The Wheel of Fortune

 Premiered August 22, 2003

Chapter Nineteen

Heather was capable of performing unusual feats, like pretending to have problems sufficient to convince the lone Egyptian air controller at Abu Simbel of the necessity of landing on the airstrip near the ancient, southern gateway to Egypt.  As it turned out, however, a single gold coin was also necessary to allow for the landing, time for 'repair', and Heather's refueling.  Two additional coins for the official were necessary for Egyptian entry stamps on Alex and Dawn's passports, as well as arranging for two seats on the return flight of the tourist plane which would be arriving from Aswan within the hour.  In the interim, Alex and Dawn could visit Abu Simbel just like any other tourist.

The two newly designated tourists spent most of the hour before the tourist plane's arrival, saying their good byes to Scott (and Heather).  He had been obligated to make a pretense of repairing his aircraft, and had then been encouraged to get in the air and fly south prior to the 727's arrival.  In the interim, the three had some pleasant moments.  They had become somehow connected in their brief time together, and the parting was not without some regret.  Scott even dropped his English reserve long enough to give Dawn an affectionate hug, if not a moderately brief one.  He had then taxied, taken off, and flown south out of sight before Dawn was ready to return her attentions exclusively to Alex.  The two of them then began walking toward the man-made mountain which now housed Abu Simbel.

The original temple at Abu Simbel had been carefully aligned to the Equinox sunrise so as to admit the sun into its innermost chambers and there illuminate the figures of the god and goddess residing therein. The four massive figures and the interior temple had been built, supposedly, by Ramses II of the XIX dynasty of ancient Egypt.  According to Immanuel Velikovsky's revised chronology, however, it was built sometime between 650 and 600 B.C.E. (or about 1250 B.C.E. in the traditional dating). 

Abu Simbel had the apparent function of informing any army or intruders floating down the Nile toward Egypt that they had just entered a land where the powers-that-be had the resources to construct a very impressive temple, and they might want to think twice about invading.  The King's temple sported four 67 foot high statues of Ramses II, along with smaller figures interspersed between his legs representing members of the immediate royal family.  At the Queen's temple, a few hundred feet north of the King's shrine, six smaller statues stood, four of Ramses II and two of Nefretari.  The overall effect was one of massive strength and power.

In the nineteen sixties, when modern day Egypt decided they needed a massive hydroelectric dam at Aswan, it became apparent Abu Simbel would soon be underwater as the Nile backed up behind the giant dam.  The massive edifice of Abu Simbel was then raised 200 feet and relocated on higher ground.  An artificial mountain was constructed such that the temperatures backing the two temples would be maintained within their original range.  It was these rebuilt temples Alex and Dawn visited.

Inside the King's temple, minutes ahead of the plane load of other tourists, Alex and Dawn wandered about looking at the prolific carvings on the interior walls.  Alex, having visited the site once before, began explaining some of the meanings.  "Much of this represents Ramses' victory at the Battle of Kadesh of which he was quite proud.  The Battle between him and the Hittites was probably inconclusive, but Ramses was never above a little revisionist history.  The Battle, also referred to as the Battle of Carchemish, occurred roughly 605 B.C.E."

Dawn smiled knowingly, "Is that the official date?"

Alex laughed.  "Plus or minus 600 years.  Actually, I think the official date is somewhere around 1185 B.C.E.  But if you use that date, then Queen Hatshepsut was not the Queen of Sheba."

"And that would be a problem?" Dawn gently asked.

"Queen Hatshepsut took a well publicized trip to the land of Punt.  But there is no hint in any of the archaeological records of where Punt was.  During the eighteenth dynasty, around 1500 B. C.E., there was nothing even resembling something called Punt.  This is more the time of Moses.  As for the Queen of Sheba, there is no place faintly resembling the land of Sheba at the time of Solomon."  Alex took a deep breath.  "There are dozens of other inconsistencies in the mainstream Egyptian chronology.  All of them can be solved, if you use Velikovsky's reconstruction."

"I'll take your word for it," Dawn said.  Alex looked skeptical, but said nothing more.  Then, Dawn began looking at the carved images in detail.  That's when she saw the image of Ramses II, sporting an erection somewhat the size of the average conquered enemy of Egypt.  She stepped back, her eyes wide.  Then she turned to Alex, who was smiling at her.

"After all the killing in the wars," Alex answered her unspoken question, "the King wanted his people to know it was time for peace and for replenishing the population.  And having a mostly illiterate people, it seemed a good idea to show them exactly what he wanted them thinking about."

"Very effective," Dawn replied, as she turned away from Alex to hide the slight blush on her cheeks.  To herself, she made a few remarks about being a silly school girl and quickly turned to the task of regaining control of her outward emotions.  This wouldn't do at all.

vvvvvvvvv

With the arrival of tourists and tourist guides in large numbers, Alex and Dawn began to walk around in the open air.  A slight cloud cover, unusual for the time of year, kept the surrounding area somewhat cooler than normal.  Then as they begin to wander back toward the airfield, Alex began talking.  "In keeping with my tradition of not telling you anything," Alex kidded, "I should mention something about the Priests of Melchizedek, the King of Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea Scrolls."

