Osirionis
Chapter 6
Gevurah
Love and Fear
“Spend the night with me, and we shall see Minos in his court after you leave my bed and accompany me from my chambers to his palace as my consort. He will be jealous with rage, and will refuse to believe that you will be my champion to slay his accursed Minotaur. Here is a roll of gossamer thread and a royal dagger. This weapon in your hands will prove to the Minotaur that it is not an immortal nor shall it ever see Artemis. I shall identify you to him as brother to Artemis herself and my new high priest, Qblh. He shall spread rumors concerning a legendary Apollo, since he will misunderstand Qblh, and remember you as Apollo”
“What about Theseus? That is whom I came here as.”
“Your cover is blown here, Qblh. After you have spent the night with me they will know that you are not human, and therefore must be a god. You can tell your Greek friends what you will when you return to the mainland, but this I can tell you for certain, my lord Qblh. You are not Theseus but are Qblh and of Artemis, brother and spouse to Isis, my queen and ruler. I am obliged to tell Minos the truth.”
“I am not Apollo. I am Jim. Isis prepped you for this event?”
“You are Qblh. I know you not as Jim, and you are no Theseus to me. She did say that I was to have you to conduct me to meet with Dionysus, and for you to return Persephone to Artemis safely. What did she mean by that, and where is Persephone if you know of her whereabouts?”
“That is not for you to know, dear Ariadne, but it seems that I will take you to Dionysus, and you must do as your lady has instructed you.” Jim had no intention of denying the power of his lady for the present and would not interfere with Isis’ instructions to Ariadne. To do so would only create further dangerous time rift ripples. “I look forward to our night together.”
“As you should. I also look forward to our child from tonight, my Qblh. Follow me to my bed now and let us cease to talk about time and history.”
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The morning after, Minos became only too aware concerning the whereabouts of Theseus. Ariadne had convinced him that perhaps she could persuade Theseus to shift allegiance. How foolish he felt. Theseus had spent the night with Ariadne and now the entire palace was discovering the scandal and the unexpected. No man had ever spent the night with Ariadne. Certainly she would expect him to treat him as a son and spare his sacrifice to the Minotaur. This was not quite the way that Minos had anticipated events to turn. Men had spent the evening with Ariadne before, but it had been their last. He had expected this Theseus to meet the same fate, but yet reports of the young hero still being alive were being confirmed from his spies amongst Ariadne’s servants. How had he managed to resist her beauty, or why had she spared him?
He thought about the Minotaur again and his jealousy prevailed once again. He started to doubt her statements concerning who the true father of the Minotaur truly was. She had reduced him to nothing more than the son of some temple whore, whom the priestesses had randomly selected by lot to father the new king. He was a child of a ritual. His birth had been a matter of ritual and his unknown father had been sacrificed to the goddess after the intercourse had been culminated. The father that he had grown to known was not his own, but the father of the Minotaur, and his assumed father had died as a result of the rape of his mother. The priestesses by allowing the beast to live maintained control of the royal household. The half brothers had no love for one another, but each lacked the ability to deprive the life of the other. The Minotaur was too ugly to rule the kingdom; it was a monster and Minos was constantly reminded that he was the son of no king and it was Artemis who decided who shall be king. Artemis ruled all. Artemis ruled Egypt. The Pharaohs never questioned the will of Isis and in return she had blessed the Pharaohs with great power. Kore obeyed Artemis. Troy obeyed Artemis. Babylon still honored Semiramis, one of the most powerful priestesses to Artemis ever, slayer to the great Nimrod himself. She took control of his empire after his death. The lesson to him was that the priestesses would not hesitate to slay a king who would no longer honor the rule of Artemis. He prayed to his god, his baal, that Artemis would not be a topic when Ariadne entered his court this morning.
Minos was ill at ease when Ariadne was announced. To his displeasure, here was Ariadne escorting this young Theseus arm in arm much like she would treat her lover, and on his head she had him adorned with a laurel wreath. He did not like at all what he saw. Once in the king’s presence she kissed him, looked at Minos and then Qblh. “You may question him, my lord.”
Qblh smiled. Ariadne was looking directly into his eyes, even though Minos had taken it as his signal to speak.
“Ariadne had mentioned that you had a last request before being sent to the Minotaur. Would you care to see more of her, and serve me in my court? I find it hard that I would be willing to grant you this favor, but this is apparently what my daughter desires of me. Tell me, my son. Give me reason to spare your life.”
“You are in error, my dear Minos. I demand a new treaty between us and an end to this absurd sacrifice.”
