Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) (4 page)

I need to get away from this man and his lifestyle
, Stephanie recognized.
It's not what I really want. It's empty. Maybe this is where I can make some kind of difference and somehow redeem my poor choices. I can warn Murphy of the danger he is in.

"Shane, why don't you let me check it out for you? There might be a story that you could use."

Perfect, she took the bait.
Barrington grinned to himself.
She's so easy to manipulate.

"Well, that might give you a change of pace," he said. "If that's something you'd like to do, then go for it. Take one of the cameramen if you need one. You can also use the jet if you like."

You can't let Shane know your true feelings. You need more time to plan your escape from him. You must keep up the masquerade.
Kovacs ran over to him and gave him a big hug.

He kissed her.
Great! I'll have a good evening tonight and get the information I need too. Not bad, Barrington. Not bad.

33

SIX

"MURPHY, DO YOU HAVE any idea how old that white powder and chips were?"

Shari's green eyes were bright with excitement. She so loved the joy of discovery.

"Let me guess, Shari. Hmmm ... at least two thousand years old?"

Shari put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. "You knew, didn't you?" she said accusingly.

"I was only guessing, Shari."

Murphy proceeded to tell her about his vacation in Colorado. When he was finished, she began, "I--"

Murphy put his hand up to stop her. "I know. I know. You're going to tell me I shouldn't have gone."

"You've got that right!"

She knew that it would be a losing battle to go any further. "Well, after all that effort, did you come to any conclusion?" she asked.

"I have to admit, it took me quite a while. The brass

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scale at the base of the tree was quite a puzzler. Especially with the broken numbers one and two."

"Did the note help?"

"In fact, it did. I kept repeating the phrase over and over in my mind: BABYLON--375 METERS DIRECTLY NORTHEAST OF THE HEAD. Then it hit me. It was referring to the
head
of the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar built. The same one that was taken to the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. Methuselah was giving me directions to another find. It must be located 375 meters directly northeast of where we found the golden head."

"What do you think it is?"

"Hold on to your pigtails. I think you're going to like this. I think it might be the Handwriting on the Wall that was mentioned in Daniel, Chapter Five."

"You mean the one where God used the fingers and hand of a man to write a message to King Belshazzar? You're crazy. How'd you come up with that?"

"It was the scale with the broken numbers one and two in the pans. Remember what the Handwriting on the Wall said?"

"No, I don't."

"It said
'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'"

"Oh, that's right. How could I forget? That makes perfect sense. I really understand now."

"Okay, okay. Give me a break. The word
MENE
means numbered. It was repeated twice. That stands for the numbers one and two in the pans. The word
TEKEL
means weighed. That's what the brass scales represented. The word
UPHARSIN
means divided. That's why the numbers were divided into two pieces.

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Translated into plain English it means: God
numbered
the days of Belshazzar's rule as the king. He found him
weighed
in the balance scales of God's judgment, and he was to be punished by
dividing
his kingdom and giving it to others."

"What about the white powder?"

"It's plaster. In Daniel Chapter Five it says that the handwriting was in the plaster on the wall opposite the lamp stand. I believe that the envelope held some of the plaster off that very wall. If this theory is true, that plaster is over twenty-five hundred years old."

Murphy went to his office and phoned the Parchments of Freedom Foundation for Isis.

He didn't realize how nervous he was until he was placed on hold.

Drumming his fingers on the desk, he thought,
You're like a schoolboy, Murphy. Grow up!

"Michael." Murphy could hear the excitement in Isis's voice. He smiled, wishing he could drown in her sparkling green eyes.
Pull yourself together!

"Isis. How are you?"

There was a slight pause. "I'm better now, Michael."

For a moment her words caught him off guard. He wasn't usually tongue-tied but now he struggled to collect his thoughts.

"Isis, I'm in between classes now. I was thinking about you and was wondering if...
Okay, you can do this
... you might be free Friday and Saturday. I need to fly up to New

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York. Could you fly up from D.C. and meet for the weekend?"

"That sounds wonderful, Michael."

After hanging up, Isis let out a big breath of air and stared out the window. Just hearing his voice had sent a thrill through her.

37

SEVEN

MURPHY COULD FEEL his Irish temper rising. The closer he got to the lecture hall, the more irritated he was becoming. It had all started when he pulled up in the parking lot and saw the van with BNN on the side. The thought of Barrington Network News being on campus brought a bad taste to his mouth.

His mind flashed back to the explosion at the church. He remembered trying to comfort Shari over the loss of her brother and Pastor Bob trying to console him over the murder of Laura. A BNN crew had been there. The network seemed always to be butting in at the most inopportune and painful times in a person's life. All the reporters wanted was a big story. They didn't care about people's feelings.

Then his thoughts shifted to the funeral of Hank Baines. He could remember what that reporter, Stephanie Kovacs, had said as she shoved a microphone in front of his face.

"Here at the memorial service for FBI agent Hank

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Baines, I'm talking with Dr. Michael Murphy of Preston University. Dr. Murphy, you were the last person to see Hank Baines alive, is that right?"

She had tried to pressure him into an emotional response.

