|
CLEOPATRA
Vs FRANKENSTEIN - SCENE
2
Please use our
Ancient Egyptian A-Z
to
navigate the antiquities on this site or revisit HOME
SCENE
- JOHN DISCOVERS THE TOMB OF CLEOPATRA (FLASHBACK) READS LETTER
John Storm is an amateur archaeologist who has a lifelong interest
in human development, and Cleopatra, the last pharaoh queen of ancient Egypt. He had read every book, article, and document about her life, death, and legacy. He had visited every site, museum, and monument related to her. He had searched for her tomb for years, but he had never found it. Nobody had. It was one of the great modern mysteries.
Most archaeologist had concluded that Cleopatra had deliberately set out
to fool them. Archaeologist being grave robbers by another name.
John believed that her tomb was hidden somewhere in or close to the sunken city of
Alexandria, where she had ruled and died. He had studied the history and geography of the city, which had been partially submerged by earthquakes and
tsunamis over the centuries. He had mapped out the possible
locations of her tomb based on clues and evidence.
He had been commissioned by Blue Shield who working to protect the ancient underwater remains, with an anonymous grant from a wealthy sponsor,
was asked to conduct an underwater expedition
to survey and explore the sunken city. No expense spared. John is an experienced
sub aqua diver, and is the Captain of the Elizabeth
Swann, an amazing
ship that he inherited from his Uncle Douglas, who had vanished in mysterious circumstances. John had a crew that consisted of
Hal,
an AI computer onboard the Swann, Dan
Hawk, a computer genius, and Katie, a tabby cat descendent of the
revered ancient Egyptian Mau temple cats.
John and his crew arrived in modern Alexandria, north Africa, to get their bearings and stock with food for the expedition to the sunken city. Fully provisioned again, he was determined to find the
lost tomb of Cleopatra. Dan with him all the way, as he too had a
fascination with Ancient Egypt and the
Pyramids.
They conducted a detailed survey of the area, which took a few days to complete, during which they attracted a shadow of boats various, some curious fishermen, some customs launches, and the occasional helicopter. Many archaeologists, some marine, were searching for Cleopatra's last resting
place more or less continuously, and were dumbfounded.
Despite being spied on, John continued with his calculations, and completed the occasional dive
in deliberately random fashion, to confirm the findings of Hal and Captain Nemo, working together to piece together this historical puzzle.
The seemingly haphazard pattern of search, kept the media and other
archaeologists confused. It was like a game of Battleships.
Then, more or less certain, and following a gut feeling hunch, John motored
the Swann out to sea at dusk, returning many hours later in
stealth
mode, lights off, using only infra-red vision. To make the Elizabeth Swann invisible to
radar, and the casual onlooker. Doubtless, spotted by satellite or heard
by hydrophones set to detect hostile submarines.
He entered the depths of the Mediterranean
Sea, on a pitch black night dive, guided by Hal, Dan and a digital compass. When he saw the ruins of part of the city emerge from the
darkness, his hopes were raised. He saw columns, statues, part of what looked like a temple or palace, and small sphinx statues, with
Isis carved on the side of one monolith. He saw the remains of a civilization that had once been glorious and powerful.
John remembered when he first began this quest, many years before, he had directed his searches, using a small open boat, to his first target: the
Lighthouse of
Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. He believed that Cleopatra’s tomb was near the base of the lighthouse, where she had allegedly committed suicide by letting an asp bite her.
He reached the lighthouse and dived its surroundings. He saw a large opening in the wall that led to a tunnel. He decided to investigate it.
He put on his diving suit, flipping backwards into the water. He took a flashlight, a camera, and a metal detector. He entered the tunnel and followed it for several meters.
He reached a chamber that was filled with debris and sediment, but was bitterly disappointed to find no trace of Mark Anthony or Queen
Cleopatra. Though, this could have been their mausolem, it appeared to be a feint. A ruse, to throw the many grave robbers of the day off the scent.
And he was one of them. He should have known better, he had no real
hunch about this location. More, ticking off a list of possibilities.
Fast forward to today. A different location, the most advanced survey equipment and an
AI system to help colate the data. And, a hunch, the sent a tingling down his spine. Just a feeling, that he was onto something. The feeling that drives office researchers and field archaeologists on, even when they are on the wrong track.
