Replay - The Secret of the Pyramids - 9. Chapter 9

“Safe travels! But be back in time for dinner, will you?” Shani shouted, watching us ride away on the cart.

Manu rolled his eyes. “It’s good I don’t actually live here.”

I had to laugh. “You should be happy to have such a caring mother-in-law. They can be very different, you know.”

We were rolling through the streets at a leisurely pace. I was content sitting up on the cart, as opposed to traversing the city on foot. Not only did it shield us from the sun, it also protected us from thieves. Hopefully.

It wasn’t long until we passed the city walls. There were cottages and fields for a while and after that only desert. The air was quite dry today.

Manu looked at the horizon. “I hope we don’t get a sandstorm.”

I hoped so, too. How could I find something I didn’t even know what it looked like if a sandstorm took away any visibility.

“It’s not far now,” the driver shouted.

The pyramids were indeed visible in the distance, growing from minute to minute. In front of them, perhaps a hundred yards from us, there was a small settlement. I guessed it was used by people working at the pyramids. Maybe they had some kind of religious duty, or maybe it was simply for maintenance.

We hadn’t quite reached the settlement yet when the visibility dropped dramatically. The wind picked up, blowing dust in our faces.

Manu cursed. “Damn it! There it is, the sandstorm. Here, cover your mouth and nose with this cloth.”

That was a good idea. I took the cloth, tieing it together at the back of my head. Visibility had dropped to just a few feet in the meantime. The pyramids had disappeared completely behind a layer of sand. I wouldn’t even have noticed our arrival at the small settlement if we hadn’t passed one of the buildings.

Manu turned toward me. “I think we should seek refuge in the basement of one of the houses and wait it out.”

I agreed. “Yes, that’s probably best.”

My eyes were awfully itchy. I rubbed them, but that only made it worse. The sand apparently didn’t go well with my contact lenses. I tried to take them out, which was easier said than done. For a moment, I thought I held them between my fingers but I was wrong.

“Ameniu, are you coming? We can find shelter in this house. The owner is so kind as to permit us entrance.”

I hurried to catch up to Manu. We entered the house where the owner led us down into the basement. His wife and children were already hunkering down there. The basement was the safest place to be because the ground floor wasn’t protected from the storm very well. Window glass wasn’t invented yet and the wooden shutters they used weren’t exactly airtight.

“System error #134 – Connection to visor lenses lost.”

Fuck! That couldn’t be true. What an idiot I was. As I was trying to take them out, I must have lost the lenses. And there was no chance I would be able to find them again after that storm.

I buried my face in my hands. I guess I had to be even more tight-lipped from now on. Elisa would have to read out the translation of what I wanted to say so I could parrot her.

“Don’t you worry, Ameniu. This happens often here. It won’t last much longer than an hour.”

Manu must have picked up my anxiety, thinking it was due to the sandstorm. He was sitting next to me with his back to the wall, smiling at me. I smiled back at him. I really had been incredibly lucky to have met him. Who knew where I would have been by now without him – and whether I would still be alive. Also, he was always so caring and really cute. The way he smiled was just gorgeous.

Phillip, are you in love? Well… I might be.

My amorous thoughts were harshly interrupted by Elisa’s voice in my ear.

“Dr. Marten, the foreign energy signature is much stronger in this area. I can now determine its position within an accuracy of a few feet. It is moving directly toward you.”

Good thing I was already sitting on the floor. Otherwise, my legs would have turned to jelly for sure. That could not be a coincidence. The signal was moving directly toward me. Whatever or whoever it was, it knew I was here. It could probably locate the TTEK’s energy signature just as I could locate its own.

My heart was in my mouth. What should I do now? Was I about to make contact with an alien lifeform? And, more importantly, would it be a peaceful encounter or not? I absolutely had to avoid meeting it down here. There was no escape route from this basement. And I certainly didn’t want to drag Manu into this, perhaps even risking him getting hurt.

