by Brian Godawa
That abominable offspring of Ham was the man that Ishtar was after. As the cursed son of Noah, he would be the perfect vehicle through which to breed the Seedline of the Serpent in opposition to the Seedline of the Woman through the chosen son of Noah.
When Sinleqi was granted an audience with Ishtar, he approached her with trembling. She was known to kill servants in impatient fits of rage if she did not get what she wanted. She seemed particularly impatient as he drew near to her tent throne in the north section of the Babylon settlement.
“You had better be the bearer of good news, Sinleqi,” said Ishtar, “for I have had a vexing hair day.” Ishtar fancied herself a kind of divine fashion plate who prided herself in a diverse wardrobe of eroticism and pain. She would often combine provocative dress with accessories of violence in order to stress her ironic juxtaposition of identities as the goddess of both sex and war. But today, she had burned her hair trying to dye it white. It was frazzled and unruly. She simply could not do a thing with it. She had decided to cut it all off and kill a few servants to use their hair for a wig.
Sinleqi bowed and said, “O Queen of Heaven, I have travelled far and wide and have borne the weight of many sleepless nights in genealogical research of the archives of the cities of man.”
“Get on with it, hog nose,” interrupted Ishtar. Sinleqi had an upturned nose that seemed to accentuate his pig-like endomorphic body.
Sinleqi turned and retrieved a tablet from one of the two servants who accompanied him. He handed it to Ishtar who read it as Sinleqi spoke.
“You are holding in your hands the tablet that I would argue contains the information you are looking for. I draw your attention to the colophon at the end of the tablet. It states the toledoth or genealogy, ‘These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood. The sons of Ham were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.’ Now by careful exegesis of the tablet text, I noticed that there was an unusual repetitive reference to ‘Ham, the father of Canaan.’ Hermeneutics, or the art of textual interpretation, would tell us that such repetition points toward an unusual identity of the object.”
Ishtar interrupted again, “Get to the point, scholar!”
It was amazing to Ishtar. This brilliant ummanu scholar had such a droning voice that she was actually starting to get sleepy. Watchers did not sleep, but they could fall into a hypnotic trancelike state that would simulate sleep. She considered striking him dead, but then thought better of it, realizing that there could be some utility in the future of multiplying these scholars and using their hypnotic effect as a means to control the youth through mass indoctrination in schools of learning. It was the youth that were the most easily manipulated, because their minds were the least developed and therefore the most open to suggestion. She smiled. How deliciously ironic that something so apparently beneficial to the mind as education could be twisted into a tool of power to lull young minds into thoughtless adherence.
Sinleqi tried to jump to the conclusion with a faltering voice, “The text emphasizes Canaan’s lineage with Ham because the mother was not Neela, his own wife, but Emzara, his mother.”
A fangy grin spread across Ishtar’s face as she read the tablet. “So Canaan is my man. Where is he?”
“Actually, he is on our slave rolls,” said Sinleqi, offering another tablet to Ishtar.
She ignored the offer and barked, “Well, go get him and bring him to me!”
Sinleqi cringed at the outburst. “Yes, your highness.”
She added, “And Sinleqi, remember what I told you.”
“Yes, your highness,” he repeated.
Ishtar had commanded Sinleqi to maintain the utmost of secrecy in his pursuits. No one was to know what he was doing, not even Nimrod. In fact, he was to have everyone who helped him in the process clandestinely killed, including the two servants obediently holding the tablets right now.
She contemplated whether or not she should kill Sinleqi afterward as well. But she figured that it would not be so prudent because it might draw too much attention, since he was the king’s scholar.
Maybe I will just brutally rape him instead, she thought. It would not be unlike fornicating with a hog, considering his pork-like body.
She started to get aroused at the thought of it.
Chapter 5
Canaan was a tall lanky man. As part of the slave force of Nimrod’s growing kingdom, he was not allowed any more rations than his fellow slaves, and thus suffered the need of his larger frame that was a head above the others. When he entered Ishtar’s tent behind Sinleqi, he was slow and unresponsive. His eyes were sunken and his malnourished body looked skeletal.
The voice of Ishtar boomed across the room, “Welcome, Canaan!”
But Canaan hardly listened to the goddess’ words. Not because of his lethargic health, but because he was staring at a table before him that was overflowing with foodstuffs of all kinds. He began to drool. He could not help it. There were pomegranates, figs, and fruits bursting with juicy colors, crunchy vegetables piled so high that they fell on the floor, pitchers of milk and honey, bread cakes and beer. And at the apex of it all was a roasted boar, still steaming from being freshly cooked over a fire. The smell was unbearably delicious. Canaan thought it was a new form of torture that he was going to be put through, but for what reason he could not figure.
Ishtar stood on the other side of the table of food that was between her and Canaan. Sinleqi stepped back out of the way.
Ishtar watched Canaan like a master holding a bone over a dog. He was trembling. She smiled and gestured to the table. “You may eat to your heart’s content.”
Canaan looked at her. But he did not move. He did not believe what he had heard. She could not be speaking to him.
But she was. She smiled and said with a soft kind voice, “Go ahead, indulge yourself.”
