THE PRINCESS OF ÉLEVÉ

Deciphering the Tablets; Magic Wafers; an Object in Space

Yale University - January, 2037

Two days after the start of the school year, Andre asked to see Archie and Yuri, to conduct a "debriefing".

"Archie, you went down several hundred meters?"

"Yes, over four hundred, I'd say," Archie responded.

"And found it blocked then?"

"Yes."

"There were two caverns?"

"Yes, very wide, perhaps six or seven meters wide."

"Were they natural? Or man made?" He stared intently.

"Man made." That was all. He asked no more questions.

"Archie?" Yuri stared at her. She understood.

"Andre," Archie said, "Yuri and I have more to tell you about our discoveries." She told Andre about the box of diamonds, and apologized for not bringing any back.

"I felt they didn't belong to us. Later I realized how valuable the contents were. They could be dated. I'm sorry."

"Do you think you could find the box again?"

"I'm sure of it." She was surprised at her confidence.

Andre was clearly disappointed. He thanked Archie.

"I guess we'll just have to be resigned to the situation."

It was then she dropped her bombshell. As Andre made a small motion to get up from his chair, she stopped him.

"Wait! I have something to show both of you."

She pulled the tablets from her backpack. Yuri's eyes opened wide. Andre's face showed joy and relief.

Andre and Yuri started talking with rising voices, overlapping eachother, about how important this was to the team. They calmed down, looked atthe book of tablets, and opened the pages. Andre held the tablets up in frontof him.

"Would it be alright if we put this under lock and key?" he asked Archie. "You'll still have access to it."

She could not object to this safeguard.

"But first I'll ask the lab to do radiocarbon dating on it."

The lab found an insect, a small leaf and human hair between the pages. They also used a leather strip separating two pages for radiocarbon dating, and an attached bone used in the original binding.

Archie and Andre agreed not to discuss the tablets or the box until Andre explored the legalities with the university. Archie was allowed to study the tablets, which were kept in the library. For hours, she sat there deciphering the tablets, and soon began to see repetitions and distinct patterns. She worked through the holidays knowing she might have little time before she had to stop. Her work paid off. She had succeeded in translating important sections and wanted to show Yuri her results.

It was the first day of classes in the New Year and Archie had just finished her last class. Archie left the School of Architecture and headed for her room in Timothy Dwight. She had to cross the entire campus to get to her room but she didn't mind. She felt the cold biting wind and snow on her cheeks but she didn't mind that either. She looked up at Yuri's window in Branford. It was dark inside. He wasn't back yet from his trip but he was due to arrive. She went directly to her room knowing he would go there first. She had so much to tell him. "Oh, Yuri," she murmured to herself, "I've missed you a lot."