Space Pioneer 1 - 20. Chapter 20

Osiris crouched down and seized an item from the ground. It was a flashlight. The light was strong and illuminated the tunnel. Lest and Jeff exchanged a glance and Doctor Midad raised an eyebrow. Osiris walked quickly, leading the way. The tunnel led down under the ground. They walked a while, then climbed up a long staircase.

Imhotep pulled a key card from a pocket and opened a door. The men stepped into an empty chamber. Imhotep locked the door and moved on. He pulled out another key card and opened another door. Once more they climbed a staircase and finally entered a pantry. A door led into an atrium. Hemiunu switched off the flashlight and put it on a sideboard. The light of oil lamps illuminated the front hall.

Jeff looked around. Aside from the flashlight on the sideboard, he didn’t spot any items that looked modern at all. Only the three men were not exactly dressed like he had expected it. They didn’t wear long robes, but tunics and pants that Jeff reminded of his own leisure clothes, only the fabric was finer.

Jeff was gazing at the three men and blushed when he realized that they noticed him staring. He smoothed down his space overall in embarrassment. The space overalls were designed for a stay on the bridge of a ship with its cool temperatures due to the machines and devices. The air in the Egyptian atrium, however, was hot and stifled and smelled intensely of flowery fragrances and tar, most likely from the oil lamps. Lest and Midad were also sweating. The captain wiped his forehead and Doctor Midad started to cough. The Seth men looked at each other.

"Let’s go up to my rooms on the upper floor. It’s cooler up there and the rooms can be locked. I’ll have Khepri take the food up there," Imhotep said with a smile.

He clapped his hands. A door opened and a young man stepped into the hall. He was dressed in a knee-length tunic and leggings and he had a pageboy hairstyle. His skin was tanned and he was smaller than the others. Jeff recognized the man they had seen on the balcony. He had been watering plants and flowers. The young man looked curiously between them.

"Khepri, my guests have come a long way. They are hungry and thirsty and they prefer cooler air. We won’t dine downstairs but in the upper dining room instead. Would you take the food upstairs, please," Imhotep said.

Khepri glanced at the guests, then bowed to Imhotep and retreated. Imhotep made an inviting gesture with his hand and led the men to a staircase. They went up to the third floor and stopped in a small entry room. Imhotep entered a code into a terminal in the wall and the door to the room slid open. Lest, Midad and Jeff exchanged a look.

Imhotep pointed at the doorway. "Please, enter," he said.

They entered the room and Imhotep closed the door to his private chamber. A couch and three chairs were arranged around a table; wooden sideboards stood by the walls. A large window was on one side of the room. It was open, but a silken curtain hid the view to the outside. Imhotep pointed at the couch and the chairs.

"Please, take a seat and make yourselves comfortable," he said.

Lest, Midad and Jeff sat down on the couch. Osiris and Hemiunu sat down in chairs, while Imhotep remained standing. A minute later Khepri opened the door and pushed a tea cart into the room. The cart was filled with jars and mugs and plates and bowls with various dishes. The pleasant smell of food was filling the room.

"This was quick," Doctor Midad said with surprise. "How did he manage to get this cart up to the third floor so quickly?"

"Khepri used the hydraulic goods elevator," Imhotep said with a smile.

Lest, Midad and Jeff exchanged another glance. The Seth men watched them with motionless faces. Khepri placed the dishware and the food on the table, then bowed to Imhotep and left. Imhotep locked the room.

"A hydraulic elevator. Is it commonly used in the households?" Doctor Midad asked, turning his eyes to Imhotep.

Imhotep smiled. "It’s used only in a few places. We don’t want the technique to become known to the public," he said.

"Why not?" Lest asked. "It seems to me that Seth knowledge isn’t entirely lost. Why do you want to keep it a secret?"

Imhotep looked at Osiris and made a gesture with his hand. Osiris cleared his throat.

"Like you said, it’s Seth knowledge. We have tried to preserve as much as we could, however, it became increasingly difficult over the centuries because the Seth population had decreased." He paused, measuring the guests from outer space. "A group of men and women left the planet Seth 45,000 years ago. I trust you know what happened back then?"

