I didn’t realize that one of my fav trek episodes where the captain is stuck on a planet with a people that speak only in allusion … the captains story is the (very very condensed) Gilgamesh epic of a mythical Sumarian king of around 2700BC … a poem from Mesopotamia and among the earliest known literary works which are now extant only on 12 clay tablets from the 7th century Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

Gilgamesh, a king. At Uruk. He tormented his subjects. He made them angry. They cried out aloud, “Send our king a companion! Spare us from his madness!” Enkidu, a wild man from the forest, entered the city. They fought in the temple. They fought in the street. Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu. They became great friends. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, at Uruk. The new friends went out into the desert together where the Great Bull of Heaven was killing men by the hundreds. Enkidu caught the Bull by the tail; Gilgamesh struck him with his sword. Killed him. They were victorious. But Enkidu fell to the ground, struck down by the gods. And Gilgamesh wept bitter tears, saying, “He who was my companion through adventure and hardship, is gone forever …”

Hmm … Does my interest just make me a bigger geek … or is this something worse? 😉