050

050: Suddenly, a SHOUT rings out over the din of the market. Lailah and Bodea both turn. Precisely where the road divides lies a rather large shop filled with stone idols and objects associated with worship. Within the shop TWO MEN are locked in a loud, bitter dispute. The older one is dressed in a merchant man’s finery. The younger appears a bit ragged, and dusty from the field, but he is fiercely defiant. Lailah narrows her eyes, stepping closer to the shop to listen. FADE OUT. (End of Act I) Screen Time: The travel montage will eat up about three to four minutes of highly visual storytelling, backed by music. The discussion of the heat and the quest will take about three minutes of measured, deliberate acting, leaving a solid one minute buffer for the argument to escalate before cutting to the sponsor. Act II will be our longest block (8:30 runtime). This act must hook the audience immediately after the GenMat commercial break. We need to open with our focus entirely on the dispute between the two men.
051: INT. TERAH’S SHOP – CONTINUOUS We follow the shouting into a small, dimly lit shop off the market. Racks of wooden idols and totems cover the walls. TERAH (60s, shop owner) stands behind a worktable, chisel in hand. His son, AVRAM (30s, nomadic garb), paces fiercely before him. AVRAM Father, thou cuttest down the cedars which Ayat planted! Avyah sent rain to water them. Imran made the Lake of Fire to shine upon them. Avram grabs a piece of scrap wood from the floor, holding it up. AVRAM (CONT’D) Thou growest cold, and with a portion of thy firewood thou raisest a blaze to warm thyself and bake thy bread. Yet with the remainder, thou carv’st an image of the dragon, and bowest thyself before it! Azul! Avram slams the wood onto the table. AVRAM (CONT’D) Thou givest adoration unto the one god who had no part in the provision of the wood itself! Why Azul? Because he is thy god. And wherefore is he thy god? Because he was the god of thy father Karnebo. So praise be unto Azul, and contempt upon the others!
052: Avram drops to one knee, mocking Terah’s posture of prayer. AVRAM (CONT’D) Thou bowest thyself before this image and criest, ‘Azul, deliver me from this cold season.’ Yet it entereth not into thy mind that this deaf and dumb block, which thine own hands have carved, is a vain thing. Terah sets his chisel down and points to a small carving on a shelf. TERAH Behold there the image of Amathlai. Thinkest thou that I take it to be truly thy mother? Avram holds his peace, answering not a word. TERAH (CONT’D) These images do no more than direct the heart and mind along paths of devotion. The chime of the shop door interrupts them. LAILAH and BODEA enter. The father and son fall into a tense silence as the strangers slowly walk the perimeter of the room, examining the racks of idols. After a full circuit, Bodea draws forth a heavy satchel. Slowly she begins to lay forth gold tiles, a staggering fortune set openly for the street to see. Terah and Avram stare in shock. Within moments, shadows darken the doorway.
053: FIVE MEN OF VIOLENCE cross the threshold, drawing swords. LEADER Stand away from the gold, both of you, and depart quickly. Lailah turns to face them, her posture perfectly calm. LAILAH Suppose we do not? With a sudden, mechanical shift, Lailah’s cloak falls away. BLACK-FEATHERED WINGS unfurl from her back, stretching across the cramped shop. The thieves flinch, but the Leader grips his sword tighter. LEADER Then we will take thy heads, and have the gold also. Immortal thou mayest account thyself, yet if thy head be severed, thou shalt die even as any wan. Lailah’s eyes narrow. By a motion of perception deeper than conscious thought, she identifies the Leader. From her side, Lailah draws her weapon: Shahar Haruach. (DIRECTOR’S VFX NOTE: The weapon is a burning torch, but via high-contrast optical printing, the flame is held out as a matte. The result is a roaring, absolute BLACK FLAME that seems to consume the dust and light around it.) Lailah thrusts the black flame forward. She smites the Leader once.
054: A wide aperture is carved completely through the midst of his body. He collapses as the camera dollies closely on Lailah, leaving the worst of the carnage unseen. But even she looks momentarily astonied at the uncontained power of the weapon. A SECOND MAN lunges. Lailah sweeps the Windgate down upon his head, and again the camera tracks away judiciously, leaving only the collapse of his lifeless body to be seen. A THIRD MAN strikes, his blade meeting the black fire. The flame consumes his sword down to the hilt, eating the metal as though accepting it into its own substance. The thief stares at his empty hilt in terror. He drops it, turns, and flees into the market. The remaining two thieves follow, scattering into the crowd. Lailah lowers Sha’ar ha-Ruah, the black flame still licking noisily at the air. Lailah does not pursue them. Instead she turns her gaze back to Avram. The hissing black ball of flame dissipates. The bodies of the two thieves lie in the shop, motionless. FADE OUT. (End of Act II)
055: Act III. BODEA steps carefully around the carnage, and her expression is unreadable. BODEA Last year in Shalem, the order of things was reversed somewhat; for we were they that overawed the customers, and took unto ourselves their gold. Lailah allows her black wings to fold away beneath her cloak (spring-loaded props, filmed in reverse). LAILAH I think I made common cause with the Fallen Angels only that I might draw the attention of my father. For he seemed much preoccupied at the time. BODEA Then verily the design hath succeeded. For His Majesty hath taken notice, and behold, here are we both. TERAH, trembling uncontrollably, collapses to his knees. He presses his face to the floor, believing he is in the presence of two of his carved demigods made flesh. AVRAM remains standing. He looks down at the groveling man, his face twisting into a countenance of profound disappointment with his father. He even steps a bit closer to Lailah, despite having seen what she could do, offering no fearful obeisance.
056: Sar Lailah watches him. Avram’s defiance all by itself confirms his worth beyond all doubt. She nods to the Hashmal Bodea. BODEA (Regal, echoing) In the name of El Elyon, God Most High, Lord of Heaven and Earth, I bid thee go forth from thy father’s kin, and dwell in the other world. Upon Earth shall God make of thee a great nation, and multiply thy bounty beyond all measure. Thy name shall become great among men. And Lailah steps forward, taking up the second portion of the recitation. LAILAH God shall bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee. Mortal men and women in every place and in time yet to come shall receive great blessings through thee. These are the words of the Lord of all the Earth. Lailah stops within arms reach of Avram. LAILAH (CONT’D) What sayest thou unto all these things, Avram son of Terah? Avram looks directly into the searching dark eyes of the princess. He does not blink. AVRAM (Firmly) Nay. And a heavy silence fills the shop.
