Nigkala Tales Pt. 04: How I went to the Past

"You want an exact account, or one more designed to raise the blood and cause the listeners to feel fear of Lukala's immense power and size over me?"

"The best tales raise the blood, and are told again and again. Keeping the truth is not so important, as long as the story entertains."

"I know just what you mean. When I have created the tablet, I will show it to you."

"Good. I remember the event as I was there and saw everything. It will be enlightening to see how you entertain as a storyteller. Not just the simple stories traded by comrades, but the masterful work of a professional."

"Thank you." With that, he left to attend other things.

Over the next several weeks, I wrote many tablets, earning great respect from those who knew. King Lugalkish even asked me to show some of his people who create tablets for him. It seems they were amazed at my literacy, since they usually considered me an oversexed brute. They also marveled at how few mistakes I made, and how crisp were my marks. My math skill also surprised them, as it was little known even within their class.

The king even called me for a week, and he insisted I wear the outfit I arrived in. I was curious as to why, but did so. I was led to a workroom with a high ceiling, and in the middle was an incomplete statue. The king introduced me to the master sculptor, Tibira. He posed me, and told me to hold still. I did, wondering what was going on. Then he called for the reflectors. Suddenly, I was well illuminated, and he began carving stone. That is when I realized he was making a statue of me. I saw it had already been roughed out. He worked tirelessly, taking and giving breaks infrequently and only for a few minutes at a time until the light failed. Then he called a halt to the active phase, and sent for food.

"You have done well. I am surprised you were able to stand so still for such a long time."

"Once I realized what was happening I decided the best way to assist, was to meditate as I do for heavy exercise. This took my thoughts away from my body, allowing me to be still. I am glad I was able to be your model."

"I wish I knew this sooner. It would have let me select a better pose for you. As it is, I must complete this pose as I have already spent a lot of time getting to this point. To start over would not only waste my time, but the king wants this statue quickly."

"The king commissioned this?"

"Yes, he wants to place the statue in the center of the city to show our hero and our power."

"Oh my."

"You have earned it. Artisans like me rarely get much work when war is near. Your clear superiority to Lukala sent a clear message to all: don't bring war here. We have had nearly two years of peace, so I have had work. Thank you."

At this point, I devoted my efforts to eating, as I thought about what he said. At the end of the week, I asked him about the progress, as I saw a lot of rough stone.

"Oh, do not worry. I worked hard to get one side well done, as I can get the other by looking at the completed side. I know it does not look complete on this side, but the important parts are done. Cleaning the excess and connecting the completed parts is simple, and polishing will take a lot of time, but that is what assistants are for. I think I may call for your time again, but only for a short time as I would only need you for checking my work."

About a month later, Inanna spoke to me. "My plans are made, and it is time to put them into motion. I see you have put your time to good use. Are you ready?"

"I have some stuff I want to collect here and at the temple, but it would only take a few minutes."

"Do not worry, in two days, you will be the center of a ceremony atop my temple at the lunar eclipse. Be ready."

"I shall."

I wore the dress Inanna had made for me, the holy symbol the king made for me, and a backpack Captain Urshul gave me. I wore jewelry as though I was going to a royal party. I had two outfits in the backpack, as well as the rest of the jewelry and jewels I owned. I also had almost twenty pounds of gold ingots, and another twenty pounds of silver ingots. At one hip was my sword, and at the other I had the leather purse I replaced my worn out purse with. It held some of my most valuable gems, like large emeralds. Perhaps most valuable, was my phone. I had almost fully charged my phone when the solar charger finally gave out. I just hoped my phone would hold out.

The ceremony began as the moon started to dim. The further in the penumbra the moon got, the more intense the energy about me was. When the moon touched the umbra, I suddenly saw Inanna appear in front of me. I was surprised at first that neither Meinanna nor Gemeinanna noticed her as they were on either side of me. Inanna approaches me, and kisses me. My body was instantly aroused, and my nipples made their way out from hiding. Meinanna said, "She must be here. We must give our all." With that, she reached out and started playing with a lower nipple. Gemeinanna copied her and played with one on the other side. Inanna reached between my legs, and suddenly I had an orgasm. As I screamed out my pleasure I looked up and saw the moon was fully eclipsed.

