Merit undid the knots in the thin rope that was keeping the chest shut. She gently lifted out the single thing inside it - a folded linen cloth. This she placed between herself and Mut-Bity. When she folded the top layer of the cloth back, the papyrus came into view. Its edges were torn, and small pieces had fallen off, but it had suffered surprisingly little damage during the journey.
"The knowledge of all ancient wisdom of Thoth..." she read the Egyptian writing slowly aloud, stammering somewhat, as she tried to find the words. "That is what is written in your language. But - have a look at the rest."
Mut-Bity bent over the papyrus.
"No, I do not understand that." She straightened up. "It looks like the scribblings of a child, not real writing."
"That is because it is written using what we call the alphabet. Each mark is for one sound. There are no pictures to define words, to make clear the meaning. And even that writing is in its simplified form - I think the reason it was done that way is because if the original text needed to be copied, mistakes would be less likely. The language it is written in won't even exist for... thousands of years. It is called English."
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