Esther in rabbinic literature R. Shimon b. Yohai said that it was because, unlike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they had bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar's idol. However, he explained that since they did not mean to show devotion, but acted only for appearances sake, so God decreed only the apparent destruction of the Jews, but would not permit Haman to carry it out. A second reason draws a distinction between Daniel, who abstained from Nebuchadnezzar's table and the Jews (with the exception of Mordecai), who attended Ahasuerus' banquet in Chapter 1. Mordecai called upon her to pray for her people and then intercede with the
Shadrach in the Furnace next day, Shadrach visits Genghis Mao, who speaks deliriously and even offers to make Shadrach pope in Rome. Shadrach infers that Genghis Mao has gone mad over the death of Mangu. That night, he goes to Karakorum with Katya Lindman, where they try dream-death, an experience where one is placed in a dream-like state and imagines death and the subsequent afterlife. Shadrach travels the afterlife realm with Katya in his dreams, and after enjoying themselves, to enters into a tranquil state before awaking. Katya reveals that she was having a different dream from him, one which was not as light-hearted