The Exodus Conspiracy: An Old Testament Steampunk Adventure Page 3

  “Pharaoh!” Moses shouted over the growing noise of panic and pandemonium. “Will y-y-y-you allow my p-p-p-eople to go into the de-de-de-desert for three d-d-days and worship the Lord G-god?”

  The Pharaoh, who’s golden visage was being overrun with the hopping frogs, shrieked, “Fine! Go on your wretched way! But this plague must end!”

  “To p-prove to you this is the Lord’s c-co-command, you shall ch-choose when this plague shall end,” Moses declared.

  “As soon as possible! Let it end as soon as possible!”

  “Very well, the frogs shall d-die with the rising of the sun t-tomorrow. As Pharaoh has d-d-decreed, so the Lord G-god shall mote it be!” Moses struck the earth with his staff, the splatting sound had less of an impact on the crowd than he had hoped.

  Moses and Aaron slipped away into the crowd, stepping around mechanicals that swept the streets, gathering up great scoops of squirming frogs and filling the air with the smell of their crushed bodies. Every house and hovel spent the evening sweeping the croaking frogs from their hearths and beds.

  The sorcerers of the Pharaoh proved their worth to their god king again by demonstrating how easily clockwork frogs could be fabricated and the throne room was soon swarming with wind-up frogs and their living counterparts.

  Disposing of the swarming amphibians proved beyond their engineering mastery however, and Pharaoh fumed while his golems swept the throne room clear of the latest infestation. Reports came to him of the preparations of the Israelites, they were packing for their three day journey into the desert.

  "Never," Pharaoh snarled, his voice drowned out by the croaking calls of the frogs.

  *

  In the morning the first of the Hebrews leaving the city found the gates barred and soldiers of the Pharaoh turned them back with rifle butts and warning shots fired into the dust.

  Aaron and Moses hurried through the milling throng, the angry voices turning to despair as their people saw the promise of freedom, even for only three days, denied them. The brothers promised their people they would go to speak with Pharaoh immediately, and they found him in his throne room, now finally clear of frogs, though the stench of their dead bodies hung over the land like a fog.

  "Great Pharaoh!" Aaron shouted across the hall, "Why are you preventing our people from leaving the city?"

  "They are needed," Pharaoh responded. "The streets are filled with dead frogs! The stink that lies across the city is causing grief!"

  "G-g-god will send another pah-pah-plague," Moses warned. "His wrath will grow with every p-p-p-p-passing day."

  "As will mine!" Pharaoh thundered, his gilded face quivering with anger.

  Aaron slipped his hands into his robes and pulled the strings on the bags strapped to his legs, a trickle of lice started dropping to the floor. He pulled on Moses's sleeve, "Come brother, if we stay here even the Lord may not be able to protect us."

  Moses allowed Aaron to lead him outside, a spreading swarm of tiny biting insects spreading across the throne room.

  Moses slapped at his arm, “Lice?” he asked, peering at the tiny red smear on his skin. "Aaron, strike your rod upon the dust, a plague of lice shall rise and infest the land of Khem."

  "Seriously? Frogs didn't change the Pharaoh's mind and you think lice will?"

  Moses just stared at his brother until, with a sigh, Aaron struck his staff on the ground.

  The brothers gave the Pharaoh the day to experience the new plague, and in the heat of the evening they appeared before him again. The god king was in a foul temper, his skin itched and reddened from the constant bites of the lice. The golems were useless against such a tiny adversary.

  "G-god co-com-commands you to let my p-p-p-people go into the d-duh-desert Pharaoh," Moses said.

  "Never!" Pharaoh shrieked while scratching furiously.

  Aaron and Moses retreated to the Hebrew quarter to consider what to do next. "What does the Lord say?" Aaron asked his brother.

  "He is silent. W-we must see his will en-enacted. We m-mmm-may not understand his entire p-p-plan until it has come to pa-pa-pass."

  "You are sounding more like a Rabbi with each passing day," Aaron said.

  "I'm not s-sure what is w-w-w-worse, the l-lice or the flies," Moses said, brushing away the buzzing insects.

  "It's the dead fish and frogs," Aaron replied. "The flies are born in their rotting flesh."

  "With so m-mmm-m-many dead fish and frogs, the flies will b-b-b-become a p-p-p-plague," Moses growled.

