Four Ways to Pharaoh Khufu (15 page)

Chapter 23

57 WolfStraße, Berlin, Germany

Thursday, September 21

12:40 p.m.

T
he apartment door opened abruptly. “What happened?” Michael exclaimed.

Anna stood dripping in the tiny entryway, “Get your jacket and make sure you have the papyruses.” She quickly leaned over and grabbed her raincoat from its perch on the bathroom doorknob. “I’ll tell you on the way!” she promised, frantically yanking on her coat while turning back to the stairs.

Michael snatched his jacket, made sure the bag of papyruses were safely tucked inside and started after her. To Michael’s surprise, Anna was running up the next flight of stairs instead of down. Pulling on his jacket, he shut her door and ran after her, catching up just as she started climbing a ladder to the rooftop. Anna quickly informed him that she had been kidnapped and her captors were close behind.

She forced open a metal hatch leading to the roof. Rain and wind swirled down on them as Anna climbed the last rungs of the ladder and stepped onto the roof. Hunching over, she ran to the other end of the building as Michael quickly flipped the hatch shut and did the same. She wrested open a similar hatch, jumped inside and started climbing down a ladder situated in the building’s opposite stairwell. Amazed at her ingenuity, Michael climbed down the ladder as well, pulling shut the hatch door behind him and racing down the four flights of stairs after her. They paused as Anna peeked out the lobby window. Just then, a taxi rolled up and dropped off one of her neighbors. Anna pushed open the lobby door, grabbed Michael’s hand and sprinted to the taxi. Shoving Michael inside, she squeezed in next to him, both automatically slouching down.

As their cab pulled away from the apartment building, Anna directed the cabbie to take them to Berlin’s city center. She nervously looked one way and then another out the windows for Seth’s menacing black Volvo to appear. Keeping an eye on their surroundings, she told Michael a little bit about what had happened.

As they neared Berlin’s city center, Anna directed the cabbie to take them to the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. She explained to Michael that it was an international scientific research organization founded in 1829 whose employees were responsible for performing excavations and research in the field of archeology.

The sky was still leaden and dripping rain when the cab dropped them off in front. The old sandstone exterior was welcoming, almost like a mansion, with its wide, creamy shutters and warm red roof. The wide, covered walkway from the street to the building itself was a majestic refuge from the weather, with multiple pillars and ancient potted ferns. Before they reached the front door, Anna turned to Michael, “The man we need to see is David Krüger. Back in 1993, David and my father were part of the exploration of the two shafts leading outside the Queen’s chamber inside the Great Pyramid.”

Michael’s eyes lit up, “Oh yes, I remember that.”

The receptionist at the grand wooden reception desk greeted them warmly in German.

Anna replied in German.

The receptionist nodded, speaking again.

“Anna Schulze,” Anna replied.

The receptionist paused, smiled wider and picked up the phone. As they walked over to one side to wait, Anna turned to Michael, “So, how do you know about my father’s exploration of the Queen’s Chamber?”

He smiled, “Easy. I’ve been fascinated by the Egyptian pyramids since I was a teenager.”

She replied thoughtfully, “Fair enough.”

“They had a robot go inside the Queen’s Chamber, that’s exciting stuff. I remember they discovered a small door set with metal pins, right?”

“Yes, there’s speculation that those pins were door handles.”

“Anna!”

“
Guten Tag, David
,” Anna greeted a man approaching them. “
Wie geht es
Dir
?”

“
Hallo, Anna
,” David gave Anna a big hug. They spoke in German, but then switched to English when Anna introduced Michael.

David turned to Michael, “So sorry, I didn’t know that you don’t speak German.”

“Americans, ha,” Anna smirked. “One universal language: English.”

“That’s all right,” Michael said to David before giving Anna a sideways smile and adding, “
Ich bin nicht Giraffe
.” They burst into giggles. After the intensity of their morning, the laughter helped to lift their spirits. As Anna hurried to explain the joke to David, Michael glanced over at the receptionist, concerned that their loud chatter was disturbing her work. He was surprised to find her steadfastly observing them. He met her eyes and smiled at her. She graciously smiled back at him and then politely looked down at the papers on her desk.

“I knew Anna’s father, Günther, well.” David spoke to Michael, pausing somberly. “We worked together preparing a robot to explore the air shafts of the Great Pyramid. And that was at the beginning of… let me see… 1993?”

