poem26 Aug 2019 08:00 pm
Depiction of the demon Belphégor, a demon of discovery and of ingenious inventions who often takes the form of a young woman, from J.A.S. Collin de Plancy. Dictionnaire Infernal. Paris: E. Plon, 1863. Page 89.

by Robert Borski  

Behind, and forward, 
the two symmetrical strings 
of zeros splay out like
triskaidekal scourges,
but now, half-way through eternity
(for this is how long it takes
to summit the midpoint of 
[10^30 + 666 x 10^14 + 1]),
the Number of the Beast
has finally been reached, numbingly
recited by the scorched lips
of those condemned to count
to the prime's terminus as punishment.

Nicely done then, my pretties,
says Belphegor -- accountant-prince of Hell
and prototype of every math teacher
who ever wielded chalk and found
sexual satisfaction in the thorn bushes
of differential calculus. But he, in fact,
can barely wait to announce 
his next assignment --
prove the primality of the number 
named in his honor. 

Just be sure to show the math.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belphegor%27s_prime

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