With the two A.I. programs watching you from behind, you examine the doors with the heiroglyphics on them.  There are twenty such doors total in the T-sectioned hall.  You see the following heiroglyphics.



For ease of posting, you can refer to these by Column A or B, and (going down), symbols 1 through 11.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:52, Thu 17 Feb 2005.

Screed looks stumped.  "Well, does anyone ahve any ideas?  Anyone read hero...hayro... ancient egytpian?  We could always just count down the doors.  That would make, ummm, that one 'H', the Hoot Owl, I guess."

::looks at it::

The symbol of Ra, is a circle, with rays coming from it....but I don't see any symbol that strikes me as being RA....

Demian reaches the end of the hallway where the service elevator is, having quickly examined each door. He turns to the others with a look of resignation. "I knew this was going too smoothly."

"We've already passed Ra, Daredevil. We're supposed to be looking for an 'H' now...that is if we are right about the meaning of the riddle."

Wandering back down the hallway, "If anyone comes up with a good idea, let me know. I'll be in the restroom taking a leak." And with that, Demian enters the lavatory.

::considers::

Could H mean Horus, I do see a symbol of Horus there?

Screed snickers, "Well, we're in the one city where they made Horus legal then.  Which one is it?"

::points to the hawk looking one::

If I remember my Egyption mythology correctkly, the hawk is the symbol that represents...

"Well, that's two votes for the transpecied Hoot Owl Hawk then."

"I can't hear what's going on," X says, "but those two people you are talking to are programs of some sort."  His voice is crackling over the radio, barely audible.  "They're written kind of strangely.  Not sure what it means though."

"Back in the day," Methuselah points out, "tourists in Egypt could buy cartouches with their names in Egyptian characters.  Somehow the hieroglyphics were mapped onto Arabic characters.  I don't know how standardized the mapping was, but perhaps one of these is 'H'.  But whether we push it like a button or what is still a mystery."

"Well, they're doors, so they have to open, one would think."  Screed walks up to the Hooty Owl Horus door (A8) and examines it.  He then reaches to open it.

Pause in posting for reactions of others, i.e. cheers, flying tackles, feigned disinterest.

::watches Screed but isn't planning on stopping him::

Assuming that he finds nothing of interest in the lavatory (it’s not often that you actually want to find something interesting in the lavatory), Demian walks back out, cell-phone in hand.

“Maybe X can look up some information on the hieroglyphs that’ll point us to the right one.”

Unless someone stops him, Demian hits the button that pops open the phone with a ‘click’ and does speed dial to get their operator.

“Screed, Wait!” Demian shouts when he notices the impatient one reaching for the door. “Let’s not get hasty here. If you are wrong, then opening that door may be the last thing that you do.”

Screed shrugs and answers back, "But do we really need to call?  That's definitely going to bring agents.  We can always just head upstairs to our room and get the translations of the net.  I'm sure they have in-room access."  He absentmindedly rubs his stomach as he stands by the door talking.

Screed's warning is a bit late, as the speed dialer has already gone through.

"Operator," X says, answering at the other end.  "I can't hear what's going on, but I see those symbols.  I hope this is an emergency.  I think your call has just alerted Zero-One."

Demian looks up at the others with a sheepish look on his face and shrugs.

“Well then, X, let’s make this quick. We’re hoping you can look up for us which one of these hieroglyphics is associated with the letter ‘H’.”

As you explain what you need exactly, X says, "You'll have to give me just a minute on this."

You sit and wait.  It seems like an eternity is passing even though it is less than a minute...

In a hushed voice, Screed reacts, "Oh drat!"   His senses go all out as he starts trying to look in all directions at once.

Demian glances at Screed and then reaches into his jacket with his left hand, his right still holding the dangerously silent phone to his ear. He slides a glock out of his jacket, letting it fall to his side...unthreatening, but ready.

"I don't know how long it might take the machines to trace this call, but we might want to be on the lookout."

After a long pause, X gets back on the line.  "Okay, I've compared the diagrams with common translations.  I'm going to upload the information to your cell phone screen."

Looking down at the cell phone, Demian sees the following pop up:
http://pages.tca.net/steveb/hiero.html