along with the sword of Saint Peter, simply vanished one day. It was impossible to explain and impossible to locate them, as the church could not explain having them after denying it for so long. However, the events of today do allow for a theory.”
“ They do?” Remi was perplexed.
“ Yes. I believe if I scan the sword I will find that along with being over four thousand years old, it will prove to be exactly the sword that vanished from here so long ago. I think we will find, upon opening the remaining containers, that the sundry other artifacts will prove to be equally decayed and ancient.” Nathan's face fell as the cardinal made this prediction. It was going to be damn tough to turn a profit if that was the case!
“ But why?” Remi asked.
“ It would seem that the Jesus planet is far more miraculous than it seemed at first blush. Very likely, instead of the events there being a wholly spectacular re-creation of the life of Christ and the early Church, it actually is that time of earth's history, preserved in some type of repeating time loop. Once these artifacts were removed from that special situation they aged the full number of years that have passed since the actual events. The Grail and the sword disappeared from the Vatican simply because they could not exist in two places simultaneously!”
“ Meaning the entire cargo is worthless?” Nathan said, unable to determine if he meant it as a question or a statement.
“ Not necessarily, Captain,” the Cardinal replied. “I must discuss it with His Holiness, but I think we might be able to come to some arrangement. First, however, let us open the remaining containers so that I can get scans of their contents.”
They went through all of the cargo containers and in every one they found the same thing. Organic artifacts had decayed to the point of being compost, while the inorganic items showed excessive corrosion. Scans of every item registered it as being over four thousand years old.
As the Cardinal left the Nola , he promised some response in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Nathan was cautiously optimistic, even though this trip suddenly had disaster written all over it.
The next day, as promised, Nathan took Remi to the extraordinary plaza in the center of the city.
“Shouldn't we be at the market instead?” the Princess asked, taking hold of his hand.
“ If everything had gone as intended yesterday, we would be,” Nathan responded. He enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his perhaps a little too much. Luckily the religious imagery around them offset any of the more wanton feelings he was having. “However, seeing as we do not yet know how much we have to spend, looking for cargo would be rather pointless.”
“ I'm certainly not complaining!” the Princess smiled. “The point of all of this is for me to learn and experience things I haven't before.” Her gaze met his just as they reached the first diorama.
“ Catholic tradition divides the life of Christ into four groups of 'mysteries,' the mysteries being holy events in his life.” Nathan sounded just like a tour guide. “The first set of mysteries are the joyful mysteries. These center around his birth and childhood. The first of these is the annunciation of the Virgin Mary.”
Remi beheld the resplendent diorama. The figure of the mother of Christ was several times life size, garbed in the blue and white that had become traditional. The young virgin had a look of total calm in her face, even though she was kneeling before an angel standing a magnificent thirty feet tall.
Remi and Nathan walked farther along, until they reached the next diorama, where they paused again. This one showed Mary on the porch of a small house. A second woman was standing in the doorway, obviously pregnant by the bulge in her midsection.
“ This one depicts the 'visitation.' Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is, at the time, pregnant
“ They do?” Remi was perplexed.
“ Yes. I believe if I scan the sword I will find that along with being over four thousand years old, it will prove to be exactly the sword that vanished from here so long ago. I think we will find, upon opening the remaining containers, that the sundry other artifacts will prove to be equally decayed and ancient.” Nathan's face fell as the cardinal made this prediction. It was going to be damn tough to turn a profit if that was the case!
“ But why?” Remi asked.
“ It would seem that the Jesus planet is far more miraculous than it seemed at first blush. Very likely, instead of the events there being a wholly spectacular re-creation of the life of Christ and the early Church, it actually is that time of earth's history, preserved in some type of repeating time loop. Once these artifacts were removed from that special situation they aged the full number of years that have passed since the actual events. The Grail and the sword disappeared from the Vatican simply because they could not exist in two places simultaneously!”
“ Meaning the entire cargo is worthless?” Nathan said, unable to determine if he meant it as a question or a statement.
“ Not necessarily, Captain,” the Cardinal replied. “I must discuss it with His Holiness, but I think we might be able to come to some arrangement. First, however, let us open the remaining containers so that I can get scans of their contents.”
They went through all of the cargo containers and in every one they found the same thing. Organic artifacts had decayed to the point of being compost, while the inorganic items showed excessive corrosion. Scans of every item registered it as being over four thousand years old.
As the Cardinal left the Nola , he promised some response in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Nathan was cautiously optimistic, even though this trip suddenly had disaster written all over it.
The next day, as promised, Nathan took Remi to the extraordinary plaza in the center of the city.
“Shouldn't we be at the market instead?” the Princess asked, taking hold of his hand.
“ If everything had gone as intended yesterday, we would be,” Nathan responded. He enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his perhaps a little too much. Luckily the religious imagery around them offset any of the more wanton feelings he was having. “However, seeing as we do not yet know how much we have to spend, looking for cargo would be rather pointless.”
“ I'm certainly not complaining!” the Princess smiled. “The point of all of this is for me to learn and experience things I haven't before.” Her gaze met his just as they reached the first diorama.
“ Catholic tradition divides the life of Christ into four groups of 'mysteries,' the mysteries being holy events in his life.” Nathan sounded just like a tour guide. “The first set of mysteries are the joyful mysteries. These center around his birth and childhood. The first of these is the annunciation of the Virgin Mary.”
Remi beheld the resplendent diorama. The figure of the mother of Christ was several times life size, garbed in the blue and white that had become traditional. The young virgin had a look of total calm in her face, even though she was kneeling before an angel standing a magnificent thirty feet tall.
Remi and Nathan walked farther along, until they reached the next diorama, where they paused again. This one showed Mary on the porch of a small house. A second woman was standing in the doorway, obviously pregnant by the bulge in her midsection.
“ This one depicts the 'visitation.' Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is, at the time, pregnant
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