On Alternate Earth the city of Al-Kahire (Cairo) is an internationally recognized "Free City" governed by all the Five Empires (New Atlantis, Europa, Osman, Mughal and Ming) equally. The city's governor, Prince Dmitri Amilakhvari, has sought to divert attention away from intrigue and corruption by opening up the hitherto cursed and tabooed necropolis of Ghiza to excavation (for some parts are buried in sand) and exploration. The necropolis lies ten kilometers west of the Great Pyramids and includes mortuary catacombs, subterranean temples, caverns, tombs of nobles, graves of commoners, and sites about which rumors and legends swirl.

One rumor avers that the long lost pyramid temple and tomb of the pharaoh Akhenaten has emerged from the sands.