by Abhishek Roy
“Why would they want to create a bowl with Celtic inscriptions?” he asked back. It obviously made no sense and Ram saw it too.
“So as I said, the cauldron belonged to the Nordic people in Scandinavia because the inscriptions look Celtic but on closer inspection, one realises it to be early Viking carvings. The final confirmation comes from some ancient texts that we have about Viking artefacts. They are very similar and can be easily misread. Hitler did have it in his possession. He as well as the Persians knew about its origin but never revealed it to the world. The cauldron was lost in January this year. It was one of the biggest discoveries in archeological history. It could help us unveil dozens of mysteries and help us find the missing links. Why, its net worth would go over a few billion dollars!”
“Your research does make a lot of sense Hamasaki-san. It is one of the best things I have ever come across.” Ram’s face was bright with glee.
“I know. The day, I had found this out, I couldn’t sleep the next two nights!”
“I can understand sir.” Ram said.
“Wow Hamasaki-san! That was really astonishing and it really makes us realise that we don’t really know what our ancestors were up to,” Vivek spoke up. He glanced at his watch.
“Sir, after what you just said, I am getting really eager to see the mirrors. Shall we proceed?” I said, reading Vivek’s mind and understanding that his patience was depreciating.
The curator jumped out of his trance, “Oh yes, sure, sure. I had got so engrossed in the mystery behind the golden cauldron that I completely forgot your haste. Come along.” he got up from his seat and we followed him through the halls.
“I really like that man,” Ram whispered to me on the way. “A discovery like that should win a Nobel Prize, Mathias!”
“Err... I don’t think there is any Nobel Prize for archaeology.”
“Mathias! Stop being a perfectionist! What I meant was that Hamasaki-san should be rewarded for his discovery. The Chiemsee cauldron has gained a lot of interest over the years, much like the levitating theory you talk about.”
“Superconductivity you mean.”
“Yes. If you find out something dramatic about that, won’t you get a prize? It’s the same here.”
After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived in the section we had wished to. The mirrors section.
Kapittel 35
Mathias’s story
TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM, TOKYO, JAPAN
March 12, 2017, Sunday, 2125 hours JST
The mirrors covered almost a fourth of the large room we were in. Although they looked alike in a cursory glance, each had different inscriptions and carvings and also differed in size. Each one was different and there was no way we could look at them and spot a mirror that was the odd one out. I was thoroughly puzzled as to which one was the mirror the poem referred to.
“We have arrived at the section of mirrors,” Hamasaki-san declared on entering.
“Wow! These are really amazing!” Ram looked at the mirrors in wonderment.
“This one over here, Ram, was used in between the 18 and 19 century, during the Edo period.” he beckoned Ram to join him at a display towards our right. Ram followed him and it was clear that the curator had developed a liking for him.
“And that one over there,” the curator pointed towards a display to our left, “is from the Muromachi period, from the 1300s to the 1500s.” He walked briskly to it and Ram did his best to keep up.
“Now study this one and tell me, don’t you notice a big change in the design and a development in the dexterity?”
Ram studied the mirror with a scrutinizing eye. “Yes I do. The figures, the vines of the trees and the inscriptions here are somewhat stubby and plain but on the other mirrors, they are more intricate.”
“Very good! In fact, the older the mirrors get, you will observe their inscriptions and designs to be plainer and rather blunt.” While they discussed about the mirrors enthusiastically, Vivek and I walked silently to the Edo period mirrors, opposite to where Ram and the curator were standing.
“So which one do you think is the mirror we are looking for?” I asked Vivek, looking at the mirrors behind the glass and trying to decipher something.
“We need to decide the period when the verse was written. According to the legend, Bodhidharma...”
“Or Odin,” I whispered to him.
“Really?” he asked in disbelief. I simply nodded, a smile on my face.
“Wow! Anyway, he existed between fouth and sixth century CE and the Daruma doll was fashioned on him afterwards. So the mirror also has to be from that era.”
