Story Real Gender Studies 204 - Antarctica Chapter 4

[K9Otaku]

This is the fourth chapter of the book "Antarctica" and the sixth in the series. See below for a list of threads in the series.

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Chapter 4 (Part 1) – Uruk

On April 23rd 1948, a meeting of the Philadelphia Boffin team occurred to decide what the follow-up to the Eridu experiment should be. Alan Turing, who was chairing the meeting, opened it up by asking: “Where, and when, should we now look ?” Both von Soden and Landsberger immediately answered in one voice: “at Uruk, in the fourth Millennium BC.” And with that pronouncement, the Uruk experiment started.

In the early fourth Millennium BC, as Eridu was in the middle of its explosive growth period, several other cities started to appear in lower Mesopotamia. The phenomenon was a straightforward case of copycat behavior. When something obviously works, it would be foolish not to do the same. The first of these imitation cities was Uruk, located 70 km upstream of Eridu along the Euphrates. The transition from village to city took place in the 3920s BC., and followed the Eridu pattern very closely. The local En, servants of the Uruk village ruling family replaced their former human master, an elderly chief who had just died of old age, with an effigy deemed to be his immortal incarnation. At Uruk, like at Eridu, the village population played along and the local top shaman was duly co-opted into the En council. The copycat nature of what happened at Uruk is clearly indicated by the choice of name used for the new local master/god. “Enki”, as we have seen, means “En (i.e. “foreman”) of the Earth” and, by the time Uruk started its transformation, this name was already the most common way to refer to Eridu’s everlasting chief. Uruk’s En council seems to have reasoned that, since the Earth was already taken, they would give a Sky-related name to their own master/god. Eventually, the simplest possible name was chosen: “Anu”, which just means “the Sky”.

In order to understand the implications of this choice, one has to remember how Mesopotamian cosmogony was structured. Ancient Mesopotamians viewed the world as centered on “Ki”, “the Earth”. Ki was imagined as a flat disk, with land in the middle, understood as a sort of floating island resting on a pool of water which was accessible all around as the oceans but also underneath the ground as the subterranean water table. Above the Earth was “Anu”, the Sky, viewed as a solid hemispherical dome with water stored above it. Rain was interpreted as some of this water falling through pores in the Sky dome that were opened from time to time. The waters above the Sky met those below the land along the circumference of the Earth, where the Sky dome met the Earth disk. Between the Sky dome and the Earth disk was a void filled with Air, thus completing the triad Earth-Sky-Air.

Unsurprisingly, when a third city, Nippur, appeared around 50 years after Uruk, its god/master was named “Enlil”, i.e. “En of the Air”. For nearly 4000 years, the triad Enki/Earth, Anu/Sky and Enlil/Air would remain the most fundamental group of gods in Mesopotamian religion.

For over a century, until the 3710s BC., Uruk grew in parallel with Eridu and along the same lines. In 3847 BC., a magnificent new stone building, the first ever in human history, was added to the structures forming the House of Anu at Uruk. This building, constructed with white limestone blocks cemented with bitumen, was to be the new residence of Anu’s statue. It consisted of three massive concentric walls, each pierced with a single door facing a different direction. It was thus the first ever spatial representation of the idea of the sacred, i.e. the notion that divinity must be carefully separated from ordinary mortals.

The logic behind this separation goes both ways. On the one hand, the divine presence must be protected from sacrilegious acts that mortals may commit. Howver, on the other hand, the said mortals must also be protected from the divine energy that may kill them if they approach it casually. Both these concerns find a clear expression, for example, in the Old Testament, where the structure of the "Tent of Meeting" and of the later Solomonic Temple are self-consciously described as a means to avoid sacrilegious intrusion into the "Holy of Holies" but also to protect men from accidentally touching the dangerously powerful sacred objects contained therein. To illustrate the latter risk, the second book of Samuel narrates how one of the priests who was helping move the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-Jearim to Jerusalem was struck dead on the spot when he accidentally touched it (2 Sam. 2:8). Both the Tent of Meeting and the Solomonic Temple are said to have been designed to the same concentric pattern as Anu's limestone House built in Uruk three Millenia before. 6000 years later, in our own time, the same general configuration is still employed in nuclear power plants, where concentric “confinement enclosures” are erected to protect the environment from the radiations of the core within. Today, the same "confinement enclosures" can still clearly be seen in the excavated remains of Anu's House near the town of Samawah in Southern Iraq.

As the first ever stone building, with its shining white facade, the new House of Anu in Uruk outshone even Enki’s House in Eridu, which was still built of sun-dried brick at the time. It was duly inaugurated, on August 7 3847 BC., with a lavish feast attended by all the people of Uruk, many guests from Eridu, and many as well from the surrounding countryside.

From the mid-3800s BC. onward, Uruk had begun competing with Eridu and this rivalry would only intensify with time. Uruk was previously one of Eridu’s dependent villages. However, in 3872 BC., it had declared independence from Eridu by sending a large gift of agricultural produce, copper objects and luxury items to the House of Enki, together with a message stating: “Anu thanks his older brother Enki for his help and protection. Having grown in strength, he will no longer need it anymore”. The En in both Eridu and Uruk were risk-averse folks. As a result, neither Uruk’s declaration of independence, nor the competition that developed between the two cities afterwards, could degenerate into war. Indeed, the concept of war did not exist at this time. Mesopotamian Neolithic culture did not have a tradition of head-hunting or inter-village warfare. The warriors of the new cities mostly played the role of a police force, deterring cattle-rustling and the like. They also acted as debt-collection agents. Also, on occasion, migrant groups descended from the mountains to the East and had to be repulsed, but these incursions were never large-scale events.

Therefore, for over 160 years, Uruk and Eridu competed peacefully. The Houses of both cities were essentially economic actors and competition spurred them to further increases in efficiency. Productivity grew, especially in textile manufacturing and copper metallurgy, and prices fell. Towards the end of the 3700s B.C., Uruk reached a population of 10,000 while Eridu was on its way to the already mentioned figure of 15,000.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-​

As I was reading about the early history of Uruk in binder X-48/04, Finn entered the office. He looked a little preoccupied.

— ME: What’s the matter ?.

— FINN: We are going to have a new visitor.

— ME: How do you know ? And, by the way, you never told me how you knew that I was coming. How did you ?

— FINN: It is not easy to explain. The best way I can express it, I think, is that I remember learning that someone is going to come, even though I do not remember any of the circumstances in which I learned it. It is as if memories were implanted into my brain.

— ME: Scary !

