The Time Travelers' Club: Chapter 47 – Quite a Shock

Sam opened his eyes.  He and Mrs. Steers stood high on a plateau overlooking the construction site of the oldest of the pyramids.  Beyond the construction site, the gold sands of the Egyptian desert stretched like a massive sea.  The sand blew across the barren land.

To their left was a great white wall that had been carved in the side of a plateau.  It was the quarry where lime stones were being cut.  To the right, a massive ramp went up to the pyramid.  It worked around the sides of the structure.  The pictures Sam had seen showed them worn down and weathered from time.  Here they were being built and the whole area was alive with activity.

Thousands of workers moved stone blocks up the well-designed ramp system until they reached the upper level.   The pyramid was just above the half-way point.  They could see more workers there, moving stones to the edge and placing them.

"Whoa!  Look at that.  I didn't imagine this."  Sam was awed. 

Mrs. Steers was quiet.  She wasn't looking at the pyramids.  She was staring at him  Her mouth hung open.  Her eyes fixed on him in disbelief.

"Sam, you must tell me honestly.  Have you been to other places without me?"  She tightened her grip on his arm and looked mad.

"No, Mrs. Steers.  I promised and I didn't go anywhere."  Sam expressed a high level of sincerity.  Mrs. Steers studied his face.

"Sam, that's remarkable.  I believe you, but...  How?"  Mrs. Steers released his arm and took a few steps in the sand.  Sam watched the ground below her feet, noting that she didn't leave any footprints.  Once again, he marveled at the strangeness of time-travel.

Mrs. Steers took about ten steps in front of him, then turned.  "You...  Sam... You are..."  She blinked a few times and shook her head.

"Mrs. Steers, you're kinda freaking me out.  What's wrong?"

Mrs. Steers rubbed her temples.  "It's nothing, Sam.  You just got us here quicker than anyone else I know or have ever known. You spoke the incantation perfectly and on the third round, we are here.  That's extraordinary, Sam. Extraordinary."

Mrs. Steers stared at him a moment longer, before shaking her head again as if to shoo away her thoughts.

"Well, anyway, here we are."  She turned to enjoy the vista of the pyramid but remained astonished by his first attempt.  "Look at that, Sam. Isn't that sight spectacular?  Just think about where you are and how many other people don't get to see this. As you can see, they are quite high. Almost finished.  The pyramid's sides look flat and shiny."

"They don't look like that today...  I mean in our time."  Sam pulled out his notebook from his travel bag and began his note taking.

"You see the stones on the side.  They are called casting stones.  Highly polished lime stones.  They make it look smooth.  Eventually they will wear down and erode, leaving the under-structure exposed."

 "It's amazing," agreed Sam, walking to her side.  He was torn between the sight and wanting to question her more about his ability to make the incantation work quickly.   Finally, he decided he would ask her later.

"How many people are over there?  There must be thousands."  Sam attempted to count but gave up on the idea.

Pulling out her guidebook, Mrs. Steers began to read. "According to my guidebook, it took several years and thousands of workers to build all the Pyramids of the Giza Necropolis.  Each side of the pyramid is about 755 feet long, 450 feet high and has. or will have over 2,300,000 blocks of stone.  Each weigh about 2 1/2 tons.  Of course, this is an older guidebook and more research has been done since, so the numbers might have changed."

"What's a necropolis?"

"Well, pyramids were tombs.   Necropolis means something like the city of the dead.  Or a cemetery where the kings and queens could be buried."

They stood on a hillside looking at the construction site of the Pyramid of Khufu. The sun blazed high above.  Sweat began trickling down Sam's forehead.

"Now, Sam, let's move closer to the work area.  Why don't you use the incantation I taught you to move to other places during time travel?  Remember it?"

"Yes.  It's 'Tolle mihi videre' and 'I want to see the builders of the Khufu Pyramid'."  Sam put the two phrases together and disappeared.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Steers was shocked that he left her behind.  "Ummm... 'Tolle mihi videre the builders of the Khufu Pyramid'."

In a flash, Mrs. Steers stood lost in a maze of large tan stones, wooden pulleys, equipment, and a mass of barefooted Egyptian workers wearing white wraps around their middles. Nearby a stone ramp went up the side of the pyramid. Weaving in and out of the lime stones and sweaty workers, Mrs. Steers went looking for Sam, but didn't see him.

