Dr. Terence Bey was the curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities and the employer of Evelyn Carnahan.
Biography[]
Preceded by a less scrupulous curator that had auctioned off mummies of nobles from the museum's collection, Dr. Bey had taken the post of museum curator while secretly holding the title of a Medjai, acting as a contact for the Medjai warriors within Cairo.
Library Problems[]
Terence Bey was the employer of Evelyn Carnahan and had some displeasure at her efforts, as one mishap with a book being placed on its shelf led to the fall of all of the museum's bookshelves, each falling over the next like dominoes, and throwing thousands of texts around. Dr. Bey was shocked at the incident, but agitated when he saw that Evelyn had done it, likening her to the Ten Plagues for her mistakes and telling her that the only reason that he put up with her was because her parents were the library's finest patrons. Ordering Evelyn to clean the mess up, the curator stormed off angrily.
A New Artifact[]
That afternoon, Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan brought an artifact to Evelyn that was at first derided as a counterfeit; a closer analysis of the artifact, a small puzzle box, revealed that it was genuine, as the puzzle box popped itself open, revealing eight key-like attachments, each with a different end, and a map made of papyrus, the map leading to the ancient City of the Dead, Hamunaptra.
Dr. Bey examined the object closely in his office, speaking skeptically at first of its authenticity, and deriding the map inside as a fake. Evelyn insisted that, despite the tales told that an evil mummy resided in Hamanaptra distorting the truth, the City of the Dead had existed. As he leaned in to say more, the map was caught in the fire coming from a candelabra on the curator's desk. The candle had burned off the map's contents concerning Hamunaptra before Evelyn and her brother could put the flames out. Dr. Bey humbly apologised and reasoned that it was perhaps for the best, as other men sought the City of the Dead and come up successful. Dr. Bey then concluded that the map was likely a forgery and reasoned that the box itself might offer a modest sum. Evelyn was decisive and stated that the box was not for sale, taking it from the curator and leaving with her brother.
Alliances[]
“ | You!
Miss Carnahan. Gentlemen... What is he doing here? Do you really want to know or would you prefer to just...shoot us? |
” |
Evelyn and Jonathan had found the source of the map: within Cairo prison, an incarcerated American named Rick O'Connell who claimed to have been in Hamanaptra before, had found the puzzle-box and agreed to help Evelyn and her brother find the city in exchange for saving him from a hanging in the prison. Meanwhile, Dr. Bey met up that night with a group of Medjai warriors, headed by one warrior with a hook-shaped blade in place of his hand, in his office. Dr. Bey informed the warriors that Evelyn came to possess the map to Hamunaptra and the key that opened its contents. Hook suggested that the desert would kill her off, but Dr. Bey insisted that she had seen too much and must be stopped before she could cause any trouble. Hook assured Dr. Bey that she would be taken care of, but brought up another expedition, this one consisting of three Americans, that were also seeking Hamunaptra. Dr. Bey ordered the warriors to disregard the Americans, as they would not find the city without the map.[1]
With O'Connell's help as a guide, Evelyn and her brother, alongside others in a separate group, had sought the City of the Dead and come up empty, with only the deaths of others involved to show for their efforts. To complicate matters further, the expeditions in Hamanaptra released an ancient mummy that was dedicated to causing the deaths of those who had opened a chest containing the Book of the Dead, the ancient text which brought the corpse back.
Within a span of time, Evelyn returned to the Cairo Museum to seek out Dr. Bey, as he could offer some help to the surviving expeditionaries that had opened the chest. When she next saw Dr. Bey, he was in the presence of Ardeth Bay, the Medjai warrior that had almost killed off Evelyn and those in Hamanaptra. Upset at the curator's connection, Evelyn demanded to know what the Medjai warrior was doing in the Cairo Museum, a statement punctuated by guns raised by the men behind her, O'Connell, Jonathan, and two of the surviving Americans that returned from Hamanaptra. Dr. Bey coolly asked in response if she really wished to know, or if her friends would prefer to just shoot Ardeth Bay and the curator without any explanation. Compelled by this, O'Connell and the other men lowered their weapons.
