The Days of Noah - Chapter 2

Another man named Lamech emerged from among the Cainites. (Lamech son of Methuselah was a Sethite.) This Cainite was a visionary, believing that people could be unified through faith in humanity. But for this unification to occur, people had to set aside all differences; moral, ethnic, and religious. The Sethites were unsure of this, seeing the Cainites as immoral and hostile animals. The Cainites were unsure as well, seeing the Sethites as pious and autocratic kill-joys. But through lots of discussions with the two governments and a lot of persuasion, the nations of Cain and Seth reached a delicate truce. And to Lamech’s delight, they made arrangements to unify Cain and Seth under one government and center it in the City of Enoch. Everything was set in motion, and then all they needed was a leader. Several candidates were selected to take office, and eventually the Cainite Lamech won the position as Emperor.
Lamech the Sethite happened to be starting a family at the time. He found a wife and had children. His firstborn was a son, whom he named “Noah”. Then came a daughter, named “Anesath”. After that he had a son, named “Gotar”. Next came another son, named “Ben-Enoch”. Finally, another daughter came, named “Nadi”.
Meanwhile, Emperor Lamech was starting a family of his own. He married two women, Adah and Zillah. His firstborn was a son he had with Zillah, whom he named “Tubal-Cain.” Then the Emperor had twin sons with Adah, naming one “Jabal” and the other “Jubal”. Finally, he had a daughter with Zillah, named “Naamah”.
Unfortunately, the truce between the two nations was broken. The Emperor issued a decree that all civilians surrender whatever weapons they had, saying that staying unified would be easier if people weren’t able to hurt each other. Some people, mostly Cainites, were easily persuaded to give up their weapons. But others, mostly Sethites, refused; saying that the Emperor’s decree wouldn’t stop thieves, assassins, pirates, and terrorists from arming themselves. The Emperor took harshly to this, threatening to take their weapons by force if not surrendered voluntarily. The Sethites still refused, and civil war broke out. The Cainites won, crushing the Sethite rebellion. Many Sethites died, while the rest were enslaved.
Some of the people to be enslaved were of the family of Lamech son of Methuselah. Lamech’s wife, mother, and parents-in-law were killed in the rebellion. He, his father Methuselah, Noah, Anesath, Gotar, Ben-Enoch, and Nadi were enslaved and taken to the City of Enoch.
The family was selected to be handed over to the Emperor and his household. The Emperor examined all seven to see where in the household they would be best fit. He examined Noah last.
“What are you good at?” The Emperor asked him.
Noah answered “I’m strong, so I can do a lot of heavy lifting. I’m also creative, so I can do construction or cooking. Also, I like animals, so I can care for any animals you have, too. …your highness.”
The Emperor thought this over for a moment. Noah seemed versatile talent-wise as well as respectful. But a lot of the positions that could be filled in by slaves were already filled in, so where could he put Noah?
That’s when the Emperor saw his daughter Naamah walk by. The Emperor remembered that she was kind of private and reserved. She could use a personal servant. (She was kind of the favorite child, too.) It was perfect!
“Naamah, my daughter,” the Emperor called, “could you come here for a minute?”
Naamah walked in and said “Yes, father?”
“I’ve noticed you’ve been rather private and reserved lately. Are you lonely?”
“A little, I guess. Why?”
“Well, the household recently received a shipment of slaves. I’ve already assigned all the slaves to their positions, except for this one.” The Emperor pointed to Noah. “I’ll use him in place of another slave if he or she gets injured or sick. In the meantime, I think I’ll let you have him. What do you think?”
Naamah looked at Noah. He was about her age (about one hundred, which at the time was about mid-adolescent age), as well as robust and muscular. She said “I think that’s a good idea.”
“Great! I’ll set that arrangement in place, and you can show him around! –Oh, also…?” The Emperor motioned Naamah to come near him so that he could whisper. Naamah went up to him. The Emperor whispered to her “Try not to think of him as more than just a slave. He’s one of the rebels, after all.”
“Alright…” Naamah whispered back.
Naamah showed Noah around the palace. She showed him the kitchen, library, theater, dining room, main hall, farm, courtyard, etc. Finally, she showed him her room and his own living quarters. She concluded “I’ll try not to work you too hard, so you don’t have to be afraid of me.”
“Alright,” Noah replied. Then they both yawned. It was getting late in the evening, and they both needed to get some sleep. “So, is there anything I can do right now before bedtime, miss?”
“No, you can go to sleep now. And by the way, you don’t have to be so formal around me. You can call me Naamah.”
“Alright, um… ‘Naamah’.”
Naamah giggled. “By the way, I never did get your name.”
“I’m Noah.”
“Well, welcome to the household, ‘Noah’.” She stuck her hand out and Noah shook it. Then they both went to bed and fell asleep.