The Europa Conspiracy Page 5

  “Enough!” General Li shouted. “We don’t pay you to question! Just do it—now! Your very life may depend on it.”

  ELEVEN

  MURPHY PLACED his briefcase on the desk, took out his notes, and surveyed the crowd. His attention was caught by Paul Wallach. He was sitting far back in the lecture hall. Not in his usual spot. He and Shari must still be at odds.

  Shari was on the other side of the room passing out graded book reports. She didn’t notice that Paul was watching her.

  Murphy sighed.

  “Good morning, class. Let’s get under way. You will recall we were talking about the ancient city of Babylon. The Babylonian Empire was very advanced. The Babylonians excelled in the theoretical mathematics of geometry and algebra. They measured time with water and sun clocks. They also measured degrees of angles precisely. Their numerical system was based on sixty. That’s why we have sixty minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle. They also utilized a decimal system and knew about square roots and the value of pi. Their calendar was based on lunar cycles with twelve lunar months. Weights and measures were regulated across the empire, using metal or stone weights in the shape of ducks.”

  Don ‘west raised his hand. Murphy could always count on Don to add some unique detail. He was the most well-read student in the class.

  “Dr. Murphy,” Don said, “I was looking up Babylon on the Internet last night. I read that the Babylonians were quite sophisticated in the area of medicine too. It’s believed that they had a superb knowledge of human and animal anatomy and physiology. Also, they understood the circulation of blood and the importance of the pulse. The article indicated they even did delicate operations on the eye.”

  “That’s correct, Don. They were very scientific on one hand and very superstitious on the other. The Babylonians were well steeped in divination and witchcraft. They used magic formulae to attempt to read the future. They used drops of water on oil, noting the direction of the wind and the influence of storms. They also made predictions based on which way smoke blew in the air, the way a fire burned, and the position of the stars. To the Babylonians, even abnormal births held some significance for the future. Archaeologists have found stones shaped like sheep livers with incantations inscribed on them. The Babylonians specialized in the observation of animal entrails. They believed that the gods communicated through signs, natural phenomena, and worldly events. For example, the sudden appearance of a lion, the eclipse of the moon, or an unusual dream might portend the future.”

  Stephanie Kovacs stepped into the lecture hall through a side door. Curious, Murphy thought. Perhaps she really is interested in ancient Babylon.

  “The Babylonians made systematic recordings of the planets and named most of the signs of the zodiac,” Murphy continued. “There was a flourishing business of selling charms and amulets to protect people from evil. Almost like how we use a rabbit’s foot for good luck today.

  “The city of Babylon is very important when it comes to archaeology and Bible prophecy. It is the second most-mentioned city in the Bible. The first is Jerusalem, which is referred to 811 times. Babylon is mentioned 286 times. Both of these cities have great historical importance.”

  By now Kovacs had found a seat in the back and was looking attentively at Murphy.

  “The Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation both talk a great deal about Babylon. The events of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lions’ den, and the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’ at Belshazzar’s feast all took place in Babylon.”

  Murphy paused and casually leaned back against the desk. “You will recall from previous lectures that the Bible talked about Noah’s Flood as a judgment against the wickedness. Men could be saved from the judgment of God only by entering the ark of safety. Well, the ‘Handwriting on the Wall’ at Belshazzar’s feast is similar. It was a judgment against King Belshazzar and his wickedness and pride. His kingdom was destroyed, just as the world was destroyed in the Flood. The people of Noah’s day were given warnings to turn from their evil ways, and they would not listen. Belshazzar didn’t heed the warnings of God when his grandfather was punished by going insane. You’ll recall that his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, became like a beast and went around on all fours for seven years.”