Dawn looked at him, appreciatively.  "Good idea," she replied.

"Melchizedek was considered a King of Jerusalem, but incredibly far back in time.  The two words, Melchi and Zedek means, literally 'King of Righteousness'.  In fact, sometimes, Melchizedek is referred to as the King of Salem, with Salem being the second part of Jeru-salem." 

Alex took a deep breath.  "Melchizedek supposedly was someone who knew all of the esoteric mysteries, particularly surrounding the Orme Tree, and from our viewpoint, all about the mono-atomic elements.  The Melchizedek Priesthood that followed him, therefore, included the priests who kept the knowledge alive down through the centuries. 

"David, our friend back in Phoenix, believes -- and I agree with him -- that it was the Melchizedek priests who were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls, and for being the ones who kept alive the esoteric mysteries concerning the Orme.  Their sect became known as the Essenes, and at some point, when Jerusalem was being decimated in one of its periodic destructions, it was the Essenes who went out into the desert and founded the community of Qumran.  The Melchizedek priesthood, according to The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered and Hebrews 5:7-10, was integrally involved with the Jesus' Messianic and eschatological priesthood.  Keep in mind the terminology of 'the Righteousness' was co-joined in the description from Genesis 49:10 of Shiloh, the first major resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.  Notice how it all ties in."  Alex smiled contentedly.

"It was at Qumran that the Essenes set up a metallurgical foundry and began producing the 'occult gold', essentially the mono-atomic precious elements.  There are numerous references to the priests 'swallowing the Teacher of Righteousness'.  If the so-called teacher was the Orme, one can readily understand what they were talking about.  For when one takes the Orme under the right circumstances, one expects to receive visions and other revelations from the ascended teachers.  On the other hand, if the 'Teacher' was a living person, then it doesn't make a lot of sense."

"Unless it's a forerunner of communion," Dawn interjected.

Alex dismissed the idea.  "That's Christianity, not Orthodox Judaism."  Then he went back to his subject.  "There is evidence in the ancient literature that Jesus and his family were members of the Essenes.  David Hudson suspects the references to Mary being 'fed by the white dove', refers to her being fed the Orme powder on a continual basis.  Thus Jesus was born of a woman who was literally enveloped by the light and who was superconducting like crazy.  Jesus' birth was, therefore, truly miraculous.  He was in every respect born a son of God because he was born into the superconducting light!"

 "Jesus was taking the 'occult gold'?"  Dawn asked.

"Why not?  Remember when he reappeared after his ascension?  He told his disciples not to touch him, because he no longer had on his earthly garments.  If he was in the superconducting state, he might have done to his disciples what the Ark did to those who came into contact with it."

Dawn shook her head.  "This is almost too much."

"It does take some getting used to.  The big question remaining, however, is whether or not anyone can swallow the 'Teacher of Righteousness'.  And if so, what are the prerequisites?"

"To take the short route to enlightenment, you mean?" Dawn asked.

Alex shrugged.  "Something like that."

vvvvvvvvv

The minimal cloud cover had quickly disappeared and Alex and Dawn decided to find some shade.  A small area was set aside for refreshments of which they quickly took advantage.  There were, however, numerous others crowding about and their conversation slacked off into the more mundane matter of what to do next.  The subsequent boarding of the airplane was about the only event worth mentioning.

It seems as if there had been a mad rush with considerable pushing and shoving during the original boarding of the airplane in Aswan, as if there had been no hope for enough seats.  In fact, the plane had had four empty seats on the way to Abu Simbel.  But all of the previous passengers had been primed by the first flight, and therefore spent a great deal of energy beating up on each other in an effort to get aboard first for the return flight.  Alex and Dawn, unprepared for the mad rush, ended up getting on last.  There were still the four empty seats for them, only now, none of the four were adjoining and the last arrivals were forced to sit separate from one another.

At Aswan, when most of the others deboarded the airplane, Alex and Dawn remained aboard, ready for the continuation to Luxor/Thebes, the site of Hatshepsut's Temple (aka the Queen of Sheba's last resting place).  Taking advantage of the opportunity, they were able to sit in two adjacent seats near the front of the aircraft.  For a few moments they had a small amount of privacy.

"I've been thinking," Dawn said, the moment they settled into their new seats.  "The traditional goal of the alchemists of the Middle Ages was supposedly to turn lead into gold.  But what it sounds like now is that the alchemists were simply trying to create the mono-atomic gold."

"I'm impressed," Alex replied.  "That's excellent thinking.  And I'm pretty sure you're right.  The alchemists were no fools.  They were after the 'Philosopher's Stone', which might have been identical to the 'tables of stone' Moses brought down from Mount Sinai, and the 'Elixir of Life', a liquid potion, quite possibly a liquid version of the Orme.  I personally suspect mono-atomic rhodium to be the 'Elixir of Life' and mono-atomic iridium to be the 'Philosopher's Stone'." 