“Yes,” Anna replied softly,

Taking ahold of Anna’s hands for the moment, David said sadly, “Anna, how nice of you to stop by. I was so sorry to hear about your father. It was a real tragedy both personally as a close friend and to the Archaeological Institute as well. He really was a valuable asset to both the fields of archaeology and Egyptology. This is truly a really big, big, loss … to the world,” David concluded, struggling with his tears.

“Thank you so much, David, I’m truly touched,” Anna replied, a small, sad smile playing across her lips. “Michael is from New York. He tried to save my father’s life inside the Great Pyramid in Egypt.”

“Yes, I learned basic CPR back in my military days,” interjected Michael, “but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to save him.”

Anna looked solemnly into his eyes, “You did everything you could. More than most people would.”

“You did a truly noble thing.” David added. “I heard he had a heart attack inside the pyramid.”

Michael gave Anna an odd, questioning look before glancing back to David. “Well,” Anna replied cautiously. “That may not be entirely true.”

“What do you mean?”

“There might be another explanation related to my father’s death, but it is irrelevant right now because we don’t have proof. In fact, we need your expert opinion on some items my father mailed to me from Egypt. I have them here with me. Do you have time to take a look?”

“Sure, no problem. I have a little bit of time before I have a teleconference, so please, follow me to my office.”

As they walked up the stairs to David’s office, Anna and David reminisced about Anna’s father. Meanwhile, Michael’s emotions were brimming over. Logically, he should not be in Germany. He should be in Egypt, enjoying the trip of a lifetime; yet, his heart had taken the lead. At present, he could not wrap his mind around his incredible fortune: he was meeting with an archeologist whose explorations and discoveries were well known within the small world of Egyptology.

David’s office was cluttered with an eclectic collection of artifacts. Michael’s eyes gravitated to a poster lying on top of David’s desk.

DEUTSCHES ARCHÄOLOGISCHES INSTITUT

Proudly pres
ents:

The
Bronze Age Egypt

A lecture by Dr. David Krüger

Well-known archaeologist, participant in a multitude of archaeological projects, author of several books on Egyptian archaeology, contributor to various magazines and frequent guest on television shows, Dr. Krüger presents findings from his latest expedition to E
gypt.

Carefully placing the Egyptian papyruses on the table, Anna explained, “David, these were in a package my father sent to me just before he died. Can you tell us anything about these four papyruses?”

“Please,” David gestured for them to take a seat in one of his office chairs as he sat down in his own. Anna quickly sat down, her eyes focused on the papyruses. Although Michael sat down, his eyes and mind were exploring David’s office, soaking in his surroundings. “Very interesting,” David examined each of the four papyruses for a few moments before setting them down.

After locating his magnifying glass, David switched on a high intensity lamp and carefully picked up one of the papyruses. Adjusting the glaring light of the lamp, he held his magnifying glass over the papyrus and studied it for a few moments.

He spoke quietly and deliberately as he described what he saw. “This papyrus depicts two cat gods with a cartouche between them.” He looked up at the both of them and smiled, “It basically signifies that Egypt is a heaven.” He carefully placed the papyrus aside, picked up the next one and studied it for a few minutes.

“This next papyrus has a scene from the Book of the Dead. It depicts a scene from an “opening of the mouth” ceremony. The ancient Egyptians believed that in order for a person's soul to survive in the afterlife, it would need to have food and water. This symbolic animation of a mummy was a ritual that they believed would bring sensory life back to the deceased form. In other words, it would enable the deceased person to see, smell, breathe, hear and eat in the afterlife, and thus partake of the offering foods and drinks brought to the tomb each day.”

Anna leaned back, “It always amazes me how sophisticated the Egyptians were in everyday life, yet they believed in such fantasy.” Michael nodded in agreement as he was eagerly waited to hear what David would say next. David set aside the papyrus and picked up the next one.

“This one displays Osiris, the god of the underworld with his wife, Isis, the goddess of magic.” David smiled briefly at both of them before setting the papyrus aside and picking up the last one.

“The last one depicts a sacrificial ceremony of offerings to the god Horus, the Egyptian god of the skies. He was the son of Osiris and Isis,” he said, returning the last papyrus to the pile.

Anna felt stumped, “Anything unusual you can tell us about these papyruses?”

“No, nothing unusual,” said David, prompting Michael and Anna to both sigh sadly.