  Murphy paused for a moment to let it sink in. “Isn’t it strange that we do the same thing today? God gives us warnings. He pleads with us and confronts us. You may ask, ‘How does He do this?’ He does this through the still small voice of our conscience. Our conscience tells us what is right and what is wrong. If we listen to our conscience and do right, happiness follows. However, if we ignore it, we will face destruction and unhappiness like the people of Noah’s day or like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Have you heard the still small voice of your conscience speaking? Have you been obeying it or ignoring it?”

  Murphy stopped talking, to let his students reflect. Finally the silence was broken by the ringing of the bell, which startled everyone. There was not a lot of talking as the students filed out of the lecture hall. Stephanie Kovacs remained in her seat.

  TWELVE

  “GOOD MORNING, STEPHANIE,” Murphy called up to her. The two of them were alone in the lecture hall. “I didn’t see your cameraman.”

  “I didn’t think it would be necessary. I was still in town and thought I’d catch your lecture. Do you have time between classes to talk?”

  “Sure. Let’s go over to the pond by the student center. There are some benches there and we won’t be disturbed. There’ll be another class in this room in about fifteen minutes. It will be anything but quiet.”

  Kovacs turned to Murphy, her face serious. “I need to apologize to you,” she said. Her tone lacked its usual cutting edge.

  Murphy was caught off guard. “For what?”

  “For coming on too strong. As an investigative reporter, I’ve always approached any story with skepticism. I use my aggression, hoping that it will make the other person nervous and reveal something that would incriminate them. I’ve tried that with you in the past and you’ve always answered truthfully. I’ve watched you under different stressful situations and have come to realize that you aren’t some religious nut.”

  Murphy laughed. “Maybe a little strange … but not crazy.”

  The humor eased the tension a little. Kovacs began to relax and open up. “I’ve been thinking about what you said in your first lecture. You know, the part about being happy and finding purpose in life. Is it really possible for anyone to be truly happy?”

  “Well, I guess that would depend on what you mean by happiness, Stephanie. If you think happiness means having freedom from any conflict with people, I don’t think that will ever happen. We’ll always encounter disappointments, hurts, and rubs with our family, friends, and fellow workers. That’s part of living. Happiness doesn’t mean that we’ll never get sick or have any financial concerns. There are many ill people who seem to be cheerful, while a lot of healthy people are pessimistic. The same can be said about rich people and poor people. I know some people who have very little when it comes to earthly goods and yet they are content. And there are many rich people who are angry and depressed. We’ve all heard stories of rich people committing suicide.”

  Kovacs nodded. She couldn’t identify with the suicide part, but she did understand those who are angry and dissatisfied. She was living with one such man.

  “Happiness has more to do with attitude,” Murphy told her. “Actually, I think happiness is the end result of having a positive attitude toward life, even in the midst of struggles. Someone has said that happiness is like a butterfly. When we chase it, it seems to always elude us. But when we busy ourselves with our responsibilities, the butterfly of happiness lands on our shoulders.”

  “Well, my butterfly must be taking a vacation,” Kovacs said with a wry smile.

  Murphy could tell that there was more behind her quick retort. He knew it would be best to let her talk.

>   “Today, when you mentioned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace and Daniel in the lions’ den, it brought back memories. My grandfather used to tell me stories about them. He was a very religious man. He was warm, caring, and funny. I guess as I think about it now, he was probably a happy man.”

  “Did you go to church in your younger years?”

  “Yes, back in Michigan.”

  “Do you still go?”

  Kovacs paused, then explained, “No. I stopped in junior high school. My father was killed by a drunk driver, and I couldn’t understand why a loving God would do such a thing. I guess I got angry with God and stopped going.”

  “That happens to a lot of people.”

  “You mentioned judgment and conscience today. That was really heavy. I haven’t thought about God using our conscience.”

  “You sound discouraged.”

  “More like disillusioned. I don’t think it’s possible to be happy—at least for me.”

  “I think that God may be trying to talk to you.”

  “I’m sorry, Dr. Murphy, but now you are beginning to sound like one of those religious nuts. I don’t hear voices. It’s always bothered me when people say they hear God talking to them. It sounds like they need to be in an insane asylum somewhere.”

