Poem: "Among the Imperishable Ones"
This poem is spillover from the April 2, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by the "I love being a _____!" square in my 4-1-24 card for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Finn Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.25/line, so $5 will reveal 20 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses.
So far sponsors include: zianuray, Dreamwidth user Lone_cat, Fuzzyred
FULLY FUNDED
549 lines, Buy It Now = $68.75
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"Among the Imperishable Ones"
[Thursday, May 7, 2015]
Ever since Aidan had retrieved
one of his caches as part of
applying for citizenship in
the Maldives, he had been
checking other caches so
he could swap out contents
where it was necessary.
He had a microscriber that
could write or draw anything on
materials like nickel, sapphire,
diamond, or even dymondine.
He'd been using it to record
whole libraries of information,
and buying additional discs that
other people had inscribed, so
he could stash them in places
in case he needed them later.
Today Aidan was visiting Egypt,
where he had left many caches,
but he was pretty sure he could
access one in Bastet's temple.
He had brought Drew, but
left Saraphina with the Finns,
so that limited their time a bit.
A teleporter friend named Jaan
had carried them over, since she
needed to be out of Afghanistan for
a while -- the men were up in arms
over her latest rescue of women.
Thinking about it made Aidan drum
his fingers nervously on his thigh.
"Aidan, relax," said Jaan. "Egypt is
pretty safe now, with the Nile Alliance
going, and if anything does go wrong,
I can just ghost us right out of here."
"I know that," said Aidan. "It's just ...
history. A lot to remember, or forget."
"I understand," said Jaan. She adjusted
the beaded scarf that she'd thrown over
her hair to look a little less conspicuous.
"You still owe me designer shoes."
"Whatever you wish," Aidan said.
"Pick out something beautiful."
Jaan liked French fashions,
and it outraged Afghani men.
"Mum has a pair that she only
wears out to fancy restaurants,"
said Drew. "They were a gift from
a client, and the leather looks just
like rose-gold. She thinks they're
a bit silly, but I think they're lovely.
So if you want to wear pretty shoes,
then you should go ahead and do it."
Jaan gave Aidan a sharp smile.
"Oh, I like this kid," she said.
The oldest parts of Bubastis
were now the suburbs of Zagazig
and many of the ancient buildings
were ruins amidst shattered statues.
However, parts of the temple complex
for Bastet still stood strong, and there
was even a little visitor center built
alongside the old shrine, where
sacred cats twined themselves
around the columns and tourists.
"In here," Aidan said, leading
the way into the complex.
He remembered when all of
this was new and grand. Now
its dust made his eyes water.
They checked the visitor center
first. It had flyers with a map of
the whole complex, and racks
of souvenirs such as T-shirts,
postcards, and tote bags.
While Aidan tried to figure out
exactly where his cache had
been amidst the old buildings,
rubble, and new buildings, Drew
filled a basket with souvenirs.
He bought a yellow T-shirt
with a map of the Nile and
its cities in Egypt for himself,
along with a stack of books for
himself and various other Finns.
He bought a black shirt for Shiv
that had a cat done in two shades
of metallic gold and textured turquoise
alongside the quote, In ancient times,
cats were worshipped as gods.
They have not forgotten this.
He bought at least one of
every postcard they had.
He also got a tote bag with
the Sphinx to carry it all.
"All right, that's enough,"
Aidan said with a fond smile.
"What?" Drew said. "I'm
supporting the local economy,
it's a Finn family tradition."
"I just meant that I have
an idea where to look for
my cache now," said Aidan.
"Good, because you're buying
me this too," Jaan said, pointing
to a pendant in a locked case.
Aidan looked closer. The thing
was the size of her thumb and
looked like a stylized cat mummy,
so achingly familiar that his eyes
watered, making it shimmer.
"That's real," he murmured.
"Modern make, not ancient, but
solid gold and fully blessed with
the grace of the goddess Bastet."
People used to come to the temple
on pilgrimage and would buy
actual cat mummies, or jewelry,
or other effigies for good luck,
whatever they could afford.
There were T-shirts instead of
embroidered scarves -- oh wait,
there were the scarves too -- and
books instead of scrolls, but
much of the jewelry remained
exactly the same as always.
"So much the better," said Jaan.
"This will really piss off the men."
Aidan beckoned to the clerk,
who unlocked the case and put
the pendant in a jewelry box
so that he could pay for it.
