Additional Epilogue to the Alchemist

Eric Poe
Miss N
R/LA
31 January 2010
The Alchemist: Epilogue
“Kevin?”
“What is it, Mike?”
“You’re the head of artifactual documents. I think it’s best if you tell me.”
I turn my head to see that he’s holding a book in his latex-gloved hands. I immediately understand what’s troubling him. I can tell just by looking at the find that it is not from the mid-1100s A.D. like the other artifacts of the area.
“Have you run any tests on it yet?” I ask.
“Do we need tests? I mean, it’s pretty obvious what this could mean for this entire expedition…”
“I know, I know.” Contamination of a site is one of the worst nightmares of any person who calls himself an archaeologist. It can nullify any discoveries made on-site. It has the potential to ruin scientists, especially those who ignore the contamination and publish their findings. All it takes is a little further investigation by a competitor on the same site and you’ve got a legal mess on your hands.
“So what should we do?” Mike asked worriedly.
“What can we do?” I said, throwing up my hands. I stared into the distance. “What’s in the book, anyway?”
“Should I use the equipment?”
I opened the book violently to the first page. Mike uttered a little cry. I looked up at him, fuming. “This book has ruined everything we’ve worked on here for the past two months, and all you can do is cry about it like it’s your baby daughter. Well, fine.” I threw it at him. “You read it.”
Mike looked a little hurt by my harshness, but I didn’t care. He was a softy as far as I was concerned. The new model of archaeologist. They do everything by the book without a thought as to how it’s going to be out in the field.
“Alright, here’s the first entry. ‘Most people begin each page of a diary with the date, but I’ve been wandering out here with my sheep so long, I honestly don’t remember what the day is. It’s been many days since I was near civilization, but I see a town on the horizon.’”
As I stood...