The Testimonium (35 page)

“I tell you, you MUST have the actual scroll in the media room! Photographs and video footage will not do this time!” Sinisi was saying.

“I dinna like that idea,” growled MacDonald. “My solution does stabilize the ancient papyrus, but that much flash photography is not good for the two-thousand-year-old ink.”

“We do have some special glass cases that neutralize the worst effects of bright lighting,” said Castolfo. “Why don’t we rig up one of those for it? That way, the reporters can see the actual document, but it will still be temperature and humidity controlled, and protected from bright lights.”

The Vatican archeologist nodded in reluctant assent. “Very well,” he finally said. “I still don’t like it, but I see the point in having the actual manuscript there. Now, if you will excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, my colleague Dr. Klein will be arriving shortly. I am going to the airfield to meet him.”

“Very well,” said Castolfo. “It has been a long day, folks, and tomorrow will be a very busy time of preparation. I suggest we call it a night.”

Josh lingered for a moment as the others headed to the door. “Dr. Castolfo,” he said.

The Bureau’s president looked at him and said “Yes, Dr. Parker?”

“I heard that Dr. Tintoretto has resigned from the board,” the young American replied. “I can’t help but feel partly responsible. I regret the intensity of my outburst.”

The older man sighed. “I have known Maria many years,” he said. “She is a very angry person, and over the years her anti-Christian mania—and there is not another word for it—has grown stronger and stronger. I am not a religious man, but at the same time I am also enough of a historian to recognize the truth of what you said. The tomb of Jesus was indeed empty, whatever the reason. Pontius Pilate’s testimony proves that beyond a doubt. Her obsession with debunking Christianity is so strong that when the scroll confirmed what the Gospels said, cognitive dissonance set in. It did not agree with her version of reality, so to her it must be a fraud. Otherwise her entire worldview has been proven wrong, and her fragile personality could not handle such a paradigm shift.”

“I wonder what she has planned for her press conference,” Josh said.

“I am sure she will announce that the scroll is faked, that the discovery was staged, and the translation biased,” said Castolfo. “However, she has zero proof of any of those assertions other than her own opinion. I will make sure a couple of the reporters in the crowd know what to ask in order to expose just how completely subjective her claims are. Your work, and that of your colleagues, is very valuable, and your field technique beyond reproach. Dr. Apriceno’s findings should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the reliquary was completely undisturbed, and that the scroll was placed there two thousand years ago. That should neutralize any allegations of fraud that she cares to make.”

Josh nodded. “I’ve known some pretty militant atheists over the years,” he said, “but I have never seen anyone so bristling with hostility. Still, it is saddening that she has allowed her prejudices to destroy her objectivity.”

He walked to the door where Isabella waited for him. She slipped her hand into his as they walked toward the front doors of the museum. “So what are you doing this evening?” she asked.

“I was thinking of setting up my webcam and having a chat with my parents,” he said. “I would like to introduce you to them, if you would care to join me.”

“It’s a virtual world these days, isn’t it?” she said. “Not that long ago, I would have had to either wait to meet them in person or else join in on a conference call with bad audio. Now it’s the two-way video links that used to exist only in
Star Trek
episodes.”

“You like
Star Trek
?” Josh asked.

“Well, of course,” said Isabella.

“Original series,
Next Generation
, or
Voyager
?” he queried.

“No
Deep Space Nine
?” she replied.

“Nobody really likes that one,” he said.

“That’s rather harsh,” she said. “I thought Commander Sisko was one of the most intriguing characters in Roddenberry’s universe!”

They were happily engaged in sci-fi nerd talk as they walked out the door, and for the second time that week the explosion of flashbulbs caught them by surprise. Once more they had been caught holding hands in public, Josh thought. Somehow, the idea didn’t bother him one bit, though.

“Doctor Sforza! Any comment on the Pilate scroll?” shouted one reporter.

“Why yes,” she said. “I have a great deal to say about it!” A hush spread over the crowd as every journalist trained his microphone on her. “Sadly, I can’t share those comments till Friday,” she said sweetly, setting off a chorus of groans.