Suddenly turning in his seat and responding with increasing enthusiasm, he added, "There is a reference in the alchemist trade to advice given to the novice.  It was: ' Divide, divide, divide...'  When you recall the need to separate the precious elements into microclusters and then into mono-atomic elements, then the alchemists' creed of dividing ad infinitum is exactly correct.  The alchemists, at least the ones who completed the Great Work, knew what they were talking about!"

Dawn thought about Alex's explanation for several minutes.  Then she turned back to him.  "Did God or one of the Anunnaki give the Orme to Moses?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders.  "Don't know for sure, but keep in mind Moses was initially a member of the Royal house of Egypt.  It's also clear the Old and Middle Kingdom pharaohs and high priests had access to the esoteric mysteries surrounding the process, and as a prince of Egypt, Moses would have been clued in as well. 

"Better yet, when the Israelites left Egypt, Moses went upon the mountain and from the biblical description of what was going on up on Mount Sinai, it would appear he was operating his own metallurgical foundry.  In fact, Moses was preparing the mono-atomic elements, the 'tables of stone'.  That probably explains why his face was so burnt and why he had to wear a veil when he came back down.  He had been too close to the intense heat, and quite possibly the radiation from the nuclear processes he was working with."

"Then, Mount Sinai is a real mountain?"

Alex frowned slightly.  "Yes, but the specific identification as to which mountain in the Sinai Peninsula has been controversial.  On the one hand, there is the Mount Sinai of Exodus 19:11, and on the other hand, Mount Horeb of Exodus 3:1 and 17:6.  The latter is now called mount Serabit, or Serabit el-Khadim.  Moses in fact, according to Laurence Gardner, [1] knew that the Sinai Peninsula was a safe haven when he left Egypt, and that there was in fact an operative Egyptian temple there.

"This temple was dedicated to the goddess Hathor, an aspect of Isis the Great Mother.  Hathor was traditionally portrayed with horns, the latter which were indicators of knowledge reception.  It was from the milk of Hathor that the pharaohs were said to have gained their divinity, becoming gods in their own right. 

"This is probably equivalent to the ancient Star Fire rituals, where the kings were fed with the lunar essence of the Anunnaki goddesses.  The so-called milk may have contained an enzyme that was conducive to longevity -- one which today we call telomerase and known to modern science has having unique anti-ageing properties.  Telomerase, for example, shows up in malignant tumors, as well as reproductive cells.  This allows cells to continue to divide far beyond their naturally restrictive programming -- which is of course precisely what cancer is all about.  The key is that somewhere in our DNA is the genetic ability to produce this anti-ageing enzyme, but this potential has somehow been switched off!" [1]

Dawn's face brightened.  "And taking the ORME is designed to switch it back on?"

"It appears so," Alex answered.  "But you also have to realize the implication of our DNA's ability to originally produce the anti-ageing enzyme, and the fact that we are not currently able to do so.  It's likely the so-called "junk DNA" which modern science talks about is anything but junk and could take our species to fantastic new heights."

"And this milk of Hathor was available to Moses?"

"That's not clear," Alex answered.  "I know of no records which would confirm that.  But the fact Moses waltzed back down off the mountain with 'tables of stone' strongly suggests he at least had the condensate version!"

"Which would explain his own longevity and the fact his death is never really recorded."

"Exactly," Alex replied.  "But it gets better.  In 1904, a fellow named Petrie discovered the site of Hathor's temple at Serabit el-Khadim."  Alex smiled broadly.  "What totally baffled him and his compatriots was the discovery of a metallurgist's crucible and a considerable amount of pure white powder.  In effect, Petrie had found an alchemical workshop complete with furnaces for producing the sacred fire-stone of the high-spin shem-an-na -- en enigmatic white powder which the temple priests called the... I'll have to spell it:  m f k z t."

"I've read a lot about ancient Egypt, but I've never heard of anything like that."

Alex shrugged.  "It's not surprising.  The rules under which Petrie was operating, the so-called Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Egypt Exploration Fund, prevented the dissemination of any information, or for that matter any surveys or excavations, which would not uphold the Biblical narrative -- or at least the narrative as interpreted by the reigning church authorities.  Obviously, this discovery of Hathor's temple did not."

"Well of course not!  For one thing it transforms Moses' 'burning bush' into an alchemical furnace for producing a levitating, longevity-giving, enlightening, and who-knows-what-else white powder of gold!  Right?"

"Right," Alex answered.  "Do you see how everything ties in?  The ancient pharaohs had access to the ORME, were in fact producing it in quantity.  Therefore, it's particularly interesting that none of the bodies of the Old Kingdom pharaohs have ever been found.  Not a trace.  If they were indeed taking the ORME, they may not have left any bodies to be found.  They may have taken their bodies with them when they ascended, just as Jesus did."

Dawn looked blank for several minutes.  Then swallowing, she asked, "What about the later pharaohs?  Did Ramses have the Orme as well?"

"Probably not," Alex answered simply.  "Shortly after the Exodus, Egypt had just lost an army in the Red Sea and was still suffering from the shocks of the plagues and famines -- which, by the way, were very real!  Egypt was therefore vulnerable, prompting invaders from Palestine to come into Egypt, conquer it, and promptly put everyone to the sword -- including the priests who knew about the ORME.  Too late, the invaders realized they had really fouled up.  They were never able to duplicate the process, even though they pretended as if they still knew what was going on." 

