hands together, and beat their arms against their sides to keep warm as they took refreshments of bread and beer, or bought final necessities at the stalls doing excellent trade all along the open square that marked the start of the Way of Horus. Everyone was taking advantage of these cold early hours, before the heat of the day made progress too uncomfortable. It was a strange sight to see so many carriages and wagons setting off in the moonlight, alongside a few lone riders-commercial, or perhaps military, messengers-on fresh horses setting off swiftly on their private business north.
Our team set off-Nakht, Simut and myself on horseback. Like any other affluent merchant, Ambassador Hattusa travelled in a shaded palanquin. Chariots carried our necessities, guarded by Simut’s men, who jogged easily alongside as if they undertook such exertions every day, their shields over their shoulders, their weapons in their hands, like the other teams of commercial bodyguards. Quickly, the chaos and activity of Avaris disappeared behind us, and all around the green cultivation lay in shadows and vast silence. The stars soon began to fade and the sky was just beginning to change from black to blue when, suddenly, the cultivation all around us ended, and the desert began. As dawn broke, and Ra rose above the horizon, returning light and life to the world, I saw rolling into the distance the famous Way of Horus, its red earth trodden down into a hard, wide, reliable surface by the feet of the countless men and soldiers who had marched it since the long-ago days of the King Tuthmosis I. This was the moment of no return; from here onwards, we crossed the border of the Two Lands into the lands of the Levant. Despite the anxieties of the journey, we were all suddenly alert. Nakht waved his hand in the air, and with the assent of Ambassador Hattusa, we began the next stage of our journey on into the heart of the unknown.
‘What is in your satchel?’ I asked Nakht, after we had ridden for some time. The sun had risen quickly on our right, and the cold of the night had vanished immediately from the air. It was already hot.
‘Important letters and documents,’ he replied. ‘If anything goes wrong, I will destroy them before they can be seized.’
‘Can I see one?’ I asked.
He showed me a small clay tablet, covered with tiny, incomprehensible angled marks.
‘What sort of documents are they?’
‘Diplomatic letters, and so on. But most importantly, the private letter from the Queen herself, addressed to Suppiluliuma, the King of the Hittites, remains securely locked in my trunk.’
He paused, and added confidentially, ‘I composed it myself, on her behalf…’
‘You write letters for the Queen of Egypt?’
He nodded, acknowledging my admiration.
‘In these strange marks?’ I asked.
‘Those strange marks, as you call them, are Akkadian. It has been the lingua franca of the world for as long as anyone can recall. The Babylonians and the Assyrians both spoke it, variously. But now it is mostly a written language, used by high-level officials in international exchanges regarding politics and diplomacy between the Great Empires.’
‘Why isn’t Egyptian used? Isn’t it the greatest of the languages?’ I said.
I knew Nakht would enjoy the chance to expostulate on this subject.
‘Egyptian is the most complex and subtle of all modern languages, but despite its obvious superiority, it would not be politic to impose it upon everyone, or indeed to have it become widely known outside the Two Lands. Akkadian is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly it means all diplomatic exchange has to be conducted in a mutually foreign tongue. The advantages of this are obvious-neutrality of expression, minimal ambivalence, equality of articulation, and an absence of confusing metaphor or hidden meaning. And the formality is recognized and understood everywhere. Kings, no matter how much they despise each other, are always “brothers”. The royal household is the “house”. Empires are big “families”, with the rivalries, jealousies and warm concord common to all ordinary families. Negotiations, treaties, marriage arrangements, exchange of gifts and services, are all managed in this apparently simple metaphor of familial relationship. And, of course, it is a guarantee of status: those lands and so-called kings who cannot communicate in Akkadian simply forfeit the right to join in the company of those who can. They are, literally, barbarians.’
I thought about that.
‘So I suppose it functions like a code, for you must be highly educated to be able to decipher it,’ I suggested. ‘And without this old language, which no one speaks any more, there might be no stability, and no order in our international affairs?’
Nakht smiled.
‘Exactly so. Although I sometimes wonder whether language alone is powerful enough to vanquish Seth and his forces of disruption. But that is the dilemma of the world today. The enlightenment against the dark forces of chaos…’
‘Is it so clear?’ I asked. ‘Can human affairs be divided so simply? Is there not a realm between those two absolutes, where in truth we all live?’
‘Our times are a struggle between the light of Osiris and the darkness of Seth,’ he replied, quietly and with absolute conviction. ‘How are you feeling these days?’ he added, suddenly solicitous.
‘I feel grief. But the rage for revenge has gone,’ I lied.
‘It is just as well. Revenge only destroys the revenger. That is its tragedy,’ he said.
We lapsed into silence. The only sounds were the breeze rustling the scrub and the gritty sand, the clanking of our wagons, and the repetitive clip-clop of our horses. The way wound ahead into the shimmering heat of distance, dotted here and there with tiny figures of travellers, and their diminished shadows. I wondered again how quantities of opium could possibly be transported across these vast distances.
‘It is extraordinary to think of the complex system of trade routes which reach from Egypt to the furthest parts of this world,’ I said. ‘And how vital they are to our modern way of life, now.’
He glanced at me, wondering about this change of subject.
‘I know you very well, my friend, so rather than speculating hazily on the way of the world, why don’t you say what is really on your mind?’
‘Perhaps you will not like the subject,’ I replied.
‘If I dislike the subject, I will not feel the need to answer you,’ he said coolly.
‘Well, I suppose all these busy and profitable routes of trade and high-level communication must also permit the exchange of other, more clandestine or illegitimate businesses and goods,’ I said.
‘I fail to see where this is leading,’ he said quietly.
‘The value of anything depends upon demand, and if it is illegal or subject to taxation then even more so. So, take opium as an example. There is a proper and legal trade for the medical profession and the temples. But there is also now a new trade that makes fortunes, perpetuates violence and creates disorder in the cities-a black market, so to speak. What if someone has seen this as a huge business opportunity, and taken advantage of it?’
‘Perhaps they have,’ replied Nakht. ‘But I am not sure I understand your point…’
I drew a deep breath, to focus my thoughts.
‘Obviously, to set up a chain of supply over such huge distances requires a complex system of interdependent parts, that communicate with each other in a reliable but covert manner. Communication and secrecy are the most important and powerful aspects of that system. But it strikes me that that also applies equally to the army-or, for instance, to the palace.’
I let that hang in the air.
‘Now, be very careful,’ he said, giving nothing away. ‘Is this what you have been pondering all this time?’
I nodded.
‘I am thinking there must be networks of agents in all the key cities and ports… I am thinking the Way of Horus would be the most obvious route for transportation. I am wondering if your intelligence network might not have picked up on some aspects of this…’
Nakht stared at me for a strange little moment.
‘My friend, I must give you some advice. I hope you will heed it carefully, for it is given with great thought and weight of consideration. It would be wise for you to put away such thoughts. It would be wise never to speak of such things again.’ He said these words quietly but very clearly.
