In the flickering firelight, every chisel mark and drawing on the stone slabs made history feel tangible.
When the ages of past and present were no longer as distant as the moon and stars, when the dust forgotten by time was brushed away by hand—
The hairs rising along an archaeologist's spine, the tingling sensation reaching all the way to the crown of the head: that was the greatest thrill and romance of archaeology.
Professor Carlisle Jackson had been immersed for three days in the ruins hidden in a cave beneath a suburban residence.
The square pinnacle cast from pure gold, the totemic inscriptions recorded on every fragment of stone slab—all spoke of the frenzied reverence that era held for a king, or even a god.
Combined with years of research into ancient Egyptian history and bold conjectures about myth and legend, a magnificent story gradually took shape in Professor Jackson's mind.
It had happened a very, very long time ago, at least as far back as Egypt's First Dynasty, around 3000 BC. From that time had been passed down a forbidden and mysterious name: En Sabah Nur.
He was said to be the ancestor of all the "gods on Earth" with supernatural abilities—in other words, the progenitor of the people suspected to be the Mutants appearing in modern times. His parents and origins were unknown. He had been born with blue-gray skin and indigo lips.
He was an abandoned infant, adopted by a band of nomads in the desert. In the midst of brutal combat, his extraordinary gifts awakened. He could discover the immense power hidden deep within mortal bodies, and absorb that power to strengthen himself.
As he gradually gained more and more unimaginable abilities, he became the first Mutant—and the most powerful. After successfully overthrowing Egypt's First