Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) Read Online Free PDF

Colorado. When he was finished, she began, "I--"
    Murphy put his hand up to stop her. "I know. I know. You're going to tell me I shouldn't have gone."
    "You've got that right!"
    She knew that it would be a losing battle to go any further. "Well, after all that effort, did you come to any conclusion?" she asked.
    "I have to admit, it took me quite a while. The brass
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    scale at the base of the tree was quite a puzzler. Especially with the broken numbers one and two."
    "Did the note help?"
    "In fact, it did. I kept repeating the phrase over and over in my mind: BABYLON--375 METERS DIRECTLY NORTHEAST OF THE HEAD. Then it hit me. It was referring to the head of the golden statue that Nebuchadnezzar built. The same one that was taken to the Parchments of Freedom Foundation. Methuselah was giving me directions to another find. It must be located 375 meters directly northeast of where we found the golden head."
    "What do you think it is?"
    "Hold on to your pigtails. I think you're going to like this. I think it might be the Handwriting on the Wall that was mentioned in Daniel, Chapter Five."
    "You mean the one where God used the fingers and hand of a man to write a message to King Belshazzar? You're crazy. How'd you come up with that?"
    "It was the scale with the broken numbers one and two in the pans. Remember what the Handwriting on the Wall said?"
    "No, I don't."
    "It said 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.'"
    "Oh, that's right. How could I forget? That makes perfect sense. I really understand now."
    "Okay, okay. Give me a break. The word MENE means numbered. It was repeated twice. That stands for the numbers one and two in the pans. The word TEKEL means weighed. That's what the brass scales represented. The word UPHARSIN means divided. That's why the numbers were divided into two pieces.
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    Translated into plain English it means: God numbered the days of Belshazzar's rule as the king. He found him weighed in the balance scales of God's judgment, and he was to be punished by dividing his kingdom and giving it to others."
    "What about the white powder?"
    "It's plaster. In Daniel Chapter Five it says that the handwriting was in the plaster on the wall opposite the lamp stand. I believe that the envelope held some of the plaster off that very wall. If this theory is true, that plaster is over twenty-five hundred years old."
    Murphy went to his office and phoned the Parchments of Freedom Foundation for Isis.
    He didn't realize how nervous he was until he was placed on hold.
    Drumming his fingers on the desk, he thought, You're like a schoolboy, Murphy. Grow up!
    "Michael." Murphy could hear the excitement in Isis's voice. He smiled, wishing he could drown in her sparkling green eyes. Pull yourself together!
    "Isis. How are you?"
    There was a slight pause. "I'm better now, Michael."
    For a moment her words caught him off guard. He wasn't usually tongue-tied but now he struggled to collect his thoughts.
    "Isis, I'm in between classes now. I was thinking about you and was wondering if... Okay, you can do this ... you might be free Friday and Saturday. I need to fly up to New
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    York. Could you fly up from D.C. and meet for the weekend?"
    "That sounds wonderful, Michael."
    After hanging up, Isis let out a big breath of air and stared out the window. Just hearing his voice had sent a thrill through her.
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    SEVEN
    MURPHY COULD FEEL his Irish temper rising. The closer he got to the lecture hall, the more irritated he was becoming. It had all started when he pulled up in the parking lot and saw the van with BNN on the side. The thought of Barrington Network News being on campus brought a bad taste to his mouth.
    His mind flashed back to the explosion at the church. He remembered trying to comfort Shari over the loss of her brother and Pastor Bob trying to console him over the murder of Laura. A BNN crew had been there. The network seemed always to be butting in at the most inopportune and painful times in a person's life. All the reporters