057: It takes a long moment for the sheer audacity of the word to register with Lailah. LAILAH Knowest thou who I am? AVRAM Thy face is known unto many, Your Highness. Though my father, I think, hath never beheld the daughter of Kar Melchizedek. LAILAH Well spoken, Avram. Traveling with me is Hash Bodea. Together we have crossed the breadth of Kemen, over land and water, and even through the air, seeking such a man as thou art. Thus was I commanded by my father, for God Most High spake unto the king face to face. Avram nods respectfully. He reaches down, taking Terah by the arms, and gently lifts his trembling father to his feet. AVRAM I admire thy desire to do well in the eyes of thy father, Princess. And I wish thee well therein. But my own father is infirm of body. He earneth not enough to sustain himself and my mother. Avram makes a brief hand signal toward the street. AVRAM (CONT’D) As I love mine own life, I can in nowise turn aside from my father for all the days that he is a wayfarer in Kemen.
058: A SERVANT enters the shop, leading TWO LIVING LAMBS. AVRAM (CONT’D) (To Terah) One for slaughter and meat. The other for sale, that thou might purchase the necessities of life until the next season, when I come up from the open range. Terah, still shaken, accepts the leads. TERAH (Whispering) Thank you, my son. Lailah nods in full understanding. She gestures to Bodea, and the two travelers from Shalem begin to restow the tiles of gold into their leather purses. Lailah refuses to speak another word of persuasion, taking great care not to tread upon the fortress of human dignity Avram has asserted. With the gold packed, Lailah and Bodea exit the shop, disappearing into the dusty throng of the Tannedi market. EXT. TANNEDI MARKET – CONTINUOUS The camera pulls high above the bustling market, leaving Avram and Terah behind. LAILAH (V.O.) I left him there in the heat of Kemen. And in all my journeys across the length and breadth of that world, I found no man at all who was remotely like unto Avram. FADE OUT
059: The episode ended with a “teaser” of the next week’s show: One evening at supper Mikaela remarked to Ariel that she stood in clear need of a male companion to quiet certain persistent rumors passing among the refugees. The following morning, Ariel promptly purchased a stallion. Joshua Lange, who was courting Ariel and fumbling in the attempt, betrayed a momentary, sharp jealousy upon discovering a strange hair clinging to her coat; Ariel simply led forth the horse from which it had been shed. Yet, rather than feeling triumphant, this development precipitated in Joshua a profound sense of inadequacy. Aloud he wondered, the very next morning, “What could a woman such as you possibly see in a man of my humble station?” Ariel paused in her work, leaning against the stall door. “Joshua,” she said solemnly, “Clear-sighted were they who appointed you deacon of your church. I have never in my life met a man more abundantly possessed of the grace of God and more willing to share. But I am simultaneously astonished that a man of your age has never received the Mommy and Daddy Talk.”
060: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 7, October 19, 1961- In answer to Joshua’s inquiries pertaining to House Haivri rules of courtship Mikaela replied, “If you have a mind toward Ariel, then know that she is wholly free, and such customs are appointed by Ariel herself, and it will be your task to discover them, and truth be told, Joshua, therein lies the interest!” Joshua perceived that Ariel sought out his company in her turn, requiting his affinity in small signs that waxed at a stately pace. There came an evening when Ariel loosed some of the bonds of her corselet. She discreetly revealed something substantial of what a mortal man was set to receive when one of the elyonoth set her heart upon him in return. To Joshua’s mind the show of brown feathers settled matters. At her bridal gathering, Ariel received numerous gifts, a significant portion of which were horse bridles. On the day appointed for the wedding itself, Ariel tarried overlong mucking and tending the stables. Joshua proceeded with his vows regardless.
061: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 8, October 26, 1961- The eloh Imran took possession of a winged lan from Elendal named Isra’El to perform a compliance audit. When he crossed over to Earth, Isra’El took little thought for her personal safety. Zuriel had solemnly assured her Ya’akov ha’Ivri was more the son of his mother than the son of his father, a man who preferred the womanly arts of whispering and plotting to direct action on the hunt or field of battle. On the banks of the river Yarden there ensued a fist fight that became an all-night wrestling match. At one point Isra’El ripped the man’s raiment and saw Avram’s grandson bore the mutilation of males Imran had demanded in his bid to sabotage the experiment. So Ya’akov passed the spot check, but there remained the matter of the struggle itself. Before the night was over Ya’akov won the match, taking the name of the giantess as his own and winning a blessing as well, as the price for letting the defeated nephiloth wriggle like a maggot back into Hell.
062: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 9, November 2, 1961- In 1871 Dr. Reginald Dole finds a colored piece of natural glass outside Havilah, already shaped into a monocle. He puts it to his eye and peruses a map he’s making. He rolls into Havilah pitching geological salvation. Armed with a brass theodolite, Dole ascends the “Island in the Sky,” surveys the town, and cheerfully informs the angels their mystical home is merely a meteor crater, with Migdalel Butte a rare splashback central peak. He estimates it is one million years old. One of the Stiffnecks scoffs; he’s tallied the kings and patriarchs in scripture and pegged creation at 4,163 BC. Dole sinks a test shaft and taps a massive natural gas reserve. With theatrical flair, he flicks a match into the hole, birthing a permanent “flaming geyser.” Dole pitches the supply of gas as the ultimate civic utility, capable of running heavy pumps to draw limitless water from the Ogallala aquifer. Dumah uses the roaring column of fire to light one of El Roi’s infinite Cubans.
063: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 10, November 9, 1961- After crossing the Yarden, Ya’akov sent messengers before him to his brother Esau, speaking of his many flocks, servants, oxen, and asses, gifts that might soften the memory of the stolen Birthright. The messengers returned saying Esau approached with four hundred men. Ya’akov divided his caravan in two lest half be destroyed and prayed humbly for deliverance. By sunrise Ya’akov rejoined his wives and children, though after his night-long ordeal he walked with a limp. When Esau drew near, Ya’akov placed his dependents before him and bowed before his brother. Esau embraced him and kissed him, and they wept together. Ya’akov urged Esau to accept the gifts, saying God had dealt graciously with him, and that he possessed more than enough. Though the Birthright entitled Ya’akov to dominion, his love for his brother outweighed such claims. Esau assured Ya’akov none of his men assailed him overnight. Then he revealed why he had come: their father Yishak was dead, and he desired that they bury him together in Hebron.
