In the Shadow of the Cypress (26 page)

“So why, may I ask, would you want to jump through that hoop again? Admittedly the equipment is better today, but the launch has had more time to bury its secrets even deeper under the silt and sands. Even if someone were successful in narrowing down the search area, there could be no guarantees of success. The launch could have drifted for hundreds of miles before she sank or, if the explosion holed her, she could have gone down very near land. Without the use of the proper equipment and the appropriate computer programs, the odds of finding the target aren’t even worth mentioning. Even with all the bells and whistles, the possibilities are slim to none. Do you have any idea how many fishing boats have gone to the bottom in the last hundred years in Monterey Bay alone? The last historical estimates indicate over one hundred and eighty reported sinkings in that span, and about half that many again that went to the bottom unreported for one reason or another. So you see, Mr. Wu, by the time your people had checked out every reasonable or promising target between Monterey and Santa Cruz, you’d be old and broke—well, perhaps not broke, but certainly poorer.”

Mr. Wu pressed his fingertips together over his mouth and contemplated Luke’s words. Robert now joined them at the table. He was still making notations on the screen of his iPhone as he sat down. He stopped once he spotted the brandy, raised his glass in salute, and took a large sip. “This is marvelous brandy, Father, thank you. But if I may, I’d like to throw a penny in the cup. From your ledgers, and they do appear most precise and thorough, including the price paid to the tong for the artifacts, which was later covered by insurance, and taking in the costs incurred during the two failed attempts to recover the
cargo, I calculate . . .” Robert consulted his iPhone again. “Yes, I calculate that at present dollar value, since 1906 the company has invested at least twenty-five thousand dollars in Zhou Man’s artifacts. Which is certainly not a great deal of money by present research standards. In fact, according to Luke’s numbers, that wouldn’t begin to pay for a six-hour cruise on any properly equipped NOA research vessel.”

Robert’s father continued to contemplate his pressed fingertips. He appeared to be far away, and neither Luke nor Robert chose to interrupt his reverie. Instead, they sat back to enjoy their brandy and coffee.

After a couple of long minutes Mr. Wu sat forward and spoke. “I’m most grateful to you both for such honest appraisals of the situation, and I have listened very closely to all you have said, Mr. Lucas. Now, please feel free to correct me if I’ve misunderstood anything. You say that with enough scientific research, documentation, and the appropriate computer programs, one might narrow down the search considerably.” Mr. Wu paused. “But isn’t there an existing body of information concerning what rests on the bottom of Monterey Bay? I mean, hasn’t it all been mapped before?”

Luke nodded. “To be sure, and they’re still mapping the Monterey trench with a small atomic submarine. But if the steam launch went down over the trench, the cost of retrieval, if it were found, could be astronomical. Still you are correct, it has all been mapped before, but if someone used that existing information and programmed the right computers with all the reliable information available concerning the tides and currents for that period of time in history, and if they also created computer models of the launch, with information scanned from period photographs or even plans, it might be possible to create a
pretty accurate model of probabilities. With the right programs one could reproduce the explosion and fire on board with relative accuracy, and possibly even create a plausible timetable for the sinking based on known data.”

The elder Wu nodded. “And all things being equal, Mr. Lucas, how long would you suppose all that should take?”

“To tell you the truth, sir, I’m not sure, but with the best equipment, and a couple of hotshot data programmers to do the legwork, perhaps six months of steady effort, or perhaps a year, it’s hard to say.”

Robert’s father sipped his brandy and smiled. “And what do you think, on a professional scale, of course, the budget for this category of research might be?”

Luke shook his head. “Well, now, I couldn’t tell you that for sure. I’ve never budgeted an experiment on this scale. But I know of some serious mapping projects, using GPS-guided sonar, side-scan radar, and cross-linked computers coordinating all the information, and a half million is not an exorbitant sum. However, all that wonderful scientific information is for sale to credentialed clients, and there’s probably no reason to repeat the surveys. If the launch is there, you can be fairly sure it hasn’t moved since it went down in 1906. So, to answer your question as best I can, I don’t know.