Some of the postcards had
looked familiar too, renditions
of temple cats and Bastet.
"The First Cat," he murmured,
touching a card with a cat
bejeweled in gold and beads.
"Yeah, I really like this one,
so I bought extras," said Drew,
sounding far more like a pilgrim
to the Temple than he realized.
"And then there's this one ..."
It had a picture from one of
the earliest cat sarcophagi and
an inscription, “I myself am placed
among the imperishable ones
that are in the Sky / For I am
Ta-Miu, the Triumphant.”
Aidan mentally dug in his claws
and held onto the present time.
It was hard, because so much
was different, but so much was
still the same too. The sun and
the smell of the dust and the energy
of the temple brought it all back to him.
Aidan tucked away his emotions as
best he could, and went outside.
The temple complex was full
of cats, mostly in shades of tan
and gray, soft sandy colors,
some dotted or striped or
ticked, and others solid.
There were even a few
bicolors or calicos with
the modern white patches.
"Oh wow," Drew said, "that one
looks just like the postcard cat!"
"What? Where?" Aidan said sharply.
"There, sitting on the statue's feet,"
Drew said, pointing to an image
of Bastet carved from stone.
"Mau," Aidan whispered,
and then louder, "Mau!"
A shadow flowed off of
the statue's feet and then
sauntered toward them.
She was a small cat, her coat
a soft grayish-brown dabbed
with dots and streaks of black.
Black lines reached up from
her eyes and down under them,
over which metallic gold makeup
highlighted the distinctive curls for
the Eye of Ra and Eye of Horus.
She wore a wide collar made of
red jasper and green malachite
bound in gold, and a gold hoop
hung heavy from her left ear.
When she looked up at them,
her eyes weren't the usual peridot
but a pure and shining gold.
"Hello, old friend," said Aidan.
"I wasn't expecting to find you
here after all of this time."
What is time to a cat?
she replied, and licked
her shoulder. Where else
would I be but in the Temple
of Cats? For here I belong.
"Here you belong, as it was
and is and ever more shall be,"
Aidan agreed with a graceful bow.
"What is this?" Drew wondered. "I
didn't know that you knew supercats."
"Drew, this is Ta-Mau-Aa, the Queen of Cats,
She-Who-Taught-Humans-How-to-Be-Useful,"
said Aidan. "Mau, this is my friend Drew Finn,
an ally of the House of Scrolls and Whiskers."
Drew laughed. "That name so fits you,"
he said. "If she is the First Cat, then
you must be the First Bookworm."
"Well, maybe not the very first, but
at least among the first," said Aidan.
"It was my honor to serve among
the scribes in the Temple of Bastet
and care for the sacred cats here. I
admit that Mau is a favorite of mine."
"So you were what, like her priest?"
Drew said with an irrepressible smile.
My First Priest lay down in the Forever Sleep
long ago, and went to serve in Bastet's Garden,
Mau replied, but well do I remember my friend
the Red Scribe and his Bowl of Endless Delights.
Aidan scratched his ear. "I may possibly have
gone to the fishmongers for scraps and pressed
them into pellets that would dry in the sun and
not leave fish oil clinging to one's fingers."
"Holy cow, Aidan, you literally invented
cat treats," Drew said in a note of awe.
"I'm sure many other people have had
the same ideas," Aidan said diffidently.
"Yeah, but you're the one I know, so
I get to be impressed," said Drew.
"Do I get an introduction?" Jaan said.
"Mau, this is my friend Jaan," said Aidan.
"She is Ta-Akhu and so can travel like
the wind, without walking or riding."
That is a most useful gift, said Mau.
Perhaps I shall make use of it later.
"I am at your service," Jaan said
with a jaunty bow to the cat.
What brings you here today?
Mau asked Aidan. Have you
returned to the Temple at last?
"I have come to attend my cache,"
Aidan said. "Now that I know
you are here, though, I will try
to visit the Temple more often."
I will fetch a priest to assist
your task, Mau said, then
strolled away with her tail up.
A moment later, he heard her
speaking loudly to a Temple priest,
who followed the demanding cat
over to the little group of visitors.
"May I help you?" the priest said
as he looked over the strangers.
"The Red Priest wishes to exchange
the treasures of the House of Scrolls
and Whiskers, with the blessing of Bastet,"
Aidan said, and Ta-Mau-Aa nodded approval.
