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96 It was into this sacred chamber that a god named Zu gained ac- cess, seizing the vital tablets and thereby holding in his hands the fate of the Anunnaki on Earth and of Nibiru itself. By combining portions of Old Babylonian and Assyrian versions of the Sumerian text, a good deal of the tale has been restored. But dam- aged portions still held the secret of Zu's true identity, as well as an explanation of how he had gained access to the Dirga. Only in 1979 did two scholars (W. W. Hallo and W. L. Moran) come up with the answer by using a tablet found in the Babylonian Collection of Yale University to reconstruct the beginning of the ancient tale. In Sumerian the name ZU meant "He Who Knows." one expert in certain knowledge. Several references to the evil hero of this tale as AN.ZU—"He Who Knows the Heavens"—suggest a connec- tion with the space program that had linked Earth with Nibiru; and the now-restored beginning of the chronicle indeed relates how Zu. an orphan, was adopted by the astronauts who manned the shuttlecraft and orbiting platforms, the Igigi—learning from them the secrets of the heavens and of space travel. The action begins as the Igigi, "being gathered from all parts," decided to make an appeal to Enlil. Their complaint was that "until that time for the Igigi a break-taking place had not yet been built." In other words, there simply was no facility on Earth for the rest and recreation of the Igigi, where they could relax from the rigors of space and its weightlessness. To voice their complaint they se- lected Zu to be their spokesman, sending him to Enlil's center in Nippur. Enlil, "the father of the gods, in the Dur-An-Ki, saw him, and thought of what they [the Igigi] said." As "in his mind he pon- dered" the request, "he studied the heavenly Zu closely." Who, after all, was this emissary, not one of the astronauts and yet wear- ing their uniform? As his suspicions grew, Ea—aware of Zu's true ancestry—spoke up; he suggested to Enlil that a decision on the re- quest of the Igigi could be postponed if Zu were delayed at Enlil's headquarters. "Your service let him enter," Ea said to Enlil; "in the sanctuary, to the innermost seat, let him be the one to block the way." To the words that Ea spoke to him the god [Enlil] consented. At the sanctuary Zu took up his position... At the entrance to the chamber THE WARS OFGODS AND MEN Enlil had assigned him.