Three Novels of Ancient Egypt

Khufu grabbed his head and raved in confusion, “My God… what is this madness that runs through my mind! What are these blows that keep falling on Pharaoh's head? How can it bear the crown of the Egyptians after this moment, — when it is weighed down just by the — white hairs that time has left on it? O Queen, Pharaoh is suffering a new phase of life, and all of your own suffering — will be of no avail. So call for my sons and daughters, and all of my friends. Summon Hemiunu, Mirabu, Arbu, and Djedef- go on, then!”

The wretched queen left the king's chamber, and sent out a request for the princes, the princesses, and their father's companions. On her own, she also asked for Kara, the king's private physician.

Each of them answered the call, coming promptly and in speechless shock, as though they were heading for a dreadful wake. They entered Pharaoh's room. He did not tarry on his bed but walked between the two lines of them, that of his immediate family, and the second of his other relatives and friends. The king was still vilely upset, his gaze wandering, when he caught sight of Kara, interrogating him gruffly. “Why did you come here, Doctor, without my asking for you?” he demanded. “You have been with me for all of forty years, and I have never once needed you in all that time. Should not one who can dispense with his doctor in his lifetime, be able to do the same when he dies?”

Mention of death frightened them, for its effect on Pharaoh's nerves and his state of uproar. As for the physician Kara, he smiled delicately, saying, “My lord is in need of a draught of…”

Khufu cut him off, shouting, “Take leave of your lord, and vanish from my sight!”

The sadness was plain on Kara's face as he said quietly, “My lord, perhaps — at times — the physician must disobey an order from his sire.”

The king's rage grew greater as he shifted his straying eyes through the faces of those arrayed, dumbfounded, around him, then bellowed, “Don't you hear — what this man is saying? And you all stand there doing nothing about it? How extraordinary! Has treason infected every heart here? Is Pharaoh despised by all of his children, and his friends? O Vizier Hemiunu — tell me what's fitting to do — with one — who defies Pharaoh!”

Hemiunu came forth — with obvious weariness and whispered in the doctor's ear. The man bowed to his lord and retreated to the background before exiting the chamber.

Meanwhile, Hemiunu drew close to Khufu's bed. “Go easy, sire, for what did the man want to do but good? Would my lord like me to fetch him a cup of water?”

Without awaiting the king's permission, the vizier left the room and Kara gave him a golden goblet filled with water in which a sedative potion had been stirred. The minister carried it to Khufu, who took it from Hemiunu's hand and drank it to the last drop. Swiftly feeling its effects, the king's agitation subsided as his normal expression returned, his flushed face regaining its natural color. Yet his frailty and listlessness were clear to see, as well.

Sighing deeply, the king said, “Woe to the person who suffers from old age and feebleness. These two weaklings shake the strongest giants!”

He looked at the group gathered around his bed. “I was a ruler of overwhelming vigor!” he lamented. “I was famed for my right hand, which clove between life and death! I pronounced laws both sacred and profane, inspiring worship and obedience! In my life, never for a moment did I forget my plan of good works and reform. I did not want the benefit for my servants to end with my life on earth. Hence, I wrote a lengthy thesis on medicine and wisdom which will be useful for as long as diseases show no mercy to the human being, and so long as the human being shows no mercy to himself. My life was prolonged, as you all see, and the gods wanted to test me with a severe trial of whose wisdom I was ignorant. They chose my son as their instrument and unleashed the armies of evil in his heart. He rose up as my enemy by ambushing me in the dark in order to kill me. Yet, my survival was written, and the ill-fated son paid the price of his life — for the sake of the few hours left in my own.”

The group listening called out wishfully, “May God lengthen the king's life!”

Pharaoh raised his hand, and silence returned before he resumed his address. “The end is decreed,” he declared. “I've summoned you to hear my last speech. Are you all prepared?”

Hemiunu was awash — with tears. “My lord! Do not mention Death…. This sorrow — will be lifted — and you'll live long, for Egypt, and for us.”

Pharaoh smiled. “Grieve not, O friend Hemiunu,” he admonished. “If Death were an evil, then immortality would have kept Mina on the throne of Egypt. Therefore, Khufu does not sorrow over death, nor does he dread it. Death is a less critical injury than many others that deform the face of life. Yet I want to be at ease concerning my grand bequest.”