 This article contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!
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- For the level, see Luxor (SS:TFE).
The Luxor Temple, simply known as just Luxor, is a large ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (known as Thebes back in antiquity). It was one of the two primary temples on the east bank, the other being Karnak. It is a location featured in several Serious Sam titles. It plays an important role in both Serious Sam: The First Encounter and Serious Sam 3: BFE.
In the Serious Sam 3: BFE timeline, Luxor served as the location of the Anubis Generator, one of the two known plasma generators that was built by the Sirians.
Overview[]
Serious Sam: The First Encounter timeline[]
Luxor was a complex of ancient Egyptian temples, shrines, chapels and other buildings located near Karnak. While slightly smaller in size than the latter, Luxor did play an important role in the daily life of the Thebans, and was home to people of high status, such as noblemen and the Sirians, who were revered by the Egyptians as gods.[1][2]
Serious Sam 3: BFE timeline[]
Luxor is around the same size as it was in The First Encounter, although it looked a lot different in terms of design (most likely to reflect its real-life counterpart). As the game is set several thousand years after The First Encounter, the temples and other buildings were in ruins and in a bad state of damage and erosion. Surprisingly, most of the temples and shrines remained intact, despite their age.
In this timeline, the majority of the buildings found in Luxor were dedicated to various ancient Egyptian deities and pharaohs. Like Karnak, Luxor revolved around a well-known ancient Egyptian deity; Anubis, the god of embalming and the underworld. Perhaps the most important building located here was the Shrine of Anubis, which was the location of the Anubis Generator.[3]
History[]
The rising obelisk room, as featured in Serious Sam: The First Encounter.
Luxor was, according to NETRICSA, where the Sirians lived during their stay on Earth as part of their interstellar travels.[2] They were seen as gods in the eyes of the Egyptians, and were greatly worshiped.
The Sirians took advantage of this and, in return, requested that the Egyptians construct large buildings such as shrines and pyramids to commemorate them.[2] Inside some of these shrines, the Sirians placed four seals within each, which would serve as keys for opening the door located at the entrance to the Anubis Generator.[3] While the Egyptians were busy with the construction of large-scale projects, such as the Great Pyramid, the Sirians, in secret, constructed a plasma generator, the Anubis Generator, underneath the Shrine of Anubis. The Sirians hoped that, when humans became advanced enough, they could figure out how to work the Sirians' long-lost technology and power up the Time-Lock.
Many millennia later, in the middle of the 21st century, humans discovered strange constructions of Sirian origin underneath the Shrine of Anubis. As the excavation team were unable to open the door, the dig site was left abandoned as all attempts to open the door had failed.[3]
During the 22nd century, like many other places in the world, Luxor was abandoned during the Mental War, but remained relatively intact, unlike other parts of Egypt like Cairo, which saw heavy infrastructural damage.[4]
Like Karnak, Luxor saw signs of conflict, as shown by the abundance of military supplies, heavy weapons (like the SBC Cannon) and the mutilated remains of Earth Defense Force soldiers in a throne room where Sam encounters a Khnum.[5]
Appearances[]
Serious Sam: The First Encounter[]
NETRICSA analyzes some Sirian pictograms found inside the Shrine of Amon in Karnak after Sam enters the temple. NETRICSA suggests to Sam that he goes into Luxor, the part of Thebes where the Sirians lived in at the time.[2] Sam does as instructed, but finds that the door to the obelisk chamber is locked. NETRICSA tells Sam that the door depicts the journey to the afterlife, and depicts Anubis weighing the souls of the dead. For the door to open, there has to be a balance. NETRICSA suggests to Sam that he needs go into the yards opposite the door and acquire two items, the feather of truth and the golden heart, to enter. Once he has them, the door opens and he is allowed inside. Using the Amon-Ra artifact, Sam powers up the obelisk, and it begins to rise out of the ground. The obelisk then opens up to reveal a transmitter, which sends a signal to the SSS Centerprice.[6]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
A holographic display of Karnak and Luxor is shown inside the secret chamber within the Great Pyramid. Sam, using his NETRICSA, uploads the data he's discovered to headquarters. The EDF decipher the data and, from what they've gathered, there are two massive power generators located under Karnak and Luxor. Hellfire arrives at the Great Pyramid via helicopter to extract Sam and to take him to the temple complexes.[7]
After turning on the Horus Generator in Karnak, Sam heads for the second one in Luxor. Just like in Karnak, Sam uses the Sirian Mutilator bracelet to reveal hidden Sirian mechanisms that give him the keys needed to unlock the door that guards the entrance to the generator located under the shrine of Anubis. He enters the underground complex, turns on the generator and, with his mission complete, he is relieved of duty and awaits extraction to be escorted to the Time-Lock by Charlie Team.[5]
Eventually, Sam reaches a suitable landing zone for extraction. However, he encounters an Alcor Class Warship after dealing with Mental's forces for sometime in the area. Thanks to the cannon that Sam has now acquired in his arsenal, he succeeds in destroying the warship. Once the area is secure, Wilson arrives via helicopter to take Sam back to headquarters.[5]
Luxor, along with Karnak and everything else in Egypt, was destroyed when Mental sent the Moon hurtling towards Earth.
Trivia[]
- The temple complex and the main entrance in Serious Sam 3: BFE are vastly different in design and layout compared to the real-life temple complex.
Gallery[]
Serious Sam: The First Encounter[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
List of appearances[]
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter (First appearance)
- Serious Sam: Xbox (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter
- Serious Sam 3: BFE
- Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam Classics: Revolution (non-canonical appearance)
References[]
- ↑ Serious Sam: The First Encounter - NETRICSA - Strategy - "Thebes - Luxor"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Serious Sam: The First Encounter - NETRICSA - Strategy - "Sirian Pictograms"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Serious Sam 3: BFE NETRICSA analysis of the Anubis Generator
- ↑ Serious Sam 3: BFE
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Serious Sam 3: BFE level: "The Power of the Underworld"
- ↑ Serious Sam: The First Encounter level: "Luxor"
- ↑ Serious Sam 3: BFE level: "The Silent Riddler"
External links[]
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