Daniel finds himself smiling too; the man’s good humor is rather infectious, in spite of the situation.

“I was born in Cairo,” he exclaims. “My parents were both archeologists… we lived all over Egypt until I was seven and they decided to move back to the United States so that I could go to school there. I’ve always rather thought of Egypt as home.” At least until Abydos. He smiles, more wistfully than he realizes. “I miss it.”

“But you said you were also in archeology?” he continues, returning to the original subject.