The priest dropped his jaw, because of course
that was the password which had been inscribed
over the cache: exchange, instead of take or
empty, since neither a looter nor a scholar
would ever think to put anything into it.
Only the true owner would know,
because that's what it was for.
The priest bowed low, and
then led them to a place where
pieces of rubble leaned together.
"We had to cover it," he explained,
"to keep it safe from prying eyes."
The rubble had been balanced
quite carefully, though, so that it
was easy to tip up into a sort of
wall around the central area.
"Is -- is that a sarcophagus?"
Drew exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Yes and no," Aidan said with
a chuckle. "It was meant as one,
but near the end of carving the shape,
the stone showed a dreadful streak
of darkness that wouldn't polish away.
The client refused to pay, so decorations
were never added and the stonemason
was distraught over the loss of income."
"I bet you fixed that," said Drew.
"It seems like your kind of style."
"Of course," said Aidan. "I had use
for a big stone box, and it didn't matter
how ugly the outside was as long as
the lid fit securely. Help me open this."
The sarcophagus was sunk partway
into the ground to make it easier to hide,
but the lid was designed for handling.
Inside were jars and boxes and
bundles wrapped in cloth or leather,
all of them crammed closely together.
"My garden!" Aidan exclaimed as
he lifted out a big clay box painted
with agricultural pictures. "I had
forgotten about this." He lifted
the lid and grinned. "Finally, I
can have my apple-onions back!"
"What are apple-onions?" Drew said.
"That doesn't make much sense."
"Onions used to be sweet, at least
the ones in Egypt," said Aidan. "I don't
know why most of them turned pungent."
"Will the seeds even sprout after all
of this time? How long do seeds last?"
Drew wondered. "I mean they've been
buried inside of that box for ages."
"They might, because some of
the old seeds found in digs have
sprouted, but now I don't really need
them to sprout," Aidan explained. "I can
just pass the seeds to a scientist friend
and get them reproduced in a lab. I
expect that apple-onions will prove
enormously popular on the market."
"Yeah, that sounds familiar," Drew said.
"I think I've read about those things."
Aidan lifted his head and told the priest,
"Of course I will dedicate a portion of
any profits to the Temple of Bastet and
the care of the sacred cats, in exchange
for keeping the cache safe all this time."
I want fish, Mau demanded. Something
new that I have never tasted before.
"Sure, I can bring a load here
from the Maldives," said Jaan.
"They have delicious fish."
Aidan leaned down to sort
through the sarcophagus.
Much of the space inside
was filled with papyri and
a few clay tablets tucked
alongside the scrolls and
the piles of loose pages,
with bags of coins added
wherever they would fit.
Bundle after bundle held
collections of funeral texts
from The Spells of Going
Forth by Day, saved from
several different time periods.
Probably some of those were
unknown currently, but Aidan
didn't want to go through them
all, so he only took one bundle.
Another large section had
The Book of Thoth, or rather,
a volume on the power of gods
and another on animal speech.
"Drat," said Aidan. "I thought
I had more of his in -- oh, here's
On the Breeding of Cheetahs and
Accounting a Collection of Scrolls."
The attending priest of Bastet
made a little squee sound
over the cheetah reference.
Aidan couldn't blame him;
cheetahs were hard to breed.
"Good, I've got a bunch of
Cleopatra's writings in here,"
said Aidan. "Diseases and Cures
of the Eye, Cosmetics and Medicines
for the Face of a Lady, and Charms for
the Years of a Life volumes 1-18."
There were more, but those
were among his favorites.
"That's amazing," Drew said.
"You keep pulling out all of
this stuff that everyone
thought was lost forever."
"That's my job," said Aidan.
"I save whatever I can, for
when it is needed most."
"Well, somebody has to,"
said Jaan. "Men are stupid,
they burn books and start wars,
and next thing you know, nobody
in Europe has running water
for five hundred years."
"Ugh, don't remind me,"
Aidan said. The Dark Ages
had been utterly miserable
for everyone, rich or poor.
After taking out the items
that he wanted, Aidan began
packing in new things to save.
He stashed a fresh seedbank
filled with landrace seeds from
dozens of crops and varieties.
Sealed boxes held discs of
various materials microscribed
with whole libraries of information.
Some of the discs, though, had photos
and other memorabilia of family albums.
There was a set of magnifying glasses
made in assorted styles, along with
several field microscopes that had
manual controls instead of relying
on electricity or lightbulbs that might
not be available in the distant future.
