I should never have looked so closely at the bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember standing in that excavated pit next to the titanic stone sarcophagus, wondering who could have carved this massive granite construction and why. I remember watching the Egyptian engineers attach ropes and brackets to the lid after dissolving the ancient mortar that glued it on. I remember holding my breath and capturing it all on my phone as the lid grated and groaned free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I should have held my breath longer than that. The memory of the stench released from inside will stay with me as long as I live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hmmm. Interesting phrase, that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, all the media hounds were pretty disappointed by the box\u2019s contents: three bare skeletons sitting in a nasty stew that smelled of waste products and ancient meat. Me? I was excited. There was nothing I liked more than old bones, and these had to have been sitting in there for 2,000 years or so. Soon, I would get my chance to examine them for probable gender, diet, cause of death, or perhaps even more. It\u2019s amazing what bones can tell you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So: there were three of us assigned to the Alexandria-based research team as, basically, orthopedic archaeologists. I\u2019d been doing that work for a few years, and my career had been just interesting enough to attract notice among other professionals. I had no doubt my work here would be called \u201cpreliminary\u201d in the majority of the research papers produced by this project, but my name \u2013 Lisa Ramirez – would still appear. In the meantime, I enjoyed being first on site. Except for the smell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I liked working beside Jenny Matsuda. She was pretty new to the field, but her fresh and eager perspective helped make up for her lack of experience. She loved the travel and possessed a clever imagination. Jenny sometimes had trouble keeping focused on the work before her; still, she knew her job, and didn\u2019t suffer from a lack of new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elizabeth Richardson, on the other hand, possessed a sharp tongue and an arrogant attitude. We could tell she felt she was slumming by getting her hands dirty working with us, and that she should instead be lead researcher on an overfunded project in a nice sterile lab. The rumor mill said the chip on her shoulder came from a colleague who stalled her career when she wouldn\u2019t sleep with him. I usually let her irritation slide off my back; in the long run, she was rewarding to work with. Elizabeth\u2019s impatience pushed her to jump to conclusions, but she almost always turned out to be right. Besides, I, uh\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 well, no one\u2019s going to read this. I confess I was really into her. For professional reasons, it wouldn\u2019t have been a good idea to say so \u2013 doubly so if those rumors were true; besides, she didn\u2019t give me the idea she had any similar feelings about me. But I won\u2019t lie; I kinda wanted her to boss me around in very specific ways outside of work hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Potential readers or not, I think I\u2019m still gonna delete that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All right: back to what happened. Thankfully, someone else got the job of suctioning all that reddish-brown muck from inside the sarcophagus. We weren\u2019t handling the analysis for that nasty crap. As soon as they\u2019d gotten out as much as they could, we took over. We shot a butt-ton of pictures, and then gently removed the bones for cleaning and examination. The stench wasn\u2019t gone\u2026 but it was manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We tagged everything and gently consigned the remains to padded boxes. Eventually, everything would go to a fully equipped lab; but we take these first to a nice temporary setup in a building close to the site, and I was excited by the idea that we might learn something fascinating in the initial processing. Jenny thought the bones might belong to someone famous, maybe Alexander the Great; our skepticism didn\u2019t bother her a bit. Elizabeth\u2019s attitude suggested she was eager to discover something that would show the world her brilliance and elite skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s how it all started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019d each picked a skull and started cleaning. This was delicate, gentle work, but we\u2019d all done it many times before. There was no hurry; we had at least a week or two before everything would be packed up and shipped out. The smell had died to a tolerable level and I was looking forward to building a preliminary reconstruction of my chosen skeleton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019d put down paper and drawn connecting lines beneath bones that I thought belonged together. Jenny arranged hers on her worktable as though she was setting up a still life, but the relationships were still clear when you looked. The bones on Elizabeth\u2019s table were lined up with such incredible precision that you probably could have identified any spot on them with a set of basic x-y-z coordinates. The radio-imaging techs loved her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was thoroughly absorbed in my work when I realized Elizabeth was yelling at Jenny. I looked up from what I was doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c \u2013 can\u2019t even pay enough attention to initial cleaning! Look how you\u2019ve etched the bone, Jennifer! Were you cleaning this poor soul\u2019s cranium with steel wool?