A P H A R A O H ' S D R E A M.
[Eye of the Pharaoh, Copyright 1990, 1995, by Michael J. Costa, all rights reserved.
First Published in USA in 1992-1994 until alerted on SFNET.BBS by the Author.
Classified Top Secret by the CIA, NSA, Secret Service, and FBI in USA.
With all of my power once regained, I exited the tomb carrying the scroll, which I will later give to an Egyptologist to decode. I thanked the Arab for his help and told him to inform the council about the discovery, so that I will at least acquire credit for something of the ancient world.
I walked in the breezy afternoon, glaring at my energized ring containing the infamous third-component. I held it to the sun and allowed the rays to reflect from its uncut surface. I decided that I should not bathe in this glory alone. My decision was to locate my wife's tomb and to give her the breath of life so that she may accompany me in both my afterlife and my current.
Walking in the hot sun allowed me to grow tired so I took a brief rest on top of a granite obelisk, which had fallen during some restoration work a year ago. I stared to the mountains of the Valley of the Queens where my search would commence. Some people started to walk towards me from the rest house ten meters away. One of them was an advanced Egyptologist who acquired knowledge of my discovery. Another was a director of antiquities at the Luxor museum. The remaining few were merely Arabs dressed in peasant garb carrying excavation equipment. They asked me where I would dig next.
I told them that I would begin searching for the tomb of Queen Ankhesenamon in the Valley of the Queens after I had rested. During the rest period, the baffled scientists wondered in amazement of my physic ability to locate my old tomb. They nearly bombarded me with simple questions to satisfy their quarrelsome worries.
It was four in the afternoon when I drew enough energy from my will to force myself upon another equally important discovery. I was now armed with a dark brimmed hat, a leather whip (for protection), a light weight jacket and a brass handled shovel.
We walked along a path where famous queens had their palaces of eternity decked in the mountainside. I raised my hand, which wore the ring and glanced to the north. The sun sent a bolt of light to the emerald, which then sent a light beam towards the valley. The light beam directed itself to a side in the mountains. I told the assistants to walk in that direction.
When we approached the designated location the emerald cast a light in the corner of the valley. We walked to the site and started digging.
After another three hours, the sun lowered itself to the clouded horizon and thus sending cool winds across the desert. Our shovels hit something. I cleared away the sand with a portable dust blower and brushed off excess dust with a five-inch brush. There was a step with the Cartouche of my wife's name inscribed upon it. I was delighted.
Without taking a break from our discovery, I ordered the workmen to start removing the enclosing rubble from the staircase. Stone by stone were removed and each minute increased my enduring excitement.
We worked until six that evening until the staircase and the first passage were cleared. The Egyptologist found some alabaster lamps and unguent containers with both the names of my wife and that of my former embodiment. I knew that she was buried here, though I did not know when.
At 6:30 PM the antechamber was uncovered and some gilt furniture came to light. The objects were similar in design to those, which were buried with Tutankhamon. At seven o'clock, we posted a guard and went to the local restaurant and ordered dinner. The curator of the Luxor museum met us there and we discussed our findings of the day. Although I did not have a valid permit to dig, they allowed me anyway since I single-handedly found my old tomb.
Two hours later I returned to my cruise ship and changed my clothes and took a relaxing shower. I returned to the site at 8:41 PM and assisted the men with their spotlight and camera equipment.
I opened the burial chamber with a crowbar and beamed my flashlight at the hole. The light bounced off a gold covered wall, probably a burial shrine containing the coffins. The men were amazed although the sight looked all too familiar to me. . . After clearing away the plastered door, we entered the sepulcher in silence.
The crewmen at the entrance directed the spotlight towards the stairwell and the cameras would record the findings. I inched along the side of the golden wall and discovered the entrance with the doors still sealed after 3,000 years. I allowed one of the workmen to photograph the clay seal with its nine jackals representing the nine chosen enemies of Kemti. The rope knot was carefully loosened with a slippery gel that caused the withered rope to be preserved upon its removal. I held the ancient bronze door handle in my right hand and I swiftly pulled back the door with ease of its fragile hinges. The door was at first stuck in place until some lubricant was added, and then the door was opened easily.
