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Emit Repoons: Log Book
Written by Emit
(Goutami)
Destination: Earth
Time: 29 BC
Civilisation: Ancient Egypt
Race: Homo sapiens
Travellers: Emit Repoons and Llatiwonk
Day 1 of Inter-Planetary Mission #0021
29.8.6021
29 BC
Llatiwonk and I have today begun on our new assignment to
the planet Earth…
Terror and challenges await us. Our task is to discover as
much as we can about this Ancient Egyptian civilisation and
to report back to our boss, Ssob Etad Rekees.
As we approach our destination, we catch the first glimpse of
this marvellous planet***
On our descent, I noted the snakelike shape of the Nile, and
then it split at its head and poured out into the
Mediterranean Sea. There were houses surrounding the Nile,
followed by the desert***
Day 2 of Inter-Planetary Mission #0021
30.8.6021
29 BC
We have landed in the middle of the desert so at first the landscape
looked bare, but as I looked into the distance with my long-sightgoggles, I sighted a river – the Nile – and houses. It turned out that I
wasn’t very far into the desert – Llatiwonk had preferred to stay inside
the rocket as she had some spacelag. When I arrived at the river’s
bank, I saw no crops as my mission chip had informed me, so I went
over to a nearby farmer who was carving a statue of one of Egypt’s
many gods.
This is what he said***
The Nile river has three seasons: From June to September is the flooding season when the
water rises and flows over the banks.
After the flood ends the water leaves behind silt which
makes the land fertile. From October to February
farmers plow, plant seeds and water the crops.
March is the beginning of harvest season when crop
is gathered. This ends in May and the river floods
again in June. The cycle starts all over again.
October
June to
March
toSeptember
February
to May
Flooding
Planting
Harvest Season
Season
Day 3 of Inter-Planetary Mission #0021
1.9.6021
29 BC
A peculiar but exciting incident happened to me yesterday. Llatiwonk and I had
just finished collecting a sample of Nile water when two Royal Guards came
marching up to us. They ordered us to go with them to the Queen’s palace.
Llatiwonk warned me to be careful with Cleopatra … she had a bad temper.
As we walked into the room in which Cleopatra sat, I noticed the peasant farmer
we saw the day before.
Cleopatra sat on her throne. She told us that the farmer had seen us coming from
the sky. He had thought we were gods. He told Cleopatra and she had wished to
see us. When we couldn’t prove our powers, she got seriously annoyed***
You say you are gods but you
cannot prove it! You will be fed
to the Crocodiles!
But
Butwe…
we…
As for this peasant
farmer, he too will be
fed to the crocodiles.
Well, we obviously got out of that alive thanks to Llatiwonk’s super-strength and
flying ability…and in doing so, we saved the innocent farmer’s life, gained the trust
of the Queen and she believed that we were gods. She called Llatiwonk Nut, the Sky
Goddess and me, Shu, the Air god. I thought it best to go along with the act.
Cleopatra offered us rich Egyptian food, like our Space-Food except without any
preservatives or colour. We had honey from bees, cheese from the goats, grapes
and wine. There was also corn, bread, cucumbers and fruits***
Day 4 of Interplanetary Mission #0021
2.9.6021
29 BC
We have been staying in the comfort of Cleopatra’s palace since yesterday’s
incident.
The Queen today let me go back to my ship and bring back my Log book, so
I had to write in yesterday’s entry today.
Today Cleopatra talked to us about Egyptian social groups and hierarchy.
The thing that caught me most was that the slaves of Egypt had no rights
and were rarely able to buy their freedom or set free by their owners. Yet it
was the slaves that provided much of the manual labour, making them a
very important group***
A N C I E N T
SOCIAL
AND
EGYPTIAN
GROUPS
H I ERARCHY
Pharaoh
Regarded as God
Nobles
Very Wealthy
Merchants
Comfortable Lifestyles
Working Classes
Few were Educated
Peasants
Most were farmers
Craftworkers
Skilled Workers
Slaves
Captured in wars
Cleopatra also spoke about her role as Pharaoh and her responsibilities. She was
in charge of the annual rising of the Nile river, the failure and success of crops, the
peace between Egyptians and their gods and the keeping of Ma’at or Truth in
society. Besides that, He or She was the head of Politics, Religion and the
Military***
Day 5 of Interplanetary Mission #0021
3.9.6021
29 BC
Today Llatiwonk and I visited an Egyptian school. The students were only boys.
Llatiwonk was not at all happy about this, as she had been seeing the same
thing happening all around the Universe. It seemed very boring; long hours
were spent copying out slabs of hieroglyphic or hieratic writing. The cane was
often used to keep the boys attention in class. The older boys studied
Mathematics, History and Geography. The practical studies were Building,
Engineering and Surveying.
Girls stayed at home and learnt Cooking, Music and Dancing. Only Girls from
the most richest families were educated.
The following is a passage in hieroglyphics seen in a school boys book***
It took me a while to figure
out this story. Of course, I
didn’t have the
translations...
I have written them down
for you...
Egyptian Numbers
The year 6021 in Egyptian
Numbers...notice there was no
symbol for 0.
The year 29 BC.
Day 6 of Interplanetary Mission #0021
4.9.6021
29 BC
I Saw the farmer out in his fields today. The flood waters of the Nile had
disappeared, and he was ploughing the ground. I realised that the Flooding
season had ended. Farmers would start work now...
Llatiwonk was curious about the lifestyles of Farmers. So we went and talked
to our old friend***
There is lots of work to do in planting season. We plow the ground and plant seeds. We must use
the shadoof to bring water from the Nile onto our plants. We must tend to the crops, make sure the
birds do not eat the seeds and in Harvest season, harvest the crops.
This year I have chosen to grow barley and emmer
wheat. I must take care of my cattle too. I use oxen to
help plough the fields.
At Harvest time, we use sickles made of sharpened
flint. The whole family must help. Although some
years, Locusts may come and there might not be
anything to harvest.
This is my son trying to
scare the locusts with a
broom one year.
Day 7 of Interplanetary Mission #0021
5.9.6021
29 BC
This was our last day on Planet earth. I spent it bathing in the Nile and
enjoying the company of a great Queen like Cleopatra. Even today I had
something to learn. Oddly enough, in the 6 days I had actually stayed in Egypt,
I had never seen the Sphinx.
So this was my chance***
It DOES look
better in real life!
Day 8 of Interplanetary Mission #0021
6.9.6021
29 BC
Today we headed back home. I had a peaceful journey and I spent it writing a
few points on ancient Egypt***
CONCLUSION
Interesting and Inspiring Facts
The lives of the Egyptians are perfectly in tune with the seasons
of the Nile and completely dependant on it. If the river didn’t rise
enough, it would mean less harvest and not enough food that
year. If it rose too much, the houses would be carried away with
the water.
What we can learn from them
We should take care of the dead as the Egyptians did. After all ...
they are our loved ones. The task of the embalmer (the maker of
the mummies) was to preserve the bodies of the dead and give
spiritual protection to the body. They put good luck charms
(called amulets) to help the body reach heaven into the afterlife.
What we would not want on our Planet
We definitely don’t want Upper or Lower castes in our Civilisaton.
It discriminates and there is inequality of power, freedom and
resources. The lower class would always be stuck in poverty
because any harvest would be given to the pharaoh as tax.
THE END
UNTIL NEXT TIME!