Maiden's Curse
by: Prudence Walker
Bob was pissed; his date had failed to show. She had
arranged to meet him at the opening of the refurbished
museum. They had first met at a bar, only two days prior to
the opening. They had seemed to hit it off and Bob had been
confident that, this time, he would make a go of it. Now it
seemed that his luck with women was running true to form.
Wandering alone in the museum, refusing to fall into his
usual despondency, he lost himself in the unfamiliar
surroundings. As it was near closing time, there were only
a few people about. In frustration, he decided to knock on
a door that had a restricted access notice on it, hoping
that someone was inside who could re-direct him to an exit.
When no one answered, he tried the handle and was surprised
to find it opening freely. He called out, as he entered,
but only received silence in return. Feeling somewhat
nervous, he walked further into the room examining the
exhibits, which seemed to be in some disarray. Possibly
this was a workshop where they got the exhibits ready for
showing.
Something seemed to be silently calling to him and as he
sought the source of that call, he stopped in wonderment,
for there in the corner a beautiful woman was standing,
motionless. As he moved closer, he realised it was an image
on the lid of a mummy case.
She was extraordinarily beautiful. As he gazed on her
countenance, he couldn't resist running his hand over the
lid's surface, tracing the contours with his fingers. Then,
getting the same strange urging as before, he felt
compelled to open the lid, which he did? revealing?
nothing, it was empty.
Disappointed, he was about to close the lid when he heard
footsteps approaching. Panicking, knowing that not only was
he trespassing, but also having disturbed the exhibit, he
looked for a place to hide. The open mummy case beckoned
invitingly, on an impulse, he stepped inside the case,
trying to squeeze his body into its almost form fitting
lining. Pulling the lid shut, bar a crack for air, he was
glad he had a slender build as he only just fit.
The door opened and he heard voices talking.
"Look at this beauty," he heard them say.
"It only arrived yesterday, it was only discovered last
week. We were lucky to be the ones to catalogue its unique
properties," a different voice spoke.
Bob was silent, hoping they wouldn't open it like he did.
Then his blood went cold as he heard one of them say.
"Lets set it back down on this trolley and I'll get one of
the guys to bring it into examination room tomorrow. Be
careful you don't damage it, or you might be cursed."
Bob heard the man laugh, and he wondered what he meant.
"There's a curse?" came the other voice, sounding worried.
"Well, I don't know much about it, but I heard that when
they discovered it, there was some mention of it being
capable of changing your body. I wouldn't worry; they
probably put their own interpretation on the inscriptions.
Doesn't every mummy case have tales of curses associated
with them?"
Bob had no time to dwell on the implications of a curse as
he felt the case tilt backwards and with an ominous click,
he heard the lid shut as the weight settled fully on his
tenuous grip. The voices of the people outside became
muffled. While he debated if he should call out, or wait
before trying to extricate himself out of this self-imposed
prison, he realised that it was too late?the men had
already left.
Bob found that he was trapped, he couldn't find any release
on the inside, obviously, there being no need for one for
the last occupant. The confining space left little leverage
available for him to be able to force it open. Already it
was clear he was starting to starve for oxygen, as his
lungs started labouring.
Slowly, as his oxygen starved brain started to fade, he
grew aware of a voice calling him, a woman's voice. He
sensed it more than heard it and, while he concentrated on
it, his panic seemed to fade as he lapsed into
unconsciousness. His last rational thought was wondering if
this was the ghost of the original occupant finally calling
to him to join her.
~oOOo~
He awoke, wondering where, and after gazing around, when he
was. The shadow from the half built pyramid sheltered his
body from the late afternoon sun, which cast its slanting
rays across the burning desert; told him he wasn't in
Kansas anymore.
He was walking, no that was wrong, she was walking ... SHE?
...Yes, incredible as it was, he seemed to be in a woman's
body. No, that wasn't quite right, it was as if he was a
passenger in her mind. He could see, hear, and feel her
body as if it were his own, but he had no physical control
over it.
She was speaking in a foreign language, but not being
particularly academic he couldn't say which one it was, but
assumed it was Arabic. The other odd thing he noticed was
that there seemed to be a pause between her thinking and
speaking, as if she too, was speaking in a foreign tongue
and was translating her thoughts into words as she went.
He could just pick up a minute amount of her thoughts and
it was clear that it wasn't an earth language of any era.
Her next words confirmed this as he listened in.
"But Krith, we didn't come all this way from Omicron IV
just to fail now, we need to activate plan Chronus."
"I know Aglsha, we took a chance coming here, unfortunately
we only had the one go at it."
"This world is in danger, it's a pity that this is the
highest technologically advanced culture available at this
time,"
Bob heard the woman say.
"You realise the sacrifice you'll be making, if you go
ahead with the plan? It will be many hundreds of years till
the technology that sent those signals to us, come to be.
Finding a suitable candidate could take even longer, time
that can hardly be spared."
"Of course Krith, but hopefully a candidate will come along
that fits the criteria, and in the right time frame," he
heard Aglsha answer. "Then I will live again if only as a
guide."
"Well, if we are going to do it we had better start now
before the ship loses all power," replied the man referred
to as Krith.
"What will you do after the ship has finished reverting?"
The man sighed, "I guess we'll try and blend in with the
natives, lending what help we can. Maybe we can start the
process of advancing the knowledge base?"
"The orb? It may be needed in the future and I can't risk
having it."
"Don't worry, my daughter, I'll put it in a stasis field.
For the future candidate, you'll know its whereabouts and
what to do with it. We will have placed the resonators in
the pyramids in the exact alignment," he added, looking up
at the still to be completed pyramid.
Bob then saw a series of quick scenes of the two of them
entering a ravine that was hiding what could be only a
spacecraft. Then the scenes flickered rapidly as if being
fast-forwarded like a video. One scene showed a machine
shining a device at the prone woman; the last was odd, as
the only thing in view was the mummy case. It had the exact
likeness of the woman, but of the woman herself there was
no sign. Bob felt darkness descending again as his senses
faded.
~oOOo~
"WHAT THE HELL!" Came a voice. Bob woke, hearing the
surprised yell of a museum worker, and found the lid had
been opened. A man was staring at him with a shocked
expression and, as Bob moved his body the man blanched,
shock stopping him in his tracks at seeing the person in
the case move. Bob started to apologise, thinking he was in
serious trouble, but stopped in shock at the sound of his
own melodious voice, which sounded just like that of the
woman in his dream.
As he started to climb out of the mummy case he noticed a
few other changes. His shirt was stretched tight across his
chest and he could feel what could only be breasts
underneath. He swiftly jumped up out of the case noting
that as he suspected he was a female beneath his male
clothing. The clothing felt uncomfortable and ill fitting
on his newly transformed body and he was aware of the
stunned reaction of the man standing next to him.
