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And so Jim, with a select group of 'companions' - including, on this occasion, the remarkable Mr Stark - set out on what could turn out to be a perilous adventure as they return to Armant in search of the elusive pyramid - which hopefully will house the mysterious, 'hi-tech' sarcophagus...
Having decided who would be in the group to return to Armant - and when they would set out on their 'mission', the next task would be to inform those who would have to remain at the Cataract Hotel, as Hassan's taxi could only take a small number.
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| The Police Chase in the Storm |
Of course, considering that they all knew how the previous escapade to Armant had ended, with a frantic escape from the pyramid as it prepared to 'take-off', with only seconds to spare, and then a chase across the desert by the Egyptian police in a frenzied sand and electrical storm - well, few regretted being left out of this second attempt to locate and enter the Armant pyramid.
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| Tony's Aluminum Tool Case |
Jim wasn't sure what this would consist of, but it turned out to be a relatively compact aluminum case.
"I think Ashraf can carry that for me...", Tony remarked, as he and Jim made their way down to the reception area.
Once they were all gathered, they waited for the two Mercedes Maybach limos to arrive and take them on the three hour drive north.
They were heading for the Luxor Road Bridge, but planned to change vehicles before the Police checkpoint at the bridge.
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| Luxor Road Bridge at Sunset |
Hassan's taxi - like most taxis in Egypt at that time - was a Peugeot 'estate car' - sometimes known as a 'station wagon' - blue and white.
Normally it would be reasonably roomy, but with their number, it would be quite a 'squeeze' for everybody to fit in.
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| Hassan's Taxi |
Then, once over the road bridge, they turned right on the West Bank, and then proceeded north - hoping to give no indication of their intended destination.
Having cleared the Armant area, they then turned west, sweeping in a circle, and making for the ruined 'Bucheum House'.
"So here we are, guys...", Ethan said, as he scanned the horizon through the sandy, dust caked windows, hoping to spot the pyramid.
"Well let's hope we find it soon.
This taxi's got no air conditioning, so we only have a limited time before we need to find some real shade.", Tony remarked.
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| Sunset Over the Western Desert - West Bank - Upper Egypt |
"And where do we start ?", Ethan asked.
"Well perhaps it would be a good idea if some of us got out, and made a little more room for the others.
It might even be less hot in the open air.", Teddy suggested - worried that his thermostat might not be able to deal with the increasing temperature.
So Jim, Ethan and Zac left Hassan's taxi in order to scan the horizon.
Fortunately Zac had brought his Zeiss 20x60 'Image Stabilization Binoculars' with him - so if anyone was going to spot the pyramid it would be Zac...
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| Zeiss 20x60 Binoculars' |
(a mere $8,999.99 if you want to emulate Zac's obviously expert choice - that is, if these binoculars are available in your universe.)
"So, Zac... can you see anything that looks even remotely like a pyramid in this very boring desert ?", Ethan asked.
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| The Pyramid Appears |
"Yes ! - I've found it !", Zac exclaimed.
"Well that's odd...
It wasn't there a moment ago...", Ethan said, sounding puzzled.
"Yes, but I think that's the way with this pyramid...", Jim commented, equally puzzled.
"Now can we see a track we can take, because this battered old Peugeot is really not made for driving on sand dunes.", Zac said.
And strangely enough, there was a track - a nice, smooth firm track - leading off in the direction of the pyramid.
Zac went back to the taxi.
"So Hassan, do you think it would be safe to take that track to the pyramid ? ", Zac asked.
"Yes, effendi... I think it good...", Hassan replied.
So they all squeezed back into Hassan's taxi, and Hassan began the slow drive towards the pyramid.
The ride was surprisingly smooth and uneventful, and they soon came to what they took to be the 'Valley Temple', as the 'professional' Egyptologists would describe it - although there was no actual valley, as the pyramid was well away from the river.