064: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 11, November 16, 1961- Chief Takoda and his wife Yuha ride across the sprawling grasslands where they live. Along the way (and in a flashback) Takoda recounts the legend of White Buffalo Calf Woman, who once restored the herds after a sudden die-off and first brought the sacred pipe to the People. At a newly erected barbed wire fence, they meet two winged angels waiting on the prairie: Raphael Haivri and her sister Ariel. A small bison herd stands trapped, one bleeding badly where it has become tangled in the vicious new iron wire. Takoda unlimbers Sha’ar ha-Ruah and uses its power to slice the wire. Raphael steps forward, healing the beast’s torn flesh with a mere touch. Ariel gently leads the herd through the breach to freedom. Then she turns to Takoda and produces a feathered pipe. In a moment of quiet revelation, Takoda understands: Ariel herself is White Buffalo Calf Woman. She confirms it, but her eyes are heavy with sorrow. Raphael can heal flesh, but she warns them House Haivri cannot halt the plague of barbed wire closing the West.
065: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 12, February 1, 1962. A patrol of Confederate cavalrymen arrive at Ariel’s quiet farm, intent on seizing the gathered horses. Joshua tries to play the brave protector, using nothing but his wits and a pitchfork. But Ariel’s solution is not violence, not intimidation, and not even deception. The cavalrymen tug on reins. The horses plant their feet. They push and the horses refuse. They bring additional men and the horses refuse harder. One horse sits down. Another begins grazing. A third wanders over to Ariel looking for an apple. “What is wrong with these animals?” Joshua, leaning on the fence: “You’re dealing with Hebrews.” The soldier stares. “The horses?” “Especially the horses.” The soldiers can seize a horse but they cannot make it want to go. The patrol finally gives up and rides away, Ariel scratches one of the horses behind the ears and says: “You were very brave.” The horse immediately tries to eat her sleeve. Because horses are horses, miracles notwithstanding.
066: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 13, February 8, 1962. The biology department has become alarmingly productive. Cassiel reads the reports and quietly says: “Somebody’s tutoring.” Mikaela finds Snake in the basement comfortably drinking tea. “Hello, Mikki.” “What have you done?” “I’m teaching. Why is everyone upset?” She sits amid rows and rows of Forbidden Fruit. The military arrives for a demonstration. At first the military officials are thrilled. But soon every soldier begins asking questions about command structures and the ethics of war. Questions about politics and about why exactly they’re being tested. The generals become alarmed. The soldiers become philosophers. Snake beams proudly. The military cancels the program immediately. The basement lab closes. Years later one post doc remembers a peculiar professor who taught him more in six months than anyone else in his entire career. He spends the next forty years advancing science through perfectly ordinary means. Which is exactly what Snake always knew Mikaela wanted.
067: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 14, February 14, 1962- As a girl preparing to embark on the Oregon Trail in 1865, Linda Bergin discovered that oxen sometimes did not turn at the touch of a goad. They were called “stiff of neck,” which explained why scripture referred to the Israelites as a stiff-necked people. But Sar Lailah, their host at the Haivri farm called Big Blue, said such stubbornness was really a good thing if one wished to move toward a single goal without turning to one side or the other. So Linda took to calling all the pilgrims “Stiffnecks,” and it quickly caught on as a self-deprecating moniker. In 1872 Lailah gave the same young Linda an angelic pre-wedding gift: The Blades of Many Colors, seven in all. “One for each color wings the angels are known to have,” she said. “And potentially one for each finger she could lose mishandling them in the slightest,” warned Cassiel, as the stiff blades were invisible to the eye when seen edge-on. In demonstration, Cassiel set one point-down upon an oak table and it sank under its own weight as though immersed in water.
068: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 15, February 22, 1962- Dr. Reginald Dole attempts to measure the depth of the fissures created by the impact that formed Dole crater, where Havilah lies, by lowering a phonograph cylinder to record sound echoes. He discovers he has inadvertently recorded voices speaking in an unknown language. Professor Mikaela takes Dr. Dole deep under the town to an underground prison where thirty Watchers are still bound in chains that once held over two hundred of them. They are imprisoned until the Elohim who still possess them against their will depart to the Pleroma. Foremost among them, says Mikaela, is Shamyaza, who despises that name and insists on being called Ouza. Mikaela says, “Our beloved Ouza is the lan we want back. But we’re very patient. It’s been forty centuries now, and so many of your followers have already been swayed. But Shamyaza, I know you and your inner circle were always the stubborn ones.” When he is safely above ground once more Dr. Dole, proud evangelist of all things rational, departs Havilah with all haste and never returns.
069: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 16, March 1, 1962. Mikaela and Gabriela went to Earth on “Haivri family business”, meeting the chief priest Levi, son of Ya’akov Haivri in the fenced city of Beit-El. Gabriela said, “Rehearse in my hearing the Way of Righteousness observed by your fathers.” And Levi said, “Serve no God but El Elyon. Make no images. Break no vows. Countenance no injustice. Harm no neighbor. Eat no blood. Eat no swine. Eat no shellfish. No man of you shall be uncircumcised. Afflict yourself on the Day of Atonement.” And Mikaela said, “Well spoken, beloved kinsman. The same is inscribed on this green ball in gold letters. This is the Arrim, the sign of Curses and Blessings.” And Gabriela said, “On the day of atonement alone you shall make inquiry of God Most High, who shall answer yea when the artifact becomes black in your hand, and nay if it turns white. Only take great care not to frame your questions with contempt for our Holy God, lest the Arrim should turn red, and you be struck down.” And Mikaela said, “Yea, Levi, don’t say anything to get redballed.”
070: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 2 episode 17, March 8, 1962- The Root of Jesse Fellowship “Stiffnecks” controlling the Havilah town council vote to “utterly put out the remembrance” of Dr. Dole and his un-biblical geological theories by burning all the notebooks and correspondence he left behind in such a rush. Professor Cassiel, reciting a Havilah ordinance, insists the documents first be read aloud before going into the fire, and as the councilmen recite the condemned pages she carefully enters the proceedings into the town ledger, thus preserving Dole’s ideas forever in the official record of Havilah. Meanwhile, a structural collapse within one of Dole’s abandoned test shafts threaten to swallow the town library. Samael holds the failing supports aloft with his divine strength while the books are hurried to safety. But his power extends only to the things he touches and not to his own flesh. As his exhausted arms began to fail, two ordinary Stiffnecks step forward to hold up Samael’s arms until the evacuation of the books is complete. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 1, September 13, 1962- Metatron arrived in Havilah to perform his periodic re-certification of Migdalel College, but he displayed a deep-seated contempt for ishim, worsened by secondary school students like Ehawee who repeatedly interrupted him at inconvenient moments. He loudly threatened to revoke the Academy’s accreditation. Mikaela, seeking leverage, attempted to uncover information that might compel Metatron to relent. Cassiel, who became the Scribe of God after Metatron’s elevation, revealed to the Dean that Metatron was not a blood descendant of Sar Lailah as he claimed to be, but rather just a human draftee who had once been the man named Enoch described in Genesis. Armed with this knowledge, Mikaela found Metatron in Havilah eating a sabich pita from an Assyrian Christian street vendor, his first such meal since his promotion. Mikaela threatened to reveal the truth of his origins, and his deception, to Tea Spiller. Metatron renewed Migdalel College’s accreditation and withdrew from Havilah, at least for the time being.