  "Brother you are a genius! Truly this is the Lord's plan. Come on, we have to see the Pharaoh before someone else takes the credit."

  They hurried through the streets swarming with lice and flies, Jackals had come in from the desert and joined the rats that also lurked in the shadows, feasting on the swollen frog corpses that lay too thick for anyone to carry away.

  "Flies!" Aaron shouted to the Pharaoh.

  "And w-w-wild beasts!" Moses added.

  Aaron nodded, "The fourth plague is upon the land of Khem!"

  "Are you r-r-ready to rec-c-c-consider?" Moses asked the Pharaoh.

  "No!" the god king screamed and summoned his sorcerers. The clockwork machina that clicked and whirred on their bodies made a discordant racket against the ambience of the fly swarms that rose in ever-greater numbers from the decay in the streets and riverbanks.

  "Show them the power of Pharaoh!" the king demanded. The sorcerers trembled and slapped at the lice that seethed and crawled over their bodies and in their hair. "We cannot stop this plague oh great Pharaoh, this is truly the finger of God!"

  "I am God! I am the only god!" Pharaoh screamed at his sorcerers. "Destroy them! Destroy that fool!" A golem stepped forward, gears grinding, its massive hands swept down and snatched the babbling sorcerer with wheels for legs from the floor. With the ease of a man crushing an egg, the sorcerer was slowly squeezed in a great fist until blood and viscera oozed out from between the metal fingers and dripped on the floor.

  "The Lord G-god c-c-commands you to release his p-p-p-people Pharaoh! If you do not, a great p-p-pestilence will b-b-b-befall your livestock! Your cattle, horses, sheep and goats. All will die!" Moses had to shout to be heard over the screams of the courtiers, and again the two Hebrews made a rapid get-away in the confusion and panic of the court in uproar.

  Aaron’s mind was racing, the plan was for boils next. Where did Moses get the idea of a disease striking down the animals?

  "Are you sure the Lord is sending a plague upon the livestock of Khem?" Aaron asked as they ducked into an alleyway, avoiding a patrol of the Pharaoh's soldiers.

  "The Lord says, the beasts of the desert, they carry disease, this will spread among the livestock of the Khemites. The animals that have come to scavenge the dead, they will bring pestilence upon the beasts of the field and the livestock of Khem."

  "Well that's great and I don't mean to criticize the Lord, but this all seems entirely natural. Khem has suffered disasters before, great storms, droughts, plagues. Wouldn't it be better if the Lord could bring something truly terrible down on their heads?"

  "Like w-what? H-h-hail in the m-m-m-m-middle of the drought? D-d-da-darkness at noon?" Moses spluttered.

  "Now we're talking," Aaron nodded.

  "The Lord G-god does not t-t-take his orders from y-y-y-you or m-m-m-muh-me or anyone else. He's the Lord God."

  "Prayer," Aaron said, folding his arms.

  "Wuh-what?"

  "Prayer, what is the purpose of prayer if the Lord cannot be swayed by the supplications of the faithful?"

  "That's d-d-different," Moses said.

  "Really? Do you think our brothers and sisters don't look up from their endless toil under the cruel sun and pray for salvation every day?"

  "Of c-course they d-do and the Lord hears their p-p-prayers."

  "So why in Jacob's name is he messing around with conjurer’s tricks and stuff that happens every dry season anyway?"

  "We c-cannot q-question the L-lord. We mmm-must
have faith," Moses said.

  "I have faith brother," Aaron gripped Moses by the shoulders, "But I don't know how much time we have. Do you think the Lord will let the livestock of his people die as well? The water was bad enough, and the flies and the lice," Aaron absently slapped at a biting insect on his neck.

  "The L-lord will p-p-provide," Moses said.

  Moses saw the pestilence borne by the wild animals ravage the animals of Khem. Aaron barely slept for the next two nights as he sent urgent messages and organized for any animal that so much as sneezed to be smuggled in and put among the flocks and herds of the Khemites.

  Over the next week cows, sheep, horses and goats, sickened and died in their millions. The milking machines fell silent, the chains of the great abattoirs where a thousand head of cattle were butchered every day, clanked along their runners, empty and rattling in the dry wind. The people watched helplessly as their animals died, burying them in massive pits, scoured out of the dry ground by the silent golems and steam driven machines that built the empire. The people ate bread and waited for Pharaoh to cure the plague.