"Sam? Where are you?" Mrs. Steers shouted, trying to be heard above the orders of someone she assumed was the head man. A bald man, wielding a leather flail and wearing a red wrap, shouted in ancient Egyptian.

"Sam? Where are you?"  Finally, she heard Sam yelling.

"Mrs. Steers... Mrs. Steers... Up here."

Shading her eyes from the glaring sun, Mrs. Steers looked up at the top of the ramp where several workers were moving a limestone block. On top of the block sat Sam, waving down at her.

Mrs. Steers gasped. "Sam! Be careful not to fall off. You could hurt yourself."

Sam was puzzled. "Mrs. Steers, you can't get hurt while time-traveling."

"Oh yes you can! Albert fell one time and cracked a rib. He fell off a rock while we were watching the digging of the Panama Canal. Luckily, we were able to make up a good story when we took him to the hospital."

"So, how do I get down?"

"Use the incantation again and say you want to be beside the workers. Like you did the first time..." Mrs. Steers pointed to the workers near her. Sam uttered the incantation, vanished, and then reappeared nearby. All in a blink of an eye.

"Mrs. Steers, that was amazing. I got the best view of the whole area from up there. I wish I had my camera." Sam pulled out his notebook and jotted down some notes.

"Now there’s something you should try sometime. Bring a camera, take a few pictures, and see what you get."

Sam was intrigued. "What do you get?"

"We’ll try it sometime." Mrs. Steers left it at that. Despite his raised interest, Sam went back to jotting notes about the pyramids, the workers, and the construction site.

"As you can see, the workers had to be highly skilled," said Mrs. Steers, then pointed at a mass of white tents and tan-colored buildings. "Over there is their camp.  It’s more like a city. That’s where the workers and their families lived during the construction. They have everything they need.  If we go over there, we can see their families."

"Really. I read they were slaves," said Sam.

"Well, they got paid for their work. They were highly skilled workers brought in from all over Egypt."

Sam and Mrs. Steers began to tour the work site. Sam made notes as they went. One worker had a metal chisel and was smoothing a side of a large stone, while another used what looked like drill powered by a wooden hammer and a bow made of a string and stick.

"Just think, Sam, you’re getting to see what hundreds of researchers and scholars have debated for years. The construction methods used by the Egyptians for building their pyramids.  They are the only ones left of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  Hmmm… That sounds like a great weekend trip. We could go and visit all of them."

Mrs. Steers scanned the sea of workers when she saw someone that quite didn’t fit in. His pale arms and legs stood out among the others and the material he used for wrapping didn’t look like the others. Her real clue, however, were the pink plastic sunglasses that he was wearing.  She thought. How could someone be so dumb as to wear those sunglasses?

Sam hadn’t noticed the oddly dressed man. With raised suspicion, Mrs. Steers quickly walked over to Sam.

"I think it’s time to go home."

"Already? I have a lot more notes to take." Sam tried to ignore her, but she was firm.

"Now, Sam. We can always come back.  And I don't want you to risk being sick again."

Sam started to argue but decided not to talk back.

"Remember, this is your time to practice. It won’t be long until you can come and go on your own."

Sam brightened at that marvelous thought. His time-travel wish list was long and he was ready to explore history.

"Do you remember the words to take you home?"

"Yes, I do." Sam spoke the simple incantation and disappeared.

Mrs. Steers turned, looking for the stranger. At first, she didn’t see him, but then he appeared among the crowd. Finding a stone to hide behind, she peeked around to spy on him.

At first, the stranger seemed to follow the crowd, then glanced in her direction. Surveying the crowd, he trudged in her direction. Mrs. Steers had to know who he was. He wasn’t from this time. She did not recognize him as a member of the Time Travelers.

The stranger came closer. Mrs. Steers had to decide. Stay and confront him? Or go home?

She lost her opportunity. The stranger spotted her peeking from behind the stones. They stared at each, before he rushed over. Mrs. Steers prepared herself for a fight.

The stranger approached her and spoke in perfect English.

"Excuse me, but are you Mrs. Charlotte Steers?"