Favoured Friends
Part 50/51

Summary: An invitation to the National Egyptology Conference quickly becomes deadly race for the mythic Ichriem against an old rival of Sydney's - the assassin known only as 'the Viper'.

Note: This is a round robin originally posted at the Relic Hunter Yahoo Group. Although I'm posting it, I did not write the entire thing. This part was written by Cari Loran ( carilorus@yahoo.com )

Also, I have Support Services. That means that, if you want, you can put me on Author Alert and receive notice when other stories of mine are posted, even if you haven't paid yourself.

Posted: Sunday, February 22, 2004

Nigel locked eyes with his brother, suspecting the stress had finally gotten to him. For Preston, a person who was usually grounded like a wire in solid reality, to suggest such a thing was practically beyond belief. But as he met his brother's gaze and saw the open and completely honest expression reflected in his eyes he knew the suggestion was being made in earnest. Whether from desperation or a genuine leap of blind faith, Preston truly believed the statue could help.

Turning slowly, Nigel stared up at the looming coastal wall, suddenly feeling very small and insignificant. Somewhere up there, hidden behind the greatest act of camouflage the world had ever known, was one of the most obscure objects of all antiquity. And if it was really there, if it actually existed, did that mean it also embodied the colossal powers of the myth?

Lloyd stepped forward, looking suspiciously from one Bailey to the other. "What are you talking about? What kind of power?"

Nigel felt his brother had moved, coming to stand by his side, and he found himself shaking his head. "It's only a legend," he said softly and as he spoke, he felt a hand come down on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze.

"So is Ichriem," Preston said, moving into his line of sight. "But look where we are Nigel, look how far we've come," he nodded towards the cliff. "If it's really up there, that's one legend we'll have proven true. Who's to say we can't make it two?"

Nigel regarded him for a moment, arching one eyebrow. The wind picked up slightly, whistling around them and rustling through their hair as a silent moment passed between them. Preston had a point. They really didn't have anything to lose. "I hate it when you make sense," he muttered without malison, and seeing his brother smile in return, he moved to face Derek Lloyd, noting the agent had turned to Sydney for answers.

"All right Syd, spill it, what's he talking about?"

"An ancient myth about the statue," she thoughtfully stared at the portion of rock Nigel identified as artificial. "I don't know all the details, but if it's true, he could be talking about the power to control the world."

"Control the world?" The agent echoed dryly. "Control the..." he trailed off, throwing up his hands, which did little to help the strained muscles in his arms. Not even half a day's gone by and I'm already falling down another friggin' rabbit hole into Wonderland. He once again considered what he wouldn't give for an aspirin or, better yet, a stiff shot of bourbon. "If you've decided to take up comedy, this is a real bad time."

"It's no joke," Sydney advanced to the wall, placing her palm flat against the roughly hewn glass. For what it was, the years had been incredibly kind to it. The wind of two millennia had worn more than a few grooves in the surface, but aside from crusty patches of lichen, both living and long dead, it was still the perfect disguise. In fact, much like a fine wine, it was probably better now than it had ever been. "At least, the Egyptians didn't think so."

Derek stared at her, his steel blue eyes flicking from her form to the weathered coastal wall before he swore and exhaled. Early retirement suddenly seemed wildly appealing. Lot's of guys retired at thirty-four didn't they? "All right," he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Aspirin, aspirin, aspirin. "Fine, whatever." Magic statue? Sure, why the hell not? They were already in so deep it'd take a backhoe to dig them out. He absurdly thought of the mission report he'd have to write when … IF… they got out of this mess. "We spotted the Gurel Nataz approaching the field agents, so we tried to find a way to get the magic statue out of the glass mountain." Riiiight. "So what do we do? Say 'open sesame'?"

"Let me see the map again." Nigel replied.

Lloyd obliged, pulling out the map and unfolding it as he came to Nigel's side. "The cave?"

"Right." Nigel took one corner of the map as Derek supported the other. "It's what lead us here and I think it's still our best chance." Finding the topographic mark on the map, he looked up at the cliff, then back to the map trying to get a placement.

Derek did the same, scanning both the glass and surrounding rock for anything that might be a cave entrance. "Listen, Nige," he spoke quietly. "This stuff about the statue… is it on the level? Anything we do, we have to do it quick," a muscle twitched in his jaw, "our guys down there don't have much time."