071: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 2, September 27, 1962. The Kohanim who did not hold the office of chief priest were tired of farming and pressured Bukki to ask God to let them do something more suited to the priesthood. They suggested making a bureau of official ‘blood-free’ meat certifiers. On the Day of Atonement God “gave Urim” (made the Arrim white) meaning no. They pressured Bukki to ask God the same thing again the next year and he got redballed. They had to pull Bukki’s body out by a safety lanyard. His young son was made Chief Priest. The Kohanim told him, “Say to the LORD, if the priests shall offer a bull, give Urim. If the priests shall offer a ram give Tumim.” Uzzi got duly redballed. The priests pulled his body out of the Holy of Holies, but Uzzi had no son to retrieve the Arrim from Uzzi’s hand, and it stayed red for anyone else who tried to get it. Mikaela intercepted Bukki’s second son Lael while he was tending his flocks in the field, and told him to go scoop up the Arrim when his uncles weren’t looking, and gather all his kin for a very, very long road trip.
072: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 3, October 11, 1962. Samael, Cassiel, and Lirael are pinned down in an abandoned warehouse by a massive, heavily armed DECON strike team. With Cassiel’s Mercy of “Dust Law” (historical information gathered through quantum entanglement with an artifact) overwhelmed by the warehouse’s busy past, Ping Song starts gathering information of her own. With tiny ultrasonic chirps a map forms in her mind. Then the deception begins. But not all at once. Professionals would see through that. A distant metallic clank. A whispered command. Something that sounds like a radio. The agents start checking corners. Then she escalates with a gunshot from a catwalk. A shouted order from the opposite direction. Running footsteps behind them. Human beings are good at constructing stories from incomplete information, so Ping Song supplies the information. Suddenly the warehouse is an ambush. The agents retreat because they believe they’re facing a battalion. In reality they’re facing one exhausted angel crouched behind a crate manufacturing the sound of a whole battle.
073: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 ep. 4, October 25, 1962- Jezebel was not even slightly wicked, but rather a glamorous celebrity in the mold of Sarah Bernhardt, whose grand festivals devoted to Avyah (Asherah) were drawing frenzied crowds throughout the Levant. The prophet Elisha adopted the persona of “Elijah” and challenged her priests to what was intended to be a dramatic public contest of divine favor. Mikaela handled the spectacle itself, employing her fire-angel Mercy to instantaneously consume Elijah’s water-soaked altar in a pillar of flame. But to her dismay the show spurred the crowd into a furore of Yahwist zeal that transformed into a riot, making an end of Jezebel’s priests, musicians, and attendants alike. Elisha was also horrified by the carnage his demonstration had unleashed and withdrew into seclusion, abandoning his Elijah persona and having his disciples spread an exit tale involving a fiery chariot. By degrees the royal house in Samaria and the priesthood orchestrated a sweeping historic revision, recasting the once-beloved Jezebel as a monstrous corrupter.
074: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 ep. 5, November 8, 1962. A massive black stallion has become the terror of three counties. The animal breaks fences, escapes corrals, bites handlers, kicks down stable walls. A Stiffneck breeder arrives in Havilah. “Professor Ariel, I will pay five hundred dollars to the person who can break that horse.” She accepts because the money could go toward building homes for certain Kuwapi poor. Ariel approaches. The horse stares back and slowly rolls its eyes. Ariel learns this is Cadence, a nephiloth exchange student from Kemen and a notorious truant. Cadence insists she wasn’t hurting anybody. “I’m taking a gap year. Back home everyone expects great things from me. Instead I’m struggling. So I ran away.” The breeder assembles a crowd to witness Ariel tame the monster. Ariel walks into the paddock and scratches behind one ear. The horse transforms into a young lan. Ariel covers her with a blanket. The Stiffneck removes his hat. “Well. That explains some things.” The reward is paid. The Kuwapi council of elders build the houses. Cadence returns to school.
075: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 ep. 6, November 22, 1962- El Roi’s career of service spans millennia. He was the on-site caterer delivering angel food cake for the wandering Israelites, a dish that tasted divine the first day but provoked curses after forty years of nothing else. He supplied Yeshua with his first meal in days after the Accuser took three runs at him in Anshar. Yeshua asked El Roi why he used the bag. El Roi demonstrated how his hand vanished at the wrist into a space-time pocket to fetch bread, and Yeshua agreed the bag was a good idea. Later El Roi provided five thousand box lunches of bread and pickled fish at one of Yeshua’s lectures. In 1868 Havilah, this deathless caterer brings comfort as the Stiffnecks mourn their first loss since migrating. The Last Rite is held at the newly-constructed Temple Derekh Me’hudeshet. El Roi moves through the grieving congregation handing out an endless bounty of impossibly fresh, warm rolls from his velvet satchel. In the timeless fog beneath the Island in the Sky, the hands of the angels continue to feed the stubborn faithful.
076: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 7, December 6, 1962. After a routine Prank to the Victorian era, Cassiel touches a handrail and after interpreting what she senses through her Mercy of “Dust Law” she says, “We have a passenger.” Her students discover a terrified Victorian gentleman hiding among crates. “Please don’t kill me.” He says the train wasn’t on any timetable. He was curious and climbed aboard. The man is escorted back to Migdalel College with a blanket over his head. He escapes and sees cars, electric lights, radio, even television. The poor man gradually realizes he can never go home. Everyone he knows is dead. But the Academy offers options. As Mikaela negotiates with Charen for the return trip he asks one final question. “Does any of this matter?” Meaning the train. The Academy. The secret history. All of it. Mikaela smiles. “Enough that we came looking for you.” Back in 1887 he exits the train, certain nobody will ever believe him. Twenty years later the old man is telling the story again. “…and a talking box that showed pictures.” Nobody believes a word. The Academy’s cover remains intact. Mostly.