I hastily prepared a sentence. “Manu, I need to step outside for a moment. Whatever happens, stay here!”

Without waiting for a response, I rushed up the stairs and stepped outside into the sandstorm.

“How far is the signal now?”

“Less than thirty feet at your eleven o'clock.”

Visibility was dreadful. I stared in the given direction but couldn’t make out anything.

“The energy level has suddenly…”

Before Elisa could finish her sentence, there was a loud bang. A bright flash of light zipped through the air, hitting my chest.

I screamed.

It felt as if I had been hit by a truck. The impact threw me back a dozen feet, forcing all air out of my lungs. I hit the sand hard. My ribs hurting badly.

“Medical report. No fractures or bruises. Light burns. Injecting nanobots for tissue regeneration.

Tactical report. Assault by a high energy weapon. Strong kinetic and thermic effect.”

That much I noticed. My protective shirt had luckily absorbed most of it. Where the beam had hit, the fabric became stiff and black. Apparently, the nano-compound melted, rendering it useless. It was unclear whether I could survive another hit.

I rolled on my belly, scouting the environment. There was a house just a few feet away. I crawled behind it as fast as I could, seeking cover.

“Where is the enemy now?”

“Directly on the other side of this building. It is now approaching clockwise.”

Damn it! I picked myself up and started to walk around the building clockwise as well. For sure my opponent would see through that strategy rather quickly but it was all that came to mind on the fly.

“Ameniu, where are you? Is everything ok? I heard a scream.”

It was already bad enough! And now Manu came outside. After the alien was done with me, it would come after him. I had to protect him! I sprinted toward the opposite building, in front of which I made out Manu’s silhouette.

“Go back down! It's too dangerous!” That was all I scrambled together in a few seconds.

Manu just looked at me, not understanding.

“Caution, behind you!”

I turned in a heartbeat, positioning myself in front of Manu. I noticed a shadow through the sandstorm, closing in on us.

“What do you want from me?!” I shouted.

The dust set slightly, revealing what was approaching us. I took a sharp breath. Good Lord! It was not an alien. It was a human being!

The attacker stopped in his tracks. He stared at me, blinking as if he had seen a ghost. I must have stared back the same way. He suddenly started to tremble, spluttering a few words. “I… this…”

Wait! These were English words. Some weird accent but it was certainly English. He dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands. In fact, he began to sob.

What the fuck had I gotten myself into?

Manu was standing behind me, looking the strange person over critically. I did the same. Because he had buried his face in his hands, I only saw the shoulder-length blond hair. He had to be about my age. His clothing was quite peculiar. He was wearing some kind of whole-body suit that reminded me of a diver’s wetsuit. For sure it had a different purpose though, not only because water to swim in was rather sparse here. He was also carrying a flat rectangular container on his back. And there was something looking like a weapon fixed to his right wrist. Probably the one he had almost killed me with.

However, I no longer had the impression that he wanted to finish said job. So I approached him.

“Everything ok with you?” I asked.

That sounded bizarre. I was asking a guy who wanted to kill me just a few seconds before if everything was ok with him. He looked up to me. His face was dirty.

“I’m so sorry,” he started. “I thought you were an alien. Bloody hell… I almost killed a human being. I have never killed anyone.”

So that was why he shot at me immediately. Because he thought I was an alien? What an irony. I thought he was one. Still, either the boy was xenophobic or there was more to this story.

Anyway, there were more important questions right now. “Who are you?” I asked.

He had picked up some courage again and got up.

“My name is Keith. I’m a scout for the Planetary Alliance. And who are you?”

“I’m Ameni… Phillip Marten from the ATR project.”

“ATR? Never heard of that.”

Neither had I heard of this ‘Planetary Alliance’.

“Wait a moment. Where are you from?” I asked. “Because I strongly suspect you’re not from here, are you?”

He laughed. “Of course not. I’m from the year 2321, just like you.”

“Well… no. I come from 2086.”

He released a sharp breath. Did I say something wrong?

