The Resurrection Key

by Andy McDermott

  ‘She said somebody who knew she was researching suspended animation sold her the information,’ said Nina. Too late, she registered Eddie’s subtle warning look: don’t tell them anything. She cursed inwardly. While the couple were not literal captives like the Millers, right now they might as well be.

  Luckily, she had not revealed anything the Chinese did not already know. ‘Yes. We are investigating,’ Wu told her. ‘She did not tell you a name?’

  ‘No, sorry.’

  Wu regarded her impassively. Nina looked back, sizing her up. To have become the leader of a special forces unit at a relatively young age – she doubted Wu had yet reached thirty – meant she was dedicated both to her career and to the Chinese state. She couldn’t tell if the major’s cold, hard exterior was a necessary defence in a male-dominated environment, or her natural personality all the way through.

  ‘We will find out soon,’ Wu eventually said. She returned to her seat without a further word.

  ‘She’s got a lovely smile,’ Eddie said quietly. Nina gave him a quizzical glance; Wu’s mouth had been resolutely downturned. ‘Problem is, she keeps it in a jar under her desk.’

  Cheng chuckled – then froze as if worried Wu had overheard. But the Chinese officer showed no reaction.

  Nina’s own smile quickly vanished. ‘So you did all this in the hope that I’d find the fortress and activate the key for you,’ she said to Cheng. ‘How long have you been planning it?’

  ‘Ever since we got the key,’ he replied.

  ‘Stapper was rescued, what, four months ago?’ He nodded. ‘Wait, the semester started less than two months ago! Were you already enrolled, or did someone throw a lot of money around to get you a place?’

  ‘I’m afraid it was the money thing.’

  Nina did not hide her disapproval. ‘So somebody who actually wanted to be an archaeologist lost their place so you could play international spy?’

  ‘I really do want to be an archaeologist!’ he insisted. ‘I was going to study in Beijing. But when we found the key, you were the only person we knew who could activate it, based on your experiences with Excalibur and the vault in Turkey – so we came up with a plan to get you to do that.’

  ‘Good plan,’ Eddie scoffed. ‘It almost got us killed – it almost got you killed.’

  ‘And other people did die because of it,’ Nina added angrily. ‘Their deaths were your fault!’

  Cheng was abashed. ‘I’m . . . I’m sorry. But it did work. So . . .’

  ‘So here we are. You got this,’ she tapped the key, ‘you got an intact sarcophagus complete with occupant – and you got me. Now what are you intending to do with your new collection?’

  He had still not recovered from her verbal lashing, keeping his eyes lowered. ‘We want you to open the sarcophagus so we can learn how it works. We found several like it in the Gobi, but they were broken, like all the other Nephilim technology. The theory is that the crystals were damaged by neutron radiation, but nobody knows for certain. But now we have an intact sarcophagus, we can find out.’

  ‘What do you want it for?’ Eddie asked.

  Cheng looked up at him. ‘If we can put people into suspended animation, we can send them into space, to other planets! And there are many medical uses too. A critically wounded person can be put into stasis until they reach hospital, or someone suffering from a disease could be frozen until it can be cured.’

  ‘All very noble,’ said Nina scathingly. ‘And what about the other technology you found? If it’s like what was in the iceberg, some of them are weapons. Do you want to use the key to make them work too?’

  Before she could press him further, the plane’s engine note changed. Wu approached them. ‘We are coming in to land,’ she announced, collecting the key. ‘Take your places.’ Cheng’s laptop was on a table across the aisle; he switched seats with a hint of relief. Wu returned to her own position.

  Annoyed, Nina peered through the window at the vast expanse of the Gobi. Other than a single road angling across the pale brown landscape, there was no sign of human activity. ‘That’s a whole lot of nothing out there,’ she said. ‘Where are we?’

  ‘That is classified,’ Wu intoned from down the cabin.

  ‘I’m not asking for GPS coordinates, just a general idea.’

  ‘Professor Wilde has agreed to help us,’ said Cheng. ‘There’s no reason why we can’t be polite hosts.’

