"Would that have made it more valuable?" "Of course. At first father was suspicious, thinking it was some kind of a hoax. They told him the scroll had come from an Egyptian tomb but would tell him no more relative to its origination. They brought it to him because he was Terra's foremost authority in that field. "Father discovered immediately that the scroll was genuine and very old. Papyrus was a material the ancient Egyptians used." "And--?" Mike asked impatiently. "He refused to translate it for them because they in turn would not tell him what they proposed to do with it. He felt it should be turned over to the proper authorities--some university--and besides, he was suspicious of the two men. So they went away and tried to get it translated elsewhere. This was impossible, so they came back and offered to sell it to father for a very low price but with the stipulation that he keep what he learned strictly to himself. "He wanted to make the translation and was tempted because he already had a clue to its nature. He believed the scroll verified a theory long in existence on Terra relative to the extraterrestrial origination of mankind." "You mean he thought it proved the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon came from other planets." "No, not so far back as that. There is little doubt they originated on Terra. Father is a specialist in Egyptology. And it was his belief that a great deal of their early history was purposely distorted. There is confusion in what little can be found concerning them and father sincerely believed they came from another planet. He was sure they brought with them a knowledge of science far greater than any existing upon Terra." "And the papyrus verified his belief?" "Completely." "What did it tell him?" "That the forefathers of those who later became the Egyptians, left their native planet after a disagreement with the ruling Pharaoh and sought a new home. They cruised for several lifetimes, raising and educating their children and dying off, until they found Terra, a planet almost identical to their own. The papyrus gave the location of their home planet--hieroglyphics which father translated into a table of accurate equations." "How could he know they were accurate?" Doree's head came up sharply. "If you were really aware of my father's ability in his field, it wouldn't occur to you to ask." * * * * * "I don't blame you for your faith but I still think it was a gigantic hoax--for one reason." "And that--?" "If the ancestors of the Egyptians came to Terra, they had to have great scientific and technical knowledge to get there. All right--then what happened to the knowledge and the science? The Egyptians certainly didn't take advantage of it." "They used some of it. No one has been able to prove conclusively how they built the pyramids." "Slave labor." "That is not a complete explanation." "All right--forget the pyramids. What happened to the rest of their science?"