“Let’s go ask Hamasaki-san.” I went off towards the curator. “Sir, do you happen to have mirrors from the 5th century CE. I am doing a project in school where I have to make an outline of the events that took place at that time. I think the mirrors will be an excellent way to peek into the lives of the old Japanese people.“
“Why not? Come with me. I’ll show you.” Hamasaki-san walked off to another showcase. Vivek and I followed him.
“Here you go. All the mirrors over here are from the 5th and 6th century CE. They are from the Kofun period which is the oldest recorded era. It’s so old that even Buddhism hadn’t been established in Japan at that time. The religion was Shintoism. You will be able to see really interesting things in the inscriptions.”
“How did you excavate things so old?” I asked.
“Well, those days the Japanese customer was similar to Egyptians. They used to create burial mounds. A lot of these were retrieved, in very well preserved state, from those key- whole shaped burial mounds.”
We exchanged quick glances on hearing the words ‘keyhole shaped’. Just then the same young man who received us at the entrance came up to him deferentially and whispered.
“I will leave you people here for a short while. I have some work to attend to. Then we will proceed to see the rest of the museum,” he said, looking at his watch.
“Sure Hamasaki-san, if you have some work, please go ahead,” said Vivek, hardly believing his luck.
“Oh, no problem. I will be right back.” He walked out of the room with the young man.
“What should we do?” I asked.
“I don’t really know, Mathias.”
“Which mirror do you presume is the right one?” I asked Ram who was scrutinizing the Kofun period mirrors. Both Vivek and I were hoping that he had the answer.
“No idea guys. After all, all of them were created during the same period and all of them lie in plain view.” he replied, dishearteningly.
“Hamasaki-san will be back soon and we need to decide before he comes.”
“I can’t find a clue.” Ram said, frustrated. We started thinking about the answer in our own way. Ram and Vivek started studying the mirrors. I took out the scroll from my bag. Before I started reading it, I shot a glance at the CCTV camera overhead.
“Hey guys. I think I should change the video feed of the CCTV. We don’t want the guards watching us.” I pulled out my laptop and began hacking into the security systems.
“You can do that too? Wouldn’t it take a lot of time?” Vivek asked me.
“Nope. Just a few minutes.” I connected my datacard and channel scrambler which I had made myself at the lab in my institute back in London to the laptop. Within a minute I was connected to the security systems and substituted the live video feed of the CCTV overhead by the previous week’s video feed with current date.
“Look. This is what the guards will be looking at.” I gave my laptop to Vivek and Ram.
“We are invisible! Good work, Mathias.” Vivek was completely amazed. He handed me my laptop and we got to work immediately.
I read the verse in the page once again. Once I had got a picture of the poem in mind, I carefully put the document back in my bag and headed over to the small information boards beneath each of the five artefacts in display and read them with utmost focus and tried to relate the information with the
poem. At the same time, I looked at their structures and noticed that only one had a long handle attached to it.
“It looks like we have to break open the glass cases,” said Vivek. “There seems to be no other way“.
Ram looked aghast and cried out,” I am not going to be a part of this! This is stealing!“
“You want the key, don’t you?” asked Vivek in a stiff voice. He brought out a small hammer from his satchel and moved quickly to the first case. “We can break open these and be out of here in flat two minutes with all of them. We can figure out which one is the right one later.“
“What if none of them are? What if the Guards arrest us and send us to prison? Have you thought of Hamasaki-san and his generosity?” Ram was almost in tears.
“We will think about all that later,” Vivek was determined, and raised his hand to strike the blow. Ram clasped his ears with his hands and expected the alarm to sound any moment.
“WAIT!” I interrupted. “Don’t do it. I know which one is the right one“.
“Which one?” Vivek still had his hand raised.
“The poem says it all. It was there all along, staring right at us... especially at you Ram.” I said in a smug tone, pleased with myself having figured this out.
