The 47th Golden Age of Science Fiction

by Chester S. Geier

  “I’m ready,” Dunn said.

  Zero hour With Bronson and a group of other astrals Dunn flashed through space. The sprawling structures of Elm Center appeared through the night When the darkened dormitory loomed up in the shadows the party began separating to take up pre-assigned positions.

  “It’s in your hands from here on in,” Bronson told Dunn. “Good luck!”

  They shook hands briefly and Dunn, feeling a sudden hard knot of tension within him, moved forward into the building. The hall leading to his room appeared around him. He moved more slowly now, tautly alert.

  A heavy, crouching stillness lay over the hall. Nothing moved under the wide-spaced ceiling lights.

  Dunn crept up to the door of his room. Beyond it was his body—and Borchov. The stillness held. Lips tightening against his teeth, Dunn melted through the door.

  A giant fist smashed at him. He went rolling across the floor.

  With a frantic rallying of the strength that had been trained into him, Dunn threw off his shock. As he scrambled to his knees he saw Borchov poised catlike beside the bed. Dunn saw that his pajama-clad body lay in it—and he sensed that something was frightfully wrong.

  “Fool!” Borchov spat. “Did you not think that I would take certain precautions—erect certain defenses? These told me that strange astrals were carefully observing my activities. Therefore I have made certain preparations. Observe!”

  Now Dunn discovered exactly what was wrong. The body in the bed was wired lightly at head, wrists and ankles to make what appeared to be an electrical circuit. The wires led to two boxes beside the bed — one evidently a battery of some sort.

  Borchov pointed to the other box. “This, my so persistent young friend, contains enough dynamite to blow your body, as well as this entire building, to atoms! I have set up the electrical circuit in such a way as to respond to certain energies which I can generate in an instant.”

  Strangely, in that crucial moment, Dunn relaxed. He repressed an impulse to smile. Borchov, he realized abruptly, had made a serious miscalculation.

  The Pan-Asian agent had considered Dunn’s body to be the focal point of the activities he had discovered. He interpreted Dunn’s return as an attempt to reclaim his physical form—unaware that actually Dunn was playing for a far greater stake, one for which he was willing to sacrifice his body if necessary.

  Knowing his advantage, Dunn acted. “Wait!” he told Borchov, glancing with pretended fear at the bed. “Don’t do anything hasty. Let’s talk this over. Maybe we can strike a bargain.”

  Borchov smiled thinly. “Perhaps. But first I suggest that you advise your astral friends to withdraw.”

  “All right,” Dunn said. He lifted his voice in a call to Bronson and the others. Quickly he explained the situation and told of Borchov’s demand.

  “We’ll clear out, then,” Bronson called back. “You’re on your own.”

  Dunn tensed. He knew that Borchov would be following the retreat of the other astrals to make certain that no trickery was attempted. For a moment his attention would be diverted both from Dunn and his physical shell.

  The instant momentary blankness came into Borchov’s black eyes to announce that his attention had shifted, Dunn put his newly acquired powers into effect. He tore loose the electrical connections from the body in the bed.

  Borchov sensed the action and was instantly alert. Despite his surprise he retaliated with furious speed. He smashed at Dunn with a club of force.

  Dunn sent it glancing harmlessly aside. Amazement and rage flickered over Borchov’s sharp features. Gathering himself for a violent effort, he hurled a bolt of shattering energy. Dunn turned it aside—but with dazzling swiftness another flashed at him. He could not act quickly enough to keep from absorbing part of its impact. He went sprawling, his mind filled with the clangor of great bells.

  Borchov laughed wildly, in sheer relief at what to him appeared proof of his superior strength. The fleeting respite was all Dunn needed. He gathered himself for a supreme effort—

  His bolt hurled Borchov from his feet. He pressed his advantage, as he had been trained to do, throwing bolt after punishing bolt. He beat down Borchov’s defenses layer by layer, then went to work with the equivalent of his hands. He pummeled, battered, hammered. A red haze hung over his mind. In that haze the memory of the pain and torment he had suffered at Borchov’s hands was violently alive.