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou can stuff that! I don\u2019t have to take it from you! I\u2019ve been as careful as either of you have. I don\u2019t know where those scratches came from, but it wasn\u2019t me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked more closely at the skull from my table. My nose rebelled, but I could see the scoring by the bits of waste matter still present in the tiny grooves. \u201cI think she\u2019s right, Elizabeth. I\u2019ve got those scratches here too, and I haven\u2019t used anything stronger than a soft toothbrush. Take a closer look at yours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She tossed her blond hair from her eyes and glared at me, but gently picked her skull up with her gloved hands. Her demeanor changed from combative to interested. \u201cWell\u2026 hmph. I see what you are saying, Lisa. They\u2019re all etched. The etching is quite fine and too regular to be part of a natural process, but I certainly didn\u2019t do this either. I apologize, Jennifer.\u201d She may have backed off, but clearly this was a perfunctory apology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curious, I wiped a vertebra somewhat clean. \u201cIn fact, I think the same scoring\u2019s here too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenny looked at a femur, clearing a line of debris from it. \u201cMore here. Are all the bones like this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked at the neatly arranged parts of skeletal structure waiting on our attention. \u201cI guess we\u2019ll find out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we worked our way methodically through the ancient bones, it became apparent that they were indeed all etched in the same way. It looked almost as though someone had taken a wire brush to each one, carefully lining up each stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenny frowned at the ones she\u2019d worked on so far. \u201cThis had to have been done to the bones once the skeletons were bare. Now, am I supposed to believe that someone carefully unsealed that box, moved a few tons of granite aside, scratched up the skeletons, then put it all back the way it was? \u2018Cause that\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe marks could be the results of some kind of flesh-removing tool used before the initial burial,\u201d Elizabeth observed. She showed restrained excitement; this could be something new brand new, and brand new could be her ticket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t want to shoot her down, because I\u2019d never seen her so pleased. Unfortunately, I couldn\u2019t agree. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of anyone using a tool like that,\u201d I said. \u201cBesides, you\u2019d expect to see irregular scrapes, not this nice even pattern.\u201d I pointed at the pelvic bone I\u2019d selected to work on next. \u201cI agree with Jenny. This is\u2026 huh. What in the hell is that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s what?\u201d Elizabeth demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I leaned in to look closer. \u201cThere\u2019s metal here.\u201d I saw a perfect disk, about the size of a half-dollar coin, stuck to the underside of the bone by some of the dried muck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d Elizabeth came over to look, followed closely by Jenny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLooks like brushed aluminum.\u201d I took a few dozen pictures, and then went in to carefully dislodge the artifact. I wanted a closer look at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one was making aluminum in Egypt two thousand years ago,\u201d Jenny said confidently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not arguing with you. Look at this, though.\u201d They crowded around. The small perfect circle of metal really did look machined. One side had a geometric design in bas-relief, and the other a neat array of shallow round dimples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA coin would almost certainly have a readable inscription\u2026 a denomination, a date, the name of the current ruler,\u201d Elizabeth mused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I started to become excited as well. This could be anything, and I\u2019d found it first. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s some kind of token or marker,\u201d I said. \u201cA gaming piece, perhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey, maybe there are more back in the casket!\u201d Jenny suggested, joining in eagerly. \u201cThe suction tools had grilles meant to keep solid matter out; they might have missed something. Maybe we can prove someone did get inside that box before us.\u201d She buckled on a tool pouch, pulled a cap over her short black bob cut, and began heading to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not numismatists,\u201d Elizabeth snapped. \u201cWe\u2019re here to look at bones. I can talk to the next team, and set up further investigation.\u201d I could clearly see that she had every intention of being reassigned to that team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I lost a little patience at that point. \u201cOkay, you stay behind,\u201d I said, getting up to follow Jenny. \u201cI\u2019m sure we\u2019ll find absolutely nothing to suggest someone was smelting aluminum two thousand years ago, nothing to force the scientific community to revise their consensus on the history of metallurgy. Nothing they\u2019ll call \u2018the Ramirez-Matsuda breakthrough\u2019 in the textbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026 fuck you,\u201d Elizabeth responded as she set her tools on her table and followed us both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twilight settled over the dig site as we showed our identification to the security staff. They gazed at the three of us incuriously and made no move to hinder us as we slipped down into the pit. Floodlights drove the shadows away, contrasting strangely with the enigmatic, externally featureless stone block. The air smelled of dust and sand and, unfortunately, still of things long dead. I think all three of us were imagining the specters of long-dead craftspersons watching us work. I think I looked amused; Jenny looked excitedly creeped out; and as always, Elizabeth looked impatient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elizabeth mounted a folding metal stepladder left next to the sarcophagus. The thought of a major discovery with her name on it had driven away her previous reluctance. I allowed the sight of her ascending rear to briefly distract me from the matter at hand. \u201cI\u2019ll look first,\u201d she said. \u201cMaybe I can find whatever scraping tool they used.