Iron

Imagine it's 2600 BC. You're sitting in your hut, teaching your two boys how to make tools to sharpen arrows, work the garden, and hunt for food. You also realize that it's a perfect time to have the talk. That's right, the birds and the bees. What kind of story would you have to come up with to combine such important topics as survival and sex, the two most basic human instincts? Luckily, you don't have to come up with a new story, because stories like the following have been floating around for generations, from tribe to tribe, and you're just gonna continue telling the ever-evolving narrative that's made it's way into your family, your tribe, and your culture. And it goes something like this . . .

Now even though the man and the woman were all caught up in their differences, they discovered there was this energy they couldn't explain that drew them together. They started exploring each others' bodies. And surprisingly, they found that they each had parts that fit with the others'. When this energy was at its maximum, they were swept into a state they couldn't control but nonetheless loved. And as they learned more and more about this energy, they learned that they could produce replicas of themselves, just like they'd seen some of the animals do. And so, after a few years of exploring each other, being carried away by this profound energy, and experiencing the greatest pleasures they'd ever known, the woman's belly started getting big - real big. In fact, Adam thought something really bad was going on, but Eve assured him this wasn't so. She sensed that something special was going on inside of her. She knew it.

And about nine months later, Eve was in excruciating pain, and sounds were coming out of her that Adam had never heard before. Adam, being new at this obviously, did everything he could to calm her down and make the pain lessen, but nothing worked. Neither of them really knew what this was leading to, but Eve knew deep in her bones that it was something good. And, after about twelve hours of screaming and crying and pushing and yelling at Adam, a tiny living organism slid out of her opening - the same opening that Adam realized he had a part for the few years previously.

It turned out the tiny living organism had hair like Adam, and had a smaller version of the same part that Adam had. And Eve named the tiny Adam Cain. 

And Eve told Adam, "The Great Power has given me a tiny version of you."

She repeated this same process and created another tiny being. She named this one Abel.

After years and years of working with his mom and dad, Abel found he was really good at tending to the flocks of cattle that otherwise would wander around aimlessly with no purpose. Cain found he was really good at tilling the ground just like his dad. 

Soon after Eve had her two boys, she decided it'd be good to start giving back to the Great Power - an act of gratitude for the creative life force she'd been given. And so, every year her and Adam would gather their best fruits from the ground they cultivated and dedicate them to the Great Power. They taught their two boys to do the same.

One year, just as usual, Cain brought some of his fruit to dedicate to the Great Power. Abel brought the best calves he could find out of the flock, butchered them, and brought the fattiest pieces of brisket you'd ever tasted. When Cain saw how much thought Abel had put into his gift to the Great Power, he felt insignificant. He felt like the Great Power was going to like Abe's offering more.

And so Cain got really angry and jealous towards his brother. The first competition in the history of humanity started right there. 

And the Great Power asked Cain, "Why are you so angry, and why are you walking around with your head down? You did something good, so why aren't you happy about it? If you keep beating yourself up like that, you're gonna make life miserable for yourself."

But the words didn't help Cain. He had made his decision that he wasn't as good as his brother. And so, one day, Cain slipped off into the field where Abel was tending to his cattle, and cut his throat.

And the Great Power asked Cain, "Where's your brother?"

Cain replied, "I don't know. I'm not his babysitter."

The Great Power responded, "What in the world have you done? I see the stain of blood on the ground where Abel takes care of the cattle. Because of this, you've brought curses upon yourself. All life is sacred, and all living things have creative energy inside them that drives them to create more life. Because of what you've done, the ground will turn against you and will not let you reap its benefits any longer. As a result, you're gonna have to wander around looking for something to eat."

Cain said, "Great Power, this punishment is too much! When the other tribes find out what I've done, they'll kill me for sure, on top of this curse that the ground has put on me!"

And the Great Power said, "Whoever takes your life will experience the same curse you've experienced yourself, except theirs will be seven times as bad."

After they had this conversation, Cain took a stone and carved a snake into his chest. This way, he would be marked for the rest of his life as cursed, and no one would try to take his life, for they would be cursed as well.

Cain moved out to the land of Nod which was east of Eden.

When Cain found a woman out there, they explored each others' bodies just like Adam and Eve had. And after a year or so, she had a boy and named him Enoch. And Cain started building a tribe and named the tribe Enoch after his son. 

And eventually Enoch found a wife and they had Irad.

Irad found a wife and they had Mehujael.

Mehujael found a wife and they had Methushael.

Methushael found a wife and they had Lamech.

Now Lamech found the need to have two wives. One of the wives was named Adah, and the other was named Zillah. Adah ended up giving birth to a son named Jabal. Jabal became very good at building villages and herding livestock. Adah also gave birth to a son named Jubal. He became very good with music and teaching others to play instruments - especially the lyre. And for Zillah, she gave birth to a boy named Tubal-Cain. He became very good with metalworking and creating tools and weapons. Zillah also had a girl named Naamah. 

One day, after all the kids were older, Lamech said to his wives, "I have something to confess. A long time ago, I killed a man for hurting me. If my great grandfather Cain's enemies were cursed seven times, then my enemies will be cursed seventy-seven times for trying to kill me."

Adam and Eve ended up having another kid, and this one was named Seth. Eve told Adam, "The Great Power has given me another boy to replace Abel."

Seth found himself a wife, and they had a boy named Enosh.

Around this time, humans started figuring out that they could talk to the Great Power on their own, and they started doing just that.