Written on the Body of Night Page #2

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Yeah, but never rich people.|Only criminals or political enemies.

"There came a rich man|from Arimathea named Joseph.

And Joseph took the body of Jesus|and laid it in his own new tomb...

hewn out of the rock, and rolled|a stone against the entrance."

And that is a picture|of a rich man's tomb.

But...

so then I understand|no firm date has been established...

for the body or the tomb,|correct?

You're forgetting the coin she found.|It was a Pilatus.

Father, isn't it possible the body|in the tomb is that of a Christian?

I mean, a follower of \Christ|and not Christ himself?

Yes, it is possible. In that case,|it would have been buried...

with some Christian symbol|to illustrate the fact.

If|ot in the open,|then hidden...

on the inside of the ossuary or at the|bottom of a jar you would have found...

three concentric circles...

or an antique cross...

or a fish.

So...

it was Dr. Golban who asked you|to come to the tomb, correct?

It was Moshe Cohen|from the prime minister's office.

Did he call others?|Did he call Armenians...?

Orthodox, Protestants?

Why did he call you, Father?

What is all this? Am I supposed|to doubt them because they are Jews?

Father, I understand that|you are in great pain.

But you have to let me carry this now.|This is mine.

The Holy Father has given it to me.|I don't like it, but I have to take it.

But why are you asking me|all these questions?

Who said what, who did what,|who intended what! Don't you realize...

what it means if it is He|in that tomb...

the unrisen Christ?

The end of Christianity.

That someone like you, Father,|could believe that...

is exactly why the Church|wants to know who said what and why.

Come on. Believe me.

We want to know every speck|of dust in that tomb.

We don't wanna lose one soul because|of these things. I mean, not one!

And if we have lost you--

We don't wanna lose you, Father.

What will you do, Jesuit...

if you discover that|it is Christ in that tomb?

A man like all of us?

I will turn to God for the answer.

You know, I think|it's enough for today.

I am sorry I interrupted you.

One more thing.

For security reasons,|I think it would be better...

to move you someplace where|you can continue your work in private.

All right.

Do you know who I am?

Yes. You are Abu Yusef.

Let's have some tea and talk.

Please.

So, Mr. Hamid...

what can you tell me|about the excavation...

behind your store?

I was digging a basement...

when they found|an ancient tile floor.

And now, just waiting|to dig a basement.

All that over a floor?

I heard Dr. Golban, the archaeologist,|say something...

about the tiles being|from the 12th century.

Then why the Shin Beth|is so interested in it?

The secret police is interested|in my hardware store?

And the Vatican state.

The Vatican?

You will find out more.

How? I'm just a simple shopkeeper.

And I was just a simple teacher.

If it's important to you--

To you too.

To the fate of Jerusalem.

Nothing must prevent us|from making it our capital.

Do you think my--

Anything that brings Israelis|and Rome together worries me.

That's the reason I need you to be|my eyes and ears. Watch everything.

Who is going in,|who is coming out...

what they bring in,|what they take out.

You should contact me immediately.

Thanks.

They've only been told we're protecting|the body from religious extremists.

Do you want 'em to stay?|It's your call.

Let them go.

Now we have our first|major archaeological decision.

Who goes first,|Church or infidel?

Are you nervous?

Take one of these.

Right here is where we found|the Pilatus coin.

The coin.

It's a very convenient way|of dating a tomb, right?

Yes, but not the only one.

Now, notice something?

Well, it's empty.

Exactly.

They peered into the tomb,|and it was empty.

Matthew 27, Mark 15,|Luke 23. Yes.

-So?|-That's until you get to the clay wall.

Why do you think the wall|was put up in the first place?

To hide something|much more valuable...

than a coin.

What are these orange marks?

That is oxidized iron.

I think they used smaller spikes|than usual...

because although iron rusts...

it usually survives|as long as bone in these conditions.

You'll notice here...

that these bones aren't broken.

Now, the Romans...

usually break the bones|of the legs...

to speed death.

These things came to pass|that scripture might be fulfilled.

Not a bone of His shall be broken,|or something like that.

Exactly like that.

And you know it.

From this you determined those were|the bones of Jesus Christ, right?

I didn't say that.

What I said was the discovery|at this point conforms to the Gospels.

I knew this wouldn't work.

It'll work. It'll work if you--

if we stop playing games|with each other.

Mr. Hamid, I believe you have|a visitor.

And you didn't think|to call your friends in Gaza.

I was going to, but--

In the name of Allah,|I'm a Palestinian.

If what's in the tomb causes the Vatican|to side with Israel on Jerusalem...

the other Catholic nations|will follow.

And that, my friend,|will deprive us from our birthright.

Listen, I--

I swear you will hear from me|very soon. Very soon.

I want all correspondence|with the Jesuit courier in code.

Well, if you insist.

But it won't do you any good.

Any hacker with half-an-hour's|experience and a modem could crack it.

Such as?

Arabs, Israelis, CNN, MTV.

It's like one big|party line out here.

Who's the biggest party guest?

A week ago, we heard the PFJ were|listening in, but why I don't know.

-The PFJ?|-The Popular Front of Jerusalem.

They're some ex-intifadas out of Gaza,|run by some bloke called Abu Yusef.

Postcards to God.

Do you want to send Him a note,|tell Him you arrived safely?

Or for luck?

Maybe later,|if I really need it.

Let's go.

Peace at any price is not peace.

It's a sacrilege.

Mr. Cohen.

Moshe, please.

Why did you ask Fr. Lavelle|to look at the body?

He was an obvious choice.

He's an expert in the field.

He's a Catholic priest,|and he was here.

And you knew bringing him in|would involve the Vatican...

even though there were|many other choices.

I thought the Church|might appreciate the gesture.

But it seems you look|a gift horse in the mouth.

Look?

I didn't come here|just to look.

You are the most formidable|Christian sect.

To have the state of Israel involved|in something so potentially dangerous...

to the Christian faith|could have serious...

repercussions for us.

So, any other agendas|I should be aware of?

Well, quite frankly,|our only agenda...

was to dump this problem|in the Vatican's lap.

We've done that, so now|I'm just here to assist.

All right.

Dr. Golban's preliminary report...

the one I saw in Rome...

has that been published yet?

No. Probably later this week.

Stop it.

Stop the publication.

And if you don't have|the authority to stop it...

you tell me who does.

I have the authority.|I have the authority for that.

And much more.

I'm sure you do.

-Morning.|-I brought you one of these.

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