CAPTAIN RAINBRAIN
and
THE TANGLEVINE

It was completed! It had taken one hundred and twenty years but, finally, the ship Lord Logos commanded Noemin to build was finished. Ready to float, the massive four-decked vessel - five hundred feet long, eighty feet broad, and stretching upward fifty feet - awaited only its crew and passengers. And, yesterday, Lord Logos ordered embarkment.

"Noemin," he said, "the time has arrived. Prepare to enter the ship. Beginning at dawn, I shall guide into the ship one pair of all creatures ceremonially unclean, and seven pairs of those that are ceremonially clean. Have no concern for them until they have embarked. Just be ready to leave."

Since that time, long ago, when Lord Logos first warned Noemin of impending judgment, the shipbuilding was not easy. His father, Lamech, believed the warning; so did Grandfather Methusha. They gave invaluable assistance to the project, but they were gone now. Lamech died several years ago. And, Methusha, who, in the early centuries of his nine hundred and sixty-nine years of life, was a confidant of The First Parents, passed away this year. Noemin's wife, Shiana, and their son, Japhtho, believed. Over the years, Shiana bore Hamath and Shema, who also were faithful. Lord Logos guided all three sons to devout believing wives; but no one else believed - only eight; so few; so very, very few.

After Noemin received the Lord Logos’ first message, the couple informed their kin of the warning. Most, thinking it a hoax, laughed good-naturedly, and Mizra, the brother next oldest to Noemin, even complimented him on a good yarn.

Slapping his back he bellowed, "That's a terrific story, Noemin! I wish I'd though of it! So, Lord Logos told you it's going to rain until everyone drowns! You want us to repent and help you build a big boat to save ourselves! A raft wouldn't do it, huh? Come on - out with the rest of the joke, we're waiting!"

“But it is not a joke,” Noemin insisted, “What I told you is true.”

It eventually registered with the others that Noemin was in earnest. Congeniality dissolved until, eventually, the Noemins were ostracized.

Learning that Lamech and Methusha believed, agitated Noemin's siblings considerably; but discovering that they were helping to defray the cost of constructing a huge ship - well - that was the proverbial straw! A conflagration of hate-filled accusations lodged against Noemin. They were thrown in his face or he never would have believed his family capable of such slander: His fanaticism drove the old men mad; he was profiteering from their gullibility; he was plotting to steal the entire family inheritance; he was beneath contempt; he was no longer their brother.

Heartbroken, Noemin was overwhelmed by a grief so deep - that felt so physical - it almost incapacitated him. But Lord Logos' warning couldn't be denied; judgment was coming. Without procrastinating further, he commenced hiscommission. And though his grief was not forgotten, Lord Logos alleviated it.

A dresser of vineyards, Noemin situated the project in his largest field. Spreading far and wide, even to distant Kajan City, the royal capital, news of the lunatic who was building a huge ship
hundreds of miles from deep water reached emperor BenKaina, who dispatched emissaries to investigate the remarkable incident.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Noemin sent back a warning, "Emperor BenKaina, Lucifin, whom you worship as the Illuminator,' is he who beguiled our First Parents, Odom and Gwen, in the Garden Reserve. He is a false god. Reject him. Lord Logos, who is one of The Three, is He with whom we have to do. Repent! Return to Him now or face His judgment."

Enraged, BenKaina vented his wrath on the project. In a mocking play on the project's locale, he dubbed the ship, the
"Tanglevine," coining the title, "Captain Rainbrain," for Noemin. BenKaina’s command to disrupt the venture extensively publicized Noemin's labors. Spectators came from everywhere to view the
"harebrained" shipbuilders as well as to ridicule Noemin's
passionate warnings of impending judgment.

