Sixteen lights and two interpreters
Page 53ETHER / CHAPTER 4
Sixteen lights and two interpreters
Stones give light in the vessels; other stones accompany a sealed record; the inventory declines to become a single magical object.
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Stones for light: a detail, not a drawing of the vessel.
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1 The brother of Jared prepared sixteen stones, small and clear, and carried them before the Lord.
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2 And I shit you not, when they were touched, they shone; and he was astonished before he had prepared a doctrine explaining why astonishment was unnecessary.
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3 Jared saw the returning light and asked whether there would be enough for every vessel.
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4 There were two lights for each of the eight barges, which was less mysterious than the origin of the light and equally important to the passengers.
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5 They placed them where those within could see.
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6 One stone illuminated a hand fastening a provision basket. Another revealed a loose strap that might otherwise have troubled the night.
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7 The passengers told different stories concerning what it felt like to be no longer in darkness.
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8 Nobody required the stones to choose the best story before continuing to shine.
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9 The record also spoke of two stones given to accompany writings whose language required interpretation.
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10 And a clerk began to put all eighteen into a single illustration labeled IMPORTANT THINGS THAT GLOW.
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11 The brother of Jared asked him to preserve the different tasks.