↓
 

Paul Kemner.com

Science Fiction & Fantasy Author - and general Geekery

  • Home
  • A Wrecking Bar, A Chocolate Bar, and a Ka Offering for Na-Nefer-Ka-Ptah
  • Egyptology Recommendations
  • Who is this guy?
Home - Page 5 << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 … 11 12 >>

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Safari – a Khempunk Adventure – Chapter 02

Paul Kemner.com Posted on February 19, 2017 by pkemnerFebruary 19, 2017

Back in 2011, my friend Josephine Boone & I wrote a weekly serial on a steampunk website. Set in an alternate late-1800’s Egypt, it featured ancient and future tech in a land where the ancient Gods are still active.

Chapter 01 is here.

Chapter 02 – Dr. Boone’s Office
The travelers had arrived at the office of Josephine’s father, Dr. Eugene Wesley Boone. The door was opened by a grizzled old Arab servant, who greeted them humbly, then started shouting at the taxi driver, who was apparently his cousin. Jo and AP exchanged looks and left the two arguing in the street. Still shaken, they unsteadily wound their way through the narrow corridors. “Daddy?” Jo called, “Where are you?” An old man in rumpled seersucker appeared from a doorway down the hall, his face lighting up at the sight of his youngest daughter.


“Jo, darlin’, you made it! And is this the Shan fella you told me about?”
“No, Daddy. Shan is a rooster,” she replied, referring to her magically transformed roommate. “This is AP. He’s a human.” Her companion stepped forward to introduce himself.


“Coupe de Fleur, but you can call me AP; everyone does.” He rolled his eyes in resignation. The old man smiled and nodded vaguely, then led them into a small office.
It was dusty, cramped, and full of interesting artifacts. A pair of ushabti sat on a table, carefully piecing together an ancient scroll. Shelves on the wall were haphazardly stacked with artifacts; animal-headed statuettes, bronze mirrors and amulets were jumbled up with bird and cat mummies and faience perfume bottles. A was sceptre leaned precariously against the desk. Jo attempted to clean the dust from her spectacles. She smiled fondly at her friend, who was gazing around, enraptured by all the ancient objects. Replacing her spectacles, she spied a small statue of Min, a prominent fertility god, and turned away, blushing.


Tearing his eyes away from a miniature harp, AP turned back to the archaeologist. “I have always been fascinated by Egyptology, sir, in fact I’ve made a lifelong study of it, but I’ve never had the privilege to see artifacts up close and outside a display case.”


“Here, have a look at this.” Dr. Boone said, casually tossing a jeweled scarab with a wind-up key protruding from its back. Just then the servant appeared with refreshments, welcome after the heat of the taxi and the dusty streets. Jo thanked him and took the tray, serving the cookies and Southern-style iced tea herself.


Father and daughter examined the work of the ushabti, excitedly discussing the hieroglyphs. AP laughed, “Your dad seems to have a lot more talent for controlling ushabtis, Jo!” The young woman explained, telling her father about the little servant figure that had malfunctioned in her own office and kept her awake for several nights after having gotten into the walls of her house.


After a couple of cookies, AP resumed his examination of the scarab. “Can the mechanism stand the stress of winding, after all this time, Dr. Boone?”


“Course it can, it might as well be new! And call me Gene.”


After gingerly winding the little toy, he set it on the desk and watched, fascinated, as the little beast marched along, stopping at intervals to swing its mandibles about. “This is totally amazing! I have never heard of any mechanism this sophisticated being made in ancient Egypt! What period is it from?”


“Now that’s pretty late period; nothing special. You want special? Take a look at this.” Gene moved several boxes around, peering briefly into each one before setting it aside. Eventually he pulled out a linen-wrapped object, and carefully handed it to AP.

Unwrapping it, he found a beautiful cone of deep blue, covered with golden hieroglyphics. Two spiral posts of gold extended from the bottom.


“This came out of the basement of one of the locals. Fella wanted a fortune for it…would’ve got it if he’d been digging around down there for legal purposes.”


AP pushed up his spectacles to look closely at the writing. “It doesn’t seem to be a religious text, but it mentions Ma’at – meaning “stability” or “regulation” in this context? And this series means 700,000… somethings – another puzzle – don’t they just say “million” when they want an impressive number? And Re – the sun god. Is that what you make it out to be?” He handed the object to Jo.


