Dr. Farid said seriously. "You have saved us from
possible embarrassment. It would be useless to give him a pyramid when
his weight limit is thirty kilos, as we call sixty-six pounds."

Rick chuckled. One reason he so enjoyed his association with scientists
was the dry sense of humor most of them seemed to share.

They reached the administration building and started through the
formalities of customs and immigration. The Americans had filled out
customs forms and currency declarations on the plane, and in only a
short time the formalities were over and their admission into the United
Arab Republic was official. The customs inspectors hadn't even asked
them to open their luggage.

The trip from the airport took over an hour. It led through Heliopolis,
City of the Sun, the first capital of a united Egypt. The land had been
governed for over a thousand years from Heliopolis. But that, as Dr.
Kerama explained, was over four thousand years ago.

Rick was awed. Coming from a new land where a hundred years seemed a
very long time, the antiquity of Egypt stirred his imagination. But
there was little that seemed ancient in modern Heliopolis. There were
attractive, modern apartment houses, new public buildings, and rows of
trees carefully trimmed into perfect green cylinders.

The entry into Cairo itself was through rows of tall wooden or brick
structures, along streets traveled by everything from the latest
European cars to plodding donkey carts. The people were dressed in a
variety of costumes, from suits and dresses that would have been
suitable in New York, to traditional Arab dress with flowing robes and
the cloth headdress that is held in place by a band or roll of fabric
around the head, just above the eyes.

The car passed the railroad station and the great statue of Rameses the
Second, Pharaoh of Egypt. The Nile came into view, and Farid pointed out
the row of hotels on the other side. The Shepheard's and the Nile Hilton
flanked the older, Victorian bulk of the Semiramis, where they would
stay. They sped across a bridge, entered a plaza full of honking horns
and speeding cars, then moved to the comparative quiet of a street along
the Nile embankment to the hotel.

Uniformed attendants came running for their bags. The group entered the
lobby, and Rick looked around with interest.

The Semiramis was big, with lofty ceilings and chandeliers. The walls
were decorated with scrolls and tapestries. The rugs had once be