The Days of Peleg

by Jon Saboe

  Eventually Shem had endured enough, and he stood slowly, bringing the dissertation to a halt.

  “You must forgive us,” he said slowly, towering over the three men who were still seated. “Although all that you say is true, I believe you were speaking of your family. Do you have any grandchildren?”

  Shem slowly returned to his seat as a stunned Reu stared blankly at him. He had never been silenced in such a manner, but it was hard to say whether he was more upset at the interruption, or the implication by Shem that his message was nothing new.

  He slowly turned to Peleg, who shrugged.

  “I’m sorry, Reu,” he said. “Shem is like that. He is very fixated on the issue of our lineage.”

  Reu remained still, his shock slowly turning to anger. Peleg quickly tried to diffuse it by changing the subject.

  “I noticed a new structure being built on top of the city’s Citadel,” he said. “It wasn’t there the last time I was here. Is it in honor of something?”

  Reu shook his head slowly, thankful for the way out. He put on his best businessman’s smile (again) and answered.

  “It is a small temple in honor of Anu,” he said. “It is a symbol that we believe can unite the Plains in a spirit of economic unity. A belief in the ‘positive’ benefits us all.”

  Peleg was familiar with Anu, the smiling, horned, demigod. He supposedly blessed humanity indirectly (and unintentionally) by keeping the forces of poverty and want at bay. Peleg was also quite offended.

  “Why would you endorse such superstitious nonsense?” he asked, a little too harshly. “I know I taught you better than that, although it was long ago.”

  Reu laughed.

  “Father, please,” he responded. “I said it was a symbol. No one is going to regard such concepts literally.” But even as he said it, it seemed to Peleg that Reu was not entirely convinced.

  Reu turned to Shem, acquiescing to his desired topic.

  “I have a young grandson, Nahor, who is twenty-six, and he is currently establishing franchises for me in Ur. He has discovered many artisans and craftsmen who are only too eager to use him as they develop their trade. Our proven system has created a great deal of wealth there among many who would otherwise have remained quite average. I am especially proud of him, considering his youth. Of course, as a child, he matured so quickly. In fact, at less than two years of age young Nahor was speaking fluently, and had mastered a great deal of mathematics by age five.”

  Reu smiled in remembered amazement and continued.

  “I have just received word that he is betrothed to a young lady he met in Ur. I just hope she doesn’t distract him from his business…”

  “I should like to meet him,” Shem interrupted.

  Reu looked across at this strange Mentor who had disrupted his discourse twice in as many minutes. He then tossed an angry look towards Peleg who shrugged and looked down in embarrassment. Shem was clearly obsessed.

  After a long pause, Reu spoke.

  “I’m not sure it would be wise for you to travel to Ur at this time,” he said slowly.

  “Why?” asked Shem and Peleg in unison.

  Again a pause as Reu seemed to struggle to find the best way to answer them.

  “Although most have forgotten the Great Discovery,” he began, “informants are under orders to constantly watch for news of returning ships. There are sentries at every major port, and even if the remaining ships never return, they know that individual survivors might arrive by foot after traveling long distances through the mountains or across the deserts. Sargon has been most adamant about this.”

  Another pause as Peleg allowed this to sink in.

  “How can you know this?” he asked. “Are you saying they intend to hold anyone who was part of the Great Discovery?”

  “I know this because of letters from mother,” he answered. “She tells me there are agents posted near your home at all times, in case you should appear. As to your second question, I can only speculate. Perhaps members of the Parsu discovered something that Sargon wants never to be revealed. Perhaps he wants to destroy all memory of the Great Discovery. Either way, his desire is absolute in this respect, and no one has ever heard from members of either of those vessels since they were detained.”

  There was a third pause, but before Reu could continue, Shem spoke.

  “They are looking for you, Peleg,” he said.

  Reu gave Shem a brief, inquisitive look and then dismissed his comment with a wave. He turned back to Peleg.

  “You can see why I presented you with garments as soon as possible. You needed to blend in.”

  He gave Bernifal a quick glare.

  “You are most fortunate that Buan found you when he did and identified you. There were certainly many others who would have recognized your seafaring garments and captured you—possibly for a fine profit.”

  Peleg shook his head in determined disbelief. A great deal can happen in twelve years. Shem’s words returned again to torment him, and his frustration mounted until he could no longer contain it.

  “High Minister Reu-Nathor would never allow this,” he exclaimed in a painful exhale.

  “Reu-Nathor died many years ago in some form of public protest,” Reu said casually. “I don’t know the details. Sargon’s daughter is now the High Minister at the Citadel.”

  Peleg sagged under the news. He began to deal with the possibility that his last remaining motivation for fulfilling his mission—returning his findings to the Citadel—was also evaporating. He might not even make it to his house. But Reu was still talking.

  “I believe she was someone who has lived in Ur since soon after the Great Awakening. You might have known her. Her name is Mentor Inanna.”