Alex smiled slightly, "The Egyptians of today are the descendants, for the most part, of the invaders, and less so, from the original Egyptians -- the original Egyptians who first brought Joseph and his family into Egypt, and then later enslaved his descendants."

Dawn sat staring at Alex's eyes for several moments.  "It really does tie together, doesn't it?" she replied.  "Everything points in the same direction."

"Now you know why I was willing to rush into this project."  When Dawn only smiled but clearly understanding him, Alex added, "It's also why it's important for us to find out about the Humanki.  Are they trying to prevent us from learning the final secrets of the Alchemists, from taking the ORME, and from going where 'few men have gone before'?  What exactly are their intentions?"

Dawn continued to watch him.  "One other question," she said.  "If the Mother is Ninki, the original Sumerian goddess who created man... If there are others like her, other Anunnaki who are incredibly long lived...  Then..."  For a moment she paused.  "They could still be alive.  The Anunnaki could still be on the planet, pulling strings behind the scenes..."

Alex could only smile bleakly.  "Yes.  They could."

vvvvvvvvv

Before Dawn and Alex could continue, people began boarding the plane in pretty much the same style as before.  The influx eliminated the last possible moments of privacy, and the two fell silent, only occasionally mentioning mundane details -- like where they were next going to be able to sleep.  It had been a long day.  The flight to Luxor/Thebes was pleasant enough.  But finding a place to sleep seemed considerably more challenging.

Fortunately, late June is not exactly the height of the Egyptian tourist season.  Simply put, it's too hot!  Hotel rooms in Luxor were available, although many would be stiflingly warm.  Fortunately, Alex and Dawn encountered a well-connected taxi-driver at the airport.  The driver held a Ph.D. in Egyptology, but employment being what it was in the overcrowded nation, the best the man could do for work was acting as an occasional guide during the height of the tourist season, and alternatively, as a cab driver.

In fact, the man made more money than most employed Egyptian-born Egyptologists by catering to the whims of rich tourists.  For a very goodly tip, the good Doctor was able to provide a room for Dawn and Alex in one of Luxor's finest.  Better yet, it turned out to be a second floor room, with a balcony looking west across the Nile.  With the sun having gone down two hours prior, a gentle breeze had already begun to cool the room when Alex and Dawn found refuge there. They were both dog tired, and the twin beds on either side of the Nile-facing door onto the balcony were particularly inviting. 

Unfortunately, they were also both starving, and the hotel restaurant had already closed.

Back on the streets, they went searching for virtually any form of nourishment.  But even in their state of acute hunger, they knew they had to be careful about the quality of the food.  Or at least they thought they had to. 

Finally, they found something resembling an American bar on one of the interior streets of Luxor.  They hesitatingly sampled several items of food, until finally they threw caution to the winds and devoured most everything in sight.  Finally satiated, they went back to their hotel room for an early night.

The possibility of becoming amorous during the night in the same room had occurred to both of them.  But the onset of exhaustion caused them instead to strip down to their undergarments with little or no adherence to etiquette (it was still quite warm).  They each promptly laid down on their separate beds and quickly fell asleep.  The romantic night with the breeze from the Nile cooling the moonlit air, all held in the arms of an exotic setting... was completely wasted on them.  They slept like logs.

vvvvvvvvv

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple is located across the Nile from Luxor.  Rising in terraces, backed up against the cliffs at Deir el Bahri, the Temple consists of a complex of colonnaded shrines, with two huge, central ramps leading to first one massive plaza, and then to a second one higher up.  The Temple is architecturally quite different from most of the ancient temples of Egypt, being spread out, in lieu of the tendency of the Egyptian male pharaohs to build toward the sky.  Hatshepsut's site, on the other hand, was chosen to allow the huge cliffs behind the Temple to provide the grandeur of height, while her thirty some odd columns on two levels gave the impression of a more welcoming site for religious observances.

Hatshepsut's rule had been an interesting one.  She had begun as regent to her stepson, Thutmose III.  But long before the prince had reached maturity, she had completely usurped the reins of government.  She then often flaunted the trappings of kingship, going about in male dress and a ceremonial false beard.  Her Temple was lavish in the extreme, and the exploits of her reign were depicted in elaborate carvings along the porticoes.  These included her famous voyage to the Land of Punt, along with her return with all manner of wondrous gifts -- including an unborn heir. 

As Dawn admired the carvings, Alex pointed out that Hatshepsut's expedition had been by boat.  If Hatshepsut had made the trip via the Nile and the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean, this would support the idea that Israel was the most logical choice for the Land of Punt.

Queen Hatshepsut also had the distinction of keeping her stepson under her thumb for many years after his reaching maturity.  When she did finally fall from power -- after a reign of some twenty years -- Thutmose III claimed his throne and then went about vengefully destroying much of her great memorial and other works.  For his part, Thutmose apparently had it in his mind to erase the face of Hatshepsut from the annals of history.  He was kept in check, but only moderately, by the prohibition against destroying a now sacred temple. 

