"Okay, last time we were talking about the clay envelope. But what about this thing? The thing that looks like a tree?" Hiro says, gesturing to one of the artifacts.
"A totem of the goddess Asherah," the Librarian says crisply.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Hiro says. "Lagos said that the Brandy in The Black Sun was a cult1 prostitute of Asherah. So who is Asherah?"
"She was the consort2 of El, who is also known as Yahweh," the Librarian says. "She also was known by other names: Elat, her most common epithet3. The Greeks knew her as Dione or Rhea. The Canaanites knew her as Tannit or Hawwa, which is the same thing as Eve."
"Eve?"
"The etymology4 of 'Tannit' proposed by Cross is: feminine of 'tannin,' which would mean 'the one of the serpent.' Furthermore, Asherah carried a second epithet in the Bronze Age, 'dat batni,' also 'the one of the serpent.' The Sumerians knew her as Ninth or Ninhursag. Her symbol is a serpent coiling about a tree or staff -- the caduceus."
"Who worshipped Asherah? A lot of people, I gather."
"Everyone who lived between India and Spain, from the second millennium5 B.C. up into the Christian6 era. With the exception of the Hebrews, who only worshipped her until the religious reforms of Hezekiah and, later, Josiah."
"I thought the Hebrews were monotheists. How could they worship Asherah?"
"Monolatrists. They did not deny the existence of other gods. But they were only supposed to worship Yahweh. Asherah was venerated7 as the consort of Yahweh."
"I don't remember anything about God having a wife in the Bible."
"The Bible didn't exist at that point. Judaism was just a loose collection of Yahwistic cults8, each with different shrines9 and practices. The stories about the Exodus10 hadn't been formalized into scripture11 yet. And the later parts of the Bible had not yet happened."
"Who decided12 to purge13 Asherah from Judaism?"
"The deuteronomic school -- defined, by convention, as the people who wrote the book of Deuteronomy as well as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings."
"And what kind of people were they?"
"Nationalists. Monarchists. Centralists. The forerunners15 of the Pharisees. At this time, the Assyrian king Sargon II had recently conquered Samana -- northern Israel -- forcing a migration16 of Hebrews southward into Jerusalem. Jerusalem expanded greatly and the Hebrews began to conquer territory to the west, east, and south. It was a time of intense nationalism and patriotic17 fervor18. The deuteronomic school embodied19 those attitudes in scripture by rewriting and reorganizing the old tales."
"Rewriting them how?"
"Moses and others believed that the River Jordan was the border of Israel, but the deuteronomists believed that Israel included Trans-Jordan, which justified20 aggression21 to the east. There are many other examples: the predeuteronomic law said nothing about a monarch14. The Law as laid down by the deuteronomic school reflected a monarchist system. The predeuteronomic law was largely concerned with sacred matters, while the deuteronomic law's main concern is the education of the king and his people -- secular22 matters in other words. The deuteronomists insisted on centralizing the religion in the Temple in Jerusalem, destroying the outlying cult centers. And there is another feature that Lagos found significant"
"And that is?"
"Deuteronomy is the only book of the Pentateuch that refers to a written Torah as comprising the divine will: 'And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, from that which is in charge of the Levitical priests; and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes23, and doing them; that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left; so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.' Deuteronomy 17:18- 20."
"So the deuteronomists codified24 the religion. Made it into an organized, self-propagating entity," Hiro says. "I don't want to say virus. But according to what you just quoted me, the Torah is like a virus. It uses the human brain as a host. The host -- the human -- makes copies of it. And more humans come to synagogue and read it."
"I cannot process an analogy. But what you say is correct insofar as this: After the deuteronomists had reformed Judaism, instead of making sacrifices, the Jews went to synagogue and read the Book. If not for the deuteronomists, the world's monotheists would still be sacrificing animals and propagating their beliefs through the oral tradition."
"Sharing needles," Hiro says. "When you were going over this stuff with Lagos, did he ever say anything about the Bible being a virus?"
"He said it had certain things in common with a virus, but that it was different. He considered it a benign25 virus. Like that used for vaccinations26. He considered the Asherah virus to be more malignant27, capable of being spread through exchange of bodily fluids."