Upon the opening of the first set of doors, many artifacts came to light: first there was an ivory jewel box heaped with golden jewelry, next were ceremonial garments, and finally there was a shroud dotted with roses of gilt bronze covering the next shrine. I wasn't positive as to why there were shrines in this tomb, since usually shrines were meant for pharaohs and not their queens.
Two more golden shrines were uncovered and following the removal of more artifacts the stone sarcophagus appeared in the midst of our discovery. I told the others to clear a way along the walls of the inner sanctum and that of the antechamber for room to place the coffins. The workmen lifted the stone lid from its home and placed it on the side of the sarcophagus. Next, shovels were placed within the cracks between the coffins for their removal.
From the granite sarcophagus three gilt coffins of similar description were removed. I waited impatiently as the lid of the interior coffin was being removed. After the archaeologists took the lid from its place I directed a high powered flashlight onto its contents. There, laid before me in the form of the goddess Isis, was the mummy of my former loving wife, Ankhesenamon. Not knowing what to say, I knelt down beside her and glided my hand across her folded arms as newly formed tears blurred my vision. Although in reality she was my oldest niece, I regarded her not only as my wife but also as my purpose for living. . .
Finally, my eternal quest was at an end. I have both regained my ancient knowledge and the kindest, most caring creature I ever knew in my environment of the times. I intended to resurrect her using my combined ancient powers so that she may assist with my future progress that she would not have witnessed otherwise.
I did not discover her tomb for the fame and fortune that my predecessors Carter and Carnarvon had, but for the continuing presence of eternal perfection which inspired my past by knowing someone who accepted me, not only as a deity, but as a person-- something that never existed in any of my lifetimes beforehand. I regarded her as a perfect example of the potential ability that all dependent mutations can acquire, which is of course why I allowed them to exist on a planet made for life forms of greater value. I not only loved her as a person, but as a perfect being; probably the reason I created her. . .
For once in thirty-three centuries, we were finally together, even if it is in spirit for the time. I carefully lifted her from her bed of eternity and carried her past the Arab onlookers who displayed anything less than passion for my actions. I doubt they'll ever understand what I am performing, and I hope that they will never have to go through with what I am dealing with.
I transported her to a lion-headed couch and gently placed her wrapped corpse on the platform. Using a steel blade I cut the bandages from around her facial area, revealing to the world the third oldest daughter of the famous Nefertiti. I noticed some golden jewelry hanging from the surrounding linen strips so I placed them in my jacket pocket.
I removed the ring of Emerauldia from my pocket and placed it over her heart, assuming it was still there. Next, I held both of her tightly clasped hands and hung my head over her body, deeply concentrating on my creative powers which will cause her to live again, and this time in a new form. Within minutes, her entire body glowed in an erie Emerald bath of light. During this process a copy of her soul was being entered into the Emerald which in turn will enter her new embodiment.
Although I wasn't watching the entrance to the tomb, I did sense the presence of other humans entering the tomb. These people were from the government. One Arab was the Minister of Defense while another was the President himself, accompanied by several bodyguards and assistants, each displaying heavenly awe upon their grief stricken faces. They probably never saw a true deity before, so I can understand what they were thinking at the time. I also wondered if I had committed an unusual crime by performing what they saw. Whatever they thought, it was of no concern to me.
Her body slowly floated from the platform and was suspended in air for several minutes. I rotated her body in circles, like a spoke between chariot wheels. As she spun in mid-air, parts of her were changed in form: her face became more fleshy and dark colored, her arms and legs looked almost new, and her abdomen was bare from the wrappings. As each new part flashed in color and became new, a jingling sound similar to the rattle of a sistrum, streamed through the still air. I concentrated even more, almost knocking myself unconscious as I squatted to the stone floor of the tomb.
Between spasms of power I glanced upward and watched her spin, noticing that her hair was once again a midnight black, and her complexion was a light tan. I suffered incredibly, as I never before attempted to resurrect something prior to the accumulation of my powers. My body hurt in several places as I forced the eternal powers of a god from the recesses of my cranium and of my heart. I suffered more than that of my opponent Jesus, who hung bolted to a cross. Now we were even. . .
