They mostly succeeded, and learned a lot of stuff from direct experimentation that isn't clear in the ancient record, but the thing that Tom and I couldn't stop thinking about was what all this meant for the hapless donor if it turned out the Egyptians were right about the afterlife.

I mean, picture the scene: Anubis is kicking back in his office, feet up on his desk, reading the paper. He's not expecting to have to do any work today, because nobody has come through that door since the Romans crashed the party, when suddenly in walks this random guy, looking immensely confused.

"Who the hell are you?" the man and Anubis ask each other, almost in unison. Then Anubis looks past the newcomer at the empty reception room behind him and asks, "Where's all your stuff?"

"What stuff?" asks the newly arrived mummy quizzically.

Because of course he doesn't have any. When they were finished with their project, Brier and Wood didn't bury the guy in a carefully prepared tomb filled with a wide selection of goods and supplies for the afterlife; they stuck him in a drawer somewhere, to be pulled out and studied further by other researchers as the need arises. The poor guy is screwed. No clothes, no food or wine, no furniture, no ushabti statues to stand in for him when celestial work detail is called... nothing.

And let's not even get started on what's likely to happen when the whole heart-weighing thing comes up.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Or go back and read something with Teleute in it. Hm.

------
Authors of our fates
Orchestrate our fall from grace
Poorest players on the stage
Our defiance drives us straight to the edge