077: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 8, December 20, 1962 (ACT I) Mary entered into the house of Zachariah and hailed her kinswoman. Just then the aged Elisabeth felt the babe leap in her womb, and she was moved to say, “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, even as the voice of your salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.” And Mary sang: “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in my Savior. He looks on his servant in her lowliness, and henceforth all ages will call me blessed…” Then Herod, when he had privily called El Roi and Samael and Dumah before him, inquired of them diligently about the star they were following, which they said heralded the birth of a new king. He said, “Go and search for this child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” When they had heard the king, they departed, and followed the bright apparition, singing, “We three kings of orient are. Bearing gifts we traverse afar. Field and fountain, moor and mountain. Following yonder star. O star of wonder, star of night. Star with royal beauty bright. Westward leading, still proceeding. Guide us to thy perfect light….”
078: ACT II The decree from Caesar Augustus that “all the world should be taxed” was actually a bureaucratic attack orchestrated by the Loyal Opposition to expose the Haivri clan’s undocumented population. Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem only to find the inns completely booked by thousands of people displaced by the census. Cassiel realizes the demons are checking the registries to find the pregnant Mary. She has to break into the Roman tax office and physically alter the census ledgers, while Ariel quietly clears out a damp, animal-filled cave, declaring it the only place the Roman auditors won’t bother to check. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angels of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And Mikaela said unto them, “Fear not: I bring you tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory…” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them, the shepherds said one to another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.”
079: ACT III And the shepherds found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger, and they made known the words of Mikaela concerning the child. And, lo, the star which the three men from the East had followed came and stood over where the young child was. Then it fell from the sky into the hands of Gabriela, where it was revealed to be the headlamp of Lailah, which Cassiel had once bore on her brow. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him. And El Roi reached into his black velvet space-time pocket, and withdrew a massive, solid brick of Kemen-forged gold, a jar of highly refined medicinal frankincense (stolen from Raphael), and a bundle of burial myrrh. Joseph looked at the absurd wealth, looked at El Roi, and sighed, realizing his “celestial security” job just got much harder. And Gabriela said to Joseph, “Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee south, until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” So they departed into Egypt, and were there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
080: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 9, February 7, 1963- A geothermal fungal rot long afflicting the crops of Dole Crater mutated and spread throughout the town of Havilah. Dr. Miriam Wahkan discovered with alarm that her “veterinary primer” was suppressed by the crater fungus, forcing her to rely instead upon the very primitive human medical techniques she once pretended to perform for a visiting doctor: quarantine, boiled instruments, herbal remedies, and exhausting bedside care. She fell back on these with considerable skill, for she was indeed a licensed physician, but for the first time in her long life the angel Raphael was unable to ease suffering with a touch. Meanwhile Cassiel investigated the vector of the blight. She traced the outbreak to a local Stiffneck farmer who uncovered a sulfur-rich bolide fragment and began selling chips of it in Havilah as a miracle cure. The contaminated stones spread the blight through the town. El Roi soon resolved the matter by operating as the Magician, deftly exchanging the sulfur fragments for painted pieces of limestone by sleight-of-hand before the very eyes of the oblivious Stiffnecks, bringing the infamous Brimstone Rush to a rapid end.
081: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 10, February 14, 1963- Yeshua of Nazareth and his fraternal twin brother Yudah have taken to the road following a bitter dispute with members of their family. They encounter Yochanan at the confluence of the Yarmouk and Yarden rivers south of Lake Kinneret. He speaks of how foreign domination and the corrupt priesthood have reduced the people to poverty and despair. He rejects the idea that revolt alone can secure lasting freedom, declaring instead that God himself will soon bring direct rule among his people. Turning from ritual sacrifice without transformation, he compares sin to a broken chariot wheel that corrupts every road it touches, insisting that the wheel itself must be repaired. Moved by his words, Yeshua and Yudah step forward to receive the cleansing baptism of the Dipper. Yochanan appointed four disciples as screeners to judge the penitent’s readiness for baptism. Yudah was received by Philippos. He confessed that a rotten scaffolding pole in Sepphoris collapsed and killed his father Yosef, despite warnings from his sons that the materials were unsafe. Philippos found no fault in him, but perceived God’s will to heal the boy’s grief through the rite. Yeshua in turn confessed to Andreia that he worked in his father’s trade and Yosef died in a work accident he had long feared would come. Yeshua and his brother left home in anger after refusing to continue the dangerous labor, and he confessed to carrying guilt for refusing the wishes of his mother. Andreia accepted his contrition and brought him to Yochanan. At the river, Yochanan led Yeshua into the water, and though the river was shallow, Yochanan suddenly could not locate him, He searched in confusion but Yeshua has vanished from sight.
082: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 11, February 21, 1963- Apostle Joshua Lange preaches a Sunday sermon at Temple Derekh Mehushedet. In the Temple basement dining room, his wife Ariel greets him with their young two children, Samael and Remiel. As Remiel is two years older, Ariel suggests they separate their visits this time, to bring their ages a little closer together. They do this periodically in order that the children may become the same chronological age by 1930, as Mikaela has carefully planned. Ariel assures Joshua it will not affect her greatly, since angels can live for three centuries, though she will greatly miss him and Remiel over the next six days. Joshua passes through a storeroom into tunnels beneath the Temple, which rise twenty-five feet without rising, and advances six days up the timeline. Meanwhile a local Havilah resident named Erwin Zinter has somehow passed every Compliance Prank for a decade, demonstrating a suspicious habit of righteousness even when nobody is looking. This brings him to the attention of the Academy. Ariel dispatches a squad of ninth-year ishim to stage a spectacular multi-carriage pileup in front of the man’s farm. Erwin calmly spends eighteen hours repairing the strangers’ wheels and healing their “injured” horses using nothing but common sense and a gentle touch. Mikaela attempts to recruit him with a teaching position, but the man politely declines, saying he has a corn crop to finish bringing in. Besides, he says, the whole point of abounding in graciousness is that it should be self-advertising, a shining city on a hill that inspires others to respond in kind, not something stored away and dispensed by custodians according to perceived merit. The Academy can do nothing with Erwin but simmer in frustrated awe. At the rectory, Ariel, who is now six days older, greets him with a kiss. Joshua takes Remiel and Samael to bed. He then begins preparing his next sermon, as it will be Sunday again on the following day.
