Brooklyn Knight Read Online Free PDF Page A

that no such place as Arcadia had ever existed as would do so—probably more. To claim to find something older, to have the proof—
    Proof?
    “Ashur,” Knight managed the single word, speech practically failing him, caution reining in the ability, forcing him to double-check anything he might say, “are you certain of this? Are you really sure !?”
    The professor listened while his colleague half a world away indulged himself in a knowing chuckle. It was not the laughter of the self-righteous, although it did border slightly on the smug. Moreover, it was a joyous thing, a bit of uncontrollable, childlike giddiness Ungari simply could not contain. Gaining control over himself once more, however, the Egyptian doctor of archaeology cleared his throat, and then, in a slightly embarrassed tone, whispered into his phone;
    “We are most certain, my old friend. Memak’tori grades out at an absolute minimum of ninety-two hundred years. Unmistakable. If some readings prove true, possibly even as much as ninety-five hundred.”
    Knight was stunned. It was amazing, unbelievable. If true, it doubled the time man had been a creature capable of creating more than the simplest structures, of grasping any purpose beyond gathering enough to eat for the day. And, if he was responsible for maneuvering his own Brooklyn Museum to the head of the line to receive any outside exhibits, then it was a coup beyond measure.
    “You will not even begin to comprehend it all until you behold it for yourself. There is no way to describe it so that you truly see it, my friend, even someone like yourself. The city, my most wonderful Memak’tori, it has proved to be laid out on an amazingly massivescale. I tell you, it rivals Ankor, not only shrouded in an equal amount of mystery, but in a rivalry that extends also to size, the mathematical precision of its centrally planned layout, and its buildings, my goodness, oh, Piers, my God… .”
    Ungari paused, the sudden jumbling of his words causing him to sound almost out of control. Knight did not judge him too harshly. If his colleague was correct, the man had every right to be flustered.
    “The reason,” the doctor began again, “I originally thought the site would prove to be only a small find, was that what we had uncovered back then were only the uppermost sections of the tallest buildings. How can I …” Ungari paused for a moment, then continued, saying, “You just told me that you are at the top of your Empire State Building, yes?” After the professor agreed, Ungari continued once more, telling him;
    “Imagine your New York City covered by the sands of time. Some future archaeologist discovers the summit of the Empire State Building. He has found a building, and of course he is confident he will find a neighbor to it somewhere close by. But think, Piers—how long would it be, how far would he have to dig, before he realized what he had truly found?”
    “You mean …”
    “I mean, those first structures we discovered five years ago, they were merely the tower tops of what proved to be three-and four-story buildings. Prehistorics, building to such heights. Can you believe it? And these people, these wonderful, wondrous people, they had the cornerstone; they developed the keystone. These people, they were builders—they understood arches, bracing, municipal planning. And more… .”
    “More?”
    “Oh, far more.” His voice falling into a whisper centered firmly within the conspiratorial range, the doctor said, “You know as wellas I that obviously no city structure of such dimensions could exist without a written language.”
    “Obviously… .”
    “They had one. There was no mention earlier because there were no traces in those upper stories we first uncovered. It has only been in the past, oh, no more than, say fifteen months that we finally began to uncover fragments of text. But so little of it was in a form that could stand up to the elements. We had traces, bits and