Sauat looked relieved. “Yes, I think that would be best.”
Claire went to the mess, where she found Waylon waiting for her outside. It was blast-furnace hot, and there was no wind. The only sound was a fly buzzing around and the scraping of Waylon’s chair as he rose to meet her. She briefed Waylon, who looked both relieved and confused, as usual. She told him to start sending her team in, and to knock after each staff member had fifteen minutes—she wanted to limit opportunities for this to turn into a two-hour clusterfuck of Monday morning quarterbacking.
First in was Katie. For Claire this was a no-brainer. Katie had gone off the reservation many times in her earlier life as an animal activist and probably understood why Claire had felt compelled to take the path she did. She wanted Katie to come with her to Transteppe, so she laid out—most of—the situation.
With high cheekbones, a wide smile, and wavy auburn hair, Katie was very pretty. Claire thought that if an anthropologist were to describe a woman’s face that had universal appeal, Katie’s would be a good place to start. There was an unselfconscious confidence about her that Claire envied a bit. Claire gestured toward the bench opposite her.
First she told Katie that the dig would go on under new management and that Benoit was a big name in paleontology. She also said that she would try to continue her own investigation into the bones and that she would want Katie to work with her if she felt she could. Claire did not mention that Transteppe was coming to pick up the bones this afternoon.
Katie looked at her levelly. The thing you noticed most about her were her eyes—at least if you were a woman—wide set, light blue, and penetrating. Men might notice other things about her, also appealing. Claire had never seen her lose her cool. If Claire was going to need someone to watch her back with an ability to improvise, Katie would be a good choice.
Katie wasn’t about to lose her cool now. After Claire finished laying out the situation, Katie remained silent. Finally, she said, “I get what you’re doing. But I’m sure you can also appreciate that because of my earlier … adventures”—the flicker of an amused smile crossed her face—“I’ve got to be a goody two-shoes if I’m going to continue my studies.” Claire nodded. Katie continued, “A whole lotta people would love to see me fuck up.” That last bit Katie seemed to say to herself, so Claire did not reply.
Katie looked up. “So what’s your take on those bones?”
Claire sat back. “It’s early, but here’s what I think: high probability the bones are five million years old and were arranged back then.”
Katie seemed to be thinking. “Really? Five million years?”
Claire nodded, trying not to punch the air. She had her. “Five million years from now do you think that there will be any evidence that an intelligent species—us—was ever on the planet?”
Katie thought about that a minute. “We’re basically an invasive species that has terraformed the entire planet. Some part of our footprint will be around for someone or something to find.”
“Right,” said Claire, “but say we had died out ten thousand years ago.”
Katie’s eyes widened.
“Exactly,” said Claire. “Ten thousand years ago humans were just as intelligent as we are today, but our material culture was almost nonexistent. Evolution produced human intelligence in the blink of an eye; our material culture has developed in a nanosecond, geologically speaking.” Katie was listening intensely. “So I’m thinking that if evolution produced intelligence in us,” Claire continued, “it might have done so before, perhaps several times. Over tens of millions of years, a lot of things can come and go and leave no trace.” It was the first time Claire had said this out loud. “So,” she finished, “I think whether we’ve come upon evidence of a much earlier intelligent being is a question that I could devote my life to pursuing.”
Now there was fire in Katie’s eyes, too. “I’m in!”
“That makes me very happy. I’m going to need all the help I can get. Let’s talk again after the rest of these meetings.” She shook Katie’s hand and watched as the young woman got up and walked out the door. There was artless sexuality, an animal languor to Katie. Claire wondered why she was only noticing that now. With a pang Claire thought that Sergei was going to be very happy to have Katie joining the team. Claire sighed and then went to the door and signaled Waylon to send in the next team member.
That turned out to be Samantha, who, after her crack the previous evening, was in a tie with Benoit for the person Claire would most like to attack with a chain saw. She decided from the outset that she wasn’t going to give any quarter. Once the young woman had taken a seat, Claire folded her arms and leaned forward. Instinctively, Samantha leaned back. “This can be short and sweet,” Claire said, “I’m leaving the project. You can either stay on with the new leader or go home. You won’t be working with me, whatever I end up doing. You can make your decision after he arrives.” Claire leaned back. “Any questions?” Whatever bravado Samantha might have brought into this meeting vanished. She awkwardly got up from the bench and stumbled for the door without saying a word. Claire let out a long breath and counted to ten.
Next came Tony. Claire had half expected that he and Abigail would come in together. Tony was a graduate student at the University of California, Davis. Claire liked him. She told him the situation and, without mentioning Abigail, said that he might find it best to stay on at least long enough to see whether Benoit would continue the project. Tony gave the briefest nod of appreciation for Claire’s tact and delicately coded message. As he got up to leave, Claire said that she’d enjoyed working with him and hoped that they could stay in touch.
Claire repeated the performance with Abigail. There hadn’t been enough time between the two meetings for Abigail and Tony to confer, and Claire noted with amusement that she seemed to be in a hurry to wind things up once she got the drift of what Claire was saying.
