Hastelloy couldn’t understand the words since they were spoken in the Sigma language, but Mosa’s turning around was her check to see if it was time for her display of godly power. Hastelloy looked down river and saw no signs of a change. The time was not right so he shook his head slowly from side to side.
Mosa turned back around to face Pharaoh with a determined glare. “My god demands your answer. Will you free the slaves?”
“I am the living god,” Pharaoh shouted. Paying no attention to the smell, he brought his face an inch away from Mosa’s and said sternly, “I answer only to Anubis, he who granted me my power and divinity. Now get this rabble out of my sight.”
Pharaoh stepped back and addressed the crowd in a booming voice. “You have a monument to build for Anubis; get to work or suffer the consequences.”
With a cool level tone, Mosa delivered her confident retort. “If you don’t heed my god’s command, it is you who will suffer. Eight plagues will befall your people if you fail to comply, each more devastating than the last. First the river will become poison. Next frogs will infest the land. Then gnats and flies will envelop the city and all the livestock will be exterminated.”
Pharaoh began to laugh uncontrollably at the absurd threats.
Mosa continued undisturbed, “The fifth plague will cause everyone to suffer incurable boils and sores on their bodies. Next a storm of fire and hail will devastate the land, followed by perpetual darkness that will drain the life out of all living things. Finally a swarm of locust will descend upon the city and devour whatever remains. This is the promise of my god if you do not free his people from bondage.”
Pharaoh continued laughing as he turned around and approached the water’s edge. While he began to disrobe in preparation for his bath Mosa glanced at Hastelloy, which he was very happy to see. The change was upon them so he nodded his head up and down vigorously.
“I wouldn’t get in that water,” Mosa shouted with great concern.
Pharaoh turned around to face her one last time, “Perhaps you’re right, sister. The necessity for you to bathe is far more urgent than my own.” He gestured with his hand toward the water. “Please, ladies first.”
“I wouldn’t put one foot in that poison,” she said with surprise and horror in her voice.
Pharaoh turned toward the river in time to see a tide of blood red sludge flow upstream, against the current, and replace the clear waters that were there moments before. He stumbled backward in shock and tripped over his own feet, falling to the ground in the process.
The putrid smell of rotten eggs hit the onlookers like a falling boulder. Mosa didn’t react to the stench at all, which made sense to Hastelloy since the aroma was probably an improvement over her prior surroundings. She moved forward and grabbed Pharaoh under the armpit and lifted him to his feet.
“Neferhotep,” Mosa said addressing her brother by his given name. “Please; release the slaves. One way or another my God’s command will be done. The only question remaining is how much your people will suffer until you set aside your lust for power and comply.”
“Out of respect for your God, I won’t kill you where you stand.” Pharaoh said through gritted teeth. His nostrils flared as he fought to contain his anger. “Anubis will overcome this . . . treachery,” he said defiantly.
Pharaoh shook off Mosa’s touch and yelled for all to hear. “I hereby disown this woman and cast her down as a common slave to be worked and whored like any other.” He then looked Mosa directly in the eyes and said quietly, “Now get out of my sight, before I do something unkind.”
Mosa said nothing, turned, and briskly walked toward the slave quarters. The crowd soon followed amid a buzz of discussions about what they just witnessed.
Hastelloy joined his other three crew members on their way back to the tent. “I think he took it rather well don’t you?”
“That must have been one enormous eruption to deposit that much silt and ash into the sea. So much so that it rushed up river against the water flow,” Valnor commented.
“According to my readings, the tidal backflow will extend almost 500 miles upstream. The bloody water will be here for the better part of a week before getting washed back out to sea,” Hastelloy instructed. “That’ll be more than enough time for our God to work his magic.”
Chapter 33: Too Clever by Half
Goron gently tapped the side of his hand-held geological surveying device causing the tiny display to flicker back to life. The resolution on the screen was just enough for him to key in the parameters of a scan he needed performed.
He snarled softly when the display dimmed again as the unit used its final bits of power to emit the required scanning pulse. Goron knew full well this scan would be the device’s last, but he needed an answer to his question. He would have liked nothing better than to plug the device into a recharging station, but the crashed ship’s engineering section was tumbling through space, probably still bouncing around in the asteroid belt. There was no power to be found.
The screen grew brighter again when the results displayed. Goron knew time was short so his eyes quickly took in the information. A few short seconds later the device let out a faint wheeze and went dark for the last time. A low growl formed involuntarily in his throat and fought its way to the surface. The scanner going dead was enough to make him angry, but comprehension of the results the unit produced was infuriating.
The growl quickly grew to a deafening roar as Goron stood up from his command chair and hurled the device across the bridge with all his might. The scanner shattered into miniscule components when it met the solid metal bulkhead and left a deep dent in the wall; a testament to the raw strength his race possessed.
Elohim’s head snapped up from his engineering workstation as tiny parts of the scanning unit fell on to his furry shoulders. “I take it the scanner was no longer useful?” he asked with mild amusement.
“Damn! This Novi captain is too clever by half,” Goron shouted in frustration. “He’s attacking our one advantage with these people. He is trying to undercut our status as gods, and he might just succeed.”
