While spending six months with Doctor Abberant, Scion learns some of the complications with time travel.  Aberrant explains it like this;  say you toss a rock into a lake.  Ripples are created.  Now you, the traveler are that rock, the lake is the time stream, and the ripples are the distortions you created when you dropped back into real time.   Ok, we can mostly deal with regular, circular distortions, but if you toss another rock, anywhere near the original rock, more ripples are created.  When these new ripples interact with the other ripples, interference is created.   This amplifies the problems.  More and more sets of ripples can just really mess it up.   This is why people don’t time travel to major historical events.  Fear of “too many ripples”.  So time travelers usually go to more “unimportant” times and places.

   Keeping that in mind,  Aberrant tells Scion that he is dropping her off in Ancient Akkad, predating the Sumerian Empire.    He says that he picked up ripples and at this time he can land between the ripples and be safe.    He wants her to find out who is here and why.   He thinks it has something to do with the pact between Law and Chaos that was forged here.  She accepts the mission.

    Aberrant gives Scion a tiara that can telepathically alter her mind to understand and be made to understand any language, and a wrist chronometer.    Her ecto suit changes to the fashions of the day.

     While walking the streets of Akkad she realizes this may take a while, and takes a job in a tavern.  She spends her days making Sumerian Beer for her customers.   Bored to tears she is actually relived when a hulking Egyptian comes into the bar.   At least 8’ tall, this monster of a man is rude and push.  He is wearing an Egyptian headdress,  gold and black eye makeup and gold wire is keeping his beard propped up and outward.   His loincloth shows lion and scarab sewn into the belt and his sandals are of the finest materials.   He grabs Scion’s arm when he takes his drink, and she pulls away.  Her chronometer is buzzing up a storm while she is near him.   He is embarrassed by her rebuke, but then he yells out, “ you intend me harm!”

      Scion evades his reach and runs outside, only to find that on foot this man who calls himself the Sphinx, is faster than her.   She runs passed his chariot, driven by four black oxen, and into an alleyway.   The Sphinx blasts at her, destroying some poor Akkadian’s home. 
     Scion powers up and grabs him,  she flies him off, away from the city and into the desert.   They battle,  the Sphinx blasting her with tremendously powerful blasts from his eyes.  The whole battle  Sphinx is screaming how it is a blasphemey that his pure goddess Ma'at will submit to this dirty Akkadian god Nergal.  Scion, taking a tremendous beating, finally smashes through the Sphinx, killing him.


She calls Aberrant, who comes and picks her up.  He studies the tiara, and the logs show that  the Sphinx was speaking in Modern Egyptian.  He will have to investigate more.  She cleans up, and goes back to CHESS, only to find that she has only been gone one night.   Its odd how long her hair has grown in only 24 hours!