The young man paused in his examination of the map. "I know," he answered simply, implying a volume of information with those two lightly spoken words, a volume he could tell Derek understood. He knew time was running out, knew just how grim things appeared, and was all-too aware of the price of failure. "As for the statue," he sighed, running his free hand through his hair in frustration. "I honestly don't know. The legend itself is very obscure, and from what I remember, maddeningly vague. In ancient Egypt, an ichriem was something along the lines of a soul mate, but that's not the exact translation."

"It was more of a concept than anything," Preston joined in thoughtfully, having been standing beside them, not only following the conversation, but also scanning for the cave entrance. "A combination of ideals we identify separately now, I don't think there's really an English equivalent for it. When you were an ichriem, it meant you were… well, rather like Tefnut and Shu, someone who was part of a balance."

"Right," Nigel continued, stealing another glance at the map and looking at the cliff again. "Anyway, according to the legend, when ichriems touched the statue at the same time, they could release power within it. As to what this power was…" he sighed. "No one really knows for sure."

"Swell," Derek muttered, not particularly surprised. "You're not really instilling me with a hell of a lot of confidence here buddy. Come on, you have some kind of theory about it don't you?" he prodded, deciding to lay his cards on the table. "I know that's what you and Syd were being so hush-hush about back in the chopper." At Nigel's startled expression, he nearly laughed. Looks like he almost forgot what I do for a living. "I heard you mention something about a crystal and the rest sort of fell into place. So what's your idea?"

"Yes," Preston studied his brother with a sudden intense curiosity. They hadn't had much of a chance to discuss that topic since being reunited. In fact, he'd scarcely even thought about it. "What is your idea?"

Nigel wasn't sure if it was the best time to put forth his theory or not. Glancing off to the side, he could see Sydney and Claudia had spread out, each scanning the rock face for a way inside. The cave had to be there, it just had to be. If positive thinking ever had an effect on anything, now would be the time for it to work. Given all he'd endured, he couldn't bring himself to believe the statue had been sealed away with the intent of forever. Fate just couldn't be so cruel.

Then again, maybe he was only suffering from a case of the same blind optimism that prodded his brother to suggest Ichriem as their salvation.

"Well," he started, trying to think of the easiest explanation. "A lot of people, including The Viper, thought Ichriem was made of solid gold, but what if that wasn't the case? What if rather than being solid gold, it was made more of crystal? Perhaps some sort of quartz."

"Yeah, okay," Derek nodded. "So…?"

"Wait a minute," Preston cocked his head off to the side, the information obviously telling him something Lloyd didn't hear. Everything he knew about the ancient relic slowly clicked into place: Gold, crystal, a mysterious power… "I could be horribly mistaken, but are you talking about an electric generator?"

"Theoretically." Nigel agreed with a light smile, feeling absurdly pleased his brother caught on to the connotation. At least he wasn't alone in the way he'd put together the pieces.

And put together the pieces Preston did. "Good Lord," he muttered, already trying to work out the science in his mind.

Derek looked at Nigel. Generator? He was no rocket scientist, but he hadn't just tumbled off the turnip truck. "Are you saying this thing makes and then somehow uses its own energy?" At the affirming nod he pursed his lips. "How is that possible? If you're right, it's just made of gold and crystal. I know gold is a hell of a conductor, but where would the energy come from for it to conduct?"

"The crystal," the two brothers answered simultaneously, exchanging a sheepish look when they realized what they'd done. "Sorry," they both toned, repeating the phenomena and biting back sudden smiles.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Great. It comes in stereo." He now officially had a hard time grasping how two people with the ability to think so much alike could have ever been at odds. Maybe that was just the way things went with brothers… or siblings within five years of age. He couldn't relate in either case, growing up with two older sisters, the youngest of which was six years his senior. Sophie and Claire never bothered competing with him for anything, he flew under their radar like a stealth bomber, and their own sisterly rivalry was so feeble it scarcely existed. He didn't know what the deal was with the two Bailey's, but if they had any sense they shouldn't be in any hurry to revert to their old ways. "So how could this crystal create energy?"

"It's a little hard to explain," Nigel started. "But basically, if they were using quartz crystals, there's a number of things they could have done. Quartz has an interesting property: if it's exposed to stress an electric charge will build up on its surface."

"Yes, it's… oh what's the word?" Preston frowned in sudden frustration, wracking his food and sleep deprived brain for information he knew he had. "Piezoelectric!" he snapped his fingers, looking pleased. "It literally means 'electricity by pressure'. If I remember right, the charge is proportional to the amount of force against the crystal."

"Okay," Derek nodded. It seemed simple enough. "So you squeeze it and it charges up. How much power could something like that give off?"