Finally, Francisco sauntered in. As with Katie, Francisco had skills that went beyond the academic, in his case a cosmopolitan knowledge of how the world worked, which might come in useful. A scion of a wealthy family from Florence, he had started out as an investment banker. When his father died suddenly, leaving Francisco some money—how much being the subject of active conjecture around the camp—he promptly quit his job and applied to study mammalian anatomy at the University of Florence, mammal evolution having been a passion of his since his parents had shipped him off on National Geographic student expeditions when he was a teenager. Claire had been impressed by the seriousness and intelligence that lurked behind his louche facade.
She decided to take a no-nonsense approach. She briefed him on the situation and likely change of direction of the project and then made her pitch. “I’ve no definite prospects for funding and may become a pariah with both academia and the Kazakh authorities, but I think you know why I’m willing to take these risks.”
Francisco tapped his fingers on the table. “You make it sound irresistible.” Then he got down to business. “I get a crack at the morphology? Whether it’s a new species, etc., yes?”
Claire relaxed. They were negotiating. “Of course,” said Claire. “That’s why I want to work with you.”
Francisco thought a minute. “One question: Where are we going to live, where are we going to work?”
“That’s two questions,” said Claire with a smile. “And I don’t know.”
Now it was Francisco’s turn to smile. “I didn’t think so. So, to sum up: No funding, no living situation, no sponsoring academic institution, and no plan? Anything I’m leaving out?”
“Well, there’s the fact that you’d be working with a pariah …”
Francisco smiled. “Well, when you put it that way, who could possibly say no?”
Once again Claire breathed a sigh of relief. “OK, let’s keep in close touch. I’ll know more soon.”
Claire looked at her watch. It was close to four o’clock. She was getting nervous about the plan for Transteppe to take b
ack the bones. They had a right, particularly since the dig was in chaos. But would the project members see it that way? She had a plan to defuse tension but had no idea whether it would work. She sat for a moment wondering whether she should have told Francisco and Katie what was about to happen. Too late now. Besides, they weren’t going to be the only ones surprised this afternoon.
22
It was the heat of the day, and the dig members were scattered around the grounds in what shade there was. The only sounds were murmured conversations. Samantha was talking urgently with Tony and Abigail. Claire assumed she was trying to put together an alliance for a coup.
At 4:45 Rob and Sergei showed up in a big Mercedes van with Transteppe emblazoned on the sides. As the vehicle slowed to a stop in a cloud of dust, various dig members stopped and gawked. Claire pocketed the key to the storage room and emerged from her Quonset. “Give me a few minutes with these men,” Claire said and led them over to the mess. Samantha looked to be on high alert, but she kept her mouth shut.
When they got inside, Claire said, “I think you’ve got to do this fast.”
“No problem with that,” replied Rob.
“And I hope that you will agree to leave one of the ulnae here.”
Sergei didn’t get it. “What? Why?”
“Because the team will freak out if you don’t, because it will give Benoit something to play with—and he may yet prove useful—and also it might buy us time with the Kazakh authorities who otherwise might mount a full-court press on Transteppe …”
Sergei nodded. “And because the real game is the array, not any one bone, and the key to the array might still be in the lip. OK, makes sense to me.”
Claire once again looked at Sergei in wonder. No way was he as straightforward as he seemed.
Rob wasn’t convinced. “If Transteppe had all the bones, your foundation and this guy Benoit would have to deal with us. You’re letting them pursue a parallel track. Why?”
Claire took a breath. “This is science, maybe hugely important science, and science is collaborative. I gave you practical reasons for why we should leave a bone, but another reason is that I want to show good faith. If this turns out to be as important as I think, I don’t want to undermine its significance by doing things that could be interpreted as an attempt to hog all the glory.”
Rob still looked dubious, so Claire continued. “Look, if I leave Benoit a bone, he will realize that this is the real deal and will have every motivation to want to coordinate with Transteppe. If we take them all, he’ll try to undermine the importance of the find.” She paused a second to collect her thoughts. “Remember what I said when you first took me to see the bones? In science, much as we’d like to think otherwise, it’s not so much what you know or discover, it’s who believes you. You can make a fundamental discovery and you and your discovery can be written off because you didn’t show proper deference to tradition. I’ve already got people pissed off—so let me toss Benoit a bone.”
Rob and Sergei laughed. Rob relented. “OK, since Sergei seems to be on board. How do you want to do this?”
Claire looked at Sergei. “I’ll introduce you and let you tell them why you are repossessing the bones.” Sergei looked uncomfortable, but nodded. “And then,” Claire continued, “while they’re getting ready to kill you, I’ll tell them that you’ve decided to leave one bone here so that the team can continue its analysis.” She handed the key to the storage locker to Rob. “Then you two should get out of Dodge as fast as possible.”
“What is meaning of this ‘Get out of Dodge?’” asked Sergei in a thick, movie-Russian accent, but when Claire shot him a glance, he put up his hands in mock surrender.
Claire didn’t have any trouble mustering the troops once they exited the mess tent. She pointed to Sergei. “Group, I’d like you to meet Dr. Sergei Anachev, chief geologist for Transteppe. It was Sergei who originally contacted me about the bones he discovered on the Transteppe concession. Sergei?”