“But let me build you a hypothetical model. First, you’ll need two qualified people with unquestionable discretion to oversee the project and keep the object of the search down to a minimum, need-to-know basis. And then you’re going to require the services of at least two, and possibly three, platinum-plated programmers. However, no one need be aware of the true significance of the search. They simply lay out and piece together the complex mapping of programmed plots with corresponding
computer graphic overlays to complete the visual features on the bottom of the bay . . . So, for six to eight months, the job should cost approximately two hundred and eighty thousand in salaries, about twenty-five thousand for equipment and customized computers, fifteen to twenty-five thousand for prepublished maritime data, access to top-drawer nautical research, and, of course, a roof to put it all under. I won’t bore you with the rest, but in all I think it might pan out at three hundred and eighty thousand dollars, give or take twenty grand, but that’s only a ballpark figure, you understand. It would require about a month to compile a proper budget. But you’ve got all the time in the world. If your boat is down there at all, it’s a sure bet it’s not going to wander off any time soon. And if nobody else is looking for it, you have all the time you want.”

Mr. Wu appeared lost in thought once more. A few moments later he rose from his seat and made a slight bow to his guests. “I am most grateful to you both for the time you have taken to counsel me on this matter. You have given me a great deal to contemplate, but now I see it is getting late, and I for one have an early schedule tomorrow. The car will take you back to your hotel whenever you are ready. But do please stay and finish the brandy at your leisure.”

Luke and Robert rose from their seats to thank Robert’s father, but he said it was nothing compared to the value of what he’d just learned. He passed his son a small silver box with a mother-of-pearl button set in the center. “If you wish more brandy or coffee, press the button once. When you’re ready to leave, press it twice. My driver will come up to escort you down and take you back to your hotel. Again, thank you both. You will hear from me before you leave tomorrow.” Mr. Wu gave another slight bow, which was returned by his son. Then he turned and
silently walked off into the dark at the back of the hall. Not another sound was heard.

It sort of gave him a shiver, but for all Luke knew, his host was still in the room somewhere, patiently waiting to hear what would be said when he was supposedly out of earshot. Luke was determined to say nothing colorful until they were back at the hotel, and maybe not even then. Still standing, Luke finished his brandy and then went to the table to gather up the folio. He was not surprised to find that Mr. Wu’s ledgers had mysteriously disappeared, but Luke’s papers had not been touched. He began to pack them away.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
L
UKE AND
Robert were waiting in the hotel’s foyer for the car to take them back to the airport. Luke would fly back to Monterey on the Lear, and the car would return Robert to Atherton. Luke was therefore a little surprised to see a full limousine pull up in front of the hotel. And then Mr. RI stepped out and announced that Mr. Wu was waiting in the car to escort them to the airport. This was a wonder, as Luke hadn’t expected to see their host again this trip, if ever. Luke looked at Robert for insight, but his friend just shrugged again with implied ignorance. They entered the car and sat across from Mr. Wu.

Robert’s father was all smiles as he welcomed his guests into the limo. He asked after their comfort the previous night and offered them coffee. They hadn’t gone far before Mr. Wu, in something of a roundabout manner, began to explain his presence. “Mr. Lucas, I was impressed by what you said last night at dinner. And you are perfectly right, blind searches, like blind
pigs, generally find little of value. But you have also reminded me that pure research is always profitable in a world that craves answers. As my son would say, we Chinese practically invented the vice of insatiable curiosity. I would be remiss if I didn’t take at least one opportunity to find the objects at the heart of the mystery.”

Mr. Wu pulled two thick brown envelopes from a thin leather briefcase at his side and handed one to Luke and the other to his son. “Those are contracts of employment for the next eight months, with salaries totaling seventy-six thousand euros each.”

The elder Wu sipped his coffee and continued. “Should you agree, Mr. Lucas, there is also a letter of credit giving you both a commercial account to draw against. I believe it’s a two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar line, but if something promising should appear, more funding could be made available.”

