Used to this kind of jokes, the guide did not even move. He walked some steps up to a small niche.
“Here is where it’s believed the statue was kept. Any of you knows why his niche is moved sixty centimeters with respect to the logical center of the chamber?”
Silence.
“The position of the niche is exactly in the Great Pyramid axis. Coincidence?” He asked smiling.
A murmur arouse immediately. They retraced their footsteps along the horizontal passage and they kept on ascending along the Great Gallery. Millions of tons of perfectly aligned stone were surrounding their heads. A ride of seven and a half meters in an impressive place. The walls close progressively so that the floor is two meters wide but the upper part is only one meter wide. The final part of the ascension consists of a landing from which it opens a short and narrow passage that leads to the antechamber.
“Although it’s unbelievable,” Akil continued with the explanation, “this is the area of the pyramid that has taken a more precise function. There are some details that suggest that this room served to the purpose of hiding the Chamber of the King.”
“What details?” A tourist with Asian appearance asked.
“These three carved sliders on the side walls,” he said pointing to them, “these other four slots” he said pointing to the south wall, “and other details tell us that the Chamber of the King was hidden behind three slabs that were slid downwards with the help of ropes.”
“Who removed such slabs?” The same tourist asked.
“The first profaners,” he answered saddened.
Akil made a gesture and everyone followed him. A chill travelled along Josef’s body when he entered the Chamber of the King. «What has that been?» That area was the most famous and emblematic room of the Great Pyramid. A surface of fifty meters where there was only one object: a granite sarcophagus located on the west wall. One of its corners was broken and its lid had been removed centuries ago. A slight buzz called Margaret’s attention.
“They are extractors,” Akil said pointing to the north and south wall. “They were installed to refresh the air and eliminate humidity.”
Margaret smiled surprised by the attention the guide was paying. The librarian approached the sarcophagus with curiosity and ran his palm along the granite surface.
“Ouch!” Josef shouted.
Akil, Margaret and several other tourists approached him.
“What’s wrong?” His friend asked.
“I touched the sarcophagus and I felt an electric shock.”
The Egyptologist looked at him with surprise. With determination, he leant on the sarcophagus and started to laugh.
“Have you noticed it as well?”
Akil shook his head.
“So why are you laughing?”
“Because you visitors tell me stranger sensations every time. Once, a woman told me that when she entered here, she felt a kind of orgasm. I laughed because I’ve remembered that story.”
Margaret leant on the sarcophagus as well and she shook her head no.
“I haven’t noticed anything either.”
Chapter 35
Yewut’s body was lying on the floor, inert. His helmet did not resist the pressure exerted by the Cyclops anymore and it broke. The blood in charge of activating his body started to flow out at top speed from a small would on his head.
“You’re a monster!” Plisalet shouted.
“I know it,” he answered smiling.
The vision resumed showing a blurry image. Palac was hardly able to distinguish anything.
“He’s coming back to life,” it could be heard Plisalet saying in the distance.
The image started to be transformed. The accuracy was stronger every time. The novice then understood what had happened. The attacker had mortally wounded his grandfather and now he was healing him.
“It’s done!” Crizal exclaimed. “Get up!”
The midarian leader stood up. His helmet was partially destroyed and his suit was a bit deformed. He needed to repair it as well as his helmet. The important thing was that the wound had been completely healed and no evidence of it was left.
“Have you used me to carry out the demonstration?”
“That’s it,” he answered without hesitating. “Plisalet has already stated that she wouldn’t go along with any more demonstrations. Therefore, if for the time being only were the three of us, I had no other option.”
“I understand. How are you going to transmit me this skill?”
“I’ve already done it. You will only be able to transmit it getting in direct contact with the being you want to transfer it. In the case of the midarians, first you’ll have to break the protection that covers your heads.”
“That was why you fractured my helmet?”
Crizal nodded.
“Another characteristic of this power is that it allows turning some materials into food or into other things.”
“What is that useful for?”
“You never know,” Crizal answered. “Let’s move to the last one.”
Chapter 36
The days that followed the visit to the Pyramids of Giza were useful to know some of the most mysterious and amazing monuments of the Egyptian culture: the enigmatic tombs of the Valley of the Kings, Saqqara, the main necropolis in the city of Memphis, Abu Simbel rendezvous and, to finish with, the impressive Luxor Temple. Unbearable constructions for the time when they were built, and all of them in the same country. A region battered by earthquakes and erosion and, what is worse, by the action of human beings. Thousands of years of conflicts and clashes with devastating effects.
They still had two nights before going home and Josef felt awkward. He did not know how to explain what had happened to him in the Great Pyramid. The truth was that his hand showed a small burnt. His blotchy fingers would not stop reminding him that.
“Margaret, have you already fallen asleep?” He whispered lying on the bed.
“Not yet,” she answered numb from hers. “What happens?”
“Since we visited the Great Pyramid, I haven’t stopped thinking about what happened to me when touching the sarcophagus.”
