Touchstone (Meridian Series) (15 page)

       “The
history is not very detailed,” he complained, “but we know that a French
officer in the Corps of Engineers, one Bouchard or Boussard, was responsible
for the find, in August 1799. They were improving fortifications against an
expected invasion from the sea by the Turks, at a place called
Fort
Julien
, Rosetta.”

       “August?”
Maeve questioned. “I’ve got a better reference than that. The RAM bank has two
references that show the stone was discovered by a Captain Pierre Bouchard on July
15, 1799. It was unearthed during a demolition of a wall at the fort you
mentioned.”

       “That’s
odd,” said Nordhausen. “All my references indicate August. And none of them
have that level of detail.”

       “Captain
Pierre François Xavier
Bouchard, to be more precise.
”
Maeve smiled.

       “Very
well,” said Nordhausen. “What else did you find?”

       “Well,
the stone was sent to the Savants in
Cairo
, so it probably arrived there in August.
This other article says that it was received there by
Jean-Joseph Marcel and Remi Raige, and they
identified the middle script as Demotic. An article publicizing the incident
was published in the
Courrier de l’Egypte
in September of 1799.”

       “You’ve
done your research,” said Nordhausen.

       “Details,”
Maeve winked. “I’m betting July 15 is good data. If you go with August there
simply isn’t enough time to get it to
Cairo
, study it, and put out an article by
September. Besides, when in doubt we have to begin at the earliest possible
target date.
In fact, I’ll wager that the trip from
Rosetta to
Cairo
would have been the ideal time to damage
the stone—assuming it is unearthed with the hieroglyphics intact as you are
obviously hoping.”

       “Hummm…
Then we’ll have to arrive July 15—perhaps even a day earlier.”

       “Guys—”
Kelly gave them a frustrated look. “Make up your mind. I’ve got the prelims in
for August and now I need to shift everything two or three weeks.”

       “It
can’t be helped,” said  Nordhausen. “Go with
July 14, 1799
. We’ll linger in the vicinity of the fortification and see
what we can learn—that is if you can at least get us to within a few million
years of the target this time.”

       “Very
funny.” Maeve was quick to defend Kelly. “Remember, he got you back, and Paul
as well—and that was no small feat.”

       “I
was only kidding. OK, we’ve got our breaching point. Now what about language?
Your take on us being Americans is a great way to cover for our English without
being taken for the enemy. I can manage a little French, but not enough to
converse fluently.”

       “I’m
good for some French as well… and of course, German,” said Maeve.

       “Not
very useful in this instance, I’m afraid.”

       “Then
we’ll just have to keep our conversation to a minimum, won’t we? The less you
say the better, if you want my opinion.”

       “And
I don’t.”

       “Then
we’ll just have to rely on your French, if we must. Kelly, how long before we
have good numbers?”

       “Give
me a few minutes to program this change, and then I can send the file over a
secure line to the Arion system for processing. I would guess it might take
another couple of hours before we get a solution firmed up for the targeting
vectors.”

       “Good,”
said Maeve. “That’s enough time for some more food, coffee, and costume
inspection.”

       The
professor looked over his shoulder. “Inspection?”

       “That’s
right. No PDAs, cell phones, wrist watches, Parker Pens—you get my drift?”

       Robert
rolled his eyes and walked off.

12

The
numbers came back
just
under two hours later, and they looked very good. The entry variance data
showed a discrepancy factor of only 0.00017, and that was clean as far as Paul
was concerned. He was satisfied that they would hit the target date, assuming all
went well with the equipment.

        Robert
and Maeve were already decked out in costume. Maeve wore a blue silk corset
undergarment with hand sewn stay pockets and an accent of lovely mustard
colored thread about the buttonholes. A Tonder lace was added to the chemise
and was matched with embroidered stockings with a similar pattern. The outer
garment was a simple dress of striped Poplin with a quilted petticoat, more
suitable for travel, and she selected skirts that would not need hoops,
thinking more of comfort than fashion at this point. She had spent some time
curling her auburn hair and topped it all off with a lovely hat.

       “I
could add a waistcoat,” she said as much to herself as anyone else. “Being July
in
Egypt
I would imagine the temperatures will be
somewhat fierce. The silk is fine in the undergarments, but I won’t be lacing
my corset very tightly.”

       Paul
was taking the spectacle in as she paraded about the room. “What about a wig,
hats, a parasol?”

       “I’m
afraid I just couldn’t bear up under a wig,” said Maeve. “A parasol is a good
idea, and I managed to find something appropriate—see?” She opened a small blue
parasol and spun it about, delighted with herself. “And I’ve a nice beaded
purse to finish the whole thing off.”

       “But
won’t that linen be a bit warm?”

       “Possibly.
If I can’t take the heat I’ll just shed a layer or two. There wasn’t a hard
distinction between outer and underwear at certain levels of society in the
Eighteenth Century. We have decided to go as landed gentry, but not high
society. A working woman might shed her outer layer, her gown or jacket, in
certain circumstances, and work in her shift, stays and petticoat. I suppose it
all depended on the public space she was in and by whom she expected to be
seen. Under the circumstances I’ve chosen a rather plain waistcoat on the
middle ground between outer and underwear. I can’t imagine exposing myself too
much with the Moslem culture thing. I’ll be accompanying the good Professor
Nordhausen as his sister—strictly middle class with this outfit.”

