The Lost Forest
Page 7
Chapter 7
A GOOD FRIEND IN JAKARTA
Ennis, whilst impatiently awaiting the results of the scientific analysis, turned his attention to other aspects of his find. One of the most pressing points was to determine with precision the geographical location of the cave. It was near the border between Malaysian Sarawak and Indonesian Kalimantan, very near the border, in fact it was not clear whether the cave was in Indonesia or Malaysia, even worse it could straddle the border.
The only way he could be sure was to locate the exact point with a GPS fix, then consult maps showing the exact border location between the two countries. But try as he may he could not find any precise data on the border line, not to speak of detailed maps, he was not even sure whether the treaties between the two countries defined the border with any precision. Winston Marshall had told him that the borders dated back to treaties made in the nineteenth century between the British and Dutch colonial administrations, when methods were summary and it was not even physically possible to mark the border given the almost impenetrable mountainous jungle cover terrain and the dangers it presented.
For decades, the government of Malaysia had tried to control access to Sarawak’s geographical information. As a result, all detailed maps were classified, and the law made surveying without a permit a jailable offence. However with satellite imagery and the use of handheld GPS units it was possible to position longhouse, specific sites and rivers, to draw-up detailed maps,
Using GPS presented no problem nor did obtaining satellite imagery but interpreting it with the precision needed was outside of his ability. After careful consideration he decided to contact an old and reliable friend in Jakarta, a rich collector of antique Chinese porcelain, Aris Adhianto. He was an industrialist who had built-up over thirty years an empire and a vast fortune in the Indonesian forestry industries, with logging, saw mills, tree plantations and paper pulp plants. Aris had often talked to Ennis about his favorite company, a highly specialised firm called PT Indosatmap that had been originally set up to map the extensive forestry concessions operated by his group of companies using satellite imagery. PT Indosatmap had extended its business to a broad range of other activities that included environmental and conservation projects, infrastructure development for town and road planning, tracking forest fires, and confidential work for the Ministry of Defence. Over a decade and a half the company had become the Indonesian leader in cartography using sophisticated computer techniques and satellite links with a staff of young highly trained engineers and specialists.
Precision mapping of his forestry concessions had been instrumental in the decisions that had accelerated his climb to wealth, building an empire by the careful selection of government forestry concessions had enabled him to negotiate logging rights for those richest in valuable timber and having the best terrain for access and exploitation.
Aris Adhianto was an astute Indonesian-Chinese who had built close relations with successive government ministers under the Suharto regime and permanent government departments, especially the officials of the Ministry of Forestry and its many sub-divisions, and always with the greater interest of his business empire in mind.
Aris was not only a valued client but also a trusted friend and under the pretext of organising a new expedition to isolated longhouses he asked Aris to transmit by maps by Internet of the border areas near Batang Ai, together with high definition satellite photographs, which he hoped could help him to locate the precise point where he had found the cave.
Precision would however be limited since he lacked an onsite GPS reading. With a handheld GPS device the entrance to the cave could be established to within a couple of metres. He would then have to figure out a means of mapping the tunnels since the GPS transmitter would not work inside the cave, which would need an experienced caver or potholer to map the tunnels and galleries.
The position of the border was a major question, there were three different possibilities, the first was that the cave and the gallery where he made the find lay on the Malaysian side of the border, the second was they were both on the Indonesian side and the third only the gallery lay on the Indonesia side whilst the entrance lay on the Malaysian side. The last possibility would seriously complicate any research work.
In the past a scientific expedition would have been relatively easy to organise from abroad when the bureaucratic requirements were much simpler. In the case of Malaysia it had become necessary to find a local partner who would act as the local counterpart and who would submit official applications to conduct research activities in Malaysia. The National Economic Planning Unit would then vet the application for approval. Then work permits would have to be applied for through the Immigration Department, a long process that could take months to accomplish with risk that the government, sensing the importance of the discovery, could decide, for reasons of national preference, to exclude all foreign intervention, to the detriment of scientific research, which was however, perfectly normal for a sovereign nation.
A few days later Ennis received a file containing maps and photos of the border area near Batang Ai. The photos did not help as his printer was unsuitable for large high definition images and the photos he could produce were poor. The maps were better and by selecting the coordinates that he estimated as being very near to the site he asked Aris to send the corresponding satellite photos on paper by express courier.
Several days passed before the photos were delivered to his apartment; they enabled him to pin point the spot with an accuracy of approximately fifty metres. It was difficult to say with certainty if the entrance to the cave was on Malaysian territory since the precise border line was virtual and consequently open to dispute. The gallery was an even more open question, which confirmed that only an on the spot survey resolve his problem.
The same day Professor Lundy called to say that he had received preliminary results from the CNRS asking Ennis to come over to the museum as quickly as possible.
‘We have the results and they are very confusing,’ Lundy announced without formality as Ennis entered his office.
‘We are running check tests in another laboratory; it will take another two or three days. But if the results we have here are exact then they are truly astounding…sensational!’
Professor Lundy was an enthusiastic and forward going man but he weighed his words when his scientific opinion was being exercised.
‘The preliminary radiocarbon dating tests indicate that the skullcap is just under three thousand years old.’
Ennis felt a wave of disappointment; it had been too exciting to be true. A three thousand year old skull, be it human or animal, was of little interest except to local archaeologists. Lundy noted his reaction.
‘I am not finished! We have also extracted samples of DNA,’ he made a long and serious pause, then with dramatic effect he added, ‘The skull belongs neither to an animal,” he paused again weighing his words, “nor Homo sapiens!’
‘What is it then?’
‘We don’t have a comparable DNA, I have to say that we suspect that this confirms my initial idea that it’s possibly a specimen of Homo erectus.’
‘But that’s impossible,’ blurted Ennis.
‘I agree with you, but those are the facts as we have them today, truly sensational.’
‘There must be an explanation.’
‘There surely is. I don’t think it means hairy ancestors running around the jungle but it is possible a vestige population had survived until historic times. It will mean that many of us have to revise our finely thought out theories.’
‘What is our next move then?’
‘Go to the site at once.’
‘Agreed, what do you think, is Sunday to soon?’
‘No, it’s fine, Carol will join us if you agree.’
‘Fine, I will make bookings to Singapore for Sunday, three seats, first class on Air France arriving early Monday afternoon local time.’
‘Good, for the moment I have kept th
is all strictly confidential. The labs have only received samples prepared by Carol. The DNA of a Homo erectus is unknown to science, so that results are not significant to the lab staff.’