15
British Museum (Part 1)
The next day
Bloomsbury district, London England
Indiana Jones, Marcus Brody, and a third man exited the dark Bentley sedan and made their way across a small courtyard. The three men were buffeted by the blustery, London winter wind as they approached and entered the British Museum through a side door marked 'Staff Only". When they entered they proceeded down a long corridor and then through a door that led into the Museum's main library. Jones gazed around the large library as he loosened the winter scarf he wore around his neck. Despite the many times he'd used the museum's library for his research he was still always impressed by the rows upon rows of volumes that reached upwards to the high ceiling above. Many of the volumes dealt with the study of Egyptology and Egyptian antiquities. Indeed the collection of Egyptian antiquities and the storehouse of knowledge possessed by the British Museum were unrivaled in the entire world.
"Professor Brody, Doctor Jones, welcome to England," a balding, grey haired, grey mustached gentleman approached them and put out his hand.
Marcus shook his hand and said, "Oh, John you know I can't stay away from my homeland, and my old stomping grounds for too long,"
"I trust that Niles was able to find you alright, and that your trip up from Southampton was comfortable," the man said, and then turned to Indy, "Welcome to England Doctor Jones."
"Feels kind of like home to me in a way too," Indiana Jones said as he warmly shook the hand of John Allenby, the Egyptian antiquities curator, "I've spent quite a bit of time in this library myself as you know, though it's been a while."
"Well then," Allenby said, "I guess I should have said welcome BACK to England," the man then looked at Indy's artfully decorated cast, "hello, what's happened to your arm then?"
"I ran into a little trouble in the Andes last month," Jones answered, knowing that would be enough for Allenby, who was known as quite the adventurer himself in the years before the Great War.
Allenby nodded knowingly, "Yes, yes, I understand. Well then Gentlemen, though I am indeed glad to see you both..., the reason for your visit is not altogether cheery then is it?"
"Any word?" Marcus asked with concern in his voice. Allenby shook his head and looked down at the floor, "No," he said simply, "but please come this way," he gestured for them to follow towards another door at the back wall of the library.
Jones and Brody followed as Allenby spoke, "Inspector Davies awaits us in the study. He will be able to inform you better of the situation, and I believe he has some questions for you as well."
The three men passed through the library and then through the door on the back wall. They entered the museum study. It was a room set off from the library and for the use of museum staff, or distinguished guests only. The room was furnished in the finest Victorian and leather furniture. A blazing fire crackled in the large fireplace that threw out enough heat for several rooms. Over the mantle hung a huge, framed photograph of the golden coffin of Tutankhamun. It was a remarkable photo in that it was in full, living color, using a brand new technology just being developed. The boy king's image with its brilliant gold and blue hues, stared out with heavily lined eyes; arms crossed on the chest with the crook and flail, the symbols of Egyptian power, clutched in his grasps.
"Color photography," Marcus said with a slight chuckle of incredulity, "what will they come up with next?"
Indiana Jones hung up his scarf, coat, and fedora and sat down in a comfortable smoking chair next to a large bust of the jackal-headed god Anubis. Then he thought better of it and changed to another leather easy chair; considering that it was the god Anubis who welcomed the dead into the netherworld. Jones felt he'd had too many close calls lately to take any unnecessary chances.
A tall, angular man squatted before the fireplace with his back to them feeding a fresh stack of logs into the inferno. After the last of the fresh fuel was set on to the blaze he stood up and turned around.
"Gentlemen, good afternoon, I'm Inspector Davies, of the Yard."
Davies was tall, to say the least. His long body was bony, very nearly to the point of being ungainly, and yet he carried himself with a grace that was almost effeminate. Needless to say his nose was long, thin, and slightly crooked. His eyes were rather cold and set close together; or perhaps that was just an illusion created by the length of his nose. Either way, the man struck Jones as cold, hard, and businesslike; a man who didn't like to waste time. But the man also appeared to Jones to be somewhat of a poser.