Unlike conventional pyramids, where the valley temple led to a long 'causeway', this little temple was really simply a pylon, or gateway, leading directly into the pyramid.
It was an almost identical small temple that had seemingly been swallowed up by the sands as they had made their escape during the storm on their previous visit to the pyramid.
So, Hassan parked the taxi outside the pylon.
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| Pyramid Temple Doorway - Armant - West Bank |
"Well this looks a bit different from the last time.", Ethan remarked as he stepped from the taxi.
"Perhaps 'one has had the builders in'...", Ethan commented facetiously.
"Well if they have, they've done a nice job...", Jim said, as he joined Ethan and Teddy.
"So... how do we get in ?", Tony asked.
"Egyptians had no real locks like now, and didn't even use handles very much...
The best thing would be just to push the doors open...", Ashraf suggested.
And that's what they did, and the double doors moved smoothly and silently.
"Good... and I suggest we leave the doors open - just in case we need to leave quickly.", Zac said.
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| Entrance Hall of the Pyramid Temple - Armant - West Bank - Upper Egypt |
Very little, it seemed, had changed since their previous visit, as they entered what they presumed to be the entrance hall - a rather large grim space of heavy sandstone columns, dimly lit by burning braziers.
"Now this is not at all what I expected.", Tony began...
"All the images that I have seen of Egyptian temples and tombs show them covered with paintings and reliefs - but here - well nothing - it looks so 'modern' - apart from what seem to be hieroglyphics on the gold wall at the far end.", Tony continued.
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| Pyramids at Giza - Cairo - Egypt |
"Well - you obviously haven't been in the 'Great Pyramid' at Giza.
'Not a sausage'... as far as paintings and inscriptions go... and it's a lot more 'crumby' than this place - which does look a bit 'modern', I must admit.", Ethan said, obviously showing off.
"So where do we find the sarcophagus ?", Tony asked.
"Oh, we have to go up - there's a room higher up where the sarcophagus is - that is, if things are still the same as before...", Ethan said, taking over as Tony's guide.
They climbed some steps, and then came to a series of corridors.
"Now if you went inside the Great Pyramid at Giza, you'll find that the corridors and passageways there were far smaller and more cramped than in this pyramid.", Jim explained.
"Yes - and very crumbly, and smelly.", Ethan added.
"Well that's probably because the pyramid at Giza is probably a poor copy of this one...", Teddy suggested.
Tony looked bemused.
"Yes - but I do notice that those pesky little 'aliens' still haven't got round to cleaning this place...
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| Armant Pyramid - Passageway |
Look at all the dust on the floor !", Ethan complained.
"And luckily no footprints - ", Zac observed.
And so they trudged on - ever deeper into the vast bulk of the pyramid - and still, as before, there were no inscriptions and no reliefs, but just the blank, stone walls.
Soon they turned a corner and came upon yet another corridor that terminated in an elaborate doorway.
"Mm - perhaps we've taken a wrong turn...
These doors are different to the ones we found here the last time we were here...", Ethan said.
"Yes... but there were no other corridors leading off from this one - so I don't see how we could have taken a wrong turn.", Jim responded.
"So... no matter, if this is the only one passageway leading up from the entrance it would be best if we use this doorway - and we don't need a key, as Ashraf has already tole us, so just push the door open.", Zac said.
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| Doors at the end of the Passageway - Armant - Upper Egypt |
"Well, it's a very grand looking set of doors. so perhaps it leads to this sarcophagus that you're so keen to examine...", Tony suggested.
"And - there's nothing like this in the pyramid at Giza.
It looks like real gold !", Ethan exclaimed enthusiastically.
And, of course, it was - well gold and electrum in fact...
So then, with little effort, they pushed open the double doors...
Unsure as to what they would find, Zac led the way into the large room that lay behind the golden doors.
"I think this might be it...", Zac whispered hesitantly, as he surveyed the large room..
"Yes - but it's not where we found the sarcophagus before...", Ethan said nervously.
