Babylon Rising 2. The Secret on Ararat Read online

  He woke up, panting. For a moment he didn't know where he was.

  He saw the light filtering through the cracks in the entrance and pushed the rucksacks aside. He stepped out onto the snow, shielding his eyes from the sudden brightness, and took a deep breath. Gradually his eyes became accustomed to the glare, and he found himself looking down across a shallow valley toward a cluster of rocks.

  His breath caught in his throat.

  There it was.

  The ark.

  He could see the prow, jutting out of the snow. It was unmistakable. Although he was smiling--a big stupid grin he couldn't control--he could feel tears running down his cheeks. He felt a huge mix of emotions he couldn't describe: joy, wonder, awe, gratitude, humility.

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  He fell to his knees in the snow to give thanks, but he found he couldn't close his eyes to pray. He couldn't bear to tear his gaze away from those ancient fragments of wood, sailing on a sea of snow. He thought of how many millions of men and women through the centuries had imagined the ark, had seen it in their dreams, and now it was right there in front of him.

  All he had to do was walk over a few hundred feet of snow and he could touch it.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Reinhold.

  "My God, Murphy, you found it. There it is. Noah's Ark."

  Reinhold began laughing uncontrollably, rousing the others from their snow caves. One by one they stumbled out into the light until they were all there, huddled together, struck dumb by the sight that greeted them. Isis knelt down and put her arm around Murphy. She put her head on his shoulder. There was nothing to say.

  Then the clicking of Whittaker's camera broke the silence and people started whooping and hugging one another.

  Murphy took out his satellite phone and dialed a number.

  "Vern, are you sitting down? We found it!"

  "Are you kidding! I can't believe it! What does it look like? Have you been on board yet?"

  "Not yet. I've only just seen it. We're still some distance away. When you fly up, you can take a look at it. We'll probably need you to take away some samples, okay?"

  "Roger that," Vern replied. "Roger that and God bless you."

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  Murphy put the phone into a pocket of his parka. Everyone was waiting for him to make the first move. He grinned. "Come on!"

  InstantIy the whole team was zigzagging down the slope toward the ark, while every few yards Whittaker stopped to take more pictures. Lundquist fell and started rolling down the slope and everyone laughed. Reinhold threw a snowball at him, evoking more laughter.

  It's like Christmas , Isis thought with a smile. And we've just been given the best present ever .

  As they got closer, Reinhold brushed himself off and began to study the outline in the snow. He estimated that between one seventy-five and two hundred feet of the superstructure was sticking out of the glacier. He remembered that the Bible said the ark was about four hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide. It's incredible , he thought. I imagined there would be just scattered fragments. But it's here, the whole ark. We are actually going to be able to go inside . He couldn't help imagining how jealous his university colleagues would be if they could see him now. He was about to become the most famous scientist in the world.

  Lundquist wasn't thinking at all about science. But he was thinking about fame. As one of the first people to actually stand on Noah's Ark, he would become the most celebrated diplomat in America. He might even become the ambassador. Perhaps he would write a book about his adventures on Ararat. Hey, not a bad title , he thought. Adventures on Ararat . His terrible experience hanging from the ice wall was already beginning to seem like a great anecdote.

  Bayer strode toward the ark, his head held high. He

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  was proud to be representing his country on this historic occasion. Proud also that he had saved the lives of two of his teammates along the way.

  Isis wasn't sure what was more thrilling--to watch Murphy's lifelong dream being realized or to finally come face to face herself with a piece of the Bible. A strange, unfamiliar feeling started to seep through her. She remembered Murphy saying once that there is a vacuum in everyone, a God-shaped vacuum that only He can fill. As she looked across the few yards separating her from the ark, she began to feel that empty space in her heart filling.

  But was it filling with love of God or just love of Murphy? It was all too confusing.

  But it was also incredibly exciting.

  Now they were all standing by the prow, its dark wood smooth and glistening in the bright sunlight. They looked to Murphy, waiting for him to step onto the ark. No one was going to deny him this special moment.

  He closed his eyes in prayer for a moment.

  God, thank you for the privilege of seeing your great ark. May I be a faithful teacher of right, living like Noah .

  Then he reached out a trembling hand and touched it.

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  FORTY

  TRY AS HE MIGHT, Noah couldn't sleep. God's words echoed and re-echoed in his mind. One hundred and twenty years ago he had started building the ark. The thought of how many hours, days, months he and his sons had spent on the task overwhelmed him. For one hundred and twenty years he and his family had been cursed by enemies, jeered at by strangers, and made fun of by friends. For one hundred and twenty years he had warned everyone of God's coming judgment for their wickedness. He had begged them to turn from their evil thoughts and imaginations and come to the ark of safety .

  Not a single man, woman, or child had heeded him .

  And now God had spoken directly to him once more .

  "Seven days from now, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made."

  Noah knew it was true. It was God's word, and it would 310 surely come to pass as He had told him. But he still couldn't quite believe it .