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOoo, yeah! I\u2019ll be right behind you,\u201d Jenny offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t a hotel suite, it\u2019s a tight space,\u201d Elizabeth snapped. \u201cStay there and give me some room to move around. You can search after me.\u201d I was annoyed by her peremptory attitude, but amused at her eager desire to slide around in what the suction hoses couldn\u2019t get. Jenny and I sat on the edge of the box and watched as she rooted around. The two of us offered pseudo-helpful advice that was answered in curt monosyllables if it was answered at all. Half an hour later, Elizabeth had acquired multiple red-brown smudges and that was about all she had to show for her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She stopped looking. \u201cThis is what comes of listening to you idiots,\u201d she mumbled. \u201cOne of the workers probably dropped his good-luck charm in here while clearing the muck away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenny\u2019s face fell as her excitement evaporated. \u201cThat makes a lot more sense, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m over this. Give me a hand up \u2013 wait, hang on a moment.\u201d Elizabeth leaned down to peer closely at one of the many carved designs on the floor of the sarcophagus. The entire interior of the box was covered in those carvings. They didn\u2019t look like hieroglyphics or anything identifiable as language; but that wasn\u2019t our field, so none of us had examined them carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wiped away nearly dry muck from a circular carving with a relief pattern of bumps inside. Jenny and I both leaned in to see what Elizabeth was doing. The carving she revealed was clearly the same size as the disk, and the bump pattern appeared to match the dimples perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEither of you bring the coin? I want to see if the bumps and dimples line up,\u201d Elizabeth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah, I have it,\u201d I answered. I had taken it along to compare with the others we had hoped to find; I begrudgingly passed it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDamn, how about that. Looks like it would fit in here perfectly.\u201d She started to set it in the carved depression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t! It might set something off!\u201d yelped Jenny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. \u201cThis isn\u2019t an Indiana Jones movie, birdbrain. Everything here is solid stone without a crack or a join. Tell you what: if you see a poison dart suddenly sticking out of me, feel free to pull it out.\u201d She set the coin down, spinning it slightly in place to match the bumps. It slipped precisely into place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elizabeth disappeared, with a comic-book \u201cpop\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenny screamed, and clutched my hand. I just sat there open-mouthed. \u201cElizabeth!\u201d she shouted, but no one answered. I saw flashlights swinging toward us and started shouting for the security team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d she go?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI \u2013 I \u2013 I have no idea,\u201d I stuttered. The disk remained where she\u2019d put it, but there was no Elizabeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jenny jumped down from the edge, still holding my hand tightly. \u201cOw! Jenny, leggo! That hurts!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cElizabeth!\u201d she yelled again, and reached down to pick up the disk. She touched it, and \u2013\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2013 and we felt a terrible falling, tearing sensation, and landed on our feet in neon brilliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a while, we just stared. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Jenny whispered dazedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whispering seemed appropriate. We stood in a vast space built from glowing traceries of color running horizontally and vertically, sometimes twisting into chaotic knots. No one gleaming line continued for very long before breaking up or changing direction or joining one of the knots. The maze of light stretched away in all directions before blending into a nondescript grey; indeed, it ran above us and below, which made it not very clear what we were standing on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is this place?\u201d I wondered aloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d she repeated, \u201cbut I don\u2019t think I like it very much. Trying to follow any of these lines makes my head hurt. I don\u2019t think this place likes us very much.\u201d She trembled a bit and tried to look everywhere at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou frightened?