“It’s too late to talk about that. Tomorrow is the last tour and we have to rest.”
“It was precisely that what I wanted to talk about. I’d like to come back to the Great Pyramid before we leave. I can’t leave with that uncertainty. I want to know if it was a coincidence or something else.”
“I was looking forward to visit Alexandria,” she said with disappointment. “Besides, we’ve already booked the tour.”
“I understand it. That’s why I think you should go. Something inside me tells me that I have to go back to Giza.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you. I’ll go with you.”
Hours later, both of them started the ascension inside the pyramid until they reached the Chamber of the King. Josef was haggard. He was so nervous that he had not been able to sleep that night and his face looked faint.
“Are you all right?” Margaret asked as soon as they got to the antechamber.
“Perfectly well,” he lied. He was dizzy and his head was about to explode.
“I have an idea. The other day we touched the sarcophagus separately. Maybe today we should do it together.”
They interlaced their fingers and together they approached their hands to the sarcophagus. Josef closed his eyes waiting for the discharge. When touching the cold granite, nothing happened.
“Are you better now?” She asked.
Josef shrugged. Their hands separated and as soon as Margaret moved a bit away from the sarcophagus, he leant on it again. A strong shock travelled along his body. His muscles contracted and he fell onto the floor fulminated.
«Am I dreaming?» The librarian started to move hastily inside the pyramid. He went down the stairs and got to a room he did not know. It was the subterranean chamber. He raised his eyes and stopped in front of a panel which was on the north side. It was
made of gold and full of hieroglyphics.
Involuntarily, his right hand started to touch some of them and the wall disappeared revealing a new room to the eye. Inside it, there were two gigantic beings that seemed to be talking. Josef tried to hear what they were saying, but he did not understand anything. Suddenly, a light emerged from the background of the chamber. To his surprise, when it went off, the room was occupied by three beings. One of them became aware of his presence and told the other two.
Knelt in front of her friend’s body, Margaret sighed at seeing that he was starting to wake up.
“It was only a faint,” a doctor said.
Chapter 37
The last skill’s characteristic transferred by the Cyclops had greatly astonished the midarians. «A power capable of turning things into food?» Yewut had asked. His grandson was also wondering the same. Although he had not lived in the time when the planet needed it to survive, he imagined how useful it would have been to transform a simple rock in a great harvest. Some of his ancestors died in several battles due to lack of food. The strategy of their enemies consisted in destroying their crafts first so that the food stored in the holds disappeared. With the skill he had just learnt, several of those soldiers would have been able to survive.
“Have you said last power?” The leader asked.
“Exactly,” the Cyclops answered. “If well used, this ability can be really valuable. The occupation power can be used in three very different ways, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. Experience will teach you which one to use in each situation.”
“It seems a very interesting ability,” Yewut said.
A strong earthquake started to shake the ground. None of them was perturbed at all.
“To carry it out,” he continued, “you have to know all the details of your body perfectly well since you’ll have to visualize it in your mind with total accuracy.”
“That’s easy!” Plisalet exclaimed.
“Don’t get confused,” he answered. “Knowing it perfectly well can take a lot of time, maybe years.”
«Years to get to know my body?» Palac wondered.
“When you think you’ve achieved it, you have to visualize your body in your mind and start compressing it until you’ve reduced it to a small dot. After this you’ll have to decide which of the three options you are going to use. Each of them is differentiated by the pigmentation. Once you’ve given color to the dot, this will become a small luminous sphere of the chosen tone.”
“Which one represents each option?” Yewut asked.
“I haven’t finished yet!” Crizal shouted.
Silence reigned once again in Zelapon. A strong tremor —this time stronger— shook the planet.
“Here there are a lot of earthquakes as well,” Plisalet said.
“They aren’t earthquakes,” the Cyclops replied. “The first option will be red and will allow you to occupy the body of any being and to manipulate it as you please without it being conscious about that. The drawback is that during the occupation you won’t be able to use any of your powers but only the abilities of that being. The advantage is that you can leave the body whenever you want.”
A huge rock detached from a nearby mountain generating a loud roar.
“The second option is yellow, and as the first one it’ll allow you to occupy any being’s body. The disadvantage is that is irreversible: once you occupy it, you will never come back to yours. The advantage is that you’ll keep some of your powers as long as the physiognomy of the new body allows them to be developed.”
Yewut was in silence waiting for the Cyclops to finish with his explanation.
“The third option will be green and will allow you to combine your body with the occupied one, creating like that a brand new body. The problem is that it’s irreversible and you won’t be able to use your abilities. The pro is that your intellectual capacity will develop at a considerably high level.”
“How dangerous this power is!” The midarian leader exclaimed. “I don’t think anyone would ever enjoy the second and third options. Who would change their body for another one?”
“I also think it’s senseless,” Plisalet said.
“You never know,” Crizal said. “Yewut, I’ll show you how it works. Don’t worry. It’ll be a quick visit.”
“Mine?” He asked scared.
“Don’t be afraid. I wouldn’t like to stay in your body eternally.”