  And then he felt himself being pulled away from the limp form beneath him. As from a distance he heard Bronson’s voice.

  “That’s enough, Paul—enough! It’s all over. You’ve done a grand job—but save something of Borchov for us.”

  Dunn stood up, realizing abruptly that he was weak and shaken, spent. Despite the fury of the astral struggle, nothing of it appeared to have penetrated to the physical plane. The dormitory still was wrapped in night silence.

  “We didn’t go very far when we left here,” Bronson was saying. “As soon as we saw that you had tricked Borchov and had gone to work on him, we started back. Caught a couple of his friends, incidently, when they came rushing to his help.”

  Bronson gestured and Dunn glanced across the room at the sullen faces of Radek and Shevkin, who were being guarded by several of Bronson’s men.

  One of the members of the group, a physician, approached Dunn. “You can take over your body at once, if you want to. I checked and there’s no psychic damage or physical deterioration.”

  “Not right away,” Dunn said. “There’s something I have to do first.”

  After a rest Dunn appeared at Bronson’s office in the North American Information Bureau. Bronson grinned.

  “I’ve got a lot of news for you, Paul. While you were laying down on the job, we’ve been busy.”

  “How is Borchov?” Dunn asked.

  “A sadder and wiser man. We’ve questioned him thoroughly and have obtained details of the whole scheme. Our security men have taken over now and there’s nothing more to worry about. Borchov will receive extensive therapy to make him over into a useful astral citizen. We need abilities like his, you know. He won’t make any further trouble because, strangely enough, for all he knew, he didn’t know just how well organized we were. He didn’t want to risk discovery by exploring.”

  Dunn was puzzled. “You mean he can’t return to the physical plane?”

  Bronson shook his head. “He caught a fever in Tibet. His body was weakened by asceticism and couldn’t fight it off. Shevkin can’t return either, but Radek can. He’ll be a changed man, though.”

  Bronson made a sweeping motion. “I said I had a lot of news. Item one is that we’ve located your friend Halleck at an astral aid station in another city. He was found wandering in a coma. He’s being given therapy now and will be returned to his body, not too much the worse for wear. He won’t know what happened to him—and I feel that’s best, after all. In fact, Paul, I feel it would be wise if you returned not knowing everything that happened, everything you learned.”

  “What do you mean?” Dunn asked in sudden apprehension.

  “It’s important for you to go back. You need to obtain certain experience that will be valuable here . . . later. But to get this experience you’ll have to be a normal person, lead a normal life. You couldn’t do that knowing what you know now.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Dunn muttered. He stiffened. “But what about Alicia? I can’t just leave her!”

  “Alicia is item two,” Bronson said. “While we were taking action against Borchov the astral doctors who were working on her body finally managed to get through. The blood clot has been removed—and she’s gone back. You are all she’ll remember of what she experienced here.”

  Dunn was dismayed. “But I don’t know where to find her! I was going to ask her what hospital she was at—physically, I mean, but now.”

  Bronson grinned broadly. “Oh, she told me that before she left. Frankly, she made me promise to be sure to let you know.”

  “Then get my exit papers rea
dy,” Dunn said. “I’ve got a date!”

  Amazing New Discoveries of Ancient Egypt

  THE UNSOLVED MYSTERIES of the Great Pyramid of Giza may be revealed as a result of astounding new discoveries being made in Egypt. More than a hundred feet below the present surface of the land a huge hidden underground chamber has been opened up to human eyes for the first time in more than 5,000 years.

  For decades, many persons have felt that the Great Pyramid itself was something special and apart from the other pyramids. They have made predictions by the steps within the gigantic pile of stones. The World Wars and the atomic bomb are said to have been forecast by intricate systems based upon signs and symbols within the Great Pyramid. It has been felt by some that even the pyramid itself was built at a far earlier time than the other pyramids.