Indy stood up to shake his hand. Davies cast a dubious look on Jones' decorated cast.
"Inspector Davies, it's a pleasure to meet you," though Jones felt no real pleasure as he shook the bony hand that was presented to him. The flesh was tight, and still hot from the heat of the fire, and Indy had the odd feeling that he was shaking the hand of something...other than human.
Marcus shook hands as well, and then Indy, Marcus, and Allenby sat back down. Davies remained standing, and began to pace slowly back and forth in front of the fireplace. He withdrew a long cigarette holder and inserted a cigarette into it.
As Indiana Jones watched the man he thought to himself that with the possible exception of President Roosevelt, he'd never liked any man that used a cigarette holder. Without fail, in Jones experience such men had proven to be either cruel, dangerous, or both.
"Mr. Brody, what can you tell me about the Pharaoh Akhenaton?" Davies said, and then lit his cigarette.
"What would you like to know inspector?"
Davies threw him a stony look, "just what I asked Mr. Brody. What can you tell me about this famous Pharaoh?"
Marcus shook his head imperceptibly, "well, I...," he cleared his throat, "well Akhenaton was Pharaoh during the 18TH Dynasty, between 1400 and 1300 BC."
Davies drew on his cigarette and sucked the smoke into his lungs, "more than 3000 years ago then," he said.
"Yes," Marcus said, "his rule was marked by an attempt to radically change the religion of the Egyptians from that which they had worshipped for millennia. For this he was hated by the priests, whom he wished to depose from their position of authority and power. Akhenaton's new religion did away with the pantheon of gods, and the ceremonial life that the priests had exercised over the people of Egypt since the earliest Pharaohs. He replaced it all with the worship of a single deity, the god of the sun, Re."
"I see," said Davies. And then he gave Marcus a look that indicated that he wished to hear more.
Marcus continued, "Akhenaton moved the capital of Egypt from Thebes to a new city that he had built, the city of Aketaton, near El Amarna. It served as the religious center of Akhenaton's new visionary religion."
"What of this religion?" Davies asked vaguely.
"Well, as I said, rather than worship any pantheon of deities, Akhenaton's religion worshipped only the one god, Re, the god of the sun. They also believed in reincarnation rather than immortality; a very significant break with the old ways. They believed that the process of mummification imprisoned the spirit, the Ka, of a person forever. They believed that the way to free the Ka was through cremation."
"No mummies? No tombs?" Davies asked.
"Oh there were certainly tombs, but no mummies, only ashes." Marcus said, then he spoke directly to the Scotland Yard Inspector, "But Inspector Davies, with Professor Allenby and the wealth of information at your fingertips here in the museum, you surely didn't request me to come all the way across the Atlantic just to ask about the 18TH Dynasty."
Davies stroked his angular chin while his cigarette, on the end of its long holder, stuck out from his mouth like some kind of strange stalk of incense, "In time Mr. Brody, in time."
The policeman picked up the fireplace poker and did some rearranging of the logs and embers," Yes well, I suppose I should come more to the point then shouldn't I," he said finally.
"I only want to help find Richard Malboury before any harm comes to him, if it hasn't already," Marcus said.
"Well Mr. Brody as of this time The Yard does not believe that Lord Malboury has met with foul play. We are treating it as a kidnapping unless further developments indicate otherwise."
Jones and Brody nodded as they sat on the comfortable furniture. A loud pop in the fire threw up a small shower of sparks, an incongruous fireworks display in the serious atmosphere of the study.
Davies continued speaking, "One of the reasons we suspect this is a kidnapping rather than foul play is that we believe the kidnappers want Lord Malboury for his knowledge."
"Knowledge of what?" Marcus asked.
"Well that's where you come in Mr. Brody. You worked with Lord Richard Malboury in his investigations of certain theories concerning the Pharaoh Akhenaton and the 18TH Dynasty."