She pointed to the row of lotuses. “See the flame coming from each one? They represent Zep Tepi…the Beginning.” She went on to explain one of the many Egyptian creation stories. “When the first lotus emerged from the Uncreated, it opened to reveal the first light. At that time, the universe was in perfect balance.” As she idly traced the lotuses with her fingertip, a look of concern crossed her face.


“Daddy…where is the fella you got this from?”


The old man paused a moment before answering. “He went swimming in the river,” he replied slowly.


Her companion looked puzzled. “Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous?”


“What Daddy means,” Jo answered softly, “is that he was killed. His body was thrown to the crocodiles.”


The old archaeologist nodded. “The widow sold us the house cheap. Never saw her again, neither.”

 

(Stay tuned for Chapter 03 – Mr. Hammer’s Office!)
Posted in Egyptology, Safari - Serial, Writing | Tagged Action / Adventure, Adventure, Khempunk, Serial, Steampunk | Leave a reply

Safari – a Khempunk Adventure – Chapter 01

Paul Kemner.com Posted on January 28, 2017 by pkemnerFebruary 19, 2017

Back in 2011, my friend Josephine Boone & I wrote a weekly serial on a steampunk website. Set in an alternate late-1800’s Egypt, it featured ancient and future tech in a land where the ancient Gods are still active.

Chapter 01 – The Taxi Ride

by Josephine Boone & Paul Kemner

AROOOOOGAAAAAAHHH!!!! SCRRRREEEEEEECH!!!!!

Horns blared and tires squealed, punctuated by a raspy voice cursing and shouting in Arabic.

Josephine and AP cowered in abject terror, crammed into the back seat of a tiny steam-powered taxi as it barreled through the marketplace in Cairo. Hot wind gusted through the open windows, carrying with it the overwhelming smell of exotic spices, people and animals, and the acrid stench of the taxi’s engine.

Their luggage, tied to the roof, caused the taxi to sway sickeningly as it careened around corners. Steam from the cobbled-together engine obscured the view of the street ahead. The pair clutched desperately at the seat in front of them, white-knuckled and wide-eyed, wincing at a long, drawn-out screeching of tires.

The ramshackle contraption accelerated through a tiny opening between a streetcar and a cartload of bricks before slaloming between a line of stalls and carts. As they turned another corner, AP accidentally put a hand out the window and ended up with a fist full of hummus. “Jo, I’m sorry I ever teased you about your scooter driving! Compared to this it is yaaaargh!!! Look out!!!” The driver cursed in several languages, yelling at everything to get out of his way as they screeched to a stop at a traffic jam.

Suddenly Jo screamed and AP turned to see a curious donkey poking its nose in through the open window, drooling on her dress. She swatted ineffectually at the animal, and it sneezed on her. “AP, help me!” Just as they both managed to shove the donkey head out again, the taxi driver reversed wildly, spun the wheel and detoured down a narrow alley. Both sides of the car scraped the walls, trailing sparks. A dead end loomed ahead, but the driver yanked the accelerator lever and the taxi leapt forward. Just when it seemed they would crash head-on into the mud-brick wall, a man opened a door at the end of the alley.

Panicking at the sight of the misbegotten hybrid bearing down on him with steam spewing from its maw, he turned and ran through several rooms of the house, the hellish invader on his heels. The hapless passengers waved to several ladies in the midst of a belly-dancing lesson.

The homeowner ran out the front door, swerving to one side and falling into a fountain as the taxi swerved the other way, ending up back on the city street. Two doors down, the driver suddenly cranked the wheel around in an impressive display of parallel-parking as the engine stalled. The street was unnaturally quiet as the passengers stumbled out of the back of the deathmobile.

“W-why…” Jo gasped, “Why is there…hummus…on my dress?”

“The donkey must have had it for lunch.” AP replied as he paid the driver, including a very large tip because he was so glad to still be alive.

( Chapter 02 – Dr. Boone’s Office! is here)
Posted in Egyptology, Safari - Serial, Writing | Tagged Adventure, Khempunk, Serial, Steampunk | 4 Replies

Post navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Posts

Tags

Action / Adventure Adventure After Dark AI Ancient Egypt Anime Ataru author tips battle robots book promotion cons Costuming course DIY Dragon's Heaven Eco economics Egyptology fandom Film Food Gaming GTD HabitRPG Khempunk Life Lit Lum magic mech mecha Mobius Obnoxious Aliens Penguicon Events Safari Serial SF conventions Steampunk urusei yatsura warfare weapons Webcomics Websites wolf goddess writing
©2022 - Paul Kemner.com - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑
Posting....