Replay - The Secret of the Pyramids - 4. Chapter 4

It was already late evening when Manu returned from a session at court. “I will take you with me soon, once you’re settled in here” he assured me.

So I stayed at the house, surveying the surroundings from the roof terrace. Surprisingly, I was able to approach the railing without any warnings from my VI. The heat up here was somewhat bearable as long as you stayed under the shade-offering linen. The heat subsided as it got later anyways. Unfortunately, the linen didn’t reach all the way to the railing. Just as I wanted to retreat back into the shade, I spotted Manu walking around a corner in the distance.

The idea for a little experiment came to mind. I hurried down the three staircases and into the kitchen. As I had hoped, Jahna was there. Sitting in a corner, she had nothing to do at the moment. When I entered, she stood up and gave me a questioning look. Now came the difficult stage of the experiment. I tried to explain to her with my hands that she should prepare our master’s dinner now and serve it on the roof terrace. She followed my gestures with squinted eyes. Finally, it appeared that she understood. Not only that, but she also started to act accordingly, although her wrinkled lips expressed discontent.

The experiment was a success. Apparently, I as the personal servant outranked her. Which was probably why she feared for her supremacy in the kitchen. Well, I truly didn’t intend to dispute this position of her’s. The outcome of my little experiment was interesting but ultimately useless. I couldn’t explain more complicated issues to her anyways, let alone had it made any sense for me.

I returned to the reception room to greet Manu, as it was probably expected from a good personal servant. Entering the room a minute later, his face showed sullenness.

“The excursion tomorrow isn’t going to happen. I’ll have to study some records instead.”

Maybe that wasn’t so bad after all? I could imagine more pleasing activities than returning to the desert. Manu, however, had looked forward to it and was accordingly rather unhappy. Or maybe there was another reason why he pulled such a sad face. I signaled him that I had prepared his dinner on the roof terrace. His face brightened a little.

“Oh, well. Let’s go upstairs then, it really is the most beautiful spot in the evening.”

Arriving upstairs, he sat down on the cushions. Jahna just placed a plate with small open sandwiches on the low table in front of him. Then she bowed out. I was about to do the same when Manu held me back.

“Please sit down with me, Ameniu. I don’t like to eat alone and my wife, well… And you must be hungry, too.”

He didn’t need to ask me twice. I was indeed hungry again, although I hadn’t spent very much energy at all. Probably still some after effects from my time in the desert.

---

I was lying on a mat padded with cushions in the room in front of Manu’s bedroom. He had taken the mat and cushion out of a drawer on the wall and handed them to me. I took quite some time to assemble them into a half-way comfortable bed. Of course, I was a mollycoddled Westerner in that regard. I mean, what else could you expect from someone who spent almost every night of his life in soft, fluffy beds with cuddly blankets.

Speaking of blankets, there wasn’t one. Not that it had been necessary, given it was still seventy-nine degrees Fahrenheit in here. Only, it was a little quirk of mine, or perhaps just habit, but I struggled to fall asleep without one. I felt somehow naked and incomplete.

Kept awake that way, I pondered my current situation. I was stranded in Ancient Egypt with a chance of returning home so small a scanning electron microscope would have searched for it in vain. And I had to work as someone’s servant. That wasn’t the job of my dreams, but I would run with it until a way out of this situation came up. Quite possibly it never would, though…

A feeling of helplessness overcame me. I swallowed. Strictly speaking, I wasn’t too badly off. I was brought into the city as a slave and ended up as a servant for a decent Egyptian. Which was weird itself, but could definitely have been worse. Carrying stones through the desert for the Pharao’s next pyramid, for instance.

If only I could contact Lisa. I was sure she and her team were already working on a solution to get me back home. This reassuring thought in mind, I eventually fell into a shallow slumber.

---

“… up, Dr. Marten. Wake up, Dr. Marten. Wake up…”

I woke with a start. “Yes, I’m awake, Elisa. What’s going on?”

“I’ve received an answer from base. Ready to establish real-time video communication.”

