Mamluks of Thunder Island

By Aly Brisha

The novel unfolds as a dystopia set in an imagined world, situated in the future after the inevitable occurs. Human societies grapple with devastation brought about by nuclear wars and climate change. The majority of survivors find themselves living in "human sanctuaries," overseen by a select few elites who have gleaned wisdom from the bitterness of experience. The author is a writer, journalist, and documentary maker. He previously authored two novels and several specialized books encompassing media, politics, and history. Residing in the Middle East, he is intricately engaged with myriad social, political, and intellectual issues, given the nature of his profession. He interacts with the multitude of challenges prevalent in the countries of the Middle East. He undertook the coverage of the Arab Spring events and closely followed on the ground the rise of extremists in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and other Middle-Eastern countries. He holds the perspective that military and religious dictatorships are the foremost afflictions faced by these societies plagued by oppression, violence, poverty, and extremism.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Nov 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781779410603

Aly Brisha

Aly Brisha graduated from the Journalism department at Cairo University in 1991. He worked as a journalist and program producer in the most prominent media institutions in the Middle East, including the Al-AhramEgyptian newspaper, Al Arabiya news channel, and Sky News Arabia. In 2011, he published his first novel, City of the Sun, which was translated into English in 2013. Alson in 2013, he released his novel Ibn Al Bitar's Voyages. The English version received the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2020. In 2023, his documentary One Face, Two Refugees was honoured with the Golden Telly Award.

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Copyright © 2023 by Aly Brisha

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-1-77941-059-7 (Hardcover)

978-1-77941-058-0 (Paperback)

978-1-77941-060-3 (eBook)

Dedication

To Maha,

Of course to Maha

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

A Historical Overview Specifically for the English Version

Chapter I

(1) Roaring in the Void

(2) Who Doesn’t Love the Cute Bears?

(3) Homo Sapiens 1, Cockroaches Nil

(4) Isara

(5) Genesis

(6) The Last Night before the Battle

(7) Kiss Mommy

Chapter II

(8) Her Kingdom

(9) In the Mouse’s Burrow

(10) The Unique Amendment

(11) Not a Big Deal

(12) Have You Ever Heard of a Happy God?

(13) Triumph Pain

(14) Blessed are the Victors

(15) Albatross’ Last Dance

(16) Death, Life, and In Between

(17) Salute to the Eunuch

(18) Light and Darkness

(19) The Ear Heard; The Eye Saw

(20) Cassandra’s Curse

Chapter III

(21) Nardine

(22) Zahy Rahim

(23) Nardine…

(24) Zahy

(25) Nardine

(26) Conclusion

Introduction

I do not recommend reading this novel. You still have a chance. Go away.

There is enough madness in the world, enough blood in the past, and enough fog in the future. There is no meaning in mixing madness, blood, and fog and chewing them between the pages of a novel.

I am not sure how to phrase the following sentence: The ship is sinking.

Imagine that the ship is sinking.

People are divided into three types. The first type will run hysterically here and there in search of a chance to survive, trampling on others to find a foothold in a boat or a piece of wood that can float. The second type will literally freeze because of their horror of the disaster and their lack of ingenuity. Panic paralyzes them, and they will drown in tears and wails before drowning in the darkness of the ocean. The third type are brave and noble. They will extend a helping hand to those around them and raise their voice amidst the chaos: Be careful, ladies and gentlemen. Women and children first. They will strive to leave a human touch in the final scene, but they will not appear in it, because they are usually the first to enter the darkness of the depths.

This is how humans are always divided.

Ah, maybe, or surely, there is a fourth type.

No, not the musicians on the deck of the sinking ship. Oh, we’re not talking about a movie directed by James Cameron. We’re talking about the real world. In the real world, there is a fourth type who will walk in the opposite direction. Perhaps he will go to the galley of the ship, light the stove, and prepare a meal. He will devote all his senses to the sizzle of olive oil with onions, garlic, vegetables, and spices. He will detach from reality as the piece of meat slowly sizzles on the hot grill, and he will watch the points of fat melt gradually, blending with the yellow juice before dripping together onto the hot surface, creating a crackling sound accompanied by a pleasant aroma.

If he were to pray to the gods of sinking ships, he would not ask for his own survival, but he would ask the gods to keep the stove level until he finishes his last meal, knowing that it is the only meal in his life that he will enjoy as it is and will remain forever as it is, without changing into shit.

For this fourth type, this novel was written.

Cheers,

Zahy Rahim

A Historical Overview Specifically for the English Version

Mamluks were a form of military aristocracy that dominated the Middle East during the Middle Ages, exerting their influence on the political and social life for over one thousand years.

