THAT SAME NIGHT, they checked into the Mena House Hotel, located in the westernmost part of Cairo, a paradisiacal spot surrounded by beautiful gardens and unique in the world, where the most discerning tourists could play golf with the pyramids as a backdrop, immersed in a time practically lost to memory. Antonia decided to do some shopping in the hotel boutique, taking advantage of Sephy's decision to stay in her room and unpack.
She returned about half an hour later, with several bags slung over her arms. She felt embarrassed about having to go to prestigious places alongside a sinisterly dressed young woman who constantly looked down on those better than her. So she had deigned to purchase an outfit more in keeping with her protégé's youth, something more cheerful.
Sephy accepted the change of image, although she still persisted in what had been a smokescreen turned into a chant: freeing her father from the clutches of his kidnappers. The cryptographer, tired of listening to her
complaints, he repressed the desire to kill her right there, biting his lips.
And for the tenth time, he had to tell her the same thing:
You have to have a little more patience...
Then he insisted that she try on the pants and blouse he had bought for her and that she be ready in ten minutes. They were going to dinner at the Cairo Tower.
It was a modern building, situated very close to the Opera House, halfway up an island that divided the Nile River in two. Its height exceeded one hundred and eighty meters, providing an exceptional peripheral view of the city, even more so if the tourist completed their visit by eating at the revolving restaurant located at the top. The description of the place excited Sephy, so he did as Antonia had kindly requested and changed his clothes.
After paying forty US dollars each for the tour, an hour later they entered the Cairo Tower along with a group of tourists. Without further delay, they made their way to the elevators, admiring the ornate beauty of the lobby.
— I've invited an old friend — Antonia said as the automatic doors closed. — To have dinner with us. I hope you don't mind. —
Sephy felt the circle closing, for at that moment she believed it must be one of the agents who had followed them to Egypt, whom she had certainly not seen since they had settled at Mena House.
— Is this someone who knows my father? — he wanted to clarify the doubts. The redhead shook her head.
— No, but he knows the history of the pyramids thoroughly — he replied. — He collaborated with Dr. Rudolf Gantenbrick's group in '98, although he actually works for National Geographic.
— Gantenbrick...? — he asked, knowing the name by heart. — ...Aren't you the German engineer, a specialist in robotics and computer analysis, who introduced a small robot into one of the Great Pyramid's ventilation ducts?
The cryptographer was surprised by the young German woman's archaeological knowledge.
— Wow...! And I thought I was talking to a layman!
— It's not that bad... — Sephy blushed instantly. — Remember, he's from my country. Besides, I like history. I always watch the Discovery Channel.
— Then you'll sympathize with Dr. Said Cohen. He's a fanatic about his work.
The doors opened before Sephy could ask about Said. They walked straight into the restaurant, where they were greeted by the maître d' himself. He addressed Antonia, leading her to the table she had reserved in advance over the phone.
The place was very sophisticated, and the decor truly sensational. Large windows, with carved arabesques, stood on the edge of the urban abyss, with the Nile River at their feet. The Cairo night was radiant, and without moving from their chairs, they could observe its wonders and secrets thanks to the tower's rotating system. From there, they watched as the pyramids and the Sphinx seemed to float, very slowly, on an ocean of liquid sand, enveloped in a halo of light and color.
Dr. Cohen arrived punctually for the meeting. As soon as she saw him, Antonia stood up to greet, with two kisses on the cheeks, the man who had once explained his particular theory about the construction of the pyramids of Giza. She then formally introduced them.
— Said... meet Sephy.
The young woman imitated Antonia's attitude, greeting the archaeologist politely.
— It's a pleasure — he whispered shyly.
— I say the same, miss.
They sat down again, this time the three of them. The prim maître d' brought them their menus. Then he left, informing one of the waiters that the diners deserved a nice aperitif, called a Cocktail Suprême, as a courtesy of the house.
