Gilgamesh wept over Enkidu his friend, bitterly he wept through the wilderness. “Must I die too? Must I be as lifeless as Enkidu? How can I bear this sorrow that gnaws at my belly, this fear of death that restlessly drives me onward? If only I could find the one man whom the gods made immortal, I would ask him how to overcome death.”

So Gilgamesh roamed, his heart full of anguish, wandering, always eastward, in search of Utnapishtim, whom the gods made immortal.

Finally he arrived at the two high mountains called the Twin Peaks. Their summits touch the vault of heaven, their bases reach down to the underworld, they keep watch over the sun’s departure and its return. Two scorpion people were posted at the entrance, guarding the tunnel into which the sun plunges when it sets and moves through the earth to emerge above the horizon at dawn. The sight of these two inspired such terror that it could kill an ordinary man. Their auras shimmered over the mountains. When Gilgamesh saw them, he was pierced with dread, but he steadied himself and headed toward them.

The scorpion man called out to his wife, “This one who approaches-he must be a god.”

The scorpion woman called back to him, “He is two-thirds divine and one-third human.”

The scorpion man said, “What is your name? How have you dared to come here? Why have you traveled so far, over seas and mountains difficult to cross, through wastelands and deserts no mortal has ever entered? Tell me the goal of your journey. I want to know.”

“Gilgamesh is my name,” he answered, “I am the king of great-walled Uruk and have come here to find my ancestor Utnapishtim, who joined the assembly of the gods, and was granted eternal life. He is my last hope. I want to ask him how he managed to overcome death.”

The scorpion man said, “No one is able to cross the Twin Peaks, nor has anyone ever entered the tunnel into which the sun plunges when it sets and moves through the earth. Inside the tunnel there is total darkness: deep is the darkness, with no light at all.”

The scorpion woman said, “This brave man, driven by despair, his body frost-chilled, exhausted, and burnt by the desert sun-show him the way to Utnapishtim.”

The scorpion man said, “Ever downward through the deep darkness the tunnel leads. All will be pitch black before and behind you, all will be pitch black to either side. You must run through the tunnel faster than the wind. You have just twelve hours. If you don’t emerge from the tunnel before the sun sets and enters, you will find no refuge from its deadly fire. Penetrate into the mountains’ depths, may the Twin Peaks lead you safely to your goal, may they safely take you to the edge of the world. The gate to the tunnel lies here before you. Go now in peace, and return in peace.”

As the sun was rising, Gilgamesh entered. He began to run. For one hour he ran, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. For a second and a third hour Gilgamesh ran, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. For a fourth and a fifth hour Gilgamesh ran, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. For a sixth and a seventh hour Gilgamesh ran, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. At the eighth hour Gilgamesh cried out with fear, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. At the ninth hour he felt a breeze on his face, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. For a tenth and eleventh hour Gilgamesh ran, deep was the darkness, with no light at all before and behind him and to either side. At the twelfth hour he emerged from the tunnel into the light. The sun was hurtling toward the entrance. He had barely escaped.

Before him the garden of the gods appeared, with gem-trees of all colors, dazzling to see. There were trees that grew rubies, trees with lapis lazuli flowers, trees that dangled gigantic coral clusters like dates. Everywhere, sparkling on all the branches, were enormous jewels: emeralds, sapphires, hematite, diamonds, carnelians, pearls. Gilgamesh looked up and marveled at it all.