  Moses spent the following days in prayer, the Hebrews gathered and prayed with him. They listened to Aaron preach the commandment that the Lord had given to Moses, telling the story of the burning bush and the commanding voice over and over again.

  All around them the voices of their masters grew angry and desperate, guards lined the streets around the palace, keeping the growing mob at bay while the Pharaoh brooded inside.

  Aaron went back to visit Ben again. “We’ve had one of the lad’s hiding under your brother’s cot whispering “boils” for the last three days,” Ben said with a sigh.

  “Boils? Just how are we going to infect the Khemites with boils?” Aaron asked.

  “Come and see,” Ben led his guest up to the roof of the house. Handing Aaron a looking glass he pointed towards the distant horizon and upwards. “There about thirty degrees above the horizon, you probably won’t spot it through the haze and smoke clouds, but they are there. Four dirigibles, all loaded with a powder that David, Doron’s son came up with. It’s nasty stuff. Causes boils, blisters and all manner of irritation to the skin on contact.”

  “We are fortunate that the Khemites create so much smoke and ash every day. Otherwise they would notice the plague falling from the sky,” Aaron said frowning at the stinking mist that hung over everything.

  “We are ready, they simply await the signal to begin dusting the Khemites,” Ben said.

  “Start the dusting tomorrow at dawn, cover them all in it.”

  “We’ve already been distributing ointment to our people. They shouldn’t suffer, but we are recommending they keep the kids indoors once it starts,” Ben said.

  “This one has to work,” Aaron said and left Ben’s house.

  Moses climbed down from the roof where he had meditated and prayed. "Aaron, we n-n-need to go to the P-pharaoh. The Lord commands us to d-d-d-deliver his duh-d-demands once again."

  Aaron stood up, brushing bread crumbs from his beard, "Follow me, I know the way."

  “First, we m-m-m-must visit the f-f-foundry d-d-district, I need some s-soot from the furnaces,” Moses replied. Aaron waved frantically for one of his messengers as Moses washed himself in preparation of the visit to Pharaoh’s palace.

  “Go,” Aaron whispered, “Tell Ben to let the bird’s fly.”

  They entered the palace, the court was mostly absent, only a few eunuchs, wizened seers and scribes remained at the Pharaoh’s side.

  “Pharaoh,” Moses said, bowing before the god king.

  “You again? You plague me worse than the pestilence and the flies,” Pharaoh sneered.

  “I have c-come to ask you ag-again great Ph-pharaoh, let the Lord’s chosen p-p-people go into the d-d-desert and worship him.”

  “They cannot leave; we have much work to do rebuilding the countryside. Livestock needs to be recovered and brought to the markets, the streets need to be cleared of the dead animals. This country needs every hard working Hebrew to bend their backs and put their shoulders to the wheel. There can be no shying away from the work ahead of us. We shall rebuild, greater and more glorious.”

  The scribes made their marks, recording every utterance of Pharaoh for all time.

  “The Lord commands you Pharaoh, release my people!” Aaron shouted.

  “If your God is so great, why does he not simply take you all away from me?” Pharaoh jeered. “You Hebrews, so lazy, you care nothing for work. Nothing for the greatness of Khem. “

  Moses erupted in rage, “The greatness of Khem is built on the technology stolen from the Hebrews of Israel! We created the machines, the great engines that lift your stone blocks, and give life to your golems! This is our machina!”

  “You stutter less when you are angry Hebrew,” Pharaoh said with no trace of a smile.

  “I have seen m-much to anger me since I arrived, b-b-bearing the word of the Lord. You must listen, let my p-people go or the next plague will strike all of K-khem. A plague of boils and open sores will strike you down. How will your p-p-p-people work? How will they b-bake bread? How will they rebuild if they are so stricken?” Moses demanded.

  “We will have the strong hands of the Israelites to drive the machines and bake our bread. Your people have been ours for generations and they will remain so.”

  “Forget it,” Aaron said, drawing Moses aside. “What instruction does the Lord give us for his latest lesson?”

  “Pharaoh, c-c-come and witness the p-p-p-power of God,” Moses said, turning on his heel and walking out into the courtyard.

  When the Pharaoh and his scribes were seated over-looking the gardens, Moses took the bag of furnace soot from his brother and flung two handfuls of the ashes skyward.