Sergei looked at the assembled scientists and students. “OK, as Dr. Knowland said, I’m chief geologist at Transteppe. We contacted Dr. Knowland and arranged for her to take temporary possession of the bones to see whether they had any significance. Based on very preliminary examination and our documentation of the discovery, she assures me that there is cause to pursue this discovery. She has also informed me that she is leaving this project. As a matter of prudence, we have decided to take the bones back to Transteppe while we consider how best to proceed in coordination with the Kazakh authorities. And—”
He was interrupted by angry voices, the loudest of which was Samantha’s saying, “Are you fucking kidding me!”
Once again Claire took charge. “Quiet! Dr. Anachev has agreed to leave one ulna temporarily with the project so that Dr. Benoit Richard and those who remain can continue to study this find. I’m sure you will appreciate this generous gesture, as Transteppe and the Kazakh authorities have the right to determine how this project will proceed.”
That somewhat mollified the group. Claire saw Francisco in the back. When he caught her eye, he mimed clapping his hands. Sergei left to help Rob transfer the bones to the van.
Claire followed to help with the transfer. The heat was so dry that she didn’t even sweat as she put the bones in the padded box. She could see that Sergei had put enough foam and restraints in the carrying cases that the bones would probably survive an asteroid strike.
Rob swung into the driver’s seat. As Sergei closed the sliding door and slid into the passenger seat, Rob rolled down the window and handed back the key to the storage area. “One last thing I should mention,” he said. “Fletcher Hayden is coming over to see for himself, and I got him to authorize a helicopter trip for Dr. Tabiliev.” He looked at Claire. “He’ll be here tomorrow night, and you should be at Transteppe to meet him. If ever there was the time for you to sparkle, that is going to be it.”
Everything was moving too fast, but Claire managed to nod. “I’m going to try to reach Tabiliev now. If everything works, I’ll go in with the helicopter tomorrow and convince the doctor to accompany me back.” Then something occurred to her. “Do the authorities monitor your helicopter trips?”
Rob nodded. “They sure do. We’ve got a pad on top of our offices in Astana. See if you can meet somewhere close to the building? Let me know as soon as you know.” With that Rob and Sergei took off.
Claire looked after the van as it disappeared, trailing a plume of dust. Was it her imagination or had Rob been a bit more formal, a bit less friendly? She didn’t have time to worry as she had to try to reach Dr. Tabiliev. She found Sauat talking to Lawrence by the picnic area.
Sauat looked up when he saw her. “This is desert cat, but he is like house cat.”
Claire smiled and sat down. “He came here with one of the staff as a kitten,” she said. “We’re trying to get him big enough so that he can go back to the desert. I’m not sure he agrees with the plan. I think he has aspirations to join the middle class.” She reached down to pet the cat, who promptly jumped onto her lap and started purring loudly. She turned back to Sauat. “Thanks for making that introduction. I’m going to email him now. Where do you think would be the best place for us to talk?” Claire raised an eyebrow so he got the import of her question.
Sauat thought a minute. “Office is probably not so good. I do know that he likes to have coffee with his students at a café near the museum. Astana is new city. Dr. Tabiliev was brought up from Almaty to help start the National Museum. He is old-fashioned, and the bazaar is a little like old Kazakhstan.”
Claire snapped her fingers and pointed at Sauat, “Perfect! You’re a rock star!” While Sauat pondered what exactly she meant, Claire headed for her Quonset.
There she quickly emailed Dr. Tabiliev, thanking him for agreeing to see her. She mentioned that she had an opportunity to come in to Astana the very next morning. Did he have time to meet for coffee at the usual spot? Tabiliev replied almost immediately and seemed to under
stand the subtext of the message. He simply said that he looked forward to it, and would 10:45 be convenient? She dashed off her acceptance and then immediately emailed Rob that the trip was on.
23
Claire previously had gotten only brief glimpses of Astana when coming and going to the project site. Now riding in Transteppe’s comfortable AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter, she had the leisure to survey what billions of dollars and the megalomania of an absolute ruler could do to create an instant capital. As was the case when Brazil’s government built a new capital, Brasilia, the Kazakh government had hired some of the world’s most celebrated architects and top engineering firms to create a showcase. The British architect Norman Foster had designed the Baiterek Monument, a gleaming tower that was the centerpiece of an imperial-scale district, which included the Palace of Independence, the Presidential Palace, Nazarbayev University, and now the National Museum, all gigantic buildings surrounded by expansive parks and promenades. The place screamed “oil billions,” which was ironic since the impetus that forced Claire, Rob, and Sergei to improvise was the president’s desperation to find income to replace the next phase of oil money that had not yet started flowing.
Gazing over Astana’s gleaming center, Claire couldn’t help but wonder how long this monument to vanity would last. Lines from Shelley’s wonderful paean to the transitory nature of worldly glory, “Ozymandias,” came to mind:
“… My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Claire had visited Brasilia, and she wondered whether Astana would suffer the same fate in fifty years: cracked concrete, fading paint, and squalor. It didn’t bode well that Norman Foster had in the past spoken rapturously about Oscar Niemeyer’s visionary work in that other instant capital.
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