(Cont.)
So Balaam received this prayer from Balak’s dream. And he replied to the angel: “I hear the message of your master. You can lodge here tonight in my hut – I need time to think of what to answer back. Watch your step around the portal, there, in case it opens. You can sleep on that cot. I’ll use the rug – I insist: I need to meditate a communique to the Volcano, anyway; and it’s better if I’m not too comfortable, otherwise I might fall asleep.”
So the angel of the dream-vision from Balak abode with Balaam overnight, while Balaam contacted the wild man with the goat eyes.
And the wild man stepped out of the vortex, taking care not to disturb the sleeping angel; and, removing his shoes, he approached the place where Balaam was reclining. Gesturing with his thumb, the wild man then whispered: “Who’s in the cot?”
Balaam answered the Volcano and said: “You know Balak, the son of Zipporah, who represents the people who live in the sticks? He sent me this messenger by way of a dream, and I told her she could sleep there.”
“Ah,” the wild man nodded. “So, what was the message?”
Balaam said: “Some companies of bandits recently came into the land hereabouts and have been butchering and pillaging. They’re out of control, and Balak’s prayer was for me to cast a spell to calm them down; he’s afraid that otherwise they’ll commit atrocities within the sticks. For there’s a significant number of people who live in that part of the wilderness now.”
Upon hearing this, the wild man slumped and said: “This is just what I was afraid would happen. Those desperados are a division that strayed away from the multitudes of workers that I recently rescued. For I went in and defied the current Empire; then led its entire labor force out of the country. They came to my hill, and we feasted together; and next I was planning on taking them for an excursion and showing them around, so that they could mix and mingle with all the surrounding nations. But they shied away from facing the collegiate sector of the first major city we arrived at; and, before I could boost their spirits and persuade them to try, they split into factions and sped off in several directions pursuing schemes. In truth, ever since the beginning, it’s been one setback after another. None of them have gone fully savage, however, until this latest group of mutineers. When they initially broke away, I sent my man Moses to influence them, but they were apparently too much for him.” Then, after a moment of thought, the wild man added: “I feel sad about the whole project. The people are not uncompassionate, at their core; they just weren’t ready for the bliss that I had planned.” Then he looked up and asked, “Incidentally, what were you aiming to do to them?”
Balaam said, “Well, I was thinking of maybe dissuading them with a lice plague. Or siccing a jinni on them, to step on them.”
But the wild man said: “No, please! not lice. And don’t blot them entirely. I feel responsible for them still, and I think I can steer them toward humanity. They’re the descendants of a couple representative men whom I blessed. I signed a contract, you see.”
Then Balaam nodded and said, “I understand. I’ll hold off. But how long? And what should I tell Balak, and the people in the sticks? Their concern is not unreasonable.”
The wild man encased in long hair exhaled deeply; then replied: “Ay, there’s the rub. To be honest, the more I think about it, the more I lean toward granting the people’s prayer. Those from the badlands, I mean. They’re usually right. That’s why I chose to move out here. The problem is my soft spot for the workforce – after all, it was an initial neglect of the laborers in the Empire that led to this confusion. It’s easy to say, ‘Just give me a generation.’ But I hate to gamble with people’s full lives. I guess I cannot specify exactly how long I’ll require. Why don’t you wait at least forty days. I’ll provide what you need, to stall till then. – And, listen: I’m sorry about this; I owe you one.”
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