Her body was now lowered onto the lion couch and I was relieved from my suffering. I slowly stood up and stared into the closed eyes of this new girl who I just brought from the Netherworld. The onlookers gathered around the platform and seemed amazed yet nervous about what happened. I turned around and eyed the President and his entourage calmly. The Egyptologist was speechless and so were the remaining excavators, who probably only expected to see ancient artifacts and not a godly resurrection.
I clothed her from some of the enclosed ceremonial garments and removed the numbered stickers, which the archaeologists had placed for identification. A bright camera flash nearly blinded me in the electric-torch lit room. I glanced behind me and heard a small apology from the cameraman who shot us.
Raising her head with my dust covered hands I opened her eyes and gave a blow of Emerauldian power over her. One eye opened and stared into the depths of the tomb behind me, which made me wonder if she knew that she was alive or still buried in the past. Next, her second eye opened which directed itself to me. She blinked and then stared at me with surprise. I doubted that she would be able to recognize me, considering my current embodiment resembles more of her father than that of my old self. I massaged her left cheek with my right hand and sent an age-old reserved kiss to her forehead. She attempted to sit up and perhaps to escape, but I forced her down until I informed her about who I am and of the current time in which she lived.
I lowered myself until I was parallel to her breast, and spoke softly to her. I told her, "Rise my dear Ankhesenamon, and look beyond the grave at your new life ahead. . . " I paused. "Do you remember who I am?"
In the English language that I entered into her vocabulary she asked, "Are you Ptah, God of Gods, or are you Ay?. . . I was told that I might see you one day by the priests of Amon. . ."
She still thought that she was dead, so I attempted to communicate to her in a slightly different way. "No, I am the afterlife of your husband who left you long ago. I am sorry that I left you without saying goodbye since you would have felt even more terrible if I had. I was Tutankhamon, though you may call me either ‘Tut’ or (Horus) Ptah-Amon-Re, as I am the creator god for which the name represents."
She replied, ". . . O Tutankhamon, you will never know how long I have waited to meet you again in the realm of the dead (no doubt she continued to think that she was in Heaven and not alive). I have thought about you day and night since you departed from my reach. . . Why have you returned and where. . where am I?"
I told her that she was in her tomb in the Valley of the Queens, and that I returned to her to ask her forgiveness in the matter of eliminating our former offspring. The idea still bothered me, even after thousands of Earth years. She didn't know what I was referring to so I dropped the subject rather than getting myself into trouble.
I helped to lift her from the lion couch and escorted her past the government agents and to the entrance. The other people in the tomb followed us out the subterranean passage and outside the tomb.
One of the government agents drew me aside. He asked me if I wanted this event to be kept secret, so I told him to classify anything regarding the resurrection and to publicly announce the discovery of the tomb and of its contents. The Egyptologist and his followers asked me whether I wished to keep any of the contents, so I told him to place the artifacts in a museum for now.
We walked to the ferryboat and went across the Nile, staring into each other's eyes like cats about to strike. I could not release my emotions for my situation was too intense and I would not know what to do anyway. At the other side of the river, we walked around the city of Luxor searching for a suitable hotel in which we would communicate our feelings in a relaxed state.
At the hotel we chose a suite in the corner of the seventh floor. There was a grandeur view of the river to the west, although the windows were too tinted to see much else. I sorted out some clothes I had bought from the hotel gift store and asked her to try them on. After that, we entered the enclosed Jacuzzi where we held each other in the rising steam. As I held her, my arms embracing her newly formed back and my head staring into the opposing wall, I thought that my life was once again perfect.
After the long bath in the circular hot tub, we ventured through the darkness and into the large bed located at the center of the room. I pulled up the polyester cover after we had entered. I stared at her in the darkness as former memories echoed to me from the grave. She seemed more beautiful now than when I was pharaoh, given the fact her body was now renewed. We exchanged kisses after the movements of our mouth parts silenced each smile, as if dessert wasn't enough. . .