\u201d I tried to sound brave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLisa, I\u2019ve been mugged in Baghdad and nearly raped in Mogadishu. I can handle myself; in fact, rape dude\u2019s balls almost ended up in his chest cavity. But this is giving me the creeps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at her a moment. \u201cWell, then I\u2019m willing to admit I\u2019m a bit twitchy too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A voice suddenly echoed around us, and we both jumped. It sounded like an electronic device trying to replicate an inhuman set of speech organs; it said only \u201cZar tia cucca fel penidor berret som<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jenny crouched a bit, craning her head around. \u201cWho said that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was looking for the source as well, uselessly. \u201cGot me. It came from everywhere,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt sounded like I was being told to keep my hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, it made me want to curl up into a ball, but I suppose that\u2019s sort of the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cElizabeth\u2019s in here, right?\u201d Jenny asked. \u201cBecause I\u2019m ready to find her and leave. I just play with bones, not \u2013 not pocket dimensions.\u201d Her voice wobbled on that last part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is very science-fiction, isn\u2019t it?\u201d I tried stepping forward, and whatever we stood on continued to support me. \u201cShe\u2019s gotta be in here. We all touched the same disk. Besides\u2026 I don\u2019t know where else we\u2019d start looking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Slowly, I walked forward, Jenny following behind me. The abstract, discontinuous light shapes around us tended to hypnotize, like a perfectly straight desert road surrounded by horizon. After a while, it became obvious that either we weren\u2019t moving in a straight line or the lattice wasn\u2019t, because the knots of color appeared and disappeared as we moved. I wished I\u2019d brought breadcrumbs or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe there\u2019s a map around here somewhere? Or an information booth,\u201d Jenny suggested. She waved her phone at me. \u201cThis probably doesn\u2019t surprise you, but I\u2019m not getting GPS or cell signal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I drew my shoulders together. \u201cThis feels so wrong. I feel like an intruder; like we are being watched.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh hell yes. I\u2019d swear something would like us to leave, now. Wish we could oblige.\u201d She kept grabbing my hand for reassurance, than quickly letting go as if to pretend she hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I shook my head, trying to find something visual to focus on. It was hard to tell in the confusing perspective; but as we walked, one of the bright knots seemed to be getting closer to us, becoming more detailed and intricate until it seemed to be within arm\u2019s reach. This close, the tight tangle of light seemed almost solid. Almost without conscious intent, I reached out to touch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A shower of cold golden sparks engulfed my hand; I yelped in surprise and yanked my hand back quickly. The sparks came along, though, and I reflexively tried to shake them off. Suddenly, the sparks coalesced into the physical form of a solid object that appeared in my hand. I dropped the thing immediately, and as it fell to foot level it disappeared in another burst of sparks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJesus! Are you okay, Lisa?\u201d Jenny tried to look at my hand and the place where the object had fallen at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m fine, I\u2019m fine, just startled. My hand\u2019s tingling, but that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat was that thing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt sure wasn\u2019t a map\u2026 it looked like some kind of tool? I didn\u2019t get a good look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me try!\u201d Jenny reached toward the knot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca pitacor fenol fel sim garra no<\/em>,\u201d echoed around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jenny drew her hand back. \u201cSomehow, that didn\u2019t sound like \u2018Sure, go right ahead.\u2019 I think I\u2019ll obey the Mystery Voice for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook, let\u2019s find Elizabeth. Then the three of us together can figure out how to get back out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We wandered inside the light for a long time. Occasionally we\u2019d hear another of those cryptic announcements. My watch said we\u2019d been in there for an hour, but it felt longer. My phone was useless; none of the apps would launch, and the display flickered in a worrying manner. I finally shut it off before something worse happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We were thoroughly lost by that point, but had nothing to do but keep going. Jenny was trying to keep a count of the knots we passed, and I tried to as well, but our counts kept conflicting. I\u2019m not sure either of us was wrong. A lot about this place didn\u2019t make sense: I hated to spout more sci-fi cliches, but distance and direction didn\u2019t seem to be obeying the normal laws I was used to. It both fascinated and worried me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, we heard some kind of clattering to our right: it echoed oddly but seemed to be the realest thing we\u2019d heard in here \u2013 and I include Mystery Voice in that list. We tentatively started heading toward where we thought the noise came from, and soon we could make out a solid silhouette resolving out of the grey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs that\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think so,\u201d I replied. We moved quickly toward the shape. The lines seemed to move out of our way now that we had a direction in mind, and soon we could easily recognize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jenny ran forward. \u201cElizabeth!