— FINN: Yes, but, at the same time, I do not feel there is anything to worry about. I know how strange it sounds, but it feels completely normal. Probably, this has something to do with the fact that these memories have always proved to be completely reliable. All the things I learned about this way turned out exactly how I remembered they were supposed to.

— ME: Who is going to come this time ?

— FINN: A biologist from the Russian Vostok station. Her name is Ekaterina Kurchatova. She is due to arrive here within 48 hours or less, from a South-Westerly direction. You arrived from due West. Apparently, these directions are related to where we came from initially. When I want to go back to Troll, I have to head North.

— ME: A girl, ha !

— FINN: Yes. I do not know anything else about her.

Finn grabbed the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. I returned to binder X-48/04.

---

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[BoramHyunKi]

Chapter 4, yay!

 

[K9Otaku]

Chapter 4 (part 2)

In March 3709 BC., an event occurred in Uruk which would have repercussions down to the present day. In Uruk, as in Eridu, the warriors were under the command of an official called the Lukig (“man of commands”, or “man of orders”, in Sumerian), who was appointed by the En. From 37182 BC. onward, Uruk’s Lukig was a man called Bilgaga (“fruit basket”, a common name related to the propitiating fruit offerings brought to the House by women expecting a child). Like all military men in Eridu and Uruk at this point, Bilgaga spent most of his time in the taverns located near Uruk’s port on the Euphrates river. The region had been peaceful for several decades and the soldiers did not have much to do, save for the occasional shakedown of farmers whose debts to the House went overdue.

Since the beginning of the fourth Millennium BC., the brewing and sale of alcohol as a specialized activity had started to develop in Eridu, and then in Uruk. Initially, the patrons of such establishments were the young men who came from the countryside to become apprentices in copper metallurgy, carpentry, pottery, etc. Donkey drivers from other towns were also among the early customers of the new taverns.

Until the late 3900s, warriors did not generally patronize the taverns. They were then mostly married men and were often still engaged, part-time, in agriculture, or another trade. However, in the early 3800s, this changed. Following the trend towards increased specialization, the military profession became a full-time activity practiced by unmarried young men in their 20s and 30s. Like the previously mentioned apprentice craftsmen, the majority of the young soldiers also hailed from neighbouring villages and were recruited by the Lukig who provided them with food, equipment, clothing and boarding. Compared to their previous part-time counterparts, these new professional troops had the advantage of immediate availability for any type of mission. Also, being away from their families, they were fully loyal to their commander and, through him, to the House. After serving for 10 to 15 years, they generally went back to their villages and got married.

During their term of service, soldiers were often idle. They were generally being drilled in the morning, when the temperature was still bearable, but were frequently left to their own devices past noon when no orders for them had come from the House. As a result, going to the tavern had become a soldierly past-time. In most establishments, payment in small copper objects was accepted. A hairpin or a nail would buy you a half gallon pitcher of beer and the right for five or six men to sit at a table for as long as they needed to drink it. Soon, games made their appearances, like dice or Kiaddir (“land and bridge”), an ancestor of backgammon, later christened “the Royal game of Ur” by its modern discoverer, the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley.

Not long after games, prostitution made its appearance too. For the price of two or three pitchers, a patron could now climb to the upper room of a tavern with one of the girls serving the beer. Initially, the girls were the daughters of the tavern owners and no stigma was attached to the practice. Later on, as with most professions in Eridu and Uruk, prostitution became a specialized activity. Poor families began to sell their daughters to tavern owners at puberty. These young girls would initially serve as maids while they learned their trade from more senior ladies. When they started taking clients upstairs themselves, at 16 or 17 years of age, they had become full-fledged courtesans, skilled in dancing and music, as well as in the use of cosmetics, perfume, elaborate clothing and the bedroom arts. Some became well known around town and had a devoted following among soldiers, craftsmen apprentices, donkey drivers and boatmen.

By the mid-3710s BC, Bilgaga, the Lukig of Uruk, had become a near permanent fixture of the port district taverns. He was famed for his generosity towards his men, routinely paying the drinks of dozens of soldiers at a time. He also often threw huge parties that dragged on late into the night. Beer, gambling and dancing girls were the main attractions at these parties, which invariably ended up in drunken orgies during which soldiers competed to show off their sexual prowess. Often, Bilgaga himself was the winner in these contests.

In a village setting, such behavior would have been unthinkable. However, in the city, increasing specialization had taught people to mind their own business. The population increase had long ago put an end to the village-style face to face culture where peer pressure is the main driver of social conformity. Most of the participants in the growing tavern sub-culture were younger men from out of town who did not know anybody in the city. As a result, they were unrestrained by traditional social ties. The En and some of the wealthier citizens of Uruk seem to have been worried by this phenomenon and the same was true in Eridu. However, there were no cultural tools available for them to deal with the situation since it was entirely new. Everything in Eridu and Uruk revolved around the Houses of Enki and Anu respectively. As long as your economic dealings with the local House were in order and you were also paying proper respect to the deity during festivals, you were in the clear. You could do whatever you liked.

For the few years leading up to the events of 3709 BC., the relationship between Bilgaga and Uruk's En council had become strained. For several decades already, the Lukig had ceased to be an official appointed by the En but had instead increasingly become a kind of mercenary captain. He had turned into a military contractor of sorts who bargained hard with his En paymasters over his budgetary allocation. Since both cities were experiencing increased prosperity, it had been possible for the En councils of both Eridu and Uruk to allow this allocation to rise rapidly, which is what made Bilgaga’s parties possible, among other things. But Bilgaga was never satisfied by his current allocation and he had become increasingly rude and insolent towards his nominal superiors.

One day, on the 17th of March 3709 BC., the growing tension boiled over. On that day, a new set of buildings were to be inaugurated, with the usual ceremonies and feast. The new structures, constructed 200 meters to the North-East of the limestone building completed nearly 140 years before, were intended to become the new center of the House of Anu. They were spread over an area of nearly 3 hectares and included assembly halls, granaries, workshops and, of course, a central great hall destined to house the statue of the city's god. The citizens of Uruk, who had been participating in its construction for 7 years, already called it “E-Anna”, i.e. “The House of Anu”.

During the morning of March 17th, the En had been making offerings at the old limestone building and had prepared the statue of Anu for its journey to the new compound. They had first bathed it in milk and water. Then, after carefully drying it, they had clothed Anu’s effigy with a brand-new white linen garment decorated with colorful bands of embroidery on its edges. Finally, they had draped its neck with an overabundance of thick flower garlands. A little before noon, the god and master of Uruk started on his journey to his new House, borne on an elaborately decorated bier carried on the shoulders of the full En council of Uruk. Fifteen minutes later, it arrived at the entrance of the great square in front of the new E-Anna complex. Drummers and flute players preceded it as it made its way through the crowd, towards the steps leading up to the main hall.

