The biblical story of Babel/ takes up/ a handful of verses/ in the 11th chapter of Genesis,/ and it illustrates,/ among other things,/ the terrible consequences/ of unchecked ambition./ As punishment/ for trying to build a tower/ that would reach the heavens,/ the human race/ was scattered/ over the face of the earth/ in a state of/ confusion, divided, dislocated/ and unable to communicate. More or less/ as we find ourselves today.