Finally Aidan finished poking and
tucking everything into place, then
straightened up. "All right, let's put
the lid back on, brush the sand around
it, and replace the rubble to conceal
the cache," he said with a sigh.
By the time they were done with that,
the sarcophagus looked like nothing more
than an unadorned altar table or bench.
Aidan stowed his retrieved treasures
and then hefted the heavy pack.
Everyone began heading
back toward the visitor center.
"Hey, are those litterboxes?"
Drew said suddenly, pointing
to some spaced out along a wall.
"Made of stone and clay? And
why are there litterboxes here
with all of the cats outdoors?"
Because we know how to use
a toilet, Mau said dryly. Nobody
wants to step in cat shit, especially
cats. The temple priests keep
the sandboxes nice and clean.
"That was one of the first ways
that Mau taught humans how
to be useful," said the priest.
Drew laughed. "Yeah, I
guess that makes sense,"
he said. "I just thought that
litterboxes were more modern."
"No, this is a very old technology,"
said the priest. "After cleaning out
the boxes, we carry the blessed sand
to the Temple of Hathor, where they mix it
with straw from the stable of sacred cows,
and from there the compost wagons go to
the Farms of Osiris that help feed the poor."
"Clay litter is a more recent innovation,"
Aidan said. "That's why you also hear
'sandbox' as well as 'litterbox' -- because
people started out filling them with sand."
Jaan nodded. "Deserts and even places
like Egypt tend to have sandy soil, which
works great for a catbox," she said.
Mau wove around her legs, then
moved on to Aidan and Drew.
Come, she sent. I want
you to do me a favor.
"We are at your service,
Mau," Aidan assured her.
She led their little group to
the visitor center, then gave
a low hurr-owh, hurr-owh call.
From the pile of fur in one corner,
five heads suddenly popped up.
The kittens looked between
two and three months old.
Two of them had brown spots
on a tan background. One was
fox-red on amber, one sand-pale,
and the last was black on silver.
These five kittens are my sons
and daughters, said Mau.
"They all look different than
you do," Drew observed.
Mau laughed at that by
arching her whiskers and
slitting her golden eyes.
Of course they look different,
she said. It has been many
births-and-deaths of cats
since I began teaching
humans how to be useful.
They and we have changed.
"Yes, everything changes
over time," Aidan agreed.
You should see my litter from
last flood, said Mau. A city tom
came to court me, and the kittens
all had white patches, as if they
had been licked by the Moon.
"They sound very beautiful,"
said Aidan. "How may we help?"
These kittens are old enough
to leave the Temple and go out
to bless the world for Bastet,
said Mau. You will carry them.
"We will take them wherever
they want to go," Aidan said.
They are good hunters who will
honor the Bargain, said Mau.
"I will honor the Bargain, and
see that they have mice to eat
and a warm place to sleep,"
said Aidan. "I will make sure
that their chosen servants also
know to honor the Bargain."
"Are we allowed to carry
animals?" Drew whispered.
I am not a beast of the fields,
the silver tabby said tartly. I am
a sacred cat of the Temple of Bastet,
and I am free to go where I please.
"It's best not to argue with cats,"
Aidan advised with a faint smile.
The priest offered them a choice
of cat carriers so the kittens
could travel in comfort.
Jaan and Drew wound up
carrying them, since Aidan
had a pack full of treasures.
As they left the visitor center,
they saw a gray cat with spots
and streaks of darker gray, along
with a white belly and white feet.
See that cat there? Mau sent. She
is one of my Moon-licked daughters.
"She's gorgeous," said Drew. "I bet
that Shiv would love to paint her."
Another cat crossed in front of them,
this one a smooth grayish-brown with
black stripes on his face, legs, and tail.
One of my sons, Mau sent. He has
the desert pattern, good for hunting.
Everyone smiled at the cats with
their different colors and patterns,
so graceful and so beautiful.
"I love being a teleporter!"
Jaan said. "Today I got to walk
among the imperishable ones,
talk with cats, and carry some
of Bastet's messengers on
their journey into the world."
"It is a good day," Aidan agreed.
"I'm pleased with my results."
"Saving the world one book
at a time," Drew said softly.
In the carrier that he held, one of
the waiting kittens meowed loudly.
"And keeping the Bargain," Aidan said.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes appear separately.
