Bryan Davis - Eye of the Oracle

She glanced toward the hole, now a curtain of blackness. She imagined the dozens of times Elam must have groped for morsels of food. She had thrown a piece of cheese the first time thinking that a mouse might find that air vent into her hovel. Now that a flesh and blood person hunted there every night, she had to find a way to get as much food to him as she could. After all, working at the brick kilns was the hardest job in the lower worlds, so he was probably always hungry.

Mara rose to her feet. She felt lighter somehow and wide awake, so there was no way she could go back to sleep. She pulled on her outer dress and crawled from the hovel. On the floor across the corridor, a weak light flickered in one of the lanterns that had been lined up for the girls to grab in the morning. Since wakeup call was only about an hour away, she might as well go ahead and report to her new job early.

She lit one of the other lanterns and traced a path to the control room. After turning the lock wheel through its combination, she pushed open the door and padded toward the embryo table.

As she passed by the growth chambers, she glanced at each sad face, pitiful spawns destined to die. When her light fell on the last pod in line, its familiar lips smiled. She lunged toward it and caressed its strong, thick stalk. “My spawn!”

Another light flashed on. Mara spun around. Mardon stood over her, his lantern rocking back and forth in his hand. “What are you doing here?”

She pressed down her wrinkled clothes. “Reporting for work.”

Mardon stretched and yawned. “Is it morning already? I guess I fell asleep on the floor.”

“Why is my spawn here? Is he ”

“Don’t worry. He’s not going to be terminated. I moved him so you could take care of him while you worked here.”

“Oh.” She laid her hand against her chest. “Thank you.”

Mardon set his lantern on the worktable and rolled open the big scroll. “How many hours is Morgan allotting to this project?”

“She decided to let me come all day.”

“Really? That’s a surprise. I was hoping for just a few hours, but all day is even better.”

“She even assigned Paili to food preparation.” Mara bit her tongue. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell him that. She didn’t want to explain the reason for Morgan’s kindness. “Could Morgan be in a good mood for a change?”

“Not likely.” Mardon’s eyes moved toward the door, then returned to Mara. “Just watch your back. She’s probably up to something.”

“Yessir.”

“Well,” he said, waving toward the scroll, “let’s get started. You have a lot to learn.”

Mara ran her finger along a line of numbers and, with a sharpened piece of graphite, added a new one to the end. “Okay,” she whispered to herself, “Mardon spliced Samyaza with Canaan for that set, and he blended those with” she pointed to another line “with the normal human pair, giving us. .” She bit her tongue and scratched down a long string of numbers before setting down her graphite and wiping her brow. “Whew! This is complicated!”

After rolling up the scroll, she turned to her spawn and smiled. “I think I have it figured out. . uh. . what should I call you, anyway? You need a name.” She rested her chin in her hand. “How about Yereq? It means green. If you like it ”

“Mara.” Mardon stomped into the room, his hand cupped in a cradle.

Mara sat up straight. “Yessir?”

“I have something to show you,” he said, extending his hand.

She tiptoed up to him and peeked over his fingers. A red, glassy egg fit perfectly in his palm. “What’s that?”

“I’m not sure. I found it when we were digging the foundation for a fountain near the tower. I think it’s a device that allows communication with Elohim.”

“With Elohim? The one who flooded the upper world?”

“Exactly.”

She scowled at the egg. “Isn’t he the one you called a tyrant in your scrolls?”

“Shhh!” Mardon covered the egg with his hand. “Like it or not, Elohim is in control, so I want to learn to communicate with him. That’s one of the reasons we’re building the tower.”

“I read about the tower. It sounds wonderful!”

Mardon looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “It is magnificent. The greatest accomplishment the world has ever seen. We hope the tower will get Elohim’s attention, because tradition says he lives in the sky.”

“What will you say to him?”

“Oh, not me,” he said, laying a hand on his chest. “My father will speak to him.”

“King Nimrod?”

“He wants to make a treaty with Elohim in order to prevent another disaster. For our part, we’ll make whatever sacrifice Elohim requires if he will only agree to speak to the rest of us through my father. The people are bound to listen and comply when their own king gives the orders.”

She pointed at the egg. “What makes you think this thing can talk to Elohim, and why are you showing it to me?”

“Listen carefully.” He uncovered the egg and held it close to his mouth. “Elohim? Are you listening? Please speak to me.”

Red fog boiled inside the crystalline egg, swirling until it formed the shape of an angry-looking eye. The scarlet pupil pulsed as it spoke in gruff verse.

This place accursed in demons’ hands,

Where giants grow from pits of hell,

Cannot contain the prophet’s eye

Until the maiden grasps its shell.

The maid endowed with nimble mind,

An oracle of fire born,

Can speak to me of toil and pain,

And I will raise the friend she mourns.

Until she comes with mind unspoiled,

Untaught in ways of God by men,

My words of knowledge silent lie;

The lips of God are sealed again.

The eye faded away, and as the fog dissipated, Mardon held the egg out for Mara to see. “That’s what it says every time. Since it refers to the lips of God, I thought it might be a way to communicate with him. Imagine the effect on the people if we constructed a temple at the top of the tower and placed this as the mouthpiece of Elohim. The city would be the capital of the world, and our control over the people would be established forever.”

Mara half closed one eye. “You still haven’t told me where I come in.”

“Well, obviously it doesn’t want to talk to me, but when I realized how smart you are, I thought you might be the maid of nimble mind.”

Mara touched the egg with her finger. A splotch of red on the inside seemed to follow her fingertip as she moved it along the surface. “What does ‘oracle of fire born’ mean?”

“I have no idea.” He rolled the egg into her hands. “Speak to it and see what happens.”

Mara brought it close to her lips, keeping her eyes on Mardon as she spoke. “Is anyone in there?”

A sense of warmth radiated into her hand. She stared at the glass, and once again, red fog swirled within the transparent shell. Halos of crimson light pulsed from the center, ring after ring of radiant energy passing over her skin, warming her whole body.

When the eye appeared, its pupil seemed awash in a softer, steady scarlet. It poured out new words that chanted in joyous rhythm, reminding Mara of a story Mardon once told of his father singing while bouncing him on his knee.

The maid of fire has come at last

To set the upper world aright.

Ascend dear girl to lands above

And cast the tower in holy light.

As the eye faded away again in the fog, the egg whispered three final words. “Make haste, child!” Mara gazed at the red glass, her skin still tingling from the warm radiance.

Mardon clapped his hands. “Did you hear that? Elohim wants to use this egg in the tower, just as I thought! He will speak from the tower and establish my father’s kingdom!”