"What is it you and Agent Baines were discussing, Dr. Murphy? Have you told the police? Have you told his grieving widow? Tell me, do you feel any sense of responsibility for his death?"

Since that time, Murphy's resentment of news reporters had grown.

Near the entrance to the lecture hall, he could see Stephanie Kovacs sitting on a bench under the magnolia tree. Students were talking with her. Her cameraman was positioning himself for the best shots.

She rose as he approached. "Dr. Murphy. Could I have a moment with you?"

Students were watching, so Murphy did his best to appear cordial. He took a deep breath and said, "What can I do for you, Miss Kovacs?"

"We happened to be in the area and were wondering if it would be possible for us to attend your lecture today?"

Right! Just happened to be in the area.
Murphy had suspicions that there was more she was after, but all he said was "Anyone is free to come in, Miss Kovacs."

"Would it be permissible to shoot some video footage?" She flashed her most charming smile.

"I suppose, as long as you don't disturb the class. I prefer to have the students thinking about the topic rather than what they'll look like on the evening news."

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"Thank you, Dr. Murphy. We will be quite discreet."

Quite discreet! Now, there's a change. What's with this meek and mild approach?

"Good morning, class. Before we get started today, you may have noticed that we have a celebrity with us--Stephanie Kovacs. Most of you will recognize her as one of BNN's top investigative reporters. She's brought along her cameraman."

The rowdy students clapped, cheered, and whistled. Kovacs acknowledged the din with a smile.

"The cameraman will be moving around taking a few shots. Try not to make faces or hand signs or
you
may be investigated," Murphy warned with a grin.

Everyone laughed.

"That especially goes for you, Clayton."

Clayton Anderson, the class clown, turned his palms up and opened his mouth in mock shock.
Who, me?
he mouthed, pointing at himself.

"Today we will be considering a new subject," Murphy said more seriously. "We'll focus on the ancient city of Babylon. You may want to jot down a few notes. This
will he
on the test."

There was a groan and the sound of notebooks opening.

"As you will recall from the lectures about Noah's Ark, Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the son who violated his father while he was asleep. One of his sons was named Cush, and he had a son named Nimrod."

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Murphy could see that some of the students had a questioning look on their faces.

"Stay with me. I need to lay this foundation. In plain English, Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah. The Bible calls him a great hunter or warrior. His name in Hebrew literally means 'let us rebel.' This can all be found in Genesis Chapter Ten.

"The Jewish historian Josephus identifies Nimrod as the builder of the Tower of Babel. This great tower was built to represent the people's rebellion against God and the setting up of their own power structure. They did not want to come under His influence. It was at the Tower of Babel that God confused the people and created different language groups."

"Dr. Murphy?" Clayton called, raising his hand. "I thought that the Tower of Babel was where King Solomon kept all of his wives."

The class broke out in laughter.

"I'm glad you feel better now, Clayton. May we continue?" Murphy said with a wry smile.

The cameraman was videotaping the entire interaction.

"Nimrod was the founder of Babylon along with a number of other cities. He was also the founder of Baal worship, the world's first organized system of idolatry. The city became famous many years later because of a great king named Nebuchadnezzar, who broke the power of Egypt at the battle of Carchemish and ruled Babylon for forty-five years."

Murphy dimmed the lights and turned on the

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PowerPoint projector. Up came an artist's re-creation of the city of Babylon.

"Babylon is located about fifty miles south of Baghdad. Have any of you heard about this town in the news lately? Babylon lay on a great plain with a large man-made lake above the city. At the height of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, the gardens of the city were considered one of the wonders of the world. Herodotus estimated that the great wall that circled the city was sixty miles long, encompassing almost two hundred square miles. Some of the walls were eighty feet thick, and many chariots could ride abreast on top of the wall. Two hundred and fifty towers were on the wall. It was estimated that five hundred thousand people lived within the city walls and another seven hundred thousand people in the extended city outside of the walls."

Murphy clicked up another slide.

"Most of the city was made of sun-dried bricks, and most of the bricks carried this inscription:

Nebuchadnezzar, Son of Nabopolazzar, King of Babylon

"I know you're disappointed they didn't have your name on them, Clayton. They would have said King of Jokes."

Everyone laughed and whistled.

Murphy clicked up a slide of an ancient temple. "There were fifty-three temples within the city. The structures were called 'ziggurats.' They consisted of three to seven platforms that grew smaller as they rose in height.

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The next slide will give you some idea of the size of a ziggurat."

After clicking up another slide, Murphy paused so the students could absorb the information. At their murmurs, he nodded. "Yes, surprising, isn't it? These towers were immense."

BABYLONIAN ZIGGURAT

1st Step: 300 feet by 300 feet by 110 feet high

2nd Step: 260 feet by 260 feet by 60 feet high

3rd Step: 200 feet by 200 feet by 20 feet high

4th Step: 170 feet by 170 feet by 20 feet high

5th Step: 140 feet by 140 feet by 20 feet high

6th Step: 100 feet by 100 feet by 20 feet high

7th Step: 70 feet by 80 feet by 50 feet high

300 Feet Tall--A 30-Story Building

"The next slide will give you some idea of the various gods that the Babylonians worshipped."