Whores of Babylon

The city of Babylon lay on the river Euphrates, out in the Arizona desert. The river was piped underground from Gila Bend, but the tower of Babel was real enough, its spiral roadway curling up towards the heavens, wide enough for several dokney-carts.

Alex Winter and Deborah Tate arrived by hovercraft, their minds babbling in the Greek that had been pumped into them via computer interface at the University of Heuristics. English had yet to be invented and the young king Alexander was still dying in his palace.

Alex was a sociology drop-out from the University of Oregon at Eugene. He wanted to become a Babylonian. Women sat outside the Temple of Ishtar, waiting for some stranger to toss a coin into their laps. The prospect seemed to fascinate Deborah. She wanted to become one of the Whores of Babylon…