[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-40193-en":3,"doc-seo-40193-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},40193,8796095360427,"Lucas Martin","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d",1,"Story & Novel","Senlin Ascends (Book I of The Books of Babel)","Senlin Ascends Book I follows Thomas Senlin and his new bride Marya as they travel by train across desert landscapes toward the legendary Tower of Babel in the nation of Ur. Their journey is marked by crowds of pilgrims, merchants, and migrants, alongside caravans, elephants, and drifting airships. Through dialogue and observation, Senlin’s cautious, schedule-driven temperament contrasts with Marya’s excitement for spectacle, setting the stage for their first steps toward the Tower’s mysteries.","The Books of Babel Book I:  \nSenlin Ascends  \nJOSIAH BANCROFT  \nThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living  \nor dead, or locales is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2013 by Josiah Bancroft  \nAll rights reserved.  \n[www.thebooksofbabel.com](www.thebooksofbabel.com)  \nCover art by Ian Leino copyright © 2013  \n[www.ianleino.com](www.ianleino.com)  \nThe cover font, UglyQua, was created by Manfred Klein  \nFirst Edition  \nISBN: 1482590956  \nISBN-13: 978-1482590951  \nFor Sharon, who never gets lost in the crowd.  \nFrom the Introduction to Everyman’s Guide to the Tower of Babel  \n(Fourteenth Edition)  \n“The Tower of Babel is sometimes called the Sink of Humanity. Its immensity, the variety of its ringdoms, its mysterious and luxurious heights are irresistible to all comers . We are drawn to it like water to a drain.”  \nPart I  \nThe Basement & the Parlor  \nChapter One  \n“The Tower of Babel is most famous for the silk fineries and marvelous airships it produces, but visitors will discover other intangible exports.  \nWhimsy, adventure, and romance are the Tower’s real trade.”  \n- Everyman’s Guide to the Tower of Babel, I.V  \nIt was a four-day journey by train from the coast to the desert where the Tower of Babel rose like a tusk from the jaw of the Earth. First, they had crossed pastureland, spotted with fattening cattle and charmless hamlets, and then their train had climbed through a range of snow-veined mountains where condors roosted in nests large as haystacks. Already, they were further from home than they had ever been. They descended through shale foothills, which he said reminded him of a field of shattered blackboards, through cypress trees, which she said looked like open parasols, and finally they came upon the arid basin. The ground was the color of rusted chains, and the dust of it clung to everything. The desert was far from deserted. Their train shared a direction with a host of caravans, each a slithering line of wheels, hooves and feet. Over the course of the morning, the bands of traffic thickened until they converged into a great mass so dense that their train was forced to slow to a crawl. Their cabin seemed to wade through the boisterous tide of stagecoaches and ox-drawn wagons, through the tourists, pilgrims, migrants, and merchants from every state in the vast nation of Ur.  \nThomas Senlin and Marya, his new bride, peered at the human menagerie through the open window of their sunny sleeper car. Her  \nchina white hand lay weightlessly atop his long fingers. A little troop of red-breasted soldiers slouched by on palominos, parting a family in checkered headscarves on camelback. The trumpet of elephants sounded over the clack of the train, and here and there in the hot winds high above them, airships lazed, drifting inexorably towards the Tower of Babel. The balloons that held the ships aloft were as colorful as maypoles.  \nSince turning toward the Tower, they had been unable to see the grand spire from their cabin window. But this did not discourage Senlin’s description of it.“There is a lot of debate over how many levels there are . Some scholars say there are fifty-two, others say as many as sixty. It’s impossible to judge from the ground,” Senlin said, continuing the litany of facts he’d brought to his young wife’s attention over the course of their journey.“A number of men, mostly aeronauts and mystics, say that they have seen the top of it. Of course, none of them have any evidence to back up their boasts. Some of those explorers even claim that the Tower is still being raised, if you can believe that.” These trivial facts comforted him, as all facts did. Thomas Senlin was a reserved and naturally timid man who took confidence in schedules and regimens and written accounts.  \nMarya nodded dutifully but was obviously distracted by the parade of humanity outside. Her w","cbCaiaZJkcJTceeW","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaZJkcJTceeW","pdf",2169296,4,394,"English","en",105,"# Part I: The Basement & the Parlor\n## Chapter One","[{\"question\":\"Who are the main characters introduced in this opening chapter?\",\"answer\":\"Thomas Senlin and Marya, his new bride, are introduced as they travel together toward the Tower of Babel.\"},{\"question\":\"What kind of journey do Senlin and Marya take toward the Tower of Babel?\",\"answer\":\"They travel by train from the coast into desert terrain, passing caravans and large crowds as they move closer to the Tower.\"},{\"question\":\"How do Senlin and Marya differ in temperament during the journey?\",\"answer\":\"Senlin is reserved and timid, finding comfort in schedules and facts, while Marya is more easily captivated by crowds and spectacles outside the window.\"}]",1783306142,607,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"senlin-ascends-book-i-of-the-books-of-babel","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,52,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/story-novel/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/senlin-ascends-book-i-of-the-books-of-babel/40193/",{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":53,"author":54,"headline":13,"publisher":56,"fileFormat":59,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":60,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":59,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":55},"Person",{"url":40,"name":57,"@type":58},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-21","2026-07-06",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Who are the main characters introduced in this opening chapter?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"Thomas Senlin and Marya, his new bride, are introduced as they travel together toward the Tower of Babel.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What kind of journey do Senlin and Marya take toward the Tower of Babel?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"They travel by train from the coast into desert terrain, passing caravans and large crowds as they move closer to the Tower.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"How do Senlin and Marya differ in temperament during the journey?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"Senlin is reserved and timid, finding comfort in schedules and facts, while Marya is more easily captivated by crowds and spectacles outside the window.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":57,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,95,99,103,108,113,118,123,128,131,135],{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]