Canaan stepped forward slowly. He picked up some figs and cautiously ate them. He was expecting to be smited in mid-bite. This could not be real.
Ishtar did not smite him. She urged him on, “Enjoy.” She turned and sat back in her portable throne to wait and watch him feast.
And feast, he did. Canaan began to stuff vegetables and fruit in his mouth like they were going to be taken away from him. He guzzled goat’s milk, half of it splashing over his face onto the floor. He stopped, and looked at the boar beckoning him on the large platter. One more glance at Ishtar for approval, and he tore into the meat like a ravenous jackal.
For the next quarter hour, Ishtar watched Canaan stuff his gullet with every bit of food he could. Unfortunately, it was a big mistake on his part because a malnourished body cannot handle the sudden intake of gluttonous amounts of food.
Canaan paused. Nausea swept over him. His gut started to spasm. He dropped the pig foot in his hand that he was gnawing on. He fell to his knees, bent over and began retching. Then everything he had just gulped and eaten started to pour out of him in a stream of vomit.
By the time it was over, he noticed that Ishtar was standing over him laughing. She put an understanding hand on his back and said, “Do not worry, you will have plenty of food from now on, and time enough to digest it.”
He looked up at her confused. What did she mean, plenty of food from now on?
As if she could read his mind, she looked him in the eyes and said, “Son of Ham, you have a destiny to fulfill.”
Canaan stuttered, “I – I do not understand.”
“Then I will put it simply for you,” she said. “Would you like to stay here and die as a slave or come with me and live as a king?”
Canaan could not answer.
Ishtar was so focused on her new little toy that she did not notice Sinleqi was sweating and looking nervously at the tent entrance.
Ishtar clarified, “In your blood, runs the future of a people who have the power to change the world. I am the god you will need to be able to do so.”
“B-but I am cursed of Elohim,” said Canaan, “to be
a slave to the sons of Noah.”
Ishtar bent down and whispered with a hiss, “When I am done with you, you will rule over the sons of Noah, and Elohim will choke on his curse as you choked on this food.”
Canaan’s eyes were wide with amazement. And then Ishtar grinned and it became contagious. Canaan grinned as if he understood her.
But he did not understand her. He only knew he had to choose between a living hell on earth here and an unknown future of adventure with a goddess. It was not a difficult choice.
Ishtar suddenly realized they were not alone. She jerked her head up toward the tent entrance and saw a huge bulky form backlit from the bright sunlight pouring in from behind him.
Ishtar sighed, “Well if it is not my favorite Master of Farting Winds, the Almighty Artichoke.” She topped it off with a faux curtsey.
Marduk growled and stepped into the tent. He was in fact her rival, the divine bodyguard of Nimrod and ambassador of the pantheon of gods. Though he was opposite of her in temperament -- quiet, reptilian, not easily provoked -- she had found the only way to get under his skin -- by calling him sarcastic derogatory nicknames of his true title as god of vegetation and storm.
Marduk moved Sinleqi aside. To Sinleqi, it was more like a shove. He crashed to the floor in a heap.
Marduk stepped up to Ishtar and placed a clay tablet on the table beside her. It was the toledoth tablet, the genealogy of the sons of Noah.
Ishtar continued in a stare down with Marduk and muttered, “Sinleqi, prepare your will and say your prayers.”
Sinleqi quivered in fear and peed his tunic. She was going to kill him for being found out.
“He will do nothing of the sort,” said Marduk, eyes glaring into Ishtar’s. “He is the king’s scholar and he is under my protection.”
Sinleqi got up and ran out of the tent.
Canaan continued to stare in open-mouthed wonder at the two titans facing off with each other.
Marduk and Ishtar had a history of antagonism that went all the way back to Uruk and the rule of king Gilgamesh. Marduk, whose name at the time was Ninurta, became the protector of Gilgamesh and ambassador of the will of the gods. Before the Flood, Marduk had been a scrappy unimpressive deity, but in the intervening years, he must have trained quite diligently because he rose to prominence in strength and accomplishment. He was the only divinity in the pantheon that could equal Ishtar in both cunning and battle skill, and he was the only one unafraid of her.
This bothered Ishtar. She was not used to such competition ever since Semjaza, her only previous superior, had been bound in the earth. Marduk’s silent calm arrogance got under her skin as much as her insulting digs got under his. But they both knew that a face-off between them would be cataclysmic. A duel would no doubt result in one of them being bound into the earth until judgment, because that was the only way one could have victory over the other. Otherwise, it would be endless war with catastrophic consequences. When two gods battle, not much of the environment or humanity around them survives. So, neither of them was willing to fight that battle until the moment was right, the moment each felt would be to their advantage.
So the hostility continued to boil. One day, they would face each other in combat and that day was coming fast.
Perhaps it was today. After all, Marduk had just uncovered Ishtar’s plot, so what other recourse would she have?
Marduk snorted, “Whore goddess, I care nothing for your pursuit of territory. As far as I am concerned, you can have it.”
Ishtar hissed in reply, “Unfortunately, the assembly is not as apathetic as the Prince of Peas.”
“The assembly need never know,” said Marduk.