Marcus nodded his head, "yes I did ...but it's been quite some time ...and nothing was ever proven...."
"Would you care to expound on those theories Mr. Brody?" Davies said as he finally sat down. Marcus paused and took a deep breath, as if gathering resources from within for the task that lay ahead. Then he spoke, "Well as I said, Akhenaton and his religion were diametrically opposed to the priests who had exercised immense power over Egypt for millennia. You must understand that the Amun priests were probably the most secretive sect ever in the history of mankind. They guarded their secrets, and their 'magic' with such elaborate measures that it bordered on paranoia. They had their sacred rites and rituals. They had their deities...one of them stands beside you as we speak," Marcus motioned at the statue beside Davies' chair.
"What do the Amun priests have to do with it?" Davies asked, nonplussed by the looming figure of Anubis standing mute next to him.
"Everything," Marcus said simply, and then continued on, "Besides magic, and rituals, and the like, above all the priests were the keepers of sacred knowledge. And they did not share this knowledge with anyone; hence their hold on power, and their power over the pharaohs."
Just then the door opened and a middle aged woman entered the room with a fully laden tea tray.
"Tea time gentlemen," she said in a cheery voice as she set the tray down on the table in front of the blazing fire.
Jones took a quick glance at his pocket watch, "yes, we are in England after all aren't we."
A child of five or six then ran into the room. The middle aged woman turned, and then good naturedly scolded the child, "Sarah! I thought I told you to wait outside you naughty girl."
"But I don't want to wait outside mother, I'm a secret agent, I've got to investigate."
Professor Allenby turned to the girl, "Investigate eh? Now where does a little girl like you pick up such big words?"
She gave him a steadfast look, "I'm going to be a secret agent when I grow up, just like my friend James. He's the little boy across the street."
Marcus patted the little girl on the head, "I'm sure you and your friend James will both make fabulous secret agents."
All of the men smiled, all except Davies who sat and stared expressionless into the fire. He seemed more annoyed than amused by the little girl. Jones took notice. Cigarette holder...doesn't like children..., he was beginning to like Inspector Davies less and less. "Come along now Sarah," the woman called to her daughter after she'd finished setting the tea.
"Thank you very much for the tea Mrs. Montypenny," Allenby said as the woman and her little girl left the room and closed the door.
"You were speaking of the Amun priests Mr. Brody," Davies ignored the tea and seemed impatient to continue the discussion.
"Yes, the secret knowledge that the Amun priests coveted and protected so much...," Marcus paused to stir sugar into his tea, "Well Inspector, suffice it to say that there are many who believe that the Amun priests of ancient Egypt possessed knowledge of sciences and technologies that we today do not even possess."
"Nonsense, how is that possible?" Davies said as he finally gave in to the sweet aroma of the tea, something no Englishman worth his salt could resist. He leaned forward in his chair and prepared a cup for himself.
Marcus said, "It is believed by some that Dynastic Egypt was founded by the descendents, survivors rather, of a technologically advanced civilization that perished in some sort of earth cataclysm at a more distant time in the past."
"More nonsense," Davies said in a disdainful monotone.
Marcus was annoyed by the policeman's comments, "Look Inspector, if you're going to deem all that I say to be 'nonsense', then why don't I just make arrangements to return to New York and....."
Indiana Jones interrupted, "If I may Inspector....there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians may have possessed advanced technologies....electricity, engineering sciences, chemical and biological...technologies that were maybe even more advanced in certain areas than ours today. The reason that these technologies were lost was because the priests were so overzealous in their protection of them. To allow the common people to have knowledge of these technologies would have taken away from the priests the very source of their power."
"Alright," the Inspector conceded the possibility for the sake of the discussion, "but please do get to the theory of Lord Malboury if you will."