\u201d she shouted as she leaped forward to embrace our colleague, almost scattering the objects piled in Elizabeth\u2019s crossed arms. I wanted to hug Elizabeth as well and have her tell me everything was going to be okay now, but I refrained. I doubted I\u2019d get good results out of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth was in her familiar mood. \u201cCareful, Jennifer!\u201d she barked as she dodged Jenny. \u201cIf I drop any of these things, they\u2019ll disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re glad to see you, too,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat the hell happened to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She scowled at us. \u201cYou touched the coin, and fell through solid stone into this cheap computer-graphics amusement park, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, me too; so there you go. I\u2019ll admit you\u2019re a welcome sight for lonely eyes.\u201d That made me feel warm and tingly; but damn, this was still not the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth brightened for a moment. \u201cHey, do you still have the coin?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She dropped back to her scowl. \u201cFigures. God damn it. I thought if it got me here, it might get me back. I tried pressing one of the glowing nodes, hoping maybe it would call the elevator or something. Got the first one of these.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what the hell are those?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo idea, but look at them.\u201d We did. She held five randomly shaped objects, each with bits suggesting handles, buttons, grilles, or nozzles. They had the same brushed-aluminum look as the disk that had dropped us here, with detailing in jewel-toned color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s like they get 3-D printed on demand. You touch the node and the little sparks do their thing. It\u2019s like a giant library, or catalogue. Maybe a storehouse: I can\u2019t seem to get any of the little tangles to work twice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe made one of them work before, but the object went away when it hit the floor,\u201d I said. I looked at her collection as though it were a string of primed grenades. \u201cThen some mystery voice spouted nonsense, like some scolding error message, so we stopped. Maybe we shouldn\u2019t be fucking with all this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI heard the voice too. But come on: in for a penny, in for a twenty. We\u2019ve got to bring some of these things out with us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew where that suggestion came from, but I frowned skeptically at the artifacts anyway. Elizabeth saw my expression. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to! Don\u2019t you get it? These – objects, devices, weapons, whatever the hell they are – are like nothing we\u2019ve ever seen. If we can get out of here with these, we will make the history books; and that worthless Assistant Director will have to absolutely beg… um\u2026 well. Otherwise: even if we get out, we\u2019ve got nothing but a story. I can\u2019t even make my phone camera work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSame here,\u201d I admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThose things look alien somehow,\u201d said Jenny in a distracted tone. She couldn\u2019t look away from them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth rolled her eyes and indicated our surroundings with a toss of her head. \u201cWell, what could possibly have given you that idea?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca rati gest bito fel temblor<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExactly, Mystery Voice. Jenny, hold these. Now that we have three sets of arms for carrying, I want more of these things.\u201d Elizabeth shoved the pile of artifacts into Jenny\u2019s arms, and walked over to a nearby knot. She reached for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMaybe we\u2019ve got enough for this trip,\u201d I suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve already dumped a dozen artifacts so I could carry these. The little tangles stopped reacting to me just before I found you, but I want to get at least one more sample. Don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s fine.\u201d She pressed her palm against the knot, ready to grab whatever appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sparks appeared, but this time no device started forming. Instead, the sparks engulfed her hand completely and began crawling up her arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShit!\u201d I cried and darted forward to pull her free. The sparks came with her hand, but slowly engulfed it instead of creating an object.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca fedor libe tac fel gelini darok<\/em>,\u201d the voice advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth was startled, but didn\u2019t want to show it. \u201cUh. Um, that\u2019s not\u2026 no; stay cool, I think it\u2019s okay. Kind of interesting. They feel like they\u2019re crawling around on my hand. Maybe it\u2019s generating some kind of clothing or armor.\u201d The sparks spread to her wrist, and Elizabeth began to look a little concerned. \u201cHuh. Does tingle a lot more than the other things did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t decide what to do. The sparks around her hand faded as the glittering cloud moved slowly up her arm. Underneath was some sort of dark red glove, gleaming under the nearby lines of light. The fingers of the glove ended in needle-sharp talons. They looked more like bone than metal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started shaking with horrible premonition. \u201cElizabeth\u2026 are you sure that\u2019s a glove?