For the first few minutes, the pair of friends recalled the months they had spent together on the excavations in the Valley of the Kings, but when they realized they were boring Sephy with their archaeological conjectures, they decided to include her in the conversation.
— Is this your first time in Egypt? — Said asked informally, peering at the young woman over his tiny glasses.
— Oh, yes! — said the German woman, slightly embarrassed, not quite knowing what to say.
— Her father left her in my care a month ago — Antonia interjected, deliberately lying to stall for time, figuring it wouldn't be wise to tell him the whole story. — Actually, she's studying archaeology in Spain.
Said nodded in agreement, implying that he understood why she had accompanied Dr. Sala.
— You would be surprised to learn the mysteries hidden in Egyptian civilization... — he turned to Sephy again.
— There are already countless professionals who believe that history should be rewritten... — he said, clearing his throat, to conclude proudly: — ...I say this because the dates are still not very clear.
— Are you referring to the construction of the pyramids?
— Exactly — Dr. Cohen replied, — and not just the pyramids, but the Sphinx as well. Did you know that fifteen years ago, geologist Robert Schoch of Boston University and Egyptologist John West discovered that the enormous fissures we can observe around the rock formation are not the result of erosion caused by wind and sand, but were instead created by torrential waters dating back more than ten thousand years?
Sephy didn't know what to say, but it was starting to interest her a lot.
— Tell her about the secret chamber — Antonia encouraged, wearing a knowing smile. — Tell her what geophysicist Dobecki and Schoch himself discovered the following year.
— Yes, of course — said the archaeologist. — Several acoustic sounding tests were carried out around the Sphinx, experiments that ended up corroborating the idea that under the
There are several hidden rooms on the ground that have existed since ancient times. Some scientists, like us, think they could be a series of libraries or even archives, dating back to the time when Atlantis sank.
Sephy was still astonished by that story.
— And is that true? — she asked, fascinated.
— Let's say there is irrefutable evidence, but a part of the scientific community prefers to ignore it.
— For example... — insisted the young woman of Germanic origin.
— As I mentioned, Dobecki discovered, under the Sphinx's right paw, what appeared to be a rectangular room measuring over a hundred square meters by five meters high. Six years later, through a sophisticated scanner, the existence of this room would be confirmed, along with countless underground galleries and connecting tunnels, which would lead to the very same pyramids. To our dismay, my country's government tacitly prohibited excavation permits.
— But... this is unbelievable!
Sephy continued to play her role, though the archaeologist's words were by no means indifferent to her. Her eyes showed it.
— Listen... there's more... — This time it was Antonia who decided to intervene, keeping the captivating story even more vivid. — The Japanese used microgravimetric techniques inside the Queen's Room, something you could call an X-ray of the walls. The results were truly shocking, as they clearly indicated the presence of corridors and empty spaces behind the granite blocks.
— Actually, we're not the first to have information about this — Said continued. — As early as the fourth century, the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus claimed to know of the existence of underground tunnels beneath the pyramids, initiation chambers to which the ancient pharaohs descended, through secret galleries, to communicate with the subterranean gods Set and Osiris.
— If that's true, and if you're so sure these underground passages you speak of exist…— Sephy cleared her voice to ask, — …why hasn't anyone dared to investigate them?
The archaeologist began to laugh. He, too, thought it illogical to hide the greatest discovery in history.
— Because of the opportunism of this backward country... — he admitted regretfully, lowering his voice. — It's in the government's interest to keep the secret. That way, they can excavate whatever they want without anyone poking their nose into their affairs. Why do you think they banned tourists from Khufu for over three years...? Do you really believe that this measure was taken, as they claimed, to clean the interior of the pyramid? Clean what...? The desert sands, by any chance...? Oh, damn it...! — he exclaimed scathingly, adding: — What they really want is to do the easy work and take all the credit, when it was we, the archaeologists, who for years and years have striven to uncover the truth.