Intervention: A Science Fiction Adventure (6 page)

“If you wish, I will
arrange transport back to the temple for you Sanar,” the group
leader stated.

“No, that won’t be
necessary. I’ve been sitting all day watching others work. I think
I might enjoy the walk on such a clear night. A small escort will do
just fine.” Sanar responded.

Turning to his aide,
the group leader instructed, “Arrange an escort for Sanar for his
return to the temple.”

Sanar felt good about
what he had seen that day. The work was going well, the workers had
accomplished much more than he could have hoped, and all of the
instructions Ra had given to him in his visions were wondrously being
achieved by the workers. It had been a truly good day, and he felt
very contented with all he had seen. However, he was glad to see the
temple drawing nearer knowing the comforts of his wife and his
quarters awaited him.

As the servants brought
food and drink, Sanar told Nefree, “It was amazing to see so many
things working together so well. Using all of the things Ra has told
me through the visions, the work progressed as smoothly as the water
flows in the river. I wish I knew of words that would describe to you
the things I have seen today. It was truly amazing.” He stopped to
eat some of the food that had been placed in front of him.

“I’m so proud of
you, Sanar. I always knew you would become Khufu’s chief architect,
but in my wildest dreams, I could never have imagined all of this. I
will never forget the way I felt when Ra named you as chief architect
himself.” Turning to the servants, Nefree said, “Leave us now. I
wish to be alone with my husband.”

* * *

It was a little over
five weeks later as Sanar sat in his private chambers, when Ra
visited him again with another vision. It had been nearly a year
since work on the monument had begun, and the first level of the
large stone blocks was nearly complete. This time, the visions were
more elaborate and lasted much longer than all the previous ones
combined. By the time the visions stopped, and the bright light
faded, Sanar was completely exhausted and fell fast asleep. When he
awoke several hours later, he was amazed to see just how much he had
drawn. The illustrations contained the overall plans for the inner
workings of the monument, as well as all of the details for the next
twenty-two levels of stone blocks. There were many parchments and it
took nearly an hour to review and make sense of all he had drawn. It
was going to take some time to make the necessary copies for the
group leaders and Khufu, but feeling somewhat rested, he began at
once.

Before starting, he
decided to first summon one of his aides. "I have just received
more visions from Ra and must make copies for the group leaders and
for Khufu.”

“Shall I summon them
for you?” the aide responded.

“No, not yet. The
visions were great and many; it will take some time to make the
necessary copies. I don’t want to be disturbed until I have
finished. I will require nothing. Please tell the guards as you
leave.”

The sun was peeking
over the horizon when Sanar emerged from his private chambers.
“Guard, summon my aides.” With that he turned and disappeared
into his chambers; the guards closed his doors behind him. A few
moments later, several aides entered the chambers and stood awaiting
his instructions. “Bring all of the group leaders here at once, and
bring me food and drink that I may regain my strength while I await
your return. Now go.” The aides quickly disappeared.

Two returned a few
minutes later bringing Sanar the food and drink he had requested.
“Will you need anything else?” one of the aides asked.

“No, not until the
group leaders arrive.”

With that the aides
left Sanar to find his strength through nourishment. Sanar was quite
hungry and ate a full meal. As he lay back to wait, he once again
drifted off into slumber.

The knock at the door
to his chamber quickly pulled Sanar back into the world of his
chambers. “Enter,” he mustered.

The group leaders
gathered on both sides of Sanar as he sat at his drawing table; they
paid very close attention as Sanar explained each of the drawings on
each of the parchments for nearly two hours.

Sanar taught them about
a strange new way of arranging the stone blocks to create a large
open chamber without the weight of the blocks above crashing in. “I
cannot begin to tell you how important it is that the blocks be
placed exactly the way I have drawn them here. If they are just
slightly misplaced, the smallest amount, the entire structure will
collapse. I would not want to be the one to blame in the eyes of Ra
were that to happen. You all have much work to do, so I won’t keep
you any longer,” Sanar said as he sent the group leaders back to
their respective work sites.

