turned it back to the Muslims. It was treason. So we march, we protest, we raise money, we prepare—but everything we do is legal, peaceful, within the law.”
“So…what do you plan to do? Offer the Waqf enough money and they turn their Haram al-Sharif over to you?”
“We plan to continue what we’ve been doing. That’s all.”
“And so you’ve prepared priestly costumes, ritual items like the menorah and incense burners—all this just in case God decides to sweep the Muslim shrines off the Mount and give you a building license?”
“We propose to bring about the Temple through peaceful means.”
“Such as? How do you propose to ‘peacefully’ erase the Dome of the Rock?”
Halevy was tired. They both knew there was no good answer to the question, so he stared at her impatiently.
Kristall reached for an evidence bag and pulled out Shor’s photograph of the Temple model. “And you know nothing about this writing?”
“Nothing at all, as I told your friend here earlier.”
“What do you know about the gold ring Emanuel Shor wore?”
“It was a gold ring. What is there to know?”
“What does the name ‘Chandos’ mean to you?”
“You’re joking. Chandos? You mean the man who killed the Pope? Who doesn’t know that name?”
“Why was Emanuel Shor in the nanotechnology center on Sabbath? On a holy day?”
“I’ve asked myself that question a thousand times. And so have your people.”
“Why did Shor have a red circuit on his GeM?”
“What is a ‘red circuit’?”
Kristall beamed a photo of Nasir al-Ayoub from her GeM onto the table. “This man…do you recognize him?”
Halevy barely looked at it and shook his head.
“Dr. Halevy, you are a dry fountain.”
“Then may I go?” He stood; his shapeless linen clothes were creased with sweat.
“Not yet. I have one more question… Now you may explain nuclear physics.”
Irritated, Halevy arose and went to the door. It was locked.
“I’m quite serious, Dr. Halevy. I want you to explain to the officer here about the lattice,” she indicated Ari.
Halevy sighed. “I suppose you have cleared this.”
“Inspector Davan is now on the need-to-know list.”
Ari looked up in surprise; Kristall had changed her mind. But he leaned forward intently.
“All right, Inspector. If it will speed things up.” Halevy stood by the door, looked at Ari with contempt, and began speaking rapidly. “The lattice is a nanoelectronic device composed of quantum dots wired in cadence to each other within a silicon matrix…”
“We can stay here all night, Dr. Halevy. Some people think I live here, and it’s very nearly true,” Kristall said.
Halevy sank back into his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. “How do I explain this to a dolt?” He was quiet; then he seemed to gain new energy.
“Levinsky and I became interested years ago in what are called ‘designer atoms.’ The idea is this: an atom is made up of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by orbiting electrons. The number of these particles dictates the kind of atom it is. The lowest number of electrons occurring in a natural element is one—hydrogen. The maximum number that occurs in nature is 92—uranium. Atoms that heavy are unstable and give off particles in the form of radiation.
“Suppose, however, that you could trick electrons into orbiting an artificial nucleus. Then by adding and taking away electrons you could change any element into any other element—like changing lead to gold and back again.
“Such an artificial nucleus is called a quantum dot; we can create it in the laboratory.” Halevy stood. “And that’s what we call a ‘designer atom.’ ”
He held his hands up to the bare lamp hanging from the ceiling and laced his fingers together. A cross-hatched shadow fell on the table. “Now picture a lattice made of silicon threads, woven like a basket, with many of these designer atoms embedded in the spaces between the threads. You flood the lattice with, let’s say, seventy-nine electrons per dot. The result?”
Ari answered immediately. “Gold.”
Halevy was delighted. “You know! You’re not such a dolt after all.” He wiggled his crossed fingers and laughed. “Gold! Number seventy-nine on the periodic table of elements. The lattice turns to gold! You can pump electrons in and out of the lattice, changing the number at will many times a second.”
“You mean, you can turn silicon into gold?”
“Or any other element you wish, although you’d be wise to create the ambient temperature the element needs to remain solid—hydrogen, for example, dissipates into a gas at room temperature.”
“Which is why Levinsky’s laboratory is kept freezing.”
“Exactly. Certain elements such as phosphorus are extremely unstable, even explosive, if it gets too warm.”
“And you’ve built a lattice like this.”
“Just a few of them so far.”
Ari was impressed. “It’s fantastic. The value of it…”
“Is beyond calculating. We can create elements undreamed of. Superconducting materials. Batteries that last a decade. Solar cells thousands of times more efficient than the ones we have now. But we didn’t build the lattice to make ourselves rich. Catriel Levine has ironclad patents—the rights belong to Technion…and…”
“To the Mishmar,” Kristall interrupted. “Enough money to persuade a good many people in high places to, let us say, align themselves with your way of thinking?”
“The Jewish people need the Temple, and we will do whatever we can—legally—to bring it about.”
Kristall shook her head wearily. “Dr. Halevy, the Israeli people don’t want the Temple. Ninety percent of us are secular. All we ask for is a little peace, to live our own lives and let our neighbors live theirs. People like you disturb our peace. You scratch at old wounds until they bleed and turn septic. In August somebody fired a rocket at Al-Aqsa and nearly brought the wrath of twenty Islamic nations down on us.”
“Others would come to our aid. America.”
“Doctor, now you’re making me laugh.”
“And God.”
Kristall put out her cigarette and stood. She was tired of this. She
