Celtic Empire - Clive Cussler Page 0,124

weighed on his mind. The question he was afraid to ask finally crossed his lips. “The Apium of Faras?”

Pitt opened the fold of his bullet-riddled jacket, exposing a bulging skin sack beside his waist. He gave his son a proud pat on the back.

“It would seem, son, that our days aren’t numbered just yet.”

EPILOGUE

QUEEN OF THE AGES

73

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Two years later

Prominently displayed on a raised platform, with bright overhead lights accentuating its every detail, the funerary boat of Princess Meritaten captured the eye like no other artifact in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. With its long oars and elegantly carved prow, the ancient ceremonial boat represented one of the oldest intact vessels ever discovered.

Only Meritaten’s coffin and the mummy of the Egyptian princess herself, both in Plexiglas cases, could compete for the attention of the small group in the museum’s first-floor special exhibition hall.

The Meritaten exhibit presented the full life of the princess, including her travels from Egypt to Spain to Ireland, and her ultimate burial on Skellig Michael. Cases displayed her sword, jewelry, and canopic jars found with her on the funerary barge. Evanna McKee’s Egyptian gold scarab necklace found a place in the gallery as well.

Yet the most priceless article among Meritaten’s possessions was exhibited in a small case off to the side, attracting minimal attention. It was a small gray goatskin bag, displayed with a few samples of the dried plants it had contained inside.

Pitt and Loren passed through a security station at the museum’s entrance and joined the small group of dignitaries gathered for an exclusive preview of the exhibit. Museum officials mixed with politicians and international archeologists in admiring the rare artifacts.

A short, spry man with a trimmed red beard and an unlit cigar noticed Pitt and Loren’s arrival and marched over, a security contingent on his tail. Vice President James Sandecker bowed to Loren and kissed her hand, then turned to Pitt.

“Outstanding discovery, my boy, simply outstanding,” said the Vice President, who had once been Pitt’s boss at NUMA.

“We’re lucky to have the temporary exhibit,” Pitt said. “Dirk and Summer worked closely with a Dr. Eamon Brophy in Ireland to track down Meritaten. Once Brophy recovered from his injuries, he was the one responsible for overseeing the funerary boat’s recovery and conservation. It will ultimately remain on permanent display at the National Museum in Dublin. The museum wasn’t keen to let Meritaten do any more traveling, yet Dr. Brophy insisted on a temporary exhibit here.”

“The least they could do for your help in finding her,” Sandecker said. “And, more importantly, putting Evanna McKee out of business.”

“A truly evil woman, responsible for untold deaths,” Loren said, shaking her head.

“It could have been much worse,” Sandecker said. “Speaking of evil, I hear Senator Bradshaw has admitted under FBI questioning that he accepted large, unreported ‘campaign donations’ from McKee.”

“Influence peddling at its worst,” Loren said. “Senate ethics investigators have just scratched the surface, but they’ve found enough to send him packing. I understand he’ll be tendering his resignation this evening.”

“At least he realized he was finished,” Sandecker said.

Sandecker pointed to the display case with Meritaten’s leather pouch. “That bag contained the extinct plant that will save our species?”

“So it would seem,” Pitt said. He noticed Elise Aguilar entering the exhibit hall and he waved her over. “Here’s the young lady we have to thank.”

Pitt introduced the agricultural scientist to Loren and Sandecker, noting with amusement she was visibly nervous at meeting them both.

“Since the discovery of Meritaten’s tomb, Elise has been working with the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control in an attempt to revitalize the extinct plant.”

“Do you have a cure in the works for the Evolution Plague?” Sandecker asked.

“Thanks to the intact DNA we recovered,” she said, “we’ve finally been able to regenerate the silphium, the plant that was buried with Meritaten. We also found out why it became extinct. It’s very difficult to grow, even in controlled settings. It seems to thrive only in a narrow range of soil and moisture conditions. The original plants, which grew wild in ancient Libya, just didn’t have the ability to replenish themselves when the Romans harvested them in bulk.”

“But you’re able to grow it now?” Loren said.

She nodded. “There’s no way to cultivate enough in a short time to help those afflicted with the Evolution Plague. Our real plan is to synthesize the compounds found in silphium that shield or destroy the plague pathogen. We’ve created an initial sample that we’re currently testing. We hope it can be distributed soon to the places where the Evolution Plague contaminated the water supply.”

“In the meantime,” Sandecker said, “we’re in for a surge in female births?”

“It should be only a brief spike in the birth ratio,” Elise said. “A year or two deviation, then hopefully equilibrium will be restored once the treatment is fully dispensed.” She nodded to Pitt. “Thanks to the records acquired from the BioRem Global lab, we have a pretty good idea of all those locations.”

“Quite a few tankers were caught at sea before additional pathogens could be released,” Pitt said. “Still, the company records indicate a significant dispersal in some of the world’s largest cities.”

“It’s a bit overwhelming when you look at the number of potentially infected women,” Elise said. “Thankfully, there’s no reason they can’t all be cured, given enough resources. And the treatment should also act against the cholera-like symptoms caused by the earlier versions of the plague. The trick will be convincing the women who don’t exhibit any signs of infection to take the cure. Personally, I can’t wait to get back to El Salvador to bring the remedy to the people of Cerrón Grande.”

Sandecker waved his cigar toward the artifacts. “It looks like Princess Meritaten saved not only the men of her generation, but also our next generation.”

“That she certainly did,” Elise said. “I should tell you we’ve been relying on the assistance of Dr. Miles Perkins, formerly of BioRem Global, in our project.”

“I heard the University of Edinburgh has taken over the McKee lab facilities, and they’re now under his direction,” Pitt said. “He’s a good man.”

“Yes, Dr. Perkins has been a great help,” Elise said. “In fact, he was the one who suggested the designation for the synthesized product we hope will cure those infected with the Evolution Plague.”

“A designation for the cure?” Pitt asked.

She nodded. “He thought it appropriate to recognize the key party responsible for the cure.”

“What did you decide to call it?” Loren asked.

Elise looked at the couple and gave a sheepish grin. “It’s to be called DP-1, after your husband.”

Loren gave Pitt a nudge. “The savior of the male half of the species. You sure you’re not disappointed there won’t be more women in the world?”

“It wouldn’t be altogether bad.” Pitt’s grin was wolfish. “The fact of the matter is, there’s only one woman in the world that counts to me.”

He extended his arm to Loren, and they turned and strolled down the exhibition hall, his own princess by his side.