"No...", Jim agreed - and his eyes gleamed, as he gazed at the smooth, pale marble walls, which seemed to give out their own azure phosphorescence.
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| Sarcophagus Room - Armant Pyramid - West Bank - Upper Eypt |
"Well, if this is it, let's get to work, guys !", Tony suggested, refusing to be overawed by the evident strangeness of the room, and the curious object that it contained.
So they gathered round the sarcophagus - although only Tony seemed to know where it might be possible to start.
"Ashraf ! Bring me my case, please.", Tony demanded, as Teddy asked to be put down, and made his way to one of the gold bands of relief inscriptions on what appeared to be the 'head' end of the sarcophagus.
"Now be careful, Teddy - and don't touch anything before Tony has had a good look at everything...", Ethan said - like and anxious parent.
"Well, I'll leave you guys to it - and I'll check things out with Hassan, just in case we have any company.", Zac said.
"Ah ! - Found it !", Teddy exclaimed.
"What's that Teddy ?", Tony asked.
"The hieroglyph that hints at what this sarcophagus may be for...", Teddy replied, enigmatically.
"Well ?", Jim asked.
"OK - just let me check my data-base...", Teddy replied as he began his explanation.
"It's the hieroglyph for a 'netr'.
The ancient Egyptians distinguished 'netr, 'gods', from 'rmṯ', 'people' but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly. The term 'nṯr' applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life. Deceased humans were called 'nṯr' because they were considered to be like the 'gods' whereas the term was rarely applied to many of Egypt's lesser supernatural beings, which modern scholars often call 'demons' - (from the Greek 'δαίμων' - power). Egyptian religious art also depicts places, objects, and concepts - often in human form. These personified ideas range from deities that were important in myth and ritual to obscure beings, only mentioned once or twice, that may be little more than metaphors.
"The 'netr' Ḥeḥ was the 'netr' who personified eternity.
His name referred to the watery chaos that the ancient Egyptians believed existed before the creation of the world.
They envisioned this chaos as infinite, in contrast with the finite created world, so Heh personified this aspect of the primordial waters.
However, depictions of Heh were also used in hieroglyphs to represent 'one million', which was essentially considered equivalent to 'infinity' in Ancient Egyptian mathematics, and so this 'netr' is also known as the 'god' of millions of years.
He is normally kneeling, with one knee raised.
Heh typically holds in each hand a notched palm branch - like those that were employed in temples for ceremonial time-keeping, which explains the use of the palm branch as the hieroglyphic symbol for 'year'.
The god's image, and its iconographic elements, reflected the wish for millions of years of life - and so Heh became associated with the quest for longevity.
For instance, he appears in the tomb of King Tutankhamen, in two cartouches, where he is crowned with a winged scarab beetle, symbolizing existence.
The placement of Heh in relation to King Tutankhamen's corpse means he will be granting him these 'millions of years' in the afterlife.", Teddy explained.
While Teddy was giving this rather complicated explanation, Tony meanwhile, was carefully examining the panels of lapis-lazuli and dark gold.
"So, Jim...
You're planning to live forever...?
and I though that you'd almost managed to do that already...", Tony said with a smile.
Now Howard Stark - Tony's father - had been, to some extent, privy to the true origins of the 'Boss'
(and if you really haven't been paying attention to this story - and haven't worked it out after all this time - the 'Boss' was originally a fantastically wealthy patrician, living for most of the time in the exclusive holiday resort of Baize in Italy - a sort of ancient Roman equivalent of Las Vegas, but by the Mediterranean Sea - who had, on his death, been miraculously transported to Las Vegas, USA, in the 20th/21th Century).
But the true origins of the 'Boss' were so remarkable that Howard - who anyway had a very 'distant' relationship with his son, Tony - had never actually attempted to discuss or explain the matter - leaving young Tony often 'wondering'...
