The sands have mostly covered the broken sculpture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only half of its massive face is now visible above the blowing sand. The head is tilted horizontally, allowing just one carefully stenciled eye to surface. It peers level with the ground, gazing at the vast, rolling dunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harry, my translator, suddenly bursts out laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKarma sure nailed this guy! I mean, look at the inscription beneath his big toes. It\u2019s pretty bold to call yourself the \u2018King of Kings\u2019 when you don\u2019t have a head.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho was he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, there are some hieroglyphs at the foot of the pedestal which look like Rameses II\u2019s royal name. I\u2019ll have to confirm it in the lab, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s not all, doc. In his little, narcissistic message, he encourages the reader to \u2018look on his mighty works\u2019. There\u2019s more to dig out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I glanced at the field of dunes, half expecting they\u2019d stir in the wake of the exposed secret. But they remained still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna be famous, doc. Every university with a mic and money is going to want you talking about our discovery. And, with an entire uncovered city out there, I\u2019ll bet there is enough cultural material for me to write a lengthy tome on Egyptian life. Maybe busting my tailbone on that camel ride was actually worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My eyes burned from the cutting sand, and I glanced down at Rameses, whose eye remained permanently open, forced to feel\u2014forced to watch the slow submersion. I felt moisture on my lid for a split second before it evaporated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh yes, the poor sod. But doc, you know this guy was probably the worst ruler in Egyptian history. He deserves this mockery of a monument.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t Karma that got him, Harry\u2014just time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sands have mostly covered the broken sculpture. Only half of its massive face is now visible above the blowing sand. The head is tilted horizontally, allowing just one carefully stenciled eye to surface. It peers level with the ground, gazing at the vast, rolling dunes. Harry, my translator, suddenly bursts out laughing. \u201cKarma sure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction"],"yoast_head":"\n