"You're her... I mean...the woman who... on the case...how
could..." the man spluttered.
Bob just wanted to get out of there and find out what had
happened to his body, so he/she ran to the door pulling it
open with a ripping and tearing sound that indicated that
it had been locked. Well, no more. It hung drunkenly off
it's one remaining hinge as Bob ran though it without
pause. S/he was out and running along a corridor before the
man in the room had time to even think of stopping her.
As s/he ran, his/her mind was racing. 'How did I damage
that door?' S/he thought, 'If I'm a woman now. I shouldn't
have been able to do that, not even as a man!' Passing a
darkened display case s/he stopped in wonder. 'Now I know
why that man was so shocked,' thought Bob. 'I'm the
spitting image of the woman on the lid of the mummy's case!
How is this possible?'
~oOOo~
Finding his way towards the exit, s/he realised it must be
the next day as the morning sun, shone streaming though the
museums windows. Bob paused near the unopened main doors
and wondered if they were still locked. Suddenly a shout
coming from behind galvanised him/her into action as a lean
looking security guard came hurrying towards him/her
talking into a walkie-talkie.
Bob decided s/he had places to be elsewhere, and took off
running. Stiff-arming the solid looking door, s/he was
hoping for a repeat of the last time. She was shocked, not
only to see it open under his/her impetus, but that it came
off completely and went flying several yards away down the
steps.
Bob ran like the wind, taking the steps four at a time,
leaving the security guard trailing behind in his/her wake.
As s/he ran s/he marvelled at the strength of this body,
s/he was hardly exerting him/herself. Finding the car, s/he
unlocked it and got in, squealing the tires in his/her rush
to get home.
He glanced at his/her new face in the rear vision mirror,
and nearly ran a red light in his/her self-absorption with
the face that met his/her gaze. The fine boned features
were surrounded with a mass of honey-gold hair that had the
odd look of showing reddish highlights as it moved. Clear
limpid blue eyes that invited one to drown in were framed
with long dark lashes beneath highly arched eyebrows. The
lips glistened, as if freshly coated with lipstick. The
overall look was mesmerising, and Bob had fallen in love
it.
~oOOo~
Arriving home, the first thing Bob decided to do was strip
off and examine more closely, this body of his/hers.
Standing naked, in front of the mirror Bob was amazed. Of
his old body there was no sign. Instead, the girl that
greeted his/her scrutiny was gorgeous. Her long legs were
perfectly proportioned and showed no sign of the strength
that had allowed her to avoid the guard. Looking at her
arms and hands, she saw no bruising, yet the strength
hidden within was masked under a seemingly normal slender
arm.
Looking at herself, having decided to think in terms of her
obvious gender. She guessed that everything seemed in
proportion. Breasts ample, without being too big and a
slender waist over hips that seemed normal, but felt much
wider and more padded than he would have imagined. Trying
not to look to closely at her new genitalia, she sat on the
bed not wanting the distraction, while she thought about
how this all had occurred.
The girl in the past had obviously had a major part in her
new form, just what the mechanics of it were, she couldn't
say, but that ray thing must have been the key. Perhaps it
imbued the case with her essence. It was plain that she was
unlike anyone else on earth. Maybe she had some sort of
super power which allowed her to change form, or at least
change another's. With a sudden chill, Bob wondered if she
was in fact a sort of parasite, living though others and
altering them to a form of her choosing.
Searching her mind Bob could detect no other thoughts than
her own. Maybe it had failed. It was a long time ago,
hopefully too long. She tried not to feel guilty at that
thought, remembering the words from the dream about the
world being in danger. Perhaps the danger had passed, but
the thought wouldn't go away that, somehow she was failing
to avert the danger because somehow the woman, Aglsha had
failed to survive whatever the process was that had changed
Bob's body into that of hers.
Bob decided that nothing could be done at the moment about
her obvious changes. She would have to think of the
practicalities.
First, she needed some clothes and a name. 'Bobbi' seemed
the obvious choice, but a perverse thought, possibly a
memory of the original person, whose body she now wore,
made her choose Angela as the modern day equivalent.
Getting up, she went and looked at her clothing to see if
anything was adaptable so she could at least go and buy
something appropriate. Putting on a clean vest and under
pants was first. She shrugged at the look of the pants on
her, but wasn't prepared to go out with nothing on
underneath. She saw a sweatshirt that, although baggy on
her, didn't look too out of place. A pair of shorts was the
only thing that would fit. Having a drawstring it could be
tightened around her narrowed waist. A pair of leather
sandals completed her attire, on which the buckles were
tightened to the last notches.
Taking a deep breath, she went back out to the car. She
felt nervous, as she knew she was about to try and pass
herself off as a woman. This time there was no adrenaline
or panic to cloud his mind of the fact that he was in a
woman's body, as was the case in her flight from the
museum. No, this was the calm deliberate and intentional
portrayal of someone that she had no prior experience of,
to fall back on. It was scary, and she nervously looked
around to see if she was drawing any attention as she got
into her car.
~oOOo~
Driving into town she had to stop for fuel. She noticed the
attendant at the pumps looking at her, but it was a look
that she knew. She should, as she had given that very same
look to all of the pretty girls in the past. It was
uncomfortable, the mental undressing he was giving her, and
it felt embarrassing. The only positive thing about it was,
she obviously passed as a woman with full marks.
Finally, she stopped near the centre of town and was in the
process of reversing the car into a tight parking space,
when a man walking by started directing her with hand
signals so she could tell how far she was from the other
cars. It gave her a new experience that she was of two
minds about. As she got out and thanked the man, who was
smiling, she was thinking it was nice to have the help, but
did this mean the man didn't think she was capable of
parking on her own, because she was female? Or was he
genuine in helping for help's sake? She wondered, if she
had been in the same exact situation, but as a man, would
he have offered the same help?
Pushing those thoughts aside, Angela started walking
towards the mall wondering what was in store for her. As
she entered the mall doors a group of people came towards
her. One of them was holding a video camera with the
letters WMTV on the side. She stopped in her tracks,
thinking that they knew somehow who she really was and what
had happened in the museum. As she was about to turn tail
and hike it out of there, Angela saw that one of the men
approaching was holding a large jar filled with envelopes,
curious, she paused, waiting till they got nearer.
"Welcome, welcome my dear, you as a visitor to the mall
today, have been given the opportunity to win a prize just
by picking out a lucky envelope from the jar. This
promotion guarantee's that everyone will be a winner. Could
please tell us a little about yourself and why you chose to
shop here," he continued, thrusting the microphone in her
face.
"I don't know what to say?" spluttered a surprised Angela.
"Well how about your name?" he laughed. "That's always a
great start."