       The
professor wore a gentlemen’s suit of pale blue silk, with nicely brocaded cuffs
and collar. Maeve found him comfortable boots, knee socks and a matching set of
trousers that fit just right. He plopped on a white styled wig and was laughing
at himself in the mirror when Paul saw him. A carved walking stick completed
his accessories.

      
There were just a few more details to work out on the spatial
placement before Paul would be satisfied and give a final go for the mission.
Maeve went off to confer with Kelly, and Paul pulled Robert aside in the
auxiliary room. “Where are you manifesting at the target milieu? What time of
day will it be, and how can we minimize observation by locals?”

       “We’ll
be northwest of the town,” said Nordhausen, “on the road that runs along
Aboukir
Bay
towards
Alexandria
.
We’ll arrive in the pre-dawn hour,
5:00
AM
, so observation should not
be a problem.”

       “You’re
sure about those coordinates?”

       “As
sure as I can be under the circumstances. We won’t really know what’s there
until we manifest… What’s wrong, Paul?”

       “Well,
it’s just that all the other breaching points were quite remote from populated
areas. What if you were to appear right in front of some passer by, or a French
soldier patrolling the road?”

       “That
sort of speculation is useless. How can we know?”

       “Recon,”
Paul asserted. “We can certify the breaching coordinates with a Spook Job—a
quick ten second manifestation before we run the final operation. You appear,
take a quick look, and we yank you back. If the coast is clear, as they say, we
rev up for a full breach and  insert the team.”

       “Won’t
Kelly need to adjust his numbers?”

       “Nope.
We’ll use the exact same data he has planned for the mission. All I have to do
is get the Retraction Module to wink appropriately. Spinning out a singularity
for ten seconds involves—” The look on Robert’s face made it plain that the
professor did not want to know anything more about the physics.

       “I’ll
tell Maeve,” Paul concluded. “In the meantime, I suppose you two can get ready
to go down to the Arch.” There was a perceptible change in his voice, and the
professor noticed it at once.

       Nordhausen
gave him a long look. Paul met his gaze, a solemn expression on his face. “So
I’ll miss this one,” he said.

       “You’ll
miss the French Army,” said Robert. “The
Battle
of the Pyramids, French Squares, thousands
of Mameluke Cavalry making their furious charges under the angry glow of the
hot desert sun….”

       “That
was all over in 1798,” said Paul. “In fact, Napoleon had already been checked
at
Acre
and he was making his retreat back to
Egypt
in May of 1799. By June it was clear to him that the campaign in
Egypt
was a disaster. He was already planning his exit strategy.”

       “Yes,” said Nordhausen. “Secret instructions
involving the frigates
La Murion
and
La Carrière,
to be ready to
make sail at a moment’s notice.”

       “But
there was the Turkish Army of Rhodes to worry about first,” Paul continued.

       “I
see you’ve been reading the history.”

       Paul
was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Robert, the Turkish anchored a fleet of
sixty troop transports off
Aboukir
Bay
on the night of  July 11
^th
. They
were landing initial shore parties within hours. Just how far west on the road
to
Alexandria
will you be?”

       “Not
far.” The professor’s voice tried to persuade that all would be well, but he
knew what Paul was driving at now.

       “The
Turks had 15,000 troops ashore by the morning of the 12
^th
of July.
You’re going in just two days later.”

       “The
French garrison held out at
Aboukir
Castle
until the 18
^th
and by all
accounts the Turks just sat on the beaches.”

       “By
all accounts…” Paul had a worried expression on his face. “Remember that 99% of
everything that has ever happened is unknown to us. Why, 99% of your own lived
experience is forgotten. Sure you have a recollection of the day you graduated
college, but what did you do the previous afternoon? What did you have for breakfast
the day before that? What book were you reading that week?”

       “I
get your point,” Nordhausen stopped him.

       “Well,
they could have pushed out patrols to reconnoiter the road. It could be very
dangerous. The French effort to improve
Ft.
Julien
at Rosetta was being hastened by urgent
need. They were under threat of imminent attack, and Napoleon was not yet on
the scene.”

       “Napoleon
arrived on the
24
^th
of July,
Paul.
The battle of Aboukir wasn’t fought until the 25th. That’s when the real danger
will present itself.”

       “Yes
but—”

       “We’ll
be out of there by then. The retraction is set to give us a 48 hour window,
just like my mission to London. We’ll be gone by the 16
^th
.  I’ll bet
Kelly was glad to hear that I had all those calculations worked out for
duration timing and all. He said he could use my numbers on the retraction
scheme, and it saved him hours. Don’t worry, Paul. We’ll be fine.”

       “What
if something goes wrong? Have you considered that? The first time we tried to
open the continuum here the two of us ended up in
Jurassic
Park
because Kelly made a typo! Lord, he was
barely able to talk last night and—”

       “That
won’t happen this time. Kelly is fine. Is that what this is about? You’re
worried about Kelly, aren’t you?”

       “I’m
worried about you all.” There was a moment of silence. “Look—if something does
go wrong, you will need to stay with the stone. It arrives safely in
Cairo
,
so they had to get it out of there somehow—most likely under escort. Stay with
the stone, Robert, especially if you find it undamaged on the 15
^th
.
Get to
Cairo
.”

       “Paul!”

       “Here
me out. You get to
Cairo
and lay low. Stay out of trouble. In
particular, be wary of a man named Ahmed.”