Persecution escalated to harassment and then to sabotage raids. Frequent ambushes were laid, with bodily injuries attempted against the builders, but Lord Logos permitted no harm to befall to the family or the ship. Yet He did nothing to alleviate the continuous, cruel verbal abuses. In front of their homes, as well as on the work-site, hecklings, taunts, jibes, imprecations, black magic spells, hexes, and enchantments, were cast at the Noemins. Ridicule, , "Ho! Captain Rainbrain! Will you sail the Tanglevine over your grapes? It should slide well during the harvest season, when they are ripe! You can use your new invention to press out the juice for your wine!" was heaped on them.

Slanderous public comments, such as - "Oh, the whole family is crazy. I heard that Captain Rainbrain even drove his father and grandfather insane with his fanaticism." - were customary.

Children at play recited a popular ditty that derided Noemin. It
circulated throughout all the regions. As they skipped rope or played hopscotch, the children often chanted: "Ho, Captain Rainbrain, when will you sail? Sail in the Tanglevine; tell us your tale. When will the rains come? Please, tell us do, or is it
your grape-wine that tells you 'tis true?" Spectators at the ship frequently chanted the mocking rhyme in unison.

The couple's kinsmen were mortified to be related to the Noemins. To retain the respect of their neighbors, not only did they participate in the abuse, they often instigated it. Then, a few decades before the end, to their relief, BenKaina claimed he had grown weary of toying with Noemin. He wanted the ship destroyed. Uris, king of the Larsa region, where Noemin resided, received the commission to carry out BenKaina’s command. He was ordered to handle it personally. No failure would be brooked.

When Uris and his forces attempted to fulfill the commission, the ground under them yawned open, swallowing them completely. The horrified emperor discontinued all overt opposition, though he still worshipped Lucifin. Temporarily unnerved, the equally horrified masses stayed away, though not for long. Eventually returning, they stood far removed from the ship and hurled rocks no longer whooshed toward the builders. The heckling, however, gradually resumed until it assumed former proportions.

The impending judgment now was about to fall; the end was at hand! The Noemins made a last attempt at warning their relatives and neighbors, but to no benefit. Angry rebuffs were their recompense. They were standing now, near the lowered ramp of the massive hatchway, waiting for the animals. At first, the ascending dawn revealed nothing unusual, and from the nearby lurking shadows, mocking titters were heard. Spectators, having frivolously passed along the gossip of Noemin’s disdained final warning, were hoping for some amusement.

"Ho! Captain Rainbrain," one called out, "We heard the animals are coming and you soon will sail from us! I have some rats you can take!"

Crescendos of laughter rewarded the remark encouraging another heckler to yell, "Oh, no! Please no - not rats! They'll chew
holes in the Tanglevine and it will sink in the vineyard! Ho, Captain Rainbrain, if you take the rats, take cats and snakes, too; they'll eat the rats so the Tanglevine won't sink! Do you see how we love you, Rainbrain? We don't want you to drown in your own vineyard!"

The mocking accelerated, attended by catcalls, squeals, barking, and other animal imitations, but the eight focused their attention on the sky and forest rims. The birds were the first to arrive. Single pairs and flocks of fourteen winged toward the ship from all points. Throughout their maneuvers, the avian passengers manifested an eerie silence.

And the jeering stopped!

The smaller birds entered immediately, while the larger ones circled the craft, waiting their turn. As the incoming flights continued, Shiana indicated the bordering forest. At its edges, a variety of animals paused, some sniffing the wind, others seemingly estimating the distance to the vessel. Finally, the boldest ventured forward, trailed by the more timid, until the landscape appeared alive with creatures migrating toward the vessel. They poured from all edges of the wilds, joined by domesticated animals from farms and city. Crawling creatures and hopping ones, moved with those that slithered in the dust. Tree swingers ambulated with imprecision the strangeness of the fields, but still they came.

In profound silence, giants ambled beside Lilliputians, hunters alongside natural prey, as though observing a truce that mollified their enmity. Directed by an unseen guide, all embarked the ship. And, with the entrance of the larger birds, the inventory was completed.