“But that is incredible. Do you know how small the probability is that in the myriad of parallel universes we coincidentially end up in the same one? It’s so minuscule it would take a minute to read out all the zeros after the dot. In other words, it’s impossible. That’s why I thought you must have followed me from my world.”

And yet it happened. “What do you think of that, Elisa?” I asked her silently.

“The given probability is indeed low. Therefore, I conclude that it is not a coincidence. The theories of space-time I am able to compute, however, do not provide an explanation. Thus, it must be an unexplored aspect.”

Or beyond her capabilities, I added. Anyways, I’m sure Lisa would be very interested in all this.

“Yet I am here. And so are you, Keith. Though I still don’t know what you came here for in the first place?”

“As I said, I’m a scout. But you don’t know about that, of course. In our world, aliens called Kerlocks have invaded Earth. We have been at war with them for years now. Although we outnumber them, we are fighting a losing battle. Their technology is several centuries ahead of ours. It’s simply a matter of time until they defeat us, eradicating all human life on earth. It is my task as a scout to search foreign parallel universes in the hope of finding a further developed species that can help us in fighting the Kerlocks.”

I swallowed hard. Wow, that sounded incredibly fascinating yet incredibly sad. Humanity on the brink of extinction? I guess we were very lucky in comparison. Except for that problem with climate change which we still didn’t have under control completely.

“I’m sorry, Keith. I can’t help you with that. We just developed the technology of time travel. To be honest, I’m the first person testing it. Unfortunately, something went wrong. I was supposed to jump to a much later time but I ended up here. We suspect that was because of you.”

He nodded. “Perhaps. But it is because of you that I cannot get out of here.”

“Because of me?”

“Yes. You are broadcasting a space-time signal that is somehow interfering with my trace signal for jumping back. I thought that was intentional and you were a Kerlock that followed me from my time. You know, it happens quite often that they hunt scouts like me.”

I see. Now I got why he had been so trigger-happy earlier.

“He is probably referring to the communication signal I use to contact the base.”

From an engineering perspective, the issue was complex. Practically speaking, however, it was simple. I was here because of him and he couldn’t leave because of me. I explained it to him, expressing my apologies for causing him to be stuck here for so long.

“No, Phillip. I’m the one who has to apologize. But, tell me, how come you are still here? I don’t have a connection like this to my base. The danger a Kerlock could use it to find me is too high. So I’m not blocking your return, am I?”

“That’s correct Keith. However, the problem is that our technology isn’t yet sophisticated enough to facilitate a transfer over such a large time span. So I’m stuck here… like forever.”

Once again the sad truth about my situation sunk in. Keith dropped his gaze. I could see a tear in his left eye. He really was a sentimental guy.

“I’m so sorry, Phillip. It is my fault if you have to spend the rest of your life in this desert.”

“Well, it’s not that terrible, you know. I even found friends here.”

I pointed toward Manu, who had stepped closer in the meantime.

“So this is your teammate?” he asked. “He’s dressed odd, don’t you think? And a little haggard.”

I had to laugh and so did Keith who was apparently able to understand Manu as well. Nonetheless, I owed Manu an answer. And once again he provided an excellent assist.

“Yes, that’s him. And these clothes, you know, are traditional in our country.”

Not a word of that was true. Having to lie to Manu, my cute darling, like that really hurt inside. But I had no choice. The truth was way too far off for him to comprehend.

“I guess he’s right. I do look haggard,” Keith said to me. “I haven’t had anything to eat, apart from stealing something here and there from these houses.”

I really was luckier than him in that regard. Although it did not look like that in the beginning. Strapped to the back of a camel with a one way ticket to slavery hadn’t been the most promising start.

“Why did you travel to such a distant time anyway?” I asked. “I thought you were looking for highly developed civilizations?”

“Of course, but you wouldn’t believe in which periods I have met civilizations before. You can’t extrapolate based on your own world. You have to look at the complete set of all possible parallel universes. I have been in one before where I found a civilization in the industrial age about eight thousand years ago. And in one where apparently no life ever had developed on this planet.”

