Citizens of Egypt:
One year ago the Stranger presented us with 49 challenges. This is not the first time the Stranger has been in our midst. The ancients have faced him before. It's said that if a people can endure the challenges of the Stranger, then that civilization can live forever and it will be immortal. You've worked hard, and will prevail.
Oracles of Architecture: you've shown endurance and strength.
Oracles of Worship: you've shown unity of spirit and cooperation.
Oracles of Art: you've created real beauty.
Oracles of Conflict: you've shown cunning and strategy.
Oracles of the Human Body: you know our land.
Oracles of Thought: you've found wisdom and knowledge.
Oracles of Leadership: you've guided us through it all.
It's man's nature that he is at his best when challenged. Men reach peaks of virtue only when they are tempted toward evil. And that's why I invited Stranger into our land.
Soon our children will rule this land, and they too will need strengthening. They too will need their virtue tested so that they may become powerful and good. So we must become the Stranger. We must create new challenges for our children. We must create new tests for them to pass. The last thing we must do before we pass from this world is leave behind the greatest Monuments of our civilization: the tests that will strengthen the next generation.
Each great Monument will be built by a team of citizens. Before you build the monument, your team must work together to design a test for the next generation. Once the test is designed, you will build a massive structure which will forever house the words of your design. Once all seven are built, I will invite every citizen of Egypt -- but especially the Oracles, Sages, Masters, and Scribes -- to attend a player meeting in Pittsburgh. At this meeting we'll refine the seven designs. Some teams will have designs so perfectly conceived that little additional work will be needed. Others may require some adjustment. You'll work in cooperation with me and my assistants until all seven tests are perfected.
Once this happens, this age of Egypt will be over and the next will begin. Someday our children will create tests for our grandchildren. In this way, our legacy will be immortal. Our civilization will live forever.
Don't know if that's what you were expecting, but, Pharaoh out!
Each monument required the support of 1 oracle, 2 sages, 4 masters, 8 scribes, 16 journeymen, 32 prentices, and 64 students (though you can "fill" a "lower" slot). Each person could be in some slot in 7 monuments, but only one monument per discipline (so one could not support 2 different oracles of, for example, arch to both have monuments).
In addition, each monument had a longish list of build requirements representing the "tools of their trade" which serve as a sort of time capsule of what life was like during Tale 1.
There was some implication that it would have be possible to make more than one monument in a single discipline, but this would have practically only applied to Architecture and Worship due to the population, and, in the end, was not exercised or even tested.
Citizens of Egypt, you know me as the Stranger.
More than a year has passed since your Pharaoh has invited me to these lands.
I brought with me 49 challenges, with which to judge the worthyness of your culture.
Has your "perfect society" lived up to my expecations?
Architects... You've come to personify the acts of greed, and learned to revel in one-upmanship
Artists... You've shown that a lack of talent is no barrier for those who have friends.
Disciples of Body... you obsess over self improvement, eschew social contactfor sake of personnal advancement, and
gorge yourselves fat with the delicacies of our land.
Combatants... You have shown that in a systm where minimal ability is rewarded theres no real reason to strive for
success.
Leaders... You have demonstrated the qualities of betrayal, backstabbing, and the celebration of your own egos...
Scholars... Your ability to create new and interesting ways to cheat, game and exploit the purity of my tests in the
pursuit of advancement never fails to impress...
And finally we come to worship, the discipline of the lazy.
You follow your co-ordinators with sheep-like obedience, and take the low-effort path to success.
Today, I gaze upon the many lands of Egypt, and see not one single completed monument, raised in celebration of the
Seven Disciplines of Man.
I am an old man, maybe the last of my generation.
As many of you know, in the time of King Octec, a blight similar to to what is now happening inthe south faced the
rivers of Egypt.
Octec's scientist were great men and - having spent many days and nights working on a solution to the problem -
developed a powerful elixir to combat the plague.
I can now annouce that the secrets of this very elixir lie within the vaults of my university of progress.
However...
Today, I gaze upon your lands, and I ask myself a question.
"Is this a society worth saving?"
People of Egypt, this is my final challenge to you.
Complete at least one of each of the seven monuments before the sulfur reaches the mouth of the Nile, and the cure is
yours. your descendants will know of your perfection, and history books will celebrate the greatness of this society.
But...
Fail in this task, and I leave your rivers choked by the sulfur. The lands will be made barren, and your failure will
be written into the history books. In place of those monuments not built, stone tablets will be placed on the lands
with my words above, as warning to future generations.
Perhaps then, in generation to come, a more worthy society will rise from the remains of this land.
The choice is yours.
You know me as The Stranger.
Today, my agents bring word that seven great monuments now tower above the lands.
Congratulations Egypt. You have exceeded my expectations.
Alone, each monument represents a great achievement in one of the seven disciplines of man...
But together, the monuments mean so much more:
By completing all seven monuments, you have sent a message to your descendants that will stand for all eternity...
A message showing that in times of great adversity, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem, a society that truly excels itself will always prevail.
People of Egypt, you are worthy of your heritage. Your message will be your Legacy.
I am a man of my word. As I speak, my agents are transferring barrels of elixir to the Nile. In a matter of days, the Great Nile will run pure once more.
Your society has now completed the final challenge set by my generation.
Be proud of your achievements Egypt, and be sure to pass this legacy on to your own children - Society can only demonstrate true greatness in the face of great challenge.
My work here is now complete.
I bid you farewell, and godspeed to the next generation's Stranger!
(See also: Census)