Lately, I've been spending a lot of time in the forest, much more than I have in most of the previous years of my life, many hours a week. The forest where I hang out clings to narrow plateaus between steep ravines where glacial deposits and top soil slip down toward the Big Creek valley, and eventually Lake Erie, then eventually to sea level.
Of course, the forest is a completely different place than the desert, or even the Eurasian Steppe. The trees limit sight lines and paths through the woods are narrow and frequently interrupted. Local knowledge, obtained only with experience is required to really navigate. It's very easy to get lost in such an environment. The forest is three dimensional. Creatures are everywhere. That environment insists on letting you know that you are just a part of a much bigger living system.
It's not so surprising that the sand people gods are so much different than the forest people gods. A stark environment with open horizons and sparse life amplifies the city, and the men of the city.
The god of the sand people maybe is the god of sand, which is then finally embodied in silicon--animated clay tablets that scribes, bureaucrats, and ledger keepers of babylon would readily recognize.
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