This microfunded poem is being posted one verse at a time, as donations come in to cover them. The rate is $0.25/line, so $5 will reveal 20 new lines, and so forth. There is a permanent donation button on my profile page, or you can contact me for other arrangements. You can also ask me about the number of lines per verse, if you want to fund a certain number of verses.
So far sponsors include: zianuray, Dreamwidth user Lone_cat, Fuzzyred
FULLY FUNDED
549 lines, Buy It Now = $68.75
Amount donated = $48.75
Verses posted = 53 of 160
Amount remaining to fund fully = $20
Amount needed to fund next verse = $1.25
Amount needed to fund the verse after that = $0.75
"Among the Imperishable Ones"
[Thursday, May 7, 2015]
Ever since Aidan had retrieved
one of his caches as part of
applying for citizenship in
the Maldives, he had been
checking other caches so
he could swap out contents
where it was necessary.
He had a microscriber that
could write or draw anything on
materials like nickel, sapphire,
diamond, or even dymondine.
He'd been using it to record
whole libraries of information,
and buying additional discs that
other people had inscribed, so
he could stash them in places
in case he needed them later.
Today Aidan was visiting Egypt,
where he had left many caches,
but he was pretty sure he could
access one in Bastet's temple.
He had brought Drew, but
left Saraphina with the Finns,
so that limited their time a bit.
A teleporter friend named Jaan
had carried them over, since she
needed to be out of Afghanistan for
a while -- the men were up in arms
over her latest rescue of women.
Thinking about it made Aidan drum
his fingers nervously on his thigh.
"Aidan, relax," said Jaan. "Egypt is
pretty safe now, with the Nile Alliance
going, and if anything does go wrong,
I can just ghost us right out of here."
"I know that," said Aidan. "It's just ...
history. A lot to remember, or forget."
"I understand," said Jaan. She adjusted
the beaded scarf that she'd thrown over
her hair to look a little less conspicuous.
"You still owe me designer shoes."
"Whatever you wish," Aidan said.
"Pick out something beautiful."
Jaan liked French fashions,
and it outraged Afghani men.
"Mum has a pair that she only
wears out to fancy restaurants,"
said Drew. "They were a gift from
a client, and the leather looks just
like rose-gold. She thinks they're
a bit silly, but I think they're lovely.
So if you want to wear pretty shoes,
then you should go ahead and do it."
Jaan gave Aidan a sharp smile.
"Oh, I like this kid," she said.
The oldest parts of Bubastis
were now the suburbs of Zagazig
and many of the ancient buildings
were ruins amidst shattered statues.
However, parts of the temple complex
for Bastet still stood strong, and there
was even a little visitor center built
alongside the old shrine, where
sacred cats twined themselves
around the columns and tourists.
"In here," Aidan said, leading
the way into the complex.
He remembered when all of
this was new and grand. Now
its dust made his eyes water.
They checked the visitor center
first. It had flyers with a map of
the whole complex, and racks
of souvenirs such as T-shirts,
postcards, and tote bags.
While Aidan tried to figure out
exactly where his cache had
been amidst the old buildings,
rubble, and new buildings, Drew
filled a basket with souvenirs.
He bought a yellow T-shirt
with a map of the Nile and
its cities in Egypt for himself,
along with a stack of books for
himself and various other Finns.
He bought a black shirt for Shiv
that had a cat done in two shades
of metallic gold and textured turquoise
alongside the quote, In ancient times,
cats were worshipped as gods.
They have not forgotten this.
He bought at least one of
every postcard they had.
He also got a tote bag with
the Sphinx to carry it all.
"All right, that's enough,"
Aidan said with a fond smile.
"What?" Drew said. "I'm
supporting the local economy,
it's a Finn family tradition."
"I just meant that I have
an idea where to look for
my cache now," said Aidan.
"Good, because you're buying
me this too," Jaan said, pointing
to a pendant in a locked case.
Aidan looked closer. The thing
was the size of her thumb and
looked like a stylized cat mummy,
so achingly familiar that his eyes
watered, making it shimmer.
"That's real," he murmured.
"Modern make, not ancient, but
solid gold and fully blessed with
the grace of the goddess Bastet."
People used to come to the temple
on pilgrimage and would buy
actual cat mummies, or jewelry,
or other effigies for good luck,
whatever they could afford.
There were T-shirts instead of
embroidered scarves -- oh wait,
there were the scarves too -- and
books instead of scrolls, but
much of the jewelry remained
exactly the same as always.
"So much the better," said Jaan.
"This will really piss off the men."
