The trading fleet has arrived in Alexandria all at once, and the great harbour is jammed with barges stacked high with clay amphorae, saffron sacks, linen bales, papyrus bundles and cedar crates. Nothing can reach the quay until the cargo is unloaded. Pixel Cleopatra steps onto a little gilded raft with a polished golden bead and takes charge of the unloading.
The barges never keep still: each row of cargo drifts sideways on the tide, one row one way and the next row the other, wrapping round as they go. Now and then a pearl rolls out of the cargo, worth catching on the raft. The harbour masters call it Amphora Drift, and every cleared wall makes room for another fleet, sailing in a little faster. Let the bead sink past the raft three times and the harbour closes for the night. How many barges can pixel Cleopatra unload before dark?