  Wu frowned at him, then spoke in Mandarin. After a brief exchange with the student she withdrew, irate. Cheng smiled.

  ‘Do you outrank her or something?’ Eddie asked.

  ‘No, no. I’m not in the military. But the research into the Nephilim is a scientifically led project, and I’m a member of the archaeological team.’ His smile became almost bashful. ‘And it helps that my mother is in charge of it.’

  ‘Your mother?’ said Nina, a thought coming to her. ‘Wait – your family name is Hui, so . . . is your mom Dr Hui Ling?’

  He nodded with enthusiasm. ‘She is. You’ve heard of her?’

  ‘Yeah, but not for a while. She wrote several papers about comparative mythology that I used as reference for my graduate thesis, which was – God, nearly twenty-five years ago. I haven’t seen any new work from her for a long time, though.’

  ‘She’s been very busy here. She started work on the project seventeen years ago, and became its director ten years ago.’

  ‘So you grew up where we’re going?’ said Eddie.

  ‘Mostly. My father stayed in Xi’an, so I travelled between them. But then he, um . . .’ His lips pursed. ‘He left, so I stayed with her. I grew up at the base.’ An overly casual shrug. ‘It’s probably why I wanted to become an archaeologist, huh?’

  ‘I know all about sharing your parents’ obsessions,’ Nina said quietly.

  An uncomfortable silence followed, which Cheng broke. ‘Anyway! Look over here – that’s the city nearest to us.’

  Nina and Eddie leaned across the aisle to see. Visible in the distance was a grey sprawl against the sandy brown, endless ranks of tower blocks surrounding a core of mirror-walled skyscrapers. ‘Big place,’ said the Englishman. ‘What’s it called?’

  ‘Xinengyuan.’ He pronounced it khu-seen-ang. ‘The name means “New Energy City” – it’ll be a showcase for renewable energy and solar power when it’s finished.’

  ‘It’s not finished? But it’s massive!’

  ‘It’s still being built. In five years, there’ll be eight million people living there.’

  ‘How many are there now?’ Nina asked.

  ‘About . . . ten thousand.’ He seemed almost embarrassed by the admission.

  ‘A ghost city?’ She had seen photographic examples in the past of the peculiarly Chinese phenomenon of newly built megacities with barely any inhabitants, but thought changes in government policy had ended the Field of Dreams approach to urban development: if you build it, they will come.

  ‘It will be ready for them,’ Cheng insisted. ‘I’ve been there, it’s very cool. It has the world’s second-largest indoor ski run!’

  ‘Only the second-largest?’ said Eddie with wry amusement. ‘I thought China wanted to be number one at everything.’

  ‘The Arabs built a bigger one right after it was finished.’ The fact seemed almost a personal insult to the young Chinese man. ‘We’re going to Cangliang air force base, about forty kilometres away.’

  The plane banked, slowing further as it continued its descent. The pilot’s voice came over the cabin speakers; Cheng translated. ‘We’re about to land. You need to put on your seat belts.’

  Nina and Eddie did so.

  There was little to be seen of the airbase itself as they approached. Two tall rings of wire-mesh fences with guard towers dotted along their length enclosed thousands of acres of barren sand. Occasional masts and towers of indeterminate function
were the only other structures visible until after the jet touched down and began to taxi. The heart of the base finally swung into view. A tall control tower, hardened hangars, fuel dumps and warehouses, banks of grim barracks; military functionalism was much the same anywhere in the world.

  The plane took them to an area somewhat detached from the central complex. Apart from a water tower and a large bank of electrical transformers, the only structure was a squat concrete bunker. ‘We’re here,’ said Cheng, standing as the plane halted. ‘Come on.’ He gathered his belongings and headed for the exit.

  Eddie and Nina followed. They descended the steps to see Cheng embracing a woman; several other people, a mix of civilians and military personnel, waited behind her. ‘Professor Wilde,’ said Cheng, ‘I’d like you to meet my mother – Dr Hui Ling.’

  Hui extended her hand. ‘Professor Wilde. It is a very great honour to meet you.’