Some time later, we discussed the future: the future of our relation and of my effect on the world. The tomb possessions from both of our tombs, those that won't decay in the years ahead, will be used since this is our afterlife regardless if the Netherworld is the more appropriate place to use them.
I had a different idea in mind. I had a plan which would unite all the "terrorist nations" and Arab countries into one empire. That way, the individual terrorists will not be able to ruin the world without consent of the emperor. The funds that would contribute to this plan will come from those countries in the past who had an illegal hold over Egypt as well as the ancient part of the country. One of those nations is, no doubt, Britain. When my tomb was discovered, Britain paid for the excavation and hoped to claim what is mine for their private usage. I will not allow future lands to perform this illegal action again.
The next day I returned to the cruise boat and informed my relatives that a friend will be accompanying us throughout the rest of our voyage. When I was asked who it was, I stated that the person was an assistant of my publisher and was also involved in the distribution of my book. I hoped that this ruse would be followed without question.
The government of Egypt daily monitored my whereabouts as well as Ankhesenamon's, and occasionally a representative was brave enough to ask a few questions. The ship stopped at the city of Aswan where the dam holds back the majority of the river. After staying there for one night, we flew over to Abu Simbel and photographed Ramses's temple. I considered Ankhesenamon to now be a mere girlfriend rather than inform everyone that she had at one time been my wife. It was easier on my conscious, too.
At the end of the cruise we flew to an area around the Red Sea and stayed at a resort stationed there. The government persisted in following us to whatever place we visited. Whether or not the government actually believed in afterlife it didn't matter, for what they observed in that dark tomb appeared as the act of a god and not of a grieving human who tried to have once again what he had lost. They clung to me in a similar way in which their ancestors clung to the idols they worshipped. But, who am I to complain?
Towards the end of my vacation in Egypt, I asked the President to take care of Ankhesenamon while I am gone for I have my American life to finish before I can return. Before I left her in the president's care, I told her goodbye. If only I had told her that before I died, then perhaps I would not feel so terrible about saying it now. This time, at least, she understood my intentions. Her gleaming smile waved back to me as I left in a silver-plated Mercedes, compliments of the Minister of Defense.
Back in the United States, I finished a partially incomplete course in college. At home I frequently looked at pictures from my trip and the souvenirs which reminded me of the pleasurable stay in my old country. The fabulous ring with its magical powers I kept hidden from view in a selected area in my closet marked "Egypt". Since I am the only person in my family who is interested in that subject, I decided that the ring was safe there.
The summer was almost beginning, so I called the President of Egypt on his private phone via satellite. I was not scheduled to go anywhere during the summer so I decided to once again visit my old land and perhaps discuss my future with the embassy of Egypt. I would not enter as a tourist but rather as an ambassador, from the Netherworld.
The president warned against my coming due to several suggestions of war among the Arab nations. I was not scared easily by the idea of war, so I told him to prepare the red carpet for his private jet, which I would ride.
When I arrived in a private airport in Cairo, the country appeared to have a persistent illness. That illness is war. Ever since I was pharaoh, there was a frequency of ill-fated treaties, which resulted in a minor battle. I was adjusted to understand those problems, so should I bring together all the nations with poor agreements then perhaps there will be no future ailments when peace treaties are called for.
A Limousine to the president’s office from the airstrip transported me. Ankhesenamon was waiting impatiently in the office when I arrived. The President had a worried look on his face when he turned to me from a row of windows. He briefly informed me that the nations of Syria and Libya were slowly amassing weapons of various character, some were chemical and some were traditional. He also received word that Libya had purchased ten nuclear rockets from a spy in the Soviet Union. This would be devastating information for the United States should Libya use the rockets and other combined arms against U.S. protectorates in the Middle East, such countries as Egypt itself. One aspect of good news is that the U.S. supplies weapons to Egypt, although there were not enough personnel to operate them. Even if Egypt were united with Israel in a war against these opponents, with the combined artillery of both countries, they still would not have enough manpower to use them.
