 43
"Cy. Over here."
I dumped a stack of freshly cut firewood on a table and turned my head. Looking through the small crowd, I saw Graham. He stood with Beverly in the northwest corner of the dome tent.
While Renau had stood guard, I'd taken an axe into the jungle. The trees at the outskirts were too large to chop down. Plus, the rain had soaked them. But there were a few smaller and drier ones in the interior.
"I'm coming," I called back. "Give me a minute."
Renau yawned as he dropped a load of firewood on the table.
"You look tired," I said.
"Dora and I couldn't go back to sleep. So, we worked on the gold plate the rest of the night. Actually, it's a good thing we did. We learned some interesting details about this place."
"What kind of details?"
"We need to confirm them first. After all, we were working on very little sleep. But it could be big. Very big."
I left Renau and walked to the northwest corner. "What's up?"
Beverly handed me a bowl of cereal with powdered milk as well a cup of orange liquid. I studied the liquid with a close eye. "What's this?"
"Orange juice," she replied. "For some reason, Emily brought along dozens of cases of powdered juice packets. We've got enough juice to last us until the next century."
I took a sip. The juice tasted terrible.
"We wanted to discuss plans for today," Graham said.
I dipped a spoon into the bowl and ate some cereal. It tasted bland. Still, it was food. Sort of. "Sounds good. Where's Miranda?"
"She said to let us know if we need help. Otherwise, she's going to start drawing up plans for the main dig."
"Okay." I glanced at the pyramid. "Our first step is easy. We need to locate an entrance."
"Actually, I was hoping to work on something else." Beverly produced a strange device. "This is a mass spectrometer. Usually, you need big, expensive machines to perform mass spectrometry. But one of my old colleagues developed this handheld prototype six months ago. I'd like to use it to analyze the limestone samples I took from the pyramid last night."
"How long will that take?"
"Not long, actually. But I'd also like to run some tests with my compact geochemistry laboratory. It's got everything you can imagine. That'll take a couple of hours."
Graham frowned. "How are a bunch of tests going to help us?"
"Most likely, Hunahpu plugged the entrance after finishing the pyramid. The plug was probably mined long after the base layer was completed. So, it might contain different concentrations of minerals and metals than the blocks around it. If so, my work could identify it. Also, we'll need to remove the plug at some point. The more we know about its composition, the better job we can do."
"That's good enough for me." I turned to Graham. "I was thinking—"
"Hold that thought." Graham put down his bowl of cereal and turned toward some stacked crates.
"What are you looking for?" Beverly asked.
"Alice, Clara, Virginia, and Mae."
She arched an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged.
Graham opened a crate. It contained numerous cameras. He held one up so I could see it. "In other words, thermographic cameras of my own design. They're like regular cameras except they form images using infrared radiation rather than visible light."
"How does that help us?" I asked.
"Objects with a temperature greater than absolute zero — which is pretty much all of them — emit infrared radiation. These cameras will be able to see that radiation."
"Like night vision goggles?"
"That's one application of the technology. There are plenty of others." Graham glanced at Beverly. "Like you said, the entrance is probably concealed behind a plug. Hopefully, these little babies will help us find it."
"How?" She looked skeptical. "Won't the plug emit the same infrared radiation as the other blocks?"
Graham walked to one of the tent's northern entrances. He held the camera steady and took a quick photo. Then he turned around and showed Beverly the image on the screen. "See?"
"It's just a blue blob."
"A blue blob shaped like a helicopter. At the moment, it's not giving off much heat."
"What are those red dots?"
"Those are trees on the other side of the helicopter," Graham replied. "Alice can't see through objects. She just produces an image of the outermost thermal profile. However, empty spaces — like an open window in the helicopter — allow her to peek a little further."
"But the tunnel is sealed off," I said. "There are no empty spaces."
"None that we can see. But if the plug was added at the end, it's probably not a perfect fit. There should by tiny cracks surrounding it on all sides. If so, my girls will be able to catch a glimpse of whatever lies behind the plug."
I nodded thoughtfully. "It's worth a try."
"I'd like to set them up after breakfast," Graham said. "Since it's cloudy out, we won't have to worry about sunlight playing tricks on the images."
"Where do you want to put them?"
"One on each side, about fifty yards from the pyramid, should do the trick. I'll mount them on poles and program them to take images on the hour. Tomorrow morning, we'll examine the results."
"I'll help you set them up." I tapped my jaw. "Unfortunately, they won't see everything. They'll only be able to give us images of the walls."
He frowned. "Where else is there to look?"
"The summit shrine. There might be an entrance hidden in the floor. We'll have to take a closer look at that on our own."
His frown disappeared. "Sounds good."
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "Let's find ourselves an entrance."
Chapter 44
"Come on." I slammed the metal pole into the soil. It slid a few inches before striking a firm, gritty surface. "Stay in there."
I released it. The pole wavered for a few seconds. Then it toppled into the marsh.
"It's no good," I said. "There must be a big rock under us."
"Or maybe just packed dirt." Graham nodded at the ground. "Can you get my hammer?"
Mud and water squelched under my feet as I walked to his toolbox. A harsh wind rustled the grass. Raindrops splattered into the marsh.
The air grew thicker, clogging my throat. Sweat beaded up on my brow and hands. The rain washed it away. But more sweat took its place.
I grabbed the hammer and gave it to him. He struck the pole a few times. It slid a few inches into the soil before grinding to a halt.
Graham released the pole. This time it remained standing. He opened a duffel bag and extracted Alice from it. He quickly installed her on top of the pole. "Well, that's the last one," he said. "Are you ready to check out the summit shrine?"
I nodded.
The rain intensified as we walked up the staircase. At the top, Graham strode into the shrine to examine the murals. I turned my attention to the platform. It was empty, save for the giant stone table.
I touched the table's speckled surface. Then I knelt down and studied its thick legs. Seeing nothing of interest, I stuck my head under the table and examined its underside. There were no hidden carvings.
I was just about to stand up again when I noticed something odd about the ground. It consisted of individual blocks, cut into uniform rectangles. However, the block underneath the table was a perfect square, equivalent to the size of two rectangular blocks.
I got down on my stomach and slid under the table. I studied the block for a few minutes. But other than its shape, I didn't see anything special about it. I was just about to leave when I felt it shift beneath me.
Carefully, I slid out of the space. Then I placed my hands on the block and pushed down.
It sank a fraction of an inch into the pyramid.