“It is not I, but the gods which demand sacrifice, my dear Theseus. Has not Ariadne told you? Until slain, the Minotaur must be granted sacrifice, and no mortal man can kill the Minotaur, so Artemis has sworn. Certainly, you have heard of Artemis, have they not demands on your kingdom?”
“I have come to slay the Minotaur to free him of such ridiculous tribute to Artemis. Don’t try to fool me with your superstitious prattle. I refuse to believe that Artemis demands the ritualistic murder of these youths. I seek an end to this yearly tribute from my kingdom to yours.”
“So you think that I shall simply acquiesce to your demands, let you escape with a treaty and with my daughter so that you can claim to be a hero and be a king at my expense? I hardly think that is possible, just by the strength of your request, but I tell you what my son; If you wish, I shall permit you to discuss this matter with the Minotaur. If you can persuade the Minotaur to end his demands for these sacrifices, then I will only be too glad to honor your request for such a treaty, and I will establish an alliance with any kingdom that you may establish or inherit upon your return to your homeland. I shall also bless the happy union of yourself with my daughter, Ariadne, if that is your desire.”
“Certainly, your offer is generous, if the Minotaur does not murder me in the process. It strikes me that your offer is less than sincere.”
“It is the only offer you will get from me.” Minos glared at Ariadne and smiled, but she only smiled back.
“He shall accept the challenge as my champion, Minos.” Ariadne interrupted putting her fingers to Qblh’s mouth. “Your kingdom is come to an end dear Minos as prophesied with the death of the Minotaur. You have failed the test, this is my lover and is no ordinary man, but he is Qblh, brother to Artemis herself. Isis has decreed that Qblh is the one who is to take the life of the Minotaur and this is he. You should have been more generous in your offer. Expect nothing in return after Qblh has met your challenge, but allow me and my temple priestesses to leave your kingdom once you have the beast’s head on your platter. Much to your fears, Minos, my father, this one whom you know as Theseus knew me last night, and if you were to act as a true father, you would extend him your blessing, instead of attempting to send him to his death. I am to have his child.”
“Impossible!”
Theseus smiled at Minos. “In honor of my lady’s request, I accept your offer and I shall challenge the Minotaur. When I give you his head, you are to honor your oath of a treaty to Theseus, understood.”
“Who are you?”
“I am what Ariadne says I am, I am her lover, and I would seek to leave this island alive, with her and my companions, with a new treaty. You as a king are bound by your word, since we are in your court. Is that not so? Do we have an agreement?”
Minos felt duped. He suspected that Ariadne was betting on a ringer, but he had no option. He tried to remember what Ariadne had called him. He was brother to Artemis, she claimed, and she had admitted that he was no mortal man, by claiming him as a lover. He was alive! No wonder he was so valuable to Artemis, but who was he? Minos had never met a god before, nor did he ever want to. He asked one last question to silence his fears. “Certainly this is not brother to Isis, queen of Artemis.”
“Did I not say he is Qblh?”
Minos fell silent. He was the one who had been judged, and now he knew. “Very well, send him to the Minotaur. He shall answer for such insolence. If he dies, your temple to Artemis is finished on this island, I hope you know, Ariadne.”
“You should be the one to worry, Minos. Explain to me while he is still alive after we made love all night. Do you know of any man that can do that? Let me know when you find one. You best honor your promise you made to him.”
“You have given me no choice, Ariadne.”
“Your arrogant pride gave you no choice. You did not honor his pleas fore mercy, but will only honor power. Now that you will witness a power much greater than your own, you will have to repent your stupidity.”
“How was I to have known?”
“The sacrifices are an abomination and it is to my interest that I return to Athens with a new treaty for my father and Medea.”
“Medea sent you here? She is the one who prophesies the sacrifices as necessary. Why would she send you here to put to an end what she has directed?”
“Enough!” declared Qblh. “I have no malice to anyone, you are forgiven, Minos, in spite of your evil intentions to see me dead. You are not the first or the last with that desire, but you will be one of many who became disappointed. If I held a grudge against everyone who wanted me to dead, I would have no time for thought of my own. I am here to dispose of the Minotaur. It is that simple, so show me the way. I am glad that we had this talk, because now I have a treaty that you must honor, once I perform this one small task.”
“Isn’t he a hunk!” The women whispered.
The court became temporarily hushed as Qblh was escorted to the labyrinth to meet his fate. When court was dismissed, the nobles were in a frantic effort to place wagers on the outcome of this new bout with the Minotaur. Jim became somewhat aggravated while the guards postponed his entry to the labyrinth until the kingdom’s gaming commission gave its blessing. This match with the Minotaur would be Crete’s greatest prizefight ever.