Ishtar could not believe what she just heard. She replied with skepticism, “And what is your price?” She was not about to allow this meathead the opportunity to control her through blackmail. But she thought she would at least see what con game he was plotting.
Marduk continued, “I know you well enough to know that you will not abide an inferior position in a deal. So I propose a secret for a secret.”
Now, that was the only thing that would tempt her. If Marduk was stupid enough to offer equal vulnerability in exchange, she might be very willing to oblige him.
“Pray tell,” said Ishtar.
Marduk glanced at the cowering and curious Canaan, listening like a mouse.
Ishtar barked, “Canaan, take a hunk of meat and go wait for me outside the tent.”
Canaan obeyed like a dog, and whisked out, leaving the two of them alone.
Marduk turned back to Ishtar and said, “I have my own territorial ambition.”
Ishtar raised her eyebrow in curiosity.
“I want to be the head of the pantheon,” he said.
“Surprise, surprise, big boy,” she said with just the right amount of sarcastic flirting. Ishtar’s entire body now became sensually engaged, like a hypnotic cobra.
Marduk immediately felt himself attracted to the bitch goddess. She was good. She was very good.
He shook it off and said to her, “You have something I need.”
Ishtar raised her brow again. She was genuinely caught off guard. “You are just full of surprises now, are you not?” she said.
Marduk got to the point. He did not mince words. “I will not reveal your intentions to the pantheon if you do not reveal mine. But I have one other condition.”
“Which is?” said Ishtar, eagerly.
Marduk spilled it, “You give me the containment spell you used before the Flood to capture Leviathan for your purposes.”
Ishtar and several other gods had used spells engraved on an underwater reef to hypnotize the enormous seven-headed sea dragon called Leviathan. They then placed the monster in a box of water to unleash him on the battlefield in the War of Gods and Men. It was like unleashing chaos upon the enemy.
Marduk added, “I assume you used a similar enchantment to get the Bull of Heaven to do your bidding back in Uruk.”
He paused, and then continued, “But I do not want to know about that one because it might anger me. And you do not want me to get angry.”
He was right. During the reign of King Gilgamesh she had used the enchantment to draw the Bull of Heaven to attack the walls of Uruk with the end goal of killing the king and destroying his accomplishments. She had a vendetta against Gilgamesh and Marduk had been the king’s divine guardian at the time, so it would not be wise to drag that sore wound into the present. Some things were best left unaddressed.
“I certainly do not want you to get angry,” said Ishtar. “But I also certainly appreciate the sensitivity of the issue. And I think that we may be of mutual benefit to each other.”
She was playing coy and submissive. It was all part of her scheme to draw him in to her confidence.
It did not fool Marduk for a moment.
Ishtar pried a little, “May I ask for what purpose you need this containment spell?”
Marduk replied, “You will know soon enough.”
“Of course,” she smiled and paused dramatically.
“Well, I think we have a deal, Marduk, king of the gods.”
She did not say it with irony this time, but with flattery. It was the first time she used his name, and without the accompanying insulting title, such as Plum Prince or Gooseberry God.
Despite her calculated manipulative intent, he was still grateful for the momentary cessation of hostilities between them. He thought for a moment that if they could just put aside their differences, they might actually have the capability of thwarting the will of Elohim and replacing the earthly dominion of his pathetic clay humans with their own.
But for now he had his own goal to accomplish. And Ishtar was going to travel up north to Nineveh, where he would probably not see her for an extended period of time. Let her try to breed her little clan of serpentine seed, whatever that meant. Nineveh was one city and a vassal of Babylon. If she sought to foster rebellion against the pantheon, she would most likely fail, as the Giga
ntomachy failed and the Titanomachy failed in the years before the Deluge.
But Ishtar was not going to Nineveh. Rather, she was not going to stay in Nineveh. She was going to travel up the Tigris River, make an appearance in the city, just long enough to establish her presence and the temple cult around her personality. And then she and Canaan, son of Noah, would embark in a secret caravan for her true intended destination: Mount Hermon of Bashan in the far west, the home of the gods.
But she certainly was not going to tell Marduk that little key element of her plan.
Chapter 6
Nimrod examined the model plan for his royal city sculpted in clay on an extremely large stone table sixteen feet square. His city engineers surrounded him. They had constructed the model and drew up the plans for building the eternal city, Babylon, Nimrod’s glory.
The high gods of the pantheon had paid Nimrod a visit to approve the final plans and oversee the beginning of the construction. All four high gods were present. They were: Anu, the overseer sky god of heaven; Enlil, the administrative head of the assembly and Lord of the Air; Enki, god of the waters; and Ninhursag, goddess of earth. Marduk was present, but as usual, remained silent as he shadowed Nimrod, his ward.
The gods were well pleased with the model plans they beheld. Babylon was indeed glorious. At roughly three square miles, the city proper would be bisected by the River Euphrates, creating efficient access to travel and trade. An outer wall around the square city would consist of two walls of kiln-fired brick and one inner wall of sun-dried brick. The space in between the walls would be filled with rubble and stone. Nimrod wanted these to rival the great wall of Uruk, with the top of the walls wide enough to accomodate two four-horse chariots.