His eyes were shining when he told me about his travels.

“Wow! That sounds incredibly exciting.”

“It is indeed. However, it is also dangerous. I have to admit, though, it’s good not having to witness the chaos and destruction in my own world all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I never forget what I’m fighting for. It’s just so refreshing to see all these mostly safe and peaceful worlds.”

I got what he meant. If my home had been on the brink of destruction, I would have wanted to get away as well.

“What will you do now?” I asked.

“I will return home. A short stop and then my mission continues. The next world is waiting for me to explore. After all, I’m already way behind schedule and they probably think I’m dead.”

Keith came closer and gave me a hug. “Good luck, Phillip! Here… I’ve got something for you.”

“I am receiving a transmission. It contains scientific data.”

“That is everything my database contains about our space-time technology. It is incomplete because of the potential danger if it were to fall into the Kerlocks’ hands. Still, perhaps it contains something of use to you.”

“Thanks a lot, Keith.”

I was genuinely moved. He barely knew me and yet he trusted me with information like that. Besides, he really looked cute. I could see the soft skin of his cheeks beneath the dirt on his face. I found myself imagining kissing them gently. Hello, Phillip!? Focus please. And don’t forget, you've already got a boyfriend. I quickly glanced over my shoulder at Manu who was still eyeing up Keith with suspicion. Was he jealous already?

I instructed Elisa to forward the received data to base, together with a short report of the recent events. I would contact Lisa in person later. “Then please shut down the communication channel until Keith is gone,” I added.

“Farewell, Phillip. Perhaps we will meet again sometime, who knows.”

I didn’t think so but I sure hoped so. Keith took a few steps back. He then just stood there, waiting for something. I mean… he didn’t want to disappear right here in front of us, did he? Even Manu would not have been able to come up with an explanation for that.

“Ahem, Keith? Would you mind stepping behind one of those houses? I’d really like to avoid scaring the hell out of my friend here.”

“Oh, of course. My fault.” He smiled an apology and disappeared behind a house.

“Where is he going?” Manu asked.

“He will be returning back home. Which he can do. Unlike me.” The best thing about this answer was that it was one hundred percent true.

Manu placed his hand on my shoulder. “You don’t seem that happy about it, Ameniu. Are you homesick?”

I nodded. Yes, of course, I was. The situation was a little complicated, though. Because no matter whether I eventually could return, I would have to leave people dear to my heart behind.

Manu pointed toward the right. “See, the storm has passed, revealing the pyramids again. Let’s go closer.”

Manu started walking with enthusiasm, pulling me along. I rested my arm around his neck, trying to clear my mind.

---

“This is fantastic, Phillip. Absolutely unbelievable. This stuff is like decades worth of science.”

Lisa was singing a chorus of praise about Keith’s data, while I was walking along the old pyramid’s wall. At least only auditory because with the contact lenses gone, I had no optical interface anymore.

“We’ve already punched the new equations into the computer. It looks like we can increase the facility’s accuracy by almost a factor of three without even doing any rebuilding.”

I quickly estimated what a factor of three would mean. That would be about 1500 years of reach. Still only half my distance in time.

“But that’s not all. Keith’s people cannot only do transfers between their own world and another time. They can also jump directly from one parallel universe into another.”

“I know, Lisa. That much he told me. But I don’t see how that’s going to help me. I mean, I don’t want to end up in some parallel world, possibly ruled by cannibalistic apes. Or something like that.”

Elisa interrupted her flood of words, having a hearty laugh. But only for a brief moment.

“No, that wouldn’t work anyway. We would have to do significant rebuilding… what I wanted to say though, is this. I think with Keith’s data we will be able to optimize our system so you can jump back in stages. As you know, our facility can’t bring you back from 3500 years away at once. But we can do it step by step!”

“Wow!”

I was flabbergasted by her explanation. Did that mean I would be able to return home after all?