My consciousness faded, and when I woke, I seemed to be encased in fog. In the half light, I saw the city rapidly change, but only in major ways as the fog prevented me from seeing much detail. When I saw part of the roof disappear, I realized I had to get off it, as I remembered the shape the ziggurat was in when I first saw it. Walking was hard, and it felt like I was walking into massive headwinds. Yet the heavy pack actually helped me, by steadying me. Eventually, I entered the building, and went down to the lowest level. The entrance looked sealed, but when I went to touch it, my hand passed right through it as though it wasn't there. Passing through, the half-light vanished, but another, weaker light shone here. It was coming from my dress. It was enough to find my way to the secret room where I first saw the statue.

Arriving, the way was clear, and I saw the statue. Just as the master sculptor, Tibira, had promised. I found a spot where I could admire his work, and began to wait. Suddenly, the half-light came back. I sensed more than saw the people who came to examine this room. A few moments later, at least for me, the statue disappeared. I also felt a sudden surge of power, and the half-light became a flicker, and the fog became less. The flickers slowed dramatically, and suddenly stopped. I heard yelling. It took me a few moments to realize what language it was.

"You aren't allowed here!"

"Where did you come from?"

"Is that a real sword?"

And, "Who are you?" came at me in several languages.

Choosing the most common I understood, I replied, "I am the actress Helen Asher, perhaps you know me as Nigkala."

"Nigkala! Where have you been for the last few months? Everyone has been looking for you."

I started to walk over to the people when I suddenly fainted. It was only for a moment, but they quickly picked me up off the floor and lead me to a place where I could sit. When they gave me water, I learned I was parched and extremely hungry. They called for an ambulance, and someone gave me a sandwich to eat. I don't even remember what it was. Realizing that I carried a lot of wealth, I managed to stay awake, and I insisted a call be made to the embassy. I spoke briefly with someone there, and soon there was a guard and minor official in my hospital room. I had to use my whammy several times to ensure I retained my sword and backpack unexamined. No one even tried to open my purse. There was another guard outside the door, but from the local police. I was visibly wearing a very expensive bit of jewelry on my front. The people who called the police insisted it was not only authentic, but something they had been hoping to find for months. However, its pristine condition indicated it could not be several thousand years old, but must be a copy. A very expensive copy.

The doctors did not want to release me to the embassy. I talked them into admitting that all I needed was rest, food, and watching over for a few days. So I was taken to the embassy. Going through the metal detectors, I buzzed loudly. Guards stepped up. "Please hand over your sword and any other metal you are carrying."

"Keep this sword safe, it is very valuable to me, and may be an important historical weapon. As to metal, do you see all the jewelry I am wearing? It is valuable as you can guess, but it is not all I am carrying. These are also of importance to archaeologists. I will not be taking them off or giving them to you."

"You must."

"No." I then used the whammy on him, and the other guards I saw. "I promise you, I have no intention of being a threat to you, or anyone here. But until I establish clear ownership to what I carry, it is not leaving my possession."

"Right. Why should we believe you?"

I saw a number of locals about, so I said in a clear and carrying voice, in the old language, "I am a priestess of Inanna, and give my word I intend no harm to you." I also placed my hand on the center of the holy symbol. I was surprised at feeling a brief acknowledgement from her, and my nipples suddenly burst forth. Suddenly, a fair number of the locals started talking.

"She speaks the old language."

"That is Inanna's symbol."

"Look at her nipples -- she must be a priestess."

With the clear support of the locals, the guards relented, but insisted I be escorted until I complied. I did pull out my passport and let them examine it, and verify my identity. My first priority was contacting my family, then my agent. When my Filipe arrived a few days later, I asked him, "Please get me a phone charger and a cheap laptop, as I need to get a lot of stuff off my phone. Be sure it has good security, as I have a bunch of information I want to sell about my recent experience. I also need a new phone, as I think mine is on its last legs. My solar charger died, so I expect the phone will go soon." At this, he raised his eyebrows as he had bought them for me just for this trip. He knew how long they should last.

"How full?"

"Less than three percent free."

"You have been busy." I just nodded. He knew how quickly I was likely to fill my phone.

I pointed to my holy symbol and said, "Can you also get some expert appraisers and archaeologists? I need to establish this was not stolen, and also that it is a historic artifact. I also have some other trinkets for them to look at." He looked me in the eye, and I subtly nodded. Again, he raised his eyebrows. Over the next two weeks, I had many visitors. I used my whammy on the appraisers to assure myself they were trustworthy.

