Rock.”
I laughed. “In Pakistan, 1999, at the ancient site of Harappa, archeologists discovered writing that dated back to 3500 B.C.E. and that’s generally considered to be the earliest known instance.”
“How come I have a feeling that’s not the case?”
M&Ms crunched between my teeth and I savored the peanut/chocolate flavor before I answered. “Because your instincts are sharp, man. The very first example of the written word was a stone tablet, about three-foot tall, that dated back to 5500 B.C.E., created by an unsavory character who invented writing so he could record his confession to God.”
“What? Are you saying that there’s written proof of writing that’s over seven thousand years old? And proof that man worshipped God so long ago? Do you understand the significance of that?” he blurted, expression eager. Despite what he’d learned on this trip, this news seemed to shake him the most. Not surprising, though. Most people equate the formal worship of God to the Hebrews a little over three thousand years ago. Adding four thousand years to the mix would be a serious blow to the Agnostics and Atheists and would stand the religious community on its head.
“Sorry, but no one can read it. The language is unique and unknown. No Rosetta Stone to help translate, man.”
“Then how do you know what it says?”
“Good question. Shows you’re paying attention.” Crunch, crunch, crunch. Whoever invented peanut M&Ms should be canonized. “The holder of Tablet understands all languages written and spoken.”
“Sounds useful.”
“More than useful . Imagine touching the Tablet and looking at a line of computer code. You’d understand it all. It’s the Holy Grail for hackers, pardon the pun, and Munakata was using it to suss out his competition by hacking into their systems. Doubled his holdings in one year.”
Mike snagged the green M&M I held between my fingertips and I felt a twinge of irritation … green ones are my favorite. “That is quite powerful, especially in this day and age where everything is computerized.” He popped the M&M into his mouth and chewed. “So you said it was a recording of a confession to God. What did that person confess and who was it?”
And the hits just keep on coming. “Cain.”
“Cain?”
“Yes.”
“As in Cain and Abel?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Cain?”
“You said that already.”
“I know … it’s still not digesting.”
So I gave him a few minutes to absorb while I finished off the M&Ms. Thankfully there were still several green ones left. Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“Where is this revelatory Tablet then, Jude?’
I sighed. “Gone, Mike, gone. The reason I liberated it was because there might have been a slight chance that a much older artifact could destroy a more powerful one like the Silver.” My voice trailed off.
“And?”
Well, damn. “It broke. I placed the bag that contained the Silver onto the Tablet and it shattered into a million pieces. Was combing pieces of seven thousand year old stone artifact out of my hair for days, man.”
Not a peep out of Mike. I risked a glance out of the corner of my eye to see him staring at me and I began to sweat. When a Catholic priest starts giving you the old stink-eye, it really sets you back on your heels. Don’t believe me? Give it a try. Bet you don’t last two seconds before you get damp under the collar.
Mike took a long breath. “Are you telling me that you shattered one of the most valuable religious relics of all time … on a hunch it would destroy this Silver of yours?”
“You’re angry, aren’t you?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked acidly.
He wasn’t getting it. “I’m trying to rid the world of an extremely powerful, malevolent artifact here, man. Things happen … magical artifacts break, you know.”
“Harrumph!”
Great … I’d been ‘harrumphed’ by a priest.
“Well,” he said at last. “At least it proves that
I laughed. “In Pakistan, 1999, at the ancient site of Harappa, archeologists discovered writing that dated back to 3500 B.C.E. and that’s generally considered to be the earliest known instance.”
“How come I have a feeling that’s not the case?”
M&Ms crunched between my teeth and I savored the peanut/chocolate flavor before I answered. “Because your instincts are sharp, man. The very first example of the written word was a stone tablet, about three-foot tall, that dated back to 5500 B.C.E., created by an unsavory character who invented writing so he could record his confession to God.”
“What? Are you saying that there’s written proof of writing that’s over seven thousand years old? And proof that man worshipped God so long ago? Do you understand the significance of that?” he blurted, expression eager. Despite what he’d learned on this trip, this news seemed to shake him the most. Not surprising, though. Most people equate the formal worship of God to the Hebrews a little over three thousand years ago. Adding four thousand years to the mix would be a serious blow to the Agnostics and Atheists and would stand the religious community on its head.
“Sorry, but no one can read it. The language is unique and unknown. No Rosetta Stone to help translate, man.”
“Then how do you know what it says?”
“Good question. Shows you’re paying attention.” Crunch, crunch, crunch. Whoever invented peanut M&Ms should be canonized. “The holder of Tablet understands all languages written and spoken.”
“Sounds useful.”
“More than useful . Imagine touching the Tablet and looking at a line of computer code. You’d understand it all. It’s the Holy Grail for hackers, pardon the pun, and Munakata was using it to suss out his competition by hacking into their systems. Doubled his holdings in one year.”
Mike snagged the green M&M I held between my fingertips and I felt a twinge of irritation … green ones are my favorite. “That is quite powerful, especially in this day and age where everything is computerized.” He popped the M&M into his mouth and chewed. “So you said it was a recording of a confession to God. What did that person confess and who was it?”
And the hits just keep on coming. “Cain.”
“Cain?”
“Yes.”
“As in Cain and Abel?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Cain?”
“You said that already.”
“I know … it’s still not digesting.”
So I gave him a few minutes to absorb while I finished off the M&Ms. Thankfully there were still several green ones left. Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“Where is this revelatory Tablet then, Jude?’
I sighed. “Gone, Mike, gone. The reason I liberated it was because there might have been a slight chance that a much older artifact could destroy a more powerful one like the Silver.” My voice trailed off.
“And?”
Well, damn. “It broke. I placed the bag that contained the Silver onto the Tablet and it shattered into a million pieces. Was combing pieces of seven thousand year old stone artifact out of my hair for days, man.”
Not a peep out of Mike. I risked a glance out of the corner of my eye to see him staring at me and I began to sweat. When a Catholic priest starts giving you the old stink-eye, it really sets you back on your heels. Don’t believe me? Give it a try. Bet you don’t last two seconds before you get damp under the collar.
Mike took a long breath. “Are you telling me that you shattered one of the most valuable religious relics of all time … on a hunch it would destroy this Silver of yours?”
“You’re angry, aren’t you?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked acidly.
He wasn’t getting it. “I’m trying to rid the world of an extremely powerful, malevolent artifact here, man. Things happen … magical artifacts break, you know.”
“Harrumph!”
Great … I’d been ‘harrumphed’ by a priest.
“Well,” he said at last. “At least it proves that
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