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"What came to me was immediate and logical, and perhaps obvious.
I would teach these people everything I knew! I wouldn't just tellthem about Heaven and God and Angels, because what good wouldthat do? Though of course I would tell them, and tell them to lookfor a peaceful death and peace in Sheol, for that they could attain.
"But that would be the least of what I would do. For that wasnothing! What was better was this桰'd teach them everything abouttheir world that I could perceive logically but which had not yetbecome known to them.
"Immediately I started speaking to them. I led them to the mountainsand took them into the caves and showed them the veins of ore,and told them that when this metal was hot it bubbled forth from theearth in liquid, and that if they could heat it again they could make itsoft and make things out of it.
"Returning to the sea, I picked up the soft earth and shaped it intolittle people to show them how simple this was to do! Picking up astick, I drew a circle in the sand, and spoke to them of symbols. Howwe might make a symbol for Lilia that resembled the flower forwhich she was named which they called the lily. And how we mightmake a symbol for what I was ... a man with wings. I drew pictureseverywhere, showing them how easy it was to do it, to connect animage with a concept or a concrete thing.
"By evening, I had gathered around me all the women, and wasshowing them ways to tie their thongs of chewed leather, which hadnever occurred to them, elaborate ways of plaiting it, and making itinto big pieces of one fabric. All logical. All simply what I inferredfrom what I knew as an Angel about the whole world.
"Now, these people already knew the seasons of the moon, butthey didn't know the calendar of the sun. I told them all this. Howmany days to a year there should be according to how the sun and theplanets moved, and I told them how they could write all this downwith symbols. And soon we took the clay from the banks of the seaand we made flat plates of it, and on these plates with sticks I madelittle pictures of stars and heaven and Angels. And these plates ortablets were then allowed to dry in the sun.
"For days and nights, I remained with my people. I began to teachthem more and more and more. When one group was tired and couldtake no more lessons, I turned to another, and examined what theywere doing, and tried to improve their ways.
"Many things they would figure out for themselves, I knew.
Weaving was very soon to occur to them, and then they would makebetter garments. That was all well and good. I showed them pigmentssimilar to the red ochre they already used. I took things out of theraw earth that would make different colors for them. Every thoughtthat occurred to me, every advance of which I could conceive, Iimparted to them, greatly expanding their language in the process,obviously teaching them writing, and then I also taught them music of awholly new kind. I taught them songs. And the women came to me,over and over again, the women梐nd Lilia stepped back梩hat theseed of the Angel might go into many, many women, 'the comelyDaughters of Men.' "He paused again. His heart seemed broken, remembering. Hiseyes were distant and totally reflecting the pale blue of the sea.
I spoke up very softly, cautiously, and from memory and ready atany sign from him to break off. I quoted from the Book of Enoch:
" 'And Azazel... made known to them the metals, and the art ofworking them, and bracelets and ornaments, and the use of anti-mony, and the beautifying of eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones,and all colored tinctures.' "He turned to look at me. He seemed almost unable to speak. Hisvoice came softly, almost as softly as mine had as he spoke the nextlines of the book of Enoch, " 'And there arose much godlessness, andthey committed fornication, and they were led astray....' " Again hepaused and then resumed, " 'And as men perished, they cried, andtheir cry went up to heaven.' " He stopped again, smiling slowly andbitterly. "And what is the rest of it, Lestat, and what lies in betweenthe lines you've spoken and the lines I've spoken! Lies! I taught themcivilization. I taught them knowledge of Heaven and Angels! That'sall I taught them. There was no blood, no lawlessness, no monstrousgiants in the earth. It's lies and lies, fragments and fragments buriedin lies!"I nodded, fearlessly, and rather certain of it, and seeing it perfectly,and seeing it from the point of view of the Hebrews who laterbelieved so firmly in the purification and law, and had seen it asuncleanness and evil . . . and told again and again of these Watchers,these teachers, these Angels who had fallen in love with theDaughters of Men.
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