Wary of that, John cleared some rubble from an insignificant looking mound. And there he saw a lintel with hieroglyphs on it. He recognized them as symbols of royalty and divinity. He felt a surge of excitement.
The ocean conservationist dug away with increased fervour, and uncovered a stone door. He pushed the door hard, but it would not budge. More excavations, and finally John opened it. He entered another chamber that was
eerie dark and silent. He turned on his flashlight and saw something that made his heart stop.
It was a sarcophagus inlaid with gold and decorated with
jewels. It had a lid that bore the image of a woman with a crown and a snake. It was Cleopatra.
He approached the sarcophagus and touched it. It was cold and solid. He wondered what was inside it.
Most carefully, he wrested the lid a little and looked inside.
He saw a mummy wrapped in linen and adorned with amulets. The face had a gold mask covering, painted, with blue
relief's. The corpse was well preserved by ancient embalming techniques. John slowly lifted the mask to reveal the face of the mummy. It had eyes that were closed and lips that were curved in a smile.
It was Cleopatra
VII.
He gasped, lowered the mask and replaced the lid. He backed away from the sarcophagus and stumbled on something.
He looked down and saw a skeleton lying on the floor. It had a hole in its chest and a dagger in
the bones of its hand. It was Mark Antony, Cleopatra’s lover and ally.
But why were his remains so unceremoniously unpreserved?
He realized that he had found not only the tomb of
Cleopatra, but also the
final resting place of Mark Antony.
He had found the tomb of history’s most famous couple, in a telling state.
He felt a mix of emotions: awe, joy, shock, sadness.
He reached for his underwater camera and took pictures of everything he saw.
A photographic survey in stills and video.
He then took out his metal detector and scanned the chamber for any other objects or clues.
He heard a beep from his metal detector.
He followed it to a corner of the chamber where he saw a small box made of wood and metal. It had a
simple lock on it.
He gently forced the lock and opened the box. A cloud of sediment obscured his
vision for a moment.
He saw a scroll made of parchment inside it. Incredibly, it was in one
piece, presumably starved of oxygen.
He took out the scroll and very gently unrolled it. It did not
disintegrate, or he would have stopped immediately.
He saw writing on it in Greek, Latin, and Egyptian languages. John could
understand Latin.
It was a letter from Cleopatra to Mark
Antony.
Cleopatra
was a curvaceous, charming young woman with an extremely high IQ. She looked exactly like Cleopatra in her
prime, and dangerously seductive. She had inherited her personality and talents as well. She was curious, adventurous, ambitious, and
fatally attractive.
She wanted to see the world for
herself. She wanted to visit Egypt and see its pyramids, temples, and
tombs. She wanted to meet other people and learn from them. She wanted
to experience life and love, and find out about herself.
3RD
DRAFT - SAMPLE: THE PERFECT PLOT (SHORT STORY)
SCENE
1. Cleopatra's
tomb lay lost for centuries. Then one day a shift in the tectonic
plates triggered a tremor off the coast of Alexandria,
causing alarm in Paris. (Flashback: The destruction of
Thonis & Alexandria by a tsunami,
sinking the great civilization
and port in 365 AD.)
SCENE
2. As an agent of Blue
Shield, John
Storm, surveys Egypt's coast off
Alexandria, finds Cleopatra's tomb, verified using the Ark and Hal,
keeping location a secret, pending salvage and Blue Shield site
protections.
