by Sammy Sutton
“Come on, Raven. Give me more.”
He thought he was catching sight of the black cars. “I need more, Raven, more.” 135 mph. The cars were in plain sight now.
He saw Amanda in the back window. He got closer, “Amanda, I’m going to get you.”
“Son-of-a-bitch!” The man sitting next to Amanda was gagging her. Who is this? Who could know about the Scrolls at this point?
“I'm sorry. Shit!” The man put a gun to her head.
“No, Damn you, NO! Don’t take her!”
The man smiled back at Antonio. “You son-of-a-bitch.” Why did he have her? Why didn’t they take me to get the Scrolls?
He bellowed louder, “God you sent her to ME. You can’t take her back damn it!”
Antonio moved in closer. The panic sent electronic pulses throughout his body. "She’s a mother. I can’t tell her boys I got their mother killed.”
“Put the damn gun down!” Antonio had no idea what to do.
“What kind of man am I? I didn’t even bring a weapon. How do I save her?”
He reached for his cell phone. Calling the authorities was his only option. He could keep them in sight until reinforcements got there.
The man with the gun started laughing back at Antonio. He grabbed a handful of Amanda’s hair, pulling it.
“Get your DAMNED hands off her, you son-of-a-bitch!”
Antonio fumbled for his phone. Why couldn’t he feel his damn phone? Oh, he didn’t have it, because he didn’t know shit about keeping a woman safe from danger.
His rage boomed, echoing through Raven’s interior. “DAMN!”
Why couldn’t he take care of her? He loved her. Why did everyone else know he wasn’t able to keep her safe? Joe would know what to do, if only he could call him.
The man laughed at him again as he jerked Amanda by the hair.
“Damn you,” he sobbed. “Take the Scrolls. Don’t take her. Damn it… Hear me… Take the Scrolls…Give her back! What do I need to do?”
What was that? Turning his head he realized he could hear laughter inside the car! It was coming through the OnStar System..."DO? Professor, it's too late to do anything!" …They were taunting him using his own high-tech gadgets! What had that salesman said… when he picked up Raven from the dealership…something about never hearing OnStar respond with a voice authentication before, now despite its design, the OnStar was activated while he was moving! The son-of-a-bitches had tapped into his OnStar System!
Something flashed by in his peripheral vision…The man threw something out the window, laughing even harder at Antonio.
“You son-of-a-bitch.”
Boom! Raven’s tire blew. Round and round, Antonio spun, sliding with Raven in a cloud of rubbery smoke. She kept spinning in circles as Antonio screamed.
“I’m sorry. Amanda, I love you.” His voice trailed off, he’d lost her. He failed her. He failed Solomon. He failed God, José, and Pop, and the rest of the world.
Hearing him moan, Amanda walked over to the sofa. Antonio was thrashing in a restless sleep. He was saying something that she didn’t understand. Unable to decipher his gibberish, she sat on the edge of the sofa next to him. Feeling his forehead, he was soaked, drenched with sweat.
“Antonio, honey…Are you all right?”
He bolted up, startling Amanda. He was frantic, “Amanda… you’re here…” His eyes looked as if they’d seen a ghost. “They didn’t take you?’
“Antonio, you were asleep. I was sitting over there reading, you had a nightmare.” She tried to console him.
He grabbed her so tight she was unable to breathe.
After making sure he was really in the present, and Amanda was safe, he left her and called Joe. He asked Joe to meet him in garage.
When Antonio reached Raven, He opened the driver's door, popped the hood and bent to see if he could find the OnStar System.
"Antonio, I know you're not really standing there with your head under the hood of Raven. This has to be a dream." Joe said sarcastically.
Antonio rose up fast, bumped his head and swore. "Never mention dream to be again, Joe."
"Okay. So what are you doing?"
"Looking for the OnStar System gadget…thingy…you know?"
Joe scratched his face to hide his smile. Antonio was a brilliant man, but Joe had learned years ago, to never let him help work on the cars. There always seemed to be parts left over once Antonio finished.
"The OnStar thingy…is actually four systems in one. If it's giving you problems, we need to call the dealership."
"I think someone has hacked the OnStar Joe, I think they are using it to track our movements."
Joe was silent as he processed that bit of information. Then he smiled. "Will you be driving Raven any time tonight?"
"No, why?"
"I may have a few tricks up my sleeve for whoever is on the other end of that hack job."
"What can you do, can you trace it back to them?"
"No, if they have hacked the satellite system, it's too much for me. What I can do, is give them a headache, have them chasing ghost Ravens over hell and beyond!"
"That works for me. Will it stop them from being able to speak through the system?"
"I can fix that, but, Antonio, you know the system only works while the car is sitting still?"
"I don't think this one does Joe."
"Well then, I can make a few post-factory adjustments, and nobody, and I mean nobody except you and me will ever know where Raven is at any given moment."
"Thanks Joe, I will leave you to it. Are you sure you don't want me to help?"