“Can you at least tell us how you were able to get the scroll opened and read so quickly?” asked the
Tribune
reporter Drew Eastwood.

“That is a fair question and does not violate the confidentiality I have agreed to,” said Isabella. “So I will give you an answer. Ancient papyrus that has been rolled up for centuries dries out and remains in the rolled-up position. When we find such a scroll, we place it in a rehydration tank that restores the moisture gradually. As the papyrus soaks up the moisture, it becomes pliable again and unrolls on its own. The more moisture it soaks up, the faster the unrolling process. These two scrolls were both so well preserved that they unrolled in close to record time. When we shared the Augustus scroll with you gentlemen on Tuesday, the Pilate scroll had already begun to unroll. Once it flattened out, we treated it with a special solution developed by our own Dr. MacDonald that stabilized the papyrus so that it could be handled without fear of damaging it. As soon as the solution dried, we began the process of translating it that afternoon.”

“Were there any difficulties with the translation? Was the text complete and legible?” Eastwood persisted.

Isabella looked at him with a new respect. This young man was persistent and determined, but he also was well-informed, courteous, and asked no stupid questions. She decided to answer him honestly.

“You are very close to overstepping the bounds of what I am allowed to share at this point,” she said. “But you are not quite there yet. So I will tell you this much: the Latin script was very clear and the document undamaged. We are quite certain that we have recovered the words completely and accurately. The text was translated independently by two of my colleagues, who then compared their results very carefully. There were no major discrepancies. Now as to what the text actually said—you’ll have to wait till Friday!”

The young blond journalist nodded respectfully, and Isabella decided then and there that when the time came to give an exclusive interview, he would be her choice recipient. But now the rest of the pack was shouting questions.

“Can you at least tell us if the account agrees with the New Testament versions of Jesus’ trial?” shouted a British journalist.

“No, sorry!” she replied.

“Do you know why Dr. Tintoretto resigned from the Board of Antiquities?” asked the Italian TV reporter Antonio Ginovese.

“I have an idea, but since she has called a press conference, I think it would be better to let her answer that question,” said Isabella.

“Does it have anything to do with her hostility to Christianity and the Church?” shouted Tyler Patterson.

“No comment!” she replied.

“Are you and Dr. Parker romantically involved?” asked Valeria Witherspoon, a correspondent for a popular British tabloid.

Isabella sighed. At some point, this would have to be dealt with, but she hated having her personal life under the media’s microscope. “You folks have caught us holding hands twice,” she finally said. “You may draw your own conclusions!”

“Dr. Parker.” Witherspoon aimed her next question at Josh. “How does your pastor father feel about your having a Catholic girlfriend?”

“You’ll have to ask him about that!” said Josh. “Now no further questions!”

With that they hailed a cab, even though Josh’s hotel was only a few hundred yards away, and got in quickly and slammed the doors. “The Ambassador Suites,” she said to the driver. He pulled away from the curb, down the block, around the corner, and under the awning.

“Buy you supper?” Josh offered.

“That sounds splendid,” said Isabella, “but something light, please, after that huge feast last night! I am fond of Simone Apriceno, but I have no desire to wind up looking like her!”

“There is a little salad and sushi bar up on the penthouse level,” said Josh. “It’s great for a quiet dinner together. And afterward, there is an excellent business center where we can link up to the Internet and talk to my family!”

“Why not go to your room?” she asked. “Don’t you trust me?”

Josh leaned over and kissed her. “Maybe it’s myself I don’t trust,” he said softly in her ear. “Besides, do you want the press reporting that you spent the evening alone with me in my room?”

She sighed. “Why on earth are they so interested in whether or not you and I are romantically involved?”

He laughed. “That, my dear lady, is the price of celebrity! And of course, the fact that you are absolutely gorgeous only adds to the interest.”

She slapped his arm lightly. “You Americans and your flattery!” she laughed.

The sushi bar was good, and since it was on the penthouse level, they didn’t have to worry about gawkers from the street wandering in. Josh enjoyed the smoked eel, shrimp, and octopus, while Isabella favored the crab, scallop, and tuna rolls. After a light meal, they made their way to the business center, where there were individual carrels with laptop hookups. Josh quickly plugged in, and then placed a call to his folks on his cell phone. It was mid-morning in Oklahoma when his mother picked up on the other end.