Dr. Bey explained that he and Ardeth were part of an ancient secret society dedicated to the protection of mankind from evil: the Medjai, whose responsibility it was to prevent the Hight Priest Imhotep from reentering the world and spreading his curse. Because of Evelyn's doing, Dr. Bey said, the three-thousand year old mission to prevent the evil curse from spreading had failed. Explaining all that he knew, Dr. Bey revealed that the mummy would flee if he saw a cat, as cats are the guardians of the Underworld, and that Imhotep would fear them until he was fully regenerated, fearing nothing after that time. Evelyn demanded to know if the prevention of Imhotep's resurrection was just ground to kill innocent people, which Dr. Bey and Ardeth Bay non-hesitantly responded that it was. Dr. Bey was told by Evelyn that the mummy seemed to have some attachment to her, as he called her Anck-Su-Namun, and had tried to kiss her before in another expeditionary's quarters, Bey and his colleague immediately understanding that the mummy spoke of his long-lost lover, who was to be resurrected by Imhotep as, after three thousand years, he still loved her. Dr. Bey also went on to tell Evelyn that she was most likely Imhotep's intended human sacrifice, which, he went on, might give the time needed to kill the mummy. Ardeth Bay explained that they would need all the help they could get, as the mummy's powers were growing: the sun began to be blocked as another of the plagues brought on by the mummy's revival.
Finding the Book of Amun-Ra[]
Later in the day, Evelyn and the others in her group, now limited to her brother, O'Connell, and one last expeditionary, Daniels, headed back to the Cairo Museum where they would read through the hieroglyphs on the slabs in the displays so as to find the location of the golden Book of Amun-Ra, which might be able to take the mummy's life away as quickly as the Black Book had given it. As the curator and Evelyn divulged this to the others, the sound of chanting rang out from outside: the townspeople of Cairo had been put through a curse by Imhotep, sporting boils and sores on their faces, and having no free will. The two Egyptologists read through the slabs as a loud pounding sounded from the doorway below on the first floor: the townspeople had broken through the doors of the museum.
Dr. Bey, O'Connell, Evelyn, Ardeth Bay, and Daniels had successfully escaped the building in time to catch up with Jonathan, who had run outside to start his car. The group escaped quickly from the museum, their presence alerted to Imhotep by none other than Imhotep's servant Beni Gabor, and as more enslaved townspeople chased them, the car was soon cornered in the streets by more drones, who had stood together, blocking the way. Driving right through the crowd, the group fended them off, throwing the people off of the car, but not before they took Daniels with them.
Death[]
“ | You go! Go! | ” |
Dr. Bey and the others drove on through the streets of Cairo, escaping the enslaved townspeople until the car crashed into a fire hydrant and the group was left to run away from the hordes. Being cornered by the townspeople, the group stood against a wall until the mob parted revealing their master Imhotep, now fully regenerated after having consumed Daniels. The mummy spoke directly to Evelyn, asking her to come with him; if she did, the mummy went on, he would spare her friends. Evelyn reluctantly stepped forward, much to O'Connell discontent, and she left arm-in-arm with Imhotep, who went back on his word and ordered the townspeople to kill the resistors. At that moment, O'Connell pried open a manhole cover and sent Jonathan down, followed by Ardeth Bay, and finally he meant to have Dr. Bey come down as well, but Dr. Bey demanded to be left behind to hold the hordes off. As O'Connell escaped at Dr. Bey's request, Dr. Bey was overcome by the crazed hordes, which overpowered and killed him before he could fight back.
Personality and Traits[]
Dr. Terence Bey was the curator of the Cairo Museum of Antiquities, and had a sense of logic and order in any situation given. Dedicated to his position as a Medjai, the curator kept secrets regarding his post well enough, and knew how to best cover up that which might cause trouble. Although Dr. Bey was willing to go to any lengths to keep his mission intact, even going so far as to kill men, he was not without compassion and pathos, displaying a pang of sorrow as he mentioned the deaths of Evelyn Carnahan's parents.
A short man with a thick greying beard and balding scalp, Dr. Bey wore a black suit with a double-breasted vest over a white dress shirt with an imperial collar and cravat, along with a red fez and a long black robe when in the presence of the Medjai. When inspecting artifacts such as the puzzle box, Dr. Bey wore a small jeweller's eyepiece to closely examine details.
Appearances[]
- The Mummy (First appearance)
- The Mummy (novelization)
Behind the Scenes[]
Dr. Terence Bey was portrayed by actor Erick Avari.
Dr. Bey's appearance in the novel was depicted differently, as the curator was a short fat man that wore a string tie, had thinning, spider-like hair and a small black moustache.
Terence Bey's surname means "Prince" in Turkish.