Ironically, one of the items Thutmose was obliged to refrain from destroying was a great obelisk the Queen had raised in her honor at Karnak, on the Luxor side of the Nile.  Obelisks were far too sacred to simply be defaced.  Thutmose got around this difficulty by building a stone wall around the obelisk and filling in the space between the obelisk and stone wall with sand.  Thus while not destroying the sacred obelisk, he had prevented it from being seen by the people.  In a strange twist of fate the dry sand very effectively preserved the obelisk for future generations, and made it one of the best preserved of all of the Egyptian ruins!  Obviously, step-mothers are hard to get rid of.

vvvvvvvvv

After hours of walking about the Temple area, with Alex approaching several locals in the area, asking questions and, in general, trying to grasp what The Mother had in mind when she had told him to visit the Temple of the Queen of Sheba, the two of them set down on one of the stone walls.  As they sat in the ever brightening sun, Alex made several grunts of general disgust.

Dawn tried to lighten the mood.  "No inspiration, huh?"

"None.  I mean, I can see the connection between Axum and Hatshepsut's Temple; they're both part of the Ark of the Covenant saga.  They connect Moses with Solomon and Sheba, and even the aftermath of the union of Solomon and Sheba when the Ark left Israel, did a bit in Egypt, and then ended up in Ethiopia.  And who knows; maybe now in France.  But what do the pyramids of Giza have to do with all of this?"

"Why Giza?" Dawn asked.

"Because," Alex answered offhandedly, "The Mother mentioned Marduk's prison, and the Great Pyramid at Giza was where Marduk, the Egyptian god Ra, was imprisoned for a time after he attempted a coup among the Anunnaki.  This happened about 3100 B.C.  But I can't see where this ties in." 

Alex took a deep breath, expressing his discontent.  Then, he added, "There's also the question of Horus.  The white ORME is called 'The golden tear from the eye of Horus'.  It's the almost universal symbol associated with Horus now, the idealized Egyptian eye and the single tear.  That would have connected with the mono-atomic elements Moses may have been working with, but there's no other connection.  And Horus eventually lost the throne of Egypt after what Zacharia Sitchin called, 'The Second Pyramid War.'  This war occurred around 8,300 B.C.!  The fact of the matter is that Horus was long gone by the time of the Sumerian Civilization!  Except of course, for some hold-outs among his followers and eventually his religious cult."

For several moments, the two continued to sit.  Then Alex began voicing his frustration.  "I feel like I've been left hanging in the wind, as if I'm on some Wheel of Fortune, experiencing the ups and downs, the highs and lows, one after the other."

"But a wheel of fortune," Dawn replied, "Implies rewards or opportunities, changes for the better.  Or at least, success after taking a calculated risk."

"Perhaps," Alex replied, clearly not convinced.

The conversation again waned, until Dawn, hesitatingly, suggested, "Looks as if it's time to visit the Great Pyramid of Giza.  Maybe we can find something there."

Alex slowly shook his head.  "You're probably right.  Maybe we can sleep in the King's chamber.  That ought to be good for some major inspiration."

Dawn involuntarily shuddered.  If the Great pyramid of Teotihuacan was any indication after their brief mediation there, sleeping in the Great Pyramid of Giza ought to really blow their minds!

vvvvvvvvv

The flight from Luxor to Cairo was uneventful, save for Dawn catching her dress on an old woman's carry-on luggage.  The luggage was new, but recently damaged, and a small portion of the wheels on which the little old lady wheeled her essentials about the airport caught Dawn's dress during the deboarding.  The result was another torn dress for Dawn, and the contents of the woman's case being dumped on to the floor of the airplane (the woman had been doing some last minute stuffing of the case while everyone was trying to get off the airplane).  The contents ended up in the aisle, which slowed the deboarding.  This resulted in a minor panic by passengers further back in the plane and they began shoving forward with more aggression.  This surge effectively prevented Dawn or Alex from going back to apologize, or even acknowledge there had been a problem.  Instead, they acted as if nothing had happened and led the crowd off the airplane.

The flight had been a late afternoon one from Luxor, the only one available.  Considering the time, Alex proposed and Dawn accepted the idea of going directly to the pyramids while it was still light.  They did so, arriving about dusk.  Most of the pyramid tourists were gone save for those who were on their way to the small pavilion in front of the Sphinx where light shows were regularly performed after dark.  The only others in the area were a small group of some eight men and women, of varying ages, who seemed unaccountably excited about something or another.

As Alex went off to see if he could bribe a guard into letting them into the pyramid for the night, Dawn struck up a conversation with the group of eight.  She quickly learned the group was from Crestone, Colorado and had already managed to obtain official permission to spend the night inside the pyramid.  Dawn then suggested she join them.

This apparently was "not a real possibility."  The King's chamber was not that large, and the group had some very specific ceremonies to conduct.  Having two strangers among them might not work out.  They had no objection to Alex and Dawn being in the pyramid at the same time, but not in the all critical King's chamber.  There would simply not be enough room.

