The Days of Peleg (73 page)

“One of the benefits of an all-knowing
Creator
,” he said, “is that He knows your thoughts from afar. It is a simple matter of changing your allegiance to Him, acknowledging His preeminence
as
Creator, and believing that the
Zeh-ra
will one day come and restore all that the fall has taken from us—removing the curse. In so doing, you admit your imperfections before Him and accept his supremacy.”

His smile vanished and he looked directly into Peleg’s eyes.

“It is a simple decision,” he said. “You simply
ask
Him in. Accept the coming Seed into your Volition and He will restore your Spirit. All He needs is your invitation; your permission.”

It sounded somewhat simplistic to Peleg—and he still was not convinced that he
had
a Spirit that needed restoration. His thoughts were noisily interrupted by Bernifal, who had awakened instantly for some unknown reason and jumped up in the middle of the floor—instantly alert. Shem rose to his feet and sniffed just before Peleg heard footsteps approaching, followed by the clanking of metal rods and the slow scraping of their stone door being pushed inward.

Flaming torches blinded them as the eight guards who were carrying them entered the classroom. Two of them headed straight for Peleg and grabbed him by the shoulders, while the rest extended their swords towards Shem and Bernifal, forcing them against the far wall. Peleg’s head was restrained by his guards and he could not turn to see his companions, but he was sure that Shem had, once again, instructed Bernifal not to struggle.

An additional guard, with a somewhat more colorful robe, entered the room—obviously an officer. He walked past Peleg and his two restrainers, and addressed Shem and Bernifal without introduction.

“You two are free to leave,” he announced loudly. “We have no use for you here. You shall be escorted from the
Citadel
to the city gates where you will permanently depart the city of Ur. By order of the Queen and her son, you are hereby notified that you two are banished, and that any return to Ur will result in your immediate execution.”

The officer nodded slightly, and the armed guards descended on Shem and Bernifal, holding their arms in the same manner as before, but this time, there were no leather thongs tying their elbows together.

Peleg listened as Shem hastily explained the situation to Bernifal, all the while bewildered by the guard’s statement.

Ur had no queen—or any royalty. Ur-Nammu had established an elected council which met the mundane needs of the city. Appointed arbiters handled disputes, while the rest of the citizenry was free to practice their business, research, art, or other pursuits.

The guards began ushering Shem and Bernifal through the open door.

“The
Creator
has set us free!” Shem shouted gleefully to Peleg as they passed by him. He turned and was able to catch Peleg’s eye as he entered the hallway. Peleg was stunned to see the huge smile that covered Shem’s face, and was even more horrified when Shem
winked
at him!

“
He
has promised that we shall meet again,” Shem called out as he and Bernifal were taken down the corridor. “It will be
very
soon! He
promises
!”

The events had happened so rapidly that Peleg was unable to respond. He heard two more “He promises!” as the echoes of Shem’s voice faded in the distance, and soon he was alone with his two guards and the officer who had remained behind, filled with an unimaginable flood of swirling emotions:

Anger that Shem had appeared unconcerned about Peleg remaining in this prison. Fear at being left alone. Sadness that Shem, whom he would miss, was gone. Dismay over the threats of execution. Regret that he had been unable to respond.

Concern that he no longer had his pre-Calamitite trophy to present to Inanna.

Two additional conflicting reactions came to him as he reflected upon this turn of events: Empathy and gladness for Shem and Bernifal at their escape; and anger towards this Creator (whose existence he had not yet decided upon) who had somehow seen fit to arrange their freedom and not his.

There was no more time for further introspection, however, as his guards, led by the officer, propelled him by his arms and steered him into the hallway and through the corridors of the
Citadel
. Neither the officer nor the guards said anything, and they ignored all questions and protests from Peleg. Soon he realized he was being ushered in the direction of the Hall of Spheres—the same hall where Reu-Nathor had announced the Great Discovery.

