Babel

by R.F. Kuang

‘It’s like the Ten Plagues,’ Victoire observed. Robin had not cracked open a Bible in years. ‘The Ten Plagues?’ ‘Moses asked Pharaoh to let his people go,’ said Victoire. ‘But Pharaoh’s heart was unyielding, and he refused. So the Lord cast ten plagues on the Pharaoh’s land. He turned the Nile to blood. He sent locusts, frogs, and pestilence. He cast all of Egypt into darkness, and through these feats he made Pharaoh know his power.’ ‘And did Pharaoh let them go?’ Robin asked. ‘He did,’ said Victoire. ‘But only after the tenth plague. Only after he had suffered the death of his firstborn son.’