Korridorium

♫ Moravec’s Paradox ♫

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I enter the corridor, illuminating the low vaulted ceilings with my torch. As a talisman, I carry the ancient “Scroll of the Hidden Chamber” with me. The drawings on the walls are faded, but otherwise completely preserved. I am looking for the pharaoh’s cartouche. It must be here somewhere. I decipher, “Behold my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Ozymandias? But the tomb of Ramses the Great was already discovered here in the Valley of the Kings a long time ago! Perhaps one of his sons is buried here.

My musings are interrupted: A muffled sound causes me and my Egyptian helpers to whirl around. The ground beneath us trembles. The gigantic stone slab, whose purpose we had puzzled over during the excavation, has slid down behind us. The entrance is sealed. Even with dynamite, we wouldn’t be able to get out now.

My helpers, after a brief, desperate panic, collapse to the ground, whimpering. I, however, walk on. An unopened tomb that has eluded grave robbers for millennia – and I am the discoverer! As long as there is air to breathe, I want to discover if the burial treasures are truly untouched. Perhaps I will behold the hoped-for riches with my own eyes before my torch is extinguished forever.

Hieroglyphic Cartouche:

Ozymandias: