Replay - The Secret of the Pyramids - 6. Chapter 6

Jahna came out from the kitchen, carrying the main course. The bull we slew had been turned into a flavorsome roast, now resting on a silver platter in her arms.

“Out of the way! Why are you standing here like an idiot? Shall the guests die of thirst?”

Well, given the amount of wine already consumed, that danger was rather low. I made room for her to pass, which was harder than I thought in the narrow corridor. Both because of the dimensions of the plate and the dimensions of its carrier. Anyways, I did have obligations to meet, so I quickly fetched the next bottle and returned to duty.

Entering the large reception room, I was immediately beckoned by an impatient guest. As I was about to fill up his glass, Elisa chimed in again. What was it now? Did I perhaps violate some EU directive about safe sex?

“Dr. Marten, I have received a message from base. Dr. Bolzano is requesting a video conference.”

I almost dropped the poor man’s glass in his lap, catching it at the last moment. A few drops still made it on to his clothes. He started to complain, but I didn’t listen. I hurried back towards the kitchen, but turned left in the corridor, heading down the stairs to the basement. This would give me a few moments of peace to take the call from Dr. Bolzano. I instructed Elisa to establish the connection. The viewport opened and Lisa’s face greeted me from across time.

“Hello Lisa, how are you all?”

“Hi Phillip, that’s something I should rather ask you.”

“I’m doing good. I really can’t complain too much. I’m still working as a servant, although there has been an interesting turn of events… but I don’t want to bore you with details. How about you tell me whether you’ve made any progress? I hope that’s why you’re calling. Is it?”

“It is indeed, Phil.” Her gaze briefly wandered to someone outside my view. “Normally, you wouldn’t have survived such a huge deviation in time. The probability is less than two percent. You should have appeared somewhere in deep space. But, thank god, you are alive! And that’s exactly the point where we focused our research.”

Nothing new so far. Although hearing it out loud sent a shiver down my spine.

“And we did find something. At the moment of your departure, the sensors picked up a strange carrier wave in the space-time fold. We didn’t notice it at first, because the signature was very weak and shadowed by the emissions of our generators.

Here comes the weirdest part, though. That carrier wave has an astonishing resemblance to the traceback ping your TTEK sends for us to determine your exact position. We believe that through interference with that wave, the space-time tunnel was redirected to the wave’s source. In time as well as in space.

It’s not a coincidence you’re stranded there. Something, or someone, led you there – whether on purpose or not we can’t tell. However, we were able to trace back the signal’s origin. It was sent from the vicinity of what is the city of Cairo today. There isn’t a settlement there yet, not in your time. The nearest town would be Memphis, twelve miles away.”

My mind was spinning. So it wasn’t a coincidence! Was I brought here on purpose, by a foreign intelligence?

“That’s incredible, Lisa! Whatever caused that signal, it sure wasn’t the locals here. Perhaps there is merit to the rumors that the pyramids were actually built by aliens? I must get to Memphis, and see what I can find there. Maybe I can shed some light on what happened.”

Lisa smirked. “Aliens… Phil, your mind always jumps to the extreme. But whatever it was, Memphis is your best bet to find out more.”

I knew where that place was because I’d been there. Cairo, the capital of modern Egypt, was on every traveler’s wish list. After all, it was home to the pyramids of Gizeh, one of the seven wonders of the world.

“Is there anything else I should know?” I asked Lisa.

“No, that’s all we've got for now. But…”

“But what?” I insisted.

“As you certainly know, the power of our system isn’t enough to transport you home from such a distant time. Of course, we could extend its capacity – ” She exchanged another glance with someone off-screen. “And we will. As quickly as possible. But, that could take many years.”

I swallowed. Clearly, I wouldn’t get back home soon. I knew that before Lisa’s explanation. Still, as long as no one said it out loud, a glimmer of hope had remained. Years, she said…

“I know, Lisa. I will get by. I'll just have to make the most of it. The people here seem really nice. And look at it this way, we’ll learn a lot about ancient Egypt. Our knowledge of that era is sketchy, so the historians will be overjoyed.”

“Okay, Phillip. Just be careful out there.”

I nodded, having forgotten they couldn’t see me. Someone said something to Lisa on the other end.

“Oh, and the whole team sends warm regards. And Dr. Carrol told me to relay that you should collect a few pieces of ancient Egyptian clothing. For his collection.”

I had a good laugh. Everything would be alright if I could stay in contact with my colleagues and friends at home.

“Alright Lisa, I have to go now. Send my love to my family and tell them I’m fine.”

“I will. Take care!”

