From: bellydancergirl7@aol.com   
      
   All notes disclosed in chapter one. Here's where it gets educational   
   but I swear it serves a purpose.   
      
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   There's some women out there who talk and stare   
   Who never seem to let down their hair   
   Like to pass judgment but they're just scared   
   And don't know what they're missing, so they better beware   
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   The pair watched the sun go down two hours later, relaxing back on   
   the large blanket.   
      
   "Did you know that due to tidal acceleration, the orbit of the moon   
   around the earth is unstable, and becomes approximately three point   
   eight centimeters more distant each year?" Mulder recited, rolling   
   his head to look at her. She shook her head, looking over at him.   
      
   "They even estimate that in 600 million years, the distance from the   
   earth to the moon will have increased by 14,593.5 miles, making it so   
   that the moon will no longer be able to cover the sun's disk."   
      
   "Fascinating. Educate me some more."   
      
   Mulder smiled widely at her before turning his attention back to the   
   sky.   
      
   "They also predict that the sun will increase in size over this time   
   scale. That makes it even more unlikely that the moon will be able to   
   cause a total eclipse, which would make the last total solar eclipse   
   on earth in slightly less than 600 million years.   
      
   "The earliest recorded solar eclipse was on the fifteenth of June in   
   763 BC. They found it recorded in Assyrian text. Herodotus wrote that   
   Thales of Miletus predicted an eclipse which occurred during a war   
   between the Medians and the Lydian's. Soldiers on both sides put down   
   their weapons and declared peace as a result of the eclipse. Exactly   
   which eclipse was involved has remained uncertain, although the issue   
   has been studied by hundreds of ancient and modern authorities. One   
   likely candidate took place on May 28, 585 BC, near the Halys River   
   in the middle of modern Turkey."   
      
   "Wow, I definitely did not know that." Dana rolled onto her side. Her   
   eyes gazed over him, all of him. It was amazing. The more time she   
   spent with him, the more she was afraid she was falling for   
   him. "What else do you know?"   
      
   "A lot about a lot," he said cryptically. "Why? You gonna let me   
   teach you?"   
      
   She smiled barely. "Yes because it's nice to not have to think for a   
   few hours. And… you have a really nice voice. It's easy to listen to,   
   kind of therapeutic," she admitted quietly. His head lolled to the   
   side again but he didn't say anything. He didn't have to. His   
   expression spoke for him.   
      
   "Um, let's see. We talked about the moon so… do you know that every   
   major religion has a god or goddess for everything?"   
      
   "Now *that* I did know."   
      
   "Let's start with the oldest religion, Hinduism," Mulder began,   
   switching his voice to story teller mode. "Indra is the god of   
   weather and war. All his titles refer to strength and might. His   
   weapon is the thunderbolt, sort of like Zeus. He rides a four-tusked,   
   albino elephant called Airavana.   
      
   "Indra had an affair with Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Maharishi. He   
   was punished by Gautama with a curse that one thousand female organs   
   would cover his body in a grotesque and vulgar display, and that his   
   reign as king of the gods would meet with disaster and catastrophe.   
   Gautama later commuted the curse, upon the pleading of Brahma, to one   
   thousand eyes instead of female organs."   
      
   "Eww, thank God for that. It's just like a guy to do that," Dana   
   interrupted. "Disgusting."   
      
   "Anyway," Mulder continued loudly. "Due to this sin, Indra's throne   
   remains insecure forever. He's repeatedly humiliated by demonic kings   
   like Ravana of Lanka, whose son bound Indra in serpent nooses and   
   dragged him across Lanka in a humiliating display. Ravana released   
   Indra when Brahma convinced him to do so, but as the defeated, Indra   
   had to pay tribute and accept Ravana's supremacy. Indra realized the   
   consequences of his sin and was later avenged by Rama, who slew   
   Ravana to deliver the three worlds from evil."   
      
   "What happened to Indra after that?"   
      
   "He became known as the thousand-eyed god. Sounds pretty cool,   
   doesn't it?' Mulder wagged his eyebrows at her. She, in turn, rolled   
   her eyes at him.   
      
   "Tell me another one."   
      
   "Surya is the chief solar deity, with hair and arms of gold. He   
   drives Agni, the fire god, his chariot across the sky in his horse   
   drawn chariot driven by Aruna, who brought the dawn. Aruna's image is   
   always depicted without legs sitting on the chariot. The chariot is   
   driven by seven horses to represent the seven chakras.   
      
   "And then there's Varuna. He keeps the cosmics in order, another   
   solar deity. He later became the god of oceans and rivers and the   
   keeper of the souls of the drowned. Because of that, he's a god of   
   the dead and can grant immortality. Also, he's one of the Guardians   
   of the directions, representing the west."   
      
   "Maybe I should pray to him as well," Dana said softly.   
      
   "Why's that?"   
      
   "I love the water, grew up around it. It makes me feel peaceful."   
      
   Mulder fell silent at that, admiring the look on her face. She looked   
   so… well, peaceful. Her eyes had fallen shut not long ago. She'd   
   moved closer as well. Her hand was lying close to his arm, so close   
   she could touch.   
      
   "Keep telling me these stories."   
      
   Her voice had adopted a sleepy tone he found quite sexy. It was a   
   mixture of a low tone and a raspy sound.   
      
   "You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" he teased, rolling over   
   to mirror her position.   
      
   Dana scoffed. "First of all, I'm not on you. I'm next to you. Second,   
   I'm wide awake. Keep talking."   
      
   "Yes, master," he joked, mimicking Jeannie. A smile crept onto her   
   face but she made no comment.   
      
   "Let's go to Egypt now," he resumed. "I'll make it short since you're   
   falling asleep on me. Hathor, the goddess of the sky, the moon, love,   
   marriage, and childbirth. Then there's Khepri, god of the rising sun   
   but when the sun sets, he takes on the form of Atum. He's another   
   solar deity."   
      
   Dana settled further into the blanket. "What is it with you and the   
   sun? Or the cosmics I should say."   
      
   "It fascinates me. Why? Don't you like it?"   
      
   "No, I do. I've just always been one for the night. The moon is a   
   beautiful thing."   
      
   "Yes, it is." But he wasn't talking about the moon or sun anymore.   
      
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   Continued in next chapter……   
      
   Most information in this chapter can be found at wikipedia.com but   
   some information came from the book `Gods, Goddess's, and Monsters.'   
      
      
      
      
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)