“Come on,’ Vivek was getting impatient. “Which one?“
“The poem says, ‘Lies in plain view’, doesn’t it? We all along thought that lying in plain view only meant that it is there in public display and anyone can see it. However, it has a deeper meaning. It means that the view is also ‘plain’, that is it is not so intricately fashioned. The design is ‘plain’ bordering on non- artistic. Since it has to fit into a device as a key it could not have been very artistic and intricate.
“So my friends,” I added dramatically. “Let me introduce you to the Key to Immortality, in other words, the Key to Asgard!” and pointed to the rather plain looking, demure, dull and boring Mirror of the Kofun period with the handle.
“Seems right to me. Even Hamasaki-san said that as the period gets older, the mirrors get plainer and more blunt,” said Ram and walked over to the mirror. Vivek had also lost his fervour of breaking down the cases, and was listening intently.
“I presume it was not meant to be a mirror but just a key. The people mistook the artefact to be a mirror and they continued to make others in its image, and added artistic touches. This one was obviously made by a technician, not an artist, hence the plain look.”
“Look!” Ram exclaimed excitedly, peering down close at the mirror. “There is a tell-tale sign. In the midst of the small paragraph written in Japanese, there’s a sign that looks very odd... somewhat like a Nordic rune! Probably Raido!“
“So that confirms it!” said Vivek, finally convinced. “But how are we going to take it out without breaking open?“
“Well guys, leave the alarm system to me”, I said, taking out my laptop. I quickly connected to the program responsible for the locking mechanism. “You guys just wait for my instruction.”
The locks sealing the glass cases were solenoid locks. Apparently these lock systems were designed to be operated from a central secure location from where security personnel could open and close these remotely for personnel to clean under CCTV supervision.
I tried breaking through the firewall but every time, my programs failed to penetrate it.
“It’s not happening…… it’s not happening.” I muttered while I felt a bead of sweat roll down my forehead.
“Don’t succumb under the pressure but try to do this as fast as possible. Hamasaki-san could be coming any .” Vivek said but Ram cut him off.
“I see him! Hamasaki-san is right down the corridor. Quick, Mathias! Quick!”
I looked up a brief moment and saw the curator walking down the corridor, straight for us. I typed feverishly into my laptop and tried to break though the firewall but my programs were useless in front of it. I looked up again to find Hamasaki- san a third of the way through. A few more steps and he would be able to see us.
I took a deep breath and typed in my last program. I pressed the enter key, hoping it to work this time. Finally, “Ping!” the computer beeped and indicated that I was through.
“Get ready,” I said. “I am going to disable the alarm and open the solenoid lock. These might be pre-programmed for auto lock within a short few seconds and so I might not be able to hold them open for long. You have to quickly take the Kofun mirror out. Make sure to re-arrange the others in such a fashion that there does not seem to be an obvious gap in the arrangement. That will buy us some time.“
I pressed the enter key and heaved a sigh of relief as I grabbed control of all the alarms in the building. Immediately Ram and Vivek saw the glass case in front of them open up with a pop sound as the solenoid unclasped, and they quickly took the mirror out. Ram carefully re-arranged the other mirrors by spacing them out so that there was no obvious gap, though if one looked closely one would notice the tell-tale signs of the dust patterns mismatching with the mirrors.
Meanwhile Vivek walked up to Hamasaki-san and caught him just before he could see us.
“Have you finished looking at these? Then let me take you to the other floors,” he said hospitably.
“Sorry, Hamasaki-san,” said Vivek while I locked the solenoid system back in place and Ram and I joined him. “We have to go now. My friends are very happy to have seen all these and we have to get back. It is getting late for us also.”
“Are you sure?” asked Hamasaki-san in a puzzled manner, almost hurt. “There are so many more wonderful things to be seen in the museum!“
“Yes sir. We are absolutely sure. Arigato Kuzaimus. We have seen a lot and are grateful that you took your valuable time out to show us around yourself, that too after business hours.”
