Replay - The Secret of the Pyramids - 2. Chapter 2

Where the heck was I?

This wasn’t Lübeck. It certainly wasn’t Germany. It wasn’t even Europe. But it obviously was a desert. My geography didn’t help either with determining my location. Deserts existed on pretty much every continent except Europe.

Given such an extreme deviation in space, it seemed like a miracle that I didn’t re-appear in the earth’s core or on the dark side of the moon. Also, it made me wonder if the time-coordinate had suffered deviation as well. These questions wouldn’t be answered before Elisa had fired up her silicon brain. Until then, I had to hold out and survive – which would pose a challenge given the sweltering heat.

I suddenly realized that I hadn’t brought anything to drink. There hadn’t been a necessity for it because my visit to this time was scheduled for no more than four hours. I guess one doesn’t say without good reason that you never know how things turn out. Just… they didn’t have to turn out like this.

I couldn’t just hang around here and wait for the battery to recharge. Even when the TTEK was up and running again, it could take hours to determine my exact position in space and time. And only then I could return home. So if I didn’t want to die of dehydration in the meantime, I needed to take action. Find the next town. Or an oasis. Anything with water.

I started by taking off the now redundant clothes. If my life hadn’t been at stake, I would have found the sight almost comical. A young man in suit and tie standing in the middle of the desert. I threw said piece of clothing in the capsule together with the shirt, tie, and trousers. I breathed a sigh of relief. The dark fabric had heated up considerably under the blazing sun.

Now I was standing there, wearing only my boxers and my undershirt. Although the black shoes that came with the suit looked utterly out of place, I decided to keep them on. The sand was just too hot to walk barefoot.

What now, in what direction should I go?

I turned around and took in my environment. In the distance, I recognized something that looked like a rock. I decided to head that way for starters.

The capsule had brought me down safely, its job was done. There wasn’t anything inside that could be of use to me. To avoid anybody accidentally stumbling across it, I activated the self-destruction mechanism before I left.

---

After what felt like an hour, but in reality had been only fifteen minutes, I was starting to realize that this would be my certain death. It seemed to me that I had made no headway. I was still notably feeble, and my strength was beginning to fade.

No, this wasn’t how I had imagined my journey. Trapped in the middle of a desert, perished from miserable heat. That’s what my fate seemed to hold.

Already half-way delirious I remembered what I had said to Lisa. “I would never skip the opportunity for this journey, no matter how dangerous!”

Yeah, that’s what I said. If I just had thought otherwise…

Sitting at home in the well-temperated living room of my apartment in Geneva. A cold beer running down my throat. These were the tempting sensations I surrendered to in my mind. An extensive walk across the north pole was in the mix, as well as a bath in a tub full of ice cubes. I would…

Suddenly I lost balance and fell over. I tried to stand up, but slipped in the fine sand and rolled down the dune.

I tried to pick myself up, but it was difficult. I couldn’t just lie down, though. That would mean game over for me.

Slowly I was able to get back on my feet. I tried to orientate myself, as far as that was possible in the monotonous landscape. The rock I headed towards in the beginning was nowhere to be seen anymore. Instead, I found myself in a hollow between two dunes. I decided to follow this natural path which the landscape had formed.

Again, time passed. To what extent I couldn't say. It seemed like hours to me, though the sun had barely left its zenith. My legs were getting heavier with every step, moving forward became an ordeal. Because I could barely walk straight, I didn’t cover much ground. The time jump had weakened me, but the desert sapped my last remaining energy.

With blurry vision I noticed something dark lying in the sand in front of me. Perhaps animal excrement? Suddenly, the object came closer. No, wrong. I fell down and came closer to the object. Maybe it had just been a pile of rocks. I didn’t know.

In fact, I ceased to know anything.

---

I unlocked the door to my office on the third floor of the ATR building. Yet, after the first door, there was another door, which I unlocked as well. A third door, immediately after, blocked my way. I wanted to unlock it, but the key got jammed. Stuck in the keyhole, it refused to move back out, let alone turn to open the lock.

I spun around in search of another path. But there wasn’t one. I realized with horror that the previous door had closed already. I shook it, but it didn’t give an inch. Suddenly I noticed a window that hadn’t been there before. I found it completely logical to open the window and jump out.

I fell and fell. The drop didn’t seem to end. It became dark around me.