For two weeks I stayed in Cairo, learning some political concepts and tactics from the president's officials. I watched the way he handled his occupation. I also attempted to smooth my already glossy relation with my former love, who seemed to be changing in the modern era.
During the middle of the third week, the president and some agents paraded down the main streets in Cairo in honor of a political holiday. The sight reminded me of the time former President Sadat paraded about the city in remembrance of the Yom Kippur War, during which renegade agents killed him.
Halfway through the parade I noticed a speeding black car in a collision course with the President's Limousine. I called out to him from inside the car to sit down and to stop waving to his fans. He told me not to worry. Moments later, the speeding car allowed a black draped arm holding a semi-automatic weapon to fire a series of slugs in the direction of his open window. I drew myself backwards, almost splashing my wife's margarita into the lap of a secret service agent armed with a silenced Uzi. The president was shot twice: once in his upper right shoulder, the other scraped his neck causing a semi-massive blood spill. Although he was wearing a bullet resistant vest, it didn't prevent the armor-piercing bullets from shattering his career. We dragged him inside, in care of his mortal wounds. I grabbed the agent's gun and sprayed the speeding car with enough bullets to destroy all its windows.
We drove to a local hospital and delivered him to an emergency room where doctors took care of him. I went back to the president's office and called the vice-president on line #2 over the radio. The vice-president was in Peru at the time, exploring archaeological findings, which he compared to Egyptology.
Since the vice-president could not be reached I decided, with the permission of the Minister of Defense, to temporarily control the land as acting-president. This decision made a few thousand sparks of interest to Ankhesenamon, who ached to see this happen. Finally, as it would seem, that something of this nature would again happen to me; that I would be a ruler under similar circumstances as when I first became pharaoh.
Instead of the traditional coronation procedures, which take months of planning, and that the nation needed an immediate ruler to supervise its health, I quickly armed myself with the rank of “Supreme President”. Should I remain in power after the wars, only then will I agree to the coronation procedures.
Without waiting for my enemies to attack, as if the assassination attempt wasn't a declaration of war, I decided to wage war against our immediate enemies. I sent an advisor to France for the accumulation of emergency tribute, which would pay for the wars. As France once sponsored Egypt as well as participated in some of its disputes, I could see no reason as to why it wouldn't help.
As my first act as president, I ordered that all the borders and boundary lines of Egypt be frozen until the dispute is stable. This would prevent the foreign agents from entering and thus prevent anymore problems such as the one that just occurred.
I ordered that all military artillery and soldiers be mobilized for attack on the western border, as Libya is the prime enemy in this war. I called the Prime Minister of Israel to accompany us, that is join forces, in this battle and all that follow as we would be working under the floor-plan established by Sadat. After all the American made and traditional military equipment was activated, I noticed that at least one-half were still in the harbors and hangers -- waiting for use.
I placed the ring of Emerauldia on my third finger as I thought about what I should do next. I decided that I would resurrect all the mummified, ancient Egyptians found in museums across the world to operate the vehicles of war still remaining. Since they were already dead, there won't be any casualties of war. . .
In order to make my idea possible, I needed to be in an area at the center of Egypt, this place was the pyramid of Khufu. I ordered that a couch from my wife's tomb be placed inside the crypt of Khufu on which I would sleep due to the power drain that occurs whenever I attempt to resurrect something from the past. Ankhesenamon was nervous about my decision, though I was confident this time.
The next day I laid down upon the ancient platform in the burial chamber of that great pharaoh, holding the ring with its magical powers. In my hands I held my original scepters of power, the crook and flail (taken from the museum under direct order). I concentrated on the ring as Ankhesenamon stood by me and watched curiously. Soon, the entire chamber was engulfed by green light. I concentrated upon my feelings of my past; I thought about all those people I knew and who served me. I probably didn't take much interest about them back then, but now I was upset that I didn't acquire a better relation with them. Nevertheless, I thought about everyone who I had met during my time as pharaoh (what I called "per-aa"), and all those who lived in Kemti.