Suddenly, soldiers started to appear on both sides of the E-Anna. As they poured into the square, they pushed the crowd back and forced it to free up some space at the base of the steps. The men, in full battle array, were accompanied by their own drummers who were making such a din that they forced the musicians accompanying the statue of Anu to stop playing. The En, who were still carrying the bier, could not see what was going on as they were pushed backwards by the crowd. The statue they were carrying seemed to be wavering for a few seconds, on the verge of being toppled over. Then it stabilized due to the En’s desperate efforts to keep it upright. As it stood there, motionless, in the middle of the crowded square, it looked like a becalmed ship in the midst of a sea of heads.

Bilgaga appeared, at the top of the stairs. He too was wearing his combat outfit, a leather cuirass, reinforced with copper plates, a short white linen tunic reaching down to the knees and a pair of high leather sandal boots. A copper sword, short and broad, was strapped to his belt and a round shield hung from his back. On his head, he wore a conical leather helmet adorned with a decorative motif that would feature prominently in Mesopotamian art for centuries to come: the figure of a standing man holding off two erect lions; one to his left and one to his right. Bilgaga's face was red and he appeared drunk. A few paces behind him, three of the most famous ladies of the port district, in full courtesan attire, were standing on the platform of E-Anna's main hall. Bilgaga motioned the drummers to stop playing. The whole square fell into near complete silence, only broken here and there by a couple of wailing infants. After surveying the crowd and finding it suitably cowed, Bilgaga addressed it thus:

- BILGAGA: The lady Inanna has demanded the Bull of Heaven from Lord Anu and her wish has been granted.

Up to this point, Inanna had been a stock character which appeared in many traditional stories and songs. She was not a goddess in the same sense as Enki and Anu were. She was just the archetypal girl who played the role of love interest in countless heroic tales and rustic poems. The Bull of heaven, for its part was a very old mythical motif, probably of Paleolithic origin, common to nearly all Neolithic Middle-Eastern cultures. It was associated with the sun, fertility, victory, and strength in general. It had never been connected to Inanna before and what Bilgaga was saying was probably far from clear to his audience. He continued:

- BILGAGA: The lady Inanna is the new mistress of Uruk. Anu has retired to the heavens and granted her the dominion of his beloved city. The Bull of Heaven will grant the lady strength and victory in all she does. She will crack open the skulls of all who oppose her, just as the furious bull gores the hapless cowherd. The Lady Inanna has favored me, Bilgaga. I have had intercourse with the Lady. She bends over and offers her furrow to me.

Things were clearer now, and not at all to the liking of everyone present. People started jeering: “Bilgaga, you inflated beerskin !”, “We did not hear Lord Anu say anything about this !”, “Which Inanna are you talking about ?”, and so on. “SILENCE !”, Bilgaga roared, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He drew his sword and his men imitated him. The crowd recoiled backwards. The Lukig bellowed:

- BILGAGA: The lady Inanna is merciful. She does not repay insult with vengeance, at least for now. The Lord Anu is way too loftily placed to speak to you worms. He spoke to the Lady and the Lady spoke to me. I am the voice of the Lady. She will reside in the E-Anna that her father Anu has prepared for her. And I will visit her and mount her when she so desires. I will let you know whatever she wishes you to know.

A silence followed. Bilgaga had calmed down and his eyes were less bloodshot. He continued:

- BILGAGA: The Lady has gathered us today to celebrate her coming into her inheritance; her good city of Uruk. The Lord Anu has witnessed this and gave his assent. He will now return to his erstwhile earthly abode in the city whence he will take up his residence in the Heavens. Let the feast begin !

Bilgaga then ordered a detachment of soldiers to escort the En, and the bier carrying Anu’s statue, back to the limestone building. Once they had left the square, a group of girls moved forward into the space left empty by the crowd in at the foot of the steps and started dancing, to the sound of drums and reed pipes. After a minute or two, one of the courtesans which had been standing behind Bilgaga since the beginning moved down the staircase. From the lowest step, she began singing:

I am the Lady, the fair maiden Inanna
My wrists are sheathed in tinkling copper
and my anklets sound in unison
My bosom is adorned with lapis and carnelian
and my hair is tied with coral beads
My skirt shines with red and and blue fabric
and my shawl with delicate embroidery

I blacken my eyelids and dye my lips red
My body is pleasant to the eyes
and my skin is soft to the touch
My breasts are like ripe melons
and my hips like gently sloping hills
My vulva is like an open waterlily
and my behind looks as if the Moon had cracked in two

I am the prostitute who sits in the tavern
I will dance and I will sing bawdy songs
in the tavern all day long
For a measure of grain, I will bend over
For two measures I will give you my sister
My thighs spread open at the lightest touch
and my pelvis rocks back and forth

When Anu and Enki created the world
They instructed the Sun to rise by day
and the Moon to rise by night
The potter was given pots to make
and the carpenter roofs and chests
The farmer was given oxen to plow the fields
and the wool spinster got her whorl

But me, Inanna the woman, they forgot
I went to Father Anu and told him
I am Inanna, the woman; you forgot me
You and Uncle Enki did not give me anything to do
Unlike all others I am unemployed
Give me the Bull of Heaven whose pasture is the horizon
Give it to me or I will shout

Father Anu relented; he dreaded my shout
He gave me the Bull of Heaven
whose pasture is the horizon
He gave it to me to bring to Uruk his beloved city
and he gave me the city to feed the bull
The Bull of Heaven is mighty and strong
his nostrils breathe steam and fire

I am Inanna, the woman; the Lady of Uruk
When my ire is kindled by my enemies
even The Bull of Heaven retreats before me
I reign supreme on the field of combat
I spread hatred and anger between friends
I assemble the fighters armed with cold metal
and I march them to the field of carnage

I am Inanna, the woman, the lady of the fight
I wield the spear and the sword
and I bend the swift silent bow
I ride the lion, lord of the beasts
and I command him to maul whom I please
My quiver is full of deadly arrows
an my shield shines as bright as the noonday sun

I am Inanna, the woman; the Lady of the field
Maces crush skulls and spears pierce
Bright red blood flows in bubbling rivers
Arms are cut off and rib-cages crack
Dogs and crows have an abundant feast ready
I am Inanna, the Lady; fear my anger
Propitiate me lest my fury engulfs you

As the courtesan sang, her mood started to spread to her audience. Uruk’s citizen were becoming inebriated with lust and frenzy. The whole square was soon dancing to the rhythm of the drums. Much beer flowed that night, all over town. The whole city was one huge revelry. Dancing, copulation and brawls engulfed it like a sudden fire.