Later that evening, one
of Khufu’s aides came to Sanar’s quarters. Sanar and Nefree had
just finished taking their evening meal and were talking about the
work on the monument when the aide arrived.

“Sanar, Khufu summons
you to speak with him in his private chambers,” the aide said.

“I shall come at
once,” Sanar replied. “Forgive me, Nefree; we will finish our
conversation when I return. I should not be too long with Khufu.”

Khufu sat looking
through the parchments from Sanar’s most recent visions and
appeared puzzled as Sanar entered his private chambers. “Come, sit
with me, Sanar,” Khufu said as he saw Sanar. “I am puzzled as I
look through these new drawings from your latest vision from Ra.”

“Yes, Khufu. What is
it that puzzles you?” Sanar asked.

Khufu thought silently
for a moment. Choosing his words carefully he said, “I am sure the
drawings you have made from the visions you received from Ra are
exactly what were shown. I also have no doubts in your ability to
draw these visions just as you have seen them. Yet, I am not
convinced I am seeing what is before my eyes as I look at these
drawings. It appears to be a large chamber, a very large chamber,
with no entry or exit. There are no sliding stone blocks to reveal a
hidden passage and no less than five stone blocks between this
chamber and the nearest chamber. No words or symbols are to be
inscribed to glorify Ra or even to mention his name. Can this be? I
do not understand.”

Sanar looked surprised
at hearing Khufu’s words. “I do not know why Ra wants this
chamber to be built as the drawing shows, nor do I know what the
purpose of such a chamber would be. Perhaps Ra does not need doors to
enter places. I don’t know why—I just draw what I am shown.”

“I was hoping you
might have some idea why there is to be a chamber with no way in or
out,” Khufu responded.

“I wish I were able
to tell you some reason for this chamber, but Ra has shown me only
that it is to be built, no more. I am sorry.”

Sanar waited for Khufu
to respond. Finally, Khufu said, “Please understand, I do not
question your drawings or the visions of Ra; I just did not know what
to think of a chamber with no way in or out, and I was hoping you
might have some idea of its purpose. That is all.”

“I understand your
thoughts, Khufu, for I too have wondered the same thing many times
since receiving this vision. I suppose Ra would make it known to me
if he wanted the chamber’s purpose known.” After a moment of
reflection, Sanar said, “If there is nothing more, I would return
to my quarters, for Nefree awaits my return.”

Khufu smiled. “Yes,
yes, by all means. We shall talk more tomorrow. Good night.”

And so, the building of
this great monument went on day after day, month after month, year
after year for nearly forty years. Sanar and Nefree had children who
grew up watching the great pyramid being built according to the
drawings their father made from the visions he received from Ra. They
too were to have children of their own before this giant structure
was completed. So it was also for the workers who were the first to
begin work on the pyramid. Their children and their children’s
children would all work to raise the great structure to its
completion.

When the pyramid was
complete, Ra came to Sanar one last time and said, “You have done
well these many years. You should be proud of the service you have
done your people. You have also helped people yet unborn in a way you
may never imagine. They will someday be in your debt for what you and
your people have done here. Now, Sanar, you shall spread my word to
all the people of the realm. I will appear to them one last time at
the temple on the day after the new moon. Everyone must attend.”

Sanar spoke aloud, “It
shall be as you wish, and thank you for allowing me to be the vehicle
of your wishes for these many years. You have made my life meaningful
beyond anything I could have ever imagined.” The bright light faded
from the chamber one last time leaving Sanar, now an old man in the
twilight of his years, feeling tired but fulfilled.

After a short rest,
Sanar wrote a proclamation on behalf of Ra ordering all of the people
to attend a meeting at the temple on the day after the new moon at
high noon. Sanar called one of the guards to summon his aide. Sanar
had made many copies of the proclamation from Ra announcing his
upcoming appearance.

When the aide arrived,
Sanar said, “These proclamations are to be placed where everyone
may see them. All must be there by order of Ra. Go now, and be sure
that everyone knows.”