SCENE
3. John reads a letter from Cleopatra to Mark Antony from Cleopatra’s
mausoleum, 30 BC, the combined suicide of
Marcus Antonius and
Cleopatra, a death wish love pact. SCENE
4. William Bates auctions his CyberCore Genetica nano-super computer.
Secretly purchased by the wealthy Professor Krafenstein, via an anonymous sealed bid. SCENE
5. A team of
European scientists, including Franco
Francisco, are gathered together
and funded by the wealthy Baron as cloning technology champions,
regardless of potential illegality or ethical consideration. Though, Replication
and gene manipulations treatments are held to be legal by the cohort. SCENE
6. As part of their
human enhancement regime, ingredients of the
CRISPR
virus, a bacterial DNA Cas9 enzyme
delivery system, that allows precisely targeted DNA enhancement in adult
subjects, is developed as cousin technology. The team realise that this
could form the basis of a cure for
cancer. SCENE
7. Charley Temple
alerts John Storm
to the consequences of the joining of dots of the technology that
Professor Krafenstein and his partners are working on. She is being fed
information from, and nurturing contacts at the ETH university in
Zurich. With Sam Hollis being in contact with Colonial athletes in
attendance. Some of which have given blood samples, in connection with
the Baron's research. SCENE
8. John is courted
by Jack Mason, purporting to represent the USA, asking for his help in
their investigations into cyber crime, and technology that might one day
pose a threat to international stability. SCENE
9. Storm is asked
by Professor Krafenstein to
relinquish a small Cleopatra tissue sample. The carrot is that their
cohort will share their DNA archive, to add to John's collection. SCENE
10. John relents,
persuaded by Blue Shield. The knowledge transfer (swapsie) proves to be irresistible
to John. SCENE
11. Having taken
delivery of a sample of Cleopatra's DNA, Professor Krafenstein perfects
his replication technique, after one or two costly mistakes.
SCENE
12. The scientists
develop a prototype biological implant, an interface for the human
brain, which they call BioCore™.
This flexible microchip communicates wirelessly with the CyberCore
Genetica, and from there to the internet. They are streets ahead of a
system developed by Elon
Musk, some years earlier.
SCENE
13. The Birth.
Replication
work proceeds, with Cleopatra grown and her brain programmed
(conditioned) with her
past, to include simulation of her synapse firing sequence, based on the
fact she spoke nine languages, and was a mathematician and an
accomplished political and military strategist. Other elements are
included to soften the culture shock, as the reincarnated queen
re-enters life in the 21st century, the prophesy comes true.
SCENE
14. John requests a
visit to see the progress for himself, but is given the brush off, and
shown a facility that does not seem to have all the equipment necessary
to have recreated Cleopatra. Then he is denied access to the subject
with various excuses, that do not gel. His suspicions are aroused, and
he investigates further with help from Dan (hacking) and Hal.
SCENE
15. Charley persists
with her own investigations, agreeing to meet with John, where she
thinks the real work is going on convenient to the ancient port of
Genoa, Italy. She is captured, and John
has to effect a rescue, with some background help from the CIA's Jack
Mason. During the struggle to overpower Charley's captors, John is
injected with an experimental CRISPR virus. Dan manages to make off with
the CyberCore Genetica and Biocore, equipment, plus a download of all
the experimental files. Jack Mason turns a blind eye, at the time,
biding his time.
SCENE
16. From the
recovered data, Dan and Hal work out that Cleopatra is being repatriated
in a secure facility in Rome, where the former queen had visited with Julius
Caesar in 46BC. John raids their sanctuary just
outside the city, rescuing/freeing Cleopatra in the process, with Interpol questioning
all the wrong people, on suspicion of kidnap. Cleopatra expresses a wish
to be with John Storm, who she instinctively trusts implicitly, leaving
Interpol and Blue Shield, little choice in the matter. And Jack Mason
with a problem. He was hoping to acquire Cleopatra in all the confusion.
But Cleopatra reveals that Dr Krafenstein had given her, her freedom.
She was free to leave when she felt ready.
SCENE
17. Jack Mason
continues to plot to part John Storm from
the CRISPR technology, and kidnap Cleopatra on grounds of homeland
security, looking to take control
of the replication technology. As the US representative, he talks John
and Cleopatra into the replicant queen having a check up at Uncle Sam's
expense at a private
hospital in Egypt, to coincide with the unveiling of the Cleopatra VII
mummy exhibits in Cairo and Giza. Though a disingenuous ruse, Cleopatra agrees,
just to
please John. She is curious to see what her own mummy looks like as an
exhibition of her past glory.
SCENE
18. Storm is double crossed by Jack Mason, who spirits Cleopatra
overseas to the secure US
facility at Guantánamo Bay. Way off the beaten track, and extremely
well guarded. Such military location eliminating any chance of a rescue.
SCENE
19. Despite the
obstacles, John rescues
Cleopatra from Guantánamo Bay in a daring night raid.
SCENE
20 CIA, covertly try
to terminate the Swann and crew, including Cleopatra, who is now a
witness to their evils.
SCENE
21. John does a deal
with US President Lincoln Truman, Jack Mason is chastised.
The
cure for cancer is the Holy
Grail of medical achievement, a Crusade
that is within our grasp.
M
O V I E P L O T O U T L I N E
|