Read Online Europa Conspiracy (Babylon Rising 3) by Tim F. LaHaye - Free Book Online
Authors: Tim F. LaHaye
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when Mukhtar, the superintendent in charge of their training, changed their names.
"You will no longer be known by your Hebrew names. You 70 must forget your past. I am going to name you after our Babylonian gods."
Oh, great, thought Daniel.
"Daniel, you will be called Belteshaigar. Hananiah, I will name you Shadrach. Mishael, you shall be known as Meshach. Azariah, you will be addressed as Abednego. The sooner you realize that you are Babylonians, the happier will be your life. Service in the king's court is better than working in the fields. I too am a slave, you know."
"Mukhtar, will you please grant us a request?" Daniel asked respectfully.
"What do you want?"
"It is the food from the king's table."
"Are you not getting enough?"
"No, no. That is not it. There is too much to eat. It is not what we are used to. It is too rich for us. Is it possible for us to be fed vegetables and water instead?"
"What! You will become sickly and weak. If you lose your health, I will lose my head. The king will kill me for neglecting my responsibilities."
"Would you consider a test for ten days?"
"What kind of test?"
"Feed us only vegetables and water for ten days, and then compare us to the other youths eating from the king's rich food. If we look sickly, then we will eat their food also."
One of the lions roared and swatted a female. She cowered as he yawned and strutted around. Daniel could see his sharp white teeth even in the dim light.
"Jehovah, what is happening?" he asked aloud. "Why
71
are you allowing me to live? Is there something you want me to do?"
Daniel's mind began to drift
"I cannot believe that three years have passed," said Mukhtar. "When you first asked me to feed you only vegetables, I thought you were crazy. But you've been healthier than all of the other youths."
"Our God has given us strength," replied Daniel.
"It must be so. He has also given you wisdom. You have mastered our literature and science. You have shown yourselves to have understanding of dreams and visions. This is good...for you will stand before the king this day to be tested. He will ask you many questions to see what you have learned. I know that you will do well, for you are ten times smarter than the other youths I have trained. I am confident that the king will have you join his staff of skilled magicians and wise astrologers."
"We will serve wherever you place us, Mukhtar," Daniel told him. "But if we have any wisdom at all, it has been given to us by Jehovah."
72
FOURTEEN
"I'M SORRY, SIR, but you'll have to take off your belt and shoes. We're a little backed up today. The terrorist warning is high."
Murphy bit his lower lip and didn't say anything. It had taken him almost an hour to get through the security check.
Oh, boy. Now I get to wait for another hour and forty-five minutes before the flight. Patience was not one of his virtues. He didn't like to wait in lines or sit around the airport. It bothered him not to be active, doing something productive. He reached for his cell phone, dialed 411, and asked for the phone number of the Orlando Police Department.
As he waited for the automated voice to give him the number, Murphy watched people in the waiting room. He could see a young mother struggling with two rowdy little boys. Other people were also frustrated at having to wait. The events of 9/11 have certainly changed the entire world , he thought grimly.
73
He got the number, then selected the option to be connected automatically. Murphy gave the officer who answered his name and asked to be connected to Sergeant Owen East.
"Are you ready to order, sir?"
"Yes, we are." Murphy smiled at Isis. Her green eyes were sparkling, and her beautiful red hair framed her delicate features. She looked like a supermodel who had just stepped, off a fashion runway. Who would have thought that she was an academic? Murphy felt like a schoolboy on his first date.
"It's good to see you, Isis," he said in an understatement. "You look
"You will no longer be known by your Hebrew names. You 70 must forget your past. I am going to name you after our Babylonian gods."
Oh, great, thought Daniel.
"Daniel, you will be called Belteshaigar. Hananiah, I will name you Shadrach. Mishael, you shall be known as Meshach. Azariah, you will be addressed as Abednego. The sooner you realize that you are Babylonians, the happier will be your life. Service in the king's court is better than working in the fields. I too am a slave, you know."
"Mukhtar, will you please grant us a request?" Daniel asked respectfully.
"What do you want?"
"It is the food from the king's table."
"Are you not getting enough?"
"No, no. That is not it. There is too much to eat. It is not what we are used to. It is too rich for us. Is it possible for us to be fed vegetables and water instead?"
"What! You will become sickly and weak. If you lose your health, I will lose my head. The king will kill me for neglecting my responsibilities."
"Would you consider a test for ten days?"
"What kind of test?"
"Feed us only vegetables and water for ten days, and then compare us to the other youths eating from the king's rich food. If we look sickly, then we will eat their food also."
One of the lions roared and swatted a female. She cowered as he yawned and strutted around. Daniel could see his sharp white teeth even in the dim light.
"Jehovah, what is happening?" he asked aloud. "Why
71
are you allowing me to live? Is there something you want me to do?"
Daniel's mind began to drift
"I cannot believe that three years have passed," said Mukhtar. "When you first asked me to feed you only vegetables, I thought you were crazy. But you've been healthier than all of the other youths."
"Our God has given us strength," replied Daniel.
"It must be so. He has also given you wisdom. You have mastered our literature and science. You have shown yourselves to have understanding of dreams and visions. This is good...for you will stand before the king this day to be tested. He will ask you many questions to see what you have learned. I know that you will do well, for you are ten times smarter than the other youths I have trained. I am confident that the king will have you join his staff of skilled magicians and wise astrologers."
"We will serve wherever you place us, Mukhtar," Daniel told him. "But if we have any wisdom at all, it has been given to us by Jehovah."
72
FOURTEEN
"I'M SORRY, SIR, but you'll have to take off your belt and shoes. We're a little backed up today. The terrorist warning is high."
Murphy bit his lower lip and didn't say anything. It had taken him almost an hour to get through the security check.
Oh, boy. Now I get to wait for another hour and forty-five minutes before the flight. Patience was not one of his virtues. He didn't like to wait in lines or sit around the airport. It bothered him not to be active, doing something productive. He reached for his cell phone, dialed 411, and asked for the phone number of the Orlando Police Department.
As he waited for the automated voice to give him the number, Murphy watched people in the waiting room. He could see a young mother struggling with two rowdy little boys. Other people were also frustrated at having to wait. The events of 9/11 have certainly changed the entire world , he thought grimly.
73
He got the number, then selected the option to be connected automatically. Murphy gave the officer who answered his name and asked to be connected to Sergeant Owen East.
"Are you ready to order, sir?"
"Yes, we are." Murphy smiled at Isis. Her green eyes were sparkling, and her beautiful red hair framed her delicate features. She looked like a supermodel who had just stepped, off a fashion runway. Who would have thought that she was an academic? Murphy felt like a schoolboy on his first date.
"It's good to see you, Isis," he said in an understatement. "You look
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