The foregoing statement, issued by the Administrator, is clearly intended to settle the unfortunate Hansford affair once and for all. But given Professor Ambrose's letter, only now discovered among Hansford's papers, the Faculty believes that the matter should be revisited because of its astonishing implications. To further this endeavor, the late Professor Ambrose's private communication to Hansford is reproduced below in its entirety:
"Thursday, the fourth of April --
"My dear Hansford:
"Your unhappiness with the progress of your career in Egyptian archaeology has touched me deeply. I see in your despondency my own tribulations when, long ago, I too nearly abandoned my work in Egypt. Fortunately for me, however, my attitude was abruptly and permanently altered by a singular experience, the details of which I have never before shared with anyone. But given your unhealthy state of mind, it is imperative that you quickly develop an entirely new perspective and to this end I will tell you what happened to me at Luxor; perhaps the account will be not only of professional interest, but of some benefit to you as well.
"In brief, my young friend, I learned that fame and fortune often demand a price we are not prepared to pay; in fact, fame, fortune, and even high honors sometimes have to be forsworn for a grander purpose. I came to this understanding when I was about your age and was engaged by the Museum at the Luxor site.
"I was working alone in the necropolis on the west bank of the Nile when one day, as was my custom, I took my lunch in an empty cave tomb, one of the many which dot the cliff face overlooking the river. The cool confines of these vacant crypts was always a welcome relief from the noonday desert sun but as luck or, perhaps, misfortune would have it, I had that day entered the tomb of Minhareth, a priest of the pharaoh Mentuhotep of the XI Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.
"The tomb, like all the others in the area, was devoid of anything of archaeological value, yet I felt compelled for some inexplicable reason to carefully examine Minhareth's last resting place. Why I had this compulsion to work in an inconsequential tomb I couldn't say but I kept at it, carefully examining every centimeter of the bare chamber. Eventually, and perhaps because of the settling over the years of the underlying rock formation, I saw, or perhaps sensed, a faint line in the dusty limestone floor. My interest then fully aroused, I cleaned the surrounding area and traced what appeared to be the outline of a square block set in the otherwise solid stone floor. By the way it was so artfully contrived, I surmised that the block concealed an entryway to a chamber hidden beneath the tomb in which I stood.
"Fortunately, I had with me my lantern, tools and ropes so that after some hours of strenuous effort, I was at last able to move the block of stone. Shining my lantern into the opening thus revealed, I saw a flight of narrow, cut stone steps leading downward into the darkness. It was by that time late afternoon and the sun had almost disappeared behind the cliffs yet I could not resist the urge to descend into the beckoning, dark void. It was entirely possible, I thought, that I could very well be the first human being in some four thousand years to set eyes upon whatever lay below.
"Holding the lantern before me, I saw that the chamber was empty and I assumed that it had been rifled by grave robbers millenia earlier. This turned out not to be the case, however, as the chamber, some three meters square and three meters in height, had not been entered since having been sealed long ago; the air was deathly fetid and in the lantern's light I saw that I had broken the original seals. I also saw and marveled at the number and extent of the brightly-colored hieroglyphs, unfaded over the centuries, which covered the small chamber's walls and ceiling.
"This hidden space appended to the tomb of a minor priest was a most unusual find for it was obvious that great effort had been expended in its construction and adornment. Such a profusion of masterly incised picture writing would normally be reserved for a personage of very high rank and not for a mere functionary of a local temple. Seeking an explanation, I deciphered the hieroglyphs but what I read was completely baffling.
"The writing told of a huge, malevolent creature called The Thrak'n invoked in error by Minhareth, the priest, during a magical rite gone awry. Minhareth had been duly judged and slain and it was he, in his tomb above the hidden chamber, who had been condemned for all eternity to guard against the release of the beast.
"I read that this abomination had come from another dimension or world (the inscriptions were ambivalent in this regard) causing havoc and destruction far and wide. The hieroglyphs told how the Thrak'n had raged and slaughtered until, after much prayer and tributes to Amun, the great god was persuaded to end the demon's depredations.
"The hieroglyphic record also detailed the confinement of the Thrak'n, transformed by Amun into a small obsidian statuette to be kept fettered forever. The wall writings repeated endless admonitions against freeing the creature from its place of captivity, beseeching all who might discover 'this unfortunate place' to flee at once lest in error they set free the horrible thing. I read, too, how the great god would destroy those foolish enough to attempt any such enterprise.