“Excuse me for being a little thick, Leader, but I fail to see the severity of the situation. So they turned the river red. It’s a cheap parlor trick any fool with a chemistry background could’ve pulled off. They probably had a man up stream mixing in the necessary chemicals on cue. The color will pass and all will be forgotten.”
“With that kind of flawed reasoning it’s a wonder you’re even able to walk upright,” Goron snapped as he paced around to the back of the command chair and leaned forward on the back rest with his hands. “The red tide came up stream from the sea, against the current. No simple chemistry trick could do that. The scanner confirmed my suspicion. The red tide was the result of a massive volcanic eruption a few hundred miles to the north.
“The red sludge isn’t a simple chemical reaction,” Goron continued. “It’s a poisonous combination of silt and ash that will kill everything in the river. The irrigation canals, and ground water fed by the river are also rendered poisonous now. There will be no fresh water for at least a week.”
Elohim, for the first time in the conversation, took on a serious demeanor. “The rotting bodies of fish will lead to an insect infestation carrying with it all kinds of diseases. Plus the plume of rock from the eruption will arrive in a few days blocking out the sun and raining fire down upon the city. Every future catastrophe the Pharaoh’s sister prophesized will come to fruition; it’s practically a scientific certainty.”
Goron rolled his eyes and threw his arms up in disgust. “Oh, very well done. See what can happen when you use your head a bit. Now that I’ve held your hand through solving that puzzle, maybe you can further test that gray matter between your ears and help me come up with a solution.”
Goron paused to settle himself down. “The thought of some God causing that earthquake already has these people panicked. When the plagues hit, things will descend into total anarchy.”<
br />
“The bottom line is, soon Pharaoh will come to us demanding we exert our divine powers to save his people from this god the Novi have created. When he realizes we’re powerless to change the course of events he’ll turn against us. Then we’re as good as dead, along with our victory over the Novi.”
Goron looked at his now silent engineering officer. The man was staring at nothing in particular with his eyes darting back and forth; his keen engineering mindset was already at work. Goron only hoped a good idea was fighting its way to the surface.
Finally, Elohim spoke again, “What I can’t get past in my mind is how the Novi managed to cause a volcanic eruption so far away.”
“I doubt it was them, especially given the magnitude of the eruption. No, they were just lucky enough to detect the event and put the results to good use. Why is fate so cruel to us that it gives those unnatural beings a natural disaster to use and bend to their will? That’s the very definition of irony isn’t it?” Goron asked with resignation.
“All I can do right now is marvel at the elegance of the Novi commander’s plan,” Elohim admitted. “He can’t interfere with the local culture directly so he uses a disgruntled member of the royal family and a natural disaster to do the work for him.”
“Yes, our adversary is very clever.” Goron conceded. He stood silently pondering the situation until his ears slowly perked up as he thought back to the conclusions he had come to about the Novi captain’s behavior.
“However, he is also prone to rash action if pressed outside of his well conceived plans. All we need to do is find the right disruptive influence, and he might be kind enough to bring his Novi crew out of hiding for us to finally grab once and for all.”
“The pyramid is nearing completion,” Elohim observed, “but is still a few weeks off. If we can find something to motivate the overseers and workers to speed up the process, we might finish the project before all hell breaks loose.
“First things first though. Pharaoh will demand action from us, action we’ll be powerless to take. I think at the first sign of protest from that whelp we need to execute him as an example to the rest.”
“You raise two excellent points,” Goron said. “Pharaoh will need silencing, and the work must get finished before the worst of the plagues descend upon the city.”
Goron once again paced back around to the front of the command chair and took his seat looking very calm and relaxed. “I think its time we introduced Pharaoh to some specimens we keep in the medical bay.”
Goron suddenly stood up again, as if he accidentally hit an eject button, and looked with concern over at his only surviving crewman, “The medical bay’s still attached to the ship right? It’s not floating out there with the engineering section?”
Elohim’s ears perked up as he started to comprehend his leader’s next play. “It’ll take some effort to reach, but the medical bay’s still here. I’ll get to work clearing a path.”
“Good,” Goron said softly as he relaxed back into his command chair, feeling worthy of the seat once more. “Pharaoh will be our ticket home then.”
Chapter 34: Frogs and Flies Oh My
Hathor reached the top of the sand dune and looked around hoping the oasis would finally be in sight. To her great disappointment there was nothing but golden sand stretching to the crest of the next dune. More and more she was beginning to feel the weight of the large clay vase sitting on top of her head. Of particular concern was the fact that the vase would be many times heavier once filled with water for the return trip. Hathor started questioning her ability to make the trek back to the city with the desperately needed fresh water for her family. Also bothering her was the nagging feeling that she was going the wrong way and was hopelessly lost in the middle of the desert. She looked to her friend for support.
“Ever notice how the desert all looks the same. It feels like we’ve been walking in circles, are you sure this is the right way?” Hathor asked.
“Wait a minute. You’re following me? I thought I was following you,” Heket said playfully. “Relax. We’re not the first to travel to the lake. Look,” she pointed to the sand in front of them, “this is a well worn path. Our ability to even see the path in this constantly shifting sand is a testament to the thousands who have gone this way before us.”