  The next morning Naamah found him sitting alone. "What are you doing up so early? Is something wrong?"

  "They have only seven days," Noah said in a troubled voice .

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Seven days !"

  She still didn't understand what he was talking about. "Who?"

  "Our neighbors! Everybody! They have only seven days before God will close the door to the ark of safety. I must warn them again before it is too late!"

  Naamah sighed. "You have warned them so many times. They never listened before. Why would they listen now?"

  Noah stared at her with a wild look. "But they must! Tell Ham, Shem, and Japheth to finish loading the supplies. I must try one more time. Tell them I will return in six days."

  Noah hurriedly put on his cloak. He packed a few items into a sack and grabbed his staff. He bent over and hugged Naamah and kissed her .

  "I must go."

  She sighed deeply. "I know. I will be praying for you."

  She watched her husband disappear out of sight .

  Ham was working on one of the window coverings when he looked up and saw someone in the distance coming toward the ark. It didn't take him but a moment to recognize the strong, powerful, and determined gate of his father .

  "Father is coming!" he yelled down one of the large air vents in the floor .

  Everyone came out to welcome Noah back home .

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  Japheth was the first to speak .

  "Well, were you successful? Did anyone listen? We were all praying for you."

  Noah's normally bright and sparkling green eyes were dark with sorrow as he turned to his family. He shook his head. "No one. Not one would listen. They just laughed and jeered as they have in the past. I pleaded with them until they took up stones and started casting them at me."

  They could see some fresh cuts and bruises on their father .

  "I told them that tomorrow was their last chance. Then it would be over for them all. Maybe someone will come."

  "
Did you see my parents and family?" asked Bithiah with a tremble in her voice. "I heard that they had come to visit relatives."

  Noah put his arm around her gently. "Yes. I told them the time was short. I told them to come."

  "And?"

  Noah hugged her tightly. He couldn't find any words .

  Bithiah began to cry .

  It was noon the following day when Noah and his family slowly walked up the ramp and entered the ark, but it might as well have been night. They had never seen the sky grow so dark before. Black clouds massed in the distance, squeezing out the light. Every minute seemed to bring them nearer .

  Their hearts were heavy with foreboding .

  They lined the top walkway, just under the roof, and looked out the windows. There was nothing to do but wait .

  "Look," said Shem. "People are coming."

  They could see what looked like fifty or sixty people coming 312 to the ark. They recognized some of their friends and neighbors. There were also many that they did not know .

  "My parents and brothers and sisters!" cried Bithiah .

  "Let us hope they are coming to the ark for safety," said Achsah with a smile .

  They all prayed that it was true .

  Noah walked out the large door and stood on the platform at the top of the zigzagging entrance ramp .

  "Welcome, friends, I'm glad you've decided to come. Please come up the ramp and enter before it is too late."

  In his heart of hearts he knew what would happen next. They began to laugh. A few people picked up stones and threw them in Noah's direction. The rocks rattled off the side of the ark like hail .

  Bithiah called desperately to her parents and brothers and sisters to come in to the ark .

  "Don't be a fool, Bithiah! Noah is mad! Don't listen to this nonsense about the end of the world! Come back to us," they answered .

  For a moment she was torn. But she knew in her heart that she couldn't leave. She was overwhelmed with tears as she turned to her husband. Ham put his arm around her and drew her in .

  Noah entered the ark and stood with his family at the windows, looking out sadly at the crowd .

  The next event shocked everyone. The huge door slammed shut with startling force and a deafening noise .

  "What happened?" shouted Noah. "Did one of you remove the brace?"

  "No!" they chorused back, but Noah already knew the answer. God had shut the door .

  It was time .

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  Noah and his family couldn't believe their eyes. Water was falling out of the sky. It had never rained on the earth before, and the sight was awesome to behold .

  A streak of light flashed in the sky and a great roar terrified them--the first lightning and thunder. Then they saw springs of water shooting out of the ground, making fountains to the sky .

  By now the mood of the crowd gathered below had changed abruptly. They were yelling and screaming and running in all directions, seeking shelter from the incredible storm. A dozen or more of Noah's neighbors sprinted up the zigzagging ramp .

  Noah could hear them pounding on the large door .

  "Noah! Let us in, Noah!"

  "We believe you now, Noah!"

  "We were wrong, Noah! Please let us in."

  Ham, Shem, and Japheth rushed to the door. They pushed and shoved with all their might. They were soon joined by Noah, Naamah, Achsah, Bithiah, and Hagaba. Everyone was yelling and pushing and trying to open the door .

  It would not budge .

  Bithiah could hear her family yelling and pounding on the door. She collapsed on the floor, weeping hysterically .

  Noah held her, sobbing himself. "The door that God closes, no man can open," he said softly .

  For several hours they could hear the screams and cries ... and then it was quiet, except for the rain .

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  FORTY-ONE

  POWERFUL EMOTIONS FLOODED Murphy when he climbed off the snowbank onto the roof of the ark. It's true! It's all true!

