"You certainly do get around," Andy said to Sylvia as they made their way through the streets of New Zerzura and looking over some of the known tourist sites at the Egyptian colony.
A lot of it related some of the ruins that were part of the colony and rumored to be part of the older Ancient Egyptian kingdoms that then decayed at later points in history, though some of it was also with some of the modern offices that related to the running of the colony. He was actually quite pleased to meet some of the locals that Sylvia had made friends with during earlier visits to the colony and was amazed to find that they were also Snake Animalians, though obviously not Rattlesnake Animalians, given that Rattlesnakes were all New World Pit Vipers.
"Well, a lot of it at that time was just a way to relax between semesters," Sylvia commented, "just as Tommy, here, is enjoying his summer vacation."
Andy looked over to his younger brother, who was presented lathered in sunscreen and carrying a small plastic shovel and a pail that went with it. Sylvia had caught some free time from the firm and would be able to take a few days off and had suggested New Zerzura as a spot to share with Andy and Tommy as well. When learning of a trip to Egypt, Tommy was soon excited at the idea of a great sandcastle and the plastic shovel and pail were soon packed as part of the means to placate him. The one thing that then depressed Tommy was the fact that New Zerzura was not completely surrounded by massed sand dunes. It was surprising to Tommy to find out that while Egypt was a largely desert country, there were fertile regions that weren't like the rest of the country, and the area around the Nile River, which the colony was on, was one of those areas.
"Yes," Andy nodded, "though a bit downhearted that it will take a bit of a trek to where he could build some sandcastles."
Sylvia nodded and watched as Andy than lifted up a long metal stick with a curved hook on the end and held it out to her.
"And obviously that when we get to the dune area," Andy continued, "we'd need to go over it to make sure there are no snakes under the sand..."
"Or scorpions or spiders," Sylvia nodded, "but that's all something that is to be expected in this region. And is in part why those Snake Animalians are friends that I've made... and why they work as pest control agents. Making sure there are no rats and mice in the granaries, and potentially even dealing with invasions of individual homes. Not to mention dealing other animals that may follow the rats and mice."
Andy shivered at that. He didn't really mind snakes too much; his dating Sylvia was proof of that. The relationship meant that she couldn't represent him personally in any future lawsuits, as that would represent a conflict of interest, which the senior partners at the firm she worked for told her, but to Andy, that was something apart from love and all things related to it. He got the sense that Sylvia also didn't mind, as she continued to see him and even accepted that rule from the firm she worked with, even if it hurt her own "upward mobility." The thing that unnerved him was more the terrain itself. And it wasn't that much of Egypt was a desert, as largely much of Nevada was also a desert, but they were different types of deserts. Nevada had a lot of hard rock and ground, and in places things like cactus and related plants that could hold water easily. The dune area that was a few miles to the west of New Zerzura was different would more easily allow things like venomous snakes, scorpions, and spiders to hide and just wait for something to stumble onto them.
"Yeah... but I don't want Tommy hurt," Andy answered, "Animalians can be talked with. A mundane Animal might see all of us as threats and if it's a snake... even you couldn't talk to it."
"I know," Sylvia nodded as they reached the one ferry point that would carry them across the Nile and to where there would be truck that was set up for the drive to the area where Tommy could build his sandcastles, "but if we're careful and follow the instructions given, we shouldn't have a problem."
Andy nodded and they continued to follow along the route. They caught the ferry to the west bank of the Nile and then picked up the rented truck. It left Tommy delighted as Andy drove along the route that was marked on a map that Sylvia reported the route to him. For Tommy, the adventure was a grand adventure to an exotic place. Some of the surprise that the people of Egypt didn't live like what was done in the stories of Ancient Egypt weren't great, but it was still an adventure that Tommy liked and some of the flirting that Andy had with Sylvia was ignored. He was content to drum his plastic shovel on the back of his bucket while enjoying the ride. Eventually they did come to a more dune filled area and came to a stop.
After waiting for Andy to run a long metal stick through the sand, and finding that there were no snakes, spiders, or scorpions hiding in it, Tommy was cleared to set about his sandcastle project. Sylvia moved to one spot that was nearby and opposite him and laid down to watch him dig and then pat the sand down tight in the bucket that he'd brought with him. The patting was to pack the sand hard and hopefully hold it together, as without water, the sand wouldn't hold together all that well. Sylvia let herself talk with Tommy while Andy continued to probe the dune and making sure not to get into anything too deep.