  And now the discoveries in the underground chamber tunneled out near the south face of the pyramid may hold the answers to these questions. But whether they do or not, Egyptologists are already saying that the discoveries are more important and hold a greater wealth of artifacts, than did the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

  One of these is a magnificent and well-preserved “spirit boat”—apparently the first completely intact relic of its type ever discovered. It is discussed in detail here. But other discoveries may prove to be even more exciting.

  Events leading up to this find began last year and the immediate findings date back to early May, 1954.

  The Great Pyramid, nearly 5,000 years old, stands in the desert on the outskirts of Cairo. The Egyptian government has been building a road around it for tourists. In charge of this work was Kamal El Malakh, 34, Egyptologist and director of archeological works for Giza and Lower Egypt.

  While directing work on the road El Malakh found an ancient, crude enclosure wall. He had his workmen demolish this and a foot under the age-packed earth their shovels uncovered a row of limestone blocks sealed with pink gypsum cement. The blocks were each three to five feet wide, 15 feet long and estimated to weigh 15 tons. They showed superior stonecutting and El Malakh felt at once he was on the track of something important.

  As the workmen continued to shovel away the sand more of the blocks were unearthed. They formed a strip 450 feet long that looked like an ancient pavement. As an architect, however, El Malakh felt the blocks might be lintel blocks forming the roof of an underground chamber or serdab.

  On May 21 El Malakh revealed his discovery of the limestone blocks to Dr. Abdul Moneim Abu Bakr, one of Egypt’s foremost Egyptologists. Dr. Abu Bakr was greatly excited by the news. He told El Malakh that two years before he had found a scarab inscribed with hieroglyphics that mentioned “a southern tomb of Cheops.” El Malakh thought the blocks might be the roof of a corridor leading to this tomb.

  On Sunday, May 23, El Malakh visited the site and noticed a projection of bedrock across the strip of limestone blocks which appeared to divide the corridor into two parts. This made him wonder whether the blocks might cover something other than a tomb. The obvious thing to do was to find out by cutting an opening into the blocks.

  Dr. Mustafa Amer, head of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities told him, “Go ahead and try your luck.”

  El Malakh chose a block of lesser quality about one-third of the distance from the east end of the row of blocks and on Monday, May 24, he ordered two of his workmen to begin cutting the end of it.

  El Malakh was proceeding cautiously. He did not know how the limestone blocks were supported and he wished to avoid a structural accident which might damage whatever lay below.

  On Tuesday the workmen cutting the block reached a ledge six feet below the surface of the bedrock into which the stone was set. Deciding to leave as much as possible of the stone to support its 15-ton weight, El Malakh told the workmen to begin chiseling a small diagonal tunnel in the direction of the corridor. He had them stop at intervals so that he could test the thickness of the remaining stone by tapping it with a stick. He heard an increasingly loud hollow echo.

  When tapping finally indicated that only a few inches of stone separated him from the corridor, the archeologist ordered the workmen to stop. He consulted with Dr. Amer and Dr. Mohammed Mahdi, his immediate superior in the Department of Antiquities, and on Wednesday morning, May 26, they hurried to the site for the next step in the investigation.

  Mohammed Abdel Al, a 65-year-old stonecutter, was called and he began chiseling away the thin layer of stone that remained in the hole. El Malakh, leaning forward tensely at the edge of the pit, heard the hollow echoes grow louder with each blow.

  It was a dramatic moment—a moment for which El Malakh had waited through the night in a fever of impatience. Archeological history, he felt, was in the making. Would Abdel Al’s chisel fulfill his hopes?

  After 10 blows of the hammer the chisel pushed through. Abdel Al pulled it out to reveal a small black hole in the white limestone. It was 11:30 A.M. and the sun glaced down on the scene.

  Jumping into the pit, El Malakh told Abdel Al to enlarge the hole. When it was large enough to see through he peered at what lay beyond. In his haste he gashed his forehead against the stone.

