SOLOMON'S BRIDGE {Part I}

THE COUNCIL *17*

The scribe smiled as he continued, "If the children of Cain; intermarry, bloodline becomes mixed. What are the races? Wheat, and Tares, crop, and weeds! Black, and white! Children in the image of Adam, restricted to earth as Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, and, children, in the image of Cain, who can exist on the East of Eden, as Cain himself was banished thereto! One who wishes to live well and live free after death, in the spirit realms, does not do business with enemies of The Owner."

The Council men were quite disturbed. It was one thing, to sell children of offenders to others, and another thing to sell them to Aliens, or half demons. The people of Canaan did not know these beings as little green men flying saucers. They were wicked entities, sometimes with horns on their heads; deities, principalities, rebels fighting a natural order; all enemies of The Owner.

If Ndarake was right, then, they had a very serious, very urgent problem; especially as there'd been no short or dwarf slave dealers visiting Port of Canaan, in recent times. But in reaction to all this, Ekpenyong scoffed, "Ha! Your neck stretches with so much hypocrisy, Ndarake! Gently you lead us to the blasphemy of your ideas, but I have read this Bible, in fact, Mary the White Mother, our white resident missionary, gave me a copy. I suppose she too, is an Alien? Or is she too short for you to hate?"

Ndarake sighed, concluding his submission with a mocking bow, "-Ekpenyong! I say again; you grow obese from the sale of other people's children to the white man! You do so, as a man who does not know, that tall whites are kindred with the children of Cain, the fugitives and vagabonds of the earth! You sell our future to these!"

Okpo placed a stool by him and he sat. Everyone else remained standing in the presence of the king. Ekpenyong took a turn about the room, but his bloodshot eyes never left his opponent. It isn't just that his most lucrative source of livelihood was presently being threatened; but from where he stood Ndarake is nothing but a privileged pretender. He lived off the proceeds of the sale of slaves because he was fed, also clothed and paid stipends, all directly from the royal coffers. He knew nothing of toiling under the hot sun on a farm; of bantering with hard heads for hours just to make a good sale; he knew nothing of how to self sustain. The real world crushed men like him in less than sixty seconds.

"Men of the council: I'm much obliged to you to speak for the people this day. I can't waste time on this Alien Tall White Men thing. It pleased The Owner to create everybody; so I will leave Him to judge each of us when we die, who is good and who is evil. But I will say this: the lion is not king of the jungle because he stays meekly in his den, day in, day out. The children moving across the oceans in chains today, will populate that part of the world tomorrow, and after they have served, and fought, they will dominate, and they will prevail. This is business: you use what you have to get what you want. This is our way into the unknown technologies you speak of with so much fear. When we have access to them, we can study them, we can copy them, we will no longer fear them, and we can no longer be threatened by them. As a people we must find ways to engage the world, to grow, to develope. No, I won't talk about Aliens today, maybe another day, Ndarake, beneath the full moon and with a nice jug of your son's best Palm-Wine."

Laughter erupted all around, even the king chuckled, while Ndarake sat still, his fair skin tinged with red. Ekpenyong stood before him now, a sly grin on his face,

"So afraid of tall whites!"

"Ekpenyong, Ekpenyong...! Afo," Ndarake pointed a finger at him, "Your father was a rabble rouser; and his father before him! The apple does not fall far from the tree, I see. Stop your smear campaign against me!"

"Enough!"

The king was fed up. Just then, a royal missive announced the presence of their Scottish missionary, Mary Wallace... Canaan's resident She Alien.