Palac watched how the monster disappeared and turned into a tiny reddish light that approached at top speed to his grandfather’s body.
Chapter 38
Josef was watching the three strange beings covered by the darkness. One of them realized about his presence and the other two started to move agitatedly. The first one took the initiative and started to come closer him. It raised its arm above his head and dropped it quickly to crash it into his body.
The librarian opened his eyes startled. The bed was soaked with sweat. His heart rhythm had soared alarmingly. He switched on the light and looked everywhere. «I’m alone,» he said to himself trying to get convinced of the fact that everything had been a nightmare. He looked at the time and saw that it was six o’clock in the morning. «I’ll get up.»
At his return from Egypt, Josef was discharged and got back to work. Only two days later, he talked with the university rector and confessed him that he was thinking about quitting his job. The air accident made him think many things over and one of them was getting rid of his ties and fully devoting himself to the investigation carried out by his grandfather. Being well-off allowed him to live his entire life with no complications at all.
“It was just a dream,” he whispered.
A dream that had been repeated every single night since the moment in which, seven days ago, he fainted in the Great Pyramid after receiving a strong discharge and experimenting the subsequent hallucination. Josef looked at his right and smiled. «It’s time to go on.» His grandfather’s book was on the night table. It was exactly as he had left it before leaving to California. «It’s been such a long time,» he complained. Almost five months later, he had it in his hands once again. He hardly remembered the smell of its pages nor did he remember the delicacy with which he should turn them over to prevent them from getting damaged.
Chapter 8. What does that number mean?
Note of Mike.
Day 10. It’s been ten days from Mery’s death and I still can’t get used to it. The situation is more unbearable every time. Nights are eternal and Morpheus refuses to appear. The emptiness is irreplaceable. I would’ve liked to tell her so many things…
Day 12. I’ve taken a decision. It’s useless to feel sorry for yourself. I have to find the way to talk with her. I enter on the Internet the words: COMMUNICATION WITH DECEASED PEOPLE. The results are almost endless. Attracted by the slogan, I decide to enter a page. «The best medium in the world.» I contact him and we arrange an appointment.
Day 13. Tim is a nice guy. His appearance is neat and formal, but the speed of his speech and his sudden mood swings confirm that, as a good medium he is, he’s a bit crazy. Despite it may seem a drawback, I feel relieved.
After having lunch he invites me to go with him to one of his purification sessions, as he calls them. We arrive at a house in which an eighty-year-old lady lives. She tells us that she has heard her husband’s voice for years. I’m surprised to hear that he died twenty years ago. Tim doesn’t look affected. As she keeps on with the explanation, he opens a briefcase and takes out a wooden board. The Ouija. Despite having read a lot about it, having in front of me provokes me a combination of respect and fear. «Let me introduce you to my work tool. Don’t be afraid,» he whispers to me.
The action begins with some ceremonial questions made by Tim and, seconds later, the central glass starts moving answering all of them. I get really nervous when the medium invites me to participate. «You can make a question.» After having made it, the woman looks at me astonished. «Where did you appear when you
died?» The glass doesn’t move at all. Time takes the initiative and makes it again. The glass starts moving with enormous energy. The woman, he and I remained speechless. Instead of being alphabetical as it had been so far, the answer given by the Ouija was a number.
Numerical sequence: 2958443183
Josef was startled at reading the number. That was the same number his grandfather had told him the night before he died and the one he had tattooed on his right arm. That one he had asked him to memorize and never to forget it. «The chest password.»
«Are you sure?» Tim asks. «Yes,» the board answers. The medium terminates the purification asking the old lady’s husband to come back to the world of the dead. He accepts and, saying no more, the conversation is interrupted. Tim and I reflect about the answer without finding no meaning at all.
Day 14. Morning hadn’t still broken when my phone rang. «Mike, I’ve been thinking about what happened yesterday. I need you to come with me. I have three purification sessions today.» An hour later, we arrived at the first one. Everything runs normally until we make the question. «Where did you appear when you died?» The answer of the board was the same one as the previous day’s. «2958443183.» So it happens with the second and third session. «It’s not a coincidence,» the medium tells me. We say goodbye to each other and we arrange another appointment, this time at his practice.
Day 15. I slept all night long. Morpheus has finally succumbed and has allowed himself to be caught. I feel that today’s going to be a great day. I feel optimistic with the visit. He didn’t want to tell me anything, but I have good vibrations. I enter a room embellished with candles. The smell of incense makes me cough. I lie down on a small reclining armchair and I settled in. The sound of water coming from a small fountain relaxes me to such point that my eyelids start hiding my eyes. Tim’s thumb presses my glabella energetically. Then, he starts talking me. His voice is paused and soothing. The pressure is stronger every time. My pulse accelerates and I feel a crawling sensation throughout my whole body. I feel how my muscles start to swell and my ears perceive a bothering buzz. My heart continues soaring and I feel a kind of strength coming out from inside me.
The World's Game Page 21
