ABACUS (20 page)

Over the years, Tamit's father had witnessed many remarkable things at the palace, but what took place that day was unique. Kate, a complete stranger, had been with the Pharaoh for more time than he spent with his most senior advisors. Even more extraordinary was the Pharaoh's gift of a personal bodyguard. Therefore, when Kate apologized for keeping him waiting so long, he said it was nothing at all.

“It is a great honor and pleasure for me to help you in any way I can,” he said with a bow. “Me, my household, and my humble home, are at your complete disposal.”

After that, Kate knew he wouldn't mind her spending a few minutes alone with her wab.

Kate and AP took a stroll around the palace gardens.

“I'm not sure what to call you now,” AP began with a grin. “I can't call you Kate anymore. What should it be—Your Priestess, Your Eminence?”

“Okay, cut that out! It wasn't my idea to become a high-powered priestess.”

“He'll come in handy,” said AP, pointing back to Kate's new bodyguard. Massive, muscular, and menacing, he was prowling behind at a respectful distance. “Snakebite will keep his distance now!”

“For sure,” said Kate. “So, what do you think of the Pharaoh's request? Could you make a device to work in the dark?”

“I'll have to think about.” AP shook his head. “Ideas don't appear like magic.”

Chapter 31: Black Magnet

While Kate was being treated like a celebrity, AP's life continued as before. Every morning he worked with Nekhti, and most afternoons he spent at the temple. Between the two, he was learning a great deal about Egyptian burial ceremonies and the priesthood. Sometimes he did odd jobs around the temple with his friend, and occasionally attended some of Nekhti's classes. He also spent time alone, experimenting in his workshop. Aware that Snakebite could attack at any time, he kept a watchful eye out for him, but never caught a glimpse.

The idea for a device that would work in the dark came to AP from something Nekhti had mentioned. “One of the oldest beliefs,” Nekhti had explained, “is that the afterlife is spent in a special place, far off to the west.” Mummies were buried with all kinds of things to help them in the afterlife, so what better than a magnetic compass that pointed west? The idea was simple enough, though it could prove difficult to make.

AP's first problem was finding a piece of iron to make into a magnet. [27] “There's lots of copper and gold around,” Shedou said on the way to work one morning, “but iron…” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “That's hard to find. There's some about. It comes from the east—the Hittites use it for making swords.”

When Kate met AP that afternoon, she was bursting to tell him her latest news. “The Pharaoh's invited me to his palace again!” she exclaimed. “This is so amazingly awesome. Just imagine.”

“Right now I'm imagining old Ramesses when you can't come up with another magical device,” he said gloomily.

“You can't think of anything to build?” she asked, feeling deflated.

“I've got an idea that might work, but you'll have a hard time finding the things I need.”

“Fire away.”

“First I need some iron. Preferably small pieces, like needles or nails.”

“You've got it!” she said. “What's next?”

“Finding iron will be difficult—but that's your problem not mine.” AP sounded uncharacteristically cranky.

“What's up?”

“Nothing.”

“I know my little brother well enough to tell when something's bothering him.”

“Why do you always have to go on about my size?” he snapped.

Suddenly it occurred to Kate what the problem might be. “Listen, I know that guy, the Pharaoh's advisor, was really snooty with you the other day. And the Pharaoh pretty well ignored you altogether.”

AP remained silent.

“I realize you're doing all the work and I'm having all the fun, but I didn't want it to be this way. You know that.”

AP nodded. “It's not your fault, but I did have a bad time at the palace. They made me feel like I didn't count.”

“I know,” she said, putting an arm around his shoulder. “They were horrible to you. And I didn't help by sucking up to the Pharaoh like I did.”

“That's okay,” he said, sounding more like his old self. “You obviously impressed him.” Then, smiling, he added, “Maybe he likes you!”

“No way!” Kate protested. “He's old enough to be my father. Besides, he's got such a big nose!”

They both laughed.

“So, getting back to your shopping list, what else do you need beside iron?”