But the Queen's chamber was another matter.  Located slightly below and to the side of the King's chamber, the Queen's chamber was directly under the apex of the pyramid.  The King's chamber, located at the end of the Ascending Corridor and the Grand Gallery, was slightly off center of the pyramid's apex.  But it was a much more popular spot, and considerably larger.  Just the thing for a group of eight.  The Queen's chamber, on the other hand, was better suited for a twosome!

By the time Alex returned, complaining about some group preempting his plans, Dawn had the deal worked out.  It did require a small, change-in-plans bribe of the guard, but within the hour, all ten of the pyramid devotees began the short climb up the side of the Great Pyramid to the place, where hundreds of years ago, organized bandits had begun tunneling inside.  Not totally ignorant, the grave robbers had cut through solid rock and rather quickly come upon the Descending Corridor.  The Group of Eight (Plus Two) now entered through the same cave-like entryway, and found their way to the same pyramid passageway.  Meanwhile, the guard closed and locked the gate behind them -- they were, after all, slated to spend the entire night, and no provisions had been made for an early and/or emergency exit. 

Fortunately, none of the ten had such thoughts as they moved slowly down to where the Descending Corridor met the Ascending Corridor.  Everyone then began moving upward at a gentle slope toward the center of the pyramid.  Alex did make some comment about someday wanting to continue down the Descending Corridor to the room located several hundred feet into the bedrock.  Supposedly, it was in this lowermost chamber that the pyramid initiation rites were begun.  The King and Queen's Chambers were the secondary and tertiary initiation rooms.

The group quickly reached the Grand Gallery, a sloping room 153 feet long and 28 feet high.  The space is the largest open area within the Great Pyramid, and is very impressive.  Steps and a railing had been installed in modern times, but the effect of looking up the long ascent was still breath taking.  This was also where Alex and Dawn were to take their leave.  The Queen's Chamber was located along a horizontal passageway branching off at the base of the Grand Gallery, while the King's Chamber was located at the upper end.  The eight went their own way and began climbing up the stairs of the Grand Gallery, amidst whispered good byes and murmured good wishes.  (There's something about the Great Pyramid that does not encourage loud voices or shouting.  Probably has to do with the potential for annoying echoes in the dense passageways.) 

Alex and Dawn then made their way along the branch passageway, heading for the Queen's chamber.  Electric lights, strung long ago for the tourist trade, aided their progress.  But inasmuch as far fewer tourists frequented the Queen's Chamber, the lighting was noticeably less adequate.  Alex had acquired a small pen light, but it was assumed this would be mostly ineffectual, and definitely insufficient in terms of staying power (i.e. batteries).  As they approached the Queen's Chamber, Alex felt compelled to point out, "You realize we may be in the prime location, don't you?"

"Why is that?" Dawn answered, thinking that being encased under thousands of tons of rock was never a "prime location."

"The names of the King's and Queen's Chambers were derived from the Muslim tradition of burying their men under flat roofs and their women under pitched roofs.  The King's Chamber has a flat roof and the Queen's, a pitched roof.  But there's no reason to believe the larger chamber is better.  In fact, the Queen's Chamber is more centrally located and believed to be the more advanced stage in the initiation rites.  Thus, we may have the better accommodations!"

"I had already assumed that," Dawn replied.  "Just knowing it was the Queen's Chamber instead of some nasty old king."

Alex grinned.  "Well, I for one, have always preferred to spend my nights in a Queen's chamber."  Dawn rolled her eyes and declined to reply as they entered into the Queen's chamber.  Immediately, Alex began checking the walls and layout for any clues.  Mostly to himself, he asked, "I wonder where that number is written."

"What number?" Dawn asked, not realizing Alex had not been talking to her.

"2520," Alex replied, absently.  "It's supposed to be carved on an Egyptian pyramid."

Dawn looked at Alex, puzzled by his comment.  "What's significant about 2520?"

"It's the smallest number which is divisible evenly by all the numbers from one to nine."

Dawn looked blank for several seconds, thinking on the latest of Alex's unending trivial pursuits.  But before she requested further enlightenment, it abruptly got darker.  The electric lights went out in accordance with the schedule of the group of eight.  Somewhat better equipped with portable lighting, they had requested the lights to go off once they were set up inside for the night.  It was felt they could not accomplish their aims without the darkness.  The lights went off prematurely and considerably ahead of schedule, but the group of eight was determined to make do.

Alex and Dawn, however, had missed that item on the agenda about the lights and suddenly found themselves in a very profound darkness.  We're talking totally black!  No slivers of light slipping through the cracks of a nearby, convenient window or door.  Just totally dark!  A photographic darkroom to meet the most stringent requirements.

The effect of the sudden darkness was a momentary surge of panic for both of them, and Dawn responded by stepping in the direction of where Alex had just been.  Unbeknownst to her, he had done the equivalent thing toward her and they abruptly knocked heads together.  Recoiling as much from the collision, as from his eagerness to not appear overly aggressive, Alex tripped and lost his balance and began to fall to one side.  As he did so, he instinctively reached out to steady himself against whatever was available, and in the process managed to catch Dawn's blouse and bra in his downward fall, causing both to open up.  Dawn was simply stunned, as Alex, now on the floor, managed to turn on the pen light.  It was immediately clear what he had managed to accomplish in a mere few seconds.

