Week 4 Storytelling: Sabu's Job Interview

Sabu's job interview

Job posting: Advisor to the next king needed. You must demonstrate a strong desire to serve. Experience in malicious plans and conquering governments a plus. 


Sabu the Usurper: I see you are here for the job opening.

Khamet: Yes, my name is Khamet. I am interested in the position. I worked for Set for over 20 years.

Sabu the Usurper: I know of Set, he ruled Egypt for many years. The tales of his thirst for power is well known throughout. How is it you came to be unemployed?

Khamet: Set was challenged for the throne by his nephew Horus. After many battles, Set was run out of Egypt. He was grievously injured and was no longer able to fight back. After losing the throne he was ruined. He had no farther use for me.

Sabu the Usurper: I see. I wondered what had become of him. You say you worked for him for over 20 years, what skills did you offer him?

Khamet: I was his advisor, I helped him develop and put forth many of his diabolical plans.

Sabu the Usurper: Of the plans you helped devise, which do you feel was the most evil?

Khamet: The most evil thing I feel I have ever been a part of; I helped Set kill his brother Osiris and take over the throne.

Sabu the Usurper: That is pretty evil indeed. Go on, elaborate. Tell me how this came about and your part in it.

Khamet: I was young; I was doing what I could to survive. This mostly meant stealing whatever I could get my hands on and selling it. I attempted to steal a horse from a wealthy couple and Set caught me. He told me that he could see that I had great potential and if I gave him the horse then he would give me the opportunity to work for him and that I could make much more working for him than I ever could by stealing horses.

Sabu the Usurper: But how did you come to kill his brother?

Khamet: Well, Set told me and a few others that worked for him that he planned to take the throne from Osiris. What he needed from us, was a foolproof plan and the opportunity to execute the plan. We brainstormed several ideas and I came up with one that Set decided would be perfect. I purposed that we should build a box, with the exact specifications of Osiris’ size. We should decorate it elaborately, and present it as a gift fit for a king. All we needed was the perfect opportunity to give it to him. Now I know it doesn’t sound like that would be a great plan, but it would be completely unexpected. No one suspected that Set would betray his brother. The opportunity to present the box soon arose. Osiris had just returned from a mission and a royal feast was held in his honor. We took the box with us to the feast and it was admired by all. Seeing the shape of the box, everyone wanted to try to fit themselves inside of it. Set told everyone that he would only give it to the person who fits the specifications of the box exactly. Many people tried, but none fit exactly. Curiosity got the best of Osiris, as I told Set it would, and he lay down inside the box. At that moment I, and several of Set’s other followers, quickly closed the lid. We nailed it shut and sealed the lid. The box was then tossed into the Nile under the cover of darkness. Osiris was gone and Set took over the throne. Set then made me his closest adviser. I worked closely with him ever since.

Sabu the Usurper: The plan was yours? I am quite impressed. You do have quite a malicious streak.

Khamet: Thank you. I do take pride in my work. I cannot stand to see some righteous humanitarian waste all that power.

Sabu the Usurper: I think you would be the perfect addition to my army. You have the job. Welcome! You start immediately; I have a kingdom to overthrow.

Set

Author's note: I used both the stories Death of Osiris and King of the Dead as the basis for my story. King of the Dead is a continuation of Death of Osiris. The Journey of Isis actually takes place between the two stories, but I did not pull any part of my story from it.

I decided that it would be interesting for one of Set's closest advisors to be looking for employment after Set was defeated. I figured that after Set was defeated, his followers and advisors would be out of a job. There is always someone who needs help carrying out his evil deeds, and in this story it is Sabu the Usurper. I set it up as an interview where Khamet told the story of how he helped Set kill Osiris and take the throne, to explain to Sabu the Usurper in the interview just what he was capable of doing. I explained Osiris' death pretty much how the story explained it, I just added in the part where Khamet helped setup the plans. I completely made up the names Khamet and Sabu, I was just looking for Egyptian sounding names. There is no basis for the names from the myths.

Bibliography: Egypt: The Death of Osiris and King of the Dead by Donald Mackenzie (1907)