  ‘You too, Dr Hui,’ Nina replied, shaking it. The Chinese woman was around fifty-five, small in stature with her greying hair cut in a bob, her eyes alert and intelligent. ‘Your papers were an inspiration for my own early work.’

  ‘Really?’ Hui smiled, pleased. ‘We must find time to discuss archaeology in general later. But we have a more specific subject for now.’ She looked down the plane’s length, where a forklift was unloading a large crate containing the sarcophagus.

  ‘The Nephilim.’

  ‘Yes. Cheng has told you, then. Good; that will save time.’ She turned to the Chinese officer beside her, a stocky, stern-faced man of about Eddie’s age. ‘This is Colonel Commandant Wu Jun, the military commander of this base.’ The slight emphasis on the word military was clearly intended to differentiate her side of the work from his.

  ‘Colonel Wu,’ said Nina, receiving a stiff, formal handshake. His features were oddly familiar – then the reason came to her. ‘You’re Major Wu’s father?’ She glanced back at the special forces leader.

  ‘Yes,’ Colonel Wu replied gruffly. ‘I very proud of my daughter.’ He struggled with even those few English words.

  Hui continued to make introductions, ending with a moon-faced middle-aged man. ‘And our translator, Zan Zhi.’

  ‘Good to meet you, Professor Wilde,’ said Zan.

  ‘And you.’ Nina shook his hand before turning back to Hui. ‘But it doesn’t seem like you need a translator – you all speak English.’

  Hui laughed. ‘Zhi does not translate English. He translates his language.’ She gestured at the crate as it was carried towards the bunker. ‘The language of the Nephilim!’

  Nina remembered what Eleanor had told her. ‘How much have you translated?’

  ‘I will show you. Please, come.’

  Nina was about to follow her when a commotion at the plane caught her attention. Donny Miller, hands cuffed behind his back, struggled with three of the Chinese commando team. ‘Fuck you! Let me go, you slant-eyed bastards! I’m still a US citizen, and a rich one too – you have no idea of the amount of shit that’s going to come down on you!’

  Two other men carried Eleanor out behind him. She was not cuffed, though they held the frail old woman in such a way that there was little she could do to resist. ‘Donny!’ she snapped. ‘At least show some dignity. You’re a Miller; behave like one.’

  ‘Fuck you, Mom!’ he shouted back.

  It was plain from her affronted expression that her son had never spoken to her like that before – at least not within earshot.

  ‘I bet that’s been about thirty years coming,’ said Eddie.

  Colonel Wu gestured impatiently to the Millers’ escort. The pair were frogmarched towards the bunker.

  ‘What are you going to do with them?’ asked Nina. She had no love for either, but the People’s Republic of China was not a nation with a kid-glove reputation for the treatment of prisoners.

  ‘We find out who give them classified information,’ he replied. ‘We interrogate them.’

  ‘Interrogate?’ Miller yelled. ‘Bullshit – they’re going to torture us!’ He shouted pleadingly to Nina. ‘You can’t let this happen!’

  To their mutual surprise, Eleanor let out a small laugh. ‘You’re going to torture my son? Well, that saves me the trouble.’

  ‘Mother!’ Miller cried, appalled.

  The commandos hauled the pair through the entrance.

  Hui spoke quickly to Nina. ‘I’m sorry. We should have waited until you were inside before taking them from the plane.’ The comment was addressed as much to the facility’s commander as the redhead.

  ‘Are you going to torture them?’ Nina demanded.

  The colonel eyed her coldly, but his daughter was the one who replied. ‘They are responsible for espionage against the People’s Republic. The United States has in the past abducted Chinese nationals, even senior government officials, accused of similar crimes against America. We are following your example.’

  ‘You didn’t answer my question.’

  ‘We will get truth,’ said Colonel Wu, his curt tone making it clear further discussion of the matter was over. He turned and headed inside.

  ‘Nice to meet you too,’ Eddie called out to his retreating back.

  His daughter shot him a disapproving glare.

  ‘My apologies, Mr Chase,’ said Hui. ‘We did not mean to ignore you.’ She shook his hand. ‘Now, please come inside. We have a lot to talk about.’