  He could hear in his mind the words of Jesus: As in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away .

  He tried to imagine what it must have been like to build a boat with these incredible dimensions. What a sight it must have been to see God bring all of the animals to the ark. How awesome and terrifying to encounter the rain for forty days and forty nights.

  Then Murphy was sobered when he thought about how Jesus Himself warned that there was another judgment coming. Murphy's elation at the discovery turned

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  to anxiety. How can I warn people? How can I convince them? Maybe this discovery will help the world to realize that they need to turn to God and run to Him for safety from the coming judgment .

  "Look over here!" said Hodson, who was down on his knees looking over the edge of the roof. "It's a row of windows about three feet high."

  Reinhold clambered over. "Ventilation, I should think. Let's go in!" he said with a grin.

  "That's what we're here for!" responded Murphy, tearing himself from his somber thoughts as he tied a rope to one of the window posts. "This is just for safety. We don't know if there are any steps or ladders on the other side. I don't want anyone falling three stories after what we've been through to get here."

  After tying on the rope and hooking it to his harness, Murphy took out his headlamp and put it on. "You all better put these on. The ark is a miracle of construction, but I doubt there are any electric lights inside."

  Murphy then crawled through one of the windows and shined his light around in a slow arc. Directly below the window was a walkway He crawled down on it and looked over the edge. There was an immediate drop into the darkness. He shined his light down and could make out what looked like three floors below.

  The center of the boat seemed to be open from there to the bottom, forming a vast chamber.

  Soon the rest of the team was climbing through the windows and down to the walkway. Reinhold began to immediately wander down its length.

  "Be careful!" cautioned Murphy.

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  "Look!" said Reinhold. "There's a ramp that goes down to the floor below."

  Murphy took the lead, followed by Hodson. They stepped carefully, checking out the safety of the ramp as they descended, but the wooden planks seemed sound. At the bottom was a large room. A railing was attached to supporting beams to keep anyone from falling into the shaft in the center of the boat. Here and there were bridge walkways that crossed over the shaft to the other side.

  "Noah and his family probably used this large room as their meeting place," said Isis. "Perhaps we can find their sleeping quarters."

  As they moved through the darkness of the ship, their headlamps began to reveal cages and stalls of various sizes. Reinhold and Murphy were amazed to find metal bars in front of the cages. "Incredible. How on earth did they come by such advanced knowledge of metalwork?" asked Reinhold in wonderment.

  Whittaker joined him and started taking pictures, the flash of his camera like little bursts of lightning illuminating the incredible scene.

  "Look up there!" shouted Lundquist. He was pointing to what looked like birdcages hanging from the ceiling in each stall. "This must have been how they were able to get so many animals in the ark."

  It wasn't long before the team encountered the ice and snow from the glacier, making a wall that prevented them from exploring any further. They turned back and crossed one of the walkway bridges to the other side of the ark. As they worked their way back toward the large

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  room, they found more cages and stalls. In many of the stalls were structures that looked like feeding troughs.

  Near the large room they found what seemed to be living quarters, with beds and storage places with shelves. Past the great room were more ro
oms containing remnants of broken pottery and damaged baskets. "I'll make a guess that this is where they stored some of the food," said Bayer, holding up a pottery shard under his headlamp.

  After most of the first floor was explored, they moved on to the second. As they moved slowly through another large chamber, Lundquist stopped and yelled.

  "Look!"

  The six turned in the direction he was pointing and shined their headlamps on the wall.

  "There's something carved into the side of the boat."

  Murphy and Reinhold came running down the ramp.

  Isis stepped forward and ran her fingers over the symbols. "It looks like a story, written in a form of proto-Hebrew. Perhaps the story of the building of the ark." She gasped as the implication hit her. "This could be the oldest writing ever recorded!"

  She dragged herself reluctantly away and they continued on. Soon they were in a room full of tables--or perhaps workbenches--and shelves. Under a collapsed beam was what looked like a chest. With a lot of effort they dragged it free, and Murphy began to pry it open with his ice ax. With a loud crack, the wood gave way and Murphy opened the chest.

  Murphy peered inside and saw a cloth-covered bundle. The cloth turned to dust in his hands, revealing

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  bright metal. Craning over his shoulders to see, the others were amazed at the sight of an elaborately engraved sword with a companion dagger. The metal shone in their headlamps as if it had been forged yesterday. Murphy then pulled out some bronze objects and handed them to Reinhold. "What do you make of these, Professor?"

  Reinhold held them up the light and examined them from every angle. Finally he said, "I believe that these items together form some type of surveying equipment."

  "That would make sense," said Murphy, nodding. "Josephus wrote in his book, Life and Works , that Cain determined property boundary lines and built a city with fortified walls. He also said that Cain moved into that city with his family and called it Enoch. My guess is that these surveying instruments were passed down from Cain to Tubal-cain, his son. It's thought that Tubal-cain's sister, Naamah, was married to Noah."