When the day after the
new moon came, every person in the land went to the temple. Whether
they walked, crawled, or had to be carried, they were all there. Few
of them were witnesses to the first appearance of Ra. Most were not
even born at that time, but all were hoping to see the mighty Ra
firsthand. The temple had not changed much, since all were working on
the pyramid these past years. The temple was surrounded for miles by
a solid mass of people all waiting for a glimpse of Ra himself.

The scene in the temple
itself was much like that day so many years ago when Ra made his
first and only appearance. Sanar and Nefree stood in their same spot
and Khufu made his entrance, as always, through the same door. All
were so much older now, some barely able to stand, yet all eagerly
awaited the appearance of Ra once again.

The midday sun was
relentless, beating down without a cloud in the sky to offer any
relief. The breeze was non-existent as the mass of people waited
patiently for their god to appear to them. Just as the sun reached as
high above the cooking sand as it possibly could, clouds began to
appear from nowhere, blocking out the light of the sun. As before,
what appeared to be a single ray of sunlight penetrated the sudden
cloud cover to just above the temple. This time the eye of Ra
appeared as large as the temple itself, easily seen by everyone.

“People of Egypt,”
the very loud and thundering voice roared, “you have served me
well. The pyramid you have built pleases me. You have proven to be a
good and faithful people. Now, I have one last task for you to
perform. I want all of the remaining parchments, tools, sleds, roads,
and barges, as well as any writings that might pertain to this
structure, or the building thereof, destroyed. Nothing that has
anything to do with the building of this pyramid is to remain. Also,
no one is to ever speak of building this pyramid to anyone ever.”
There was a brief, but almost anticipated pause. “I will always be
watching to make sure my wishes are fulfilled.” The eye of Ra
remained for a few more minutes and then faded. The sun shone once
again.

“The tie was too darn
tight anyway. It cuts off the circulation to the brain so you can’t
think right. Besides, it didn’t really make me look all that
important to begin with. What kind of idiot invented the darn things
in the first place? Someone with more time than brains, I’ll bet. I
can do the job just as well without the darn thing—probably better.
People just place far too much value on a person’s appearance. I
mean, what’s a stupid tie got to do with life insurance anyway?”
Joe muttered these thoughts to himself as he coaxed his 1941 Chevy
sedan down the rural dirt road. As it backfired, Joe tried to remind
himself of the good deal he got buying his surplus army staff car
after the war. Okay, it might have a lot of miles on it, but, with a
little luck, it would have a few more.

Luck, however, didn’t
seem to be Joe’s companion these days. It was the summer of 1954.
For most people, the war had become just a distant memory, and they
felt quite safe and secure. The need for life insurance wasn’t
something people thought about much these days.

The old Chevy backfired
again, but this time it quit. Joe steered off to the side of the
road. He got out, removed his suit jacket, and laid it over the back
of the seat. He reached into the glove box and grabbed his
screwdriver; he knew just what the trouble was. It didn’t cost much
for a new set of points, but times were hard for Joe and his wife
lately. Besides, it was just a matter of adjusting them every now and
then. Although, it seemed impossible to make that adjustment without
getting a spot of grease on his shirt. Joe did so in his usual style,
if you could call it that, knowing his wife would be able to remove
it as she had so many times in the past. Marrying her was without a
doubt the best thing he had ever done. Even though she could not bear
children, she was still the best little lady around.

The pavement felt good
under the tires of the old Chevy as Joe turned onto the main highway
heading into town. He wasn’t looking forward to telling his boss he
hadn’t been able to meet his quota again.

“If they would just
give me a better territory I could sell more,” Joe said to himself.
“The farmers out here have too much to worry about and don’t care
about life insurance. They have to make sure their crops come in and
they need to worry about blight and the weather. I wish they would
just give me one of these new subdivisions that they are putting up
outside the city. Now with those people, I could meet my quota,
probably even more. But no, they stick me out here in the middle of
the corn fields,” he thought as he saw the main office coming into
sight.