After her goodbye, the connection was closed. I started to consider the unexpected news and this new angle on things. Though I had to postpone pondering for now. I had been down here for quite a while. Too many guests would be able to see the bottom of their glasses already.

---

It was half an hour before midnight when the last visitors had left – in questionable condition, judging by their unsteady steps. At last, I also got my share of the meal. I was able to secure a good piece of bull from the kitchen, just as the cook herself was about to devour it. Manu had already gone to bed. I was pretty exhausted, too, so I headed to the bedroom as well after I was done in the bathroom. That I could use of course due to my status as my master’s secret lover – as long as his wife didn’t notice. I was about to lie down in the vestibule when Manu called me.

“Ameniu, what are you doing down there?” He sneered. “The bed’s much comfier. And there’s even room for two if we snuggle together.”

He didn’t need to ask twice. I jumped up from the floor and lied down next to him, making sure to cuddle up to him nice and close. What a wonderful feeling.

He kissed me on the mouth. “Rest well, Ameniu. I like you.”

Fuck. I longed to tell him that I liked him too. Instead, I had to make do with returning the kiss deeply.

It couldn’t go on like this. How, for example, should I explain to him that I needed to travel to Memphis? A hard endeavor even if I had been able to talk to him. A lost one without speech. Whatever. I was too tired now to give it anymore thought. After a while I fell asleep, feeling only the warm comfort of Manu’s body next to mine.

I woke up early, when it was still dark in the room. It was 4:37 AM to be exact, as I read in Elisa’s morning report. Although I couldn’t sleep anymore, I stayed in bed so I wouldn’t disturb Manu by getting up. At least he should get some well-deserved sleep. Besides, I had some thinking to do. A pressing issue needed to be tackled. I had to get to Memphis. Not exactly an easy feat, given that engines had not been invented yet and it was over 300 miles from Thebes, where I was now. But there must be a way! And Manu would know it. Didn’t he mention the other day that he’d love to travel? Perhaps I could convince him to make the journey with me?

Okay, this wasn’t just one issue, it was a whole clusterfuck of issues. And the key to all of it was to be able to talk to him about it. I didn’t have a choice. I had to give up playing the mute. Making it work shouldn’t be too much of a challenge. I would silently dictate what I wanted to say to Elisa and she’d display the translation. Though I would probably have to practice a little to get the pronunciation right. The much bigger challenge, however, was to explain to Manu why I had lied to him the whole time, pretending to be mute. That, he might be upset about, and I couldn't blame him.

I decided to get up regardless. Carefully, I slipped away from the cute Egyptian who was still sleeping soundly. I got out of bed and made my way up to the roof.

“Elisa, translate all words I form without speaking them aloud into the local language unless they are directed to you. Then, display the translation to me in phonetic spelling.”

Alright. Let’s give this a try.

“I need to travel to Memphis” was the first sentence I tried. Promptly, the translation appeared. Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize half of the letters, making me realize I didn’t know a damn thing about the phonetic alphabet. So I had to try something different. Of course, I could have learned the phonetic alphabet first, but that would have taken too long.

“Instead of the phonetic spelling use the best fitting English letters.”

Okay, let’s give it another shot. I repeated the sentence. This time I was familiar with all the letters and able to read back the sentence. Asked about the correctness of my pronunciation Elisa replied: “sixty-seven percent accurate”. Still room for improvement, I guess.

---

Eighty-two percent. That was as close as I got after spending the next two hours practicing. Not too bad, if you ask me. I was just trying to beat that score when Elisa interrupted me.

“Attention, a person is approaching your position.”

As soon as she finished the sentence, Manu appeared from downstairs.

“Ah, here you are, Ameniu. I thought I heard something up here.” He threw me a warm smile.

“I’ve ordered breakfast for us. My wife usually eats breakfast at her friend’s house, so they can chat about the latest gossip. Come, let’s sit here together.”

I tried not to look like a child that was just caught doing something naughty, shrugged my shoulders, and sat down next to him. I couldn’t do it now. No, first I needed to gather my strength through a good meal. Manu had the day already planned out for us, telling me all about it whilst he was chewing away. Besides the usual porridge-like mush, the maid served grapes and dates.

“I need to go to court this noon. You’ll come, too, and I’ll show you around. After that, we can take a stroll through the city or along the river. What do you think?”

I replied with an erratic nod.

He tilted his head sideways and looked at me. “Are you alright, Ameniu? You’ve got that pensive look today.” He sighed. “If only you could talk to me.”

That was my cue. Now or never. I swallowed hard, trying not to get the grape I just ate stuck in my throat. I cleared my throat and blushed. Normally when you’re about to discuss a sensitive topic you might say something along the lines of “listen, I need to talk to you about something important…” In this case, however, it didn’t matter what I said. The first word out of my mouth would reveal the secret.

