“Nice to know this may happen elsewhere in the universe,” Wizard commented.
“The next side of the Pillar is even wilder,” Alby said. “It, well, it seems to be an explanation of the Universe Expansion Problem.”
“Goodness…” Wizard’s eyes widened. “Are you sure?”
“The what expansion problem?” Lily asked.
Wizard explained. “It’s commonly accepted that our universe is expanding. The problem faced by astrophysicists and theoreticians, however, is that it should be expanding faster than it actually is. This has caused scientists to conclude that there is anegative energy or force somewhere out there holding the universe together— binding it, so to speak—and thus slowing its expansion. The discovery of the physical components of this negative energy would win you the Nobel Prize tomorrow.”
Lily smiled at Alby. “Better start writing your speech.”
“I don’t think finding an ancient Pillar and reading it counts as discovering anything,” Alby said.
“The point is,” Wizard said, “these are incredible things to know; incredible knowledge. Alby’s discovery is essentially the explanation for the state of balance in our universe; the so-far-inexplicable balance that exists between a universe that has been expanding since the Big Bang yet which is held in perfect check by a counteracting force. This is momentous. Advanced knowledge being passed down to us by an exceedingly generous prior civiliza—”
A scream pierced the air, echoing out over the hills. A completely random scream.
There was a momentary silence as they all looked out into the Rwandan countryside. Alby’s discovery had briefly made them forget where they were.
When all was silent again, Wizard said, “I’ll be very interested to know what the last side of the Pillar says. Good work, Alby, you’ve done very well. Jack always said you were a special one. Lily’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
Alby beamed.
Zoe had observed the entire exchange with interest—focusing on these problems and puzzles was a good way to keep their minds off the loss of Jack. She leaned forward, “So if this is knowledge, what is the next reward,heat ?”
All eyes turned to Wizard.
“Something similarly advanced, I assume. But somehow different from pure knowledge like this. I once knew an American academic who was interested in the Ramesean Stones, a fellow at MIT named Felix Bonaventura.
“Bonaventura was mostly interested in the second reward. He interpreted heat to mean energy, an energy source of some kind, since all our known sources of energy require the production of heat: coal, steam, internal combustion, even nuclear power. But if one could produce heat or motion without the need for fuel, one would have an unlimited supply of energy.”
“Are you talking about perpetual motion?” Alby said in disbelief.
“That’s exactly what Bonaventura thought the second reward was,” Wizard said. “The secret of perpetual motion.”
Zoe said, “It’d be something China would kill for. It’s choking on its own coal-based pollution.”
“Same for America,” Alby said. “It wouldn’t need Middle Eastern oil anymore.”
“The whole world would change,” Wizard said. “The Saudis and their vast oil reserves would no longer be needed. Coal would be useless. Why, warfare as we know it would be transformed. Did you know that by the end of World War II, the Nazis were using horses and carts because they’d run out of petrol. As a reward, pure heat would certainly be a world-changing one.”
Throughout the afternoon, Solomon and Zoe set about repairing one of the Hueys in the UN compound. Unlike the trucks, the choppers’ engines were more or less intact, and where one of them was missing parts, they could mostly scavenge matching parts from the other.
Late in the afternoon, Solomon came over from the chopper, wiping his hands on a rag. “Ladies and gentlemen. Your helicopter is ready.”
Wizard stood. “Then let’s go find the Neetha.”
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
DECEMBER 11–13, 2007
THE RUSTY OLD UN Huey helicopter soared low over the jungle-covered mountains of the eastern Congo, still without any landing skids.
Zoe flew, with Wizard beside her, flipping between a tangle of maps, notes, and his laptop computer.
“A few years ago I got Jack to do some research on the Neetha,” he said, finding a certain page in his notes:
NEETHA TRIBE
Remote tribe from Democratic Republic of the Congo/Zaire region; warlike; much feared by other tribes; cannibals;
Congenital deformities in all members, variety of Proteus Syndrome (bony growth on skull, similar to Elephant Man);
Found by accident by HENRY MORTON STANLEY in 1876; Neetha warriors killed seventeen of his party; Stanley barely escaped alive; years later, he tried to find them again, but strangely he could not locate them.
Possibly the same tribe encountered by the Greek explorer HIERONYMUS during his expedition into central Africa in 205 B.C. (Hieronymus mentioned a tribe with terrible facial deformities in the jungles south of Nubia. It was from the Neetha that he stole the clear spherical orb that was later used by the Oracle at Delphi.)
BEST KNOWN EXPERT: DR. DIANE CASSIDY, Anthropologist from USC. But her whole 20-man expedition went missing in 2002 while searching for the Neetha in the Congo.
Cassidy found this cave painting in northern Zambia and attributed it to ancestors of the Neetha:
Seems to depict a hollowed-out volcano with the Delphic Orb at the summit but its meaning is