083: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 12, February 28, 1963- Rimmon arrived at the house of Uriel in Anshar, expecting to see one of the ophanim. Instead he found a young man by the name of Yeshua. Rimmon rebuked him for failing to grovel. Yeshua declared he was the living avatar of Davar. Rimmon said, “Then welcome to the world of meat.” Yeshua explained that Ayat brought him to the house forty days earlier, though he had gone ten days without food. When Rimmon suggested Ayat send angels with provisions, Yeshua quoted Imran’s own scriptures back to him: “Kemenites shall not put the gods to the test.” Rimmon pressed him further, asking why Ayat would commit the human incarnation of her own son to hunger and solitude. Yeshua answered that Ayat assumed Imran would wish to meet a new seraph before he departed for Earth. Rimmon led Yeshua to a balcony upstairs and showed him a varnished relief of Kemen carved by a skilled artisan. Rimmon traced that part of the hollow world that was his exclusive dominion. Were Yeshua to give him the same deference he offered his mother, nothing more, then Stygia would be granted to him to rule with impunity. Yeshua declined, asking why he should be satisfied to rule over a fraction of a world smaller than Earth by a factor of forty. Yeshua went on to say that were Ayat to be free of the bond of silence, would announce her discovery of the Students without mentioning the centuries during which she had been held mute. Rimmon refused. Even with Ayat’s promise, revelation of the Students would bring intolerable scrutiny upon himself and Azul. He then resolved to press his one remaining advantage. Drawing a long infernal blade from within his tunic, Rimmon lunged at Yeshua upon the upper balcony. Yeshua bent backward over the railing as a great sphere of water appeared in midair beneath him. He fell into it as Rimmon watched helplessly, and the sphere vanished in an instant, leaving only ankle-deep water upon the floor of Uriel’s house.
084: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 3 episode 13, March 7, 1963- “The Salt of the Earth” Metatron storms into the Dean’s office, demanding the writers include more “fire and brimstone” to satisfy conservative viewers. Mikaela maliciously complies by having Cassiel read the first account she wrote in the Song of Remembrance after taking Metatron’s (Enoch’s) old job as the Scribe of God: the true story of Sodom and Gomorrah. In flashback, Sodom wasn’t destroyed for its morals, it was built on top of a massive, unstable subterranean methane pocket (similar to the Dole Crater, but critical). Dumah projected his telepresence into the city to gesture the way to the safe evacuation route, but the hostile crowd tried to physically attack his hologram. Lailah was sent in to vent the gas using Sha’ar ha-Ruah. Tragically, a panicked local threw a torch. The resulting thermobaric explosion leveled the valley. Lot’s wife didn’t turn into a pillar of salt as a divine punishment for looking back. She hesitated, stepped outside of Mikaela protective thermal shield, and was caught in a flash-calcification blast from the vaporized minerals in the soil. It wasn’t wrath, it was physics. And how would 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 go over with Metatron’s viewers, Mikaela asked rhetorically. Metatron left the campus looking vaguely nauseous.
085: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 1, September 19, 1963- Yeshua remained beneath the waters of the Yarden longer than any man could hold his breath, greatly alarming Yochanan, his disciples, and Yudah, who searched the river fearing he had drowned. Yet Yeshua rose again unharmed. Yochanan peered closely to ensure he was truly the same man. He gave thanks that God had spared him, but grew unsettled that Yeshua showed no hunger for air. Yeshua said only, “Peace be with you, Teacher. You see how I am well.” Yochanan began to suspect Yeshua had contrived the incident to frighten away the crowds, and he quietly set Yudah of Kerioth to observe the brothers for further mischief. Soon afterward a woman in ostentatious dress approached Yeshua, bowed low before him, and greeted him on behalf of the Angel Academy. By agreement they spoke together in Vulgar Latin so others might not understand them. Yudah, who had never heard his brother speak anything but Aramaic, mistook the exchange for commands addressed to seven devils. Standing near the crowd was a man said to have an unclean spirit, crying out continually in an unknown tongue. Yeshua was moved with compassion and drew near. The man asked, “Have you come to destroy us?” Yeshua was struck by the depth of his distress, yet the man still retained enough self-control to seek Yochanan’s baptism. Miriam, the woman who had joined Yeshua, laid her hands upon the man’s neck while Yeshua said, “Hold your peace, and come out of him!” The effect was immediate, astonishing even Yeshua himself. The man was now quiet and composed, and onlookers declared that unclean spirits obeyed Yeshua. He fell to Yeshua’s feet, but was bid to rise and was led to Yudah of Kerioth. Yeshua instructed the man to confess his sins and be baptized. When Yeshua’s brother questioned how what he had seen was possible, Yeshua replied, “Only God has such power, and it is given to whomever God chooses.” He exchanged a brief knowing glance with Miriam.
086: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 2, October 3, 1963 Dory prepped the lunches when Christ fed the four thousand and another time when he fed the five thousand. With Elroy as the on-site caterer she baked fresh angel food cake for the Israelites in the desert. When they saw it they said “What is this?” (manna) and the name stuck. Angel food cake tastes great the first hundred times you eat it. Dory keeps trying. A little cinnamon, some dried fruit, different textures, perhaps a glaze. perhaps toasted. Meanwhile the Israelites reached the point where they would murder for a potato chip. Angel Academy has a rigorous program, ten hour days, six days a week, and Dory is there running the whole show in the kitchen. Dory knows more about the emotional state of the Academy than anyone, not because she’s telepathic, but because she watches who skips lunch. Dory and her brother fed the whole camp of God right before the Jericho tussle. They were executing a massive, disorganized tactical retreat. Lailah had just led a raid against a Loyal Opposition stronghold, and the angels were clustered in the wilderness fixing their weapons and arguing over who lost the map. When Joshua asked the imposing figure with the drawn sword, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”, Lailah rolled her eyes at the binary human thinking and replied, “No.” Because she was actually just trying to find a quiet place to polish her brass armor before the upcoming siege. She curtly told him to take his sandals off simply because he was tracking mud onto her clean drop-cloth.