In the morning, there were 17 dead bodies lying down in the streets as well as countless broken arms and fractured jaws. Nobody cared. Everyone was fast asleep. The city was motionless and silent for a whole day as people bandaged their sores and recovered their composure. The day after, the city resumed its everyday routine but the citizens of Uruk knew that things would never be like before.

That morning, Bilgaga showed up at the white limestone building, followed by his now usual retinue of armed soldiers and courtesans. Inside, the En, who had been barricaded there for the last two days, saw him coming from a distance but did not open the door. Bilgaga called them out and motioned them to come and meet him. They slowly filed out of the building and formed a large semi-circle around the Lukig. The following exchange ensued:

- BILGAGA: The new E-ANNA will henceforth be the house of Inanna. You En will serve Anu in the old white building and Inanna in the new E-ANNA.

- CHIEF EN: This is unheard of. We ...

- COURTESAN No. 1 (interrupting): Who are you old man to question the word of lady Inanna. You have never known a woman and your penis is shrivelled like an old date. Why would the lady take any interest in you ?

- CHIEF EN: I ...

- COURTESAN No. 2: bir-gish (shrivelled-penis), bir-gish, bir-gish. The lady is not listening ...

- COURTESANS and some soldiers together: bir-gish, bir-gish, libir-zulum (old date), libir-zulum, bir-gish, ...

After the heckling died down, Bilgaga said:

- BILGAGA: Now you know the divine power of Lady Inanna, old man.

- CHIEF EN: Yes I do.

Bilgaga then dictated his conditions to the En, assembled in front of the white limestone building. First, he was now to be known under a new name, “Bilgamesh”, i.e. “my ancestors are heroes”, in Sumerian. This change, made possible by the polysemy of the word “bilga” (“fresh fruit” in “Bilgaga” and “ancestor” in “Bilgamesh”), clearly denoted dynastic ambitions. Also, his title was to be changed from Lukig (“man of orders”) to Lugal (“big man”). Apart from these onomastic diktats, Bilgamesh did not enact any organizational changes or anything that could be called a “reform” in modern terms. It is not that he lacked imagination. On the contrary, his elaboration of the character of Inanna into a fearsome and domineering goddess shows that his was quite fertile indeed. However, the idea that anything could be “reformed” was foreign to Sumerian culture at this point. The concepts of state, laws or institutions did not exist. The only cultural building blocks that did were that of “House” and of an undying, super-human “master of the House”. Henceforth, as Bilgamesh had explained, Uruk was going to have two Houses, the E-Anna for Inanna and the older complex of buildings surrounding the white limestone structure for Anu as before. Inanna was to be considered the new mistress of Uruk and her House was therefore to become the bigger one. Both houses were to be administered by the En council. However, it was obvious to everyone that supreme power had passed from the En to the newly minted Lugal. As the Inanna-gitlam (“Inanna’s lover”) and the gu-Inanna (“Inanna’s voice”), Bilgamesh was now clearly the highest authority in Uruk. The main symbol of this new political dispensation was the statue of Inanna, soon to be installed in the main hall of the E-Anna. Enthroned where the effigy of Anu should have stood, the image of the new mistress of Uruk was now to reign figuratively over the city, attended to by a select group of courtesans handpicked by Bilgamesh. These new “priestesses” were to assist the En in performing the daily rituals surrounding the effigy of the goddess.

Bilgamesh had just pulled off the first military coup in human history. He had also created a divine archetype which would eventually spread to nearly all world cultures and one which remains very much alive to this day. Inanna would be known as Ishtar in the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires, Anahita among Iranians, Astarte in the Bible, Aphrodite/Venus in the Graeco-Roman world, Durga/Kali in India, the “Lady of the West” in China. She would eventually morph into the “girl with guns” stock character found in modern action movies, mangas and comics.

In all her avatars, Inanna has consistently been depicted as an attractive young woman, either bedecked with ornaments or naked, according to shifting tastes. She wields weapons and is seated on, or stands besides, a lion (or tiger). In modern times, the lion has often morphed into a motorcycle, as in the character Trinity from “The Matrix” movie trilogy (especially in the second installment) or the Pamela Anderson eponymous character in “Barb Wire”. Despite this slight adaptation, the archetype remains essentially unchanged.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-​

Binder X-48/04 ended with two documents:

— A short note written by Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. of Harvard University, one of the two historians within the team.

— A report by Joseph Brady, complementing his findings about Eridu and extending them to the material gathered by the Uruk Project.

Here are both of them, in full:

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 01

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 02

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 03

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 04

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 05

Spoiler: Schlesinger Report on Uruk 06

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 01

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 02

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 03

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 04

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 05

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 06

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 07

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 08

Spoiler: Brady-von Soden Report on Uruk 09

ATTENTION!!! Sometimes the pages in the spoilers above don't load properly when you open them. Reload the page and try again. It may be necessary to do it multiple times. When they load, images make take up to 30s to appear.

 

[BoramHyunKi]

This last report is fantastic. I love it

 

[K9Otaku]

Chapter 4 (part 3)

Brady and von Soden’s report occasioned a lot of controversy among the Boffins; most of it centered on its last paragraph. The lines were drawn in much the same way as they previously had been when there had been contention over what to do after the Socrates experiment. Wittgenstein, Ulam and Kuhn had nothing but praise for Brady and von Soden’s last paragraph, hailing it as a deep insight into the ultimate mechanisms of mankind’s history. On the contrary, Oppenheimer, Turing, Quine and Schlesinger were up in arms. According to them, generalizing the observations made at Uruk in such a sweeping manner was unwarranted; unscientific even. Oppenheimer, for example, wrote in his personal logbook:

I do not know what has gotten into our friends von Soden and Brady. Witnessing the origin of the cult of Inanna/Ishtar was a truly fascinating experience; no doubt about that. However, how one can jump from this observation to an all-encompassing theory of human history is beyond me. Also, why would all this justify placing Christianity on a pedestal in such a blatant way ? What about Hinduism, Islam or Taoism ? Do not they also have a role to play in explaining mankind’s destiny ?​

As had already happened several times in the past, one of the most interesting exchanges about the subject was a discussion between Wittgenstein and Turing. One night in late August 1948, both of them, together with Ulam, Quine, Kuhn and Bose, were relaxing in a small room at the far end of Hut 19 that the team used as a lounge. For a lounge, it was a bit cramped and people had to do with wooden chairs instead of sofas. Of course, no one ever complained. How could they, acutely aware as they all were of how incredible a privilege it was just to be there, peering into humanity’s past ? Everybody but Turing was smoking and Ulam had just opened a bottle of brandy. The following dialogue was recorded in Bose’s logbook:

- WITTGENSTEIN: It seems to me that Brady and von Soden have hit the nail on the head. Their insight about Inanna’s role in history is outstanding.