Subsequently, after the death of Howard Stark, Faunus had dropped some rather obvious hints to Tony, but Tony had been too preoccupied with other matters - research, making money, inventing, and women - to give those hints much thought.
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| 'Jim' - the Early Days |
Now, in Egypt, and faced with the pyramid, the sarcophagus, and a young man who claimed to be a real ancient Egyptian (Ashraf)- along with Novius, two mysterious black kittens, a remarkable baby owl - who never seemed to get any older - and a group of young guys who, when the occasion arose, could understand and converse in Latin and Koine Greek - well, Tony was beginning to think that the hints that Faunus had been giving just might have some basis in fact.
Tony had met Jim on brief occasions shortly after the 'Boss' had taken in 'Jim' - who at that time appeared to be an abandoned street boy - but Tony had been surprised that the 'Boss' had adopted Jim, and made Jim his heir.
Naturally if the 'Boss' was going to adopt anyone, Tony expected that it would have been Ethan - 'his favorite little guy' - as the 'Boss' always called Ethan.
But strangely Ethan had taken Jim's adoption as perfectly natural, and it seemed obvious to Tony that Ethan and Jim had some sort of previous 'history'.
So... eventually Tony had begun to suspect what really should have been the impossible.....
Hence the comment about 'living forever'.
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| Sarcophagus Inscription |
"Well - you'll have to give us a little bit of time, Tony...
These are unusual glyphs - but I think we can make some sense of it...", Teddy said, trying to be as amenable as possible.
Tony then stepped away from the sarcophagus to speak quietly to Jim.
"You know, Jim, this sarcophagus is covered in thin panels of lapis lazuli.
It must be worth an absolute fortune...", Tony remarked, as he waited for Teddy and Ashraf to come up with some sort of translation of the hieroglyphics.
Lapis lazuli, or 'lapis' for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock, used as a semi-precious stone, that has been prized since antiquity for its intense blue color. In ancient Egypt, lapis lazuli was a favorite stone for amulets and ornaments, such as scarabs. At Karnak, the relief carvings of Thutmose III (1479-1429 BCE) show fragments and barrel-shaped pieces of lapis lazuli being delivered to him as tribute. Powdered lapis was used as eyeshadow by the very wealthy in ancient times - including Cleopatra.
Teddy then turned to Tony...
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| 'Jim - From Another Time' edited from an original image by Lawrence Alma-Tadama |
'May your spirit live forever,
May you spend millions of years,
You who love Thebes,
Sitting with your face to the north wind,
Your eyes beholding happiness.
O night, spread thy wings as the imperishable stars.'
"So - very beautiful - but not really all that helpful...", Tony commented.
"So what do you mean by 'not very helpful' ?", Jim asked.
"Well it doesn't tell us how to open the sarcophagus, or how to use it.", Tony replied.
"Yes, it's puzzling.
When we were first here, the sarcophagus opened and closed of its own accord - but if it was actually 'working' - well there was no way of telling...", Jim said.
"OK - so I'll get Teddy and Ashraf to do some more translating - to see if we can get any further information - and meanwhile I'll contact my people by cell-phone at the 'Winter Palace', and get them to drive down here 'pronto' with some equipment to help us move this thing, and get it back to Luxor, where I can do some proper work on it.", Tony explained, sounding slightly exasperated.
"So how are you going to get this big sarcophagus through these narrow passageways, and up and down steps ? - after all, it's presumably very heavy, and there is practically no room in here for any lifting equipment.", Jim said, puzzled.
"Well the guys coming down from Luxor will bring some little 'gizmos' that should sort that out...
Relax, Jim...
That's why you brought me here - to sort out problems like this.
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| Palenque - Mexico |
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| United States Army |
Unfortunately Howard Stark was unable to successfully complete his work, and it was only after his death that his son, Tony, was able to produce a functional prototype (with a little help from Faunus) of the 'levitation device' - after 'Stark Industries' had, for complex reasons, severed its connection with the 'US Department of Defense'.
