She paused, addressing the rest of the group. “As we commonly do, if anyone has any reason that they cannot sit on this panel, they should make it known now, before we start.”
A nicely dressed woman raised her hand. The hearing officer said, “Yes, Janice?”
The woman said, “I'm going to bow out. I have a personal conflict. I'll remain in the room, but I really couldn't judge fairly, since I'm George Dameron's wife.”
Logan straightened, and looked at her with interest. She was a good-looking woman of about Dameron's age. What had he seen in Mandi? He shook his head, puzzled. Mandi was cute, but why not stay with your wife? Surely Dameron had more in common with her than a student.
He hoped for her sake that he could prevail in the hearing without his final piece of evidence. If he brought that out, things would get interesting.
The hearings officer said, “I understand and it's commendable that you bring this up now. Now, I'd like to remind the committee, I have the final vote regardless of how the members rule. The university retains the right to decide any issues that impact its credibility.”
She looked around at the members. They nodded. Then she looked at Logan. “Is that understood, Mr. Walker?”
He nodded.
She continued. “Do you have anything to say at this time?”
Logan looked directly at her. She held his gaze for a moment, and then dropped her eyes. “No,” he said. “Nothing more than a simple observation.”
She waited, and when he didn't continue, she asked, “Well, what is it?”
He looked at the other people, acknowledging their presence, then said, “Your opening statement gives the impression that you've already made up your mind to find me guilty. Don't you think that coming to judgment prior to hearing both sides is a little unfair?”
She flushed in anger at his question before she responded. “You've been accused by your professor. He's been employed by this university for several years. I'm inclined to take his accusations seriously. He is a responsible member of our faculty.”
Logan grinned. “You side-stepped my question. You haven't heard my version of what happened yet and you're already defending my accuser. I repeat, don't you think that's unfair?”
She glared at him, obviously unused to challenges from an accused student. “We'll get on with this process without any more quibbling. We'll now hear from Professor Dameron. Professor, please explain what led to your complaint.”
Dameron leaned back, obviously relishing the moment. He smirked a little at Logan than began.
“As you know, I've been teaching archaeology for years, and I was trained by experts during my academic career. I've been on numerous digs, and have a number of published articles in various journals.”
He glanced around, and continued. “I'm explaining this so that you will understand that my credentials are impeccable. I know how to run an archaeological dig.
For the past three years I've been teaching two summer sessions that provide my students with field experience. These are often on sites in the State of Florida, but sometimes in other locations.
This summer, I decided to work on a site that holds minor value. This one is conveniently located near the university, over at Crystal River. The site itself is not considered to be terribly unique. It is in an area that has been well explored. The location has been in use by humans for thousands of years, although it was previously believed that it hadn't been a major center of Pleistocene activity.
We now have solid evidence that the site was in use by members of the Clovis culture. Our dig turned up numerous Clovis artifacts, and signs of human use that dated to about 11,000 BCE.”
He looked around, then added in explanation: “About thirteen thousand years ago. Needless to say, this data, while not radically startling, is still extremely valuable.
Based on the results, I've planned a series of papers that will be submitted to appropriate journals. This will greatly add to our department's reputation and will increase the already high prestige of our university.
The dig went well overall, but, as in every group, there were marginal performers, including some who, for one reason or another, were destined not to earn a passing grade. Others, such as my student supervisor, Mandi Thompson, performed on a stellar level.
Mr. Walker was unfortunately one who didn't seem to understand why he was there. Ms. Thompson had to reprimand him repeatedly for failing to follow approved procedure in his work. He was also notably recalcitrant and insubordinate both to her and to me.
I watched his performance closely. He'd been given a grid square of little importance due to my doubts of his ability. He repeatedly failed to follow proper procedure in reducing the square to a contemporaneous horizon, uh, that is, for those of you unfamiliar with our science, digging every layer so that all artifacts from a particular time period are simultaneously exposed. This allows us to place the artifacts in context with each other, leading to an understanding of what the primitive human occupants were doing at any one time.
Mr. Logan, as I say, was reprimanded, not only for sloppy digging procedure, but for failing to follow instructions on a field trip to the Crystal River Archaeological State Park on Pine Island. I found that he'd ignored the assignment to create a report about the mound site, and had, instead, retired to the bus.
When I discovered him, he gave an excuse about needing a drink. That and his general bad attitude constitute a point against him, but...”
He paused again, dramatically. “But not the main point. The final straw came when he approached me saying that he'd discovered something unusual. I was speaking to Mandi – uh – Ms. Thompson at the time, and she will attest as to his actions.