“Okay,” said the old man, still somewhat offended. “Do you want to stay over at my place, tonight?” Hamasaki-san seemed as hospitable as Japanese reputation goes.
“We don’t want to give you so much of trouble. We have a reservation in a hotel and we can stay there.” Vivek lied.
“Fine then. Enjoy Tokyo tonight,” replied Hamasaki-san.
We exited the museum and walked towards the parking lot. As we crossed the park, we noticed that the park was deserted. The area was totally silent with no people around.
The trees that lined the road casted dark shadows. The probability that something was lurking behind the trees, hidden by the shadows, raised the hair on the back of my neck.
When the wind buffeted the trees, the rustling made me look over my shoulders. Though it was a result of instinct, I was surprised to notice three men walking about 50 feet behind us. Their big silhouettes indicated their hefty build but hid their face. It was when they were illuminated briefly by a street light, that I recognized their pale skin and the sly grin on their lips.
I turned my face back to the street ahead and whispered to both of them, “Guys. We have Jargantaans behind us.”
While Ram looked back only to be petrified, Vivek said, “I think I’ve seen them in Nanda Devi...”
“Yes you have! They are monstrous and they were the people chasing us in Meerut!” I whispered back loudly. “RUN TO THE CAR!” I yelled and started running. Vivek and Ram followed me.
Before entering the parking lot, I shot a glance at the pale men who were running too. However, the distance between us had decreased and I pushed Vivek and Ram to run faster.
We quickly got into our car and Vivek turned on the ignition. He slammed his feet down on the accelerator and we zoomed out of the parking lot. We drove past the Jargantaans who jumped past our way and simply ran into the parking lot. That obviously meant they had a car too and were going to give us a chase.
“We should go to Ginza, it is an office district and likely to be empty now. Shinjuku will still have a lot of traffic at this time. It’s well-known for nightlife, you know,” Vivek said, gravely. “But how did they get to know we were here?“
“They know our every
move, Vivek. Every move.” I replied. “I really don’t know how.“
The short drive from the inner roads to the main road was peaceful. However, as soon as we drove into the main road, my fears came true.
Just behind us, a black Hummer with a police siren skidded into the street and accelerated towards us.
“Buckle up guys!” warned Vivek and pressed his feet down on the accelerator.
Fortunately there weren’t many cars on the street, but the few that were there were overtaken by us. The situation was scary but the feel was that of a Hollywood movie.
Vivek drove like an experienced race-car driver, weaving past cars and zooming towards Ginza. Ram kept glancing back to gauge the distance between our Prius and the formidable Hummer. Suddenly, something hit the back of our car. It was shortly followed by a second hit and the third one shattered the rear view mirror on Vivek’s side.
“They are shooting at us! They are shooting at...” panicked Ram when he was interrupted by a jolt pushing us forward. Vivek managed to manoeuvre the car and we realized that the Hummer had rammed us from behind.
“Faster! Faster!” shouted Ram. In reply, the people and the city lights turned to a blur as Vivek pressed the accelerator harder and increased the distance between the two cars.
We rounded several corners and occasionally crashed against the curb.
Finally, we entered Ginza. While we drove towards a location not known to us, I realized the significance of the siren on top of the Hummer. While it made the vehicle look like a police vehicle, it made the actual Japanese police believe that we were criminals and one of their cars was already onto us. So, they probably decided not to interfere.
All of a sudden, I felt the car slow down. Uncharacteristically, there was traffic ahead.
“Oh no! We are not in a very good position here,” mumbled Vivek.
In a few minutes, we were engulfed by cars and started moving at a snail’s pace. The Hummer was also caught in the same traffic a few cars behind us.
Yet Vivek drove on, hoping the traffic would clear out. However, the Jargantaans lacked patience. They got out of their car and started running towards us.
