difference he noted this time was that the lone calendar page of the current month had been removed, leaving the walls completely bare.
Stone, who had been speaking into a radio, snapped it off as Logan stepped in. “Jeremy. Please have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Stone looked Logan up and down with his cool, appraising gaze. “So. What did you want to see me about?”
“I understand that things are proceeding very well.”
“I’m extremely happy with our progress. The tomb interface-the air lock-has been permanently affixed to the surrounding rock. The Umbilicus has been run from the Maw to the air lock. It’s now fully powered and pressurized. The link is stable-we’ve run numerous tests and diagnostics. We sent down a five hundred megahertz ground- penetrating radar, piloted remotely. It, along with sonic imaging tests, seems to detect three chambers beyond the first gate, one placed after the other in series.”
Although he was talking about the find of his career, Stone’s verbal delivery and body language remained calm and reserved. Only the hard glitter in his blue eyes suggested what he was really feeling. “Everything is in readiness,” he continued. “It’s time to break the seal and enter the tomb.”
Logan ran a hand through his hair. “Who will be making the initial penetration?”
“Tina. Dr. March. Ethan Rush. A couple of Frank Valentino’s boys for the heavy lifting. And myself, of course.” He smiled. “One of the perks of funding this little expedition.”
“I would recommend one other,” Logan said.
Stone raised his eyebrows. “Oh? And who might that be?”
“Me.”
Slowly, Stone’s smile faded. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Why should I bring you along on this first incursion?”
“There are lots of reasons. For one thing, it’s part of my job description. You brought me here to investigate various strange phenomena: we both have a strong suspicion this tomb may in some way be responsible for them. I’m also uniquely qualified to document this event-and I know that such documentation will be important to you in the future.”
“Yes. But why not wait until the tomb is stabilized?”
“Because if there is indeed an active curse-in whatever form it might manifest itself-I should be there from the beginning. Recall Narmer’s opening words: ‘Any man who dares enter my tomb.’ Nobody has yet entered the tomb-but the Station already has been plagued with unexplained phenomena. There is a good chance that whatever else might happen may well start with this initial penetration.”
“That’s true,” Stone said. “All the more argument for you to wait. There’s no reason to expose you needlessly to danger.”
“I’ve signed the liability waivers and indemnification documents, just like the others-Ethan Rush made sure of that.” Logan sat forward in his chair. “And there’s another argument for my presence, Dr. Stone. Nobody knows what lies on the far side of that gate. But of anyone on this Station, I’m the most prepared to deal with it. You’ve seen my resume. You know the kinds of-shall we say- nonnatural phenomena I’ve come up against in the past. I’m as inured to such things as anyone could claim to be. Frankly, I’ve seen things that might break a less experienced person. You need me precisely because we don’t know what we’re going to find.”
Stone fixed him with a penetrating gaze. “You forget I’m not exactly a novice at this sort of thing. I’ve unsealed more than my share of tombs.”
“Not one with a curse like this on it.” Logan drew in a deep breath. “Let me do my job, Dr. Stone.”
For a long moment, Stone continued to stare at him. Then his sly, almost private smile slowly returned. “Eight a.m. sharp,” he said. “Don’t be late.”
33
The last time Logan saw the Staging Area was on the day of the dive accident. The huge, echoing room had been crowded then. It was even more crowded now. At least a dozen people were monitoring the wall of instrumentation, and a small army of assistants and technicians were massed in the center, crowding around the Maw, all talking animatedly.
Slowly, Logan approached them. The huge flat-panel monitor that had displayed the chessboard-like grid of the Sudd floor was now dark, its purpose fulfilled. Tall racks of sodium vapor lights were aimed into the Maw. As he drew close, he could make out Tina Romero in the crowd. She spotted him, detached herself from the group, and came over.
“I heard you invited yourself along,” she said. “Stone must really dig you.”
Logan shrugged. “What’s not to dig?”
“You want a list?”
The banter was light, but Logan detected an edge in her voice. He knew what she was feeling, because he felt it himself. Great excitement to be here for this, perhaps the most important day in archaeology since Schliemann discovered Troy-but also deep and pervasive anxiety over what King Narmer might have in store for them.
Porter Stone was standing to one side with Frank Valentino. He glanced at his watch, then said something to Valentino, who immediately raised a bullhorn. “Attention!” the chief barked. “Break it up, please. Back to your stations.”
Slowly, in ones and twos, the people drifted away from the Maw. Now Stone and Valentino approached, along with two burly roustabouts. Stone nodded at Tina and Logan in turn. “Ready?”
“Yes,” they replied in tandem.
“This is how we’ll proceed. Valentino’s men will go first, followed by myself, Tina, Dr. March, Dr. Rush, and then Jeremy here. We’ve already lowered most of the equipment we’ll need down to the air lock platform. Once we’ve established that the site is secure, we will perform a close examination of the gate itself, followed by a test core. Only then will we break the seal and enter. This first penetration of the tomb will be limited to a visual reconnaissance only-everything will be recorded on video, but nothing is to be touched, save samples taken for analysis by Tina and Ethan Rush. Is that understood?”
While he had been speaking, Ethan Rush and Fenwick March joined the group. Everyone nodded.
“Good. Then put on your respirators and gloves. We’ll communicate via radio.”
Following Tina’s example, Logan stepped over to a small wheeled lab table, picked up a pair of latex gloves, and pulled them on. Then he took a respirator from among several lying on the table and snugged it over his mouth and nose. He attached the radio clip to his belt and turned it on.
All the others did the same. Valentino’s men wore small backpacks, as did Ethan Rush. Tina hoisted a compact videocam.
And then they were ready. Stone looked at each in turn, then glanced at Valentino’s men and gave them a thumbs-up. As the two stepped over to the Maw, Logan was surprised by a spontaneous burst of applause from the various technicians and assistants; instead of going back to their posts, as instructed, they had gathered near the industrial rolling ladder and were watching the seven as they prepared to descend to the tomb.
Logan hung back, watching, as-one after the other-Valentino’s two men walked to the Maw, grasped the metal railing, swung their legs over, and slowly descended out of sight. Next went Stone, then Romero, then March, then Rush.
And then it was his turn. With a deep breath, he stepped to the edge of the Maw, grasped the railing, and peered over its edge.
The last time he’d done that, the Maw had been merely a portal to the Sudd below. Black, evil-smelling muck had filled it to the rim. Now, however, he found himself staring down a long, gently sloping yellow tunnel, made of some heavy, flexible material. At least a dozen cables of various colors and thicknesses ran down into its flanks, like veins. The tunnel-the Umbilicus, as it was called-was slightly narrower than the Maw itself. It was stiffened against the external pressure of the Sudd by wooden bracings, set in an overlapping hexagonal pattern, each support