- TURING: But, Ludwig, doesn’t it seem a little too sweeping a generalization. How can the cult of a goddess explain everything ? There must surely be other factors at play, like the development of rationality, the buildup of knowledge. Take mathematics, for example. Isn’t modernity conditioned by the development of mathematics ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: Brady and von Soden are not claiming otherwise. What they are saying is that mathematics will fail to have an impact if the cult of Inanna and the mindset it represents is not effectively suppressed.

- TURING: I don’t get it. How can one jump from nebulous mythology to the impact of mathematics. The proof of a theorem is true regardless of what people think about it. How can tales about a goddess change that ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: The internal consistency of mathematics is not at stake here, Alan. The question is how and why mathematics, in concert with other things of course, gave birth to modern Science and Engineering, for example. What they are saying is that if Christianity had not succeeded in eradicating Ishtarism from Western culture, it would not have happened.

- TURING: I am completely at a loss here. A king used a goddess to take power 6000 years ago and you are saying that it explains the origin of modernity ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: First of Alan, it is not "a king" and "a goddess". There were no kings and no goddesses before Bilgaga's coup. The concept of a certain type of goddess and also of what would later be called "a king" were invented at that moment.

- TURING: All right. Granted. Yet I do not see what all this have to do with modern science.

- WITTGENSTEIN: What was key to Eridu’s success was accounting. The En were master accountants. In many ways, they invented accounting. Mathematics and accounting are very similar; not in what they are but in the role they play. Accounting is the bookkeeping of business and Mathematics is the bookkeeping of Science or Engineering. Niels Bohr wrote a number of very insightful papers about this recently. In them he argues that the role of Mathematics in Quantum Mechanics is not to describe how the world is but instead to provide a secure means for the experimenter to predict the outcome of the experiment.

- BOSE: Not everyone agrees with him. Einstein in particular is adamantly opposed to this position.

- KUHN: True, but old man Albert seems to be in the process of losing this particular battle. The younger generation of Quantum Mechanicians seems to be overwhelmingly siding with Bohr and the Copenhagen crowd. “Shut up and calculate” is their new motto.

- TURING: What do they mean by that ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: The way Bohr describes the role of mathematics in Quantum Mechanics is as the language used to establish a form of contract between the Theoretician and the Experimenter. This contract says: “If you set up the experiment in this (mathematically conditioned) way, then you will get this (mathematically calculated) result”. The role of Mathematics is to make the Theoretician’s promises precise, just like accounting is there to make business commitments clear cut.

- TURING: What I do not get is what all this have to do with the bloody lion-riding goddess ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: It boils down to motivation. Mathematics and accounting can make contracts precise all day long but this is irrelevant if people do not want to enter into contracts in the first place. When you are at Eridu, under the benevolent gaze of Enki, everything encourages you to make commitments and fulfil them. However, if Inanna reigns supreme, it is another story. Inanna is “fickle” and who wants to make promises in an atmosphere of fickleness ?

- TURING: But Inanna does not exist. Have you become a believer in Inanna, now ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: No, Alan. Don’t pretend to be more block-headed than you actually are. Inanna’s fickleness is just an allegory of the general unpredictability which results from the cultural pattern she represents. When society is driven by a mixture of orgiastic arousal and artificially boosted wolf-pack instincts, making prognostications about the future is hard. In such a context, businesspeople become risk-averse and scientists do not exist at all. In their stead, the only ones who can thrive are magicians and sorcerers. Scientists have a strong incentive to share their results. Magicians and Sorcerers do not. On the contrary, they jealously guard whatever know-how they do have in order to better impress and deceive their marks. When Inanna rules, Mathematics is only useful as a prop for Astrologers and such.

- QUINE: We get all this. It is certainly an interesting theory. But it lacks empirical validation at this point, does it not ? Granted, we have gathered an astonishing amount of data about two cities of the fourth millennium BC. But what about the rest of history ? Who knows what other factors might play a role ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: I agree. What I am expressing right now is my belief in von Soden and Brady’s theory. This is my intuition, if you will. Full blown justification will require many more experiments; no doubt about that. My purpose right now is to argue in favor of designing these experiments in a way that will precisely test this theory to the fullest. My point is that making or breaking von Soden and Brady’s theory should be our highest priority from now on.

-=-=-=-=-=-​

I had just finished reading binder X-48/04 and its accompanying logbooks. The light outside was exactly the same as usual. It never changed. According to my watch, it should have been a little over 5:30 pm., but did it mean anything, in this place ? As I was stretching my legs and leaning back into my chair, Finn entered the room.

- FINN: She is coming.

- ME: Who ? … Oh, the Russian girl ?

- FINN: Yeah. She’ll be here in less than five minutes.

We both went out of the bungalow and stood on the outside staircase, squinting our eyes to see if someone was approaching. A few minutes later, a human shape did start to appear in the distance, clearly outlined against the snowy backdrop. We waved at her. She stopped, hesitated for a few seconds, then started to move in our direction again. When she was close enough, we saw that she was still wearing her heavy arctic gear. Finn shouted at her.

- FINN: You should remove your Anorak. You must be sweating like hell.

Ekaterina stopped once more, then started moving again in our direction, even more slowly than before. When she was a few feet away from us she stopped and looked at us from under her heavy fur-lined hood.

- EKATERINA: Who are you ?

As expected, she had a heavy Russian accent.

- FINN: I am Finn, from the Troll station and this is Aaron, from Amundsen-Scott.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

- FINN: You should really remove your overcoat. The temperature here is close to 15° C.

Ekaterina pushed her hood back. Her brown hair was tied in a bun, but many strands had come loose and were sticking to her sweat-drenched face. She looked as if she had been in a Sauna.

- EKATERINA: This is not possible. Not possible.

She wiped some of the sweat off her brow and rubbed her eyes as if she was trying to wake up. Finn cleared his throat.

- FINN: There is no denying that this place is quite strange. You should come inside. We will explain what we can.

