Mostly we needed to be able to answer questions about our new star guest, Nephmesu. In addition to his status as a merchant, rather than a noble or a priest, we also had to know how that changed his entombment and the things he was buried with. A lot of this is speculation, 'cause we really can't know what was going through the heads of the Egyptians when they were sealing away their dead. For example, the other famous mummies weren't buried alone. They were accompanied by mummified servants and animals. The servants it's easy to guess were there to serve, but the animals? Were they pets, or were they to bring a herd with them into the afterlife? Nephmesu was relatively alone, which is even more significant considering he wasn't included as a servant. His only companion was a mummified cat. Which could mean it was a favored pet, or that cats themselves have some significance in the ritual process. And again, those aren't mutually exclusive reasons.
There were a lot of points along those lines, and it was fascinating to learn. Or it would be if we weren't so pressured to memorize it on the spot. The biggest thing though was his arrival date. It sounds like this are solidifying, and after spending next week in Portland, he'll be coming home to us the beginning of December. Today they're packing up his display in San Francisco, and over the weekend the'll move him to The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland.
At lunch Hal caught himself saying that he did finally learn about an incident in San Francisco that he thinks is connected to the other incidents we'd been following. I kinda looked around when he finally looked up and reminded him of where we were. I think he silently scolded himself once he realized he'd been too eager to talk to me about his conspiracy. He dropped that thought and said he'd bought tickets for us to see Ragnarok after work tomorrow. It'll be tight, and if I get out late we might miss the beginning. But it'll give us time afterward to get something to eat and talk shop.
When the donors showed up, we all had to be in place. John threatened to have me taken off the register in case I had an attack. I can't believe that guy. Fortunately I didn't have to do anything, someone from HR heard the comment and he was immediately called to their office. He was looking forward to meeting the "money bags" that support us.
Not that the registers really got to meet them. They were all invited in VIP while we were busy with the usual guests. Francis Barre was hard to miss, he was talking with Lance Mogensen as they walked in. Arlene Dryver might have gone unnoticed, except of the news coverage of her life being saved at DIA. There were a few others, but those were the big names that stood out among big names.
So we were all there looking pretty, and it seemed the soft opening went well. There's a lot of excitement for the completed exhibit, but I have to say it looked fantastic even for what I got to see today. They had put a lot of thought into the layout. It wasn't just to get it to work they way they wanted it to. They also kept in mind the issues that had come to light during the life of the previous exhibit. The finished product should be amazing.
Tomorrow we'll be opening the exhibit to the public, which was really where we needed to be able to answer questions. And also why I'm worried about Hal and I getting to the movie quickly enough. So as I said, sleep early tonight, spend some extra time getting around tomorrow.
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