"NO! I mean, I work better alone, you know that." Joe hurriedly assured Antonio.
"Well, good night then."
As he walked away, Antonio thought; Joe is the best electronics man I have ever known, but he sure is prideful, wanting to do it all himself.
Chapter 37
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don’t know the answer”
— Douglas Adams
Late the next afternoon, Antonio's bellow summoned her from her reverie at one of the southwest windows. “Amanda, are you all right, what’s taking so long?”
At the office door, she paused. Days ago, this office was neat and southwest stately, now books, papers, and maps cluttered the huge space.
“Antonio, we have destroyed your beautiful office.”
He looked around, “I guess I got what I wanted.”
Amanda walked to her chair, before facing Antonio across the large oval desk. “What did you want?”
“I wanted visible evidence that you intruded on my life, and in my space.” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Are you sorry now?” She teased.
“I’m sorry that the rest of the house doesn’t reflect more from your intrusion.”
“You are flirting with me, Antonio.”
“That is what I intend to do every day. I know what you were doing and why it took so long.”
She rolled her eyes at him, but said nothing.
The two of them had worked since midmorning, diligently hulling through the pertinent, sort-of-pertinent, and the not-all-that-pertinent information about King Solomon, and the Temple of God.
Antonio’s recent epiphanies concerning his father inspired him to compile the evidence of King Solomon into a document. He wanted to refute himself of his judgeship, and yield to a more experienced judge, his father. He planned to take the evidence with them to Miami.
Antonio stared across the table at Amanda with her glasses. She took notes as she rummaged through books and papers.
“Well Amanda, are you ready to tackle King Solomon’s life?”
“Good idea. Where do we start?”
“I would say God’s blessing to Solomon is what we’re defining.”
“You are right, go for it.”
“God’s blessing to Solomon. Kings Ӏ:
. . . I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has bee
n before you and none like you shall arise after. . .”
Now, we need the Hebrew Bible facts, no esoteric stuff yet.” He smiled, and typed as they both added the facts.
· Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He grew up in a house with his father King David, and his father’s eighteen wives.
· Solomon in Hebrew is Sh’lomeh, meaning peaceable.
· Solomon was the third king of Israel and reigned for forty years, accredited with authorizing Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, many Psalms, and Proverbs.
“Should I write the Song of Songs is our favorite in there?”
She laughed. “I think that is too much information.”
“Okay, if you say so.”
· His first wife was the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh. By the end of his life, he had accumulated one-thousand wives.
“Every time I think of 1,000 wives it nearly kills me.” Amanda laughed at his expression.
“Amanda, let’s start getting his projects in here.”
· King Solomon’s chief building projects were the Temple for God, a personal palace, a separate palace for his wives, and a fleet of ships.
“I think I would have built the separate palace for the wives first. How could he be around all that estrogen?”
“I am a woman, and I could not be near that much estrogen.”
“Now, let’s give straight stats on the Temple of God.”
· The Temple of God took seven years to build. Israelites and Phoenicians were the laborers on the temple. The Israelites were required as a national service to work on the temple for three months.
· The divisions of laborers were as follows:
30,000 to cut timber in Lebanon
70,000 to bear burdens
80,000 hewers of stone in the mountain
3,000 overseers of the work
“Antonio, what about including the materials his father provided for the temple?”
“Right, let’s go through those.”
· King David stored a vast array of materials for the temple project. The materials included iron, bronze, copper, copper products, cedar wood from Tyre and Sidon, one-thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, wood, Onyx, all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. These all were provided for use on the temple.
· The Temple stood for thirty-three years.
· King Solomon’s personal palace took thirteen years to build.
“We don’t know any other specifics about the building of his wife’s palace, or the fleet of ships. Is that correct, Amanda?”
“Yes sir, you are correct.”
“Thank you. Let’s go through the state of the nation, especially the early years. Just so you know, we are still sticking with the facts, no ecstatic conclusions, got it?”
“You are patronizing me again.”
“Okay, how did papa David leave things?”
• King Solomon’s father, King David left his son a nation at peace. King David defeated Ammom, Syria, Assyria, along with others. He made strong alliances with the Maritime Phoenicians.
• King Solomon’s first wife, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, secured an alliance between Israel and Egypt.
“Amanda, put a star by that, we need to look at all of the implications of that alliance. She was a valuable little princess.”
“Very valuable.”
“What about this naval trio?”
• King Solomon built a fleet of ships near Ezion-Geber in southern Israel.
“Antonio, don’t forget what was found there recently, you know, the smelt.”
“Right, I visited it on my last trip to Israel.”
“I want to go to Israel, Antonio.”
“When King Solomon is taken care of, I will take you to Israel, Egypt, and everywhere else you want to go.”
“Back to the site, Professor.”
• Archaeologists have uncovered ancient remains of a smelting facility at Ezion-Geber. King Solomon’s fleet of ships birthed a triple-member naval alliance. The alliances esteemed members included Israel and Egypt, along with expert maritime Phoenicians.