Ekaterina followed us reluctantly up the wooden stairs and into the bungalow. Once inside, she finally resolved to unzip her anorak and take it off. The light grey sweater she wore under it had huge sweat marks.

“Wait a second, Finn said, I will try to find some dry clothes for you”. He disappeared into the corridor. I poured a cup of coffee and gave it to Ekaterina.

- ME: I do not think you need to warm up, but this should help clear your head.

- EKATERINA: Thank you.

She was darting little glances all around and seemed frightened as hell. Finn came back. He was carrying a pile of military-looking clothes, khaki shirts, work pants and sweaters. He laid it down on one of the tables.

- FINN: Most of this is probably not your size. But it will be better than your soaked clothes.

Ekaterina chose a few items from the pile and went into the neighboring room to change. When she came back, she was wearing an enormous sweater, the sleeves of which dangled past her hands, and a matching pair of pants she had rolled up four or five times to be able to walk. She looked more embarrassed than frightened now. Finn motioned her to a chair and looked at me. We both burst out laughing. Ekaterina frowned and shot a half-furious, half-desperate glance in our direction. She was quite pretty, at least by the standards of the science graduates South Pole female population. She made me think of Riin Tamm, the Estonian geneticist I had once seen on stage at a TED talk. However, she was really not my type. I was definitely more into shapely blondes than skinny bookish brunettes.

- FINN: I am really sorry. We should not be laughing like this. You have nothing to fear. This place is completely harmless, albeit strange.

- EKATERINA: Is this secret base ? CIA ? Why no guards ?

- FINN: It used to be a military installation, yes, but that was long ago. This is like a replica of the original.

- EKATERINA: No people here except you ?

- FINN: Yes. Only us at the moment. But when it was operational, several thousand people worked here.

- EKATERINA: It is like Pripyat. Like ghosts were here.

- FINN: Yes. It does feel like a Tarkovsky movie; “Eto Zona” (“This is the Zone”, in Russian)

- ME: Who is Tarkovsky ?

- FINN: A soviet film-maker who directed a science fiction movie in the late seventies about a place somewhat like this one. In the film, it is just called “the Zone”.

- EKATERINA: I do not like the Tarkovsky movies. They scare me.

- FINN: I am sorry. But if you want to get an idea of where we are, “Stalker” is what comes to mind.

- ME: Is that the name of this Tarkovsky flick ?

- FINN: Yes.

 

[JayGoptri]

Chapter 4 (part 3)

Brady and von Soden’s report occasioned a lot of controversy among the Boffins; most of it centered on its last paragraph. The lines were drawn in much the same way as they previously had been when there had been contention over what to do after the Socrates experiment. Wittgenstein, Ulam and Kuhn had nothing but praise for Brady and von Soden’s last paragraph, hailing it as a deep insight into the ultimate mechanisms of mankind’s history. On the contrary, Oppenheimer, Turing, Quine and Schlesinger were up in arms. According to them, generalizing the observations made at Uruk in such a sweeping manner was unwarranted; unscientific even. Oppenheimer, for example, wrote in his personal logbook:

I do not know what has gotten into our friends von Soden and Brady. Witnessing the origin of the cult of Inanna/Ishtar was a truly fascinating experience; no doubt about that. However, how one can jump from this observation to an all-encompassing theory of human history is beyond me. Also, why would all this justify placing Christianity on a pedestal in such a blatant way ? What about Hinduism, Islam or Taoism ? Do not they also have a role to play in explaining mankind’s destiny ?​

As had already happened several times in the past, one of the most interesting exchanges about the subject was a discussion between Wittgenstein and Turing. One night in late August 1948, both of them, together with Ulam, Quine, Kuhn and Bose, were relaxing in a small room at the far end of Hut 19 that the team used as a lounge. For a lounge, it was a bit cramped and people had to do with wooden chairs instead of sofas. Of course, no one ever complained. How could they, acutely aware as they all were of how incredible a privilege it was just to be there, peering into humanity’s past ? Everybody but Turing was smoking and Ulam had just opened a bottle of brandy. The following dialogue was recorded in Bose’s logbook:

- WITTGENSTEIN: It seems to me that Brady and von Soden have hit the nail on the head. Their insight about Inanna’s role in history is outstanding.

- TURING: But, Ludwig, doesn’t it seem a little too sweeping a generalization. How can the cult of a goddess explain everything ? There must surely be other factors at play, like the development of rationality, the buildup of knowledge. Take mathematics, for example. Isn’t modernity conditioned by the development of mathematics ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: Brady and von Soden are not claiming otherwise. What they are saying is that mathematics will fail to have an impact if the cult of Inanna and the mindset it represents is not effectively suppressed.

- TURING: I don’t get it. How can one jump from nebulous mythology to the impact of mathematics. The proof of a theorem is true regardless of what people think about it. How can tales about a goddess change that ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: The internal consistency of mathematics is not at stake here, Alan. The question is how and why mathematics, in concert with other things of course, gave birth to modern Science and Engineering, for example. What they are saying is that if Christianity had not succeeded in eradicating Ishtarism from Western culture, it would not have happened.

- TURING: I am completely at a loss here. A king used a goddess to take power 6000 years ago and you are saying that it explains the origin of modernity ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: First of Alan, it is not "a king" and "a goddess". There were no kings and no goddesses before Bilgaga's coup. The concept of a certain type of goddess and also of what would later be called "a king" were invented at that moment.

- TURING: All right. Granted. Yet I do not see what all this have to do with modern science.

- WITTGENSTEIN: What was key to Eridu’s success was accounting. The En were master accountants. In many ways, they invented accounting. Mathematics and accounting are very similar; not in what they are but in the role they play. Accounting is the bookkeeping of business and Mathematics is the bookkeeping of Science or Engineering. Niels Bohr wrote a number of very insightful papers about this recently. In them he argues that the role of Mathematics in Quantum Mechanics is not to describe how the world is but instead to provide a secure means for the experimenter to predict the outcome of the experiment.

- BOSE: Not everyone agrees with him. Einstein in particular is adamantly opposed to this position.

- KUHN: True, but old man Albert seems to be in the process of losing this particular battle. The younger generation of Quantum Mechanicians seems to be overwhelmingly siding with Bohr and the Copenhagen crowd. “Shut up and calculate” is their new motto.

- TURING: What do they mean by that ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: The way Bohr describes the role of mathematics in Quantum Mechanics is as the language used to establish a form of contract between the Theoretician and the Experimenter. This contract says: “If you set up the experiment in this (mathematically conditioned) way, then you will get this (mathematically calculated) result”. The role of Mathematics is to make the Theoretician’s promises precise, just like accounting is there to make business commitments clear cut.

