Wheels in this era were made from tree trunks thinned with stone axes. Maintaining a similar diameter required extensive additional work, which meant a great many processed tools and laborers. That was why the Obeid people were so astonished when they saw the Imperial Guard's wheels, complete with hubs, spokes, and other components. It meant that the "Angels" were not only mysterious, because of their Power Armor and weapons; powerful, because of their height and breadth; and wise, in accordance with religious stereotypes, but also wealthy enough to lavish countless stone axes on processing wheels. The Obeid people desperately wanted to know how it was done. No amount of religious Adoration could outweigh the desire for a better life, which was why they begged the High Priest.
The High Priest graciously expressed his agreement through words and gestures they did not understand.
The elders of the Obeid farming tribes—though they were really only in their thirties—believed this was some sort of ritual symbol, possessing sacred power like the writing they pressed into clay tablets with reed stalks, or the patterns their ancestors had painted in caves. Before true books appeared in Mesopotamia, these elders were the most knowledgeable people in every farming tribe. They knew when to sow and harvest, how to select seeds, dig irrigation and drainage channels, tame animals, build houses, and even brew alcohol. Urged on by these treasures, the most precious wealth of their tribes, all the young Obeid people enthusiastically invited the High Priest to stay the night.
When he woke the next morning, Captain Miller realized he had made a terrible mistake.
It was not because his head was covered in wood shavings, nor because he had been willing to teach these humans at the dawn of civilization techniques beyond their era. It was