"Angela."
"Well Angela, "Can you tell us what you'll be buying here?"
the man asked, interested.
Angela was fearful that she would be ridiculed if her photo
was shown and her real identity was discovered. Knowing
that to turn and walk away would make her stand out more,
she decided to go along for the ride.
"Umm, clothes I guess," Angela replied, thinking fast.
The man laughed goodnaturedly, " of course, where's my
head? I should have known that a beautiful lady like you
would shop for clothes."
Angela blushed, as she realized that, even dressed as she
was, she was beautiful. This was the hardest part of
becoming female. To interact with others with a whole new
set of rules, rules she didn't know. The physical side, by
comparison, was easier to deal with. She still had two
legs, two arms, only certain bits were different.
Realizing she was supposed to say something, she said that
she needed a whole new wardrobe as she had lost a lot of
weight. The man asked her how often she shopped here and
how much would she normally spend. Angela blushed and said
it was her first time here, and that she would normally
spend about $400 dollars when she went shopping. Managing
to make up some on the spur of the moment facts about
herself.
The man thanked her and held the jar so she could take out
an envelope. Opening it, she saw that it contained a
voucher offering half off any beauty treatment offered by
any establishment in the mall.
'Oh great, just what I need now...not,' Angela thought to
herself. 'Isn't having to learn how to buy women's clothes
enough, without that."
Thanking him, before he could ask any more questions, she
escaped thankfully into the sanctuary of a lingerie shop.
She chuckled to herself that only a few hours ago, she, (as
Bob) would have never had the courage to enter the place.
Now, she was using that same fear most men have, against
them.
Looking around the shop she realized that she was going to
need way more money than she anticipated, the prices on
women's clothes shocking her. Checking to see if the coast
was clear, she ventured out seeking a money machine.
Locating one, she inserted her card, not noticing the spark
that went from her fingers to the card and punched her
numbers in, wondering how much she should withdraw.
Checking her balance first, she was surprised to see that
it had unaccountably doubled. Taking advantage of this
windfall, she withdrew almost $2000. She settled on the
shop that had a fine array of clothing for women. Entering,
Angela went and asked an assistant for some advice,
explaining that she needed an entire new wardrobe.
"Do you want some help picking out the right sizes?" she
asked helpfully.
"Yes, please. I need everything from the skin out and head
to toe," replied Angela, looking at her beseechingly. "I
expect to spend a lot of my money here," she added.
The assistant told her to wait a moment, and then walked
over to an older woman, who seemed to be the manager. As
the assistant spoke to her the woman looked over at Angela
and gave her a smile. She spoke quietly to the assistant
for a moment before continuing to walk into an office. The
assistant returned with a big smile and told Angela she was
free to help her as long as she needed her. Even in the
other shops, if necessary.
This was great news for Angela, as she sorely needed all
the help she could get. The rest of the morning was a
strange experience for Angela as Heather, the assistant,
took almost full control, guiding her in the selections of
not only clothes, but also makeup and accessories. Most of
which Angela considered unnecessary, as all she wanted was
look presentable. She didn't want to make her body stand
out more, especially in the eyes of men, but couldn't come
with a valid excuse to refuse. She didn't want to refuse
Heather's selections as she valued her expertise in this
department.
It seemed that they must have tried on everything in the
shop and in the shoe store next door. Heather suggested a
visit to the malls' salon after learning of the half off
offer. When, after a few nudges from Heather, she gave in
to having the works done. She had her hair permed in a very
practical style that needed only a few brush strokes to
keep it neat and yet it made her look extremely attractive.
While her hair was being done, she had her nails done and
her ears pierced. Seeing that her ears didn't bleed at all,
she had some small hoops inserted instead of the usual
sleepers. Another girl did her makeup, commenting that she
hardly required it bar a little eyeshadow. After viewing
herself in the mirror afterwards, the combination of the
clothes, makeup and hair, made Angela feel very much at
odds with the image.
In the mirror, in front of her, was an image out of her
dreams, a beautiful woman with a body to die for. A woman,
however, whose head still contained Bob's very male
thinking mind. The thinking processes of that mind, as it
looked at the vision in the mirror, were telling her that
they would like to kiss and get to know this attractive
person more intimately. Unfortunately, the sexual
orientation of the body was firmly fixed in the
heterosexual range and as such, did not respond to the
image in a sexual manner.
This meant that Angela wasn't turned on physically with her
image, which left her feeling worried. Was she going to
find men attractive? At the moment she was too busy trying
to survive her first day as a member of the fairer sex, to
dwell too long on those thoughts. Walking out of the
saloon, she thanked Heather again, and bought her lunch at
a one of the little bistros in the mall. Angela noticed the
eyes turning as she entered, and while she tried not to
feel like she was piece of meat on the auction block, it
was as if peoples eyes, the men's in particular, were
burning holes in her.
It was a hurried lunch, as the attention from the men took
most of Angela's appetite away. She felt like she was on
the menu also, and wondered if she, as Bob, had given some
other women the same feeling when he had admired a
particularly attractive female. With lunch over, Heather
helped carry her bags of purchases to the car. Promising to
come again Angela thanked Heather, who promptly hugged her
and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Taken aback at this
display of affection, Angela smiled back as Heather waved
goodbye, thinking that women don't worry about showing
their feelings to others in public.
Getting back home, Angela unloaded the six bags of feminine
clothes and other products. She spent the rest of the
afternoon hanging up her new clothes after making room in
her closets. The underwear went into the just emptied
drawers and the makeup products she just left in their
boxes on the dresser, as she wasn't planning on using them
anytime soon, even if she knew how. Other feminine hygiene
and hair care products went into the bathroom, along with
the moisturizers. Looking at all the shoes she had bought
she took off the heels she was wearing, opting for a pair
of comfortable mules.
Scrounging in the cupboards for something to eat, she
realised that tomorrow better be a grocery shopping day.
Finding enough for the evening meal, she sat and ate in
front of the telly. She caught sight of herself on the news
as they aired the piece on the mall. Looking at herself on
the news item, she was struck by how feminine she looked in
her odd assemblage of Bob's clothes. She did notice that
her gestures and movements were feminine too, with no sign
of the scared male within.
'Was this a part of living in a female body? 'She thought,'
or was there another factor here, that she wasn't taking
into account? Shrugging away these thoughts as unsolvable
for the moment, she started getting ready for bed. The
effects of the first full day as a woman, plus going on a
marathon shopping spree, started taking their toll.
Looking at some of the nightwear she had purchased, Angela
cringed a little inside. They were so feminine and
delicate, and seeing that Bob normally slept in the buff,
she wondered why she let herself be talked into buying
them. Putting them back in the drawer, deciding to continue
sleeping nude, she crawled under the sheets and was soon
fast asleep.