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She look at me, then carefully touched her other hand to the red surface. The texture looked more like exposed meat and muscle than fabric. Her eyes grew wide and she pressed against the new surface in various places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFuck!\u201d she shouted. \u201cI can feel that! That\u2019s my arm! What the hell is it doing to my arm?\u201d Frantically she started batting at the sparks that still crawled along her forearm, leaving wet tissue behind. Bony plates began to appear on her arm under the sparks. \u201cOh god, oh god, what is this? Stop it! Lisa, make it stop!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For several seconds, I was frozen in horror. The sparks slowly continued to convert her arm into something demonic, horrific. Then the smell of cooked meat hit my nose, and that was too much for me to take; I dropped to my knees and threw up. For some reason, the results sparked and disappeared into the floor just like that first artifact had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca peri wenok ree fel tiromusi gat<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jenny snapped. \u201cShut up shut up voice SHUT UP SHUT UP!\u201d I heard a clatter of dropped mystery objects, and turned my head to see most of Jenny\u2019s armload hit the invisible floor. Each of them disappeared in tiny fireworks like everything else; she used the one artifact that remained to bat hysterically at a nearby knot. The third time the object hit, it too evaporated, and Jenny\u2019s hand triggered more sparks. This time the knot exploded, spraying gold glitter all over her upper body. My abused guts tightened again in fear, but the spray died away quickly leaving no traces. Like me, she dropped to her knees, holding her head in fear and frustration. The knot calmly reformed as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh, okay.\u201d I was trying hard not to panic. \u201cWe need to get the hell out of here.\u201d I grasped frantically at straws. \u201cOkay. Ah. All right. Elizabeth, when we started concentrating on your shape, the lines seemed to help us get to you. Both of you: think about the sarcophagus! That\u2019s how we got in\u2026 maybe we can get out that way!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elizabeth just stared mesmerized at the slow rebuilding of her arm, and Jenny stayed on her knees with her head down. I yanked her to her feet, and grabbed Elizabeth\u2019s normal hand. \u201cSnap out of it and come on! Both of you, I need you both!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two of them followed me numbly. I swore again to myself; I didn\u2019t want to be solely responsible for getting us out. I didn\u2019t know if I even could do it without their help. With no other better option, I thought of the sarcophagus with all my might as I pulled them forward. Were the lights moving out of our way as they had when we searched for Elizabeth? It was so hard to tell!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca ter winit suk karo beri roto fel<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia<\/em> cache procedure\u2026\u201d Jenny mumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stopped. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her expression was blank, and for a second I could swear I saw those golden sparks in her eyes. Then Jenny focused and saw me. \u201cI – I – I heard it twice? I heard the nonsense and then I heard it again in English\u2026 I think.\u201d Tears started running down Jenny\u2019s face. \u201cThere\u2019s something in my head. I can\u2019t\u2026 it won\u2019t\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The blank expression returned, and she stood like a mannequin. \u201cZar tia<\/em> cache security protocol suk<\/em> in progress\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh god. I could barely keep from shaking her; I wanted to start shaking, myself. \u201cJenny, what\u2019s a zar tia? What\u2019s a suk?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind me came a groan from Elizabeth. \u201cUnnnhh\u2026 ah\u2026 it\u2019s hurting\u2026 I can\u2019t breathe\u2026 Jenny, Lisa, help me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned. Her arm was completely gone, replaced by something hellish. The limb had two elbows now and was far too long, as through a demonic torture-surgeon had indulged itself. Elizabeth looked helplessly at me, then at her arm, waving it desperately; but the sparks had worked their way to her chest and neck. I thought I saw organs moving under the ropy red flesh and white armor bone of her torso. I couldn\u2019t bear to see the slow ruin of the body I\u2019d fantasized about, and I hastily took my gaze back to her face. She was terrified, and her look begged me to do something, anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI – I can\u2019t help,\u201d I said desperately. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to stop this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both her untouched and her violated fists clenched tight. Fluid dripped from the latter. \u201cLeave\u2026 me,\u201d she choked out. \u201cI don\u2019t\u2026 think\u2026 make it. Get her\u2026 get\u2026 ahhgll\u2026 mnuugghh\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sparks were up to her jaw and her next few sounds were unintelligible, but her face said it all. I pulled Jenny along behind me and ran for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We ran for twenty minutes. We\u2019d spent an hour finding Elizabeth, but I had no idea at all if we were taking the same way back. All the latticed neon looked the same after a while, and only by passing knots of light could I be sure we were moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca pel rorag suk telga jip roto fel<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia<\/em> cache security protocol suk<\/em> status fabricated,\u201d Jenny mumbled mindlessly. Something behind us roared in anger and pain, and it wasn\u2019t the announcement voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked back. Was that a shadow in the grey distance between the glowing colors? I tried to tell myself I didn\u2019t know what it was, but I knew. Or, I knew what it had been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJenny\u2026 Jenny, I can\u2019t drag you along any more. I don\u2019t know how to get us out of here and I need your help. Jenny! Answer me!