Akhnaton held her hand tightly. “I’ll see for both of us.”
He led her down. The stairway wasn’t as long as she had imagined. At the foot of the steps, he tugged a dangling cord, and a light fixture blazed into dazzling life overhead.
Shielding her eyes, Krysty said, “Electric lights?”
“Solar batteries,” he replied, a tinge of pride coloring his tone. “My own application.”
When her eyes adjusted to the glare, Krysty took a few steps forward, then stopped and stared. “Gaia,” she breathed.
Resting on the floor, its base occupying almost every centimeter of it, loomed a miniature replica of the pyramid. The point still towered a dozen feet above the floor, and its base was at least thrice that.
The surface was incised with gold-painted hieroglyphic characters, and short inscriptions covered all four sides. It glittered and sparkled under the light, as if it were dusted with powdered diamonds.
“The capstone,” Akhnaton announced. “A pyramidion I crafted myself, with my own hands, following descriptions I found in the decoded Scrolls of Amenemhat.”
Krysty walked around the structure, noticing that its stone facade was shot through with gleaming specks of crystal. Reaching out to touch it, she felt a distinct tingling in her index finger. She murmured, “Piezoelectric properties.”
Akhnaton glanced at her in pleased, respectful surprise. “You are absolutely correct. The secret of so-called pyramid power. I have found three distinct energy forms generated by pyramids. The first is piezoelectric, the second electrostatic and I refer to the third as bioaural. You impress me with your knowledge.”
Krysty repressed a smile. She didn’t mention how her training in manipulating earth energies had touched on the energy forces locked within crystalline minerals, or even her experiences with the telepathy-inducing devices used by the Lakota of Ti-Ra’-Wa.
“Certain types of crystal produce electromotive force,” Akhnaton went on. “The King’s Chamber in the pyramid is lined with tons of microscopic quartz and potassium-tartrate crystal particles. When this capstone is in place, the King’s Chamber will be converted into a perpetual energy generator.”
“What kind of energy are you talking about?” Krysty asked.
“Sekhem, the basic life-force of the universe.” Akhnaton’s voice was somber, portentous. “Do you know what this means?”
“No,” Krysty replied, though a notion was beginning to occur to her.
“A normal human being inside the King’s Chamber would be affected by the generated induction field. His brain-wave frequency would be disrupted, and his latent psionic talents may be triggered. He would no doubt dismiss these effects as hallucinations.”
Akhnaton stepped closer to her, standing behind her. “You and I already possess enhanced and active psi-abilities. The sekhem would interact with our abilities, magnifying them, amplifying them.”
Krysty felt a cold chill creep up her spine. “You’re already one of the most powerful men I’ve ever met. Why do you want more?”
“There are many powerful men,” Akhnaton replied. “The world has no need of more of them. What it needs is a savior, a god…and a goddess.”
He touched her arms, turning her carefully to face him. “Can you conceive of the miracles we might work? Can you imagine what glories our offspring will be capable of? We will establish a new golden age for the earth, a place of beauty, free of fear, of want, of pain. Think of it—no more pain. We will be worshiped, and our memories will be worshiped for thousands of years. In that sense, our immortality is assured.”
His hands tightened on her arms, and he bent his crimson, yearning gaze on her face. “Help me. For the love of humanity, help me build this dynasty. Let us complete the dream we held in our earlier incarnations, all those millennia ago.”
His words echoed, like the brazen toll of a bell. She felt her soul being drawn out by his eyes, pulling into him, joining, intermingling, entwining with his own spirit. There was a sensation of all sanity and stability crumbling beneath her.
“Help me, Krysty. Love me as I love you. Help me.”
The roots of her prehensile hair prickled at her scalp. She could no longer see Akhnaton. It was as if the walls, the ceiling, the pyramidion had withdrawn from her. All she could see was a pair of eyes, flaming redly in the black gulfs of space.