He said it so matter-of-factly that it took Silas a few beats to realize the gravity of what he had just revealed. He snapped his head toward Celeste, trying to hide his shock. This changed everything.
Celeste moved to the edge of her seat. “Wait a minute, Pryce is Muslim?”
“You didn’t know?”
“We weren’t all that close,” Silas demurred. “And the impression he gave in class was of an agnostic. Someone not really all that convinced either way about the prospects of religion, particularly the Judeo-Christian variety. His fascination with Palestine seemed more academic than personal or spiritual. Certainly not religious. At least that was the impression I got.”
Saulcy nodded. “That was my impression, as well, when we began the project together. As a Reform Jew myself, I found the writing project a fascinating exercise in academic dialogue with an opposing religious partner that had staked its own claims on the Temple and the artifacts my people had claimed since the Exodus. But for Pryce…the interest seemed far deeper. I never really discovered why, other than him having a personal encounter of sorts that made him convert.”
Silas sat back in his chair, not knowing how to process the turn of events. Then he smiled and sat up. It was time to get to work, no time to waste. They had their answer, at least a sizable piece of the emerging puzzle.
He stood, Celeste joined him. “Professor Saulcy, thank you for your time. You've been a great help with our research.”
“Alright. Good, but I’m not sure how.”
Silas shook the man’s hand, then said goodbye, not wanting him to ask more questions.
The two cleared the hallway, hustled past the nosey executive assistant, and burst through the doors of the academic hall.
“My goodness!” Celeste exclaimed. “Pryce is Muslim.”
“No wonder he was so intent on getting his hands on the Ark. I never took the man for a religious zealot, but I guess it’s true. People really do change.”
They walked quickly across the quad, then stopped midway in the shady relief of a large oak tree.
“But what does it all mean?” he whispered pacing.
“Near as I can figure,” Celeste said, “he must be trying to undermine Judaism. What better way to completely undermine the faith than to show the world that the prized Temple treasures they've been waiting for generations to usher in the Third Temple period are completely gone? That there is no possible way for them to reclaim their religious and spiritual heritage because there no longer is an Ark.”
Silas kept pacing, working through in his mind the significance of the past several days. The missing Ark. What they discovered at Chartres and the connections they made at the abbey library. The revelations from Saulcy, about the Islamic faith and the Ark and Pryce.
He stopped suddenly, then whispered, “No it’s more.”
“What?”
He spun around toward Celeste. “It’s more than just about the Jewish faith. It’s about Islam. He’s trying to usher in the Muslim eschatological age, to bring about their End Times! He must have known, or at least had a pretty strong suspicion that the chamber was empty. Remember the look on his face?”
“Met expectation. Relief.”
He snapped his fingers. “Exactly. He was glad the chamber was empty. That there were no Temple treasures. Tarnished his reputation, but that wasn’t the end game to begin with. It was dashing the Jewish Messianic hopes. And what I discovered in his journal at his room must have been preliminary research for what he believed about the Ark’s true resting place.”
“In Ethiopia.”
“Exactly. He probably had an idea that it was there, but needed confirmation. So he sent Tulu and his thugs to confirm Chartres. He spent time with Kebra Nagast, analyzing its narrative, figuring out its historical veracity, which we know he had in his possession. And then I can imagine he spent similar time with Wolfram Von Eschenbach’s Parzival, trying to make similar connections, finding out what we ourselves discovered. All so that he could find it, steal it, then reveal it to serve his own religious ends.”
“And right now he’s in Ethiopia,” Celeste said, taking out her phone. “Has to be.”
Silas nodded as she dialed SEPIO command.
“Radcliffe,” she said, putting the phone on speaker. “We discovered quite a revelation about Pryce. Apparently, he’s Muslim.”
Radcliffe audibly gasped. “That is revealing!”
Silas added, "Which means he has a vested interest in revealing the Ark. We guess that he wants to discover its final resting place, but for far different reasons than academic and professional. This is personal and surprisingly spiritual, religious even. Which, frankly, I can't believe knowing what I thought I knew about the man."
“So he intends to steal it, you think?”
“Steal it, then reveal it, according to the prophecies of Islam in order to fulfill their eschatological, End of Days expectations for their savior, al Mahdi, and usher in their own era of Islamic hope and salvation and the End Times and whatever.”
“But what about Nous?” Celeste asked.
“What about them?” Silas responded.
“Clearly, Pryce had help. Major financing and major backing, which we know is Nous. Surely they can’t be all that thrilled with one of the world’s major religions finding prophetic fulfillment and End Times salvation. After all, they’re transtheistic and transreligious.”
“I’m glad you rang, then,” Radcliffe interjected. “Because I think I have your answer.”
The two looked at each other and turned toward the phone.
“First off, we have Torres,” Radcliffe announced.
“Thank the Lord!” Celeste exclaimed.
“Yes, thanks be to God.”
“With Zoe’s support, and not a little help from the Lord himself, Gapinski and Greer were able to locate and extract her. She’s doing well. A bit shaken, as you can image, but she’s a tough one, that girl. She’ll go far with us.”
“Glad to hear,” Celeste said. “Was she able to glean any intel while captive?”
“She was. And I think she may have discovered the missing piece to this whole Nous puzzle. You remember that two days ago operatives stole one of the Passion relics, Christ’s scourging post.”
“We do,” she said.
“That was a dry run for their ultimate mission.”
Recognition dawned on Celeste’s face. “The Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.”
“Right you are. By all accounts, it appears Nous is after the remaining Passion relics.”
“Wow,” Silas added. “That makes this whole Ark disappearing act way bigger.”
“Absolutely," Radcliffe said. "Earlier in the year, Nous had set out to undermine and destroy the memory of Christ's resurrection. Now it's the death of Christ. By laying hold of these Passion relics, it's clear Nous wants to remove these memory markers connected with Jesus' atoning death."
Celeste said, “What’s the game plan? I assume the Vatican has been notified, as it’s within their jurisdiction. And that SEPIO is taking point on this?”
“Yes, that’s the plan. Gapinski, Greer, and Torres will execute a protective operation at the basilica.”
Silas shook his head. "I don't know, Rowan. This sounds like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher all over again. Shouldn't the Rome police be involved and take point?"
“No,” Celeste answered flatly. “For now, anything connected with Nous is being strictly quarantined under the auspices of SEPIO. There are too many unknowns to involve local authorities in terms of Nous's scope and ultimate mission. And if Farhad is involved, it will be vital to capture him, given he is a high-ranking member of the Thirteen.”
“You're exactly right,” Radcliffe confirmed. “And with their move to expose the Ark as some sort of prophetic manifestation of the Islamic eschatological era, the spiritual confusion they will sow regarding how sins are atoned is far too vital of a crisis to turn over to the secular authorities. Jews will go crazy, thinking they have an opportunity to reinstitute the Temple sacrificial system to appease God's wrath and provide forgiveness for sins. Christians who aren't grounded will wonder whether the cross actually worked if the former altar of atonement is rediscovered and put to use again to pay for the sins of mankind. And Muslims will be emboldened with the final, prophetic marker for their own salvation revealed.”
“Which means it may not be such a good idea to unveil the ancient relic after all,” Celeste said.
“Indeed, it may not,” Radcliffe agreed.
“I doubt Pryce knows how he’s being used,” Silas added.
“Probably not. But given their plans against the Passion relics, it seems Nous is using his personal interest in seeing the Ark used to benefit the Islamic faith to help them undermine Christian belief in the sufficiency of Christ’s death on the cross. This is no longer some Hollywood blockbuster unveiling or about some fascinating historical artifact. Souls are on the line! With the Ark back in service, clarity on the nature of salvation and how one is made right with God is on the line.”
“What a disaster this could be,” Silas said solemnly.
“Indeed. Which means you know what you need to do.”
Celeste looked at Silas and nodded. “Aksum, here we come.”