We immediately investigated and found that he'd attempted to invalidate the entire dig by planting an artifact in his grid. He'd cleverly placed an old, pitted steel knife blade adjacent to a Clovis projectile point, assuming, I suppose, that I'd think they were contemporaneous.
Since I selected his grid on the basis that it was out of the inhabited area, even the presence of the projectile point is suspect. Such arrowheads can be purchased on the Internet, and this one might even be a replica, not an original artifact.
Due to this fraudulent act, I immediately suspended Mr. Logan and banned him from further participation. His grade, I'm sorry to say, will be a failing one.”
Dameron looked around again, nodded to Berensten, and leaned back, signaling that he was done.
The hearing officer then turned to Mandi.
“Ms. Thompson, have you anything to add?”
Mandi drew herself up, swallowing nervously as she glanced at Logan. He stared back, and she, too, dropped her eyes for a moment, but then glared defiantly at him.
“Logan, uh, Mr. Walker was a constant problem. When I had him removing overburden, he complained that he didn't have the proper equipment. His pre-dig instructions included a complete list of necessities, and he had no excuse not to have gloves. I allowed him to leave to get some, but that was just the start. He was always fooling around, being late to start, or starting too early, or anything to mess up the orderly progression of the dig.”
Her face had been pale as she started, but now that she'd worked herself up into a righteous case of outrage, her complexion changed to a blotchy red.
She looked at Logan, then, speaking more quickly and shrilly, said, “He planted the knife and the spear point. It was a stupid thing to do. The knife would never be there. That's a paleolithic site. A stone-age culture, by definition, can have no knowledge of steel making. How he ever thought we'd fall for that shit is beyond me.”
Belatedly realizing that she'd used a non-professional term, she put her hand over her mouth, but quickly lowered it as she added, “Sorry. I don't have anything else to say.”
The hearing officer looked at Logan with a grim smile, as if she'd already pronounced judgment. “Mr. Logan, have you any response to these accusations?”
Logan took his time. He st
retched, then opened his laptop and started the slide show software. He brought up a distance picture of the site that he'd taken. It showed the mess tent, and much farther away, over by the tree line, one could make out a shovel standing upright.
He turned the screen so that everyone could see.
“I'll deal with the accusations very briefly,” he said.
“The mess tent is in the foreground. The shovel way over there is where my grid square was located. It was, as Professor Dameron has said, carefully selected so that I could be placed out of the way and not find anything valuable.”
Dameron interjected, “Not mess up any valuable finds, you mean.”
Logan glanced at him, then at the hearing officer. She was impassive. He asked, “Am I going to be allowed to make my case without interruptions?”
She lowered her eyebrows, and said, “You make your presentation. We'll listen.”
Logan shrugged, and continued.
“As for the preliminary items that my accusers hold against me. Yes, I neglected to get gloves. I purchased some and didn't complain after that point, even though my hands were blistered raw.
As for the field trip. I felt that I was suffering from dehydration. I needed water, so I went to the bus and got some. Professor Dameron came driving up as I was exiting the bus and told me that I'd better turn in a good report or he would be only too pleased to flunk me.”
Dameron interrupted again, “I'd never threaten a student. That's a lie.”
Logan looked at him, shook his head tiredly, and said, “That is my answer. That's what happened. After that Mandi often criticized my work. Neither of the two ever provided me with any positive instructions, only criticism. I studied on my own in my tent at night and that's how I managed to learn how to work a dig properly.”
He continued. “Now to answer the main item. It seems that this part of the complaint can be divided into two separate issues. The simplest one to resolve is whether the knife was discovered in context.”
He clicked the keyboard, advancing the presentation. “Here's a picture, a close-up, showing both the knife and the Clovis spear point embedded in the matrix, before they were touched by Professor Dameron.”
Everyone leaned forward to inspect the picture. A couple of people got up and moved behind some of the nearer ones in order to see better.
Logan waited until everyone had satisfied themselves. “The picture shows the objects clearly and also shows no sign of disturbance of the overlying soil.
It might be argued that I stuck the artifacts in from the side. The next picture shows the knife blade, as it was first uncovered. All you can see is the middle of the blade. Both ends are buried. No one could have placed it there in that fashion without disturbing the soil at one or both ends.
You can see that it's untouched. By the way, the original photo files are available if you want to check them for photo shopping. You'll find there has been no manipulation. These two photos refute the claim that the knife was not in context.”
Most of the student committee members were nodding their heads affirmatively along with some of the faculty members. It looked like they found his photo convincing.
Logan inwardly cringed as he prepared to show the next piece of evidence. He might lose some of his support here. He swallowed, and advanced the display.