Slowly, several things became apparent. I had carried a king's ransom and more in raw metal and jewels. The jewels were of local origin, but of a size not found in millennia. They were real, and not anything ever recorded. Given how closely the trade was monitored, they knew my stones were never part of the system. I had to use my whammy a bit more to get the officials to sign off on my ownership of the jewelry. Appraisers also measured my ingots, and pronounced them either an unknown find from several millennia ago, or very accurate fakes.

After the appraisers, came the historians. They, too, marveled at the perfection of period craft. Even the flaws were correct for the time. But they wondered at my sword. It was only several centuries old, but it was documented as having gone missing from a museum England. It was one of only a few made by a master, and had been intended to be a weapon for a huge man in a noble's army. The soldier died before it could be delivered, so had never been used. Yet when they looked at it, it showed signs of heavy use. They also indicated it could only be used effectively by a very large man.

"Oh? Would you like to see me wield it? I'm sure there is space in the courtyard where I can show you." A few minutes later, they watched me go through my training paces. One of them filmed me with his phone. "Hey, you with the phone, can you contact the museum? I want to talk to them." He nodded. Apparently, he also put the video online. The comments quickly confirmed I knew what I was doing, and that I was doing it well. It took several weeks, but I convinced the museum to sell the weapon to me. The offer to display some unknown historical artifacts no doubt helped.

The real surprise was when I was back in a hotel having many interviews about my mysterious disappearance, and return. I gave them the short version of how I went to stay with locals, and learned a lot about the character I played in the movies. While rumors that I was a priestess went around, I just said I was given some holy symbols of Inanna, Queen of the Sumerian Pantheon. I also learned about her priesthood, and I intend to use that in future films. I never confirmed nor denied being a priestess. It was a private interview with a few of the local archaeologists that was the shocker. It seems they only recently learned my real name. A name mentioned in the recent finds of a library hidden in the temple.

"How can this be? Your name is on the tablet, your profession is described, and the statue in your likeness? This is not possible."

I used the whammy on them and asked, "Is your desire to know truly for science?" They all responded positively. "Actually, it is possible. Come with me." I led them to my room, and had them sit at a table. I got out my laptop, and proceeded to show them some pictures I had taken of the city of Kish. "Queen Inanna took me from the temple back in time. I was there for two years, and I was able to capture these pictures."

When one came up of me writing a tablet, with others in the background, one of them said, "Stop. Go back. Yes there. Can you zoom in on the unfinished tablet?" As I did, he pulled out his own tablet and was quickly going through it. "Aha! Here it is." He then fiddled a bit then put his screen next to mine. It was clear these were the same tablets, but my picture showed it three quarters done, indicating it was still being made.

"Impossible. There are other tablets in the picture. Zoom in on another." I did, and soon they had a corresponding picture of the same tablet. We confirmed three more before they believed.

"Gentlemen, I do not want it known that I traveled in time. I don't want to be poked and prodded to death. However, I would be happy to let you access most of the information I collected from the past. I don't want to let any image of me in the past get out to the public. At least until I have a solid way to explain it without time travel."

"You would do that?"

"I think I am responsible for the library you found. I 'penned' many tablets, with the intent of telling the future about how people of the past lived. I knew you would appreciate it."

"Oh, thank you!" Everyone nodded.

"I can also teach you the language as I learned it and used it then. Your current understanding is a bit off. I also have some films of locals talking."

We exchanged contact info, and I sent them some pristine images of completed tablets along with a translation.

After they left, I had a bath. In the middle of the night, my new phone rang. It was my agent. "Helen, we have a sweet deal, and all that publicity you managed will make it even better, if we can pull it off."

"What are you talking about?"

"The new movie I just signed you for."

"I don't recall any movies being discussed."

"Oh yeah, you were 'gone' when the news hit. One of the tablets they found while you were gone had a great story of Nigkala. It seems Kish was invaded, and being pressured to surrender when suddenly Nigkala appeared even though she died two centuries earlier. She defended the city in single combat against a mountain of a man. Could be hard to find one given your size, but hey, let special effects earn their keep. Anyway, she defeats him, takes him down savagely, then kills the king of the invaders, and the city is saved. They even made a statue of her. If the studio can pull this off, we can make a shit-load of money off all this press."

"Okay, okay. I'm in. Where do I need to go, and how soon do I need to be there." We continued talking for another few minutes, and I then left word for Filipe that a movie called. I then packed and went to the lobby to await the lift to the airport. I got in the car.

Just as my eyes closed I heard, "I have plans for you." I opened my eyes wide, as I recognized Inanna's voice.

But that is another story...