destructions and even more usual fires, it's rather a fine story, illustrating the power of a god for whom, it would seem, nothing is impossible. All lies. The truth is that when joshua saw that the sun was going down and that the creeping shadows of the night would protect what remained of the amorite army, he raised his arms to heaven, with words ready prepared for posterity on his lips, but, at that moment, he heard a voice whisper in his ear, Silence, don't speak, say nothing, meet me alone, with no witnesses, in the tent of the ark of the covenant, we need to talk. Joshua obediently handed over operations to his second in command and hurried to the meeting place. He sat down on a stool and said, Here I am, lord, let me know thy will, You were probably thinking, said the lord, who was inside the ark, of asking me to stop the sun, Yes, lord, so that no amorite will escape us, Unfortunately, I cannot do as you ask. Joshua opened his mouth wide in amazement, You can't make the sun stop, he asked, and his voice trembled because he believed he was uttering a terrible heresy, No, I can't stop the sun because it's already stopped, it hasn't moved since I put it there, You are the lord, and therefore cannot be wrong, but that isn't what my eyes see, the sun is born over there, travels all day across the sky and disappears over the other side until it returns the following morning, Something moves, but it's not the sun, it's the earth, The earth doesn't move, lord, said joshua in a tense, desperate voice, Your eyes are deluding you, the earth does move, it turns on itself and also turns in space around the sun, In that case, order the earth to stop, it doesn't matter to me whether it's the sun that stops or the earth, just as long as I can destroy the amorites, If I were to stop the earth, not only the amorites would be destroyed, but the world itself, mankind, everything, all the creatures and every living thing on earth, even many trees, despite the roots that anchor them in the soil, everything would be hurled off like a stone from a sling, But I thought the workings of the world depended entirely on your will, lord, Yes, I've been using my will rather too much, as have others in my name, that's why there is so much discontent, people turning their backs on me, some even denying my existence, Punish them, They're beyond my jurisdiction, out of my control, the life of a god isn't as easy as you all think, a god cannot, as people imagine, simply say I want, I can and I command, and he can't always get what he wants straight away, but has to go round in circles first, it's true that I placed that mark on the forehead of cain, whom you've never seen and don't even know, but what I can't understand is why I don't have the power to stop him going where his will takes him and doing whatever he wishes, And what about us, now, asked joshua, his mind still fixed on the amorites, You will do exactly what you had already decided to do, I wouldn't want to take from you the glory of speaking directly to god, And what will you do, lord, Oh, I'll clear the sky of the clouds currently covering it, that's easy enough, but it's up to you to win the battle, With your encouragement, the battle will be over before the sun has set, Fine, given that I cannot do the impossible, I will do the possible. Interpreting these words as a dismissal, joshua got up from the stool, but the lord went on, Tell no one what has passed between us, the story that is told in the future should be ours and no other, joshua asked the lord to stop the sun and the lord did as he asked, that's all, My lips will remain sealed except to confirm that story, lord, Right, go and finish off those amorites for me. Joshua returned to the army, went up to the top of a hill and again raised his arms, O lord, he cried, lord of heaven, of the world and of israel, make the sun stand still in the west, so that your will can be done, give me one more hour of light, just one hour, so that the amorites cannot hide themselves like the cowards they are and so that your soldiers can find them in the darkness and administer your justice and take their lives. In reply, the voice of god thundered forth from the now cloudless sky, terrifying the amorites and emboldening the israelites, The sun will not move from where it is, in order to witness the battle of the israelites for the promised land, now, joshua, vanquish those five amorite kings defying me, and canaan will be the ripe fruit that will shortly fall into your hands, onwards then, and let no amorite survive the blade of the israelite sword. Some say that joshua's plea to the lord was simpler than that, more direct, that he said only, Sun, stand thou still upon gibeon, and thou, moon, in the valley of ajalon, which shows that joshua had accepted that he would have to fight after sunset and with only a pale moon to guide the points of sword and spear to the throats of the amorites. While this is an interesting version, it doesn't change the essence of the story, namely, that the amorites were roundly defeated and all credit for the victory went to the lord, who, having made the sun stop, did not need to wait for the moon. To every saint his candle, as is only right. Here is what was written in a book called just, whose whereabouts no one knows. The sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down for about a whole day, and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the lord hearkened to the voice of a man, for the lord fought for israel.