Suddenly I was wide awake. Finally! Even if I had to stay here for the rest of my days, at least I could keep in contact with my home. Quickly and as quiet as possible I stood up and left the room. I hastened up the stairs onto the roof terrace. Out of breath from the sudden exertion, I dropped on the cushions.

“Establish connection!”

Nothing happened for a few seconds. I was about to ask Elisa what was going on when a viewport opened in front of me. Of course, there was nothing physically there. It was just a projection on my visor lenses. I felt like I was standing in front of an old analog TV, given the abundance of white noise that filled the screen. Only slowly the silhouette of a human being emerged. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought Elisa wanted to up the suspense.

The image abruptly increased in contrast and sharpness. The white noise gave way to saturated colors. Dr. Lisa Bolzano looked straight into the camera, her gaze strained and worried.

“Phillip! How are you? What happened? Can this data be true you sent us? Dear god, I was sick with worry!”

All her questions hardly left time for me to answer. But it sure as heck felt incredibly good to hear her voice. It was the only thing connecting me with home. I tried answering as composed as possible.

“Calm down, Lisa. I’m fine. Unharmed and healthy.”

Lisa sighed, her relief was evident. In the background, I saw a lot of familiar faces. Almost the whole team had come together, listening to Lisa’s and my words. Listening only that is because they couldn’t see me. After all, my only camera was integrated into the visor lenses.

“And yes, Lisa, the data is correct. I really am stranded in Ancient Egypt instead of the 19th century. I had hoped you would have an explanation for that.”

“Not yet, but we’re working on it. Since we received Elisa's message we have been trying tirelessly to make contact with you.”

Lisa actually looked worse than I did. I suspected she hadn’t slept since my departure.

“Thanks a lot for doing everything you can. That goes out to everyone involved! But now you guys should really rest up. I’m doing good here and don’t face any imminent danger.” Lisa looked like she wanted to object, but I didn’t let her get a word in. “Tired people overlook things and make mistakes, Lisa. If you go looking for the error tomorrow, you’ll find it three times easier for sure. No discussion.”

“Alright, Phil. You have a point. Is there anything else we can do for you now?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m on my own, 3500 years away.” I felt a little lost and lonely after saying this.

“Don’t worry. We will do everything possible to bring you back home. We have the world’s best scientists here, there will be a way!”

I wasn’t sure whether she was speaking from conviction or hope. It sounded good regardless. Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps on the staircase. “I need to go now, Lisa. Okay? Call back once you figure something out. Elisa will send you a brief report of my experiences so far as well as some photos. The historians will be delighted for certain.”

“Okay, Phil. Be careful out there!”

I nodded – only to realize they couldn’t see it – and closed the connection. The steps had come nearer in the meantime. Someone stepped onto the roof. The moonlight gave away that it was Manu. I startled a little, unsure whether I might get punished for leaving without permission.

“Ah, you’re here,” he said, approaching me. “I just woke up because I had to pee. And I saw you weren’t there anymore.”

I bowed down to apologize.

He laughed. “That wasn’t an accusation. I was just curious.”

He gazed up into the clear sky filled with stars. “I come here, too, whenever I can’t sleep.”

“Do you miss your homeland?”

I nodded several times.

“Ah, I thought so. I couldn’t imagine moving away from here, either. Although I’d really like to travel somewhere. However, that’s not necessary for my job.”

Only now I realized that it was quite cold up here underneath the clear sky. I was even shivering a little, which didn’t go unnoticed.

“You’re cold already. Let’s go back inside. The last thing I need is a sick servant. Also, we need to rest well because tomorrow will be a long day. Family and relatives are coming over for dinner in the evening.”

I nodded in consent. There was nothing left for me to do up here and I actually felt tired.

Back on my makeshift bed, I twisted and turned, trying to find a tolerable position again. I noticed Manu sitting on his bed watching me struggle with a big grin on his face.

“You don’t seem to be used to this kind of accommodation. I wonder where you’ve slept in your home?”