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| Armoured Truck - Transport for the Sarcophagus |
The 'levitation device' - which was in fact the long sought after 'anti-gravity generator' - was so revolutionary that Tony, quite rightly, kept this particular 'invention' a close secret - and it was only because of his father's relationship with the 'Boss' - that he was, on this particular occasion, prepared to make its use available to Jim - and it was that very device that was being driven towards Aswan, in a large bullet-proof, mortar-proof and bomb-proof armored truck....Tony was a great one for security... and the Egyptian police and military had been appropriately 'paid off' - so there would be no awkward searches of the vehicle, or delaying inquiries - and so the vehicle was well on its way to the Cataract Hotel
But back to Teddy and Ashraf, and the sarcophagus -
"We have something here...", Ashraf called out.
"Yes... it says: 'Here is Life - and life in abundance - a gift from the 'ever-living', a gift of youthful vigour for all time - for him who lives in Maat'... so it looks as if we're on the right track.", Teddy said.
"And... what does 'living in Maat actually mean '..?", Tony asked.
"Now that's complicated...", Teddy began, and Ashraf nodded.
Teddy then began to explain.
"Maat refers to the ancient Egyptian idea of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice.
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| Weighing the Heart against the Feather of Maat |
Not surprisingly, the earliest records indicating that Maat is the norm for nature and society, were recorded in the Pyramid Texts of Unas.
In addition to her role in continuously preventing the universe from returning to chaos, her main role in ancient Egyptian religion dealt with the final judgement of the dead.
The 'Feather of Maat' was measured in scales against the heart of the deceased, in the presence of Osiris, Thoth and Anubis to determined whether a soul would reach the afterlife.
Maat represents the moral principle that people are expected to follow.
They are expected to act with honor and truth in all matters - and this was known as 'living in Maat'.", Teddy concluded, indicating the relevant hieroglyphics with his paw.
"OK - that's all very interesting, Teddy, but where do we go from here ?", Jim asked Tony...
"Well, there's not much more I can do here...
I need to examine this thing properly if we are to work out what it can do - and possibly how it works.", Toy said.
Jim looked to Tony.
"Well - you're the expert.
How do we move it. ?", Jim asked.
Tony then got down on his hands and knees, where Teddy was sitting with Ashraf, and closely inspected the base of the sarcophagus.
"It's not part of the floor.
It just seems to be just resting here - so it will probably be possible to move it without too much trouble - but the sides will have to be drilled in order to attach some 'lifting' gear.", Tony said - sounding confident.
"So what should we do now ?", Ethan asked.
"Are you and Teddy finished translating ?", Jim said.
"Yes - I've photographed all the inscriptions - so we can work on them in our own time back at the hotel.", Teddy replied.
"Good - then we can drive back to Aswan, and see if my guys have arrived with the transport, and our equipment...", Tony said.
"So... shall we go "?, Jim said....
And with everyone's agreement they returned the way they came... carefully closing the heavy doors of the 'Pyramid Temple'.
Hassan checked that everything was 'all right', and then slowly drove off - while Ethan hesitantly looked back - half expecting the Temple to sink into the sand - and the Pyramid to lift off...
But nothing happened, and they drove uneventfully through the dark back-roads of Armant - quite obviously and thankfully unnoticed - and on to the Luxor Bridge, and then the long drive back to Aswan.
Having examined the sarcophagus 'in situ', Tony decided that it was best to return to the Cataract Hotel, and speak to the technicians who had driven down from Luxor. After they had seen the images taken by Teddy, they could then devise a plan that would enable them to extract the sarcophagus from the pyramid, and safely and securely transport it to the 'Winter Palace' in Luxor, where it could be thoroughly examined, and hopefully opened.
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All text - © Copyright Peter Crawford 2021
All Images - © Copyright Vittorio Carvelli 2021
Graphic Design - © Copyright Zac Sawyer 202