Lest nodded. "The first emigrants travelled to Daglon. The settlements prospered and the population grew. Seth knowledge and technology wasn’t lost on Daglon. It has advanced over the centuries. Doctor Midad and I are from Daglon," he said.

The Seth men exchanged a look and Osiris glanced at Jeff, but refrained from asking where he came from if not from Daglon either. Jeff didn’t want to interrupt Lest’s explanations and so he remained silent for now. The captain continued.

"The Daglons learned of a second spaceship that had left the planet Seth during the riots. We didn’t know where this ship travelled to and what had become of the settlers. We do know now, however. The second spaceship travelled to Earth."

Osiris nodded. "Yes. The Seth scientists had discovered the exoplanet, but unfortunately did not analyze it thoroughly, or more likely, they didn’t have the time to examine it carefully. When our ancestors arrived here, they found the planet wasn’t a hospitable place. The planet was almost entirely covered with ice and snow. They arrived at the time of an ice age."

"The ice age ended only a couple of thousands years ago," Jeff said.

The Seth men looked at him curiously.

"How do you know?"Hemiunu asked. "Did you study the planet’s geological history?"

Doctor Midad intervened. "Please, go on, Osiris. What happened after the settler’s arrival?" he asked.

"They erected a settlement on an island of the inland sea," Osiris said. "The inland sea is the sea where the river Nile flows into. It’s the sea that our land adjoins to. Back then, at the time of the ice age, the sea levels were low and the vast western ocean and the inland sea were not connected. The inland sea had almost dried out. There was a big island in the center that was surrounded by water. The water was a natural protection barrier. The lands to the east and to the south of the sea were fertile lands. Unfortunately, they were inhabited by big and dangerous animals and also primitive men."

Jeff crossed his arms and measured Osiris with a dark look.

"You don’t look happy with my words," Osiris said.

"I was just wondering what happened to the primitive men," Jeff said. "Are the Egyptians their descendants?"

"It’s more complicated," Imhotep said.

Hemiunu and Osiris nodded at his words. Osiris carried on.

"The Seth lived on the island for many centuries, however their number had declined over the ages. They had adjusted to the planet’s conditions to a degree, but the planet was too alien during the ice age to adjust entirely. It turned out that ninety percent of the descendents were infertile," he said.

"I’m sorry to hear this," Doctor Midad replied. "But apparently you found a way to generate offspring. In vitro fertilization, I suspect."

The Seth men looked at him curiously.

"I’m a doctor," Midad explained. "So naturally this comes to my mind at once."

Osiris nodded. "Yes, in vitro fertilization was what they tried in the beginning, but it didn’t really work out. Most of the Seth women were not capable of bearing children," he said.

"So the Seth mixed with the natives, the primitive men?" Jeff asked. "How did they do it? In vitro as well?"

"Let me explain what they did," Imhotep said. "You might feel taken aback, but consider their situation. I’m a doctor as well. I can understand their reasoning."

Imhotep looked between his guests. Lest made a gesture with his hand, inviting him to continue.

"First, they modified the primitive men genetically and then they combined the human DNA and their own DNA," he said.

"I see," Jeff said. "God created man in his image."

Lest gave him a warning look, but it was already too late. The Seth men were staring at Jeff.

"It seems you have studied our culture for a considerable amount of time, before contacting us," Osiris said.

"What exactly is the purpose of your visit?" Hemiunu, who so far had been quiet, asked sharply.

Imhotep raised his hand.

"We all descend from Seth. We’re the same kin. So let us talk and finish this talk in peace. We have a lot to explain, but I think you have likewise. Let’s talk it over among friends," he said.

"Yes," Lest replied. "Ages have gone by since the two spaceships left Seth. We need to catch up on what has happened since then, but naturally this cannot be done in a just a few hours."