Noemin scanned the faces of the multitude attracted by the uncanny spectacle. In the brightness of the late afternoon, sun, some
appeared fearful; others dumfounded; and still others, incredulous. Approaching closer, he spoke loudly. "You have not believed my words believe what your eyes are seeing! There still is time to board the ship. Step forward, confess your allegiance to Lord Logos and you may enter."

But, no one moved.

"Even this doesn't convince you that judgment will soon descend?" Noemin marveled. Then, in the silence, a young woman pushed forward, tugging at the hand of the man beside her; he pulled her back.

Approaching, Noemin said to her, "He must make his own choice. You cannot choose for him or he for you. If he will not come, save yourself. Enter with us." Instead, she drew closer to her companion.

Several of Noemin's siblings pushed through the crowd. Going to them, Noemin inquired, "Will you come?"

In tears, the sister who first branded him as a disgrace to the family, now implored her husband, "Let's go with him. You can see that something is making the animals enter the ship. It must Lord Logos. Please, let's take the children and go in."

With transparent bravado, the man roared, "This fool of a fanatic has woven a spell over the animals and now over you, but I'll not be duped by his magic! Go, if you wish, but the children stay with me! When nothing happens, don't think to return to us! If you go, it proves Rainbrain cast a spell over you that made you insane. For that reason, I shall not take you back!"

With hand outstretched, Noemin implored, "Come, Reesa, enter the ship with us. All must choose for themselves. You cannot choose for him, nor can he choose for you. If your husband will let you take the children, they also may enter. If he will not, he shall be called upon by Lord Logos to render an account for these little ones. Come, enter with us, Reesa."

Her tears flowed unrestrained. Still she shook her head. "I can't leave him and the children here alone."

Standing behind Reesa, Mizra was listening to the exchange in fuming silence. Now he stepped forward. His father gone and Noemin, the oldest son, dishonored, he was the recognized the head of the family. With tremendous force, he shoved his brother backward, almost causing him to fall.

"Leave her alone, Rainbrain! Go to your animals; they're your family now!"

His angry outburst expelled the soporific hush, and the mob began
chanting, "Rainbrain! Rainbrain! Rainbrain!"

It was impossible for Noemin to make himself heard so, in tears, he headed to the ship and, as he went, the derision kept cadence with his steps: "Rainbrain! Rainbrain! Rainbrain!"

Suddenly, the chanting stopped! Near the ramp, a resplendent figure appeared in dazzling brilliance near the Noemins. Speaking through the brilliance, Lord Logos said simply, "Come, enter Noemin; its time to depart."

Slowly, the eight mounted the ramp. As the rest disappeared into
the vessel, Noemin pause at the entrance. He turned to look longingly at those who refused the invitation. Then, with a final, sad, hand wave, he entered the Tanglevine.

Fear intensifying to absolute terror, the scoffers watched as the resplendent figure pointed toward the Tanglevine. Seemingly of its own volition, rising on protesting hinges, the gigantic ramp
gradually lifted until it fitted into the spacious opening in the
hull and sealed it shut, leaving no evident seams to show that it ever existed. Lord Logos next lifted his hand toward the sky, slowly lowering its pointing finger until it indicated the horror-struck throng of people – and then He vanished.

Under its feet, the crowd felt Terra shiver. From every direction, earsplitting crescendos of thunder vanquished nature's horrified stillness. Broad bolts of jagged lightning relentlessly knifed through the deepening darkness of an increasingly tortured sky. Donning a dark shroud, the sun unconditionally surrendered to the thickening suffusion.

The shivers escalated to up-surging tremors. And as "that fanatic,” Captain Rainbrain, and the "harebrained" crew of his long-derided Tanglevine, began their voyage toward a new genesis, illuminated by the violent streaks of lightning, the upturned dread-wrenched faces of those outside the ship felt the first heavy drops of descending judgment. They believed now. They wanted to enter the Tanglevine, but the hatch was sealed. And it could not be opened until the waters receded.
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© Josprel (Joseph Perrello)
josprel@yahoo.com