He nodded from behind his desk and waved her past, checking her name off his list. The president of Ryukyu University was taking no chances. Although the island of Okinawa was climbing out of the devastation, looting remained sporadic. The added security measures were the university’s attempt to protect its assets.

Karen strode to the stairwell, passing a bank of elevators cordoned off with yellow tape declaring them “Out of Service.” She imagined the companies that produced those rolls of ribbon were making a fortune. The same yellow tape was strewn like party streamers throughout the island.

Checking her watch, she picked up her pace on the stairs. Since returning from their harrowing journey to the ruins of Chatan, this was the first chance the two women had to consult one another. Miyuki had called this morning and urged Karen to join her at her lab. She had news about the crystal star but would say no more over the phone.

Karen wondered what her friend had learned. Over the past three days, Karen had been doing her own research — investigating the cryptic language, trying to trace its origin. But progress had been slow. The island was continually plagued by power failures that interfered with communication. For a while, she’d been sure the glyphs were similar to a script found in the Indus Valley ruins of Pakistan, but on closer inspection she realized the similarity was only superficial. This line of study, however, was not a total waste. It did send her down another path, to another similar language, one even more exciting. Still, she needed further study before she was willing to voice her theory aloud.

At the top of the stairs, Karen found Miyuki waiting, dressed in her usual crisp lab coat. “The guard buzzed me that you were on the way up,” her friend said. “C’mon.”

As they walked, Karen asked, “What have you found?”

Miyuki shook her head. “You have to see this for yourself.” She led the way down the hall past other teachers’ offices. “What about the hieroglyphics?”

Karen hesitated. “I may have a lead.”

Miyuki glanced at her with surprise. “Really? I’ve been having Gabriel try to decode it, but he’s had little success.”

“He can do that? Decipher it?”

“One of his base algorithms is a decoding program. Ciphering is a useful model for building an artificial intelligence construct, and if you correlate—”

Karen held up a hand, surrendering. “Okay, I believe you. Has Gabriel learned anything?”

“Only one thing…it’s part of the reason I called you. But he’d have more success with additional examples of the language. More data from which to correlate, cross-check, and build a language base.”

Karen bit her lip, then confessed her own secret. “I may be able to supply that.”

Miyuki looked over again, frowning. “How?”

“I wanted to confirm my idea before bringing it up. But the library was of no use, and I keep getting booted off the Internet by these hourly brownouts. I couldn’t get an outside line all day yesterday.”

“What were you looking for?”

“Examples of a written language found on the island of Rapa Nui.”

“Rapa Nui? Isn’t that Easter Island, the place with the big stone heads?”

“Exactly.”

“But that island’s on the other side of the Pacific.”

Karen nodded. “That’s why I need further information. It’s not my area of expertise. I’ve been concentrating my studies on Polynesia and Micronesia.”

The pair reached Miyuki’s laboratories. Miyuki unlocked the door with a key card and held it open for Karen. They entered a tiny anteroom. Starched white “clean suits” hung on the wall. Beyond the glass doors ahead was Miyuki’s lab, all stainless steel and linoleum. Under the fluorescent bulbs, every surface gleamed, dust-free and spotless.

Karen took off her sweater and slipped out of her Reebok sneakers. She took a clean cloth suit from a peg. It was stiff after being freshly dry-cleaned and pressed. She wriggled into the white one-piece jumpsuit, then sat down on a tiny bench to slip on paper booties.

Miyuki did the same. She insisted that her lab maintain a sterile environment. She wanted no contaminants interfering with the large banks of computers lining the center of the room, the birthplace of Gabriel. “What’s this connection to Rapa Nui?”

Karen fixed her short blond hair under a disposable paper bonnet. “Back in 1864, a French missionary reported the discovery of hundreds of wooden tablets, staffs, even skulls carved with an unknown hieroglyphic script. The natives called this language rongorongo, but they couldn’t read the script. Some claimed the language came from the time before the natives arrived on the island in 400 A.D. Unfortunately, most of the artifacts were destroyed before they could be recovered. Only about twenty-five examples of the writing exist today in museums and universities.”

“And you think this language is the same one we discovered?”

“I can’t be sure. Rongorongo is the only known indigenous written language among all the peoples of Oceania. But its origin remains a mystery, and the text unreadable. Many epigraphers and cryptologists have attempted to decipher the language, but all of them have failed.” Karen could not keep the excitement from her voice. “If we’ve discovered a new vein of this language, for the first time in centuries, we might have a chance not only to unlock the mysteries of rongorongo, but also to discover the lost history of Polynesia.”

Miyuki stood. “So what’s the next step?”

“I need to get on-line and hunt down the other examples of the language. Confirm my hypothesis.”

Miyuki began to catch Karen’s excitement. “And if you’re right, we can add these other examples to Gabriel’s database. With more information, he might be able to decipher it!”

“If so, it would be the archaeological discovery of the century.”

“Then let’s get to work. Gabriel can get you a line to the outside by hooking into the U.S. military’s phone lines. They’re the most stable.” Miyuki crossed to the glass door to her lab.

“He can do that?”

Miyuki nodded. “Of course. Who do you think is the main backer for my research? The U.S. military is very intrigued by artificial intelligence and its practical application. I have a Level 3 clearance.” Using her key card again, she unlocked the inner door. There was a whoosh as the door seal broke. The next room was under a slight positive pressure, extra insurance against contaminants entering the lab.

Karen followed her into the clean room. “You go through a lot of trouble to avoid a bit of dusting,” she mumbled with a smirk.

Miyuki ignored her and crossed to a half-arc bank of computer monitors. Two wheeled chairs rested nearby. Miyuki took a seat and waved Karen to the other. “Let me show you what Gabriel has been able to decode so far.” She began tapping a keyboard while speaking aloud. “Gabriel, could you please bring up the images of the hieroglyphs?”

“Certainly, Professor Nakano. And good morning, Karen Grace.” The artificial voice came from stereo speakers behind the two women.

“Good morning, Gabriel,” Karen answered, still feeling awkward. She glanced over her shoulder at the speakers. It was as if someone stood behind her. “Th-Thank you for your help.”

“It has been a pleasure, Dr. Grace. You have presented an intriguing conundrum.” Across the long curved bank of monitors, the glyphs of the unknown language ran along the multiple screens in a continuous line: Birds, fishes, human shapes, geometric figures, and strange squiggles.

“What has he learned?” Karen asked.

“He was able to decipher a small section at the beginning.”

“You’re kidding!” Karen sat up straighter.

The line of script ran across the screen until a section appeared highlighted in red. Then the scrolling images stopped, centering on the highlighted section. It contained six symbols.