Philae

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"Here you go, if you need me I'll be at 20,000 feet, headed the hell away from here."

The Philae temple complex, also known simply as Philae, is an island-based temple complex located in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. It is featured as a minor location in Jewel of the Nile and the first location set in the expansion pack.

Overview[]

Philae is an island consisting of a complex of temples. The most notable temple on this island is the Temple of Isis, an ancient Egyptian goddess. Underneath the temple lays the tomb of Isis, and inside is a Sirian chamber which contains a key needed for unlocking a Sirian door in Abu Simbel, inside the Great Temple.

History[]

The island of Philae was originally located near the First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt and was the site of an Egyptian temple complex. In ancient Egyptian times, the Sirians constructed two secret chambers underneath the Temple of Isis, where they placed a seal deep within. This seal was needed for unlocking a Sirian chamber in a temple in Abu Simbel as a precaution, in case the Time-Lock didn't activate properly.^[1]

Like many other places in Egypt, Philae became abandoned after Mental's armies invaded Earth. Sam was tasked of visiting this island by the Earth Defense Force to search for what they believed was the location of the Time-Lock control room.

Appearances[]

Serious Sam 3: BFE[]

Isis tomb entrance — The entrance to the tomb of Isis.

With both of the Time-Lock's plasma generators online, Wilson takes Sam back to headquarters. On the way there, Wilson receives new orders from HQ; Quinn informs Sam that the Time-Lock didn't come online as expected, so he needs to go to the island of Philae to find out how to activate it. After some protesting, he does so.

On the island, Sam finds a key to unlock a gate located at the entrance to Isis's tomb. Upon entering the tomb, he comes across a metallic alien door like the ones found at other excavation sites throughout Egypt. Inside, he finds the statue of Isis. Picking it up, he places it on a plinth in the temple back on the surface, which activates a system that eventually lets him open a door hidden deeper in the tomb upon acquiring the Seal of Isis, which he obtained from placing four other statues on their respective plinths.^[1]

Sam makes his way back into the tomb and enters the Sirian chamber. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anything like a Time-Lock control room, but just a featureless chamber of little significance. The room however does contain a seal, a holographic map showing the possible location for the control room, and an XL2 Lasergun. Exiting the tomb, Sam contacts HQ and tells them that the control room is not there. Quinn says that there is a motorboat anchored on the other side of the island. With no other options, he takes the boat to Abu Simbel to find the control room there.^[1]