(///flickered.oilier.measurements – Mount Sinai)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to Moses, I am. Things weren’t good in Egypt, what with the long days, random beatings and primitive housing. Getting out probably was the best thing for us.
Even so, a part of me misses it. A part of me misses being the go to guy for life’s little niceties, being the guy who knew how to get figs and dates for people, or the occasional slab of meat. I had a certain standing, a kind of importance in the community.
But then along came Moses with his speeches and his promises and his magical tricks, and everyone flocked to him. I guess he delivered freedom though, while I just delivered eggs.
It feels like it’s changing now. He’s been up that mountain for ages, and people have tired of the smoke and fire illusion. They want to know what’s happening next, whether this bright new future is real or merely a misdirection.
And so now they’re turning back to me, to see what I can do to lift their spirits a little. It’s true, I can’t get treats for them any more. But I can still give them something they want. A whisper in Aaron’s ear, an appeal for little bits of jewellery, they’ll give up trinkets because they’re getting something they want far more.
And so now as I sit and melt all that gold down, calculate the measurements, my fingers feeling oilier and oilier as I work. I can picture the golden calf I will soon fashion for them to worship. Then, what briefly flickered as a new type of life will disappear once again and we will revert to our old ways, and I will once more be a man of standing. This exodus of ours will be no more than a footnote in history.
After all, this new-fangled nonsense called monotheism will never catch on.
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