"It would depend on the size of the crystal and how much force was applied," Nigel answered. "What I think we'd be dealing with would be a collection of smaller pieces, rather like plates or wafers. If they were cut at the right angle, they'd be more effective than one large stone." He rubbed a hand across his face, then made an absent gesture as he began to tread in strange waters. Physics wasn't really his cup of tea. "I don't know exactly how it would work, it would depend how many wafers there were… potentially I suppose it could produce thousands of volts."

"That's not all it could do either." Preston suddenly wore a severe expression as his train of thought chugged through station after station and picked up rail-rattling speed. "If I remember right, piezoelectricity also works in reverse. If the voltage was applied back to another crystal, it could resonate on the frequency of that crystal, just like an old crystal radio set."

"Sound waves," Nigel breathed, suddenly looking just as severe as his brother.

Derek was starting to see the possibilities. Sound and electricity could be powerful things. Maybe ancient relics and lost civilizations weren't his thing, but weapons and tactics were, and whatever this gizmo was, it definitely sounded handy… That is, if it worked and did… well, whatever it was supposed to do that made it so freakin' important.

As the three men mulled over the technical possibilities, Sydney followed a physical approach. Having sent Claudia in the opposite direction, she wandered about fifteen yards down the craggy landscape, keeping her eyes locked firmly on the rising bluffs. Logic dictated she had to be close. The glass shield against the cliff had ended roughly five yards behind her, meaning she was now looking at natural rock. Taking another step, she scanned the cliff once again and was about to move on when something curious caught her eye.

There, roughly twenty feet up and in the shadow of a jutting piece of stone, was what appeared to be an even deeper shadow hemmed by an outcropping. Hmm. She pushed the hair from her face, raised a hand to block the sun, and studied the anomaly a little closer, feeling a familiar tingle of excitement spark deep in the back of her mind. Wasting no time she reached down for a smooth chunk of rock and, with a wish and a prayer, sent it hurtling towards the shadow. The stone vanished into the darkness and the tingling spark flared to a blaze.

This was it.

~*~

The climb up the face of the cliff was surprisingly quick and mercifully easy thanks to the juts and crags of the uneven rock face. All in all, no worse than climbing a ladder, which was a refreshing treat given their arduous journey to date.

Once in the cave, Derek flicked on his flashlight and Sydney edged up beside him. "Keep your eyes open," she warned. "There might be a trap in here."

The agent sighed. "Might be a trap? You know Syd, if there isn't a trap in here I'd be more surprised." He smiled lightly as he flashed his light across the ground. So far nothing out of the ordinary, it looked like any other cave he'd ever seen, although it strangely didn't seem as dark as it should have been. "Anyone want to make a friendly wager?" he quipped. "I've still got a few dinars in my pocket. What do you say Nige? Pres? You gambling men? Three to one, I say there's a booby trap down this hole."

"Well," Preston answered, reaching out to touch the rock wall, "I happen to have a few dinars in my pocket too, so for the sake of good luck, I'll accept that wager."

"I'll second that," Nigel added.

"You don't have any money," his brother teased.

"Well you could always give me a loan."

"Loan you money to gamble?" Preston managed to sound suitably aghast, making a 'tsking' noise in mock disapproval and trying to keep back a quick smile. "Wouldn't that make you like great uncle Cedric?"

Nigel nearly laughed. "Wouldn't that make you like grandfather?" he retorted.

"Wouldn't that make you both ten years old?" Sydney cut in. Of all the times for the two of them to engage in repartee… "A little concentration here boys, if it's not too much to ask."

"Seriously Sydney," Preston sobered up, "I don't think we'll find any traps in here, you have to admit, they weren't really the Phoenician's style. And from the writing in the other cave I get the feeling whoever took Ichriem was happy just knowing how clever they'd been in stealing and hiding it."

"Maybe," she agreed, keeping her eyes forward. There was a good chance Preston was right, but she couldn't take anything for granted. This was the hunt. This was the culmination of something that felt like it'd been over a year in the making. This was a quest she'd never asked for or wanted, the pinnacle of another archeologist's dream, not hers, and now completing it meant the difference between life and death. "But let's not take any chances."

They crept along about fifteen seconds in silence, each on a cautious lookout when Claudia suddenly spoke up. "Has anyone else noticed it's getting lighter in here or is it just me?"

"It isn't just you." Nigel confirmed. He too had noticed the gradual increase in visibility and doubted it was due solely to his eyes having adjusted to the cave. And now, much like most things that hover on the edge of peripheral, once someone else pointed it out it seemed even more noticeable. "There must be some sort of light source ahead."