Her dreams were unusually vivid. They seemed to contain
scenes of pyramids and Aglsha and, when the dreams turned
to normal present day things, it was as Angela that she saw
herself, not Bob. Waking once during the night, with the
need to urinate, she wandered into the bathroom. She seemed
to be going on a female autopilot as she pulled up her
nightie and sat down before doing her business and walking
sleepily back to bed.
On awakening, Angela yawned. As she stretched her arms
before sitting up she noticed the fact that she was wearing
the nightie. 'How had that happened?' She wondered. She
didn't remember putting it on, and looking over the drawers
she noticed a few other things were out of place. Sliding
out of bed, she noticed the way the nightie felt, as its
silky folds slithered against her body. Feeling slightly
aroused, as the sensuous fabric stimulated her nipples, she
looked closely at her dresser wondering what it was that
looked different.
'Oh my god!' She thought. 'The makeup.' Where, before the
bottles and tubes and other items she had purchased had
been still in their assorted boxes and wrappers, now they
were open. Checking, she saw that not only had someone
opened them, but also they had been used. The container of
foundation had fingerprints in it and the lipstick was
smeared on the end.
In a panic she rushed though her flat looking for an
intruder. Not finding anyone and, seeing the doors were
still locked, she sat down and wondered if she was
dreaming. Getting an uneasy suspicion, she walked back to
her bedroom and placed a finger in the foundation.
'SHIT!' She sat back down on her bed, stunned. It was a
perfect match! Somehow, in the middle of the night she had
opened the makeup and used it, as well as putting on the
nightie.
'I'm losing it,' she thought. 'Something weird is happening
to me. Apart from the body change, now I'm sleep
dressing...or what?' Trying to come up with a word for it,
and failing.
Looking closely, she could see traces of eye shadow still
on her lids. 'Man! What happened last night?' Thought
Angela with a shiver. She decided to dump the makeup in
case it happened again, thinking that without it, maybe the
possibility of her sleepwalking might diminish, but as she
started to pick them up a voice seemed to shout (NO!)
Shocked, she froze, her hand poised over the bottles and
creams. Slowly she moved her hand forward and again came
that oh so faint plaintive cry. (NO, PLEASE!)
Angela thought this was the end, that she was mad. Hearing
voices in her head was the last straw. Wasn't being
transformed by an alien device enough? She sat and waited,
fearing any further signs of insanity.
As she sat thinking in an almost meditative state, she
could sense a struggle within her mind, as if someone or
something was trying to communicate with her. Then, like a
radio that had just hit the correct frequency, the voice
began to speak, becoming clearer with every second.
(I am Aglsha speaking to you though this body I recreated
when you entered my Hevreck capsule. I'm sorry that you
were formally a male, but your particular aura was
attracted to the capsules' sensorium.)
# Authors note: to make things clear, from now on, Aglsha's
thoughts will be within (---) and Angela's thoughts within
'---' normal conversation will use "---" #
'I don't understand,' thought Angela. 'What's a Hevreck
capsule, and why was my what's-it attracted to your sensor
thingy?'
Angela could hear the voice laugh in a very feminine
manner. It was comforting in that it was very relaxed
sounding laugh.
(Lets see if I can simplify it for you. The Hevreck capsule
contained my disembodied essence or soul if you will. It
contained a detector that was searching for a certain type
of person to come within range. It was set to attract a
person with psychic, or latent psychic powers, and get them
to enter the capsule so I could re-enter the world again.)
'I have psychic abilities?' Angela thought back.
(Well, they are latent now, but with my powers at your
command we should be able to accomplish my mission,) Aglsha
replied.
'Your mission? What powers? I don't understand.'
(The reason for my being here is to save your planet. It
was partly our people's fault that it was put into danger.)
'What danger?' Angela parroted, feeling a sense of dread.
(There was an enormous cloud of Pleolites entering our
system, what you might call a scourge. They are a
pestilence to all forms of life and they are now headed
into your system. They will destroy all life on this planet
in a few days, leaving nothing behind. )
Angela gasped, 'how long before they arrive and is there a
way to stop them?'
(Not for another month or two as far as I can calculate,
although it could be sooner. Time is short and we need to
prepare. There is an orb, which can amplify the mental
processes in the brain. I need to find it and set up the
field with the aid of resonators placed in the pyramids by
my father.) At that, her voice grew sad as she realised
that her father was long dead and yet it was as if it was
only yesterday when she last heard his voice.
'Go on please,' begged Angela, hoping to distract her in
her time of sorrow. "What exactly are these Pleolites?"
"We don't know, only that our first attempts at contact
resulted in the deaths of the crews that flew too close. We
did find one thing; we managed to recover a craft that was
left drifting after the cloud had passed by. Everything in
the ship was dead, including the ships Helx, even plants
where dead."
"Helx?"
"It's like one of your planets felines."
"Ah, a cat," Angela offered.
"Yes, a cat."
"Anyway...we...we managed to deflect them with a special
energy shield before they could do any damage, as we are a
spare faring race.) She continued, struggling to put
thoughts of her father aside for the moment.
(We decided to re-direct them towards a sparsely populated
part of this galaxy where they could do no damage, but four
Konicons later, we started to receive radio waves coming
from a point directly in their path. We established that a
civilisation was growing in that part of the galaxy, as the
transmissions grew far beyond what is normal. Much debate
was held as to whether we should assist in any way, but it
wasn't until a different type of transmission was received
that we acted. We saw what you call television. It was
quite a shock to see people just like us, but separated by
the immensities of space. We couldn't stand by and do
nothing, so we created a hyper warp craft that would make a
one-way journey to your planet.)
'Wow! Just like a story from star trek.' Angela said,
butting in on the narrative.
(Star trek? Oh yes I see the reference in your mind,) she
replied.
'You're reading my mind?' thought Angela, getting alarmed.
(Only your surface thoughts, I would never violate the
sanctity of your own mind without you inviting me!) The
shocked thought came back.
Angela considered the situation. Here she was, in a body
not her own, having a silent conversation with an alien
female who was residing in her mind, worrying whether that
female was reading her mind or not.
It seemed too ludicrous, and she started giggling in a very
feminine manner, then that started to become a full laugh.
Aglsha's thoughts grew puzzled but held a touch of
amusement, as Angela's thoughts grew plainer.
'Sheesh. Come on in any time. My thoughts are your
thoughts,' she laughed, using a line from a Star trek
episode. 'Just don't blame me if it looks like a cess-pit
in there,' she added.
Aglsha's voice smiled, if such a thing can be said. It
certainly felt like it did to Angela, as Aglsha's joy of
being invited to share Angela's deepest secrets coloured
her next words.
