On a Balcony by David Stacton

him.
    As for Amenophis, nobody ever saw him, so he was able to believe, despite an inability to move about in cold weather and despite, or even because of, the pain, that he was still a remarkably vigorous man.
    Horemheb, who had grown less muscular, but not noticeably so, was almost convinced that it was the duty of a Commander of Armies to stay in the capital and amuse the court. He was still Tiiy’s lover. He could not help that. But sometimes, in the middle of the night, he wondered why her body made him so sad and so considerate, and why Nefertiti made him so nervous. He drilled the soldiers in the capital rigorously. Some might have called it discipline, others boredom. He called it strategy.
    The prince had stopped going to the Amon temple. He had not been there for almost two years. The priestshad to come to him, as they had had, though for different reasons, to come to his father. So far he took their their advice, but if he ever wished to revolt against them, the army would be on his side. For as a poacher fears game wardens, so does an army fear the power of the Church. Whatever happened, the army would remain loyal to Pharaoh. It would have to, in order to seize the country for itself.
    But the person who had changed most was Meryra. He was fascinated, despite himself. Pharaoh had given him a problem: invent me a theology.
    Of course one did not invent it. One needed the support of precedents. It was those one invented, and this was called the rediscovery of truth. It always had been, whenever a new need had arisen. One had simply to follow the rules. And Nefertiti had to be built into the ritual.
    So there Meryra had his first postulate. God is the sun. The Sun consists of male and female energy. But Pharaoh must be more important than his consort, Nefertiti or no, therefore, though Pharaoh represents the male and the royal wife the female energy, co-existent , interdependent, and inseparable, still Pharaoh must be male and female both, since all things spring from him. And so forth.
    If there was a flaw in this, Meryra could not find it. The prestige of Pharaoh was enormous. They could rely on that.
    A ritual was more difficult. But here again there was no real problem. It could be mocked up.
    Nefertiti was big with child. It made her fretful. Whenever she was bored she summoned him. They said little to each other, but they understood much, and Meryra knew where his patronage came from. So naturally Nefertiti had to be built into the ritual. He obliged, and Nefertiti, though pregnancy annoyed her very much, as it would any fastidious animal,rewarded him with a faint smile. Whether these matters really interested her would be hard to say. As a rule, women have no taste for metaphysics. But since they took up more and more of the prince’s time, then they also had to take up more and more of hers.
    The pregnancy created another problem. It left the prince alone much of the day, and since there was no art, except that of Tutmose, with which he would not meddle, he brought Meryra his own hymns to the sun.
    They were not without merit, but to criticize their errors required some tact. The grammar was shocking. But fortunately, as chief theologian, Meryra could tactfully shift the grammar on theological grounds. And what is theology, after all, but a solicitude for syntax?
    The changes, on the whole, remained minor.
    Unfortunately the prince was learning too much theology. It was difficult, at times, to restrain him. The parturition of a god is no easy matter, and the prince was beginning to kick against his womb. Proper syntax in one system is not proper syntax in another.
    All of which made Meryra uneasy. He would have been content to confect metaphysics all his life long, well fed in the shadow of Thebes. But the prince was not. Things were becoming too much for him, and he was beginning to form his own plans. Each new annoyance made them a little clearer.
    Since Nefertiti did not have much time to amuse him, he