  “Well, let me try to help you understand. Did you ever fly a kite with your father?”

  “Yes, many times.”

  “Do you remember when you would let out the string, how the kite would rise? You could hear the paper rattling in the wind. Sometimes it would rise so high that it almost disappeared out of sight.”

  “I remember that.”

  “When the kite was out of sight, how could you tell that it was still there?”

  Kovacs looked a little puzzled for a moment. Then she said slowly, “I guess by the pull of the string. It meant the wind was still blowing the kite.”

  “Right. That’s sort of how it is when God speaks to you,” Murphy explained with a smile. “You can’t see Him. He is out of sight. And you can’t audibly hear His voice because He is too far away. But you can feel His loving tug on the strings of your heart. He does this when you read the Bible. He also does this when you listen to the still small voice of your conscience. That’s how God speaks to you.”

  “That’s a different concept from hearing voices.”

  “Yes, it is. Let me ask you a question. Do you feel the tug of God on the strings of your heart today?”

  Stephanie Kovacs’s blue eyes began to fill with tears. She turned away from Murphy quickly, but he knew he had given her food for thought.

  THIRTEEN

  Jerusalem, 605 B.C.

  BLOOD-CURDLING CRIES could be heard everywhere when Nebuchadnezzar’s final assault began. With his archers focusing on the soldiers protecting the wall, hundreds of men were dropping in place.

  He had not been successful in the direct use of siege ladders, catapults, or battering rams. His change of strategy took almost a year to complete. Now a dirt ramp up to the lowest part of the wall surrounding Jerusalem provided the breach that was needed.

  His well-trained soldiers ran up the ramp, pouring over the wall and into the city. Women and children ran screaming for protection. The army of Jehoiakim fell back as hundreds more were slain. They were no match for the battle-hardened Babylonians. Within half a day it was over.

  The smell of death was everywhere. Soldiers stripped the dead of any valuables and left them lying where they had fallen. The living were herded into the temple courtyard. There the elderly, handicapped, and wounded were separated from the women, children, and teenagers. The able-bodied men were killed where they stood.

  Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers looted the city. He let his men take anything they wanted. He kept only the gold and tapestries from the temple. He would bring these trophies back to the treasure house of his god.

  Nebuchadnezzar then went to examine the captives. He instructed Ashpenaz, his master of eunuchs, to select young men fourteen to seventeen years of age to be trained as aides for the king’s court.

  “I want you to pick out only those who are children of King Jehoiakim or the nobles of the city. They must be healthy and without any blemishes. Make sure that they have wisdom, are quick learners, and are widely read in many fields. They must have poise enough to keep silent and still look good in the palace. The women and children who remain are to become servants for the nobles of the court. Leave the elderly, crippled, and wounded to clean up the city. They pose no threat.”

  Daniel, along with many other lads, was chained together for the long march back to Babylon. During a water stop at the second oasis Daniel had opportunity to talk to others shackled near him.

  “My name is Daniel,” he murmured. “I am the son of Malkia, the chief judge of the king’s court. The barbarians have killed my brother and my parents.”

  “My name is Hananiah,” said the teen standing nearest Daniel. “These are my two brothers, Mishael and Azariah. We are sons of Zephathah. Our father was keeper of the king’s treasury. We too have lost our parents. Do you know where they’re taking us?”

  “I overheard someone say that we were to become slaves in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace.”

  Mishael nodded toward the man overseeing the slaves. “Do you know anything about him?”

  “The soldiers call him Ashpenaz,” Daniel explained. “He is master of the king’s eunuchs.”

  Azariah said fearfully, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  “I am afraid so,” said Daniel. “But at least they’re not going to kill us.”

  “But, Daniel, don’t you want to someday marry and have sons and daughters of your own? How can you stay so calm?”