087: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 3, October 17, 1963. Some in the crowd suffered afflictions they believed were punishment for sin. All Yohanan could do was baptize them and give assurance they were forgiven. He could not make them well. But now when these unfortunate people came out of the river they were indeed healed just as they hoped. Word spread. Soon Yohanan had people taking numbers to be dunked and when he passed the plate around it overflowed with shekels. Yochanan invited Yeshua to join his inner circle. The crowds who came to the baptism of Yochanan waxed greatly after word of the healings spread. Yochanan’s disciple Andreia spoke of these things to his brother, a boatman who caught fish on Lake Kinneret. Shimon left his boat that he might also become one of Yochanan’s disciples. The landowners who prospered by dipping into the river of taxes flowing to Rome favored the rule of Antipas. As the fame of Yochanan grew some came out to see the healing works of his new disciple. When Yochanan saw the Herodians he called them the get of vipers, and said, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath of God?’ One of them said in reply, “Certainly the blameless under the law do nothing worthy of repentance.” Yochanan replied, ‘It does not make a man good if he merely refrains from doing evil. Even now the axe is made sharp. Every tree which does not bear good fruit shall fall victim to the tree feller.” “Save your admonitions for the Gentiles,’ said the Herodian, “we are the children of the Covenant.” Yohanan picked up two stones and said, “God is able of these stones to raise up the seed of Abraham!” The Herodians advanced to seize him, but many in the crowd picked up stones of their own. So they withdrew for a time. #StarTrek [57d7c68c5ca8da81.jpg]
088: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 4, October 31, 1963. Ezekiel Butterfield always wins every ribbon at the county fair. His tomatoes are the size of softballs. Every night for years Miriam ‘Raphael’ has been quietly chasing away blights, having discovered to her delight that her ‘veterinary primer’ is also garden nano. Ezekiel insists: “Hard work, proper irrigation, and the fear of God.” One time he overhears someone say, “Those tomatoes are a miracle.” That word offends him. He declares he’ll prove there are no miracles on his farm. It starts with a simple bell on a string. Raphael steps over it. Then tripwires. Then pits. Then snares. Miriam avoids all these traps only to get caught in a contraction made of tin cans, fishing line, and a shotgun loaded with birdshot. He triumphantly drags her into the town council and reveals the culprit, dressed as a scarecrow. Mikaela asks, “Miriam how long have you been helping his crops?” “Eight years.” Ezekiel demands to know why. She shrugs and says, “They’re tomatoes.” Another silence. Then a Stiffneck in the back asks: “Can you look at my potatoes?” #StarTrek [6a8ab208424ad873.jpeg]
089: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 5, November 15, 1963. Miriam of Migdal Nunnya said, “Teacher, I pray thee accept the hospitality of Angel Academy, for it standeth not far from this place.” And Yeshua went with her, yet his adversaries were not far behind. And a Herodian Levite said, “How is it that thou holdest thyself forth as a prophet, and yet art seen eating and drinking with lawless women?” And Yeshua turned to Miriam, saying, “Perceivest thou here women that are lawless?” And Miriam answered at once, “Not so, Teacher, in this school I behold only eager students desirous to learn from thee concerning the will of the Holy One of Israel.” And the priest demanded a sign whereby it might be shown that he possessed authority from God to forgive fault. Yeshua said, “God forgiveth the unrighteous in the hour wherein they desire to make amends. Yet ye seek after signs, not because ye desire truth, but because ye would stop up the breaches in your own belief.” And the Herodians departed from the school and the city. In the morning Yochanan took his eight disciples to the capital city of Tiberias where he preached from the Law: ‘If a man marries his brother’s wife he has dishonored his brother with impurity. They shall be childless.’ Herod Antipas knew Yochanan was deliberately antagonizing him, since he had married the wife of his brother Philip after she had divorced him. There was no provision in Jewish law for Herodias to initiate a divorce. Then Antipas sent forth men armed with clubs to seize Yochanan. Shimon moved to stand close but he was waved off. Yochanan had shown the “blameless ones” supported bigamy. Philippos turned to Yeshua to ask, ‘Will you heal the Teacher after Antipas has chastised him?’ Yeshua said, ‘You shall not see your master again in this life.’ Barthulumaus sobbed. Yudah pulled at his hair. Andreia asked his brother, ‘Shall we take up fishing again?’ Yeshua said to Andreia and Shimon, ‘Stay close to me, rather, and I will make you fishers of men.'” Dirty #Dadjokes [f0ef95c31e108830.jpg]
090: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺 season 4 episode 6, November 21, 1963 (season finale, series finale). A Stiffneck wanders aboard the time train without the proper fare. Cassiel attempts to bribe Charen with priceless historical artifacts to win back the Stiffneck’s soul. The audio is a commentary track recorded 50 years in the future. Mikaela constantly complains about the historical inaccuracies. Ariel reminisces about her deceased husband. Dumah, the angel of silence, provides a running commentary on the production. Charen appears every few minutes to glare ominously at the camera. She demands payment. MIKAELA: “His soul was never at stake.” ARIEL: “GenMat wanted higher stakes.” DUMAH: “GenMat wanted souls.” Cassiel offers a page from the Song of Remembrance. The Stiffneck is returned. MIKAELA: “Absolutely impossible.” ARIEL: “Joshua always liked that scene. Cassiel made three copies.” DUMAH: “Charen’s bat wings got stuck in the doorway. She attempted to remain dignified but you can see it in the final cut.” The episode rewinds. Dumah is right. #MaeWest [7af3f75c1c8e86b4.jpg]
092: Société Générale des Matériaux (SGM), known outside the Francophone world as General Materials, or GenMat, was the commercial arm of the Rome-based international NGO Sodales Exemplaris Divini. From 1960 to 1967, GenMat launched spacecraft from the Interarmy Special Vehicles Test Centre (Centre Interarmées d’Essais d’Engins Spéciaux, CIEES) in Algeria before relocating its launch operations to French Guiana. Moving from Algeria (approx. 31° N) to French Guiana (5° N) gives GenMat a massive physical advantage. Launching close to the equator allows spacecraft to maximize the assist from Earth’s rotational speed (approx. 460 m/s at the Kourou spaceport), significantly reducing the fuel required to reach orbit. While Hammaguir in Algeria was restricted to launch inclinations from 34° to 40°, the Kourou spaceport allowed GenMat to launch payloads on a 13° orbit safely over the open Atlantic Ocean. Even as the US and USSR were fighting for ideological dominance, GenMat represented a “Third Way”, a non-state actor with sovereign-level space capabilities operating out of French territory. Bridge of the Gods in 1930 #Oregon #Washington [f4a3bf42a77ff373.jpg]