Did I even want that anymore? I looked behind me where Manu was closely studying the monument. My gaze rested on him, a feeling of sadness in my heart. I sighed. Yes, I did love him. I was sure of it now. And yet, I could not stay here. I did not belong here, in this time. I was a stranger here and I was feeling that. And finally, I wasn’t on a joyride. I had an obligation toward my employer.

“When will it be time?” I asked, my mouth dry.

“I can’t say for certain yet. Configuring the new parameters will be quick. However, I want to do a dummy test first to make sure it actually works. So perhaps in a day or so.”

That was good. It would give enough time to arrange my affairs here. And by that, I meant saying goodbye to Manu. Fuck, how would I explain myself? I bid Lisa farewell for now, asking her to send my regards to all colleagues.

---

I sat next to Manu in the cart on our way back into town, lost in thought. I had not been in the mood to care much about the old buildings’ grandeur, although they were even more spectacular at this time where they had experienced little decay. However, I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts.

Manu caressed my back. “Tell me, what is the matter, Ameniu? You’ve been so pensive since we left the pyramids.”

There was no point in procrastinating, I had to tell him eventually.

“I… I will be returning back home. My colleague made it possible for me.”

I blinked and a tear ran down my cheek. Manu reacted calmly. His expression didn’t reveal anything.

“So? Be glad. Why are you crying?”

I tried to clear my throat. “Because I love you.”

Manu looked at me with his hazelnut-colored eyes, giving me a gentle kiss. “Silly you. I love you, too. And that’s precisely why I want you to go home. You can be happier there than here.”

I wasn’t so sure about that at the moment. “And you, Manu? What will become of you?”

“I will return home as well, back to my wife, whether I like it or not. I guess we will even have children. I shouldn’t encounter any issue in that department anymore. You know, I just have to think of you naked.”

Flattered, I snuggled up to him.

---

The evening had been rather uneventful. At the dinner table, Shani told us about further sights one absolutely must see as a visitor. When I admitted I would be leaving the next day, she bemoaned it. Her feeling seemed sincere, explained simply by her relative loneliness. A visitor, especially if it was someone interesting like me, livened up the dull days.

Manu acted as usual. Or at least he tried to. Despite his effort to hide it from me, I still sensed his grief about my upcoming departure. The looming danger of someone uncovering Manu’s sexuality had also prevented us from sharing any further affection, although we both would have welcomed it very much.

Now, I was lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. I had no idea how long I had been lying there like that, torn between anticipation and sorrow. I suddenly heard a gentle creak. The door to my room opened and Manu popped his head in.

“Are you sleeping yet?” he whispered.

“No.”

“I can’t fall asleep either, Ameniu. I constantly have to think of this being our last night.”

He crept forward so I could see him in the moonlight.

“Aren’t you afraid of your mother-in-law?”

“Oh, come on. The old frump will be fast asleep by now. And if you don’t moan too loud, she won’t notice a thing.”

He put on an impish grin, which looked even cuter than usual due to the moonshine.

“Well, I will try,” I said, “but seeing you like that, I cannot guarantee anything.”

He came over, snuggling up to me under the covers. He covered me with kisses, working his way down from my mouth to lower body parts.

---

Not much was spoken during breakfast. Nobody really knew what to say, the imminent departure hanging over us like the sword of Damocles. Only Shani chimed in with some advice on what to consider for a journey that long. Of course, they were assuming I’d travel by boat.

Apart from that, everybody was engrossed in their own thoughts. Mine were swaying between saying goodbye and last night. I wasn’t sure if it had been a good idea for Manu to join me in bed. Not because of Shani. She had slept more than sound, not hearing the odd louder expression of joy.

No, we had an amazing night together – too amazing. Much more passionate than in his bathroom back then. After all, we had a comfy bed at our disposal here. However, only couples should spend such a night who could still be considered a couple the day after. Not ones who had to part ways, making goodbye even more difficult.

