Revealing the Wolf's Way: Book 1

Chapter 2 (Arastoo) - The Writing on the Wall

April 1st, 2032

Lunch time at a café on the UCLA campus

"A friend once told me that what you look for, you will find. A part of me is hopeful but also fearful of that fact. I have spent over half of my life preparing for this and I still cannot get over this feeling of excitement and apprehension!" Dr. Arastoo Safavi said with a mild Persian accent over his cup of Earl Grey tea.

"Well Dr. Safavi, it is not every day that someone makes a claim like yours and actually tries to answer the Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis riddle!" the younger man seated across from Arastoo said with a Southern accent drinking his own cup of coffee.

"Come now, call me Arastoo." The 62-year-old implored, "You have been my assistant for far too long to continue with the formalities! But you are right though; it is not every day that such a claim can be made. The anthropological community has been divided over this issue since well before even I was born! It is about time someone did something about that."

"Dr. Sa... I mean, Arastoo. Two years is not that long of a time, even though they have been the best of my life!" the assistant responded, "I have stuck by your side that whole time, through all of the controversy and hardship, because I want to put this riddle to rest as well!"

Arastoo looked and acted young for age. Born in 1970 in Susa, Iran he had a pretty decent life growing up with excellent parents whose jobs took him over seas frequently. Fortunately, his parents and himself were on vacation in the Swiss Alps when the Revolution happened and unfortunately, could not return, at least not right away. His father made some trips in the decades after and up until before his death. Most trips were for his job but others were for more mysterious reasons. It was through his parents that Arastoo acquired an obsession with history and anthropology and archaeology. His father being the archaeologist and his mother being a historian and history professor. His family were not die hard Muslims but did follow and practice certain aspects of the religion. His Family though were seekers of and protectors of knowledge. That took precedence in their lives over anything else, in secret of course. His parents decided, early on, to get their son involved in the "Family Business" and continue their legacy. There was a lot of different knowledge that his family was entitled to seek and protect. Supposedly, his Family went all of the way back to some of the original Founding Families.

The young Southern man before Arastoo, may be in the same situation. Some Families were designated what knowledge would be entailed to them. Some Families were entailed to multiple and different kinds of knowledge. Some Families were fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose which knowledge and secrets to pursue and for how long. Arastoo always knew that his assistant must belong to such a Family. Never did either of them ask the other at first. Such a feeling hung in the air, like a dense fog, for the both of them. It seemed that both men may have known this without speaking openly about it. Even though Arastoo did not know the younger men's intentions, he did eventually discuss the matter. The young Southerner did not go into detail but did reveal he belonged to one of the Families. So far, the only thing that mattered was that this man's help, experience, and knowledge was going to be a huge benefit. He had some years ahead of him until he would complete his doctorate.

"Then to two long years of hard work and friendship!" Arastoo chimed in lifting his tea.

"And many more to go!" the young man said lifting his coffee to complete the toast, and then asked, "For the disguise of an archeological dig team, who have you chosen?"

"Ah yes, of course! I have handpicked the best group possible. Those I know I can trust and those I hope I can trust," the archaeology professor said, pulling out some files and starting to individually hand out each one to the younger man. Every member had a detailed dossier on their credentials. "First, we have the bioarchaeologist, paleoanthropologist, and me. Second, there is a physicist/ chaotician. Third we have the geologist. Then there are the two photographers/ videographers. Following that are the 8 workers made up of anthropology students and volunteers from different countries. Finally, I was hoping as an upcoming anthrozoologist, you. For what I hope to find out there, you can use the notoriety!"