093: The General Materials Argo Spacecraft is highly modular, with standard components to simplify manufacture. The Argo Alpha Segment is designed for two crewpersons. Diameter is 210 cm. The capsule is built around a cylinder 105 cm tall and 210 cm in diameter with a side hatch permitting ingress before launch. The RCS system has a number of jets built into this cylinder. On top of this is a half-sphere 105 cm in radius. A male docking ring extends 15 centimeters from the top. Interior habitable volume for two crewpersons is 4 cubic meters, comparable to the Apollo command module in space per person. The heat shield is a spherical section extending 25 centimeters from the bottom. One couch lies flush against the rear bulkhead, and has ready access to flight controls, life support equipment, and power panels. The off-duty crewperson sits forward within the half-sphere. That couch can be stowed after reading orbit to increase crew comfort during cruise mode, and a privacy curtain drawn, dividing the capsule in two. A mesh hammock slung across the forward space completely encloses the sleeping crewperson. #HarryPotter [7a1989fe132ae316.jpg] #xkcd #math [71d8edc87d536bf7.png]
094: General Materials produces a one-person lunar ascent stage called the Argo Beta Segment with the same mass and overall dimensions as the Alpha Segment, except there is no heat shield. It has 3 hypergolic engines amd sufficient delta-vee to lift off from the moon and reach a waiting mother ship in a 100km lunar orbit. The pilot sits in the half-sphere, and his or her feet lie in a one meter wide space 40 cm deep that extends into the cylinder portion, where the engines are. The fuel tanks in turn extend a bit into the upper half, but a wide window and control panel are kept clear to perform the landing. Ingress and egress is through the standard hatch and docking ring at the top. To achieve the required delta-v of 1,880 m/s the Beta Segment needs a Propellant mass of 2,300 kg and a dry mass of 2,700 kg. In comparison, the Apollo Lunar Module ascent stage had a dry mass of 2,150 kg, but it was also designed with extreme weight-saving measures and carried two astronauts. The Beta Segment’s slightly higher dry mass is attributable to a more robust, modular system. #StarTrek [af68c1ad8ab15cb1.jpg]
095: The Argo Gamma-L (Lunar) Segment is a hexagonal prism 4 meters in diameter from flat-to-flat with a recess in the top 210 cm across and 105 cm deep to hold the Beta Segment. It has six folding legs for landing. The mission requirement is to deorbit and land on the moon with a fully-fueled Beta Segment. The Argo Gamma-O (Orbital) Segment is of similar design, but omits the legs. The Alpha rides 25 cm higher due to the heat shield. General Materials uses a two-launch scheme for lunar landings, with the crew in an Alpha Segment docking with a pre-positioned Beta/Gamma-L stack. The Gamma modules use hypergolic propellants with an Isp of 311 seconds. The Gamma-L’s mission is to land a fully-fueled 5,000 kg Beta Segment on the moon, requiring a delta-v of 1,000 m/s. Total wet mass is 2,913 kg. The Gamma-O’s mission is to perform Trans-Earth Injection for the Alpha, which also requires 1,000 m/s. The propellant has a density of 1,300 kg per cubic meter and occupies a volume of 1.79 cubic meters. To contain this volume within a 3.465 -meter wide (vertex-to-vertex) hexagonal prism with a five cm floor and a recess for the payload, Argo Gamma-O and Gamma-L are both 135 cm tall. #LGBTQ [2f84ade70937bb41.jpg]
096: The 3.5m cylindrical Delta Segment is designed as a cryogenic tug to put either the Alpha/Gamma-O or Beta/Gamma-L stack in both Trans-Earth Injection and Lunar Orbit Insertion. Total Delta-V is 4000 m/s for a payload of 8000 kg. It requires six small solid ullage rockets to perform 2 ignitions, one for TLI and one for LOI. Fuel is hydrolox. Isp is 445 seconds. The blended density of LH2/LOX is 340 kg/m³. Propellant mass is 16,107 kg of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Dry mass is 2,738 kg, which includes the engine, tank structure, insulation, avionics, and the six solid ullage rockets. Gross mass (at launch, without payload) is 18,845 kg. Height is 5.18 meters. Empty Delta Segments are used as space station modules using the “wet workshop” concept, with the evacuated LH2 tank repurposed as habitable space and the LOX tanks for clean water or alternatively as a graywater sump. American, Soviet, and French observers alike have never witnessed the launch of an Argo Delta Segment, which would require a launch vehicle on the order of the Proton-K or Saturn 1B, yet they are ubiquitous in LEO and cis-lunar space. #ILoveLucy [34d17768bd996a29.jpg]
097: Weak Stability Boundary (WSB) transfers utilize the gravitational “highways” of the Solar System (often referred to as the Interplanetary Transport Network). To get all the way down to LEO using almost no fuel, a Gamma-O performs a small burn (less than 50 m/s) to eject an empty Delta Segment from L4. The Sun’s tidal forces act as a natural brake, pulling on the spacecraft and warping its orbit. By raising the Delta Segment’s apogee to 1.5 million kilometers (near the Earth-Sun L1/L2 points), the Sun’s gravity naturally lowers the perigee to brush right against the top of Earth’s atmosphere near LEO. When the spacecraft falls back toward Earth from this ultra-high apogee, it is moving slightly slower than a direct lunar return. The Low-Energy Catch: Because of the solar perturbation, the velocity of the spacecraft at its closest approach to Earth is reduced. Instead of needing 3,100 m/s to capture into LEO, a carefully designed ballistic trajectory can reduce the capture delta-v to less than 1,000 to 1,500 m/s, which is right inside the 1,549 m/s maximum capability of the Gamma-O pusher. #Downmarket [c325bf4ad6f7ce95.jpg]
098: The low-energy pathways introduce a major operational challenge for the Academy’s mission controllers. A standard direct transfer from the Moon to Earth takes 3 days. A low-energy ballistic transfer from L4, looping out into the Sun’s gravitational playground and falling back to LEO, takes between 3 and 6 months. These orbits are highly chaotic and sensitive to tiny mathematical variations. GenMat uses a Cray-1 to calculate these three-body trajectories. Because the Delta stages are unmanned, the Academy does not care how long the trip takes. Once a lunar mission is complete, the Gamma-O docks with the empty Delta stage, pushes it out of lunar orbit to the L4 parking lot. Another Gamma-O then injects it onto the six-month ballistic slide back to Earth. At any given time, GenMat has a “Ghost Fleet” of empty, unmanned booster stages silently and slowly drifting through deep space on these mathematically complex trajectories, falling back to Earth to be caught in LEO, refueled at the Relais Orbital space station, and launched again. Good times on the USS Sulaco #Aliens [f62e3d4f10c6bdd1.jpg]
099: Watching eyes have certainly seen a General Materials Argo Delta Segment launched from the Kourou spaceport, but never as a payload or third stage tug. To calculate the delta-v contribution of a single Delta Segment acting as a second stage to place an 8,000 kg payload into LEO, we use a propellant mass of 16,107 kg. Delta Segment dry mass is 2,738 kg. Engine Isp is 445 s (Hydrolox). The Payload is the 8,000 kg Alpha/Gamma-O or Beta/Gamma-L stack. A single Delta Segment, when used as a second stage carrying an 8,000 kg payload, would contribute exactly 4,000 m/s of delta-v. Given the total requirement of 7,900 m/s to reach Low Earth Orbit, this means the first stage of such a vehicle (the Epsilon Segment) would need to provide the remaining 3,900 m/s. This confirms that the Delta Segment is a powerful and well-balanced upper stage for a medium-lift launch vehicle, but unless it is quickly intercepted by a tug, towed to Relais Orbital, and refueled, its 185 km orbit will decay and it will fall burning back to Earth. #Physics [cf4099155403b938.jpg]

Share this:

Posts