  Peleg jumped at hearing her name. It was unthinkable that the mystic woman who had spoken with him before his departure was now in control of the Citadel. And the daughter of Sargon? As his world imploded around him, a small glimmer of hope emerged. He recalled that Inanna had made requests of him before he left. Perhaps, if he could somehow get to her and speak with her face to face, he could share his discoveries and retain his freedom. He had navigation charts far beyond the scope of those of the Parsu. He had maps of a south polar passage. He had made contact with cultures who seemed to have an abundance of gold. And he also had a traveling companion who claimed to have lived before the Great Calamity. There was much he had to offer. If he could just talk with her, surely she would be kind to him and at least let him return to his family.

  Reu was speaking again.

  “As you can see, it is probably not in your best interest to return home. You and your friends are free to remain here as long as you wish. Father, you could easily pass for an older relative, and I’m sure I could keep you safe. But most assuredly, you can never return to Ur.”

  This final pause turned into several minutes of silence as Peleg’s thoughts swirled within him. He suddenly remembered the flagon of wine next to him and took a large swallow. He understood Reu’s concerns, but it was not something he was willing to accept. At least, not yet.

  An unexpected voice from Peleg’s left broke the stillness.

  “It would cost you money.”

  It was Bernifal, and he was looking intently at Reu. The sentence made no sense to Peleg, but surprisingly Reu responded with a nod. Apparently Bernifal comprehended a great deal more than he let on.

  “Yes,” Reu said slowly, and in a voice that sounded slightly embarrassed. “Once it became known that a member of the Urbat had arrived in Ur, there are people who would demand payment for their lottery purchases. I have certificate holders who are covering dates for many years to come.”

  Reu looked back to Peleg.

  “But I can assure you that money is not a factor in this case. could easily make more money than I would lose, just by turning you in. But I have no intention of doing so. I simply would prefer that my father live out the rest of his days in comfort and relative freedom, than in some interrogation hold, or cons
cripted by Sargon’s army.”

  This time the silence was quite uncomfortable, and Peleg started to objectively weigh his options. He didn’t know how much power Inanna had, or how much she was controlled by Sargon. He also realized that his plan to escape from Shem and head for Ur was no longer a concern, since Shem also wanted to go to Ur. Perhaps they could find Nahor, and hide with him.

  Reu suddenly laughed.

  “Father, do you remember the time that you brought Megan-Malsue home, and I hid her hairpiece in the garden?”

  Peleg was taken completely off guard as Reu tried to change the mood of the evening. Megan-Malsue was Peleg’s third wife, and she had proudly worn a beautiful tiara of spun tungsten with small turquoise and pyrite stones embedded into it. The ten-year-old Reu had hidden it in the garden, and placed flowers in it for her to find the next morning.

  Peleg joined Reu in laughing at the distant memory. Although he had been angry with him, there was no forgetting the distraught look on her face as she became acquainted with her oldest stepson’s sense of humor.

  Taking Reu’s cue, Peleg decided to add his own memory.

  “And do you recall making drawings, and then selling them to your sisters for an exorbitant fee?”

  “Yes,” Reu nodded, strangely proud, “but they agreed to the price. It’s not my fault they valued my paintings more highly than you did. It was a consensual exchange.”

  “But your sisters had no appreciation for the value of money.”

  “But they certainly had an appreciation for fine art, and it was wrong of you to step in and void our contracts.”

  “Minors can’t have contracts.”

  Peleg finished with the last word, and both men laughed. It was an exact repeat of the original argument over seventy years ago, and the earlier tension in the room was now replaced with a relaxed, familial spirit which filled Peleg with a joy he hadn’t felt in decades—and which he realized, with a pang of sorrow, that he had unknowingly missed.

  Reu waved his hand, and a steward appeared and refilled their flagons, and the evening continued with a collection of anecdotes between father and son.

  Peleg shared stories of when Reu tried to open his own trishaw repair business; and when he won the flying-bird model contest at the age of eleven. They reminisced about the sorrow they had felt when Reu had not been accepted into the Citadel. And of course how Talah-Barsuu had cried when Reu left for Uruk for his studies in finance.

  Reu told of some of the difficulties he had experienced when he first arrived in his new home. And Peleg related events which happened after Reu had left. He even told Reu about his friend Serug, who had the same name as Reu’s firstborn—and about his death at sea.

  This returned them to the topic of the Great Discovery, and Reu asked for more details.

  Peleg gave him a brief outline of their voyage. How they had found a new settlement on the other side of the world founded by the descendants of Reu’s uncle. He told about their trip through weeks of pitch-blackness, the cold šeg-filled lands, and the long starving trek back to the Great Western Sea.

  He left out the specifics of the South Polar passage, and decided (again) to leave out the details of the Urbat’s destruction.

  “After sailing for twelve years in uncharted waters, we were forced to return home via the Great Western Sea, and when I came ashore after the ship was destroyed, I discovered Shem and his people living underground.”

  “Underground? Were they Gutians?”

  Peleg feigned ignorance.

  “How was your ship destroyed?” asked Reu.

  Peleg glanced at Shem. Reu saw it, but said nothing.

  “You know how unpredictable the Great Sea can be,” said Peleg. “We probably ran aground along the northern coastline.”

  Peleg didn’t know why he was protecting Shem, but something about their earlier encounters had created a trust in him. Besides, there might be a more opportune time to explain the whole truth later.