"So the strict, book-based religion of the deuteronomists inoculated28 the Hebrews against the Asherah virus."
"In combination with strict monogamy and other kosher practices, yes," the Librarian says. "The previous religions, from Sumer up to Deuteronomy, are known as prerational. Judaism was the first of the rational religions. As such, in Lagos's view, it was much less susceptible29 to viral infection because it was based on fixed30, written records. This was the reason for the veneration31 of the Torah and the exacting32 care used when making new copies of it -- informational hygiene33."
"What are we living in nowadays? The postrational era?"
"Juanita made comments to that effect."
"I'll bet she did. She's starting to make more sense to me, Juanita is."
"Oh."
"She never really made much sense before."
"I see."
"I think that if I can just spend enough time with you to figure out what's on Juanita's mind -- well, wonderful things could happen."
"I will try to be of assistance."
"Back to work -- this is no time for a hard-on. It seems that Asherah was a carrier of a viral infection. The deuteronomists somehow realized this and exterminated34 her by blocking all the vectors by which she infected new victims."
"With reference to viral infections," the Librarian says, "if I may make a fairly blunt spontaneous cross-reference -- something I am coded to do at opportune35 moments -- you may wish to examine herpes simplex, a virus that takes up residence in the nervous system and never leaves. It is capable of carrying new genes37 into existing neurons and genetically38 reengineering them. Modern gene36 therapists use it for this purpose. Lagos thought that herpes simplex might be a modern, benign descendant of Asherah."
"Not always benign," Hiro says, remembering a friend of his who died of AIDS-related complications; in the last days, he had herpes lesions from his lips all the way down his throat. "It's only benign because we have immunities39."
"Yes, sir."
"So did Lagos think that the Asherah virus actually altered the DNA40 of brain cells?"
"Yes. This was the backbone41 of his hypothesis that the virus was able to transmute42 itself from a biologically transmitted string of DNA into a set of behaviors."
"What behaviors? What was Asherah worship like? Did they do sacrifices?"
"No. But there is evidence of cult prostitutes, both male and female."
"Does that mean what I think it does? Religious figures who would hang around the temple and fuck people?"
"More or less."
"Bingo. Great way to spread a virus. Now, I want to jump back to an earlier fork in the conversation."
"As you wish. I can handle nested forkings to a virtually infinite depth."
"You made a connection between Asherah and Eve."
"Eve -- whose Biblical name is Hawwa -- is clearly the Hebrew interpretation43 of an older myth. Hawwa is an ophidian mother goddess."
"Ophidian?"
"Associated with serpents. Asherah is also an ophidian mother goddess. And both are associated with trees as well."
"Eve, as I recall, is considered responsible for getting Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Which is to say, it's not just fruit -- it's data."
"If you say so, sir."
"I wonder if viruses have always been with us, or not. There's sort of an implicit44 assumption that they have been around forever. But maybe that's not true. Maybe there was a period of history when they were nonexistent or at least unusual. And at a certain point, when the metavirus showed up, the number of different viruses exploded, and people started getting sick a whole lot. That would explain the fact that all cultures seem to have a myth about Paradise, and the Fall from Paradise."
"Perhaps."
"You told me that the Essenes thought that tapeworms were demons45. If they'd known what a virus was, they probably would have thought the same thing. And Lagos told me the other night that, according to the Sumerians, there was no concept of good and evil per se."
"Correct. According to Kramer and Maier, there are good demons and bad demons. 'Good ones bring physical and emotional health. Evil ones bring disorientation and a variety of physical and emotional ills. But these demons can hardly be distinguished46 from the diseases they personify -- and many of the diseases sound, to modern ears, as though they must be psychosomatic.'"
"That's what the doctors said about Da5id, that his disease must be psychosomatic."
"I don't know anything about Da5id, except for some rather banal47 statistics."
"It's as though 'good' and 'evil' were invented by the writer of the Adam and Eve legend to explain why people get sick -- why they have physical and mental viruses. So when Eve -- or Asherah -- got Adam to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she was introducing the concept of good and evil into the world -- introducing the metavirus, which creates viruses."
"Could be."
"So my next question is: Who wrote the Adam and Eve legend?"
