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As time went on, the changes Father bred into some of the colonists made them sufficiently distinct that one time could no longer really be confused with the original human stock. These were the elyonim. They stood two feet taller than men, and each individual possessed two genitalia rather than one. But the species had not really diverged. Elyonim could mate with humans, and their offspring, called nephilim, where entirely fertile. Nephilim stood only a foot taller than men, but they, like the elyonim, had two genitals. Where they differed from the elyonim was that their genitals were always one of each.

Father was considered the god of the elyonim, so he was called of them by the name of Elyon. And Mother was called Chemah, the goddess of wrath. Daughter, too, took on a name among the people of Keman, and was known simply as Bat-El, literally the daughter of God.

Every century a rock the size of a mountain smote Kemen with enough force to lay waste to an entire kingdom. In the main these collisions went unnoticed. Most strikes occurred on the ice sheets that covered the vast majority of the surface of Kemen. But if a rock struck the narrow equatorial band it would rain for many days, then freeze, and cover all Kemen in ice for a generation. Only plants that could spore would survive.

Elyon commanded they construct ships and stock them with enough food to preserve their lives and those of their animals during the coming catastrophe. But few heeded the oracles of Elyon. Only in Adan was there built any ships. Scoffers amused themselves until the day a dazzling blue-white light was seen over the southern ice and rain began to fall in nearly unbroken sheets.

Forty days and nights it rained scalding water until the ships were lifted off their blocks and carried by winds and currents east to scattered points around the belt of Kemen. Then the rain cooled and began to fall as snow. The ships slowly came to a frozen stop.

Then Bat-El waxed wroth at both of her parents. She said, "It would have been a small thing for one of you to prevent the object from striking Kemen yet you let it come, for no good purpose. Nought that goes on two or four legs lives outside of the ships!"

Elyon said, "The purpose is manifest. You saw how the faithfulness of the world-dwellers burns like kindling but then quickly becomes unbelief."