The present scroll’s next few adventures, plus the prologue to its most important adventure

Feat 11: Ibzan Elohim

Now, after all that, Ibzan strode forth out of the Temple of the Hairy One and became present among the elohims on Earth.

And Ibzan had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, and he married them all off among the strange nations with which the caravan mixed and mingled; thus he inherited thirty strange sons-in-law, as well as thirty strange daughters-in-law, at least. And he stuck around for seven years.

Then Enoch came and took Ibzan back to the Fulness.

Feat 12: Elon Elohim

And after Ibzan, there arose among the elohims one named Elon; and he was here for ten years, mixing and mingling from Aijalon to Zebulun.

Then Metatron came and took Elon back to the Fulness.

Feat 13: Abdon Elohim

Then among the elohims arose Abdon, whose claim to fame was that he begat forty sons and thirty nephews during his eight-year stint with the caravan; and these offspring of Abdon all rode jackasses everywhere.

Then Enoch came and took Abdon back to the Fulness.

I should mention also that Abdon brought with him, when he left, many Parisians from Antarctica. For it turns out that there is a nether Paris, far south of the one we all love.

Feat 14: Samson Elohim

Now the caravan, after Abdon, enjoyed a generation of mixing and mingling with the Sea People.

And just as the android who was named Man, the mechanical offspring of Satyajit and artificial grandson of King Bryan, served as the robo-butler of the caravansary, likewise did the Sea People have their own electric attendant, and his name was Merman. You have heard of a creature called the centaur, whose body is half human, half horse; well, this Merman was an aquatic version of that: he was a regular robot from the waist upward, but he possessed the lower parts of a fish; so the bottom half of his body was all tail.

It was on account of this last fact that, while the rest of his Sea People were bearing and begetting Seeds of Promise with the Volcano’s wayfarers, poor Merman’s couplings proved unfruitful. Nevertheless, he continued to try, with the human wife that he had taken from the caravansary: a beautiful woman named Adamah.

Now it came to pass that the Volcano visited the Merman’s wife in person. And he spoke to Adamah, saying: “Behold now, those yogis and gurus who call themselves doctors have labeled you barren: that’s a misdiagnosis. You are quite fertile, believe me, and so is your husband; but the two of you have not yet successfully attained conception, because your own womb consists of flesh and blood, whereas he, from the loins even downward, is a mechanical sea-beast. In light of all this, here is my proposal: I will help you conceive and bear a son. Now, therefore, beware: you shall be eating and drinking for two: abstain from intoxicants, during the pregnancy. For I desire a healthy child. And this lad shall be set apart from the herd: From birth, he shall be raised as an elohim; and he shall even become a Volcano of his own. No razor shall come near his head, but his hair shall grow long, until it hangs over his face, and down past his feet: yes, his mane shall be thick, like a cocoon or carapace. And he shall inhabit the Temple of the Hairy One, like the elohim Ibzan, who melded with so many strange nations. This child shall be special – not since Sarah have I cared so deeply about a birth. He shall be brought up among the Sea People, yet he shall resemble his father in every way.”

After this encounter, Adamah came and told her husband Merman, saying: “An elohim came unto me, and his eyes were intense, like the eyes of a goat, very unnerving: I did not ask him where he came from, and he never revealed to me his name. But he said: ‘Behold, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and he warned me to eat right, and stop boozing, because the child shall be raised to become a volcano of potential.”

Then Merman the aqua-robo-butler slithered onto his mat and prayed as follows to the Volcano: “O Volcano, let that stranger from the elohims who mingled with my wife today return and revisit us both, so that Adamah and I can learn exactly how you wish us to raise this child.”

And the wild man hearkened to the voice of the aqua-bot; and he came again unto Adamah as she was sitting in the grass, on the rolling hills, when her husband was absent.

And the woman asked her visitor to stay right where he was, and to wait for her, there on the hillside; and then she made haste, and ran, and fetched her husband from the Hanging Pond, and she pointed and said unto him: “Behold, that same hairy one from the elohims who accosted me earlier has come a second time unto me.”

And Merman the aqua-bot arose, and followed his wife back to the place, and there on the hillside was the elohim in question: his appearance was that of a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down past his feet. All that could be seen of his visage were two staring eyes, which were indeed like the eyes of a goat.

Merman said: “Are you the one who spoke to my wife?”

And the wild man answered: “I am.”

Then Merman bowed and said: “May your prophecy come true. Yet, how shall we order the child – I mean, what are your guidelines about raising him?”

And the Volcano said unto Merman: “I told your wife all that she needs to do. Eat healthy foods, and so on. She’s pregnant, you know.”

Then Merman the aqua-bot said unto the Volcano: “I pray, let us detain you, just long enough for me to go in the pond and catch you some seafood.”

And the Volcano answered Merman: “I will wait here, if you can find tiger shrimp and lobster. And arrange the cuisine on a platter attractively.” This signified to Merman that the Volcano was most likely a gourmand.

Then, before he took off, the aqua-bot turned and said to the wild man: “Sir, so that we may honor you when your prophecy comes to pass, I need to ask you: What is your name?”

And the wild man said: “You did not ‘need’ to ask that. Besides, how could you hear what is unspeakable? You know it’s a secret. Therefore, call me what you like. Baal; Yahweh. Call me Ishmael. Or rather the unknown one who comes and goes at will. Does that quench it, your ‘satiable curtiosity’? Tell your friends that you parleyed with Eroteme.”

So Merman prepared the tiger shrimp and lobster as a bisque with vegetables, spices, heavy cream, and a splash of cognac. He then served this dish with a bottle of Chardonnay.

And the Volcano performed an astonishing marvel, while the bot and his wife looked on; for it happened that a thunderbolt from heaven came and illuminated the meal, and caused it to glow so bright that Adamah and Merman both shielded their eyes, and they fell on their faces to the ground. And when they dared to look back at the dining table, behold: the wild man had vanished. All that remained was the smoke from his vortex. That’s when the couple knew that this must have been the volcano of potential.

Merman said to his wife Adamah: “We shall both surely die now, because we have seen the face of our Dreamer.”

But Adamah answered and said: “If the Engineer of All the Worlds truly wanted us dead, he would not have sat down with us and dined upon your Shrimp & Lobster Bisque; neither would he have taught us all these things about the child that you and I shall bring forth.”

§

Then Adamah bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Volcano favored him. And the spirit of the wild man suffused him.