Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

And it came to pass that for a second time since he stepped aside from the throne of his fathers, Badamasi the Minnarite, whose house sitteth atop a hill, desired to reclaim that throne for it was given unto the cattle rearers of his tribe to claim dominion over all the other tribes in the land, starting from the tribe of the merrymakers in the west to the tribe of the black Jews in the east and the tribe of the hewers-but-not-partakers of black gold in the deep south.
And Badamasi summoned all the princes of the tribe of cattle rearers and saith unto them: “behold, death hath looked upon our brother who was named after the Prophet Musa and placed the throne of our fathers in the hands of the hewers-but-not-partakers of black gold by divine zoning. Even then it was given unto me in a dream yesterday to rise up and go to the city of the usurper and reclaim the throne of our fathers. I have summoned thee here to bless my Al-Isra.”

And there was great rejoicing among the princes of the tribe of cattle rearers. And Badamasi, whose shekels still overfloweth from the proceeds of his first eight years on the throne of his fathers, brought forth musicians who played the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music. And as the music roared, Badamasi bade his servants: “bring forth the best robes and put it on my guests; and put rings on their hands and shoes on their feet; and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it; and let us eat and drink and be merry. For the throne of my fathers was lost and shall be found again in the year of the lord two thousand and eleven.”

And while he tasted the wine, Badamasi commanded his servants to bring the golden and silver vessels which he had taken out of the palace when he ruleth over the land so that he and his lords and his wives and his concubines might drink therefrom.  They drank wine and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. And in the same hour of their feast came forth the fingers of a man's hand and wrote over the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of Badamasi’s banquet room. And Badamasi saw the part of the hand that wrote and his countenance changed and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

And Badamasi cried aloud to bring in the scribes and knowers of every manner of papyrus from west to east and from the middle to the deep south of the land for his own tribesmen showeth interest only in one great papyrus from the land of Arabia and loathed every other manner of papyrus from the rest of the earth. And his servants went to the land of the merrymakers in the west and the land of the black Jews in the east and the land of the hewers-but-not-partakers of black gold in the deep south and sought out the great knowers of every manner of papyrus amongst them.

And when the servants hath questioned the wise men assembled, two found favour and were brought before Badamasi. And Badamasi spake and saith unto the two wise men: “whosoever shall read this writing and show me the interpretation thereof shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold about his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom when I regain my lost throne.” The first wise man was called Chidilech whose father was Amutalem the sower; the second was called Omoruch who came from the loins of Omoruyim the Edomite.
And it came to pass that Chidilech and Omoruch could not read the writing nor make known to Badamasi the interpretation. And Chidilech the son of Amutalem the sower threw himself on the ground and saith: “my lord and master, though I know not the interpretation of this writing, I testify that thou art the prince of the Nile and thine goodness endureth forever. I assure thee, my lord and master, that a thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thine right hand but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shall ye behold and see the reward of thine wicked enemies. Ride on in glory, my master, and reclaim the throne of thine fathers.” And Omoruch the son of Omoruyim the Edomite also did obeissance and saith: “forgive me my lord and master for age is come upon me and I no longer know the ways of the papyrus like the years of yore when I was but a humble servant in thine palace.”

Whereupon Badamasi was greatly troubled and his countenance was changed in him and his servants were perplexed.  And it came to pass that some of the servants came to Badamasi and saith: “master, let not thy thoughts trouble thee nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a scribe called Ganimacchus from the town of Lokilius in the province of the merrymakers in whom is the spirit of the holy writs; and light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and he spake truth to power without fear and he was made master of the scribes and knowers of papyrus. Even the Pharisees and the Sadducees found in him an excellent spirit full of knowledge and understanding. Interpreting of dreams and showing of dark sentences and dissolving of doubts were found in the same him. Now let Ganimacchus be called and he will show the interpretation.

Then was Ganimacchus brought in before Badamasi who spake and saith: “art thou Ganimacchus who art from the town of Lokilius in the province of the merrymakers of the west?  I have heard of thee that the spirit of the gods is in thee and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee. I have heard that thou art fair and fearless. And now the wise men and the enchanters have been brought in before me that they should read this writing and make known unto me the interpretation thereof. But they could not show the interpretation of the thing.  But I have heard of thee that thou canst give interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if thou canst read the writing and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold about thine neck and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom when I regain my throne.

Then Ganimacchus answered and saith unto Badamasi: “let thy gifts be to thyself and give thy rewards to another for I do not partake of the feast of rulers; nevertheless I will read the writing unto thee and make known to thee the interpretation. It was given unto thee, O Badamasi, to rule over this land for eight years but thou hast not humbled thine heart. The corruption of thine ways brought pestilence and the abomination of desolation upon this land. Thou ruineth even thine own tribe during thine reign.”

And Ganimacchus added: “now thou seekest to regain thine throne of yore and reclaim thine kingdom. Then I AM THAT I AM, the fiery one who answereth by fire and visiteth the iniquities of fathers upon their sons even unto the third and the fourth generations, sent this hand to write on the wall and condemn thee for thou hast sinned and come short of his glory. And this is the writing that was inscribed on your wall, O Badamasi: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”

Whereupon this interpretation came forth from the mouth of Ganimacchus: “MENE – God numbered thine kingdom and brought it to an end in the year of our lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-three; TEKEL- thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting by God and the people of this land; PERES – thy kingdom is divided and given now unto the hewers-but-not-partakers of black gold from the deep south that they may partake for the first time in their lives of the fruit and the increase of their own soil and, after them, it shall be given unto the black Jews of the east for thou hast refused to divide the yellow sun into two and grant them half of it since the end of the great war.”

And it came to pass that Badamasi was greatly troubled by these revelations whereupon he rent his clothes and ate nothing for seven days and seven nights. And when the sun had shewn its face on the eighth day, Badamasi summoned his servants and viziers and saith: “lo I promised the people of my tribe to go forth on Al-Isra and reclaim my throne that was usurped many years ago. But seeing the interpretation of the writing on the wall that was shown me by Ganimacchus of the town of Lokilius whom you brought before me, go ye forth now and tell the people of my tribe that I no longer seek the throne of my fathers.”

And the servants and viziers threw themselves on the ground and saith: “O Badamasi, we shall do thine bidding. But, pray, give us a reason. What shall we tell thine people?” Whereupon Badamasi saith unto them: “you shall tell my people that Sambo the Kadunite who now works for the usurper as the second ruler of this land is from the loins of the son of the nephew of my grandfather’s uncle. Sambo the Kadunite is therefore a junior brother and son unto me. He is the flesh of my flesh and the bone of my bones. Seeing that he is now part of the throne of the usurper from the land of the hewers-but-not-partakers of black gold, I do not wish to covet my brother’s property. So let it be written, so let it be done.”

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