Thou shalt have no other gods before me eyes, which have lusted after their idols.” This led to a broken covenant between Yahweh and Israel and “divorce,” manifested as defeat by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon followed by exile, from which the northern kingdom never recovered. The Bible presents Daniel and his companions as distinct, positive examples of individuals refusing to pay homage to another god, even at the price of their lives. During the time of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar erects a gold statue of himself and commands all subjects to worship it. Three Jewish officials – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – who had been taken to Babylon as
Shadrach in the Furnace as his. Then, they return home to rest, where Katya randomly and suddenly warns Shadrach to be careful. Nikki Crowfoot grows increasingly distant from him, and Shadrach is unable to discover why. He visits Genghis Mao and informs the dictator of an aneurysm he detected in the dictator's abdominal aorta. The news annoys Genghis Mao, since he is preparing a colossal funeral for Mangu which he refuses to delay. Shadrach has lunch with Katya, who reveals to him that, on the night before his death, she informed Mangu that he was chosen as the Avatar subject. Katya tells Shadrach that