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While waiting, he decided to spin up the Box again and investigate Egypt. He needed a little more information concerning that region. Jim arrived outside a small tent encampment with a small herd of goats and sheep. He wasn’t quite certain of his location or when and he asked Idiot concerning his whereabouts.
“You may need to ask the people inside, Jim. My library has no records of this region’s people or cities.”
“Why here, then? I thought you knew where you would drop me off a little better than that.”
“You are in a location known as Midian, and that encampment belongs to a man known as Moses and his wife.”
“We must leave no history of our involvement with him, Idiot. Make it so. Then perhaps invisibility mode is called for?”
“Agreed.”
While in this mode Jim would be able to see and hear what Moses would experience and at the same time not be seen by him. The consequences of a time rift due to judgment error would be so great that remaining materialized would be too hazardous. Any break in the continuum would be enough to abort his entire adventure with catastrophic chaos as a side product. It was also easier to undergo rapid shifts in temporal displacement while in ghost mode.
Communication with Idiot was not interrupted, but only enhanced, since Jim and the network were able to coexist as if at rest with each other.
“Let’s not ask, but shift forward in time a bit. How did you know it was Moses inside?”
“My sensors can hear what is happening inside the tents, and my translators do the rest.”
“That’s why I built you and need you. Let us fast forward a bit, and mark this location.”
Jim sensed a slight tremor. There was a somewhat dormant volcano in the vicinity. Jim looked in the direction of the noise source and saw the rather imposing mountain. He sensed it was the same mountain where he had his previous encounters with the encounter that was yet to happen. Time travel has some of the oddest side effects. This déjà vu still gave the comfortable feel of purpose and the promise that he could succeed in overcoming his sister’s glorious ambitions. If he were to murder Crete’s golden bull, he needed a little reassurance that his mission would not be a vain effort.
Jim became somewhat startled when another man merged in with his own frame of reference.
“Who are you?”
“I am who you think I am, he said, and I wish to thank you for your help. Come follow me while I talk to Moses, and say to no one what you are to witness until I say otherwise.”
Jim sensed that this must be a manifestation of Yaohushua, yet He had made himself manifest in the same ghost plane on which Jim existed, but he could see and sense Jim in that region as if Genie had brought him into the manifold on which he existed. Jim “followed” the individual.
“You are to accompany me in this spirit form, as we bring a new covenant to these people.” He told Jim. “I can access your Idiot, no need to enter my instructions for me.”
Jim watched in wonder as this individual demonstrated His ability to control the Box. Delighted, he decided he would enjoy the ride.
“You can’t relax.” He was told. “Navigation is going to require both our efforts. You just let me do the talking; you do the technical manipulations at my direction. I can do this all on my own without your help, but if you wish to observe, you need to do a little work.”
Jim felt ecstatic and did not mind at all. It all seemed like a dream that had come true, and he appreciated the help here as he had appreciated his father’s help when he had first arrived on Earth. Jim did not want to leave the presence of this Individual that had now befriended him.
“I will always be with you in Spirit. I can read you better than your sister can.” He said.
Jim liked the way this Spirited Individual could answer his questions before he could ask it.”
“I put the question in your mind and then provide you with the answer. This way you know who I am, and you know my ability to understand and communicate with you. Moses will overthrow the authority of Egypt’s false gods, as you are to overthrow the authority of Isis. I find that it is an abomination for men to worship as gods or goddesses those that are but mortal creatures or creations of the imagination. It makes my Father jealous, and it grieves Him to see his creations acting so foolishly. Your minds are meant for better things than such adulterated beliefs.”
“Well, it is time to lay down the law, I surmise.”
“Men are children. We must be patient. You will understand better yourself later.”
“I feel guilty, by being so involved with these pagan beliefs which you so adamantly oppose. It is my sister who has caused a lot of this.”
“Now Adam, you need not tell me about your sister, Eve nor yourself. Did I not create you both? You have nothing to hide. What do you see?”
“I see your splendor and your promise, my future…oh…it is to wonderful. It is beyond my ability to express with words.”
“Shall we get on with business, then?”
“Who is like you? You have my unwavering support.”
Several weeks later, Jim found himself witnessing Moses pleading for the freedom of his people. Jim did not wish to leave the side of his new Friend and had no desire to return to Crete, nor to go anywhere else.
It was shortly before the great and last plague was to be performed when Jim was told that he must return and complete his mission, else his other self would perish with the last plague.
“Would you not heal me?”