Dawn looked down at him, holding her blouse closed.  "You might want to improve your technique on bra unfastening, Alex.  That time was a little rough."

"Oh, sorry," Alex replied.  "I didn't mean..."  His voice trailed off, there not being a lot to say under the circumstances.

Then the two took their last minute acquisitions of two Egyptian blankets and tried to settle in for the night.  An unspoken agreement decreed they would sleep next to each other and stay in touch, so to speak.  It can be very lonely in the Queen's chamber with several thousand tons of rock overhead. 

Alex, however, inadvertently took the idea of staying in touch to its logical extreme, and early in the evening, managed to lay a hand on one of Dawn's recently exposed breasts.  He also failed to immediately remove said hand, although the variation in softness from the rest of her body should have given him a small clue.  Dawn took in  a breath, and asked in a stilted voice, "Excuse me.  But is that your hand on my breast?"

Alex then figured it out.  Jerking his hand away, he said, "Oh, sorry."  Then to ease any fears she might have had, he added, "I'm okay now."

Dawn's curt reply was, "Don't count on it."

vvvvvvvvv

When in Cairo, the very best place to stay, the most comfortable, even in summer, is NOT the Queen's (or King's) Chamber.  Two of the group of eight, went into claustrophobic panic early in the evening, rather seriously dampening the expectations of the others for intensive enlightenment.  Meanwhile, the group of two managed a period of uneventful meditation, followed by a somewhat fitful night.  Until finally, exhaustion set in, and they simply slept.

And in their sleep, they dreamed -- which inevitably is where all of the action was.

Dawn's first vision was herself back in what she was now thinking of as her own personal crop circle.  Feeling as if she were in a sand box forming castles of her own design, she began to add to the evolving crop circle configuration with the gentle wave of her hand.  For long moments, she felt the incredible contentment of leisurely creating a thing of profound beauty.  Abruptly, a new sensation came to her.  In a flash, seemingly at warp speed, she felt herself by her own volition, streaking through the skies, across Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, and approaching the Great Pyramid.  There she alighted and laid down on the floor of the Queen's Chamber.  It was now time for the main event.

Suddenly, she found herself in a sea of light.  She rose up, leaving her body laying on the hard rock floor, and began to swim through the pyramid as if it were a shower of rainbow colored light.  She drifted and floated until she came upon a place of golden beams, where currents of emotion began flowing throughout her body like warm streams of honey.  Here she sensed the incredible oneness of the universe.  Visions began flashing in her mind, illuminating her, but coming so rapidly as to defy a conscious grasp of them.  They were simply laid there for later retrieval by her conscious mind.  Layer upon layer of thoughts were presented as messages upon a blank slate.  Then, after an out-of-time period and sensing the completion of the messages, Dawn became aware of Alex's essence, the aspect of him which was eternal and only occasionally occupying the physical body known as Alexander Dukas.

In their out-of-body state, both became intently aware of the other.  With perfect telepathy, they knew each other's thoughts.  Slowly they flowed into one another, making love on a plane outside of time and space.  Love making in the realm of pure love and light.

And then an orgasm unlike any Dawn had ever experienced.  A sacred orgasm, it was extended in time, intense beyond words, and seemingly constantly mounting in amplitude.  Dawn felt her whole body surge in every direction at once.  And then as her breathing slowly returned to normal, as the experience slowly lessened its overwhelming grip on every fiber of her being, a sudden thought occurred to her:  'How was it my physical body was having such an orgasm if I was out-of-body?' 

For a moment, she laid there, fully returned from the out-of-body state and wholly within her body.  'Hadn't the love making been a dream?' she wondered. 'It had felt very real, even if more intense than ever.  But did we make love in the traditional way?  Or was it just part of the out-of-body experience?'  For several minutes, she groped for answers, only to come up blank.  She laid there, very conscious of Alex's heavy and apparently satisfied breathing.  It wasn't totally clear to her what had just happened, but she was going to be doing a lot of thinking about it.  Well, maybe later.  Right now, she was going to luxuriate in the afterglow.  Soon she was sleeping again.

vvvvvvvvv

The lights came on an hour before sunrise.  The officials figured it was best to hurry out the crazy Americans, and get ready for another day of herding tourists through the maze of vendors and pyramid guides.  For Dawn and Alex, it was a shock after the incredible night.  Then as they managed to return to the world of the living, they began to remember.  For several moments, they looked at each other, knowing, or at least suspecting, what had happened.

Alex took the chivalrous route.  "Something of an incredible night, wouldn't you say?"

Dawn was slightly more direct.  "One of the most wonderful I could have imagined."