There was nothing I had to pack so I was out of the door soon after breakfast. Manu stood next to me on the threshold. Shani had said goodbye already, which was a good thing. Or perhaps not. It would make our enforced breakup even more gut wrenching.

“Oh Ameniu, darling. I do wish for you to get home. Yet, just as much I wish for you to stay here. With me.”

Tears were streaming down his face. I tried to wipe them off with my hands.

“Don’t cry, Manu. I know… and I would like to stay just as well. But it can’t be. Everyone has a place and responsibilities. Yours are here, mine are there.”

I embraced him firmly. My eyes were now also filled with tears.

He sobbed. “Please… don’t… forget me, Ameniu.”

“I won’t, Manu. Never.”

My God! Life was unjust. There was no point though in delaying the inevitable. It would just make it harder on both of us. Drenched in tears, weak at the knees, I let go of him.

Okay, one last kiss. He gave in to it as if there was no tomorrow. And there was none, regarding our relationship. The fact that we were kind of standing out in the open didn’t occur to either of us. Shortly before I was about to suffocate, I let go. I took one step back.

“Goodbye, Manu. Take care.”

“Wait! I’ll come with you to the harbor.”

“No, you stay here… It would just make it harder on us.” And it would reveal that there was no ship waiting for me.

“Right… So, farwell my first and probably only love. Farewell, my dear Ameniu.”

I turned around, starting to walk down the street. I hardly saw where I was going due to all the water in my eyes. Every few steps I looked back, waving at Manu. He waved as well, dejected. If I hadn’t already lost the contact lenses, they would have been swept away this morning.

---

My head was empty. I had been hiking through the desert for a good quarter of an hour. Here, my journey had begun and here it would end. No - I corrected myself – here it would continue. After all, I had to do at least two stopovers before I could get home.

I was far away from town by now, more than enough distance to vanish without being seen. Still, I was hesitating. Could there be an alternative? I mean, wouldn’t it perhaps be possible to stay here after all? I would get used to life here eventually, wouldn’t I? I’d miss all those modern amenities I was used to less and less over time. And finally, I had Manu, my first love. But I had already decided by saying goodbye to him, hadn’t I? Wasn’t the very fact I was standing here in hot desert sand instead of next to him proof of my decision?

“Life is simple, but its components are complex,” was something my professor in quantum physics used to say. I never really got what he meant. But it was certainly true when it came to love. It looked like a damn complex component to me.

Elisa interrupted my thoughts.

“I am detecting a strong unknown energy signature, originating somewhere near the pyramids.”

What the heck was that now?

“Correction. The energy source has suddenly changed location. It is now located about ninety yards behind you.”

Oh shit! One didn’t have to be a genius to figure out the nature of this strong energy source. It had to be one of those alien beasts following Keith. And now it probably thought I was the bold fugitive. That cut short any thoughts and doubts about leaving. I had to go. Now.

“Quick, contact the base!”

Mere two seconds later, Lisa Blozano picked up.

“Lisa, is everything ready for the jump?”

She nodded. “Tonight’s test run was successful. I think we can dare it.”

“Good. Because I need to leave here. Immediately. One of those aliens from Keith’s world is after me!”

“My God! Phillip, we’ll hurry!”

Hectic commands could be heard in the background. Lisa sounded clearly shocked. I had to smirk. She was always so worried about me. This time, however, she had good cause. I had nothing to counter the Kerlock with. I wasn’t even armed, compared to Keith.

I suddenly heard a hiss behind me in the distance. Without looking back, I started to run.

“Enemy entity is now thirty yards behind you.”

“Okay guys, now would be a good time!”

“Countdown is on, Phil. T minus five seconds.”

It struck me that I didn’t even know yet where I would be going. “Where will I be jumping to by the way?”

A short laugh came through the line. “Didn’t you read the itinerary? Next stop: Ancient Rome.”

‘Interesting’ was my last thought before the space-time tunnel opened, dashing each and every molecule in my body to pieces once again.