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What happened if someone unearthed an artifact?

“We are told to call for Dr Ma, and he comes” The man who spoke was so thin that his belt rapped twice around his waist “Then the others arrive, and they all work together”

Was anyone ever alone with objects that were found in the ground?

“This is a big place, but there are many people and eyes everywhere”

What about at night?

“Everyone goes home”

A man with a shorn head added, “Except for Dr Ma”

“And the vultures,” so “They also sleep here, but they are good men”

This was reement

David backtracked “You’re treated well?”

Someone else in the crowd spoke up “We are peasants We move dirt here, we move dirt on our farms, no difference”

“Do any of you remember Brian McCarthy, the American?”

“He drowned”

“We tell the foreigners to be careful of the river”

“Did he steal things from Site 518?” David asked He felt a subtle shift from curiosity to wariness “What was he interested in, can anyone tellaway David called out after the retreating backs, “What about the other accidents? Your friends Wu, Yun, Sun, and the others?” But by now he stood alone in the mud and rain of Site 518