The Mamluks were slaves acquired from various sources. They were children who were captured or abducted in raids and battles, then taken away from their homelands and sold in slave markets. The rulers would purchase them, selecting the strongest and healthiest children and training them from an early age in combat and all military affairs. They would join the army and advance through the ranks until they became prominent leaders and statesmen, despite still technically being slaves.

The rulers of the Middle East resorted to this method to form a military aristocratic class in search of absolute loyalty unaffected by familial or kinship ties.

The Mamluks would begin their lives severed from their origins, having no knowledge of fathers, mothers, families, or tribes. They only knew loyalty to the ruler who bought and raised them. By growing up in this military environment, they became leaders of armies and were entitled to purchase their own Mamluks from strong children who were raised in military training and loyalty to the military commander who purchased them.

When the Mongol armies, led by Genghis and later Hulagu, invaded the lands of the East in the thirteenth century, they eradicated most of the ruling families from Afghanistan to Egypt, passing through Persia, Iraq, and the Levant. This created a favorable opportunity for the Mamluk princes to seize thrones directly and establish their legitimacy through their military prowess by defeating the Mongol invaders and subsequently eliminating the Crusader emirates along the coast of the Levant. Thus, they formed the Mamluk Sultanate, which they ruled directly for nearly three centuries. The legitimacy of their rule was obtained through absolute power, as any prince who possessed the strength to kill the Sultan or overthrow him could ascend the throne. Religious texts were manipulated to align with this method of power transition among the Mamluk princes, who were constantly plotting against one another, waiting for an opportunity to seize power. They were human instruments proficient in killing and warfare. Their prowess enabled them to achieve military victories and dominate global trade routes from India to Europe, amassing immense wealth that they spent on acquiring more Mamluks and constructing luxurious religious and military establishments that still adorn the great cities of the East.

However, when the Ottoman Turks succeeded in overthrowing the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt and the Levant, they did so with an army composed of Janissaries, a military system similar to that of the Mamluks, relying on enslaved children from defeated peoples. Again, these children were raised according to Mamluk military traditions.

Despite their defeat, the Mamluks in Egypt, the Levant, and the surrounding regions continued to represent a military aristocracy with influence and the ability to govern. Their power was significantly weakened when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt and the Levant in 1798, and later, Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Governor of Egypt, completely eradicated them in a notorious massacre known as the Citadel Massacre in 1812. Afterward, he was able to establish the first modern-style army.

Chapter I

(1)

Roaring in the Void

Once again, the sound of thunder echoed through a clear sky without a single cloud. Thunder without lightning, rain, or hail cast a shadow over the battlefield, mixing the rumble with the murmurs of soldiers, the neighs of horses, the clang of swords, and the hum of a local radio broadcasting a football match followed by some brave leaders in the rear lines.

The scattered soldiers on the field trembled as their polished armor shone in the morning sun. Everyone knew that some of them would not return to their families today, and that others would bleed or lose their limbs, spending the rest of their miserable lives begging for a morsel of bread. The sword of death hung over their heads, and none knew how the end would come.

Half of the veterans who had fought in and survived past wars laughed and advised the frightened rookies to look up at the sky, as birds could predict the trajectory of shells, and those who could read the inscriptions on the wings of birds could hope for salvation. Some boasted that they carried magical charms that protected them from death, and they talked about past heroic achievements and the booty they had acquired from digging through the corpses like birds of prey, collecting precious mementos stained with blood from the spoils that brought prosperity to their homes and families for many months to come.

But the true veterans, who had been drafted into war year after year, seemed less cheerful in their voices and movements while dealing with both the boastful and the fearful factions.

Their presence was sober not only because they had already satisfied their desire for loot, but also because they knew that the law of probability was working against them. Surviving ten wars only doubles the chance of injury in the eleventh. It was a matter of mathematical calculations, not unlike rolling dice successfully on gambling tables. Mathematics alone would determine who would return home at the end of the day and who would perish on the battlefield.

Once again, the sound of thunder echoed in the clear sky without a single cloud. In the East, black flags carrying the symbols of the Caliphate rose, while in the West, the orange banners of the Mamluks fluttered. On both sides, the leaders’ horses folded and unfolded the ranks of soldiers, and orders fell like whip strikes: Form up the ranks, tighten your grip on your weapons, hate your enemy, let neither mercy nor pity sway you, for today is the day of men, of bravery, of sacrifice. Give your blood and your lives for your country, your God, your caliph, your sultan.