---

“Gentlemen! Really!” I was on the bench, dressed in long robes, trying to hush the angry courtroom. “Calm down everybody! Or I will have the courtroom cleared!”

The prosecutor rose, pointing at the naked boy who was tied to a stake in the center of the room.

“The defendant is charged with immoral contact between two male individuals. He is to be sentenced to a fine of ten thousand dollars, alternatively twenty days of community service as a hustler.”

The boy’s defense attorney, who had Lisa’s facial features, protested vigorously.

“Love, dear gentlemen. Is it not the driving force of human existence, even of life generally? Is it not the expression and fulfillment of humanity’s pursuit of perfection? If two human beings come together in an effort to form a more complete unit, it is an expression of our creative power. It is the motor of progression, a manifestation of being human. Isn’t love the decision to accept a human being altogether, the details being as they may?

Who are those wanting to judge such forces of nature? Those are inane and their opinion without merit in front of a pure soul. The high court must also recognize this and acquit my client of all charges!”

I was moved to tears by the attorney’s speech.

The courtroom had also settled down. Everything was quiet, all eyes were on me. Now, I had to make the final decision, speak the binding verdict. There was no higher level of jurisdiction beyond this. The outcome of this case was mine alone to decide.

I felt very uneasy, so I tried to postpone. “The evidence is not yet sufficient for this court to reach a verdict. The prosecution shall re-enact the events together with the defendant.”

The prosecutor nodded grimly. “My pleasure!”

He stepped into the center of the room behind the defendant. The boy’s hands were tied above his head to the stake. “Penetration was exercised from behind.” Sliding down his pants, he took the defendant hard. “Exactly like this!”

I nodded in agreement and signaled the court reporter to enter the demonstration into the record.

The defense attorney raised her voice urgingly. “Your honor, it is high time for a decision. We’re running late, and I don’t want to miss tea time with my mother-in-law!”

Everyone looked at me full of expectation. I couldn’t draw it out any longer. I was sweating. My head was empty. A thousand faces looked at me, some demanding the worst punishment, others acquittal. I sensed I had forgotten something important. That I did not consider a crucial detail or lead.

My head was spinning and I got dizzy.

---

I was welcomed by nausea as I regained consciousness. Wild dreams had plagued me, but I hardly remembered anything. What had happened?

Oh yeah, I materialized in an unknown desert far from the planned location and passed out hiking through blazing heat.

The dominant feeling besides sickness was thirst. My mouth felt like a dusty dune. I could almost taste the sand. In fact, I could definitely taste sand, given that my mouth was full of a good amount of its grains. I tried to spit them out, but there was no saliva left. Opening my eyes was hard work. I tried though and after I finally succeeded, I took in the scenery around me.

I was startled. My heart was beating faster, waking me up completely. Not only did the scenery change, but I also wasn’t lying on hot desert sand anymore – instead I was strapped to the back of a camel!

This vehicle was swinging back and forth which surely contributed to my sickness? In front of me, I was able to make out more camels. They were all strung together on a rope, forming a kind of caravan. The predominant element around me was still sand, but I thought I could make out some buildings in the distance.

Most camels were loaded with baggage, but there were also some men riding in front of me. They were dressed oddly. To be exact, they hardly wore any clothes. Only white loincloths from their hips down to just above the knees. What made the picture look even stranger was that they sported jewelry around their necks and arms in a way I wouldn’t expect from straight men. Especially in former centuries.

On the other hand, I hardly looked more appropriate in my white undershirt and shorts. And of course the shoes, I thought, but paused. I couldn’t turn around given that I was lying on my stomach, strapped down tightly. However, I couldn’t feel the shoes on my feet anymore. Somebody must have taken them off.

At least the TTEK bracelets seemed unscathed. They were made of a highly resistant compound material and couldn’t be removed from my arms without difficulty, though God knows what the men on camelback did to me while I was unconscious.

“You are awake Dr. Marten.”

I winced, having almost forgotten my electronic companion. Elisa being back now also meant I must have been unconscious for quite a while.

“Status report.

Dr. Marten, your condition is critical. You are suffering from acute dehydration, severe sunburn, and sunstroke.

I injected you with antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and circulation-stimulating medication, as well as a light painkiller.

Further treatment is beyond the limited means of the medical emergency system.

You urgently need to ingest liquid.”

Oh, that was why I felt halfway decent right now. I was drugged up to the eyeballs. While I wasn’t ungrateful for it, it sure didn’t make it easier for me to keep a level head.