“Just some thread and a hammer”

“What are you going to make?

“A compass.”

Kate looked puzzled, until he explained about the journey west. “How do you make a magnet?”

“There are two ways—hammering and using electricity. The second way's easy and I've done it many times. The only snag is you need a battery. So I've got to use the hammering method, which I've never tried before.”

“How does it work?”

“It's quite simple. You line up your piece of iron so it's pointing north and south, then you start hitting it with a hammer. That lines up all the mini-magnets inside the iron, so they point the same way.”

“How hard do you have to hammer?”

“No idea. I'm not sure how long to hammer for either. I'll have to experiment.”

After several days of searching, Kate managed to find some small pieces of iron. AP set to work.

Finding north and south was easy because the temple faced north. He also checked this for himself by watching the setting sun. Choosing a piece of iron the size of a small nail, he hammered away for several minutes. This flattened the rod slightly, but when he tried using it to pick up a small scrap of iron, nothing happened. AP was puzzled—he knew he had lined it up properly. Maybe he hadn't hammered it long enough. He carried on hammering until his arm ached, yet the rod still didn't act like a magnet. “What can I do?” he muttered in desperation.

Everyone noticed how quiet he was at supper that night. “Are you sick?” asked Nefret, sounding concerned.

“Just another headache,” he said, anxious to avoid attention. “It'll be gone by morning.”

“You should go to bed early,” she suggested. AP, glad of the opportunity to be alone, took her advice.

He lay awake, thinking. “If only I had a battery,” he said to himself, “it'd be so easy.” Then he realized he could make one.

“Tell me you're kidding,” said Kate next day when he told her the bad news.

“I wish I were.”

“This is serious. I saw the Pharaoh again yesterday—I've seen a lot of him lately. He keeps dropping hints about the device. Well, he began with hints, but yesterday he came right out with it. That Nee guy—”

“Nehy,” he corrected.

“Whatever. Well, he's going to be buried next week and Ramesses wants the device before then.”

“Talk about pressure!” AP groaned. “There is a chance I can do it using the electrical method, but first I have to make a battery.”

“You can't do that,” she challenged. “Can you?”

“Sure, anyone can. Haven't you seen that trick where you stick a paper clip and a coin into a lemon, and feel the tingle of electricity when you put your tongue across them?”

“Can't say I have,” said Kate.

“Okay, I've got a new shopping list. I need some more iron, but big bits this time.” He cupped a hand to show the size. “I also need some copper—that'll be easy. I need thin sheets, the thinner the better, about as long as my arm and as wide as my hand. I'll make…” he paused for a moment, “say three batteries, so I'll need three sheets of copper—three chunks of iron too.” [28]

“Hang on, I'll never remember all this.”

After repeating the list, he started on the other items.

“I need some copper wire.” He stretched out his hands. “About twice this length. I'm sure they use it for making necklaces and things. And I'll need some insulation—strips of linen dipped in oil should work.”

“Is that it?”

“Nearly. The only other things I need are three bucket-sized pots, and lots of vinegar, enough to fill them all.”

“I'll need a donkey cart for that lot.”

“How are you going to carry it all?”

“No problem. After my star performance for the Pharaoh, everyone's falling over themselves to be helpful.”

“I almost forgot. I'll need a sheet of papyrus, something nice and fancy. And some ink and paints, bright colors would be good, and a brush.”

“That's really it?”

“Absolutely. Unless you can find some chocolate bars.”

* * *

It was a race against time and AP wasn't sure he would win. Making each of the batteries was easy enough. First, he rolled one of the copper sheets into a scroll, attached a length of wire, and lowered it into a pot. Then he attached a second wire to a piece of iron and placed this in the pot beside the copper, making sure they didn't touch. Next came the acid.

He poured in just enough vinegar to cover both pieces of metal. To check the battery was working, he touched the ends of the two wires against his tongue. “Good,” he said feeling the tingle. He then made the other two batteries, but delayed adding the vinegar.