“Manu, I’m so sorry to not have told you earlier. I can speak. Not mute.” The words sputtered out of my mouth, ignoring all pronunciation training. My heart was pounding. As soon as I spoke the first word, Manu took a sharp breath. His eyes widened.

After my confession, I remained silent. It was his turn to say something. His expression turned from surprise to irritation. He shook his head.

“And you’re telling me now? Why not right away!? It would have made everything so much easier.”

Well, why didn’t I? In retrospect, it would have been best. But it just was more convenient back then. It spared me from having to answer inconvenient questions. I decided to stick with the truth as much as possible.

“We didn’t know each other back then, Manu.” … “I didn’t know yet how you would treat me.” … “Not to mention what happened yesterday between us.”

It would take a while for me to get used to this odd way of speaking.

“And because I didn’t need to talk, I couldn’t say anything wrong. Later, I indeed wished to be able to talk to you. Yet, it was too late to change course. But now that we…”

Embarrassed I looked down at the floor. Then something better came to mind.

“I like you a lot, Manu.” I gazed into his eyes seeking a hint of forgiveness. And indeed, his expression softened. Anger faded into a smile.

“With your appalling accent, it’s no wonder you didn’t dare speak. I think I forgive you.”

Now, he seemed to get more excited by the second. “We can finally talk about so many things! I don’t even know where to start.”

I let out a sigh of relief, although I feared the coming surge of questions.

“What do you think of Jahna, by the way?” he asked. “My wife brought her over from her parent’s household.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I find her a little bossy.”

He laughed, nodding his head in agreement. “Yes, she is. But deep down I think she only means well.”

Somehow that reminded me of the assurances of some dog owners that their snarling monster just wanted to play.

“And yesterday during the hunt, you know you saved me and all, and I’m very grateful” – he gave me a kiss – “ but bow and arrow weren’t your strengths, were they? Are you not hunting where you are from?”

This was exactly the kind of question I had tried to avoid.

“Ehm, yes. We do.”

He tilted his head, not satisfied with my explanation, or lack thereof.

“Well, we do hunt. It just isn’t a sport like it is here. There are hunters whose job it is to hunt and others just buy the meat from them.”

That sounded plausible.

“I see. Sounds interesting. But also boring.”

Deep down I felt bad having to come up with these lies and tales. But there wasn’t another option, was there? The truth would have sounded too far fetched to him. He’d perhaps ostracize me.

I also remembered the ATR codex. It prohibited the time traveler from having close contact with locals, so as to have as little influence on their world as possible. Of course, I wasn’t able to adhere to this rule due to my precarious situation. And to be honest, my little shower adventure yesterday broke all rules anyways.

Manu’s stream of questions was long from being over, so I tried to slow him down a little.

“All that talking is quite draining for me, Manu. Please don’t ask so many questions at once.”

I threw him a disarming smile. “Also, I need to discuss something important with you.”

He looked at me with anticipation.

“I need to travel to Memphis.” Now the cat was out of the bag.

He looked puzzled for a moment, only to ask the inevitable question: “Why?”

It would have been foolish to tell him my wish without having prepared an answer to this crucial question. Apart from speaking practice, I spent the last two hours coming up with a suitable story.

“Remember I told you how I was stranded here with my ship? We dropped one of us off in Memphis. He was to take care of some trade business. On the way back, we were supposed to pick him up again. I need to go there to find him and tell him about the fate of our ship.”

That was the best story I could come up with. I sure hoped he would buy it.

“Well… wouldn’t it be enough to send a messenger then?”

Manu, you're a hard nut to crack, come on take the bait.

“That wouldn’t work. A messenger wouldn’t know what the man looks like. And even if he found him, the sailor wouldn’t simply believe a mere messenger.”

Manu pondered for a while. Then he nodded, more to himself than to me. “In that case, I’d say start packing already!”

He was all smiles. So was I.

“To be honest, Ameniu, I always wanted to do a journey like that. The farthest I’ve been from here is the next small town. It’s gonna be great! Just the two of us!”

What thrilled me the most, was that not only would he help me make the journey, he’d also come along. Appealing to his desire to travel, which he had admitted earlier, was a good strategy. And it worked. I doubted it would be that great a journey, but for someone who has never left home, it should be an adventure. If he had wanted, he certainly could have found more arguments against it. For instance, I could have written a letter for the messenger to deliver that contained information only I and my fictitious comrade knew. Anyway, I was happy Manu agreed in the end.

“I still need to go to court today to close my current case. Then, I will take leave for a couple of weeks. And my wife, well… we’ll tell her it’s a business trip.”