"In time inspector," Marcus said, and then continued on, "Lord Malboury believes that Akhenaton and his Queen, Nefertiti, breeched the impenetrable wall of secrecy that surrounded the priests and discovered many of the wondrous technologies that the priests had kept to themselves for so long. He believes that among the most important and powerful sciences, or technologies, or what you may call it that Akhenaton learned of was the power of the sun itself. And it was this knowledge of the power of the sun that Akhenaton based his religion on." Davies sat mutely for a few moments and then said, "Is there more?"
"Yes," Marcus said, "There's more," then he paused to refresh his tea. When he finished, he went on with his discussion, "There is a legend, passed down through the pharaohs, all the way to the time of the Roman conquest and the age of Cleopatra. The legend says that while Akhenaton was pharaoh he secretly commissioned the creation of three stelae; large stone tablets upon which were inscribed a very long and detailed text."
"What was this text concerned with?" Davies asked.
"The power of the sun," Marcus answered.
Davies appeared a bit vexed, "What the devil is this power of the sun that you talk about Mr. Brody?"
"That I don't know. But Lord Malboury believes that the legend is true. And he sought to find the location of these tablets...to discover the answer to the very same question you pose."
"You believe the legend too don't you Mr. Brody? Because you worked with Malboury didn't you; on this very same project?"
"Yes, but that was a long time ago. When I left to return to the United States our research was still ...inconclusive."
"Do you know who else might be interested in these tablets, and this 'power of the sun' Mr. Brody?"
Marcus spread his hands and absently shook his head, "Well, I don't know. I suppose anyone who has a great interest in the powers of the ancients would have an interest in the tablets and their text."
Davies reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a small, thin, brown book. He held it up for a moment and then tossed it on to the center of the table where it landed with an ominous little thud, nearly knocking over Indiana Jones' tea.
"Does this give you any hint?" Davies said.
All eyes looked down at the book. There, emblazoned on the cover was the Eagle and Swastika of Nazi Germany.
"What is that?" Jones asked him.
"It's a code book Mr. Jones. We discovered it in the possession of Queen Nefertiti... when we arrested her."
British Museum (Part 1)
The next day
Bloomsbury district, London England
Indiana Jones, Marcus Brody, and a third man exited the dark Bentley sedan and made their way across a small courtyard. The three men were buffeted by the blustery, London winter wind as they approached and entered the British Museum through a side door marked 'Staff Only". When they entered they proceeded down a long corridor and then through a door that led into the Museum's main library. Jones gazed around the large library as he loosened the winter scarf he wore around his neck. Despite the many times he'd used the museum's library for his research he was still always impressed by the rows upon rows of volumes that reached upwards to the high ceiling above. Many of the volumes dealt with the study of Egyptology and Egyptian antiquities. Indeed the collection of Egyptian antiquities and the storehouse of knowledge possessed by the British Museum were unrivaled in the entire world.
"Professor Brody, Doctor Jones, welcome to England," a balding, grey haired, grey mustached gentleman approached them and put out his hand.
Marcus shook his hand and said, "Oh, John you know I can't stay away from my homeland, and my old stomping grounds for too long,"
"I trust that Niles was able to find you alright, and that your trip up from Southampton was comfortable," the man said, and then turned to Indy, "Welcome to England Doctor Jones."
"Feels kind of like home to me in a way too," Indiana Jones said as he warmly shook the hand of John Allenby, the Egyptian antiquities curator, "I've spent quite a bit of time in this library myself as you know, though it's been a while."
"Well then," Allenby said, "I guess I should have said welcome BACK to England," the man then looked at Indy's artfully decorated cast, "hello, what's happened to your arm then?"
"I ran into a little trouble in the Andes last month," Jones answered, knowing that would be enough for Allenby, who was known as quite the adventurer himself in the years before the Great War.
Allenby nodded knowingly, "Yes, yes, I understand. Well then Gentlemen, though I am indeed glad to see you both..., the reason for your visit is not altogether cheery then is it?"