  They continued sharing stories and exchanging adventures. Shem appeared to be entertained by the conversation, and Peleg found himself enjoying that as well.

  Eventually Reu brought the evening to a close. He stood and indicated the others should stand with him.

  “I must be going,” he said. “I have meetings early in the morning, and I still have much work to do in preparation. I’ll walk you back to your rooms.”

  They followed him back into the hallways, and as they passed the fine art and sculptures, Peleg found a strange emotion rise up within him.

  He pulled alongside of Reu.

  “I must admit that I am very proud of you,” he said. “You have done very well here, and I’m glad you are happy and able to enjoy your life here.”

  It was Reu’s turn to experience a strange emotion. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he stopped and turned to his father.

  “And I must admit, that there is no greater reward in life than that a son is able to make his father proud.”

  They stood still for a moment, and then embraced—this time with sincerity and long overdue affection. Peleg had never imagined that simple biological family ties could be this emotional—or this strong.

  Eventually they resumed their walk and the four men arrived outside of the doorway where they had waited for Reu earlier.

  “I promise I will arrange for more respectable and comfortable quarters for you tomorrow,” Reu said.

  The three men stepped into the room where the three divans waited for them, and Reu followed.

  “I truly would like to help all three of you develop your innate talents in the creation of wealth,” he said, as if he couldn’t help himself. “As you can see, that is my one driving force, and I believe there is no higher purpose.”

  Reu entered into lecture mode, again.

  “Life can be very difficult, but we all live within societies, and societies always have governments, and governments always seem to need money. There is one undeniable truth: The one thing that is certain in life is taxes.”

  He nodded in agreement with himself and continued.

  “As long as I am helping others pay more taxes as they build their personal wealth, and as long as I can profit while doing so, I will always have the favor of the State, and the satisfaction of knowing I am doing all I can to help my fellow man. I hope you will be able to join me.”

  He looked at them, and then suddenly realized he was not speaking at a seminar.

  “Please forgive me,” he said. “I forget myself sometimes. I am just too passionate.”

  He broke into a large, sincere smile and raised his arms warmly.

  “You will find everything you need in the adjoining room. Bath, towels, perfumes, and additional toiletries. Please have a wonderful night, and I look forward to continued discussions over the following days.”

  He gave Peleg’s arm one more squeeze, and then turned and walked down the hallway to the right, in the direction of the library.

  They listened as Reu’s steps echoed on the marble tiles, becoming fainter as he moved further away until they could no longer be heard. Once the silence was complete, Shem turned quickly to Peleg.

  “We must leave for Ur at once.”

  Peleg had been thinking along similar lines. He had not traveled this far, with years of determination, only to stop this close to home and give up. Besides, he still might have a chance with Inanna, if only he could get to her without being detained by others. He nodded.

  “You probably expect me to disagree with you, but this time I do not. I believe Reu is being honest, but he does have his own agenda. We should leave first thing in the morning.”

  “No,” said Shem with surprising impatience. “We must leave this moment. I don’t believe he will allow us to leave tomorrow.”

  “Do you think we are prisoners here?”

  “Not exactly,” said Shem, “but he will work hard to delay us. Plus, you need to see your family.”

  Peleg had the suspicious feeling he was being
manipulated, but agreed with Shem anyway. Shem pressed on.

  “If we can make contact with Nahor, perhaps he can help us get word to your household.”

  Peleg nodded again. He had considered trying to contact Serug’s family, or other families he knew, but they were probably under surveillance too—if Reu was telling the truth.

  “Do you want to leave right now?” he asked.

  “This very moment,” was Shem’s reply. “We can simply walk out of here. Reu may expect us to leave, but there is no way he will expect us to go tonight.”

  Peleg nodded for a third time.

  “It will take us almost three days of walking.”

  Shem turned and spoke quickly to Bernifal, who scowled, but reluctantly entered the adjoining room. A few minutes later he emerged, properly dressed in his new attire.

  They collected the remaining grapes and sliced melons and entered into the hallway, heading left through the tapestries.

  Shem had retained a perfect memory of the route back to the courtyard, and they met no one along the way. As they traversed the open space, they encountered a few servants, but they quickly bowed and deferred to their passage.

  A sleepy watchman was monitoring the main gate, but somehow, in the dim light he thought Peleg was Reu, and waved them out into the night air.

  It was after midnight, and they hurried through the quiet streets, encountering only a few people. At one point they passed beneath an open window and could hear the remains of a late-night party. As they traveled south, they also encountered the occasional intoxicated individual who was walking the streets long after the drinking establishments had closed.

  After walking for almost an hour, they reached the southern gate where another watchman attended the needle, a small opening next to the city gate which permitted limited access after hours. He allowed them though, giving a short warning about the dangers outside of the city. Men should not be traveling at night—especially men dressed so lavishly.

  They walked quickly out into the dark rolling hills, heading towards the Euphrates River. It was a clear, moonless night, but as Peleg looked up at the bright familiar constellations, they seemed to be mocking him. In this new, shifting world, where nothing was as it should be, the stars were the only things that remained constant—and even they had betrayed him once before.