Aidan beckoned to the clerk,
who unlocked the case and put
the pendant in a jewelry box
so that he could pay for it.
Some of the postcards had
looked familiar too, renditions
of temple cats and Bastet.
"The First Cat," he murmured,
touching a card with a cat
bejeweled in gold and beads.
"Yeah, I really like this one,
so I bought extras," said Drew,
sounding far more like a pilgrim
to the Temple than he realized.
"And then there's this one ..."
It had a picture from one of
the earliest cat sarcophagi and
an inscription, “I myself am placed
among the imperishable ones
that are in the Sky / For I am
Ta-Miu, the Triumphant.”
Aidan mentally dug in his claws
and held onto the present time.
It was hard, because so much
was different, but so much was
still the same too. The sun and
the smell of the dust and the energy
of the temple brought it all back to him.
Aidan tucked away his emotions as
best he could, and went outside.
The temple complex was full
of cats, mostly in shades of tan
and gray, soft sandy colors,
some dotted or striped or
ticked, and others solid.
There were even a few
bicolors or calicos with
the modern white patches.
"Oh wow," Drew said, "that one
looks just like the postcard cat!"
"What? Where?" Aidan said sharply.
"There, sitting on the statue's feet,"
Drew said, pointing to an image
of Bastet carved from stone.
"Mau," Aidan whispered,
and then louder, "Mau!"
A shadow flowed off of
the statue's feet and then
sauntered toward them.
She was a small cat, her coat
a soft grayish-brown dabbed
with dots and streaks of black.
Black lines reached up from
her eyes and down under them,
over which metallic gold makeup
highlighted the distinctive curls for
the Eye of Ra and Eye of Horus.
She wore a wide collar made of
red jasper and green malachite
bound in gold, and a gold hoop
hung heavy from her left ear.
When she looked up at them,
her eyes weren't the usual peridot
but a pure and shining gold.
"Hello, old friend," said Aidan.
"I wasn't expecting to find you
here after all of this time."
What is time to a cat?
she replied, and licked
her shoulder. Where else
would I be but in the Temple
of Cats? For here I belong.
"Here you belong, as it was
and is and ever more shall be,"
Aidan agreed with a graceful bow.
"What is this?" Drew wondered. "I
didn't know that you knew supercats."
"Drew, this is Ta-Mau-Aa, the Queen of Cats,
She-Who-Taught-Humans-How-to-Be-Useful,"
said Aidan. "Mau, this is my friend Drew Finn,
an ally of the House of Scrolls and Whiskers."
Drew laughed. "That name so fits you,"
he said. "If she is the First Cat, then
you must be the First Bookworm."
"Well, maybe not the very first, but
at least among the first," said Aidan.
"It was my honor to serve among
the scribes in the Temple of Bastet
and care for the sacred cats here. I
admit that Mau is a favorite of mine."
"So you were what, like her priest?"
Drew said with an irrepressible smile.
My First Priest lay down in the Forever Sleep
long ago, and went to serve in Bastet's Garden,
Mau replied, but well do I remember my friend
the Red Scribe and his Bowl of Endless Delights.
Aidan scratched his ear. "I may possibly have
gone to the fishmongers for scraps and pressed
them into pellets that would dry in the sun and
not leave fish oil clinging to one's fingers."
"Holy cow, Aidan, you literally invented
cat treats," Drew said in a note of awe.
"I'm sure many other people have had
the same ideas," Aidan said diffidently.
"Yeah, but you're the one I know, so
I get to be impressed," said Drew.
"Do I get an introduction?" Jaan said.
"Mau, this is my friend Jaan," said Aidan.
"She is Ta-Akhu and so can travel like
the wind, without walking or riding."
That is a most useful gift, said Mau.
Perhaps I shall make use of it later.
"I am at your service," Jaan said
with a jaunty bow to the cat.
What brings you here today?
Mau asked Aidan. Have you
returned to the Temple at last?
"I have come to attend my cache,"
Aidan said. "Now that I know
you are here, though, I will try
to visit the Temple more often."
I will fetch a priest to assist
your task, Mau said, then
strolled away with her tail up.
A moment later, he heard her
speaking loudly to a Temple priest,
who followed the demanding cat
over to the little group of visitors.
"May I help you?" the priest said
as he looked over the strangers.
"The Red Priest wishes to exchange
the treasures of the House of Scrolls
and Whiskers, with the blessing of Bastet,"
Aidan said, and Ta-Mau-Aa nodded approval.