(Angela... I like that name. I see you took it as the
closest to my own in your language. Thank you for the
consideration. I'm honoured and I promise you that I'll try
my best to help your world and though you, save your
planet, not to mention guiding you though the mysteries of
the female lifestyle.)
'Why did you have to transform me, though? Couldn't you
have used my male form?' queried Angela.
(Unfortunately the orb is tuned to the thought patterns of
the female mind and your psychic powers will blossom as a
female, thereby adding to mine. Anyway, getting back to my
story, there was a slight miscalculation due the vagaries
of warp travel plus the fact that it was new technology and
untested. Instead of us arriving here at the time we where
expecting, with a technological presence, we arrived in
your past where the best we could do was set up the
resonators and prepare for the future.)
'Couldn't you have just warped forward a bit?' asked
Angela, thinking of a recent episode of star trek.
(Unfortunately the craft was built in space, using a non-
magnetic metal alloy, Lithium Phosphorite. It's the only
thing that works in proximity with the warp engine.
Unfortunately, because of its high reactivity as soon as we
hit the atmosphere the hull started degrading and wouldn't
stand the stresses of an escape from the earth's gravity
well.)
'So what was the mummy...um... capsule? How did that work?'
(Is your entire race this inquisitive?) She sighed, (oh
well, let's get the questions over,) Aglsha smiled. (The
capsule contained my energy matrix. My physical being was
converted and stored while my mind went into stasis. We
still had the energy from the ship to do the conversion,
but knew we wouldn't have it in this time period to
reconvert it. That's why we...I, needed a physical body.
The energy required is so much less to affect the body
changes and download my mind into your brain.)
'I guess there was plenty of room in there,' joked Angela.
(Yes its surprising, I think your brain has a bigger
capacity than our own, but we need to get the capsule back
here, to complete our change,) Aglsha added, not fully
getting the joke.
'You're kidding right? I mean, we couldn't get back in now,
not with the exit I made. What more changes do we have to
go though?' Angela asked, worriedly.
(Look, this is what we will do. Now where's that makeup? We
need to dress appropriately.)
~oOOo~
The woman that strolled though the museum bore little
resemblance to the one that left such a trail of
destruction a day ago. Elegantly made up and wearing an
expensive silver sheath dress that showed every curve of
that luscious body, she walked calmly past the same guard
that had given chase the previous day. She strutted past as
if she owned the place. The guard's eyes were riveted on
her ass as she walked away from him towards the display
rooms.
(See, I told you he wouldn't be a problem,)
'Did his eyes pop out or what?' Angela murmured.
(I'm sure something did, but I'm pretty sure it was much
lower than his eyes.)
'Okay, now what?' Angela whispered, looking at the newly
installed door leading into the room containing the
capsule.
(This way, to the right. I can sense it. They must have
moved it since you were here last.)
Angela, moved to the corridor on the right and walked along
it till a command from Aglsha, stopped her outside another
door. She looked to see if the coast was clear, then
grasped the handle and twisted. The force from her extra
strength hardly showed on her face, but the handle groaned
and a metallic grinding sound indicated that the lock had
given way.
Opening the door as if it had been unlocked, Angela strode
determinedly in, barely pausing, as she orientated on the
capsule as it lay on a table. She walked in and placed her
hand on the capsules' lid. Aglsha concentrated, tapping
into the well of Angela's untrained psychic power. She
started the process of Zendo, whereby the capsule shrank
rapidly in size until it was barely six inches long and as
thick as a walking stick. The process continued, much to
the amazement of Angela, as the ends curved inwards until
they met and fused, becoming a circle only two inches
round.
Pulling a leather thong out, she tied it though the circle
making a necklace. She then placed it over her head letting
the altered capsule slide between her breasts and out of
sight. Just then, a shout alerted her to the presence of a
staff member as he entered from another adjoining room.
"Hey! What are you doing in here? This is a restricted
area," he shouted.
"Oh? Sorry, I just wandered in, as the door was unlocked. I
didn't see any sign on the door," Angela calmly replied.
Scowling, the man went over to the door, examining it
closely. Seeing that indeed the handle turned easily he was
about let her off with a warning until his eyes saw the two
sliding bolts that were now useless, the ends having been
bent and broken. He glanced around the room looking for
another intruder, one who might have had the strength to
cause such damage. Seeing no one and dismissing the woman
in her seeming frailty, he quickly made a call on his
walkie-talkie.
"Intruder alert in room Alpha B," he intoned quickly.
A crackle of static preceded a voice saying.
"There's help on the way... anything missing?"
"Haven't checked yet, but there's a female here that needs
questioning. I found her in the room."
"Is she our intruder? Are you in any danger?"
"No I don't think so," replied the man, feasting his eyes
on the vision in front of him. "I think I'm in danger
though. In danger of falling in love!" he laughed.
The room was suddenly inundated with burly guards and more
of the museum's staff, all wanting to know what the story
was. Angela kept her face calm as questions were fired at
her.
"How did you get in?"
"What were you doing in here?"
"Was there someone else here?"
"Are you someone's accomplice?"
When the staff realised the mummy case was missing, the
questions started turning ugly, until Angela shouted,
"Enough already! I told you I haven't seen it, or taken it!
Does it look like I could have broken in here and removed a
mummy's case or whatever it was you're looking for?" she
said indignantly. "Ask the guard at the door. I'm sure he
noticed how long ago it was when I entered." She gave them
all a look of wrathful indignation at being falsely
accused.
One of the brighter staff members called for the guard to
be brought to them and they quieted down until he arrived.
He wasn't long in coming and confirmed that she had indeed
entered alone, just about five minutes before. The staff
members, who had accused her, apologised saying it was all
in the heat of the moment, what with finding her in the
restricted room and all. One of the guards escorted her
outside, saying the museum will be closed while they do a
thorough search.
Angela could feel the miniaturised capsule behave oddly as
she moved. It seem to press hard against her as she walked
forward and it felt like it was resisting changes in
direction by pressing into her breasts as she turned. She
queried Aglsha, who laughed.
(When I compressed its spatial dimensions and its apparent
weight I couldn't reduce its mass. It still has the same
inertia of the original weight. It's slow to start moving
and just as slow to change direction or to stop. I can bend
some of the physical laws, but I can't break them.) She
explained patiently.
~oOOo~
Back home again, Angela removed the capsule from around her
neck and placed it on the floor of the lounge. Aglsha,
using Angela's hands again, returned it to its original
mummy case form.
(What form of electrical energy do you use, Direct current,
or Alternating?)
'Alternating,' Angela replied.
Angela, following Aglsha's instructions then fiddled with
the lid, removing a section with a sliding, twisting
motion. This revealed a fine coil of filament like wire,
which she proceeded to insert in a power outlet after
pressing on certain protrusions. Immediately there was a
soft hum and several small pin like light's glowed on the
mummy's lid.