Even without speaking I could answer that question. I decided to be upfront and pointed towards his bed. He raised his eyebrows, replying with genuine regret that he had only one of those. Of course servants didn’t get a nice bed as was customary in this time. Actually, only the wealthy could afford real beds. So I should probably man up instead of being a sissy. At least there would be plenty of time for me to get used to it because I didn’t believe I would be returning very soon.

“Hmm, I know hardly anything about you,” Manu contemplated, resting his chin on his knee.

That very well may be. And it wasn’t necessary for a servant, was it? In this regard I was quite content to pass for a mute, sparing me inconvenient questions about my origin and life. All of a sudden Manu stretched himself out on his belly, resting his chin on his hands.

“I have an idea. I will ask you lots of questions that can be answered either yes or no. That way I just need to come up with the right questions to get to know more about you!”

That didn’t suit me, but it was a good idea. It reminded me of a game from my childhood whose name I couldn't remember right now. One of the players chose a famous person to impersonate. The others had to guess who it was by just asking yes or no questions, which had to be answered truthfully. It appeared I was in a similar position now. Only that I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to stick to the truth.

“Well… That trader I got you from said you came from far north beyond the sea. Is that correct?”

I nodded.

“So you probably arrived here by boat?”

A nod again.

“Okay, but how did you become a slave? Were you a warrior?”

This time I shook my head.

“Or were you shipwrecked?”

That sounded reasonable. I acknowledged with a nod.

“All right, but we’re in the upper part of the country here. That’s more than three hundred miles from the sea. So you must have gotten up here somehow… Did you travel the Nile upstream, perhaps?

I nodded. All in all this question time was going smoother that I would have thought. By posing his questions Manu himself came up with plausible explanations. How convenient.

He changed the topic. “Did you have a family?”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. Of course, I had a family. My parents, for example. Though I had the feeling he rather meant wife and children. So I shook my head.

“How old are you? I’m twenty.”

I flashed both hands twice and then four fingers of my right hand.

“Twenty-four! And you’re not married yet? Though in retrospect that’s good I guess. Otherwise, you had to leave them behind.”

“Tell me, would you like to return to your country?”

For sure I wanted to. I nodded, trying to remain truthful as far as possible. He sat there for a while, pondering something. He looked sad as he began to speak.

“I don’t want you to be unhappy about being here. You could travel back to the shore and take a boat to your country.”

That was an astounding if not outright weird offer. Besides being totally useless to me, I did not expect such generosity and kindness. After all, he had bought me so I could be in his service, hadn’t he? Sadly but decisively I shook my head. Here, I had a roof over my head, something to eat, and some protection. There was no reason for me at the moment to give that up. Manu looked happy about that but became pensive again.

“Is it because you are not allowed to return any more? Maybe because you failed your mission?”

That appeared to be a conclusive explanation. Otherwise, I really couldn’t think of a reason to reject such an offer. So I nodded.

“I’m sorry about that.”

He smiled. “It’s not so bad here, though. Thebes is a nice city, and so are its people – most of them at least.”

My excitement about contacting Lisa had faded and I just felt tired now. I yawned. Manu yawned, too.

He laughed. “I guess we’re both tired. Let’s go to bed now for real.”

I agreed and laid down on the mat again. After pondering this and that for a while, I finally fell asleep again.

Waking up the next morning, I noticed the sun had already peeked through the small window in Manu’s bedroom. The owner of the room, however, wasn’t inside anymore. I suppose a good servant should get up before his master, or at the very least not later than him. Yet, I did notice that he took liberties with my duties and was rather lax. I wasn’t sure, though, whether that was a personal quality of his or a trait common to Ancient Egyptians.

I got up, adjusting the meager clothing I wore. What a pity that there was no mirror here, which made it more difficult than it should be to get my hair in order. Wait, there was one in the bathroom, I remembered. It was probably not usual for a servant to use it, but surely Manu wouldn’t mind.