I tried to ask Elisa what progress she had made localizing our position in space-time. However, my dried up mouth only managed to croak. That wasn’t an issue for our communication though. She picks up what I say through a sensor implanted underneath my skin, next to my vocal cords.

“Localization impossible. The deviation between the current and targeted space-time position exceeds the processible threshold.

As soon as a coarse approximation of our current position on earth and time range is available, I can try to adjust the equations.”

I felt miserable. I had hoped Elisa would have finished the localization and was ready to send the retrieval signal right now. I would have just disappeared from this horrible place returning to my very own bed. Or the ATR building’s sickbay to begin with.

I tried to compose myself. After all, this caravan couldn’t trek through the desert forever. Eventually, we would reach some kind of town, hopefully holding clues about my location.

My croaking didn’t remain unnoticed by the man riding the camel in front of me. He turned around, looking me over.

I cleared my throat and with great effort managed to form the desired words.

“Water,” I tried in English. “L’eau… Wasser”, I added in French and German.

All these countries had colonies in the 19th century, and it was quite possible I was stranded in one of those.

The man had bronzed skin and seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He didn’t give the impression that he understood my plea, though. He scanned me from top to bottom, or rather from front to back, given that I was lying horizontally on a camel. At least he seemed to have taken pity on me. Even without understanding what I said, he grasped my issue. He undid a kind of pouch with a hose-like extension from his camel’s luggage. Although the container’s brownish leather wasn’t see-through, I suspected it held a drinkable liquid.

Unplugging the cap on the end of the hose, he took a mouthful. Then he offered me the container. Although it didn’t look too sanitary, I would gladly have emptied it out. The only thing holding me back was the fact that my hands were still tied together under the camel’s stomach.

The guy laughed, apparently finding the whole situation funny. What worried me though was that he didn’t seem to laugh at his gaucheness – he laughed at me.

Really! He laughed at me.

My dried up brain started to entertain the suspicion that I wasn’t tied to the camel to prevent me from falling down but to prevent me from escaping.

Was I a prisoner of these ominous desert people?

Meanwhile, the guy seemed to realize that I – prisoner or not – wouldn’t survive the journey without a serving from his waterskin. He finally held the opening to my mouth, and I greedily swallowed the lukewarm water. Way too quickly he retracted the container again and closed it. He then spoke a few words in a language I didn’t recognize and turned around, leaving me behind.

So, that was it, my first contact with people from a former time. I surely hoped the next one would work out better and more communicative. But for that I would first need to understand what they were saying. Elisa and her extensive database should know the answer. I asked her by forming the words in my throat without speaking them aloud.

“What language was that, Elisa?”

“No adequate match with a known language or dialect could be determined. Further samples are required for analysis.”

My situation was getting more and more mysterious. The desert people’s language wasn’t even in the database. Were they perhaps from some kind of undiscovered native tribe?

I ditched that thought because the silhouette of a large town began to appear on the horizon. The caravan's destination, undoubtedly. Given the pace we were traveling at, it would still take a few hours to get there, though.

I wondered what Lisa was thinking at this moment. It had to be getting past the time now by which I should have sent the retrieval signal. Surely she would be worried sick. Yet, there wasn’t anything they could do to help me.

Despite the constant swinging and my uncomfortable position, before long I fell asleep .

---

My sleep was troubled and shallow. I became animated several times, plagued by dire visions, irrational fears, and the swinging of my mount. As I woke up, the sun was already near the horizon and the heat less overwhelming. More importantly, the city was right in front of us now. Its size was remarkable. It was surrounded by a city wall, perforated by a multitude of gates. Well before passing through one of these, we encountered buildings along the road. They were all small, onestory huts that didn’t seem too solid or built to last.

I could see men, women, but also children. Some were walking along the same road we had joined a few minutes ago. Others were sitting in front of, or inside of the huts. Wearing no jewelry, they were dressed even more minimalistic than my involuntary traveling companions. I assumed these people were part of a poorer class. Many seemed to be farmers cultivating fields at the nearby river.

Apart from a few romping kids, people weren’t too chatty, doing little to help out Elisa’s language research.

Meanwhile, something completely different had caught my eye. A shiver ran down my spine. The gate was about 300 feet ahead. What attracted my attention was an inscription above it. Though I wasn’t sure it was what I thought.

“Zoom,” I commanded. Thanks to the visor lenses, a window appeared in my field of vision showing an enlarged image of the gate.