“The second part of the argument against me relies on the assumption that the Clovis culture didn't have metallurgy. That's a generally accepted fact that seemingly invalidates the photos showing the knife in context.
I'm not claiming that the prior research is incorrect. I don't believe the Clovis people knew enough about metals to create stainless steel. However, the problem raised by the knife requires some explanation.
The next slide that you see is a scan of the first page of a draft article that was written by Professor Dameron.”
There was a murmur of incredulity, interrupted by Dameron shouting, “That's private property! He stole that paper!”
The hearing officer waited until Dameron quit, then said, “Mr. Walker, you've committed a gross violation by stealing the paper. We cannot countenance that sort of behavior. You're – ”
Logan interrupted her. “I've done no such thing. That paper isn't private property according to commonly accepted legal precedent used by every police department in the United States.”
The woman said, “What?”
Logan continued. “I found it in the department trash. It was not in the professor's possession. He had discarded it. It's an accepted fact that when things are discarded, they are no longer private property. This is the case here.
The page shows us two things. The first is that Professor Dameron was or is attempting to make a case for the knife to be a new discovery that will change the generally accepted scientific view of the Clovis culture. He makes the argument that the knife was in context. I ask you how could it be in context for his paper, while he accuses me of planting it?”
Without waiting, he said, “The second thing is that Professor Dameron has placed his name on the paper as sole author, meaning that he intended or intends to take full credit for the discovery. How is it fair to accuse me of fraud, then take the purported fraud and claim it is a scientific discovery? That speaks more to his ethics than to mine.”
The room became chaotic. Dameron was shouting incoherently, as was Mandi. The rest of the committee was loudly arguing the point back and forth. It took the hearing officer some time to regain order.
When they quieted, she said, “Mr. Logan, I find your accusation of Professor Dameron severely out of place. It's you who are accused here.”
Logan sighed. She was probably going to force the issue. Some of the other people were nodding yes, while the rest shook their heads negatively. He couldn't decide if he was winning the case or not.
He said, “The paper that Dr. Dameron was attempting to write is based on a theory that some outsider taught the Clovis people about metallurgy. They apparently were supposed to have figured out how to create the knife without the use of any advanced machinery, machinery which would have undoubtedly have left its own mark in the archaeological record.
I'm considered to be a marginal student, but even I think that's highly unlikely. Can you imagine what a respected journal would do with such an article? Even if it got published, it would end up damaging this university's good name. I think it was in the trash because Dameron realized his explanation was totally unsupportable.”
Dameron interrupted again, “And if my idea was unsupportable, exactly how do you account for the knife being where it was, Walker?”
Logan smiled. Now he knew he'd won.
He said, “That's a good question, professor. The answer is simple, but no one here will find it easy to accept. Before I give you the answer, though, I'd like to point out that you've just exonerated me. Your last question essentially admitted that you intended to take credit for the discovery and also that the knife was in context when found, which means that I couldn't have planted it.”
Dameron stuttered, “But – but – uh – I meant – ”
Logan raised his volume, talking over the man's protest.
“The fact is that the knife was mine. I lost it at that site somewhere between eleven and twelve thousand years ago.”
There was uproar in the room. When everyone calmed down, Logan continued. “I know it's difficult to believe. I don't understand what happened to me either, but somehow I traveled in time. I can prove it.”
The hearing officer said, “That would be a good trick. Exactly how can you prove it? And, take care about what you say, you're only digging yourself in deeper.”
Logan snorted in wry amusement. “Was that a reference to the archaeological dig? No don't answer that. My proof is simple, but there are two parts to it. The first is that I know the origin of the carving on the Crystal River stele.”
Dameron and Berensten looked at him in amazement. She hissed , “Logan don't pull tricks. They'll get you in even
worse trouble.”
Logan waved her off. “No, it's true. I carved a picture of my girlfriend on the stone. She's a Clovis woman and – ” Here he choked up with emotion, finally gasping out, “ – and I don't know what's become of her. She's back there somewhere.”
Logan looked around. The group was staring at him with confusion. It was obvious that they understood he was upset, but also placed no credence in his explanation. He sighed. Then he said, “That didn't help much. Anyway, the figure is female, not male. It had no religious symbolism, at least not while I was carving it. I can't speak to the beliefs of the people who came after me.”
The hearing officer said, “As you said, that didn't help. You'd better have better proof than an imaginary carving.”
Berensten interjected, “No. The carving exists, and it's true, no one really knows what sex it is intended to be.”
Paradox: On the Sharp Edge of the Blade Page 26