"Any word?" Marcus asked with concern in his voice. Allenby shook his head and looked down at the floor, "No," he said simply, "but please come this way," he gestured for them to follow towards another door at the back wall of the library.
Jones and Brody followed as Allenby spoke, "Inspector Davies awaits us in the study. He will be able to inform you better of the situation, and I believe he has some questions for you as well."
The three men passed through the library and then through the door on the back wall. They entered the museum study. It was a room set off from the library and for the use of museum staff, or distinguished guests only. The room was furnished in the finest Victorian and leather furniture. A blazing fire crackled in the large fireplace that threw out enough heat for several rooms. Over the mantle hung a huge, framed photograph of the golden coffin of Tutankhamun. It was a remarkable photo in that it was in full, living color, using a brand new technology just being developed. The boy king's image with its brilliant gold and blue hues, stared out with heavily lined eyes; arms crossed on the chest with the crook and flail, the symbols of Egyptian power, clutched in his grasps.
"Color photography," Marcus said with a slight chuckle of incredulity, "what will they come up with next?"
Indiana Jones hung up his scarf, coat, and fedora and sat down in a comfortable smoking chair next to a large bust of the jackal-headed god Anubis. Then he thought better of it and changed to another leather easy chair; considering that it was the god Anubis who welcomed the dead into the netherworld. Jones felt he'd had too many close calls lately to take any unnecessary chances.
A tall, angular man squatted before the fireplace with his back to them feeding a fresh stack of logs into the inferno. After the last of the fresh fuel was set on to the blaze he stood up and turned around.
"Gentlemen, good afternoon, I'm Inspector Davies, of the Yard."
Davies was tall, to say the least. His long body was bony, very nearly to the point of being ungainly, and yet he carried himself with a grace that was almost effeminate. Needless to say his nose was long, thin, and slightly crooked. His eyes were rather cold and set close together; or perhaps that was just an illusion created by the length of his nose. Either way, the man struck Jones as cold, hard, and businesslike; a man who didn't like to waste time. But the man also appeared to Jones to be somewhat of a poser.
Indy stood up to shake his hand. Davies cast a dubious look on Jones' decorated cast.
"Inspector Davies, it's a pleasure to meet you," though Jones felt no real pleasure as he shook the bony hand that was presented to him. The flesh was tight, and still hot from the heat of the fire, and Indy had the odd feeling that he was shaking the hand of something...other than human.
Marcus shook hands as well, and then Indy, Marcus, and Allenby sat back down. Davies remained standing, and began to pace slowly back and forth in front of the fireplace. He withdrew a long cigarette holder and inserted a cigarette into it.
As Indiana Jones watched the man he thought to himself that with the possible exception of President Roosevelt, he'd never liked any man that used a cigarette holder. Without fail, in Jones experience such men had proven to be either cruel, dangerous, or both.
"Mr. Brody, what can you tell me about the Pharaoh Akhenaton?" Davies said, and then lit his cigarette.
"What would you like to know inspector?"
Davies threw him a stony look, "just what I asked Mr. Brody. What can you tell me about this famous Pharaoh?"
Marcus shook his head imperceptibly, "well, I...," he cleared his throat, "well Akhenaton was Pharaoh during the 18TH Dynasty, between 1400 and 1300 BC."
Davies drew on his cigarette and sucked the smoke into his lungs, "more than 3000 years ago then," he said.
"Yes," Marcus said, "his rule was marked by an attempt to radically change the religion of the Egyptians from that which they had worshipped for millennia. For this he was hated by the priests, whom he wished to depose from their position of authority and power. Akhenaton's new religion did away with the pantheon of gods, and the ceremonial life that the priests had exercised over the people of Egypt since the earliest Pharaohs. He replaced it all with the worship of a single deity, the god of the sun, Re."
"I see," said Davies. And then he gave Marcus a look that indicated that he wished to hear more.
Marcus continued, "Akhenaton moved the capital of Egypt from Thebes to a new city that he had built, the city of Aketaton, near El Amarna. It served as the religious center of Akhenaton's new visionary religion."