Indeed! Although I had no I idea what the inscription was saying, I did recognize its symbols. They were hieroglyphs!

Without waiting for Elisa’s analysis I could safely assume my current location to be somewhere in Egypt.

“The inscription consists of ancient Egyptian letters, the hieroglyphs. It contains the name of the city. Waset. This is the ancient Egyptian name for Thebes. I conclude we are located in Thebes, Egypt.”

I didn’t need a VI to put two and two together.

“Furthermore, the condition of the gate and surrounding buildings combined with all previously collected information leads to the following conclusion. With a probability of ninety-eight percent, local time period is between 1600 and 1200 BC. That corresponds to the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt.”

My God, that hit home! If I hadn’t been strapped on, I would have fallen off the camel for sure.

Before Christ?! That was simply impossible. Our fusion reactor didn’t even have enough juice for a precise transfer over 500 years, let alone 3500!

“How the heck is that possible?” I asked, speaking aloud in my confusion.

“No certain information is available.”

“And what about any uncertain one, any speculations?”

“It is not within my competence to hazard a guess.”

If I weren’t talking to a computer, I’d call that bitchy.

“A possible cause could be as follows. Assuming the transfer used the planned amount of power, the deviation in time can be achieved through an extreme spacial inaccuracy. However, this theory is only viable with a probability of 1.6 percent. That is the chance of still materializing near the earth’s surface in this case.”

I got an unpleasant feeling. If this theory was correct, it was a real miracle I wasn’t floating through deep space as a freeze-dried corpse. Anyway, the reality was, this is ancient Egypt with the Pharaoh sitting on his throne somewhere and me lying on the back of camel down here, a lost time-traveler from the 21st century.

I felt doomed. Would I ever be able to return home?

Fuck! It sure didn’t look bright.

On the other hand, somehow I got here, didn’t I? Strange…

Well, I wouldn’t want to rely on a chance of survival of 1.6 percent again. Hopefully, Elisa could localize our exact space-time coordinates now. Then she would also be able to establish radio contact with the base because electromagnetic signals were much easier to transmit than matter. And if anyone would be able to help me, it was Lisa and her team.

We had passed the city walls in the meantime, wobbling towards an unknown destination. The buildings increased in size and pomp the deeper we ventured into the city. While the huts outside of the walls were brown and made of clay, in here most houses were painted white. It was unmistakable that wealthier people preferred living in the downtown area.

We crossed a great many of roads leading in varying directions. It was impossible for me to remember our way, but I was confident Elisa recorded everything meticulously. She would know the way back if necessary.

We were now approaching a large square. Many booths were set up there with traders selling all kinds of goods. Not only were people disputing, negotiating, and bargaining over the traders’ merchandise, it also seemed to be the destination of this caravan.

“I also have some good news for you, Dr. Marten.”

Well, at last something.

“Information about ancient Egyptian language in the database is scarce and patchy. Yet, using the samples collected thus far, it was possible to build a language model. Simultaneous translation is now available.”

That was good news indeed. At least, I would now understand what people were saying to me – or about me. Although it would be difficult for me to answer them. Of course, Elisa could translate what I wanted to say and I would then read it aloud. But I’d rather save this cumbersome option for an emergency.

The caravan had finally come to a stop. Workers came running to unload the camels. The guy riding in front of me dismounted. He addressed an older man approaching with rapid strides.

“Hello to you, father! How have you been while I was away? And how’s business?”

“I’m good, my son, but business could be better. I see you have brought us some new wares.”

He glanced over the caravan, stopping with his gaze on me. “What kind is that? So white, tall, and oddly dressed. I hope it’s not one of those foreign nobles. They’re always so squeamish.”

“I have no idea, dad. He was lying on our trail in the middle of the desert. Didn’t have anything to drink with him. He must have been within an inch of his life.”

The older man shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever. He won’t yield much but put him with the others in a cage and give him some water. If he drops dead, we’ll have no money rolling in, but a body to dispose of.”

Oops! So that was what’s going on. These gentlemen were trading in slaves. And I was to be sold as one. That was indeed a little frightening, but somehow funny as well. Maybe the latter feeling was due to the drugs, though. Or the heat stroke.

At least I would get some more water!

I hardly noticed as they took my chains off and put me in a cage. Fatigue overwhelmed me and after quaffing the provided bowl, I finally fell asleep.