“Hello, Joshua!” she said.

“Hi, Mom!” he replied. “Can you and Dad get on the computer? I want to chat with you both.”

“Certainly, dear,” she answered. He heard her voice call out, “Ben! Josh wants to talk to us on the computer. How do I connect to that movie talking channel again?”

He repressed a smile. His dad had taken to the digital age like a fish to water, hosting video conferences for area pastors and teaching online courses. His mother, on the other hand, regarded the laptop solely as a device for playing solitaire. He heard over the cell as his dad came to the computer, and moments later their familiar faces were looking at him from the screen of his laptop.

“Hi, Dad! Good to see you guys again!” Josh greeted them.

“Hello there, son! You seem to have become quite the celebrity,” his dad said. “We’ve had all kinds of calls to the church office from reporters and TV folks, wanting to know all about you.”

“Yeah, our little dig has become big news,” Josh answered. “I hope the publicity is not too much trouble.”

“It’s increased interest in our church, that’s for sure!” his dad said. “I told everyone that has called that I will give an interview only if they attend Sunday services first. We should have a dozen or so by this weekend!”

Josh grinned. “It may be a lot more than that, after Friday,” he said.

“What do you mean, son?” his dad asked.

“We translated the Pilate scroll,” said Josh. “Our press conference is Friday at eleven AM local time. That will be about one AM in Oklahoma. You’re going to want to stay up, Dad, that’s all I can say!”

His father beamed. “I’m so proud of you, son! Is it what we thought it might be?” he asked.

“Er, I can’t really say, Dad,” Josh replied. “All I can tell you is that you will definitely want to be watching when we read the translation!”

“Not even a clue for your old man, eh?” the silver-haired pastor asked.

“Sorry, Dad, not with my boss standing right here!” Josh replied. “But I do want you to meet her. Mom, Dad, this is Dr. Isabella Sforza, the supervisor of the dig I’ve been working on. Isabella, these are my parents—Dr. Ben Parker and his wife Louise.”

Isabella sat down next to Josh and leaned toward him, where they could see her clearly. “Hello,” she said. “I have been looking forward to meeting you both. This isn’t as nice as being there, but it is better than a phone call!”

“So you’re the Italian beauty who can’t seem to let go my son’s hand, eh?” asked Brother Ben. “You have no idea how long we have been waiting for him to get interested in girls!”

“Dad!” said Josh.

Isabella laughed. “Your son is a delightful young man, and a perfect gentleman. I have been enjoying my time with him greatly.”

Josh’s mother smiled sweetly at Isabella. “May I ask you something, dear girl?” she queried.

“Why of course, Mrs. Parker!” Isabella replied.

“Do you love him?” she asked.

Isabella was taken aback by the forthrightness of the question, but she answered as best she could. “You know,” she replied, “I believe I do!”

“Then please marry him!” Louise Parker said. “I would like to have grandchildren before I am ninety!”

Josh thought he would sink through the floor in embarrassment, but his dad came to his rescue. “Now Louise,” he said, “let’s not scare her off! So Josh, how do you like Naples?”

“It is a beautiful city,” he said. “I haven’t had much time to take in many of the sights, but the museum that I am working in is simply amazing! Isabella gave me the grand tour last weekend. Hopefully, before I am done here, I can fly you and Mom out for a visit. I’d like to show you Capri as well!”

They talked for another fifteen minutes or so, and then Josh said his farewells and severed the connection. He looked at Isabella, who was grinning at him. “Sorry about Mom,” he said. “She can be a bit—well, a bit direct sometimes!”

Isabella laughed out loud. “You have never met my mother!” she said. “She would already be asking what we want to name the first child!”

“I think I would like to meet your parents sometime soon,” he said.

Her expression softened. “I am afraid you won’t be able to meet my papa,” she said. “He died two years after Marc did. But soon I will take you to meet my mother, and then we can compare notes on which of us has the most ‘direct’ mama!”

“I guess I had better head to my room soon,” he said. “Morning comes early, and tomorrow is a very busy day.”