o get it
translated elsewhere. This was impossible, so they came back and
offered to sell it to father for a very low price but with the
stipulation that he keep what he learned strictly to himself.

"He wanted to make the translation and was tempted because he already
had a clue to its nature. He believed the scroll verified a theory
long in existence on Terra relative to the extraterrestrial
origination of mankind."

"You mean he thought it proved the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon came
from other planets."

"No, not so far back as that. There is little doubt they originated on
Terra. Father is a specialist in Egyptology. And it was his belief
that a great deal of their early history was purposely distorted.
There is confusion in what little can be found concerning them and
father sincerely believed they came from another planet. He was sure
they brought with them a knowledge of science far greater than any
existing upon Terra."

"And the papyrus verified his belief?"

"Completely."

"What did it tell him?"

"That the forefathers of those who later became the Egyptians, left
their native planet after a disagreement with the ruling Pharaoh and
sought a new home. They cruised for several lifetimes, raising and
educating their children and dying off, until they found Terra, a
planet almost identical to their own. The papyrus gave the location of
their home planet--hieroglyphics which father translated into a table
of accurate equations."

"How could he know they were accurate?"

Doree's head came up sharply. "If you were really aware of my father's
ability in his field, it wouldn't occur to you to ask."

* * * * *

"I don't blame you for your faith but I still think it was a gigantic
hoax--for one reason."

"And that--?"

"If the ancestors of the Egyptians came to Terra, they had to have
great scientific and technical knowledge to get there. All right--then
what happened to the knowledge and the science? The Egyptians
certainly didn't take advantage of it."

"They used some of it. No one has been able to prove conclusively how
they built the pyramids."

"Slave labor."

"That is not a complete explanation."

"All right--forget the pyramids. What happened to the rest of their
science?"

"The answer lies in a basic trend of the Egyptians as a people. They
were completely preoccupied with death rather than life. To them,
their years of living was only a period in which to