Page 18 - Tales Apocalyptic and Dystopian

The Mount of Darjeela

know, occurred centuries ago. Under the banner of all-powerful
Darjeela our Indian army defeated all those backward nations, and
ultimately secured control of the entire earth. Yes, we owe it all to
those anonymous functionaries, none of whom receive any mention
in the Vedas.”
The children stared open-mouthed at the guru, mesmerized by
his words and the appearance of a bead of sweat slowly making its
way down the creases and folds of his ample belly.
“In arriving at that momentous settlement, the babus allowed
the scientists to erect great temples and monuments to their
goddess, who, then as now, represents the incredible power
unleashed by knowledge. In her beneficent aspect, Darjeela has
built great cities, harnessed rivers, and colonized other worlds. But
her original cult, those foolhardy revolutionaries, also recognized the
demonic side of the deity: she could destroy all that man had carefully
constructed, destroy it in seconds with the bolt of lightning she holds
so lightly in her hand. And that, my young friends, concludes today’s
little talk. Now you should understand why the scorpion is the mount
of Darjeela.”

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