  In the excitement of the find he and the others bad forgotten to filing flashlights. Peering through the hole with eyes dazzled by the sun, El Malakh could see nothing. He asked the watching men to find a flashlight and as he waited he closed his eyes to increase their sensitivity to the darkness of the chamber. From the hole drifted a faint perfume of incense and cedar—a breath of the ancient, exotic past.

  Peering through the hole again, El Malakh now was able to see a dim white surface directly ahead. Below it, in the faint light streaming past his head, he made out a brownish area and against it a long oval object was discernible. El Malakh realized suddenly the object was an oar.

  He was, he says, “in a terrible state of nervousness.” He glanced up at the men standing above him and cried, “It’s a ship—a ship!”

  Unable to wait for a flashlight he asked for a mirror. In the light reflected into the chamber by the mirror, the first thing he saw was a symbol in red paint on the white surface about three yards away. He thought it to be a magic religious symbol rather than a hieroglyph. The white surface was a curved wall.

  The brownish area he had seen proved to be a wooden deck on which were coils of linen rope and spear shaped oars. He was certain that what he had found was a funeral ship, or “solar ship of night,” to carry the soul of a pharaoh on its eternal journey through the heavens with the sun.

  The boat is about 50 feet long and 15 feet wide with a high bow and stern. Its hull, estimated to be nine yards deep, is carved out of solid limestone. Its wooden decks have shrunk away from the stone sides which enabled El Malakh to count them. He found there were six. The painted cedar and sycamore wood was in a superb state of preservation. The chamber had been so well sealed with gypsum cement that not even dust or cobwebs were visible.

  El Malakh is certain the boat was built by Cheops—or Khufu—powerful king of the fourth dynasty who reigned about 2,800 B.C. Cheops, worshipped by his subjects as a “god on earth,” was the builder of the Great Pyramid.

  At the present writing the hole in the chamber is only large enough to admit a man’s head and shoulders. El Malakh has kept it sealed to protect the ship from air and sand, although he has opened it frequently to allow Egyptologists and others to view the chamber’s contents.

  What he will find in the ship is as yet a matter of speculation, but since the ancient Egyptians believed the souls of possessions as well as the souls of the owners entered the spirit world, it is possible that the boat is laden with jewelry, clothing, household furnishings and papyrus documents, in addition to statues of Cheops, his court favorites and the crew of the funeral boat. The lack of dust and cobwebs in the chamber indicates it never was opened before and that these articles will be intact.

  El Malakh believes he will find another boat at the sealed western half of the corridor or serdab. The corridor, he says, is long enough to contain
two. Kings before and alter Cheops built two solar ships of night—one for each of the royal titles, King of Upper Egypt and King of Lower Egypt.

  The archeologist plans to enter the western half in the early winter and says he will announce the opening one month in advance so that Egyptologists will have the opportunity to be present and to smell the perfume of incense and cedar which may be present here as in the first chamber.

  Solar or “spirit” boats long have been known to Egyptologists from ancient papyrus texts, tomb paintings and hull-shaped chambers such as the one containing Cheops’ boat. But until El Malakh’s discovery none has been found intact. Empty hull shapes hollowed in the rock, believed to have been built by Cheops, have been found on the east side of the Great Pyramid. El Malakh believes two of these were “solar boats of the day” and that a third was for the king’s ghostly pilgrimage to Abydos in Upper Egypt where the god Osiris worshipped.

  The royal funeral boats were built in sets of five—two for the day journey through the heavens, two for the night journey and one for the pilgrimage to Abydos. The solar boats of day and the solar boats of night were built in pairs for the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt each had different gods.

  The chief concern of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs was life after death—they literally lived to die. They believed that boats were the way to travel in death as well as in life. Solar boats were as important as tombs in the ancient Egyptian religion. The pharaohs took great pains to preserve the boats from thieves and over the centuries they evolved into replicas carved into earth or stone. By the time of Cheops the stone boats were magnificently built and furnished and as a result were eagerly plundered by tomb robbers.