"Enthralled more than ever, I then took to examining every surface of the empty sub-chamber and was soon able to again discern what appeared to be a blocking stone in its western face; I removed the stone and uncovered a sixty-centimeter-square niche carved into the chamber wall. In the gleam of my lantern, I saw within the niche a grotesque figurine made of obsidian, the black volcanic glass which, given its lack of crystalline structure and its hardness, made the exquisite detail of the figurine all the more remarkable.
"The sculpted figure, identified by carved inscriptions as 'The Thrak'n', was that of a loathsome, frightful creature whose elongated head was ant-like, with powerful crushing mandibles. What would normally have been its face was instead a contorted mosaic of unearthly features frozen in a manic rage. As for the ghastly beast's large eyes, they were set forward on the head to better serve a creature that hunted its prey and though cast in volcanic glass, they yet flared in the lantern's light with an abyssal, intrinsic evil. There were limbs of a sort too, each ending in an array of sharp talons or claws designed to rip to shreds anything made of flesh and bone.
"I recoiled in revulsion and fear on first seeing the Thrak'n and it took all my nerve to eventually approach the small obsidian figurine. Standing upright in its niche, the hellish creature was nevertheless securely tied down by thin, golden wires intricately braided into slender cables. Each golden tether was tied around a part of the disgusting creature and then anchored to the surrounding rock, the anchors sealed by small gold tablets inscribed with hieroglyphs that I could not decipher. Amazed at my discovery and in spite of the hieroglyphic warnings, I reached for one of the golden seals to better examine it but at my touch, a rustling noise, like the sound of feet dragging through dead leaves, began to echo in the confined space of the chamber. While at the same time a foul odor drifted from the niche and assailed my nostrils. Then the lantern fell on its side as the stone beneath my feet shuddered; it seemed that the very earth had come alive and that the cliff above might come crashing down upon me.
"When I felt the tremor and heard the eerie sound I pulled my hand away and with my retreat everything again grew quiet; the shaking of the earth subsided and the vile odor, too, rapidly dissipated. Frightened, I righted the lantern and hurriedly covered the niche with its blocking stone to conceal the appalling apparition. Then I climbed out of the hidden chamber and carefully re-set the stone block over its entryway.
"At this point in my story, my dear Hansford, I would ask, 'What would you have done had you been in my place?' You see, my first thoughts were about the fame and fortune that surely would be mine if I brought the strange figurine back to America; after all, there had never before been such a creature mentioned in Egyptological literature. But then I asked myself if I could ignore the hieroglyphic strictures against releasing the beast and after much thought I decided that prudence was the best course. So I left the creature undisturbed in order to reflect further on the matter.
"I am now a very old man, Hansford, and I haven't yet, after all these years, been able to come to grips with a decision of such consequence. In fact I don't think the issue will ever be resolved in my mind and I therefore bequeath to you, my young friend, the ultimate decision. Now, relieved of this onerous burden, I am able to leave to you the enclosed drawing that is a map of my excavations at the Luxor site. I have marked in red ink the place of which you are now aware, it is identified simply with the words, 'It lies here.'
"However, and in light of what I have just recounted, I would earnestly suggest that from this moment on you consider your future most carefully.
"Do what you will with what I have revealed to you in this letter, knowing that I wish you well in your aspirations and endeavors; I trust, too, that you will decide wisely. (signed) Newton Ambrose."
The letter's bizarre nature notwithstanding, the Faculty believes that Professor Ambrose's narrative is true because of his personal and professional reputation. We find disturbing, however, the marginal notations in Hansford's unique hand which read:
"Apparently the old fellow has succumbed to a schoolboy's irrational fear of ancient curses; fortunately for me, though, I am not so timid. I will leave for Luxor in a few weeks' time to recover the Thrak'n; the creature will more than likely ensure my proper place in this world."
G.L. Berkin retired from a long career with the Federal Government and now enjoys writing short fiction. His stories have appeared in Aphelion, Show & Tell, InnerVisions, Dark Moon Rising, and Thresholds Quarterly.
E-mail: gerlber@aol.com
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