Page 52 of Ra
They stood there, each waiting for the other to speak. Finally Neith decided to be the bigger person, or god, depending on your point of view. “Just remember, Ra, no one can have everything. And there’s a reason for it all.” She hesitated, then shrugged her delicate, perfect shoulders and laughed delightedly. “Well, I can have everything,” she said, her laugh cutting short as she suddenly glared at him.
Ra made to follow her, but found himself frozen in place, his feet stuck to the floor.
“Neith!” he whisper-screamed. “Release me this instant!” he insisted as he struggled to move his feet.
Suddenly he fell forward as his feet were unexpectedly freed. In the back of his mind, he realized that Azi’s voice had come to a stop. He turned quickly back to her, and flashed her a quick smile.
“Apologies,” she said. “A little bit of noise from backstage. Even the security people are excited about the throne.”
The audience laughed, and Azi continued on with her presentation.
Questions were fired at her from all parts of the auditorium regarding her reassessment of the tomb as a temple. And she patiently answered each as they were called out, before she finally got the chance to get back to the points she wanted to make. “First, its layout is not that of a tomb. It’s huge with large columns supporting its ceiling just as those temples that have already been identified. Everything is gilded and inlaid with precious stones. While there is what we thought to be a sarcophagus, I’m now convinced that it’s an offering table. There are no canopic jars. There is no evidence of funerary offerings. There are no mummified remains. The walls are not inscribed with scenes of an occupant’s accomplishments in life, followed by the scenes of that occupant ascending to the level of the gods. Rather the gods themselves are shown on the walls, the floor, the ceiling, in every available space. This expansive building was built to be a temple, not a tomb. For me, the throne seals it, wraps it all up nicely for us. There were antiquities, as I’ve shown you. Exquisite items the quality and value of which is unmatched to date, but the typical rites of the dead did not take place here.”
“Isn’t it possible that its owner simply didn’t get to be buried in it for whatever reason?”
“It is. Of course, anything is possible. But I tend to lean the other way. Let me share some of the photos we’ve taken of not only the artifacts found there, but of the temple itself.” Azi clicked through the forty or so photos, displaying them all on the over sized white board at the rear of the stage, and on the white boards on the left and right of the stage as well, positioned so that they could easily be viewed by everyone. She stopped to explain in great detail all she saw as an educated, experienced Egyptologist, versus just a fan of ancient Egypt. When she finished going through the photos, she lifted up the last photowhich clearly depicted Ra crossing the sky. She walked out in front of the podium, and clasped her hands in front of herself as she took the time to look at everyone there. “We’ll never know for sure, because we’re a few thousand years too late. But though the walls are decorated with scenes from the creation of all the gods and the universe, I believe this temple was built for Ra. The overwhelming abundance of depictions of him crossing the sky in the daylight, and crossing through the underworld in the night, along with the creation of the others, indicates to me that this is a temple of Ra. This temple is the Temple of Ra. This throne you see behind me, isn’t a chair for a Pharaoh, or a King, it is the throne of Ra.”
Applause thundered through the auditorium. Ra threw his head back and let out a shrill ululation.
Dr. Neti Weaver, aka Neith, walked out onto the stage and stood on Azi’s left, clapping for as long as the audience did. “Well done, Dr. Clement. Well, done.”
“Thank you, Dr. Weaver.”
Ra stood to the side, chafing at the bit. He didn’t like that Neith was so close to Azi without him there to intercede.
Dr. Weaver placed her right arm across Azi’s back, and her left hand resting gently on Azi’s left hand.
That was it. Ra could take no more and strode out onto the stage, quickly snatching up a bottle of water as he went. He wore a cold smile as he extended the bottle of water to Azi, while encircling her waist and pulling her closer to him and away from Neith. “What are you doing?” Azi asked, looking nervously toward Dr. Weaver.
“Drink your water,” he said.
Azi flipped up the top of her water bottle and drank down several sips. She closed the bottle and raised it a bit as if to say, ‘needed some water’.
Dr. Weaver stepped forward, raised her hands in the direction of Azi and Ra, and applauded as vigorously as anyone else in the auditorium.
Azi handed the bottle back to Ra, who stepped back a few steps, putting him behind Azi, where he waited with her water in case she might happen to need it again, which seemed to make sense to him.
Then the rumblings started as people began to notice him.
“Who is he?” one woman called out.
“He looks like Ra!” her friend added, pointing at the image still on the white boards.
Azi chuckled and shook her head. “Yes, and no!” she said. “He is my, uh…”
Ra stepped forward and stood beside her. “Significant other,” he supplied, standing proudly beside her. “But tonight is all about her.”
“You know! I think I remember seeing him on social media a couple of days ago. You were pretending to be Ra! Let me find it!” another called out.
“You were right!” Ra exclaimed, nodding at her. “It did gain attention just like you said it would.”
Azi looked at Ra, thoroughly confused, and unnerved at people saying he looked like Ra. Then suddenly she realized what he was implying. “Not quite as much attention as I’d hoped for!” Azi said. “I was hoping to make it a social media frenzy and bring more attention to the Temple of Ra, and the tour I’ll be leading regarding the temple over the next several weeks.”
“It worked!” the same lady said, holding her phone up. “Can I take a photo and add it to the post? I bet it will get more attention.”
Ra looked at Azi, Azi looked at Dr. Weaver. “This is your night, win or fail,” Dr. Weaver said condescendingly.
Ra’s expression turned just about deadly. “Azi, step aside.”