The piece of iron he chose to magnetize was the size of a toothpick. The difficult part was winding the wire around it to make a coil. This would have been easy using insulated wire, but he had to keep stopping to wrap the wire in oily linen. It took forever!

AP knew the strength of the magnet increased with the number of turns of the wire, so he wound the loops close together, building up several layers. Once that was finished, he filled the remaining batteries with vinegar, connected them together, and then connected them to the coil. The current was only a fraction of what he'd get from a regular battery, so he decided to leave the coil connected for a whole day.

“I can't do anymore,” he thought, looking over his handiwork. “Let's hope we've got a magne
t by morning.”

Kate was already waiting for him when they met the following day, which was unusual.

“There you are!” she said, soundings stressed. “Did it work?”

“I haven't had a chance to check yet.”

“But do you think it worked?”

“There's only one way to find out.”

AP hesitated before disconnecting the coil. Should he wait a bit longer? What difference would it make anyway? He disconnected the coil and pulled the rod free.

“Here goes,” he said, lowering the rod toward a small scrap of iron.

As soon as the rod made contact, he knew it wasn't going to work, and when he raised the rod the iron stayed where it was.

“Oh no!” gasped Kate. “What's happened?”

“It's a total failure.” He stood back, shaking his head. “The current must have been too small.”

“What are we going to do?” Kate was desperate. “And what will I tell the Pharaoh?”

Suddenly AP had an idea—a tiny glimmer of hope. Tying the rod to a piece of thread he adjusted the position of the knot so it hung level. Then he attached the other end of the thread to the edge of the table. After spinning this way and that for a while, the rod stopped.

“What are you doing?” asked Kate.

“Hang on a sec.” He gave the rod a small nudge. Swinging back and forth several times, it stopped—in the same position as before. He tried a second time with the same result. “This is looking better.”

Kate was bursting to know what was happening, but AP wasn't ready to explain.

“I just want to try the same experiment with the rod I hammered yesterday.”

Tying the hammered rod to a second length of thread, he suspended it from the other end of the table. When it stopped spinning, it was pointing in the same direction as the first rod.

“Yes!” he shouted jubilantly. “We've done it!”

“It's working?”

“Absolutely! See? They're both pointing in the same direction—north and south!”

“You said it was a failure.”

“I thought it was. When the rod didn't pick up the iron I figured it wasn't magnetized. I was wrong. It was magnetized—just too weakly to pick up anything.”

Kate looked blank.

“Just watch this,” he said, untying the hammered rod and holding it close to the other one. The suspended rod immediately started turning, bringing their two ends closer together.

“See that, Kate? These two ends attract each other because they're opposite poles. Now watch what happens when I use the other end of the hammered rod.” The free magnet now swung away, increasing the gap between the two ends.

“Is that ever neat! You're driving the other magnet away.”

“That's because the two ends have the same polarity—similar poles repel, opposite poles attract.”

“Here, let me try that.”

“Well this is a first,” he said, handing over the magnet. “Kate's doing a science experiment!”

“Okay,” she said a couple of minutes later. “How do we get from an iron rod that points north and south to a celestial device that points west?”

“That's where you and your artistic talents come in!” He handed her the papyrus and the painting supplies. “Cut out a disc, big enough to cover the rod. Then decorate it with a fancy arrow pointing to the setting sun.”

“Are we going to just hand it over to him on a piece of string?”

“Of course not. While you do the artwork, I'm going to make a fancy stand from these bits of wood I scrounged from Shedou's workshop.”

The topic of conversation changed from celestial devices to their nemesis—Snakebite.

“He's still around,” said AP ominously, “spying on us from a distance. And we know from our last trip that he never gives up.”

“But he won't get past my bodyguard!”

“Where's the big guy now?” asked AP. “I didn't see him when I arrived.”

“Oh he's out there, prowling around—never lets me out of his sight. It's kind of creepy, but I feel safe.”

Before leaving, AP dismantled the batteries, poured away the vinegar and washed out the pots—they might come in handy later.