Chapter 7

Stomachs full, the assembled children sat back into comfortable thought, realising that the next task lay ahead of them, and not really sure where to start. 

Cai spoke up first. “So, what do we know about the people who have hidden these time disruption devices? Do we know what we are even looking for?”

Sal and Sam looked at each other. Sal sighed and then started to speak. 

“I’m sorry to say that some of the group come from our planet. That’s how they have access to the technology to move through time and space. They don’t like the work of the Time protection Force for some reason and seem to go out of their way to work against us. They have teamed up with another species called the Chatens. They are just a sneaky bunch who take pleasure in stealing objects of historical interest from wherever they can find them. The more iconic the better.”

Cai was nodding and processing this information. “So, some of them will look like you? Quite human?” Sal and Sam nodded in agreement. 

“How about the Chatens” asked Bert? “ Do they look human too?”

”No” replied Sal. “Quite different in fact”. They are excellent at stealing things due to their small size and ability to squeeze into small spaces. They can communicate in the same way we can, and are highly intelligent. However, they look quite similar to feline species on Earth.”

”They’re Cats?!” Asked Mo, incredulous. 

“No” said Sal, with a huff of impatience. “Not Cats. Chatens. But, I suppose to the uneducated, they have a similar external appearance to what you call “cats”. 

“So, they’re cats”, said Mo under his breath. “I hate cats”.  Mali smiled at Mo, sharing their own moment of minor rebellion. 

Tom spoke up, trying to distract from the moment of disagreement. “ And the time disruption device. What does that look like? How does it work?”

Again Sal spoke up. “All I know is that they are big enough to contain the technology, and small enough to be transported by the Chaten. Usually around the size of a book or a small box. They tend to be camouflaged to match the surroundings of whereever and whenever they are being hidden to avoid discovery.”

”So, how do we work out WHEN we need to look in the tomb?” Said Tom. “Surely it could be any time?”.

Delyth had been sitting focused on the book in front of her. It surprised everyone when she spoke up. “Not ANY time”. 

“Sorry, what?” Said Tom. 

“Not ANY time” replied Delyth, looking up at Tom. “Part of the reason that king Tut’s tomb is famous is because it remained hidden and undisturbed until discovered by an archaeologist called Carter, along with his team. Lots of other tombs had been raided by tomb robbers, and even priests needing to use the treasures when Egypt was running low on money. Once King tut’s tomb was discovered, it was hugely popular. Basically the most popular tourist attraction of it’s time. People traveled from around the world to visit, and Carter’s team spent years cataloguing all the contents. It would have been heavily guarded. There was only a few days before the discovery was officially announced that it could have been possible for anyone else to get in”. 

Mali sat back and sighed. “She’s right you know”. 

“I know I’m right” said Delyth and returned to her book. 

“Can we get the research projections back again” asked Bert. 

Sam cleared away the last of the lunch while Sal pressed some buttons to bring the projections back. 

Bert moved various projections of papers and diagrams around until he found what he was looking for. 

“I found this earlier. I think it might help. It’s Carter’s diary from the time of the excavations. Maybe there’s enough information here to help us find the window of opportunity for the device to have been hidden?”

”Certainly seems like a great place to start” said Tom, smiling at Bert. “Can you make that any bigger?”.