The energy surrounding me pulsed with activity as I was now in deep thought. As I later discovered, all the mummies of the ancient world rose up from their glass cases and flew from their captivity as wings sprouted from their bandaged bodies. They looked like giant butterflies, storming in clusters and entering the war machines, which later charged through enemy lines. Their instructions came from me as I lay near the sarcophagus of a great ruler. I controlled their thoughts easily, and I also concentrated on falcons, which flew above them so that I could oversee their progress.
The next day, Libya surrendered at the hands of my "spirit brigade". I ordered my troops to collect all foreign vehicles for use on our side, against Syria.
Over the next month, the nations of Syria, Libya, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Turkey (where Hittites used to be), Lebanon and Jordan succumbed to the power of the ancients under my declaration. The nations of Israel and Sudan were united with Egypt by their own accord. Saudi Arabia took no part in this activity, however.
I ordered that all conquered lands be united with Egypt to form an empire. This empire was labeled "The United Egyptian Imperial-Republic," and the national flag was composed of many smaller sections, each of which constituted the original nation's flag. Egypt's flag was once again green with a crescent moon and three stars, with the added insignia of ancient Egypt: the scepter of Ptah encircled by waves of fire and water. The scepter emerged from a blue Lotus flower, and above was seven four-pointed stars.
The manner of government is the following: ministers are over each section or city, Prime ministers over each ten ministers. Vice-presidents control each former country, while four "pharaohs" control four combined regions with a vice-emperor for every two pharaohs. At the apex is the Supreme Pharaoh or emperor of the entire realm. The emperor will be chosen by a two-thirds vote of a congress of ten representatives. The emperor will appoint each vice-emperor. Each pharaoh will be elected by a secret ballot by the Prime ministers who in turn are elected by the ministers. The ministers are thus chosen directly from the people, as are the ten selected representatives. Well, something like that.
After the war, I visited the president at the hospital. When I told him what happened, he was shocked and pleased as well. I asked him if I could be his co-regent rather than reigning alone with the permission of the president's subjects. A long pause followed. I knew that he wouldn't want a foreigner to rule, although Egypt was dominated by foreign rule long in between my two lives. Given his unfortunate situation and his inability to rule directly, he agreed upon a temporary contract, which proclaimed me as ruler of Egypt and of its empire. When he is better, only then will I have to leave office. Although the president would be the ruler of Egypt, he would not be the emperor of the territory, which I acquired, meaning that I would still be the emperor of the UEIR.
I decided that if I am destined to rule as emperor, then I must appear as such. I ordered a palace, large in size and functions, to be built in the territory bordering Egypt and Sudan. I also proclaimed that all of my tomb possessions that are usable in this life be brought to me. These objects will fill the palace combined with Ankhesenamon's artifacts so that the palace will look as if it were from ancient origin. After all, most people of the world have in the past already seen the tomb possessions so, in a sense, who will miss them?
The next week I returned to California and informed my relatives that I will live in the empire most of the time, and occasionally return to visit. They didn't realize that I caused the empire to form, and were concerned.
I later discovered that the only reason I was allowed to rule was in part due to my alleged powers, one of which is the power of resurrection. I performed what was necessary, though I did not intend to proclaim myself as a god as did someone else in the past. . . Besides, who will complain during my scheduled Apocalypse?
The organization of the empire was running smoothly. Soon enough will the empire appear as some of the past, such as the Roman Empire. I always wanted to have a large area to rule, without enemies disturbing the progress of my subjects. That was my wish even before I entered the embodiment of Tutankhamon. I seem to have the power to resurrect almost anyone from the past, all except my past embodiment. The reason is simple: should I bring back my past body, then the soul within me will have to leave and therefore send my current embodiment into oblivion. Besides, it wouldn't work anyway; the body is too destroyed to attempt a resurrection. Only those preserved, or who have recently died without the soul being erased, can relive in this world under my permission.
The next problem was the confusion of religion. With my presence here, many humans will start to worship me as their ancestors worshipped Jesus as a spiritual leader. I did not want this to happen. All I can do is to say that if they want to worship a god, then they must prove their worthiness to me and therefore worship anyone from the past whom they think has achieved "enlightenment." This will prevent them from worshipping false deities.
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