  “By night fall, you will b-be struck down with a p-p-plague of b-b-boils. This is the w-wuh-will of the Lord, unless you release all Israelites from their b-b-b-bondage.”

  “I will kill them all before I release them!” Pharaoh snapped.

  Moses and Aaron said nothing further, taking their leave they washed the soot from their hands and retreated to the relative safety of the Hebrew quarter. The wailing and cries of pain began at sundown. “We should stay indoors, there is wine and fine women,” Aaron said.

  “I c-c-cannot,” Moses replied. “I must see what the Lord has wrought.” Aaron sighed and followed his brother into the streets. Aaron told Moses the Hebrews were in their huts and houses, giving thanks and praying for salvation from their slavery. The white dust from the dirigibles had settled over everything and mixed with the ash it was soon lost to sight.

  They reached the wider avenues where the machines passed at all hours and the steam-cars ran along their tracks, taking the nobles of Khem from banquet to temple. The streets were silent now. The fair people lay moaning in pain, hiding their weeping sores from their peers and praying to the gods of Khem for a cure.

  A few souls crept in the shadows, moaning in pain and begging for relief. Moses shied away from a man whose face had already been stricken by the maddening itch of insect bites and now the tortured flesh oozed pus and sloughed off in great chunks as he clawed at himself.

  “Oh my God…” Aaron whispered.

  “And m-m-mine, and the god of our f-far-fa-fathers, and our f-father’s f-f-f-fathers. How can Pharaoh c-c-c-c-continue to deny His will?” Moses fell silent, his lips moving in prayer for the souls of the afflicted as they continued towards the palace. The numbers of Khemites suffering from the bleeding sores grew as they approached the palace. Those soldiers of Pharaoh who were still able to attend their duties stood in stiff ranks, weapons ready to burn and gun down their fellow countrymen.

  “We are here to see Pharaoh,” Aaron announced. The guards peered at them with eyes swollen shut from blistered skin and they spoke through lips that dripped rancid pus. “Hebrews, may you all burn. Your curses have been wrought upon us. We will execute you as soon as the Pharaoh gives the order.”

  “O
nly Pharaoh can end your suffering,” Aaron said. “But we must speak with him to ensure that he does so quickly.” The guards shuffled aside, each crushed under the weight of his own pain. The brothers strode into the throne room, and found it empty. A eunuch, weeping bloody tears and moaning in pain guided them to the bedchamber of Pharaoh.

  The ruler of Khem lay on soft cushions, his great head rested back against a padded beam and his jeweled eyes were dull. Linen bandages covered his skin and the remaining sorcerers prayed and made offerings to their chief god, Ra.

  “Great Pharaoh, your people suffer needlessly. Your sorcerers are struck down with boils and sores. You yourself are enduring agony that you can end with a simple command. Let my people go into the desert, let them worship Yahweh and then return to their labors,” Aaron said.

  “You…shall…not…defeat me…” Pharaoh wheezed. “I have never been conquered, and I shall not fail my people now.”

  “Pharaoh, you leave m-me with n-n-no choice!” Moses wailed. “The Lord G-g-god will unleash his full f-fury upon your p-p-people! The p-p-people who have suffered from lice and foul water, f-f-frogs and f-ffff-flies, b-boils and sickness among their c-ca-ca-cattle. The Lord God c-c-commands you to obey him, or he w-will unleash the wrath of heaven upon the land of K-khem. You will see a st-storm of ice and fire. The sky will b-break and fall upon your arrogant head. It is the Lord G-g-god that c-c-commands you. Let my p-p-people go, so that they may worship me, or this t-time I will send the full force of my p-plagues against you so you m-may kn-n-now that there is no one like me in all the earth. For by n-now I c-c-could have stretched out mm-my hand and struck you and your p-p-people with a p-p-plague that would have wiped you off the earth. B-b-but I have raised you up for this very p-pah-purpose, that I might show you my p-power and that my name m-m-might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set y-yourself against my p-p-people and will not let them go.

  “Therefore, at this time tomorrow the Lord will send the w-worst hailstorm that has ever fallen on K-khem, from the d-d-day it was founded till n-now. Great Pharaoh, g-give an order now to bring your livestock and everything you have in the field to a p-p-place of shel-shelter, because the hail will fall on every m-ma-man and animal that has not been brought in and is still out in the field, and they will d-die.” Moses subsided, exhausted with the struggle to deliver the Lord’s words.