This is a work of FICTION, made by and for adults 18+. The following chapter includes depictions of mourning, death from old age, and terror. Reader discretion is advised.

The hot Egyptian sun was setting upon the open temple, but Seshat’s family still kneeled around her. ‘Why,’ she could only wonder as her giant siblings continued the garbled chants they recited day after day. But today she could no longer move, so they’d laid her in the shade of their enormous green sibling that never moved.

Light continued to fade as Seshat grew tired and the sounds became muted as she stared at his face. Closing her eyes one last time, Seshat could hear the name, “Osiris!” before the world became quiet.

Suddenly, her fatigue faded. She looked to find the enormous sibling silhouetted by a blinding brightness. ‘Huh,’ she sprawled out, ‘I don’t feel… anything.’ When the sibling didn’t mind her, Seshat strolled across the rocky landscape to where he sat at a desk and brushed against his leg. When he still didn’t heed her, she tried to meow. ‘Hey!’

Her sibling lurched. “WHAT the—!” He glanced around before looking down. “Oh!” She was scooped up. “Well… Hello there. Who… What are you?”

Perplexed, Seshat glanced at her paw but she only saw a dark haze. ‘I… don’t know.’

“You’re not a human memory. Perhaps you came from… an animal?”

‘An… animal?’ A blinding brightness made Seshat flinch as a gigantic sun came over the horizon.

“OH!” With a wave they flew across the landscape until night had fallen again. A glowing orb appeared above them and the features of his dark face became clear. “My apologies, little one. I’m so used to it at this point I didn’t even think about the sunrise.”

Dazed, Seshat leapt out of his palm to lay down on the desk. ‘What was that?’

“The Mercurian sunrise. I’ve been studying this Sol for millennia, but there’s still so much we don’t understand.”

‘This… Sol? Mercurian?’

“I’m sorry, this must all be very confusing. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Osiris. Do you know what your name is?”

‘What’s— a name?’

Osiris collected himself. “Well, it’s a way to identify ones-self to others. People are given a name when they're born or soon after but sometimes choose one later that better suits them. Do— you recall the one you were given?”

Seshat contemplated for a moment. ‘No. There was something my family always said to get my attention, but… I didn’t understand it. The only thing I ever understood them say was— your name just before I woke up here.’

His brow scrunched. “Strange. I don’t believe this has ever happened before. I’m going to send you to my friend, Lucy. Hopefully she’ll have more answers for you.”

‘Wait. Will there be others like me there? Will I be able to see my family?’