A business trip would sound plausible. Memphis was along with Thebes the most important city of Ancient Egypt. It wasn’t far from what is called Cairo and its suburb Gizeh in my time.

Manu got up, leaving the last fruits on his plate uneaten. “I’ll be on my way then, Ameniu. So I can set our plans into motion before I have to go to court at noon. I think we’ll travel by ship. That will be the fastest. My father surely knows a shipowner or two, I’ll go ask him.”

Manu was really all for it. I wouldn’t have thought that he’d want to leave immediately, but that was all right with me, of course. The longer it took to get there, the lower the chance of finding a trace – of whatever there was to find.

---

After Manu left I was wandering around slightly unsettled. He had told me to start packing. However, with my limited knowledge of this time I hadn’t yet accumulated much. The small stack of things contained my undershirt, a bunch of those standard white loincloths, and a map of the country, scavenged from Manu’s study. Not that I needed a map to navigate, but it seemed logical to pack one. Then I ran out of ideas. Elisa, however, had a few things to add to my packing list. First and foremost, she warned me to carry enough drinking water. The Nile’s brackish broth wasn’t potable at all. Even bathing in it was not recommended.

She had a few other similar suggestions, but executing them was beyond my purview. I would have to instruct Jahna on those, something which would require revealing my newfound faculty of speech to her – and therefore everyone else in this house. I thought it would be better to keep this between Manu and me. Especially, I thought his wife, Naha, didn’t need to know. So I decided to leave any further preparations for Manu. Also because I didn’t know how fast he’d be able to organize a ship for us. Perhaps it would be a few days.

It was already late afternoon and I expected him to return at any minute. As I heard someone coming up the stairs, I turned around in expectation. The person, though, who entered the small living room on the second floor wasn’t Manu. It was Naha. She had apparently just arrived back from the city. She eyed me critically. I hurried to welcome her with the appropriate bow and stepped aside. Yet, she didn’t move, her gaze resting on the stack of clothes.

She sneered. “What’s that supposed to be? Are you rearranging Manu’s shelves?”

She came a step closer. “And what’s that papyrus… ah, the old map. A valuable heirloom from his grandfather.”

Suddenly she stopped short, squinting her eyes. “You didn’t intend to steal it, did you?”

I shook my head fiercely.

Ignoring my gesture, Naha stepped past me and continued chattily. “Well, I’m going to freshen up in the bathroom now and don’t want to be disturbed.”

Apparently, she didn’t really think I was stealing anything. She was just having a dig at me. Don’t you worry, girl, I said to myself. I would be wary of entering a room you are in, voluntarily. I proceeded to move what I’d packed so far from the living room into Manu’s bedroom. No need for her to find out our plans ahead of time.

Once again, there were steps coming from downstairs. This time it was Manu. He approached me beaming with joy.

“I’m back and I bring good news!”

He wanted to embrace me but I didn’t let him. He looked confused for the moment it took me to prepare the sentence: “Your wife is in the bathroom.”

“I see. Then we’ll go up and sit on the roof terrace. I’ve already told Jahna to have some food prepared.”

No sooner said than done. After we’ve plopped down on the comfy pillows under the shading cloth, Manu started to talk.

“I asked my father for advice regarding the ship. He, in turn, talked to his brother, a scribe for the royal merchants. It turns out that as soon as tomorrow morning a merchant fleet will leave for Memphis. And we may join them. They have enough provisions on board. So we just have to bring our own belongings.”

That was good news indeed. It surprised me that it worked out that quickly. On the other hand, a lot of shipping traffic between the two most important cities of the country was to be expected.

“Didn’t your father ask why you want to visit Memphis?”

“Sure he did.”

“So? What did you tell him?”

Manu smiled, a little embarrassed. “I told him I want to go get some special medicine for my wife.”

“Okay. And he just accepted that?”

“Yes. I told him it’s a tonic to increase fertility. You know Naha isn’t pregnant yet… What my father doesn’t know, however, is that no tonic in the world could change that.”

I thought about that for a moment.

“Does that mean you’re infertile?”

Blushing even more, Manu’s embarrassment increased.

“No, that’s not it. It’s just… I can’t get it up when I’m in bed with her. Seeing her naked turns me off big time.”

I burst out laughting. Not so much because about his erection issue, but thanks to Elisa’s translation. It just sounded funny hearing an Ancient Egyptian use modern colloquial like ‘turns me off big time’. Perhaps she translated that a little too allegorical.

Manu looked at me, furrowing his brow. “I don’t think that’s funny.”

I quickly put on a serious face again, assuring him that I didn’t think it was funny. Sad, rather