The guards pushed through the heavy stone side doors, and Peleg tried to look past the glare of the torches surrounding him. The assembly room was dark, but several small oil lamps were arranged along the rear of the stage, backlighting two very large carved chairs which were placed where the High Minister’s marble lectern used to be.

The guards gave him a final shove, and then exited behind him, leaving him alone in the large hall. As their torches left, he realized that the lamps along the sides of the ceiling
were
lit, but they were just turned down much more dimly than he had ever seen before. Almost imperceptibly, the outlines of the constellations sparkled with dimly refracted light from their recesses in the wall.

He stood motionless for a moment, but he eventually moved slowly toward the front of the hall. He was free to walk around the hall, but was certain that he would be unable to leave through the door he had just entered. He looked up and saw the familiar outer worlds suspended as round black silhouettes from the ceiling (unmoving at the moment), and moved closer to the stage, peering at the chairs, which now, he thought, more closely resembled thrones. A large assortment of inlaid jewels adorned their arms, and another collection of gems crowned the chairs’ tall backs, creating a sparkling outline to each chair’s shadow—and casting bluish flickers against the stone walls as the radiance from the
Iku-fish
lamp flames refracted through the precious stones.

“
Finally, we meet again after your long journeys.
”

Peleg jumped as a spasm of fear gripped his throat. The disembodied voice came from the left chair on the stage directly in front of him! He shuddered for a moment, adjusting to the fact that he was not alone in this room—and also to the realization that he recognized the voice!

It was the voice of Inanna.

“Mentor Inanna?” he asked tentatively, looking around for a hidden location from which she could throw her voice. He was dismissing, for the moment, what Shem had said about Mentors.

“Chief Cartographer Peleg, of the
Urbat
,” Inanna’s voice continued, formally identifying the startled man before the stage. Peleg stared more intently in the direction of the voice, and was astonished to see the jewels on the back of the chair begin to shift and move, rise suddenly, and then detach from the chair and begin flying towards him.

He ducked instinctively, but as they came closer, the shape of a tall woman emerged from beneath the levitating gems, and Peleg finally realized what was happening.

Inanna was standing on the stage before him, covered in a silky black linen robe, and wearing a multifaceted diadem on her head—which had previously been aligned with the gems above the chair. A dark veil was draped over her head, but as she stepped forward, and the lights from the back lamps pierced translucently through her garments, Peleg could finally see her unmistakable features beneath the sheer coverings.

Peleg stepped back and tipped his head up, trying to look into her face. In spite of his fear, he attempted to speak again.

“Mentor Inanna,” he began carefully. “I am so pleased and relieved to finally…”

“I am now High Minister,” she said calmly, and then waited for his response.

Peleg quickly apologized—which was most certainly the reaction she desired.

“Forgive me,” he said quickly. “I had heard, but I was not sure. I only addressed you as I knew you from before.”

She laughed suddenly and extended a hand down towards Peleg, revealing long black sleeves which also had embroidered jewelry that aligned with the arms of her chair. He reached for it, and when they clasped, their thumbs interlocked, and she gripped his hand so tightly that it hurt. With very little effort, she curled her arm towards herself and stepped backwards, hauling Peleg up onto the stage, placing him directly in front of her.

Peleg stood before her, breathless, realizing he had never fully appreciated her incredible height—or beauty. He looked up into her face, which was smiling sweetly at him—yet somehow that terrified him even more.

She lifted her hands and removed her crown, setting it on the arm of the chair behind her. She then reached for her forehead and removed the veil which was fastened to a small headband, revealing her ivory-white face—now etched with soft bluish highlights cast from the fish-oil lamps. Peleg suddenly realized that her veil had been covering much more than her amber face. Exposed, now, was her throat, her graceful yet powerful collarbones, and the beginnings of an incredible figure—which Peleg would normally have never considered—but was now just inches away from him at eye-level; hammering him with unexpected waves of libidinous vertigo. His thoughts flickered desperately to Talah-Barsuu and his other wives, just a few blocks from here.