"What of this religion?" Davies asked vaguely.
"Well, as I said, rather than worship any pantheon of deities, Akhenaton's religion worshipped only the one god, Re, the god of the sun. They also believed in reincarnation rather than immortality; a very significant break with the old ways. They believed that the process of mummification imprisoned the spirit, the Ka, of a person forever. They believed that the way to free the Ka was through cremation."
"No mummies? No tombs?" Davies asked.
"Oh there were certainly tombs, but no mummies, only ashes." Marcus said, then he spoke directly to the Scotland Yard Inspector, "But Inspector Davies, with Professor Allenby and the wealth of information at your fingertips here in the museum, you surely didn't request me to come all the way across the Atlantic just to ask about the 18TH Dynasty."
Davies stroked his angular chin while his cigarette, on the end of its long holder, stuck out from his mouth like some kind of strange stalk of incense, "In time Mr. Brody, in time."
The policeman picked up the fireplace poker and did some rearranging of the logs and embers," Yes well, I suppose I should come more to the point then shouldn't I," he said finally.
"I only want to help find Richard Malboury before any harm comes to him, if it hasn't already," Marcus said.
"Well Mr. Brody as of this time The Yard does not believe that Lord Malboury has met with foul play. We are treating it as a kidnapping unless further developments indicate otherwise."
Jones and Brody nodded as they sat on the comfortable furniture. A loud pop in the fire threw up a small shower of sparks, an incongruous fireworks display in the serious atmosphere of the study.
Davies continued speaking, "One of the reasons we suspect this is a kidnapping rather than foul play is that we believe the kidnappers want Lord Malboury for his knowledge."
"Knowledge of what?" Marcus asked.
"Well that's where you come in Mr. Brody. You worked with Lord Richard Malboury in his investigations of certain theories concerning the Pharaoh Akhenaton and the 18TH Dynasty."
Marcus nodded his head, "yes I did ...but it's been quite some time ...and nothing was ever proven...."
"Would you care to expound on those theories Mr. Brody?" Davies said as he finally sat down. Marcus paused and took a deep breath, as if gathering resources from within for the task that lay ahead. Then he spoke, "Well as I said, Akhenaton and his religion were diametrically opposed to the priests who had exercised immense power over Egypt for millennia. You must understand that the Amun priests were probably the most secretive sect ever in the history of mankind. They guarded their secrets, and their 'magic' with such elaborate measures that it bordered on paranoia. They had their sacred rites and rituals. They had their deities...one of them stands beside you as we speak," Marcus motioned at the statue beside Davies' chair.
"What do the Amun priests have to do with it?" Davies asked, nonplussed by the looming figure of Anubis standing mute next to him.
"Everything," Marcus said simply, and then continued on, "Besides magic, and rituals, and the like, above all the priests were the keepers of sacred knowledge. And they did not share this knowledge with anyone; hence their hold on power, and their power over the pharaohs."
Just then the door opened and a middle aged woman entered the room with a fully laden tea tray.
"Tea time gentlemen," she said in a cheery voice as she set the tray down on the table in front of the blazing fire.
Jones took a quick glance at his pocket watch, "yes, we are in England after all aren't we."
A child of five or six then ran into the room. The middle aged woman turned, and then good naturedly scolded the child, "Sarah! I thought I told you to wait outside you naughty girl."
"But I don't want to wait outside mother, I'm a secret agent, I've got to investigate."
Professor Allenby turned to the girl, "Investigate eh? Now where does a little girl like you pick up such big words?"
She gave him a steadfast look, "I'm going to be a secret agent when I grow up, just like my friend James. He's the little boy across the street."
Marcus patted the little girl on the head, "I'm sure you and your friend James will both make fabulous secret agents."