- TURING: What I do not get is what all this have to do with the bloody lion-riding goddess ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: It boils down to motivation. Mathematics and accounting can make contracts precise all day long but this is irrelevant if people do not want to enter into contracts in the first place. When you are at Eridu, under the benevolent gaze of Enki, everything encourages you to make commitments and fulfil them. However, if Inanna reigns supreme, it is another story. Inanna is “fickle” and who wants to make promises in an atmosphere of fickleness ?

- TURING: But Inanna does not exist. Have you become a believer in Inanna, now ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: No, Alan. Don’t pretend to be more block-headed than you actually are. Inanna’s fickleness is just an allegory of the general unpredictability which results from the cultural pattern she represents. When society is driven by a mixture of orgiastic arousal and artificially boosted wolf-pack instincts, making prognostications about the future is hard. In such a context, businesspeople become risk-averse and scientists do not exist at all. In their stead, the only ones who can thrive are magicians and sorcerers. Scientists have a strong incentive to share their results. Magicians and Sorcerers do not. On the contrary, they jealously guard whatever know-how they do have in order to better impress and deceive their marks. When Inanna rules, Mathematics is only useful as a prop for Astrologers and such.

- QUINE: We get all this. It is certainly an interesting theory. But it lacks empirical validation at this point, does it not ? Granted, we have gathered an astonishing amount of data about two cities of the fourth millennium BC. But what about the rest of history ? Who knows what other factors might play a role ?

- WITTGENSTEIN: I agree. What I am expressing right now is my belief in von Soden and Brady’s theory. This is my intuition, if you will. Full blown justification will require many more experiments; no doubt about that. My purpose right now is to argue in favor of designing these experiments in a way that will precisely test this theory to the fullest. My point is that making or breaking von Soden and Brady’s theory should be our highest priority from now on.

-=-=-=-=-=-​

I had just finished reading binder X-48/04 and its accompanying logbooks. The light outside was exactly the same as usual. It never changed. According to my watch, it should have been a little over 5:30 pm., but did it mean anything, in this place ? As I was stretching my legs and leaning back into my chair, Finn entered the room.

- FINN: She is coming.

- ME: Who ? … Oh, the Russian girl ?

- FINN: Yeah. She’ll be here in less than five minutes.

We both went out of the bungalow and stood on the outside staircase, squinting our eyes to see if someone was approaching. A few minutes later, a human shape did start to appear in the distance, clearly outlined against the snowy backdrop. We waved at her. She stopped, hesitated for a few seconds, then started to move in our direction again. When she was close enough, we saw that she was still wearing her heavy arctic gear. Finn shouted at her.

- FINN: You should remove your Anorak. You must be sweating like hell.

Ekaterina stopped once more, then started moving again in our direction, even more slowly than before. When she was a few feet away from us she stopped and looked at us from under her heavy fur-lined hood.

- EKATERINA: Who are you ?

As expected, she had a heavy Russian accent.

- FINN: I am Finn, from the Troll station and this is Aaron, from Amundsen-Scott.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again.

- FINN: You should really remove your overcoat. The temperature here is close to 15° C.

Ekaterina pushed her hood back. Her brown hair was tied in a bun, but many strands had come loose and were sticking to her sweat-drenched face. She looked as if she had been in a Sauna.

- EKATERINA: This is not possible. Not possible.

She wiped some of the sweat off her brow and rubbed her eyes as if she was trying to wake up. Finn cleared his throat.

- FINN: There is no denying that this place is quite strange. You should come inside. We will explain what we can.

Ekaterina followed us reluctantly up the wooden stairs and into the bungalow. Once inside, she finally resolved to unzip her anorak and take it off. The light grey sweater she wore under it had huge sweat marks.

“Wait a second, Finn said, I will try to find some dry clothes for you”. He disappeared into the corridor. I poured a cup of coffee and gave it to Ekaterina.

- ME: I do not think you need to warm up, but this should help clear your head.

- EKATERINA: Thank you.

She was darting little glances all around and seemed frightened as hell. Finn came back. He was carrying a pile of military-looking clothes, khaki shirts, work pants and sweaters. He laid it down on one of the tables.

- FINN: Most of this is probably not your size. But it will be better than your soaked clothes.

Ekaterina chose a few items from the pile and went into the neighboring room to change. When she came back, she was wearing an enormous sweater, the sleeves of which dangled past her hands, and a matching pair of pants she had rolled up four or five times to be able to walk. She looked more embarrassed than frightened now. Finn motioned her to a chair and looked at me. We both burst out laughing. Ekaterina frowned and shot a half-furious, half-desperate glance in our direction. She was quite pretty, at least by the standards of the science graduates South Pole female population. She made me think of Riin Tamm, the Estonian geneticist I had once seen on stage at a TED talk. However, she was really not my type. I was definitely more into shapely blondes than skinny bookish brunettes.

- FINN: I am really sorry. We should not be laughing like this. You have nothing to fear. This place is completely harmless, albeit strange.

- EKATERINA: Is this secret base ? CIA ? Why no guards ?

- FINN: It used to be a military installation, yes, but that was long ago. This is like a replica of the original.

- EKATERINA: No people here except you ?

- FINN: Yes. Only us at the moment. But when it was operational, several thousand people worked here.

- EKATERINA: It is like Pripyat. Like ghosts were here.

- FINN: Yes. It does feel like a Tarkovsky movie; “Eto Zona” (“This is the Zone”, in Russian)

- ME: Who is Tarkovsky ?

- FINN: A soviet film-maker who directed a science fiction movie in the late seventies about a place somewhat like this one. In the film, it is just called “the Zone”.

- EKATERINA: I do not like the Tarkovsky movies. They scare me.

- FINN: I am sorry. But if you want to get an idea of where we are, “Stalker” is what comes to mind.

- ME: Is that the name of this Tarkovsky flick ?

- FINN: Yes.

Still reading. I remember reading something similar last time you posted but needed a refresher. Good story!

 

[K9Otaku]

Chapter 4 (part 4)

After a little more chit-chat, Finn offered to take Ekaterina to the Cafeteria for some dinner (according to her timescale, it was late at night and she had not eaten). I was not hungry and stayed at hut 19. When Finn came back, he was alone ...

— FINN: I took her to the dormitory. She is asleep.

— ME: How did she take your explanations ?

— FINN: She was quite puzzled, as everyone is in the beginning. She is a microbiologist on a Russian Academy of Science grant. “Extremophile bacteria in Polar Ice”; That is her post-doctoral subject. She was collecting samples some distance away from Vostok station when she got disoriented and was attracted by the light. The usual story.

