Blowback

“The best example I can think of, especially because it demonstrates his penchant for venomous snakes, happened sometime around 190 B.C. Severely outnumbered by the Pergamum navy, Hannibal sent men ashore to gather as many poisonous snakes as they could. They sealed them in clay jars, and when the Pergamum ships were within range, Hannibal ’s men catapulted the jars onto the enemy’s decks. The jars shattered and sent the snakes in every direction, forcing the Pergamum sailors to abandon ship and giving Hannibal a decisive victory over a much larger foe.

“If Carthage had developed contact with India, and from what we know of Hannibal ’s aggressive pursuit of biological weapons, this all might fit together quite logically,” said Vanessa.

“Well, I see a very obvious connection here,” replied Jillian. “Whoever wore this breastplate had to be wielding a weapon of some sort that used Azemiops feae venom.”

“I agree with you about there being a connection,” said Harvath, “but how can you tell that whoever was wearing the breastplate was using a weapon that incorporated our venom?”

Vanessa could see what Jillian was driving at. “Both the depiction of the wolf and the Azemiops feae vipers on the breastplate were meant as scare tactics. The ancients believed very strongly in the power of psychological warfare. Some were even known to carry banners into battle advertising the types of poison they would be using against their enemies.”

“So you think the breastplates were an advertisement?”

“Most definitely,” replied Vanessa, “and let me tell you why. Are you familiar with the Scythians and their archers?”

“Jillian mentioned them.”

Vanessa drew a quick picture on her pad and turned it around so Harvath could see it. “The shafts of the Scythians’ arrows were painstakingly painted to look like the snake from which the venom was taken. Even if one of these arrows simply landed next to you, the psychological effect would be enormous. It’s hard to believe, from a modern perspective, but these techniques absolutely terrorized opposing armies.

“Tactics like these were in widespread use hundreds of years before Hannibal. It’s reasonable to assume he would have employed them as well. He was an extremely cunning warrior. We have to imagine he would have used every advantage to overwhelm his enemies.”

“I agree,” replied Harvath. “Everything you’re suggesting is completely in keeping with Hannibal ’s character. But where I’m getting lost is with this weapon of unimaginable destruction. I’ve read a lot about Carthage, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“Not many people have. That’s probably because everything we know about Hannibal comes from his enemies, the Romans. Once the Romans conquered Carthage, they carried out something they called the Carthage solution. They absolutely decimated the country, sold most of its people into slavery, burned all of Carthage’s libraries, and then, as a final assurance that the Carthaginians would never return to threaten Rome again, sowed every inch of soil with salt.

“When it comes to accounts of Hannibal and Carthage, Polybius was regarded as the most reliable of Roman historians, followed by Livy, who was born one hundred fifty years after Hannibal ’s march across the Alps. But what a lot of people don’t know is that there were actually two Greeks, war correspondents if you will, who were embedded with Hannibal during his march on Rome. One was named Sosilos, who wrote Hannibal ’s biography, and another was named Silenus. Sosilos stuck to Hannibal like glue, studying the general’s every move, while Silenus, who was proficient in several languages, spent a lot of time among Hannibal ’s various troops.”

“And one of these Greek war correspondents made mention of this weapon of unimaginable destruction?”

“Yes, Silenus did, as well as the crest on the breastplates worn by Hannibal ’s elite guard.”

“So where is this Silenus reference? Maybe we can learn something more from it?”

“That’s the problem,” said Vanessa. “No one in modern civilization has ever seen it. The original was said to have been lost when the Library of Alexandria was sacked in 640 A.D. by Muslims under the Caliph Umar I.”

“Any idea how long the breastplate has been in Dr. Davidson’s possession?”

“Her e-mail doesn’t say, but the fact that she referred to it as coming from a new client makes me think it can’t have been that long.”

Harvath was quiet for several moments as he pondered what their next move should be.

“What are you thinking?” asked Jillian.

“I think we need to get a look at that breastplate.”

“And what exactly do you expect to glean from it that a foremost expert in the field hasn’t been able to already?”

Harvath went back to the small Formica table and began gathering up his notes. “May I take these with me?” he asked Vanessa, as he motioned to a reference book and the stack of documents she had printed out for him.

“Of course you may,” she replied.

“Scot,” interrupted Jillian. “You haven’t answered my question.”