4. Ra’s edict had been cruel. To outlaw all forms of reading and writing had kept the Abydonians at an agrarian level of society for nearly five thousand years. He had never thought about how much it would affect him, the lack of fresh reading material, when he had decided to remain.
The hieroglyphs covering the walls and pillars of the temple had long since been interpreted, noted down carefully in a cramped hand in his journal and pored over obsessively. He had devoted long hours to teaching Sha’re the rudiments of her heritage, but she had insisted that such a skill was ‘not a woman’s place my Daniel.’
Even Kasuf and Skaara had been dismissive, pointing out that their tradition of passing knowledge through the spoken word was still powerful. When he had finally convinced some of the Elders that a written record of their people was advantageous, the problem of finding a surface to write on nearly thwarted his plans.
All of his attempts at making a facsimile of papyrus through his knowledge of ancient techniques had failed. It had all crumbled away to nothing within a month. Even scratching marks onto slabs of stone with charcoal had limitations. Eventually he had conducted his classes by tracing into the sands beneath their feet with a rudimentary stylus.
Every day, all of their painstakingly crafted words were gradually erased by the shifting sands.
Scattered and lost.
5. He had worried.
Sha’re had not conceived during the year of their marriage, but he had lain awake at nights, both hoping for and dreading the possibility of a child born from their union.
On Earth, children were born in the sanitary confines of the hospital, surrounded by knowledgeable professionals and were coaxed into the world with all the benefits of western medical practise.
No such luxuries on Abydos.
Here women laboured surrounded by their kin, many hands soothed flushed skin and kneaded away the birthing pangs. The midwife chanting the song of creation as she helped the mother follow the rhythm of her body.
He worried for her though; here there were far fewer options for a birth that was difficult. He had tried to broach the subject with her, but she had been so uncomfortable that he had eventually dropped it.
In the worst of his nightmares, he dreamed Sha’re was dying and he was pacing in front of the gate trying to decide whether or not he could break his promise to O’Neill and dial home.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-10-28 08:43 am (UTC)The hieroglyphs covering the walls and pillars of the temple had long since been interpreted, noted down carefully in a cramped hand in his journal and pored over obsessively. He had devoted long hours to teaching Sha’re the rudiments of her heritage, but she had insisted that such a skill was ‘not a woman’s place my Daniel.’
Even Kasuf and Skaara had been dismissive, pointing out that their tradition of passing knowledge through the spoken word was still powerful. When he had finally convinced some of the Elders that a written record of their people was advantageous, the problem of finding a surface to write on nearly thwarted his plans.
All of his attempts at making a facsimile of papyrus through his knowledge of ancient techniques had failed. It had all crumbled away to nothing within a month. Even scratching marks onto slabs of stone with charcoal had limitations. Eventually he had conducted his classes by tracing into the sands beneath their feet with a rudimentary stylus.
Every day, all of their painstakingly crafted words were gradually erased by the shifting sands.
Scattered and lost.
5. He had worried.
Sha’re had not conceived during the year of their marriage, but he had lain awake at nights, both hoping for and dreading the possibility of a child born from their union.
On Earth, children were born in the sanitary confines of the hospital, surrounded by knowledgeable professionals and were coaxed into the world with all the benefits of western medical practise.
No such luxuries on Abydos.
Here women laboured surrounded by their kin, many hands soothed flushed skin and kneaded away the birthing pangs. The midwife chanting the song of creation as she helped the mother follow the rhythm of her body.
He worried for her though; here there were far fewer options for a birth that was difficult. He had tried to broach the subject with her, but she had been so uncomfortable that he had eventually dropped it.
In the worst of his nightmares, he dreamed Sha’re was dying and he was pacing in front of the gate trying to decide whether or not he could break his promise to O’Neill and dial home.