Chapter 10
Cain has no idea where he is, he can't tell if the donkey is taking him along one of the many roads of the past or along some narrow track in the future, or if, quite simply, he is trotting through some new present that has not, as yet, revealed itself. He looks at the parched earth, the thistles, the sparse scrub scorched by the sun, but parched earth, thistles and scrub are what one mainly sees in such barren places. There's not a road in sight, from here you could go anywhere or nowhere, as if the destinations were constantly shifting or had decided to wait for a better occasion to show themselves. The donkey is jogging steadily along, he seems to know where he's going, as if he were following a trail, or, rather, a confusing coming and going of tracks left by sandals, hooves or bare feet, that you have to study attentively if you want to avoid finding yourself going backwards when you thought you were heading straight for the north star. In the past, cain has been a would-be farmer, as well as a treader of clay, but he is now a diligent tracker, who, even at moments of uncertainty, tries not to lose the thread of those who have preceded him, regardless of whether or not they ever found a place where they could stop and say to themselves, I've arrived. Cain doubtless has very sharp eyes, but not so sharp that he can recognise his own marks among the many other tracks, the hollow left by his heel or the slightly scuffed print of his weary feet. Cain has passed this way before. He will realise this when he suddenly spots the remains of the ruined house where he once sheltered from the rain and where he will not be able to shelter today because what was left of the roof has fallen in, all one can see now are fragments of crumbling wall, which, after another two or three winters, will merge for ever with the earth from which they rose, earth to earth, dust to dust. From now on, the donkey will only go where he is told to, the days when he was the sole guide on this journey are over, or perhaps not, for left to his own devices, the memory of his former stable might be strong enough to lead him to the city that he left, who knows how many years before, carrying this man on his back. As for cain, he, naturally, has not forgotten the road to the palace. When he enters the palace, it will be in his power to change direction, to abandon the other presents awaiting him, both previous and future, and return to that familiar past for a day or two, possibly more, but not for all the remaining days of his life, for he has not yet met his fate, as we will see. Cain lightly touches the donkey's flanks with his heels, ahead lies the road that will lead him into the city, and there he will have no option but to drink whatever wine has been poured for him. Seen from close to, the city appears not to have grown, the same squat houses seemingly oppressed by their own weight, the same adobe bricks, only the palace rises above the dark mass of the older buildings, and, inevitably, in accordance with the rules of this story, just around the corner stands the same old man at the entrance to the square, leading the same sheep tethered by the same rope. Where have you been, have you come back to stay, he asked cain, And what about you, retorted cain, you're still here, are you, still not dead, As long as these sheep are alive, I will be too, I must have been born to tend them and stop them eating the rope that tethers them, There are worse fates, You mean your own, Maybe I'll tell you about that on another occasion, right now, I'm in a hurry, Is someone expecting you, asked the old man, That I don't know, Well, I'll just wait here to see if you leave or stay, Wish me luck, To do that I would need to know what is best for you, Even I don't know that, You're aware that lilith had a child, aren't you, asked the old man, Of course, she was pregnant when I left, Yes, well, she has a son, Goodbye, Goodbye. With no need to be told, the donkey headed for the palace gate, where he stopped. Cain slid down from the saddle, handed the reins to a slave who came to greet him and asked, Is anyone in the palace, Yes, my mistress is here, Go and tell her she has a visitor, Abel, your name is abel, murmured the slave, I remember you well, Off you go, then. The slave went up the steps and returned shortly afterwards, accompanied by a boy of about nine or ten, My son, thought cain. The slave beckoned cain to follow. At the top of the steps stood lilith, as beautiful and voluptuous as ever, I thought you would come today, that's why I put on this dress, to please you, Who is the boy, His name is enoch and he's your son. Cain went up the few steps that separated him from lilith, grasped the hands she held out to him and, in an instant, was holding her in his arms. He heard her sigh, felt her whole body tremble, and when lilith said, You came back, he could say only, Yes, I came back. At a signal from her, the slave led the boy away, leaving them alone. Come with me, she said. They went into the antechamber, and cain noticed that the guard's bed and bench
