This is a classic example of "getting outside the box".  It is also the same
reason Frank Lloyd Wright believed in sketching the family dog into his
perspectives. And the moral of the story is the contractor's idiom:  "If you
have to lie, be creative: make sure to flatter the client."

By the way, a small correction Lorak's favored mason was Knet not "Ned".
Second, the perspective drawing you refer to was complements of the WayWay
Back Machine and was viewed as truly devine.

Best,
Leland

>The Great -(Imhotep)- handed His construction manager, Lorak, a drawing of
>the new works. It was an extreme perspective view, standing right next to
>the corner looking straight up at the grand edifice to be. As the
>construction manager scuttled backwards out of the chamber The
>Great -(Imhotep)- grinned with confidence that the Place would become
>reality. Now, you might think that Lorak was The Great -(Imhotep)-'s
lackey.
>In fact, Lorak was pretty important himself. He could barely be bothered to
>carry the drawing so as soon as he got back to the construction site he
>turned the drawing over to Ned, his right-hand-man. Ned was an ordinary
>tradesperson who had just been promoted to the right-hand-man position
>from the stone
>cutting shed. Dutifully, Ned studied the drawing every night for a week. He
>took the drawing over to Lorak's office and they both went over to visit
the
>priest, Audel, who gave the incantation, "Let us check the Guide, Vol. 1,
p.
>507." Late that night he studied the drawing some more. As Ra rose over the
>river the next morning Ned and his buddies at the stone cutting shed were
>busy laying out a lot of 90-degree and 45-degree angles. They could tell
>they had their work cut out for them for some time to come.
>Several floods later The Great -(Imhotep)- came across His drawings of the
>new Place and was reminded to gaze across the expanse and check for
>progress. Much to his consternation he viewed the beginnings of a 4-sided
>pyramid. Lorak was immediately summoned to The Great -(Imhotep)-'s
chambers.
>Lorak and Ned had interpreted the drawing as an elevation of a pyramid,
when
>in reality the drawing was an extreme perspective view of a cube. The
>Great -(Imhotep) was not amused and Lorak was trying to hide in the cracks
>between the marble floor tiles. Thinking quickly Lorac realized that the
>root cause of the problem was the perspective drawing's point-of-view, and
>therein lay the solution. With his face buried in the surface of the cold
>marble floor the ever ready Lorak explained how ordinary mortals were not
>worthy to see the great cubic vision of The Great -(Imhotep)-, that view
>would be reserved only for The Great -(Imnotep)- himself when he joined Ra,
>the sun god in the sky above.
>
>Now, it will be very interesting to see what each of you considers the
moral
>of this story.
>
>John Leeke, Preservation Consultant
>
>publisher:               Practical Restoration Reports
>contributing editor: Old-House Journal
>postal:                    26 Higgins St., Portland, Maine, USA
>phone & fax:           01 207 773-2306
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>website:                  www.HistoricHomeWorks.com