After a short visit to the bathroom where I sorted my hair rough and ready, I went in search of Manu. My first guess was the roof terrace, but he wasn’t there. So I tried the garden. Indeed, there he was, sitting in the same spot as yesterday for lunch. I caught myself checking my breath before stepping outside. What a pity I couldn’t brush my teeth here. Perhaps they should take the ‘essentials kit’ in TTEK more literally next time.

“Ameniu! There he is, the late riser” Manu said.

Actually, I believed I was an early riser, given that it was only eight in the morning.

“I’ve been sitting here for half an hour already. I’ve just finished breakfast. And Naha has left as well, she went downtown. You know, I usually get up at half past seven. But I didn’t want to wake you. You didn’t get much sleep. And that was my fault, after all.”

I waved him off. Getting little sleep had been the norm in the last few months.

“Go to the kitchen, eat something first. You’ll find me in the study afterwards.” He sighed. “There are a lot of files I need to search.”

I did as I was told and went to the kitchen. Jahna wasn’t there, which was good. Instead, the two cooks I got to know yesterday were on duty. They didn’t take much notice of me, so I put something together myself. I found a pot with freshly-made mush, which Elisa identified as barley mush. I put some of it in a bowl, topping it with a few berries. You can’t call it a delicacy, but it was filling and didn’t taste too bad. It took some getting used to, however, to eat mush without any cutlery, just my fingers. After emptying the bowl, I made my way to Manu’s study.

I found him sitting at the table. He leaned over a scroll. I stepped forward, taking a closer look at the symbols. They weren’t hieroglyphs, they were a kind of cursive handwriting called hieratic. The cumbersome hieroglyphs were reserved for religious ornaments.

“Ah, there you are. I guess I will be busy for a while. My father’s current case requires me to go through a lot of old case files. It’s an alimony suit. However, there is a strong suspicion that the woman was unfaithful. So now I need to search all old cases for precedent. My father remembers something, but he can’t think of the judge’s name anymore. And that is, unfortunately, what the papyri are ordered by. Which means I need to go through about three hundred scrolls now.”

A stack of them was already on the table.

“When I’m done with those, you can put them back and fetch the next batch.”

I pulled up a chair and sat down. It felt good to have a real piece of furniture under me once again. Although those cushion padded mats were reasonably comfy, they were much lower than I was used to for sitting or lying on for extended periods of time.

I was curious about the cases they tried at Manu’s court, so I took a scroll from the stack and unreeled it a little. Even without asking for it, Elisa understood that I wanted to read it. She displayed the respective translation above each line. I skimmed the title and the first few paragraphs. That case was about a burglar who broke into the house of someone named Pathotep. Surely not what Manu was looking for. Closing the scroll, I noticed Manu staring at me.

“Can you read, Ameniu?!”

Oh, I should have thought of that. Well, why hide the truth? It wasn’t a disgrace to be able to read, was it? So I nodded.

“That’s just awesome!” He clearly was happy about my newfound ability. “Ameniu, I couldn’t have found a better servant than you.”

Somehow I felt genuinely flattered by that compliment.

“It’ll be much faster this way. We’ll go through the scrolls together. And if you find one with a matching subject, you’ll give it to me.”

I nodded happily. Finally, there was something useful I could do for my savior. Yes, a savior he was because without him I’d still be in the clutches of those slave traders, or worse.

Scroll by scroll, stack by stack we worked through all the judicial wish-wash. In theory, I could have sped up the process even further. Instead of reading the first paragraphs myself, Elisa could have interpreted what it was about, deciding in a fraction of a second whether or not it was relevant. That was out of the question, though. Manu could have thought that I don’t actually read the scrolls. Besides, it was interesting to know with what cases Egyptian judiciary had to struggle. Their justice system must have been well-developed.

At two in the afternoon, five hours later, all papyri had been screened. Only for lunch we took a short break. In total, our search yielded three documents that Manu wanted to bring to his father tomorrow.

“Whew! We made it. And it’s only two o’clock. I expect the guests no earlier than five. So plenty of time to do what I originally planned. We’re going on a hunt!”

That idea didn’t excite me very much. Manu, however, was looking forward to it. And that rubbed off on me, too. A little, at least.