The words rolled off the lips of the leaders, pounding the ranks with their weight. Some of them used megaphones to amplify their voices, but the words emerged truncated, like the corpses of those who were buried too late. Yet no one cared. Everyone knew that it was not the words but the snipers who stirred the ranks forward and pushed them toward the inevitable clash with the other ranks that advanced through the field. The snipers lay hidden behind high towers overlooking the battlefield, and old rifles lay behind the ranks, waiting for the retreating or faltering soldiers who would be met with certain death if they backtracked instead of possible salvation if they advanced.

The back lines of both armies consisted of primitive tanks that protected the field commanders who watched the soldiers’ advance if they attacked and their retreat if they fell back. The commanders directed the snipers who moved into mobile vehicles to discourage the cowardly and hesitant.

After the battle, the victorious leaders usually boasted on the evening television programs, exaggerating their military tactics that governed the field or the eloquence of their inspirational speeches that mobilized the ranks. But the fighters knew deep down that all of this was mere nonsense. In certain moments, when fighting intensified and the ranks were mixed with blood and limbs, the resonant words and military plans lost their meaning, and only the instinct for survival remained, moving the masses to a despair that looked like anger.

Before the ranks set off to confront each other, the rules of engagement that would govern today’s battle were declared.

The war, officially titled the Third Battle of Dignity, had rules stating that the battle would end when two thousand soldiers perished. Precise sensors were placed under the military uniforms, recording vital signs and monitoring the gasps of dying breaths. Once the two-thousandth soldier breathed his last, the arbitrators would sound the ceasefire sirens, and both sides would be prohibited from shedding more blood until the final tally was completed. The winner would be the side that inflicted a greater number of casualties on the opposing army, and a tie would be declared if the difference in casualties between the two sides was less than twenty individuals. The victorious party would be allowed to advance and occupy a two-kilometer distance within the enemy’s territory, while the arbitrators would evacuate the wounded and facilitate their euthanasia through merciful killing techniques. Then, the triumphant soldiers would be granted ten hours to gather the spoils from the battlefield.

Sweat beads glistened on the soldiers’ foreheads. Everyone awaited the starting shot in a solemn silence punctuated only by the panting of thousands echoing like a hiss in the corners of the field. Soon, the barren sands would mingle with blood rivers.

Once again, the sound of thunder reverberated in a cloudless sky. Quick flashes appeared from the drones that dominated the heavens, broadcasting live to the headquarters of the A.R.O.T.I. committee where the arbitrators sat. There, vast halls accommodated hundreds of gamblers, thousands of spectators, and some who held birth permits. The latter were eagerly awaiting the commencement of the season of womb hunting, which usually thrived following the battles of the Mamluks and the caliphs.

Overhead, five large Latin letters were illuminated, granting legitimacy to this awe-inspiring tradition: A.R.O.T.I. The initials formed the phrase Anthropological Reserve on Thunder Island.

****

(2)

Who Doesn’t Love the Cute Bears?

The name of the frozen southern continent has always been a hidden scientific joke understood only by specialists. It is a jest that echoes in the cold academic halls, laughed at by those donning stylish robes in a manner that satisfies their pride, making them feel as though they possess their own version of the heavy humor that eludes the general public’s understanding of its source. It was common among them, when someone wanted to illustrate an impossible matter, to say with a smirk, It’s like polar bears in Antarctica, causing the others to drown in the exclusive laughter of dignified silliness.

I heard the joke for the first time a hundred years ago, and I admit that when I heard this expression back then, I felt bewildered. However, I joined the others in laughter, and I saw Isara wink at me, making my ignorance feel visible. Then she took pity on me and leaned in to whisper in my ear the scientific origin of this joke. You see, the frozen southern continent derives its name of Antarctica from two ancient Greek words. One is antí, meaning opposite or against, and the other is arktos, meaning bear, referring to the constellation Ursa Minor that always points north. So, its name literally means opposite of the bear or counter to the bear. And since polar bears exclusively inhabit the North Pole, the name Antarctica has become a biological paradox that is worthy of academic laughter from people who rarely joke.

Hell!!

What a jest that requires a detailed memorandum and an elaborate explanation from a field expert in biology like my wife, Isara Rahim. However, it should be noted that the use of this academic joke has diminished in the past thirty years, thanks to Isara herself and her professor, Professor Sakura Hozaji, who worked on persuading the international conservation management to embark on a bold and unconventional project to save polar bears from extinction.

The project simply aimed to relocate the polar bears from the melting North Pole to the South Pole where vast areas of the great ice plains still exist due to their resilience against climate change, global warming, and pollution’s effects