meant.”
Kush rose . He wore a splendid robe and a large, golden collar. His hair had been oiled, perfumed and he had consumed little that was alcoholic. “There is a reason I begged our father to bring you to Babel.”
“ Yes,” Zidon said, “to convince us to join you. That much is rather obvious.”
“ Hush,” Canaan said. “They’ve shown us nothing but respect, and yet you continue with your slights. Your own son has been to Japheth Land. Tell us, Chin, which is more magnificent: Japheth Land or Babel?”
Chin seemed the worse from drink, and he rose unsteadily . “Compared to Babel, they live like ruffians in Japheth Land, kin to the forest beasts. Nor are their feasts so grand. Only in Babel does wine and beer flow like water.”
“ What of their walls?” Canaan asked. “Can the villages in Japheth Land stop a dragon?”
“ Never,” Chin said. “Only in Babel does one truly feel secure.”
“ Yet we’ve only seen one dragon in a hundred years,” Zidon said. “Is there really a need for monumental walls?”
“ What of Nimrod’s leviathan?” Canaan asked. “That proves more terrible creatures abound.”
Zidon stroked his cheek and Kush cleared his throat.
“ I’m not one for making long speeches,” Kush said. “So I’ll keep this short. We have all felt, in one way or another, the keen loss of civilization. Yes, our parents survived the awful Deluge, only to have us thrown deep into primitivism. We’ve all heard the glowing stories of palaces and works of art, music and grand cities that were obliterated by Jehovah’s wrath. In Japheth Land, they live in crude villages. The same, I’m told, occurs in Shem’s area of influence. Only in Babel are we trying to recapture some of the lost glories of civilization. Yet it is a hard task, and we need many hands as well as unity. To that end, we need a unifying purpose, a goal to stir our imaginations.”
Kush paused to examine the crowd.
“Speak on,” Canaan said. “You intrigue me.”
“ Civilization means wisdom,” Kush said. “And wisdom is difficult to acquire. Yet if we could combine the unifying goal together with a search for wisdom, we would be doubly blessed. Now I’d like you to imagine—”
“ Father,” Nimrod said, rising, coming around the table.
Kush scowled at this interruption.
“I’ve anticipated what you’re about to tell us,” Nimrod said, “and I thought a demonstration might help them better visualize what you’re about to say.”
“ A demonstration?” Kush asked.
“ If you’ll permit me,” Nimrod said.
Kush ’s scowl deepened. “Can’t this wait?”
“ It will take but a moment,” Nimrod said.
Kush impatiently waved his hand.
Nimrod clapped his hands. Gilgamesh and Uruk, who had slipped out while the platters were cleared, wheeled a handcart into the room. A linen cloth was draped upon the cart, hiding something large.
Nimrod walked to the cart, his voice ringing out: “My father has shown you baked bricks. They are the secret to a noble vision as grand as Noah’s Ark. Bel, the Angel of the Sun, showed me this vision. He said that, first, we must build a city. Then we must build a tower unto heaven, so we may build a name for ourselves that will ring throughout eternity. Though we presently scrounge for mere existence, by this building of a tower, we will never be forgotten. Our name will blaze like the sun itself. By the building of this tower, we will halt our foolish scattering. What is more, from the heights of this tower, we will learn heavenly wisdom.”
“ What kind of tower?” Zidon asked, his sarcasm forgotten.
Nimrod whipped the linen cloth aside. On the handcart, there stood a model of the Tower. It wasn’t a mere cylinder, but a “stepped” pyramid. In ways it resembled a giant, squared-off wedding cake, with long ramp-like stairs leading to various levels.
“ An oblique pyramid built in seven receding stages,” Nimrod explained.
Ham sat up . It
Kush rose . He wore a splendid robe and a large, golden collar. His hair had been oiled, perfumed and he had consumed little that was alcoholic. “There is a reason I begged our father to bring you to Babel.”
“ Yes,” Zidon said, “to convince us to join you. That much is rather obvious.”
“ Hush,” Canaan said. “They’ve shown us nothing but respect, and yet you continue with your slights. Your own son has been to Japheth Land. Tell us, Chin, which is more magnificent: Japheth Land or Babel?”
Chin seemed the worse from drink, and he rose unsteadily . “Compared to Babel, they live like ruffians in Japheth Land, kin to the forest beasts. Nor are their feasts so grand. Only in Babel does wine and beer flow like water.”
“ What of their walls?” Canaan asked. “Can the villages in Japheth Land stop a dragon?”
“ Never,” Chin said. “Only in Babel does one truly feel secure.”
“ Yet we’ve only seen one dragon in a hundred years,” Zidon said. “Is there really a need for monumental walls?”
“ What of Nimrod’s leviathan?” Canaan asked. “That proves more terrible creatures abound.”
Zidon stroked his cheek and Kush cleared his throat.
“ I’m not one for making long speeches,” Kush said. “So I’ll keep this short. We have all felt, in one way or another, the keen loss of civilization. Yes, our parents survived the awful Deluge, only to have us thrown deep into primitivism. We’ve all heard the glowing stories of palaces and works of art, music and grand cities that were obliterated by Jehovah’s wrath. In Japheth Land, they live in crude villages. The same, I’m told, occurs in Shem’s area of influence. Only in Babel are we trying to recapture some of the lost glories of civilization. Yet it is a hard task, and we need many hands as well as unity. To that end, we need a unifying purpose, a goal to stir our imaginations.”
Kush paused to examine the crowd.
“Speak on,” Canaan said. “You intrigue me.”
“ Civilization means wisdom,” Kush said. “And wisdom is difficult to acquire. Yet if we could combine the unifying goal together with a search for wisdom, we would be doubly blessed. Now I’d like you to imagine—”
“ Father,” Nimrod said, rising, coming around the table.
Kush scowled at this interruption.
“I’ve anticipated what you’re about to tell us,” Nimrod said, “and I thought a demonstration might help them better visualize what you’re about to say.”
“ A demonstration?” Kush asked.
“ If you’ll permit me,” Nimrod said.
Kush ’s scowl deepened. “Can’t this wait?”
“ It will take but a moment,” Nimrod said.
Kush impatiently waved his hand.
Nimrod clapped his hands. Gilgamesh and Uruk, who had slipped out while the platters were cleared, wheeled a handcart into the room. A linen cloth was draped upon the cart, hiding something large.
Nimrod walked to the cart, his voice ringing out: “My father has shown you baked bricks. They are the secret to a noble vision as grand as Noah’s Ark. Bel, the Angel of the Sun, showed me this vision. He said that, first, we must build a city. Then we must build a tower unto heaven, so we may build a name for ourselves that will ring throughout eternity. Though we presently scrounge for mere existence, by this building of a tower, we will never be forgotten. Our name will blaze like the sun itself. By the building of this tower, we will halt our foolish scattering. What is more, from the heights of this tower, we will learn heavenly wisdom.”
“ What kind of tower?” Zidon asked, his sarcasm forgotten.
Nimrod whipped the linen cloth aside. On the handcart, there stood a model of the Tower. It wasn’t a mere cylinder, but a “stepped” pyramid. In ways it resembled a giant, squared-off wedding cake, with long ramp-like stairs leading to various levels.
“ An oblique pyramid built in seven receding stages,” Nimrod explained.
Ham sat up . It
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