The priest dropped his jaw, because of course
that was the password which had been inscribed
over the cache: exchange, instead of take or
empty, since neither a looter nor a scholar
would ever think to put anything into it.
Only the true owner would know,
because that's what it was for.
The priest bowed low, and
then led them to a place where
pieces of rubble leaned together.
"We had to cover it," he explained,
"to keep it safe from prying eyes."
The rubble had been balanced
quite carefully, though, so that it
was easy to tip up into a sort of
wall around the central area.
"Is -- is that a sarcophagus?"
Drew exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Yes and no," Aidan said with
a chuckle. "It was meant as one,
but near the end of carving the shape,
the stone showed a dreadful streak
of darkness that wouldn't polish away.
The client refused to pay, so decorations
were never added and the stonemason
was distraught over the loss of income."
"I bet you fixed that," said Drew.
"It seems like your kind of style."
"Of course," said Aidan. "I had use
for a big stone box, and it didn't matter
how ugly the outside was as long as
the lid fit securely. Help me open this."
The sarcophagus was sunk partway
into the ground to make it easier to hide,
but the lid was designed for handling.
Inside were jars and boxes and
bundles wrapped in cloth or leather,
all of them crammed closely together.
"My garden!" Aidan exclaimed as
he lifted out a big clay box painted
with agricultural pictures. "I had
forgotten about this." He lifted
the lid and grinned. "Finally, I
can have my apple-onions back!"
"What are apple-onions?" Drew said.
"That doesn't make much sense."
"Onions used to be sweet, at least
the ones in Egypt," said Aidan. "I don't
know why most of them turned pungent."
"Will the seeds even sprout after all
of this time? How long do seeds last?"
Drew wondered. "I mean they've been
buried inside of that box for ages."
"They might, because some of
the old seeds found in digs have
sprouted, but now I don't really need
them to sprout," Aidan explained. "I can
just pass the seeds to a scientist friend
and get them reproduced in a lab. I
expect that apple-onions will prove
enormously popular on the market."
"Yeah, that sounds familiar," Drew said.
"I think I've read about those things."
Aidan lifted his head and told the priest,
"Of course I will dedicate a portion of
any profits to the Temple of Bastet and
the care of the sacred cats, in exchange
for keeping the cache safe all this time."
I want fish, Mau demanded. Something
new that I have never tasted before.
"Sure, I can bring a load here
from the Maldives," said Jaan.
"They have delicious fish."
Aidan leaned down to sort
through the sarcophagus.
Much of the space inside
was filled with papyri and
a few clay tablets tucked
alongside the scrolls and
the piles of loose pages,
with bags of coins added
wherever they would fit.
Bundle after bundle held
collections of funeral texts
from The Spells of Going
Forth by Day, saved from
several different time periods.
Probably some of those were
unknown currently, but Aidan
didn't want to go through them
all, so he only took one bundle.
Another large section had
The Book of Thoth, or rather,
a volume on the power of gods
and another on animal speech.
"Drat," said Aidan. "I thought
I had more of his in -- oh, here's
On the Breeding of Cheetahs and
Accounting a Collection of Scrolls."
The attending priest of Bastet
made a little squee sound
over the cheetah reference.
Aidan couldn't blame him;
cheetahs were hard to breed.
"Good, I've got a bunch of
Cleopatra's writings in here,"
said Aidan. "Diseases and Cures
of the Eye, Cosmetics and Medicines
for the Face of a Lady, and Charms for
the Years of a Life volumes 1-18."
There were more, but those
were among his favorites.
"That's amazing," Drew said.
"You keep pulling out all of
this stuff that everyone
thought was lost forever."
"That's my job," said Aidan.
"I save whatever I can, for
when it is needed most."
"Well, somebody has to,"
said Jaan. "Men are stupid,
they burn books and start wars,
and next thing you know, nobody
in Europe has running water
for five hundred years."
"Ugh, don't remind me,"
Aidan said. The Dark Ages
had been utterly miserable
for everyone, rich or poor.
After taking out the items
that he wanted, Aidan began
packing in new things to save.
He stashed a fresh seedbank
filled with landrace seeds from
dozens of crops and varieties.
Sealed boxes held discs of
various materials microscribed
with whole libraries of information.
Some of the discs, though, had photos
and other memorabilia of family albums.