Hathor couldn’t argue with the logic. Finally, she let out a soft sigh and willed her feet to start moving forward again. “This journey is miserable, but I’m still glad to get away from the work camp. The rotten egg stench of the river combined with the decaying fish floating on the surface is unbearable.
“Not to mention all the frogs,” Heket added. “They can’t live in the river anymore so I guess they decided to make the city their new home. At least they’re something to eat.”
“True. I’ll take a free frog dinner over having to face the food line and the desires of the distributors for the slop they dish out,” Hathor stated as she spat in the sand beside her. “Emir used to take the kids alone to get food until they instituted the one bowl per person limit. The distributors noticed quickly that all the pretty women stayed away so of course they had to put a stop to that activity.”
“Being beautiful is a blessing and a curse at the same time,” Heket said with compassion. “Everyone agrees. There’s no dishonor allowing yourself to be violated so your family can eat. There’s no choice in the matter.”
“That fact still doesn’t make it any easier to bear while the sacrifice is made. The worst part is the bastards make it seem like a choice. I’d prefer they simply force me behind the tent rather than standing arms crossed until I take his hand and he, in turn, hands the ladle to my husband. It must just devastate Emir every time it happens.”
“I’ll say; from what I heard he got mad enough to sneak around the tent to kill the rapist with his bare hands,” Heket stated with pride. “How’d he manage to not get caught by the other guards anyway?”
“Is that what people are saying, that Emir killed the guard?” Hathor asked with alarm. “If that rumor gets out they might come after him.”
“Of course that’s what people are saying, who else would have done it?”
“Truly, I have no idea who it was that saved me. I haven’t seen him before or since, but as long as I live, I’ll never forget his face or what he did for me,” Hathor said as they began ascending yet another sand dune.
“It was all so surreal. The guard and I rounded the corner of the bordello tent and a set of arms reached out of the shadows, grabbed the guard by the throat and squeezed the life out of him.”
“My god, what did you do?”
“Nothing. I just stood there in shock. One minute I’m mentally preparing for the violation, and the next, I’m being rescued and watching my attacker suffer the death I wished upon him a hundred times before. Then my liberator, without saying a word or even really looking at me, took my arm and calmly led us back to Emir and the kids. I never even got a chance to thank him,” she said with regret. “I just wanted to get away from there before the body was found.”
“Apparently your hero was in no hurry. I heard he even took the time to fill his own bowl before vanishing back into the shadows.” Heket’s voice turned a bit to reveal a level of fear. “Killing a person like that and then moving on as if nothing happened takes a certain level of lunacy don’t you think? It’s not like stepping on a bug you know. The whole incident makes me wonder if we should be relieved or frightened that he’s still out there.”
“I don’t know about that,” Hathor countered. “I do know the guards are certainly frightened now. The rapes have stopped, at least for now, so I’m most definitely relieved there is a vigilante on the loose.”
Hathor finished her last sentence and looked straight ahead. The scene that presented itself when the two women crested the sand dune was surreal. A small fresh water lake surrounded by green vegetation lay before them. The greenery ended abruptly in sand about twenty feet away from the shore. The lake looked big enough
to provide water for the people in the camp for quite some time, but there wasn’t much to spare. She cringed knowing there wasn’t enough to keep the livestock watered. The cattle would likely die from dehydration and pestilence.
All along the lake shore hundreds of women were knee deep in the water, filling their large clay vases. As the two descended toward the lake a low murmur slowly became audible and grew into a loud chaotic chorus of chirps and croaks. They both realized in horror, that the greenery around the lake was not vegetation at all; it was frogs. Millions upon millions of large green frogs inhabited the lake and its surroundings. They were seeking refuge in the only source of fresh water around.
“And I thought the camp was infested with frogs, I don’t think we’ll even be able to step anywhere without squishing them,” Hathor said with revulsion.
“Come on, we didn’t walk all this way for nothing. If they don’t get out of the way of our feet, it’s on them; literally,” Heket said as she proceeded into the sea of slimy green creatures.
Hathor let loose a full body shiver as she carefully walked away from the lake with a vase full of fresh water on her head.
“That was thoroughly revolting. I don’t think a single one of them tried to get out of the way of my footfalls. It’s almost like they welcomed the sweet release death brought. Do you think they know something we don’t?” Hathor asked in an attempt to make light of the situation.
“I don’t know, plenty of the slimy critters tried to hitch a ride back to the city by jumping down my shirt,” Heket replied with a disgusted snarl.
Both women fell silent as a low groan came from the vase Hathor carried. It was time to stop and rest anyway, so she gratefully set the heavy object down on the sand to have a closer look. The thought of the vase suddenly breaking after all the trouble she’d gone through to fill and haul it back to the city made her want to scream.
The outside looked fine; no cracks visible. When she moved her face over the top, a particularly large frog poked its head out of the water and smacked her nose with its tongue. Hathor shrieked in surprise and fell backwards, landing sprawled out on the sand and laughed uncontrollably.
Origins Page 22