Angela went into the kitchen to get something to eat, while
the capsule continued to absorb energy. Looking at the lid
after an hour, she noticed more lights were showing and
some were blinking in a hypnotic pattern. A mental query to
Aglsha gave her more information than she wanted, as Aglsha
told her that they needed to return inside the capsule for
the final changes.
'But why?' questioned a worried Angela.
(This body is strong, but the bones are not. We need to
strengthen them and add a few features the capsule couldn't
do with its stored power.)
Angela reluctantly climbed into the open capsule, and on
Aglsha's instructions, closed the lid.
~oOOo~
Aglsha climbed out of her capsule in the late afternoon.
She stretched her arms and checked out this new body. She
found it as limber as her old one as she went into her yoga
style exercises. Feeling the body's hunger, she went into
the kitchen to cook something sustaining. Taking her food
into the lounge along with a strong cup of coffee, she
relaxed, enjoying the solitude of this body without
Angela's constant questions.
After thoroughly enjoying a meal prepared with her own
hands, she sighed.
(Come on sleepy head?time to wake up.)
'Ugh! Wassup? Boy my head and my body, aches.'
(What do you expect when most of the calcium in your bones
has been augmented with Molyhedrum?)
'Moly what!...?'
(Don't worry it's not as bad as it sounds. It makes your
bones as strong as steel without the extra weight, but it
won't show up on an x-ray in case you're worried,) Aglsha
reassured her.
'So what else has changed?' asked a slightly mollified
Angela.
(Well our flesh is denser and will take a lot of punishment
and we are much faster in both speed and reflexes.)
'Wow, a female superman,' laughed Angela.
(Almost.)
'Anything else?' Angela pressed, sensing that Aglsha was
holding something back.
(Yes, but its something only I can access at this time. Now
lets get a few items before we dispose of the capsule.)
'We're getting rid of it? Won't we need it again?' Angela
blurted out in surprise.
(No, but there's a few items we may find useful.)
Under Aglsha's instructions Angela slid and pressed at
certain spots on the lid to reveal a tiny recess that
contained a small silver disc on a necklace and a ring with
clear crystal that caught the light producing a rainbow
like flash. Placing the ring on her finger and the necklace
around her neck produced a curious tingle though her body
and she could feel something calling to her.
'What is this feeling I'm getting? It seems to be calling
me.' she asked, startled.
(That's the orb. We need to find it, and those devices
amplify its signal so your mind can sense it's
whereabouts.)
'Is it in Egypt? If so, we are going to need money and lots
of it,' Angela enquired.
(Money? You don't have enough?)
'No, and with the way I look, I've now got no job,' sighed
Angela. 'Its a nice body an all, and it's starting to grow
on me, but I can't go to work and say I was turned into a
woman by this alien artefact. I'd be locked away and that's
the last thing we need with the earth in danger.'
(All right, what types of credit systems do you use.)?
Angela went and got her old wallet with her credit cards
and drivers license, all showing the name Bob Warner. 'Oh
oh! We can't travel overseas with that.' She thought, more
to herself than to Aglsha.
(Place the document in the capsule with anything else we
need that has your old name on it. We can correct them and
send that information to the appropriate places
electronically.)
Aglsha told Angela to plug another fine wire into her phone
jack and after a flurry of flashing lights signalled the
capsule interfacing with the network. All the information
was transmitted to the banks and the government agencies so
that her new identity would hold up under any scrutiny.
Removing her cards, driver's license, and passports Angela
saw that that they were all now showing Angela Warner. Even
the photos had been replaced with her new image.
(I've augmented your current monetary accounts. I hope 3
million of your units of currency will be sufficient.)
'3 mill..... Oh my god, I'll be arrested for fraud...'
Angela gasped. Wait a minute, it was you wasn't it, that
altered my account balance in the mall?"
(Yes, I sensed that you needed more currency, and altered
the card so that it would double whatever you had.)
'Where did we get 3 million dollars from?'
(Don't worry; it's been obtained though untraceable routes
and it won't attract any attention from the authorities. I
transferred a dollar out of 3 million accounts disguised
within normal bank charges.)
~oOOo~
The woman waiting quietly as she was issued her boarding
pass on the direct flight to Cairo was the picture of calm
elegance. One could have never of imagined the turmoil
going though that woman's mind.
Dressed in a navy skirt jacket combo and matching heels,
she fussed a little with the ruffles on her cream blouse.
"Are you sure I look okay?" Angela asked nervously.
(With this body? You'd look great in a sack,) sighed
Aglsha, wondering how many more times she would have to
convince her.
"I hope that passport stands up, we could end up in prison
for a very long time otherwise."
(Calm down and just enjoy the flight. We will be very busy
later and I need you in a relaxed state, not burning up
your energy needlessly.)
~oOOo~
Angela walked up to her seat that the stewardess had
indicated and sat down. It was the isle seat of the row of
two, running up the left hand side of the plane. The plane
seemed rather empty to Angela. There was an old lady in the
seat in front but nobody in the seats behind. Shortly
afterwards a man came up to her right and placed a small
hold all in the luggage locker above her head. He turned to
her and said with a smile,
"Hello"
She realised he was going to be sitting next to her and
started to stand to allow him to get past.
"No need for that. If you like, you can take the window
seat and I'll take this one," he said smiling. "By the way,
my name's Simon."
"Angela," she answered, as she moved into the window seat.
"A very apt name, if I may be so bold." He said, smiling at
her.
"Thank you," she blushed. His frank gaze with his piercing
blue eyes seemed to look straight into her soul. It felt
different from the looks she saw from most men. His gaze
never dropped from her face to the more obvious place that
seemed to attract men's attentions. She dropped her eyes to
survey his lean body that seemed to be turning her insides
to jelly.
'What's happening to me? Why am I feeling like this about a
man?' she queried. 'Is this something to do with you and
those extra modifications?"
(Sorry, this is just a normal reaction to the male of your
species. Doesn't he look gorgeous with that black, unruly
mane of hair and those eyes?)
'But I'm a man... I was... um I guess not, at least not
anymore. Is this how a woman feels when she is attracted to
a man?'
(Yes, Aglsha smiled.)
'Oh boy, am I in trouble.'
Angela's internal dialogue with Aglsha took only seconds.
Looking back towards Simon, on the pretext of looking
around at the other passengers, she managed to take in more
of his physical attributes without making it obvious, or at
least that was what she was hoping for. Simon was smartly
dressed, and looked like a corporate executive until she
looked at his hands. They seemed callused, as if used to
physical work and not just paper pushing. While she was
wondering what he did, she realised she was thinking of him
as possible husband material.