"Like what?"

But before anyone could utter a word about the mysterious source of the light, the cave saved them the trouble, answering as the tunnel abruptly ended and left the five adventurers on the threshold of a chamber that absorbed reality.

For a moment, each of them stood in a state of awe, momentarily lost in a world inhabited only by them. They were no longer on a forsaken and treacherous island, no longer being pursued by the Gurel Nataz, no longer feeling the pain that pulled at their minds and bodies. For a moment, just one moment, it all faded away to be replaced with an image straight from a dream.

Bright beams of afternoon sun filtered in through a centrally placed glass skylight in the roof of the cave, creating a dusky, pale-green hue that filled the room. An aura of ashen light seemed to almost float on the air, starting in the center of the cavernous chamber and swirling outwards to disappear into the shadows. The rough basalt walls held the same not-quite-gray-not-quite-green shade they'd sported on the outside, but at some point in the past had broken out in a rash of orange lichen. Year after year the lichen had bloomed and died, slowly overtaking the cavern and leaving behind layer after fuzzy layer of itself. The resulting effect stained the walls in varying shades of the color, blending together now like the careful strokes of a desert sunset.

And in the center of it all, directly below the ghostly halo of light, stood something basking patiently in the glow. For over three thousand years it'd been biding its time, sitting in the safety of a desolate cave while the civilization that created it and the one who stole it both withered away, eventually forgetting it had ever existed. But it didn't forget. It didn't change. It had been made by the hand of man, and by the hand of man it had been sealed away, protected by only a layer of dingy clay and a coating of milky gray glass.

"I'll be damned." Derek whispered, taking a few tentative steps forwards and breaking the reverent silence. "It's real."

He hoped he didn't look as surprised as he felt. He could admit he'd gotten sucked into the story of the statue, what with The Viper after it and the Gurel Nataz scuttling out of the woodwork. He'd always suspected the thing existed in some form or another, but as he learned more about it, especially after the science lesson Preston and Nigel had fed him less than ten minutes ago, the more it seemed too good to be true.

"Don't tell me you didn't think it'd be here," Sydney muttered, trying to ward off the odd feeling she'd stepped through the wardrobe into Narnia. She couldn't tease Derek too much if he hadn't believed: she'd had her own share of doubts, more than she'd care to ever admit.

"Nah," the agent returned, "I kinda figured it would be here… I just didn't think we'd be here to see it."

"Fair enough," Sydney moved forward, deducing the area was free from concealed traps. Behind her, the others followed her lead until they all stood gathered around the large glass mound on the cave floor. All in all, she had to admit it was bigger than she'd imagined, the casing stood roughly five feet high, with the base only slightly smaller, she didn't even want to think about how much it had to weigh.

Nigel tentatively ran his fingers across the cool surface, noting the small bubbles and imperfections within the glass that betrayed how haphazardly it'd been applied. Over time some of the spots weakened by larger bubbles had split and chipped away, leaving varying cracks and pockmarks across the surface. Still… "This is incredible!" he gushed.

"It certainly is," Preston agreed, reaching out to touch the surface himself.

"So how do we get it out?" Claudia asked.

Sydney scrutinized the lumpy form and thoughtfully drew her hand up to her chin. "Well, I guess we could…"

"Break it," Derek interrupted, checking his watch. He didn't know what she was going to suggest, but if it was anything other than cracking it open as soon as possible, he didn't want to hear it. "We're running out of time."

The agent's grim tone served as an only too-vivid reminder of what was about to take place beyond the lichen-covered walls. They could each only speculate about what might be happening to Derek's colleagues. While true they hadn't heard any gunfire, there was no guarantee they could from where they were. As much as no one wanted to consider it, it was possible they were already too late.

"He's right," Sydney agreed. Any archeological urge to treat Ichriem like an ordinary discovery had long since flown out the window. "There's no other way."

Lloyd wasted no time, slinging the M-16 from his shoulder and flicking a small latch over the trigger. "This is gonna hurt," he muttered, and bracing the gun firmly in his hands, he took a deep breath and rammed the stock squarely into the glass overlay. Regret was almost instantaneous. "Oh yeah," he winced. "Yeah," he repeated in more of a grunt, "that hurt." Pain knifed through his muscles in more places than he cared to count, but at least he had the satisfaction of seeing he'd hurt the shell just as much as it'd hurt him.