“Okay, King Solomon’s other careers, which will be a task in itself. For now, we will examine those recognized by the Hebrew Bible only.”
• King Solomon’s expertise extended far beyond his roles as architect and building construction. He was a scientist, botanist, gardener, farmer, zoologist, philosopher, songwriter, author, and musician.
“Should I add he was a professional lover?”
“No, we will allude to that later,” she smirked.
“He could make anyone feel like a piss-ant.”
“Now, who is trying to include inferences?”
“Jeez, sorry that’s your job. Here we should include visitors, his status as personified by the world minus Sheba. Amanda, I know you want her to have her own section. No, you want her to have her own miniseries.”
“Very funny!”
King Solomon entertained guests from all over the world. The guests brought the king extravagant gifts such as gold, precious stones, spices, silver and other precious metals. They brought him exotic animals and plants. Other monarchs brought princess daughters. The guests came year after year with gifts.
“Antonio point out the value of silver here, it gives rise to be the enormity of gifts.”
“Good point”
The gifts were so plentiful that silver virtually lost its value during King Solomon’s reign.
“I’m thinking it is not obvious to me where we go at this point.”
“Where was Solomon educated?”
“I’m not real sure, but I don’t think Hebrew University was built quite yet.”
“Apologize, because I know about his education.”
“Prove it, and then I will apologize.”
She handed him the notes and references. “Damn, I’m impressed.”
King Solomon was a student of the book of Enoch.
“I have got to stop right here. Amanda, this is huge. Come here.”
She interrupted. “You can apologize later.”
King Solomon was a student of the Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch disappeared for about 1,000 years, except from the Ethiopian Bible found in the last century.
Despite the book’s absence, there remained references to its existence in the Hebrew Bible. Jude in the New Testament also quotes the Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch earned even greater credibility with the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery since much of the Dead Sea Scrolls content consisted of copies of the Book of Enoch.
It is difficult to ascertain precisely the time of Enoch’s life. However, a close approximation allows us to assume, based on reference from the Hebrew Bible. It claims the Enochian priesthood functioned 2,000 years prior to Moses. Therefore, we must surmise the Enochian priesthood significantly predated Judaism.
Compared to other books of the Bible, the Book of Enoch is extensive, with technical and scientific explanation. The Book of Enoch, among other pieces of information, provided for a knowledge base in geometry, scientific material, observational astronomy, and the latitudinal effect on sunrises, sunsets, and the solstices.
Amanda, I see a lot more here about Enoch, but that’s all we can claim with support from the Hebrew Bible. Correct?”
Only Hebrew Bible acknowledges specific references.”
“Antonio, hear me out.”
He slapped his forehead. “I’m considering the future here, so go ahead, I’ll listen.”
“I think we need to include the Chronicles II reference here, concerning his first wife. It shows a biblically supported contrast.”
“We will because you want to.”
“Antonio”
“I’m kidding, it belongs. I can’t give you too much credit. It would make me look bad.
King Solomon built his first wife’s house outside of the city of David. He declared his wife, the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh, disallowed to live in the house of David, King of I
srael. She was not permitted because these places were holy, especially since the Ark of the Lord was present.”
“That would really tick me off.”
“Tick me off? I can’t wait to go to the Midwest. They have their very own language.” He loved having fun with her like this. “Seriously, Amanda, there were still no certificates of marriage.
Therefore, marriage was not legal by nature. Marriage was the consummation of two people, coveted through God’s laws. Most had no ceremony. Even for some like Solomon, only marriage to the first wife constituted a ceremony.
However, there were treaties and alliances. Most of the wives were really souvenirs at the hands of a treaty.”
“I know, but still, these were people. I like to think of them as people. People have emotions, Antonio.”
“They were still the crème de la crème. They lived in a palace with nine-hundred and ninety-nine girlfriends, doing each other’s hair, makeup and whatever else.
I don’t mean to be condescending, but in comparison, they had it great. Saved from dangerous conditions and their necessities provided for.
Solomon was no doubt, a hell of a lover, but at his best he didn’t even sleep with 1,000 women, one time each.”
“I know that, Antonio.”
“I thought you did, but I’m telling you from a man’s point of view.”
She continued. “The Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon. She heard rumors of the famous Solomon. She came to ask him the hard questions.
Sheba brought a huge entourage with lucrative gifts, one-hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices, and precious stones from her Ethiopian homeland, which was Kush in ancient days.
The Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon took on significant importance in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible claims when she was with Solomon, she communed with him all that was in her heart.
Solomon told her everything she wanted to know. The text goes on to point out, she hid nothing from Solomon, and he shared all of himself with Sheba. Apparently allowed to enter the house of God, she witnessed Solomon’s wisdom.
The text suggests she had witnessed an ecstatic experience through, or with Solomon. She claims the rumors she had heard were true. As impressive as the rumors of Solomon were, he was at least twice as good.