"So... how big of a sandcastle do you think you can make?" Sylvia asked.
"As big as I can," Tommy answered as he pressed on the sand to try and pack it in, "and they got lots of sand here to try for it."
Sylvia nodded as Tommy put another shovelful into the bucket.
"Would you be upset if Andy finds a snake and throws it away?" Tommy asked to Sylvia, "I mean... wouldn't you feel like it's hurting... family?"
"Well, generally, I'd prefer it if no one gets hurt," Sylvia answered, "but just because I'm a Snake Animalian, doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly value the comfort of a mundane snake over you or your brother. And to a great degree, mundane snakes aren't necessarily going to ignore other snakes. Kingsnakes are known to eat Rattlesnakes. The King Cobra is known for eating snakes, including other venomous species. And your brother is worried that one of these venomous snakes in the sand could bite you and do you real harm and he doesn't want that. Just as you came to the law firm, I work at to provide me with your hunch about who had really killed your dad... because you didn't want to see Andy go to jail for the rest of his life."
Tommy nodded at that. That made sense to him, though the idea that snakes ate snakes was news to him. He was glad though that his brother was there for him, he liked that, and while he didn't involve himself in Andy and Sylvia's romance, he was glad for it. It meant nights at a friend's house or watching TV with a "babysitter" while Andy and Sylvia went out somewhere in Las Vegas where they lived, and it provided some happiness for them, which to Tommy made everyone happy.
"And do you plan to turn Andy while we're here?" Tommy wondered.
Sylvia blinked in surprise at the question as she noted Andy returning to them, and finding that there were no snakes, spiders, or scorpions in the immediate area. She hadn't expected that question, though the thought did occur to her that New Zerzura did have a Horizon Office that helped with regard to the possibility of conversion. If they returned back to Las Vegas, that would mean another trip up to Lyre where they could use the main Horizon offices. The one thing that would lean against that was the fact that their vacation wasn't focused on converting Andy. Sylvia wanted that, and more and more found her own heart wanting him to become her mate, and to an extent she felt that Andy might want it too, but they hadn't formalized anything yet.
"We have no formal plans in that regard," Sylvia spoke while looking up to Andy, who returned a fairly nervous smile.
"And you wouldn't be upset if I become an Animalian one day?" Andy asked.
"If it's to be with Sylvia, I wouldn't be upset," Tommy answered, "she's cool."
There was a brief silence for a moment, and they continued to watch as Tommy continued to dig and pack the sand into his bucket. At times he did turn the bucket over to create the turrets of the castle, or what would normally be the turrets in a sandcastle, but to a great extent without water hold the form together, it's more that Tommy only managed to set up a sort of hill rather than a turret. Tommy didn't give up and kept on, but as he did, his plastic shovel eventually hit something hard under the sand and he could feel the vibration go all the way up the plastic handle. He dropped the toy shovel as a result and shook his hand at that.
"Tommy!" Andy spoke nervously.
"I hit something hard," Tommy answered, "I thought it was all dunes... that we were away from the architecture and the farmed land."
"We should be," Sylvia spoke, "though... I'm no archeology expert..."
Tommy soon resumed digging, though this time to pull sand away and tossing it away so that it wouldn't drift back down into the hole. Eventually, he got down to where that hard object and was able to pull it out. To his surprise, it wasn't something that would be manmade. It looked rocky, but it was shaped more like a potato than anything else, but it was no bigger than marble, which puzzled him.
"It's a rock," Tommy stated.
"But's it's not like the other rocks in the area," Andy noted.
"Where else would it come from?" Tommy wondered.
"I don't know," Andy answered, "maybe the guys running the tours in New Zerzura may know..."
And ultimately, they did have a guess, but not one that was of Human origin. The archeologists thought it was a meteorite that had landed in the desert, but beyond that they couldn't confirm it and further tests would be needed. The time that it would take to confirm it would go beyond the time that they would have in New Zerzura, but Tommy was agreeable to parting with it, if he could have a small piece of it and that they would inform it when it was confirmed, figuring it'd be something to let his classmates know when school resumed in late August. The only question that Andy and Sylvia related to how a meteorite had landed there. The best guess was that the meteorite was very small when it came into the atmosphere and the less than marble sized piece was all that survived to hit the ground and landed in the sand dunes well to the west of New Zerzura and the winds served to blow the sands to fill in the impact "crater." The only question that really couldn't be answered was WHEN this meteor hit.