The glass shattered at the point of impact, spewing slivers and chips and sending a latticework of cracks spreading in every direction. "Nice work," Sydney praised, kneeling and pulling at the shattered section with her fingers. It easily crumbled, flaking away clay and revealing a barely visible, tantalizing flash of gold. "The glass is pretty thin, it shouldn't take much more to get it off." She looked up at Derek, seeing the pain reflected in his face and knowing the jarring blow hadn't done his myriad of injuries any favors. A wave of sympathy washed through her. She was about to ask if he was up for the job of chiseling the statue free, when Preston saved her the trouble.

The elder Bailey stepped forward "I say Derek, why don't you let me have a few whacks at it?" He held out his hand patiently for the gun. "I think I'm entitled to hit the bloody thing for a while, wouldn't you agree?"

Derek regarded him in mild surprise, an expression that almost immediately faded to gratitude. His male pride might protest the idea he wasn't capable of freeing the statue, but his pride was about the only part of him that wasn't bruised and Preston was offering him a way to keep it that way. The Brit really was the best qualified for the job. True he wasn't a powerhouse of brute strength, but he seemed to have a decent build and fewer injuries than anyone aside from the wispy Claudia. "Yeah," he agreed, passing over the M-16. "I think you might have earned a few slugs at it, just do me a favor and give it one more from me while you're at it."

"Gladly." Preston took the gun and moved to the other side of the statue, where he braced it in his arms the same way Lloyd had and bore it down against the glass. While he'd been only partially serious in his appeal he deserved a few hits at the statue, he had to admit he was extracting a good deal of satisfaction from it. Again and again he battered the protective layer, moving in a fast and efficient circle around the lower portion. Completing his circuit, he started again a little higher and repeated the process a few more times, being careful around the middle of the statue as the shape indicated a change in mass.

Even as he worked, some of the weaker portions crumbled, slipping to the floor in a slew of gritty clay and glass chips. Syndey, Nigel, and Claudia knelt beside it, finding it easy to pull the shattered case free, and bit by bit Ichriem became visible.

They worked quickly, and when the last bit of clay finally fell, the five stood back, at last seeing the three-thousand-year-old treasure that had served to torture their recent existence.

"Wow," Claudia breathed.

Bernard Reynold had been close, very close with his wood carving, yet at the same time, a million miles away.

Ichriem stood a full five feet tall, a glittering mass of crystal, gemstones, and of course, gold. The images of Tefnut and Shu stood nearly back to back, carved of a deep black stone and highlighted throughout with thick gold overlays that accentuated the fine curves and details of the sculpture. The faces of the statues were etched in golden masks of perfect lines, displaying the feminine yet distinctly feline face of Tefnut and the masculine, all-to-human features of Shu.

The male deity was missing his trademark feather, but a notch on the back of his head revealed an obvious place to put what was no doubt the real McCoy. The carvings were in identical positions, standing straight and tall, their elbows bent and their hands held out flat forward as though pushing on an invisible door. Their palms had been carefully coated with a layer of an unknown dark gray mineral, almost giving the impression they were wearing gloves.

The crowning feature though, wasn't any of those things: it was the large blossom of carefully sliced quartz crystals that prevented the two Egyptian gods from ever truly touching. It was roughly the size of a basketball, but more oblong in shape, looking very much like the fried onion entrée at a restaurant… if it was made from the largest onion known to man.

Layer upon layer of crystal discs were grouped tightly together, constantly overlapping in what was a truly symmetrical pattern. How the crystals were connected was anyone's guess, but the whole contrivance was held in an elaborate gold setting. The setting snaked curiously around the crystal, tracing through natural gaps in the pattern. It culminated in a thick twist at the top center of the crystal which ran up about six inches to meet yet another crystal, this one a solid piece of clear quartz almost the same size as its man-made brother. More of the dark gray mineral from the statue's palms formed a solid ring at the base of the twist before it continued on its golden path.

The crystals were supported by a thin pedestal of the same black stone that comprised the rest of the statue, however as the idols were decorated with gold, the pedestal was decorated in a glittering weaving of rubies and ice blue sapphires.

The picture it painted was stunning, bringing back a lost era of royal opulence and artistic grandeur. As an object it was worth millions, maybe not as many as The Viper thought, but millions nevertheless. As a relic though, it was priceless.

"How do we make it work?" Derek asked, because an expensive object and a priceless relic were nothing compared to something that had the power to save their skins.

