Introduction
In my previous novel, the entire labor force of the Empire was lured to quit working and abandon the country. They were led to do this by a rebellious ex-agent of that government’s intelligentsia whose codename was Moses. And this Moses was instructed by a wild man whom he met standing in a vortex on a hillside beyond the Empire. This wild man from the vortex had eyes like a goat, and his hair was so long that it encapsulated his body. And his codename was “the volcano of potential.” He was the reason that Moses liberated the Empire’s laborers; for this Volcano requested that the workforce be fetched to feast with him in the badlands. Once this was accomplished, the wild man joined the group of laborers in person, with the intention of living among them. And they called his name “Yahweh.” There are many other important details about the backstory of this present novel which it would be good for the reader to know, but I can’t summarize everything here without severely irking myself. So, now I will begin telling this sequel about the workforce that goes wandering around with the wild man, assuming either that you are conversant with the previous novel’s events or that you just don’t care.
wholly ghostwritten by Bryan
The first thing that the wild man with the goat eyes instructed Moses and Bryan to do, after his hair grew back, is to number all the workers. Take a census. “I want to know how many people are in our nation.” So they tallied up the populace.
Here are some of the totals that they came up with: Fifty-nine thousand. Thirty-two thousand. Forty-six thousand. Seventy-four thousand. One count even yielded six hundred and three thousand, five hundred fifty. And perhaps the true sum is whatever all these figures add up to, for it could be that each of them represents only a subdivision among the many armies that made up the multitudes. How would we know? Nobody bothered to add more specific labels to the tallies above: they’re all just numbers, floating in space; you can use them how you like. So it’s safe to say: there were a great many people.
And the wild man blessed all the workers who had left the Empire.
Now the starting point of their road trip is the hill near Eagan, where the wild man first met the workforce. And their goal is the land of Eldorado, India.
Now, do you remember Jethro, the Midianite priest? You have forgotten who he is? Alright, I’ll try to bring you up to speed:
When Moses had to escape from the Empire after slaying a slavedriver, he fled to Jethro’s house. And it was from Jethro’s religion that Moses first learned of the god named Yahweh, who was one among Jethro’s pantheon of deities. Also it was while watching Jethro’s goats that Moses first met the wild man in the vortex, on the side of the hill near Jethro’s abode. Moreover, Moses married Jethro’s daughter, Zipporah, and had at least two children with her.
So Jethro was Moses’ father-in-law. His full title was Jethro Raguel Reuel Hobab. You may refer to him by any of these four names.
Now Moses said to his father-in-law Jethro Hobab: “I’m going on a journey with Yahweh, and we’re taking the workforce. Our aim is Eldorado of India. Please join us – we will treat you well. Hasn’t Yahweh given us a good report?”
And Jethro answered Moses: “Thanks, but no. I’ll decline your offer. Go with Yahweh yourself; I’m heading back to my home near the hillside in Eagan. I want to be with my family.”
But Moses begged Jethro, saying: “Oh, I pray to you, don’t leave us! Because we plan on camping in the woods, and in the wild parts of the land, and you could be our eyes and our ears, because you know this place so well. We desperately need your expert guidance. Come on, please agree to accompany us. Look, we keep in our files this contract that we signed with Yahweh, wherein he has promised to do us so much goodness – now, if you help us, we’ll do just as much goodness for you! Doesn’t that sound enticing? What do you say?”
I shall not record Jethro’s answer to this. You’ll have to guess for yourself, O reader, whether Moses was able to persuade Jethro to join Yahweh’s adventure. But you can take this as a hint about the truth: in the following pages, I’ll never mention Jethro again.
(Note to self: Why do I care so much about Jethro? Why bother referring to him at all? Why can I never stop thinking about him? This scripture is off to a bad start.)
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