And then the people of the world did all return home. And the city of Babel in the Valley of Shinar did measure every rainfall, every wind, every cloud, every thunder, with trust placed in every city that the Edicts of Babel would ensure no new flood. And there was a veritable harvest of new babies, the Children of Babel, each born of fathers they knew not whom.
And in the first year, only one new edict came from Babel: "Verily, the rain passeth from November to April, therefore let us make a law to save half our harvest for the dry months." A few complaints passed from farmer to farmer, but the cities were bounteous and less men starved.
And in the second year came another two edicts:
"Verily, the light of thunder only doth strike the tallest structure, therefore let all cities to build an inanimate rod of metal 100 cubits high, and the flashes shall strike the rod rather than the house." And the rods were built, and men were spared death by lightning.
"Verily, we at the Tower have discovered that the human body hath vessels within that doth animate life: heart, kidneys, spleen, liver, hypothalmus, uterus, bladder. We shall in time understand how they do work, and death shalt be conquered." And the Tower did generate equal hope and fear throughout the lands.
And in the third year came three edicts.
"Verily, we have discovered a divine number: 22/7, which we may write as 3.14. It may be used to predict the tides of seas and the flow of rivers, and perhaps even to make objects that do fly through the air as gods." And the tower did generate results throughout the lands.
"Verily, we have invented the means so that heavy objects might easily be lifted. It shall called 'lever,' and thou must put it upon a fulcrum, and thou canst move all the objects of the earth." And the tower did generate results throughout the lands.
"Verily, we have used the divine number to invent an object circular in shape which may transport all the heavy objects of the earth to any amount of distance. This object shall be called the wheel." And the tower did generate results throughout the lands.
But the people did begin to whisper wroth words, for the Tower did promise the conquest of death, yet solely added qualities to life.
And in the fourth year came a first edict:
"Verily, the wind showeth there shall be floods in the month of Adar. Let us all abscond to mountains that we may pass this flood above the water."
And lo, the entire world did abscond to nearby mountains, and peoples did journey a month to climb them, but minimal flood did come, and all the world around there was neither flood remarkable nor rain exceptional, and they did return and were wroth with Babel, for verily, there was no flood.
And the the Kings of Babel, Persepolis, and Uruk did call a second counsel of all the kings of the Earth. And the kings of the earth did invoke their promise "Verily, thou hadst promised trusting mensuration for an end to floods, yet thou hadst not provided faithful measurement." And the three kings did say "It is better to burden with great care to avoid flood than than to take little burden to meet flood." And the kings of the earth did accuse them "Verily thou hadst not used thy plenty in the service of faithful measurement." And the three kings did respond "Lo, thou hast availed great use of our pronouncements. Thy subjects do live who shall have died, thy vines do multiply which shall have withered, and thy buildings do stay which shall have fallen."
And many kings of the earth did respond "Our people hath neither crops this year nor work for harvest," To which the three kings did reply "But thou hast thy reservoirs of grain for the dry season," And the kings of the earth did ask "If we do give grain to our people for which they shall not work, they shall have no incentive," and the three kings did reply "They shall have all due inducement to work the greater upon the next harvest," to which the kings of the earth did respond "Thou is begat the involvement of foreign government in countries they know not," to which the the three kings did reply "But thou art natheless thine own governments to administer law as thou seest best fit." to which the kings of the earth did respond "but we must administer the laws upon which thou hath dominion over the earth," to which the three kings did say "If the world does wish to survive, then all our states must act with unity as one," to which the kings of the earth did reply "We wish not a federative community of nations, we do wish to be men in states with rights," to which the three kings did ask "But what about thy subjects? Are they too not men?" to which the kings of the earth did reply "We are men. They are but our subjects, chattel who hath not rights of men," to which the three kings responded "If thou wishest to survive a farther flood, verily thou must grant rights of life to thy subjects,"
And to which the kings of the earth did proclaim "thou hast uttered a threat to compel our compliance with thy decrees. Thou do wish to liberate our subjects so that thou mayest enslave us. Babel dost wish to rule as lord and tyrant over the world - to act as Marduk, the world's father, and Ishtar, the world's mother. We do invoke offended gods against thee, we do invoke rites of war, we do renounce the brotherhood of kings."
And there was war within the world for which men were as chattel.
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