"This is a source of much scholarly argument."
"What did Lagos think? More to the point, what does Juanita think?"
"Nicolas Wyatt's radical48 interpretation of the Adam and Eve story supposes that it was, in fact, written as a political allegory by the deuteronomists."
"I thought they wrote the later books, not Genesis."
"True. But they were involved in compiling and editing the earlier books as well. For many years, it was assumed that Genesis was written sometime around 900 B.C. -- or even earlier -- long before the advent49 of the deuteronomists. But more recent analysis of the vocabulary and content suggests that a great deal of editorial work -- possibly even authorial work -- took place around the time of the Exile, when the deuteronomists held sway."
"So they may have rewritten an earlier Adam and Eve myth."
"They appear to have had ample opportunity. According to the interpretation of Heidberg and, later, Wyatt, Adam in his garden is a parable50 for the king in his sanctuary51, specifically King Hosea, who ruled the northern kingdom until it was conquered by Sargon II in 722 B.C."
"That's the conquest you mentioned earlier -- the one that drove the deuteronomists southward toward Jerusalem?"
"Exactly. Now 'Eden,' which can be understood simply as the Hebrew word for 'delight,' stands for the happy state in which the king existed prior to the conquest. The expulsion from Eden to the bitter lands to the east is a parable for the massive deportation52 of Israelites to Assyria following Sargon II's victory. According to this interpretation, the king was enticed53 away from the path of righteousness by the cult of El, with its associated worship of Asherah -- who is commonly associated with serpents, and whose symbol is a tree."
"And his association with Asherah somehow caused him to be conquered -- so when the deuteronomists reached Jerusalem, they recast the Adam and Eve story as a warning to the leaders of the southern kingdom."
"Yes."
"And perhaps, because no one was listening to them, perhaps they invented the concept of good and evil in the process, as a hook."
"Hook?"
"Industry term. Then what happened? Did Sargon II try to conquer the southern kingdom also?"
"His successor, Sennacherib, did. King Hezekiah, who ruled the southern kingdom, prepared for the attack feverishly54, making great improvements in the fortifications of Jerusalem, improving its supply of drinking water. He was also responsible for a far-reaching series of religious reforms, which he undertook under the direction of the deuteronomists."
"How did it work out?"
"The forces of Sennacheb surrounded Jerusalem. 'And that night the angel of the Lord went forth55, and slew56 a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold57, these were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed.' 2 Kings 19:35-36."
"I'll bet he did. So let me get this straight: the deuteronomists, through Hezekiah, impose a policy of informational hygiene on Jerusalem and do some civil-engineering work -- you said they worked on the water supply?"
"They stopped all the springs and the brook58 that flowed through the land, saying, 'Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?' 2 Chronicles 32:4. Then the Hebrews carved a tunnel seventeen hundred feet through solid rock to carry that water inside city walls."
"And then as soon as Sennacherib's soldiers came on the scene, they all dropped dead of what can only be understood as an extremely virulent59 disease, to which the people of Jerusalem were apparently60 immune. Hmm, interesting -- I wonder what got into their water?"
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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etymology
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| n.语源；字源学 | |
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millennium
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| n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cults
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| n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体 | |
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shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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exodus
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| v.大批离去，成群外出 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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purge
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| n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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forerunners
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| n.先驱( forerunner的名词复数 )；开路人；先兆；前兆 | |
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migration
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| n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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codified
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| v.把（法律）编成法典( codify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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vaccinations
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| n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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inoculated
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| v.给…做预防注射( inoculate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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hygiene
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| n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic） | |
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exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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gene
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| n.遗传因子，基因 | |
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genes
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| n.基因( gene的名词复数 ) | |
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genetically
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| adv.遗传上 | |
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immunities
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| 免除，豁免( immunity的名词复数 )； 免疫力 | |
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DNA
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| (缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸 | |
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backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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transmute
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| vt.使变化，使改变 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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implicit
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| a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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banal
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| adj.陈腐的，平庸的 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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parable
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| n.寓言，比喻 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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deportation
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| n.驱逐，放逐 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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slew
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| v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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virulent
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| adj.有毒的，有恶意的，充满敌意的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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