Imhotep smiled. "I will carry on then," he said. He nodded at Jeff. "Like you put it, the Seth created man in their image. First, they modified primitive men and later they mixed up with them. This happened several thousand years after the arrival of the spaceship. Their efforts were successful. The population grew steadily, but the then inhabitants of the island were already descendents of Seth and Man. Some were more like the Seth, some more like the primitive men, but the differences vanished over the ages, only few Seth families were able to keep up an unaltered bloodline, especially after The Flood when the population had declined drastically."

"The Flood is an event that we need to discuss also," Jeff said.

"I judge from your features and looks that you three are members of those families," Doctor Midad said at the same time.

"The ruling Seth class survived The Flood. I understand now what Project Noah was all about," Jeff said, leaning back with a frown.

"What do you know of Project Noah? Why do you know of it anyway?" Hemiunu asked warily.

The atmosphere in the room was suddenly tensed. Lest and Midad spoke up simultaneously to calm the situation, but Imhotep silenced them with a wave of his hand. He pointed at Jeff.

"You don’t look Daglon," he said. "In fact, I and my friends have more in common with your companions than you have with them. And yet you don’t look entirely different. You remind me of the northern men that I have seen a few years ago. You look like a human, albeit with a lot of Seth DNA. Explain. Who are you and what do you want?"

Jeff glanced at the others. They were all staring at him. Jeff straightened and took a deep breath.

"I’m from Earth," he said. "I always thought I was 100% human, but Doctor Midad found out that I’m 85% Daglon."

"We picked him up in space," Lest said.

The Seth men looked between Jeff and Lest in confusion.

"My spaceship had an accident," Jeff said. "Captain Lest was so kind to take me on board of his ship."

"I wasn’t aware that humans have mastered space technology, a technology we have not yet been able to reverse-engineer," Hemiunu said in a low voice. "Where do these humans live? I have not heard of the place."

"It’s a bit more complicated," Jeff replied. "I’m from Earth. The place is correct, but the timeframe isn’t."

Osiris and Imhotep studied him with puzzled faces, but Hemiunu nodded thoughtfully.

"I think I do understand. Osiris is the scribe, the keeper of the archives, or however you would want to describe what he does. Imhotep is a doctor, a renowned man who often is called by the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh is a man who thinks he is king, but he has no real clue of what is going on or what happened in the past," he said. "I’m a technician and an architect. I erected the pyramid you saw with a technology that I have reverse-engineered. I have been working on back-engineering advanced Seth technologies that were lost over the centuries. And I have discovered and managed a lot and I have understood even more so."

He paused, giving everybody a meaningful look. "The Seth knew that space and time are entwined, but they were not able to really work with the concept. Our ancestors came here in a conventional spaceship. They travelled for six hundred years, sleeping in cryo-tanks. They would have arrived earlier if they had travelled faster than light, which you can only do when you know how to fold space to shorten the distance," he said. He looked at Lest. "You’re the captain of the spaceship. I suspect you did not fly a long time from your planet to ours. You folded space, didn’t you?" he asked.

"This is correct," Lest replied. "This is exactly what we did. It was part of our operation."

Hemiunu nodded again. He shifted his eyes to Jeff and gave him a knowing look. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Like Osiris said, the Seth and the humans mixed with each other. They have a future. You’re proof of it. I trust that my words are not just wishful thinking," he said.

"You’re right," Jeff replied, smiling at Hemiunu. "I’m from Earth, but I come from Earth’s future. The Daglons know how to fold space and time."

Osiris looked at him in apparent awe and Imhotep let out a sigh of surprise, only Hemiunu looked unaffected.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, nodding his head at Jeff and with warmth in his voice.

Jeff nodded in return. "I have not travelled into the past in order to pay you a visit," he said. "Earth’s future is at stake. A space jump is a risk, but a time jump is even more dangerous, because the timeline can be changed when meddling with the past too much. It will affect the future and can change things drastically. If Ezer Malk succeeds and implements his plan, then Earth might well go to ruin."

"Ezer Malk?" Imhotep asked.

"Who is Ezer Malk?" Osiris asked, shifting in his chair uncomfortably.

"What does this man have in mind?" Hemiunu asked, sounding alarmed.

***