  “Yes, Azariah, I do, but we both know that will never happen now. We must trust ourselves to God. I don’t like the idea of becoming a eunuch any more than you do.”

  Daniel was jolted from his memories when he felt the brushing of soft fur on his face. One of the lions stopped, looked back at him, and sniffed. Daniel froze. He was holding his breath when the lion turned and collapsed right next to him like an overgrown pet. Confused and curious, Daniel slowly reached out his hand and touched the animal’s back. It did not move.

  I wonder what would happen if I petted it.

  Daniel smiled when the large male seemed to enjoy the caress.

  I must still be dreaming. This cannot be real.

  But it was. He could feel the warmth of the cat’s body and the rising and lowering of its chest as it breathed. The heat of the cat’s body was almost comforting. Slowly Daniel began to relax. As he started to pray, his memories returned.

  Hananiah was the first to see it. “Look!” he exclaimed, nodding toward the north. The other boys turned to see the majestic city of Babylon in the distance.

  As they approached, they could see a wide moat circling the city. Merchant boats sailed in the waters that were fed by the great Euphrates River. The wall surrounding Babylon was three hundred feet tall and ran for as far as the eye could see. One of the other captured boys said he heard that the four walls surrounding the city were each fifteen miles long. Never before had any of them seen anything like it.

  The farmers in the fields outside the city walls stopped their work as the prisoners in chains marched slowly by. All types of fruits and crops seemed to be growing. Daniel could see workers dipping water jugs into canals. They stopped and pointed at the prisoners, whispering. Were they slaves too? Daniel wondered.

  The large bridge crossing the moat was covered with wooden beams. The beams could be removed in case the city came under siege. Anyone attacking the city would have to swim the moat, then climb the huge wall. Babylon was impossible to conquer.

  The massive gate at the end of the bridge was open. As the prisoners walked forward, Daniel could see that there was an inner wall some distance from the outer wall. The gap between the two huge walls was filled with rubble. No one could cross the gap easily. If invaders somehow scaled
the outer wall, they still would have to cross the rubble and scale the inner wall.

  Pretty smart, Daniel thought.

  After passing through a second large gate, the four boys entered the city and gasped. There were wide streets filled with people and carts and chariots with soldiers. They entered on Aa-ibursabu, the festival street, which ran right next to the Arahtu canal Buildings on either side of the tree-covered avenues rose to over one hundred fifty feet high.

  “It looks like they touch the sky,” said Hananiah. “They’re enormous.”

  Soon they passed the small temple of Ninip, which extended over both sides of the canal. Next they beheld E-sagila, the magnificently decorated great temple of Belus, dedicated to the god Merodach.

  “One of the other slaves told me that the temple treasury holds wondrous articles made from gold and silver. Most of them have been captured by Nebuchadnezzar during his many wars,” Mishael said.

  They strained their necks as they saw the pyramid-like temple rise to over three hundred feet.

  “Can you believe these streets?” Daniel asked. “They’re paved with three-foot-square stone slabs. It must have taken many slaves to lift them into place.”

  Azariah pointed. “Look at the beautiful houses and walls made of sun-dried bricks. The mortar looks like black bitumen. And look! All of the bricks have the names and titles of Nebuchadnezzar imprinted on them.”

  They marched on toward Qasr, a richly decorated building that covered eleven acres.

  Throughout the city they could see enormous colored reliefs of lions, bulls, dragons, and giant serpents. Huge hunting scenes depicted the chase of the lion and the leopard.

  They must have many talented craftsmen, thought Daniel.

  Eventually they passed the Ishtar Gate and the enormous Middle Palace, decorated with cedar and costly woods. The many doors were made of palm, cypress, ebony, and ivory and framed in silver and gold and plated with copper. The thresholds and hinges were of brass.

  As the boys passed large statues of Ninus, Semiramis, and Jupiter-belus, Daniel said, “How sad. The Babylonians worship idols made by human hands and not Jehovah, the true God of heaven and earth.”