~~~~~

The most superficial comparisons quickly calls attention to the clothing of both the Egyptians and the Brunnen-G, though it is important to remember that the Brunnen-G in "Brigadoom" might have been more theatrical representaions than exact replicas. Both wore elaborate and often colorful clothes, accesorized with elaborate hairstyles. Due to lice, for the Egyptians their hair was often wigs. Due to current fashion, for the Brunnen-G on Lexx, they are *all* wigs.

A further, cursory examination shows the Egyptian god of the Underworld, Osiris, to bear a slight resemblance to the Time Prophet. Both wear high, pointed crowns and a beard-like accessory. Though their functions are entirely different, both exist outside the affects of aging and are all-knowing.

Both civilizations were technologically advanced beyond other races. The Egyptians are credited with the first toothbrush, make-up and even a form of the toilet. Granted, these are not supernova stabilizers and insect craft, but the understanding, intelligence and innovation of the Egyptians was far superior to most other ancient peoples. Within that, their politics were surprisingly progressive. Besides Cleopatra, the Egyptians had another female Pharoah who ruled long before her. Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for approximately 50 years and lead the empire through one of its longest spans of peace. Though we get no clue as to the political structure of the Brunnen-G civilization (more on that later), women seem to be viewed as equals. In "Brigadoom," though the clothes differ greatly and the women did not bear the tattoo of the crossing from the Dark Zone to the Light Universe, we see at least two women readily agree to join Kai in the fight against His Shadow. And later, we see Xev's character and another woman standing with Kai and the other men, holding the kite-like insect craft staffs. This implies that at least two women flew into and died in the final stand against His Shadow. (We know little of other cultures at the time of Kai's death, so this may or may not have been unusual.)

In "Supernova," upon seeing Brunnis, the planet of his ancestors, Kai remarks that he had learned about the Brunnis sky in school. In fact, he had learned it *so well* he could discern that one star was there that shouldn't be. This speaks of not only a learning of the sky, but a focused knowledge of constellations and their locations. The logical assumption would be the Brunnen-G felt the celestial bodies surrounding their planet were important. Scholars and archaeologists theorize that the Great Pyramids on the Giza Plains might have been intended to be the shape of the constellation Orion. The existing pyramids match perfectly with the stars in Orion. Both the Brunnen-G and the Egyptians show an affinity and respect for the stars.

The few examples we have seen of Brunnen-G symbolism (also in "Supernova") show, at least in one instance, the image of a bird representing life, or the "Burst of Life." In Egyptian mythology, as evidenced by paintings on tomb walls, the spirit of the deceased person, their Ka (I am not entirely sure of the spelling, but if that is how it is spelled - Woah!), was represented by a bird with a human head. The drawing style of both birds is similar. Also, the animals in Egyptian drawings were often left incomplete because the Egyptians believe, if completed, the creatures became alive and could then leave. The relief of the bird on the door above the "Burst of Life" entrance, *does*, in a sense, come to life when Zev touches the doorframe. Whether that is connected to an innate Brunnen-G belief, it is difficult to ascertain.

In "Supernova," we see mainly one example of Brunnen-G architectural styles - the Memory Chambers. The Memory Chambers were built as a large, evidently human head, which one entered through the mouth. The resemblance to the Sphinx is clear, though the location of the entrances differs. The Sphinx is believed to have been a guardian, a sort of guard dog to the tombs near it. The Memory Chambers, which is an imposing building, housed the remains of the dead Brunnen-G. Also, in ancient paintings depicting other Egyptian structures, a few resemble the supernova stabilizer towers with startling accuracy.

Many Egyptologists theorize that the building of the pyramids was not slave labor, but a labor of love created by a people who honestly believed in an afterlife and felt an obligation to help their Pharoah, their god on earth, to reach his godly state. It would seem likely the Brunnen-G functioned in much the same way, though we see no main figurehead. The feats their people accomplished - defeating the Insects, building their protective shield, creating a subterranean world, making those clothes - would have taken great unity of strength and purpose. They had a political structure in which everyone benefited by the work done by all, which adheres to the beliefs of the Egyptians.

The strongest parallel between the two cultures would be their obsession with death, or their preoccupation with immortality. To achieve immortality, the Egyptians developed a process of embalming that preserved the deceased long after death. They believed in a rich and long afterlife with such fervor that they often spent their money on building their tombs and decorating it with the Guide to the Underworld mural paintings, rather than on worldly possessions. The Brunnen-G were so preoccupied that they discovered a way to stop death from occurring. The process of embalming often took 70 days. It seems possible that the Brunnen-G's process of altering "their innnermost cell structure" could take nearly that amount of time - 70 days would be nothing if one expects to live thousands of years.

While the Egyptians were a funerary society and the Brunnen-G, as they stopped death completely, obviously were not, both developments (embalming and the process of altering their cell structure) were born out of a preoccupation and obsession with immortality. The Egyptians and the Brunnen-G simply found different means to the same end.

While watching a History Channel program about Egypt, one Egyptologist said that the Egyptians believe in an order. "There was a Divine Order," he said. That gave me a startle. But that's another issue all together.