All of the men smiled, all except Davies who sat and stared expressionless into the fire. He seemed more annoyed than amused by the little girl. Jones took notice. Cigarette holder...doesn't like children..., he was beginning to like Inspector Davies less and less. "Come along now Sarah," the woman called to her daughter after she'd finished setting the tea.
"Thank you very much for the tea Mrs. Montypenny," Allenby said as the woman and her little girl left the room and closed the door.
"You were speaking of the Amun priests Mr. Brody," Davies ignored the tea and seemed impatient to continue the discussion.
"Yes, the secret knowledge that the Amun priests coveted and protected so much...," Marcus paused to stir sugar into his tea, "Well Inspector, suffice it to say that there are many who believe that the Amun priests of ancient Egypt possessed knowledge of sciences and technologies that we today do not even possess."
"Nonsense, how is that possible?" Davies said as he finally gave in to the sweet aroma of the tea, something no Englishman worth his salt could resist. He leaned forward in his chair and prepared a cup for himself.
Marcus said, "It is believed by some that Dynastic Egypt was founded by the descendents, survivors rather, of a technologically advanced civilization that perished in some sort of earth cataclysm at a more distant time in the past."
"More nonsense," Davies said in a disdainful monotone.
Marcus was annoyed by the policeman's comments, "Look Inspector, if you're going to deem all that I say to be 'nonsense', then why don't I just make arrangements to return to New York and....."
Indiana Jones interrupted, "If I may Inspector....there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians may have possessed advanced technologies....electricity, engineering sciences, chemical and biological...technologies that were maybe even more advanced in certain areas than ours today. The reason that these technologies were lost was because the priests were so overzealous in their protection of them. To allow the common people to have knowledge of these technologies would have taken away from the priests the very source of their power."
"Alright," the Inspector conceded the possibility for the sake of the discussion, "but please do get to the theory of Lord Malboury if you will."
"In time inspector," Marcus said, and then continued on, "Lord Malboury believes that Akhenaton and his Queen, Nefertiti, breeched the impenetrable wall of secrecy that surrounded the priests and discovered many of the wondrous technologies that the priests had kept to themselves for so long. He believes that among the most important and powerful sciences, or technologies, or what you may call it that Akhenaton learned of was the power of the sun itself. And it was this knowledge of the power of the sun that Akhenaton based his religion on." Davies sat mutely for a few moments and then said, "Is there more?"
"Yes," Marcus said, "There's more," then he paused to refresh his tea. When he finished, he went on with his discussion, "There is a legend, passed down through the pharaohs, all the way to the time of the Roman conquest and the age of Cleopatra. The legend says that while Akhenaton was pharaoh he secretly commissioned the creation of three stelae; large stone tablets upon which were inscribed a very long and detailed text."
"What was this text concerned with?" Davies asked.
"The power of the sun," Marcus answered.
Davies appeared a bit vexed, "What the devil is this power of the sun that you talk about Mr. Brody?"
"That I don't know. But Lord Malboury believes that the legend is true. And he sought to find the location of these tablets...to discover the answer to the very same question you pose."
"You believe the legend too don't you Mr. Brody? Because you worked with Malboury didn't you; on this very same project?"
"Yes, but that was a long time ago. When I left to return to the United States our research was still ...inconclusive."
"Do you know who else might be interested in these tablets, and this 'power of the sun' Mr. Brody?"
Marcus spread his hands and absently shook his head, "Well, I don't know. I suppose anyone who has a great interest in the powers of the ancients would have an interest in the tablets and their text."
Davies reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a small, thin, brown book. He held it up for a moment and then tossed it on to the center of the table where it landed with an ominous little thud, nearly knocking over Indiana Jones' tea.
"Does this give you any hint?" Davies said.
All eyes looked down at the book. There, emblazoned on the cover was the Eagle and Swastika of Nazi Germany.
"What is that?" Jones asked him.
"It's a code book Mr. Jones. We discovered it in the possession of Queen Nefertiti... when we arrested her."