— ME: Do you think she will be interested in all this suff; I mean, the binders and all.

— FINN: I guess we will know whether she is shortly.

— ME: By the way, I wanted to ask you a few things about the Uruk experiment. You have read all the binders about it, right ?

— FINN: Yes.

— ME: I get that this king, Bilgaga, invented a new goddess in order to ...

— FINN: You can't use these words !

— ME: What !? ...

— FINN: Bilgaga is not a king. He is in the process of (unwittingly) creating the institution of kingship. Before him there were no kings or emperors or anything like that. What he is doing, what he is transforming himself into, is something completely unheard of at this point. Also, he is not creating a goddess. There were no goddesses yet before him. There was no real concept of a "god" either. Both Enki and Anu can be called such retrospectively but the inhabitants of Eridu and Uruk would not have seen things that way. Enki and Anu are simply the paterfamilias of their respective Houses in their respective cities. There are no separate categories for "gods" and "mortals" yet. It just so happened that these two beings became immortal and started reigning over the Earth and the Sky. However, nothing of this is considered "supernatural". It is just what took place, for some reason. The words "king" and "god" (or goddess) carry way too much cultural baggage to be appropriate here.

— ME: Yeah, all right. I see what you mean. What I was about to say is that I am somewhat baffled by the way Brady and von Soden talk about this Inanna/Ishtar goddess as if she were a real person sometimes. They cannot have been believing in her existence, can they ?

— FINN: Of course not. My impression is that they do this to make the allegory more palpable. Ancient Mesopotamians conceptualized things by embodying them into mythical characters. Brady and von Soden want their readers to appreciate how effective this mode of reasoning can be. Mentally picturing the goddess is probably the best way to feel the mix of terror and irresistible attractiveness that she personifies.

— ME: I always thought religion was a bunch of random nonsense. But this is not really religion, is it ?

— FINN: No, it is not. Or rather, “religion” is not the right word to describe it. Eridu and Uruk before Bilgaga’s coup are all about the emergence of new technologies. You know, copper-smelting, basket-weaving, you name it. These are material technologies which we have no trouble identifying as such. But there are also what we may call behavioral technologies appearing at Uruk and Eridu and these are not as easy to spot. For example, prostitution is one such “technology”.

— ME: OK, I get it. And the training soldiers start to receive when they become more professionalized is also a technology in this sense, I guess. Yet, it still sounds odd to call something a “behavorial technology”.

— FINN: Maybe, but we have to call it something. Take the cult of Inanna, for example, what kind of thing is it ?. The whole set of behaviors which surround this goddess; the courtesan-priestesses, the ornaments, the weapons, the ritual sex; all these things are like tools which, when used together, have a strong capacity to alter human behavior. The whole thing can be viewed as a training technique which develops Pavlovian responses in the populations which are subjected to it.

— ME: But it was not developed completely on purpose, right ?

— FINN: No. Bilgaga stumbled upon it in much the same way many other new technologies appear, half by design, half by accident. So, Inanna’s cult is a technology. But it is also an out of control technology, like Frankenstein’s monster escaping its creator.

— ME: Yeah, it makes me think of World War Z. Some dudes are tinkering with viruses in a lab and then one escapes into the wild. As a result, half the world’s population become zombies.

— FINN: Yes, something like that. Except that in this case the whole world was infected and became consequently stagnant.

— ME: What is the deal with the Book of Enoch quotation. I am not sure I completely get what they are trying to say.

— FINN: Well, what is interesting in the passage is that it never mentions Inanna as such nor does it mention any female character at all. However, all the features of the story end up building a kind of implicit depiction of Inanna’s cult. All its aspects are there: the ornaments, the weapons, the siphoning off of resources, the terror, the behavioral changes. What is clear is that the passage is obviously not favorable to the cult since it depicts it as the work of demons. It seems like what the author of the text is trying to do is a kind of debunking of Inanna/Ishtar and of everything she stands for.

— ME: Wouldn’t some people call such an attack on a female goddess anti-women; an expression of the patriarchy ?

— FINN: Yes indeed; sadly they would. But this is once again a sign of how much our current culture is confused about these things. Inanna’s cult is the embodiment of the dominant male instinct. It is something that was built by and for alpha males for God’s sake ! Inanna is not the embodiment of womanhood. She is a male fantasy.

— ME: But Inanna’s cult is not only for men, right ?

— FINN: No, of course. Brady and von Soden make this very clear. What they call “the dominant male instinct” is something which applies as much to females as to males, and as much to non-dominant males as to the dominant male himself. It should be called something like “the instincts which govern behavior around the dominant male”, but that would be cumbersome. An important part of Inanna’s cult is the ritual in which she is represented as having sex with the alpha male. This is how women get sucked into the whole thing, on account of their own instinct to mate with the pack leader. As a result, they identify with Inanna.

— ME: Most women today would deny that they have such an instinct.

— FINN: Yeah, right. And do you think that's honest ?

— ME: Guess not ... So, basically, what von Soden and Brady are saying is that Christianity is the only explicitly anti-Inanna/Ishtar religion in human history.

— FINN: Yes, and this is why the last paragraph of their report was so controversial among the Boffins. Already in the 40s, arguing for any kind of Christian exceptionalism made many people uneasy, at least in university-educated circles. What Brady and von Soden are hinting at is that Christianity is also a behavioral technology, a training technique of the same nature as Inanna’s cult, and that it is in fact the antidote to it. This idea is not fully fleshed out at this point but it will be made more explicit down the road.

— ME: And the idea is that if you do not have a "technology" like that at your disposal, trying to resist Inanna is pointless. This is why the En were powerless to stop Bilgaga, right ?

— FINN: Yes. Definitely.

— ME: Brady and von Soden were not Christians, were they ?

— FINN: No. They were probably raised Christian like everyone else at the time. But they were not believers in any sense of the word. Anyway, describing Christianity as a mental-conditioning antidote to a nefarious mental-conditioning virus is certainly not an idea that is consistent with Christian dogma.

— ME: Sure, they are not arguing from a dogmatic or religious standpoint. They are just formulating a theory of human behavior in which Christianity happens to play a role as a cultural construct.

— FINN: Yes.

— ME: This is Wittgenstein’s point, right ? Let us make more experiments in order to substantiate (or invalidate) this theory. That is what he is arguing for, isn’t it ?

— FINN: Yes, absolutely. And this is indeed what the team will do as they move on.

---

This is the end of Chapter 4.