Colonel Wu appeared unconvinced, but nevertheless waved Zan into the isolation chamber. The soldiers parted to let him through. He cautiously approached the watching giant, speaking to him in his own language. The Nephilim’s expression was equally wary, but he took the proffered water, sniffing it before gulping it down.

That seemed to be the ice-breaker. The tall man returned to the sarcophagus and sat upon its end, holding out a hand in a clear gesture: more. Zan bowed his head and hurried back out to bring him two more cups. A short exchange followed, the Nephilim giving the observers a look of assessment before concluding.

Zan emerged, face filled with nervous enthusiasm. ‘I’ve spoken to him!’ he announced proudly.

Wu was unimpressed. ‘Yes, we saw.’

‘What did he say?’ asked Hui.

‘His name is Gadreel. He is the leader of the Nephilim!’

‘Gadreel?’ said Nina, just as Hui echoed the name with equal surprise. ‘That’s a biblical name!’

‘Well, you said the Nephilim are from the Bible,’ Eddie pointed out.

‘From Enoch,’ said Hui. ‘One of the non-canonical books. It describes the fall of the angels who copulated with humans to create the Nephilim, the giants.’

‘You’ve done your research,’ said Nina.

‘As soon as it became clear that this race called itself the Nephilim, we collected as much information and folklore about them as we could. Most of it came from the Old Testament of the Jews, even those parts that became apocryphal.’ Hui gave the being beyond the glass a quizzical look. ‘But the biblical Gadreel was not one of the Nephilim – they were the offspring. He was an angel, one of those responsible for their creation.’

‘The story might have become garbled over time,’ suggested Nina. ‘In this case, a very, very long time. I’ve seen it before – with Atlantis, for one. The myths that led me to it were distorted versions of the true history.’

‘I’d say it was like a game of Chinese whispers, but I don’t want you to think I’m racist,’ Eddie said with a grin.

Hui gave him a puzzled look. Cheng explained in Mandarin. ‘Ah, yes; we call it geese to geese,’ she told the Englishman.

‘It’s telephone in America,’ said Nina, ‘but whatever it’s called, it would explain it.’

She was about to describe how Abrahamic religious lore had been based upon the history of the Veteres when Colonel Wu interrupted. ‘He must be questioned.’

The translator nodded in response to the officer’s further instructions, then went back to his laptop and began a new exchange with Gadreel. This was less straightforward than before, Zan occasionally appearing confused and rephrasing his words. ‘What’s wrong?’ Nina asked, seeing flashing question marks in the computer’s translations.

‘We translated all the records we found,’ explained Hui, ‘but he is using words we do not know.’

‘He looks worried,’ said Macy. ‘Maybe he’s asking for help?’