There was a set of magnifying glasses
made in assorted styles, along with
several field microscopes that had
manual controls instead of relying
on electricity or lightbulbs that might
not be available in the distant future.
Finally Aidan finished poking and
tucking everything into place, then
straightened up. "All right, let's put
the lid back on, brush the sand around
it, and replace the rubble to conceal
the cache," he said with a sigh.
By the time they were done with that,
the sarcophagus looked like nothing more
than an unadorned altar table or bench.
Aidan stowed his retrieved treasures
and then hefted the heavy pack.
Everyone began heading
back toward the visitor center.
"Hey, are those litterboxes?"
Drew said suddenly, pointing
to some spaced out along a wall.
"Made of stone and clay? And
why are there litterboxes here
with all of the cats outdoors?"
Because we know how to use
a toilet, Mau said dryly. Nobody
wants to step in cat shit, especially
cats. The temple priests keep
the sandboxes nice and clean.
"That was one of the first ways
that Mau taught humans how
to be useful," said the priest.
Drew laughed. "Yeah, I
guess that makes sense,"
he said. "I just thought that
litterboxes were more modern."
"No, this is a very old technology,"
said the priest. "After cleaning out
the boxes, we carry the blessed sand
to the Temple of Hathor, where they mix it
with straw from the stable of sacred cows,
and from there the compost wagons go to
the Farms of Osiris that help feed the poor."
"Clay litter is a more recent innovation,"
Aidan said. "That's why you also hear
'sandbox' as well as 'litterbox' -- because
people started out filling them with sand."
Jaan nodded. "Deserts and even places
like Egypt tend to have sandy soil, which
works great for a catbox," she said.
Mau wove around her legs, then
moved on to Aidan and Drew.
Come, she sent. I want
you to do me a favor.
"We are at your service,
Mau," Aidan assured her.
She led their little group to
the visitor center, then gave
a low hurr-owh, hurr-owh call.
From the pile of fur in one corner,
five heads suddenly popped up.
The kittens looked between
two and three months old.
Two of them had brown spots
on a tan background. One was
fox-red on amber, one sand-pale,
and the last was black on silver.
These five kittens are my sons
and daughters, said Mau.
"They all look different than
you do," Drew observed.
Mau laughed at that by
arching her whiskers and
slitting her golden eyes.
Of course they look different,
she said. It has been many
births-and-deaths of cats
since I began teaching
humans how to be useful.
They and we have changed.
"Yes, everything changes
over time," Aidan agreed.
You should see my litter from
last flood, said Mau. A city tom
came to court me, and the kittens
all had white patches, as if they
had been licked by the Moon.
"They sound very beautiful,"
said Aidan. "How may we help?"
These kittens are old enough
to leave the Temple and go out
to bless the world for Bastet,
said Mau. You will carry them.
"We will take them wherever
they want to go," Aidan said.
They are good hunters who will
honor the Bargain, said Mau.
"I will honor the Bargain, and
see that they have mice to eat
and a warm place to sleep,"
said Aidan. "I will make sure
that their chosen servants also
know to honor the Bargain."
"Are we allowed to carry
animals?" Drew whispered.
I am not a beast of the fields,
the silver tabby said tartly. I am
a sacred cat of the Temple of Bastet,
and I am free to go where I please.
"It's best not to argue with cats,"
Aidan advised with a faint smile.
The priest offered them a choice
of cat carriers so the kittens
could travel in comfort.
Jaan and Drew wound up
carrying them, since Aidan
had a pack full of treasures.
As they left the visitor center,
they saw a gray cat with spots
and streaks of darker gray, along
with a white belly and white feet.
See that cat there? Mau sent. She
is one of my Moon-licked daughters.
"She's gorgeous," said Drew. "I bet
that Shiv would love to paint her."
Another cat crossed in front of them,
this one a smooth grayish-brown with
black stripes on his face, legs, and tail.
One of my sons, Mau sent. He has
the desert pattern, good for hunting.
Everyone smiled at the cats with
their different colors and patterns,
so graceful and so beautiful.
"I love being a teleporter!"
Jaan said. "Today I got to walk
among the imperishable ones,
talk with cats, and carry some
of Bastet's messengers on
their journey into the world."
"It is a good day," Aidan agreed.
"I'm pleased with my results."
"Saving the world one book
at a time," Drew said softly.
In the carrier that he held, one of
the waiting kittens meowed loudly.
"And keeping the Bargain," Aidan said.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character and content notes appear separately.