"Well," Nigel mused, "If we're dealing with some sort of piezoelectricity, we'd have to put pressure on the crystal." Nigel stood in front of Shu and reached out to touch the darkened palms. The grayish mineral coating them was rather rough, but not sharp, and it felt fairly strong. It was now obvious what needed to be done; the outstretched hands of the ancient Egyptian gods gave away the secret. "I say we push."

"Right," Sydney moved to the other side of the statue and placed her hands against Tefnut's, giving an experimental shove. She noticed a well-concealed set of running rails at the base of the statue, however from their short length, they obviously didn't allow much movement. "Push on your side Nigel, let's see what happens." He nodded and obliged and, placing their hands against the hands of the statue, they pushed against it simultaneously.

And in a great display of drama, nothing budged.

The relic hunter stepped back and appraised the situation. Yeah, that would have been too easy. "I think we're going to need a little more force, and we should try to keep it equal on both sides." But how to arrange it… "Preston, go to the other side and help Nigel, Derek come over here with me, you too Claudia."

As they moved into position, Nigel placed once again placed his hands against Shu's when something suddenly occurred to him. "Um," he interrupted. "Before we do this, I think we should make sure we keep our hands from touching any part of the statue other than these palms."

"Why?" Claudia asked.

"Because if this works, I think we could get electrocuted if we do," he answered.

"Oh." The secretary now regarded Tefnut warily.

"Good reason," Derek muttered. "But I know what you're saying Nige, the electricity would travel through anything that would conduct it… So okay! Important safety tip." He placed his hands on the statue and nodded he was ready to give it a try.

"All right," Sydney put her hands next to his and Claudia moved in beside him, positioning herself in the remaining free space. Across from her, she could see Nigel and Preston were set and realized zero hour had arrived. She remembered Preston's pep talk to Nigel outside the cave… 'If it's really up there, that's one legend we'll have proven true. Who's to say we can't make it two?' And now, one legend was down, and one was still to go. "We'll go on three." She sucked in a deep breath and silently prayed. God, let this work. "One… Two… Three!"

As one, the five pushed, and in a fluid motion, the statues began to move. Closer and closer they crept, sliding along their running rails until they both touched the lower crystal. "Keep pushing," Nigel encouraged, "we have to create enough pressure to activate it."

Only a few scant seconds later they became aware of a change taking place in the crystal as an eerie blue glow suddenly sprang to life around it. "It's working!" Derek sounded both shocked and elated.

The smell of ozone soon crackled on the air as the pressure continued and the crystal generated more electricity, glowing even brighter. A low hum began to fill the room as the upper crystal reacted to the power it was being exposed to, slowly beginning to resonate. The sound was almost ghostly, steadily increasing in pitch and volume as the supply of power became stronger and more constant. The blue glow of the generating crystal lightened and arcs of electricity leapt between the onion-like layers in a tangle as their current flowed along the golden setting and gave life to the resonator.

Vibrations echoed through the statue, shivering through the outstretched stone hands of the gods and into the human hands pressed against them. Something about this made keeping pressure on the crystal seem even more urgent, as though they'd somehow be shaken away if they let up.

Then as though given an invisible nudge, the glow suddenly flared, filling the cavern in a luminous burst of light and becoming so bright it was hard to look at it. Everyone averted their eyes, squinting as they attempted to look anywhere but directly at the crystal. The resonator vibrated even more furiously, humming like a choir of five hundred voices hitting the same note.

Nigel felt his arms begin to strain and his hands become bruised from pressing so hard against the rough mineral meant to protect him, but he knew he couldn't stop. Whatever Ichriem was going to do, he had a feeling it was about to happen.

And mere seconds later, it did.

The light and sound melded together in a swirling crescendo, shooting from the two crystals in a steady, euphonious beam and plowing towards the ceiling. The pale skylight shattered sending a shower of glass raining to the floor, and the beam continued, flowing pure and unabated into the afternoon sky.

End Part Fifty

* Piezoelectricy is pronounced "pie-EASE-o-electricity". Piezo comes from the greek word meaning 'press' or 'to press'.

* The mysterious gray mineral on the palms of the statue and in the gold stem between the two crystals is meant to be a diode. A diode is a semiconductor that allows electric current to flow through it in only one direction. Think of it as a revolving door for electrons. There are several naturally occurring minerals and substances that act as diodes, for example: tellerium, selenium, germanium, silicon, zincite, molybdenite, or various forms of copper oxide. This prevents the electricity created by the statue from flowing back the way it came.

Learn more about Quartz crystals and Piezoelectricity at the following Finally http://www.bliley.net/XTAL/Industry-Hams.html