\u201d She looked blankly into the distance, showing no sign of hearing me. I stood there, indecisive. I wanted to keep running, but I couldn\u2019t leave her, and I had nowhere to run to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something shambled closer to us. Something with long, thin arms that bent in too many places. Something that seemed to have four legs, and screamed in anger-pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at the slowly resolving form, and I looked over at Jenny\u2019s empty gaze, and I made my decision. There was nowhere else to run, really. I hoped the thing that had once been Elizabeth \u2013 the nauseous horror made from the body that had given me such delicious daydreams \u2013 would give us quick deaths. Then I thought of her suffering and felt guilty about even that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I could see the monster clearly. The sparks were gone. Obscenely, they had left Elizabeth her long blonde hair, but little else. Her head was a misshapen ovoid with burning red coals for eyes and a cartilaginous pit of a mouth. Her taloned fingers flick-flick-flicked as though impatient to rend. Armored plates of bone protected her torso as their misshapen edges cut deep into it with every step; and I saw that the two lower bones of each leg had separated, receiving two bent, sharpened digits apiece. Where the other two toes had gone wasn\u2019t even worth a guess. Even had I been as brave as Jenny in Mogadishu, I wouldn\u2019t have known what to kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Elizabeth,\u201d I said, tears beginning to flow. \u201cGoodbye.\u201d Jenny still had her back turned, oblivious. I took her hand and closed my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca abal dyfo tesu ogiteh zem fel<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, give it up,\u201d I breathed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCombat logistics cache security protocol: intruder elimination, status incomplete,\u201d Jenny said emotionlessly. I looked around at her in despair, and saw her back stiffen, and her head lift. She yanked free from me, reached forward, and grabbed a knot of light in each hand. The sudden sparks raced in threads of staccato light up her arms to her head, and she screamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIncomplete! Incomplete! Zar tia cucca fel meno ritusa labu voci hedo hedo fel sidyn pul<\/em>! Combat logistics cache security protocol cancel! Cancel! Protocol safety purge override! Zar tia cucca fel meno ritusa labu voci hedo hedo fel sidyn pul<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The monster stopped just before me as if physically struck by Jenny\u2019s words. A hot, reeking wind came from the open pit in its face… and\u2026 and if featureless glowing orbs can look sad\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n It collapsed. Bones snapped, and blood pooled beneath it. I turned back to Jenny and saw her body contort in agony and she said \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013 and I felt a terrible rising, tearing sensation, and found myself standing in the sarcophagus. I heard a tiny ping, and looked down to see the little disk pop free of the carving it had rested in. I collapsed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Startled security personnel stood crowded around the sarcophagus: some with guns drawn. \u201cIt\u2019s her! It\u2019s her! One of the bone team!\u201d shouted one of the quicker-witted guards, and most of the guns lowered. Another guard had the presence of mind to reach in and pull my limp, shaking body from the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere did you come from?\u201d he asked. \u201cWhere are the others?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I turned back to the box and waved vaguely. \u201cI\u2026 uh\u2026 I don\u2019t know where I was. Somewhere\u2026 else. As for my friends \u2013\u201c <\/p>\n\n\n\n With a horrific squish and a sound of scraped bone, two complete skeletons appeared in the sarcophagus, along with maybe 150 kilograms of reddish-brown muck. And before I fainted, I remembered the last thing Jenny said after one more of those nonsense announcements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cZar tia cucca fel sidyn labu peris camod semab rut hedo vugu<\/em>. Combat logistics cache emergency exit engaged; disinfection protocol to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m almost certainly going to delete this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013 END \u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I should never have looked so closely at the bones. I remember standing in that excavated pit next to the titanic stone sarcophagus, wondering who could have carved this massive granite construction and why. I remember watching the Egyptian engineers attach ropes and brackets to the lid after dissolving the ancient mortar that glued it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2289","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1xCb9-AV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2290,"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2289\/revisions\/2290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatocasa.com\/unimat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}