Luke was stupefied. He looked at the envelope like it was a loaded pistol. “And just what do you want me to do with it, sir?”

Mr. Wu smiled. “Just what you said last night. Bring together all the available existing information, feed it to a few custom computers, and see what they come up with. You are free to hire whomever you please, and my company will lend you every credential to see that you get the very finest equipment available, and at the best prices.”

Luke looked to Robert for support, but his friend appeared just as confused. “And just where are we to set up this operation?”

“Well, you can choose any place you please, of course, but I suggest that the house in Atherton would make an ideal location. There’s room for everything and everybody in that pretentious pile of rocks, and it has the added appeal of becoming a
tax write-off if used for business purposes. It’s also quite close to the Stanford campus and, most especially, a university-trained labor pool who are presently, if my informants are correct, sweeping floors, waiting tables, and flipping hamburgers to pay off their student loans. I really don’t think qualified assistance will be difficult to employ.”

Luke balked for a moment. “But I have a life in Monterey. I can’t spend all my time in Atherton.”

Mr. Wu nodded. “I’ve already thought of that. There’s no reason to give up your apartment; my company will subsidize half your rent, so you can keep the place and come and go as you like, which, I’ve no doubt, will prove advantageous in the long run. As for your work at the aquarium, I’ve also included a personal letter to Julie Packard. It requests the loan of your services, without penalties, for eight months, on a special marine research project. Since we’ve contributed substantial funds to that organization over the years, I think we can settle on an arrangement suitable for all parties. And besides, you’re going to need that affiliation to accomplish your ultimate goals. Which is, as I see it, to maintain scholastic credibility should the time come that we actually find what we’re looking for. You see, Mr. Lucas, I totally agree with your estimation of events. This is no undertaking for commercial treasure hunters. The mantle of science always disarms speculations about profit, so I see no reason to sever any professional relationships whatsoever. And as far as your studies are concerned, I believe I can be of some help there as well.” Mr. Wu nodded toward Robert and smiled. “Thanks to my son’s academic gluttony, I have channeled a great deal of money into the Stanford coffers. I believe I can induce the powers that be to allow you an extended sabbatical, especially since you will be ostensibly working and studying in your chosen field.”

Luke shook his head and looked at the envelope again. “You have the advantage on me, Mr. Wu. I really don’t know what to say just yet, but you certainly know how to get a man’s attention.” Luke looked over to Robert, who appeared to be following every detail like a cat watching a bird. “But I hope you’ll forgive me when I suggest that we’ve skipped rather gingerly over the fine print. I can be something of a pessimist at times, and I swear I smell a caveat or two in my Christmas stocking.”

Mr. Wu laughed. “You are a very perceptive young man, Mr. Lucas. But I think you’ll find this stipulation a rather tame creature. All I ask is that you both delay the publication of your papers until we have some reliable scientific information on which to base a yes or a no. After that, you may do as you please with my blessings and support.”

Luke turned to Robert and nodded toward his envelope. “You’ve been uncharacteristically quiet through all of this, Robert. What’s your considered opinion about the offer in hand?”

Robert sat back and tapped the big envelope on his knee and smiled to himself. “Since you ask, old son, I think it’s a truly amazing offer. Just think of all the toys we’ll get to play with.” He gradually grew more animated. “Throw in a top-notch, broad-spectrum laser scanner to read the rubbings, and your photographs, and we could virtually re-create the artifacts down to the slightest detail, warts and all. We could feed all the stats into a computerized milling machine and make exact copies of the artifacts in resin; that way we’ll be able to show our divers just what to look for on the bottom. And I can also harness up a calligraphy program to clean up any distortions in the various texts on the stone and seal. We could reproduce them to look just the way they did the day they were buried under that cypress centuries ago.”

Robert grinned like a boy with a new bat. “I don’t know
about you, Luke, but I see a way here to use the esoteric skills my father so dearly paid for on something really remarkable and historically pertinent. Expensive toys aside, I don’t believe this is a waste of time no matter what happens. With better technologies comes a far greater chance of success.”