'Oh my god! How can this be? I was a man until a few days
ago. Surely it would take longer than that to change my
attitudes and sexual preferences like this?'
(Um... oh dear... I think that's my fault, Angela,) came
Aglsha's thought. (This body is extremely female. It's part
of how our race is. That is why it is reacting to the
physical presence of this man and the feelings you were
getting, but the other is a bleed over effect from my
thoughts. I was thinking he could be a suitable partner and
that has coloured your thoughts on the subject.)
'Phew! I'm glad I know that. I was starting to wonder. Will
this bleed over continue to happen or can you stop it?'
(I could stop it, but it's not advisable, it's part of the
meshing effect that our minds are going to need if we're to
work together with the orb. Maybe after, if all goes well,
we can separate our minds and I can enter Entropheny.)
'Entropheny? I don't like the sound of that. What is that?'
(Dear one, it's like an endless sleep.)
'You mean death, don't you,' cried Angela, fearing the
answer.
(Yes, but it will be for the best. You wouldn't want me
sitting in your mind sharing your intimate moments.)
'No, I won't let you sacrifice yourself, I need you,'
pleaded Angela.
(Let's survive the crisis first, then we'll see.)
Angela looked out of the window as a tear ran down her
cheek. She didn't want to be alone in this body, and she
valued Aglsha's advice.
"Is anything the matter?" asked Simon curiously, noticing
Angela wiping a tear away.
"No, I'm fine, it's just I'm going into Egypt alone and I
might never return if things don't turn out favourably,"
Angela sniffled.
"What a co-incidence, so am I. There's some research I need
to do involving the pyramids," Simon answered with raised
eyebrows.
"Research?" questioned Angela, thinking he could be worth
cultivating further.
"You'd laugh, it has something to do with UFO's," he
replied, looking for any sign of derision.
"Interesting, tell me more."
Simon looked at her in surprise, his estimation of her
going up at matter of fact way she accepted his statement.
"Well, it seems a certain archaeologist deciphered a
previously unknown text that tells of a visit by an alien
craft at the time of the pyramid building. I've been sent
to investigate the information, to see if there's any truth
in it."
"Oh? You look into UFO's then?"
"Among other things. I work for a government agency..." he
broke off suddenly, looking around the aircraft, checking
for anyone listening. Seeing nobody particularly close and
the woman in front sleeping, he relaxed, wondering why he'd
divulged that information. He knew the agency wanted no one
to hear anything about the report until it could be
dismissed as a hoax.
"Oh I know, one of those I could tell you, but then I'd
have to kill you things," she laughed, seeing his
hesitancy.
"Well, I guess that's close," he continued softly, "but for
some reason my instinct tells me there something more to
you other than your beauty. I can't put my finger on it,
but it's as if part of my soul is telling me that our fates
are entwined with each others mission," he said
enigmatically.
'Aglsha, he knows something, I'm sure of it,' Angela
fretted silently.
(I sense a power in him that's similar to your own, but of
the opposite polarity. We may need him. I say we confide a
little more to ensure he accompanies us.)
Angela smiled at Simon and told him that her mission was to
save the world from a hitherto unknown threat emanating
from space. Expecting him to scoff and dismiss her story as
the ravings of a seriously troubled female, she was
pleasantly surprised when his eyes narrowed and he asked
from where was this threat coming from.
Getting the information from Aglsha, she said, "from the
direction of..." and she rattled off the spatial co-
ordinates as given by Aglsha, mentioning that the threat
was about 1500 km across.
"How did you...? never mind..." he paused, looking at her
in speculation, and then coming to a decision, said.
"Nobody knows this, but two days ago a cloud of something
unknown was picked up by radio telescope heading this way
from that exact position. We don't know what it is, but
it's moving fast. The text that was deciphered mentioning
the UFO also mentioned a warning about a global threat
unlike any other, coming from space. You wouldn't happen to
know what that is by any chance?"
'Shall I tell him?'
(Yes.)
"It's a cloud of Pleolites"
"Huh?"
Angela sighed, "I know this is going to sound bizarre, but
they are a pestilence which will destroy all life on this
planet should they enter our biosphere. The only thing
standing in their way is myself and an object called the
orb which is what I'm looking for."
Looking at Simon to see his reaction, she was surprised to
see him blanche.
"The orb," he whispered, more to himself than anyone.
"It was mentioned in the text," he continued. He looked at
Angela intently searching her face for... what?
"There was one other thing in the text." He paused
dramatically, watching her expression.
'Oh oh,' she thought, 'here it comes.'
"Yes," he continued taking her silence as a cue to
continue.
"It said, 'protect she, who has the sun in her palms, for
she is the bearer of the light that will keep the world
from darkness.' "
(That was a message from my father), Aglsha told her.
'Sounds very dramatic, can we truly do this,' Angela
thought back.
(God willing, we will.)
"Are you she?" Simon asked quietly.
She nodded and looked away from those piercing blue eyes
"I am she," she answered simply.
"Look at me...please," pleaded Simon, gently taking her
hand as it lay on her lap.
She turned and he looked at her and the tears that welled
in her eyes, and his heart melted. The sudden realisation
that this woman had captured his heart made his next task
all the more difficult to do.
"I have to inform my superiors about this. This is bigger
than the both of us can handle. We need support that will
give us a fighting chance. He took out his cell phone and
started to make the call.
Angela froze in panic. Only the calmness of Aglsha's
thoughts prevented her from trying to run, fruitless, as
that was, seeing as they were 20,000 feet up in the air
over the Atlantic Ocean.
(Calm child,) came Aglsha's thoughts, (he's right, we do
need more resources, and the way he's been looking at you,
I'd say he was smitten.)
'I'm finding myself attracted to him as well, but I'm
feeling confused. In my head something tells me this is
wrong, but my body is telling me otherwise.' Angela
confessed.
(Honey, don't fret over it. At this moment, we have bigger
fish to fry, to quote one of your sayings)
"It's all arranged," came back Simons's voice, interrupting
her internal dialogue.
"What's all arranged?" Angela asked, worriedly.
"We'll be met at the airport by a team flown in from
Hawaii. Now, a question, do you know where the orb is?" he
asked anxiously.
"Well, I can't point it out on a map, but I can tell you
the direction. It's sending me a signal that only I can
sense," Angela reassured him.
"Then it looks like we need to keep you alive and well at
all costs," he sighed.
"You believe me, don't you?" Angela whispered, looking at
Simon.
"Of course. I can tell that there is something unusual
about you that tells me you are the most important person
on the earth at this time. I trust my instincts, they have
never let me down yet."
~oOOo~
As soon as they passed though the tedium of going though
customs at Cairo airport, they were whisked away in a dark
limo to a warehouse that was on the outskirts of the city.
