Question: How did Rick got the tattoo on his arm in the first place and how did he know the reply for the riddle given by Ardeth?
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Answer: In the movie, when Ardeth - after being given the correct answer to the riddle - claims that Rick has the "sacred mark" making him a "warrior for God", Rick says something like: "Nah, I got this slapped onto me while I was in an orphanage in Cairo." The explanation is simple: Rick was an orphaned child who was raised in Cairo, in an orphanage which belonged to the Medjai (who were very much infiltrated in the city, as evidenced further by the fact that Mr. Bey, the curator of Cairo's Museum of Antiquities, was a Medjai himself). Children in this orphanage were given the wrist tattoo which all Medjai are marked with when they come of age at sixteen, and were taught the riddle since the moment they were brought there. However, they were not told about the meaning of the riddle, nor were they made aware of the Medjai's existence as a society; the response was simply repeated to them until it was so ingrained in their memory, that upon hearing the riddle they would automatically offer the correct answer, thus allowing the Medjai asking the riddle to recognize them as part of their society. The reasons for the Medjai to own that orphanage to begin with are shrouded in mystery, but it can be speculated that they simply used it as a way to even further increase their numbers.
KrystalFlare