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Din nodded. "The Queen's Chamber had those mysterious shafts that contained salt deposits and zinc and copper residue.

Those are chemical components of batteries.

And get this—when they analyzed the mortar between the blocks, they couldn't replicate it with modern chemistry. It's stronger than the stone itself."

Kalugal settled back into his armchair-like seat at the front and swiveled it electronically so that he was facing the rest of the group.

"But power generation was just the beginning.

The pyramid's shape creates a natural resonance chamber.

Those granite beams above the King's Chamber?

They're tuned to specific frequencies. The harmonic vibrations could have been used to achieve altered states of consciousness and communicate with others on faraway planets. "

"The mathematical encodings are everywhere," Din added.

"The pyramid's base perimeter divided by its height equals 2π.

The King's Chamber dimensions encode the Pythagorean theorem, centuries before Pythagoras was born, even according to the official dating of the place, and the descending passage points directly to where the star Thuban would have been in 10,500 BC. "

Kalugal, who was still hanging on to the bottle, poured himself another shot.

"Tesla understood this. He wanted to recreate the pyramid's wireless power transmission system at Wardenclyffe.

The pyramid sent energy through the ionosphere to receiving stations, smaller pyramids, around the world.

That's why you find pyramids on every continent. "

"The erosion patterns on the Sphinx prove it matches the alternative dating," Din said. "Dr. Robert Schoch's analysis showed water erosion from torrential rains that haven't occurred in Egypt for at least 10,000 years. The establishment archaeologists went crazy trying to discredit him."

Kalugal raised his glass. "If we have time to visit the Great Pyramid, you'll feel the energy yourself.

That structure is still active, still transmitting on frequencies that humans can't feel.

The pharaohs didn't build it. They found it, long after the original builders vanished in the great cataclysm. "

He smiled at his captivated audience. "And I haven't even told you about the underground city beneath it yet, or the crystal capstone that could focus energy beams into space. But we'll save that for when we're there, standing in the shadow of that great mystery."

Fenella gaped at them both. "You can't be serious. That sounds like science fiction."

Kalugal shrugged. "Even all those millennia ago, the gods possessed incredible technology, but it all fell into disrepair when contact with Anumati was severed and eventually eroded to such an extent that almost nothing is left.

That's what I'm looking for—traces of that technology.

Before Aru and his team arrived, we knew very little about the gods' history and who they were, so my interest in archaeology was mainly to find proof of what I suspected all along.

Technically, my assumptions were confirmed by these new arrivals from Anumati, but after years of digging, I can't just abandon my favorite hobby, so I keep digging. "

"What are you hoping to find?" Fenella asked.

"Information. I love discovering and deciphering ancient writings. In my latest excavation, we've uncovered a cache of cuneiform tablets that appear to be trade records, but with some fascinating anomalies."

"What kind of anomalies?" Din asked.

"References to goods that don't match any known Egyptian or Mesopotamian terms. Descriptions of materials with properties that seem impossible for the period." Kalugal took a sip of his whiskey. "One tablet mentions a cloth that 'captures the sun's light and holds it through the night.'"

"Phosphorescent fabric?" Din suggested. "That would be anachronistic by several millennia."

"Exactly." Kalugal nodded. "Another describes containers that 'preserve food as fresh as the day of harvest for a full turning of the seasons.'"

"Some kind of preservation technology," Ell-rom mused. "Perhaps chemical?"

"The implications are staggering," Din said. "If these tablets are authentic?—"

"Oh, they're authentic," Kalugal assured him. "I've had them tested six ways from Sunday. The clay composition, the writing style, even trace elements in the stylus marks all date to the Third Dynasty."

"The gods had access to things we're only now rediscovering," Fenella said.

"That's what I think." Kalugal took a sip from his whiskey. "But that's not something any respectable archeologist can suggest."

"What else?" Din asked.

"Architectural plans that don't match any known structures. Mathematical proofs that shouldn't have been discovered for another thousand years. And my personal favorite—medical texts describing surgical procedures that we only perfected in the last century."

"The gods wouldn't have shared everything," Max said. "But some information must have leaked out."

Kalugal refilled their glasses. "Perhaps we'll find more clues on this trip. The figurines are our priority, though. We need to locate Esag, and with his help, hopefully we will find Khiann."

Max raised his glass. "To successful hunting, then. May we find what we seek in Egypt."

They toasted, crystal chiming against crystal.

"You know," Fenella said, "I've been wondering about something. If Esag survived the destruction, why didn't he try to find other survivors? Why didn't he come looking for Annani?"

"Perhaps he tried," Jacki suggested. "But the world is a big place, and immortals went into hiding. It would have been nearly impossible for him to find any of the others."

"Maybe he thought that they were all dead," Kyra said. "He was far enough away to survive, but he might have assumed no one else did."

"Well, that got dark quickly," Max said. "How about we talk about something more cheerful? Like, how many ways the Egyptian authorities might try to kill us?"

"Max!" Kyra smacked his arm.

"What? I'm being practical. We're heading into a country where the Brotherhood has a significant presence and influence. I'd like to know what we're walking into."

"The situation is tense but manageable," Kalugal assured them. "We have security, and we'll be staying in my house and not a hotel. I've been doing this for years, Max. I know how to keep my people safe."

Din appreciated the reassurance, but he noticed Fenella had gone quiet beside him. When he glanced over, she was staring out the window at the clouds below, her expression distant.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

She turned to him with a rueful smile. "Just processing the fact that we're flying into danger. Again. I thought I was done with that when I reached the village. I just wish the world wasn't so full of people trying to kill each other."

"Amen to that," Jasmine said from across the aisle. "Though if it wasn't, we'd be out of a job."

"Speak for yourself," Din said. "I'd be perfectly happy studying ancient civilizations without people trying to blow themselves up, along with as many innocent bystanders as possible."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ever one to trip over himself as he tried to lighten the mood, Max grinned. "Nothing like a little danger to spice up academic research, true?"

"Your definition of 'little' needs work," Kyra told him.

As the banter continued, lifting the collective mood, Din relaxed into it, enjoying the camaraderie.

"More whiskey?" Kalugal offered, bottle in hand.

"Why not?" Din said. "It's a long flight."