  A bank of elevators was set back inside the bunker’s entrance. The sarcophagus and the prisoners had already descended; Hui called another lift. ‘I will give you the background on our discoveries,’ she said. ‘If I tell you something Cheng has already mentioned, please stop me.’

  Nina nodded. ‘Go ahead. I’m very interested to hear the full story.’

  ‘China began nuclear tests in this region in 1964. It was while examining the crater left by a test in 1976 that something incredible was discovered.’

  ‘The buried fortress?’

  ‘Yes. A structure twenty metres beneath the sand, constructed from materials unknown at the time. It contained several sarcophagi made of the gold alloy now called orichalcum, thanks to your discovery of Atlantis; a harder metal we call adamantium – my son chose the name—’

  ‘From Wolverine’s claws,’ said Cheng, with a slightly embarrassed smile.

  ‘—and a crystalline substance,’ Hui continued. The elevator arrived, and everyone filed in. ‘The occupants of the sarcophagi were all dead, but as the records we recovered were translated, it became clear they expected to be revived.’

  ‘Has everything been translated?’

  Hui nodded towards Zan. ‘We are as fluent as we can be in their written and spoken languages. Zhi is an expert. I am . . . fair. Cheng is better.’ Her son grinned. ‘But we also have a computer program that can translate.’

  ‘You’ve heard them talk?’ asked Eddie.

  ‘As well as inscriptions, there were audio recordings of the Nephilim voices.’

  ‘Clay cylinders that use a needle and a metal cone for recording and playback, right?’ said Nina.

  ‘Yes. Did Cheng tell you about them?’

  ‘No, I’ve seen them before.’

  Hui was surprised. ‘You have already found a Nephilim site?’

  ‘Not Nephilim,’ Nina told her. ‘I knew them as the Veteres. They weren’t the same species as the occupants of the sarcophagus, though. They were smaller, more slender.’

  ‘And they looked like space aliens,’ Eddie added.

  Nina fought the urge to sigh.

  However, Hui nodded. ‘We have theorised that the modern image of a spaceman is an ancient racial memory of the Nephilim. We do not know for sure – but it is more likely than aliens coming to earth in flying saucers.’

  The Yorkshireman was disappointed.

  His wife couldn’t resist smiling at him. ‘Told ya.’
>
  The elevator stopped. ‘We have also analysed the technology found in the structure,’ Hui went on as the doors opened. ‘It was all damaged beyond repair, but we still learned much from it. We could not replicate any of its functions, though – until recently.’

  She led the group into a lobby area painted in an institutional pale green. A security barrier stood a short way beyond the elevator bank, armed guards watching their approach. Hui merely waved at them, and the barrier opened. Corridors led off in different directions, but she headed for a set of large doors straight ahead.

  ‘How were you able to get it to work?’ said Nina. ‘And if you did, why do you still need the key, and me?’

  ‘We still could not make it function. But we repaired some items. We think the key now will make them work – if you are willing to help us.’

  ‘Well, we’ll see,’ said Nina. ‘You’ll need to convince me to trust you. I don’t like being deceived.’ A pointed look at Cheng, who wilted a little.

  ‘I apologise,’ his mother told her. ‘But we did what needed to be done. As we did with what you are about to see.’ They reached the doors, Hui entering a code on a keypad before opening them. She led them into a large, brightly lit chamber.

  ‘Why, what am I—’ Nina began – before halting in shock.

  She had seen the object it contained before.

  23

  The room was occupied by a slightly flattened sphere, over twenty feet across. Its skin of red-tinted gold gleamed under the banks of overhead lights. A door was open in its side, revealing tantalising hints of what lay within.

  It was the vault she had discovered in Turkey, a repository for one of the Atlantean spearheads, the crystalline bombs trapping particles of antimatter within. It had been buried beneath a hilltop overlooking the ancient city of Gobekli Tepe; the Atlanteans had hidden a doomsday weapon on the doorstep of the rival civilisation that could be activated by an emissary of Atlantis should its adversary pose a threat – and only be deactivated upon total surrender, the alternative being complete destruction.