He staggered back slightly, embarrassed and confused, but Inanna just laughed again and return to her chair, sitting so that the standing Peleg could look directly into her eyes.

Peleg searched furiously for something to say. He had mentally rehearsed many potential opening statements, but now that he was confronted with the new High Minister—in this city that was totally changed—he was speechless.

He was startled by a second voice—coming from the chair on his right.

“
This navigator can offer us nothing.
”

The voice was strangely similar to Inanna’s, yet was obviously very young, most likely belonging to a small boy. Yet the words and syntax belonged to a much more mature speaker.

Peleg spun towards the chair just in time to see a shifting mass of blackness separate from the chair’s outline. A small face appeared in mid-air as a large hood was partially pulled back, revealing a small boy wearing a large black robe and seated high upon thick cushions—lifting him so that his head was at the same level as Inanna’s.

The dim lighting made it difficult to be certain, but the boy appeared to have dark, golden colored skin, and the beginnings of a pronounced, Mentor-like brow. However, it was the child’s eyes that alarmed Peleg the most. They bored into him with a fervor and intensity far older than the face they inhabited, and there was something about the countenance that reminded Peleg of someone else—but he could not remember whom.

Without taking his eyes off of Peleg, the boy tipped his head towards Inanna and spoke to her.

“You
must
discard this one. He is only now beginning to realize what has transpired, and we must take precautions.”

The only thing more chilling than the words, was the fact they were spoken by a boy’s pre-pubescent voice. But Inanna simply laughed again.

“My dear Peleg,” she said, looking at Peleg with a strange mixture of maternal love and pity.

“I would like to introduce you to Tammuz: My son—and former husband.”

Chapter 38

Reunion

“The impetus for restoring the Human Spirit is based upon Super-Natural Selection.”

T
he guards ushered Shem and Bernifal unceremoniously through the hallways and down the stairs. But instead of taking them straight to the city gates, they were placed in a holding cell, just inside the
Citadel
’s main entrance.

Bernifal had not been allowed to collect his suit, but he had not really tried hard to retrieve it. He was sitting, playing softly on his flute, and passing the time with Shem, who was staring through a small square opening, watching people enter and leave the great ziggurat.

Shem did not know why they were being held, but he knew there must be a reason. The
Creator
had not brought Peleg to him, only to take him away again. And he was certain they would be reunited again soon.

A small stone door slid sideways, and a guard entered with a flagon of water and a small loaf of rye bread. He placed them on the shallow table in the corner and left, ignoring Shem’s ‘Thank you’.

There appeared to be some sort of dispute surrounding the current guard change, and Shem decided that was why they were still here. Presumably, when it was decided which guards would escort them from the city, they would finally leave.

Shem returned to his meditating; asking that the
Creator
protect Peleg—whatever he might be going through.

Tammuz!

Peleg recalled the name from the previous night’s concert. It took him an extra moment for the full impact of Inanna’s words to register.

Former husband?

Peleg had met her husband, Salah, briefly when he and Serug had visited Inanna a few months before their departure. Mentor Salah had claimed contact with the inhabitants of Nibiru after a long session of
eresh
-inspired meditation.

Peleg turned quickly to look at Inanna, and then spun back and stared into the boy’s face.

He could now see the resemblance to Salah in the boy’s face and realized that her husband was the person he had been reminded of. But the similarities ended there. This child had a determined, almost arrogant look, which radiated condescension. Nothing like the modest, sometimes-awkward Salah who, although controversial, had always been very pleasant—and very patient with those who did not fully understand or appreciate his unusual ideas.

Laughter from Inanna turned him back towards her, where she was obviously enjoying both his discomfort and confusion. A flush of anger made him decide to recall one of his prepared opening statements and try to wrest some control over this encounter from her. Suspending all of his questions for the moment, he began, his voice trembling slightly.