A ripple of laughter swept through the eager group. Jacob smiled small creases appearing around his eyes and continued to drink his coffee.
Lorraine moved forward; a natural leader and the most competent and confident scientist he had met in recent years.
‘The box is definitely Chinese, the teak it is made from, and the wall it came from were harvested in around 1400 in China, the same forests that supplied the Treasure fleets, we compared it to known samples from that period.
From the dimensions shown on the video, and using the helicopter and yourself for reference, the ship was probably a Fuchuan warship, five masts about fifty metres long, she would have not have travelled alone, a water tanker and supply ship would normally accompany her, and possibly other smaller craft.
As for the box, we have done ultrasound and other scans on it. Its integrity is not compromised; no water appears to have penetrated it. There are some metallic objects and possible parchments or maps rolled up in tubes.’
Lorraine paused, Jacob was unsure if this was for effect or acknowledgement, he raised an eyebrow towards her attempting to convey his puzzlement.
‘Sorry Jacob that is all we have for now.’
‘Well that is more than I expected, good job, so are we going to open the box?’
Smiles around the room indicated that all were keen. ‘Who would have the honour?’ Jacob asked.
‘We thought you could sir, if you don’t mind.’
Jacob was well known for being hands on, and relished the idea to be the first to open this box in centuries.
‘I would love to.’ With infectious youthful energy coursing over him, Jacob stepped forward, Lorraine taking his empty cup from him. He placed his tanned hands into the holes of the thick rubber gloves, flexing his fingers to ensure he had maximum dexterity in the restrictive latex.
The group had not moved, ‘Well get yourselves where you can see then!’ The group laughed and positioned themselves with either monitors of direct line of sight to the box. Once Jacob was satisfied everyone could see he began.
He lifted a miniature circular saw, the two-centimetre blade worked like the ones used for cutting off plaster casts, it would cut the wax, but not the box itself, he hoped. He moved the power saw towards the top right corner, the blade slipped easily through the hard wax, he used the attached support to manage the depth of cut, and proceeded around the edge until he returned to his starting point.
The side of the box did not move. He put the saw down on the tool rack and used his gloved hand to tap the front, still no movement. The tension in the room now more apparent. He finally used both hands to grip the cut wax side, and gently pulled, the rubber adhering nicely to the wax, and it moved. He continued to pull and noticed the section had a lip about three centimetres deep going into the box. He pulled the section away expecting a rush of air and dust; instead the lid was almost shot back into place. ‘A vacuum?’ His substantial grip beat the null space. He removed the lid and placed it to one side, now viewing and recording the contents of the box. There were various scrolls and two bamboo tubes, one empty, the end lying on the base of the box, the other sealed. He wanted to open everything, read everything, but knew procedures were in place to deal with this, he had written them to ensure enthusiasm did not cause loss of information.
He slid his noticeably sweaty hands from the gloves, wiped them and turned to the group.
‘So which one of you knew there was a vacuum inside?’
Silence.
‘Good not just me then, a 500 year old vacuum, the documents should be okay, but get them out. Photograph everything just in case they deteriorate, both sides and with different light filters.’ He moved back to the chair, surprised at his heart rate, ‘Some more of that coffee would be lovely Lorraine.’
‘I will get you some now.’
‘No, sorry, I meant where is it? And do you want one?’
Lorraine blushed, ‘It’s outside on the bench on the right, just milk with mine please.’
‘Alright ma’am, on the way.’
With a feigned salute, Jacob moved out into the spacious hanger, the coffee steaming in its pot on a bench.
The hanger had changed, some communications equipment had been added, a transmitter and satellite dish, and a technician was busy nearby.
‘Can I make a call on that yet?’
The technician was obviously startled at the interruption, a young man with a loud shirt poking out the top of his parka.
‘Yeah just a sec’, waving a hand behind him, attending to the connections on a laptop. The young man turned to be confronted by the daunting stature of Jacob right behind him, ’Mr Mathias?’
‘That I am, and you are?’
‘Sorry, Rothwell, Eli Rothwell.’ a gloved outstretched hand met Jacob. ‘Nice to meet you in person at last.’
‘You are the nagging voice in my ear. Nice shirt?’
‘Thanks, I have a bunch of them.’
‘Interesting choice for Canada, a Hawaiian surf shirt?’
‘I always like to bring some colour to work sir.’
‘Well you certainly achieved that, although your parka is restraining the full effect. So Eli, do you have something for me?’
‘Yes sir, from Paul Stone, a video message, he said can you watch it and call him back, anytime.’
‘Thanks Eli, where can I view this?’
Eli passed him a laptop, headphones attached for privacy.
Jacob sat down with the second cup of coffee, and pressed play on screen, Paul’s office and the well-groomed owner came on.
‘Jacob, asleep already, lightweight. I have some bits of news for you. First that robbery I mentioned at the Washington Museum, we found the remains of the thief in a car park, a wa-kiz-ashi was embedded in a tree, it belongs to us. Security had reported no break in, but when we checked the inventory, some crates have been tampered with, contents gone, the find from Laurent’s dig in Peru, manuscripts and some black stone sceptre, that is it. The explosives that vaporised our visitor had no chemical signature, which is unusual my sources tell me. All explosives have one so you know where they came from? The FBI is saying it was a terrorist whose bomb detonated early, of course the cynics on the hill don’t believe it, but that is nothing unusual. The other thing, I managed to get a member of the 1421 team on the horn, and he is willing to assist you, just check your email. That is it for now my friend, call me with any queries, you know where I am.’
With a wave the picture vanished to a blue blank screen, Jacob closed the player and returned it to Eli. He remembered Lorraine’s coffee, hurriedly fixed it with milk and returned to the lab.
Lorraine was standing at the box, holding a bamboo tube; she was removing something, her face a knot of concentration.
She let out her breath, and placed the artefact on a protective mat, using the overhead camera to examine it more closely, it was beautiful. The lighting and display showed the large blue crystal running it’s full fifteen centimetre length, four silver metal lines shouldered the crystal, leading up to the top of the object. The top was not ornate like a sceptre, it appeared functional, and a ball shaped top leading into a circular halo, which was engraved or embedded with blue crystal glyphs, a language they had not seen before. There had been a chain attached, but none was found in the box. It was a beautiful object, unique.
She just kept turning it, allowing the high definition camera to capture every pixel possible. Eliminating the need for repeated handling of the ancient artefact.
Jacob like the group was staring at the object, a familiarity to it, some of the markings. Without a word, he moved back outside, the group barely noticing his absence.
He swiftly crossed the hanger and asked Eli to set up a call to Paul Stone.