Alex smiled, assuming her words to be complimenting him.  Dawn meanwhile, started to get up.  That's when she felt the muscles in her body make their first complaints of the sleeping accommodations and evening activities.  "Oh my," she groaned.  "Time to pay the piper, I suppose."  Slowly she managed to stand.  Naturally, her blouse with the buttons removed the night before and her broken bra, both flew open as she stood up and stretched.  Alex had been looking directly at her.  His expression was instantly one of surprise, delight and embarrassment -- all mixed together -- as he quickly looked away.  (I.e. he looked away after a detailed engraving of the vision onto his mind's permanent memory storage facility.)

Dawn quickly pulled herself back together -- as best she could.  She wanted to say, 'Shit!', but somehow the exclamation didn't seem quite appropriate within the sacred precinct of the pyramids.  And when she could think of nothing better to say, she decided to leave it at that.  Picking up her blanket, she draped it across one shoulder and held the other corner at her waist by slipping it through her belt.  Then draped for the outside world, she started out the horizontal corridor, following Alex, who had unilaterally decided to lead and not look back!

Outside, while awaiting transportation and avoiding the group of eight former friends who were suddenly at each other's throats for what was referred to several times as 'the worst night of my life!', Alex and Dawn began to talk about their quest and any illumination they might have received.

"I've been thinking," Alex began.  "We know from Sitchin's work that in the First Pyramid War, Horus defeated Seth and took over the throne of Egypt.  But that was mostly a family squabble, wholly within Enki's descendants.

"But in the Second Pyramid War, the Enlilite forces led by Ninurta defeated the forces of Enki's sons in what had become an increasingly bloody affair.  They had even reached the point of some serious warfare, where there was the possibility of Anunnaki dying instead of just the humans they were using for cannon fodder.  It was then that Ninki intervened as the peacemaker.  I suspect her motives were as much to save her human progeny, as to prevent the Anunnaki gods from seriously decimating their ranks."

"That rather sounds like Ninki," Dawn observed.

"I agree," Alex said.  Taking a breath, he added, "According to the Sumerian texts, Ninki managed to convince the apparent victors, Ninurta and the others, to discontinue the bloodshed and create a peace.  It was then determined in the negotiations that Enki's line would be allowed to keep Africa including Egypt and the all important area of Giza and the pyramids.  But only under the provision that Horus, his line, and the other Anunnaki who had participated in the war on Horus' side, would never again rule Egypt.  Never!

"Enki agreed, and announced that another of his sons, Ningishzida, would take over Egypt.  This was fine with Ninurta and Enlil.  In fact, they both rather liked Ningishzida -- about the only member of Enki's camp they did like.  But here's what I suddenly remembered last night:  Ningishzida, Egypt's new ruler, is the Sumerian name for the Egyptian god, Thoth."

Alex smiled.  "Now...  Around 3100 B.C., Ra, the Sumerian Marduk, Enki's first son, attempted a coup in Babylon, trying to unseat the Enlilites from their power base.  Ra failed miserably, and escaped to Egypt.  There he deposed his younger brother, Thoth!  But it was also then, around the same time, that Ra found himself sealed in the Great Pyramid.  There was a fair chance he was going to die there.  Eventually, they dug him out, but he was for the most part finished -- at least for the time being.

"Meanwhile, Thoth, bereft of a throne in Egypt, was off to Central America in the guise of Quetzalcoatl.  There he began another kind of dynasty.  He may even have been involved with Stonehenge.  Ningishzida was definitely one of Enki's better sons!  He was sometimes described as the scribe of the gods.  He's also, quite possibly, the same as the Greek god, Hermes."

"But what happened in Egypt?"

"Apparently, for some 350 years thereafter, chaos reigned.  All the way until the time of Menes, the first pharaoh of the First dynasty, who then united all of Egypt."

"And Thoth?  Or Ningishzida?" Dawn asked.

Alex smiled.  "Remember what Scott told us.  Moses and Thoth were connected in some profound way.  Thoth may have been his teacher!  The way I figure it, the Anunnaki god we're looking for is not Horus.  It's Thoth."  Alex smiled broadly.  "Or Ningishzida.  Quetzalcoatl!  Whatever you want to call him.  It's the same man, or rather the same Anunnaki god."

"Fantastic!" Dawn exclaimed.  Then her enthusiasm abruptly waned.  "But where?"

Alex grimaced.  "Haven't quite figured that one out yet."

Dawn's smile faded, as she became quiet to think.  Then her eyes began to light up.  "Alex," she began, "Moses carried the knowledge given him by Thoth, and placed it in the Ark of the Covenant, right?"  When Alex agreed, she added, "Then when the Ark was taken from Jerusalem by Menelik, the son of Solomon and Sheba, he first took it to the island of Elephantine.  There they built a Temple with the same design as Solomon's.  Why on that particular island, do you suppose?"

Alex's blank look slowly transformed into one of delight.  "Because," he replied, the words forming in his mouth simultaneously with the thoughts forming in his mind.  "Because Thoth was at Elephantine!"

____________________________

[1] See, for example, Laurence Gardner, Genesis of the Grail Kings, Bantam Press, London, 1999, Chapter 19.

Chapter Eighteen -- The Lovers

Forward to:

Chapter Twenty -- The Magician

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