Uncertain of what was in store for her, Angela was
nervously awaiting meeting her interrogators. Only the
presence of Simon holding her hand gave her any comfort.
A door opened from a small office within the building and a
short grey haired man walked towards them. He was older
than Simon by a number of years, his face lined with the
ravages of time. He stopped, looking first at Simon, then
at Angela, his eyes trying to pierce her seemingly outward
calm.
"Simon, is this she?"
"Yes sir, this is Angela, the one mentioned in the texts."
"How can you be sure? She looks as if a strong wind would
blow her away. Definitely not my idea of the saviour of the
world," he scoffed.
"I can look after myself," Angela retorted, shocking
herself.
'Why did you make me say that,' Angela communicated to
Aglsha.
(We need to convince them now, not a week from now. Let me
take the reins for a few minutes while I demonstrate)
'Okay, but don't do anything stupid, I don't think he likes
us.'
"Please, if you want to see if I can handle myself then get
someone to fight me, Aglsha said, imperiously.
The man smiled and whistled. At the whistle, another man
came silently out of the shadows. He was about six foot
three and built like a bulldozer. His neck was corded with
muscle and he made Angela look like a porcelain doll in
comparison. As he came forward, he crouched in front of
Angela in what was typically a martial arts stance. Simon
looked on in shock and stepped between them, thinking to
stop what was obviously a serious mismatch. Aglsha pulled
Simons arm and whispered in his ear.
"I can take him on, just don't interfere."
Simon looked at her with speculation in his eyes, but
conceded to her wishes and stepped back. As he did so, the
man facing her lashed out in what was surely a killer blow.
All hell broke out, as Angela seemed to move with blinding
speed easily evading the hulk's attack.
To Angela, taking a backseat in her own mind, it was as if
time had slowed down. She could see the man start a strike
to her head, then it was as if he started to move in slow
motion. Aglsha moved her head out of line of the oncoming
blow and started her own counter punch to the throat. It
was as if she had all the time in the world. He had only
just started to react to her movement by the time she had
punched him, pulling the blow a little so it wouldn't do
him serious harm.
Simon watched in amazement, as it seemed as if Angela
hadn't even moved, and the man facing her had just sunk to
his knees, gagging from the almost unseen blow.
Suddenly a shot rang out, shocking everyone, Angela seemed
to flip over backward, one arm flung out in a spasmodic
action with a speed that was frightening. As she lay on the
ground shouts broke out, calling for a stop to further
action. Simon rushed forward, hoping against hope that she
was still alive.
The grey haired man was yelling to another for a medic and
lambasting the shooter for being trigger-happy.
Angela fortunately, was still in her hyper mode when the
shot was fired, and sensed the bullet approaching. With a
flip of her body she shot out a hand in time to intercept
the bullet and, with the speeded up reflexes, caught the
bullet in her hand. She managed to disperse enough of the
bullets kinetic energy so that the bullet slowed enough so
that it only bruised her palm of her hand.
Lying on the ground, she saw Simon rush over and she smiled
inwardly as she saw his concern over her safety. He reached
down and she shocked him by turning over and getting to her
feet as he blurted out a question.
"Are you bleeding? Tell me where were you shot?"
"I'm okay, I'm not shot, Simon."
"Huh? But?I thought?"
Angela walked over to the grey haired man and took his hand
turning it palm upwards. Dropping the bullet into the
stunned mans palm she said,
"I believe this belongs to one of your men, please return
it. I don't need it in my diet," she said, nonchalantly.
The man looked at her, and then at the bullet, turning it
over with his fingers, then he threw it away towards the
man still holding his weapon, saying.
"Enough, she's proved to me at least that she has a power.
Hopefully, it's good enough to help us overcome the
prophecy."
At her look, he explained that the text was in the form of
a prophecy and, with the discovery of the cloud approaching
earth; they weren't dismissing it so casually. One, because
the text included the stellar co-ordinates of the cloud and
two, because of the approximate time frame of its arrival.
A fact that had a certain small group that was privy to the
information, very nervous.
"Now, whereabouts is this orb that was mentioned in the
text?" he continued moving over to a table, that Angela
saw, was covered by a detailed map of the region.
"That way," Angela pointed, ignoring the map.
"Huh?" then seeing Angela with her arm out pointing, he
sighed and took out a compass and moved behind her,
orientating on the direction. "You're sure?" he questioned.
Getting her nod, he moved to the map, aligning it with the
compass. He then drew a line along it, starting at roughly
the position where the warehouse was located. "Okay, we
need to get another line from the east of town to get a
triangulation." He muttered.
Angela and Simon were shown into a small room where a meal
was served for them. Adjoining it was a small bathroom that
had a shower which Angela took full advantage of, getting
rid of the stickiness from the afternoons heat. The meal
consisted of a salad with assorted cuts of grilled steak
and a bottle of soft red wine. Angela was grateful that it
wasn't anything heavier because of the oppressive heat.
Angela noticed Simon's curious glances at her during the
meal. He looked appraisingly at her as if she had changed
into something.
"What? Angela asked him.
"Sorry, I can't get over how you did that earlier with such
apparent ease."
"We'll I do have a little extra something," she replied
cryptically.
After eating, and a quick rundown from the grey haired man
(who was introduced to Angela as Gary) on the next day's
agenda, they were shown to a couple of rooms, each which
had a rough bunk bed in it. Gary apologised for the bed,
saying it was only a last minute set up and that conditions
from now on would be spartan at best. Angela didn't rest as
well as she might have liked. Not only did the heat linger,
but also the call of the orb was so much stronger, giving
her some rather strange dreams.
The next morning saw her dressed in what could be described
as an Indiana Jones outfit, even to the hat. Gary had got
them sometime in the night from sources unknown, pointing
out that the clothes Angela had brought with her were
hardly suitable for the task ahead. She reluctantly agreed,
but packed one of her nicer gowns in the small handhold she
was given. She was determined to dress elegantly in the
evening no matter where or what the location was like.
Having to wear pants again seemed odd and restricting,
after the freedom of wearing skirts and dresses.
Gary and two other men had loaded a somewhat battered Land
Rover that had seen better days, but which, they were
assured, was in good order. They had attached a covered
trailer, which contained most of the gear required for a
trip into the Egyptian deserts. Getting nervous, that the
search for the orb was underway at last, Angela climbed
into the front passenger seat while Simon got into the
driver's seat. Gary sat in the rear with a communication
rig on his head, while the two men mounted a couple of old
English Army-Indian motorbikes, looking in similar
condition to the Landrover. Then, with a roar, they sped
off in front, presumably acting as lookout/escort.
As they moved out towards the east for the other reference
line, Gary started questioning Angela.
"I did some searching of the data bases and sent your
fingerprints for i