"Like the Titans, we were created to be better than humans."
Were the Caesar in an organic body, he would have felt a chill run along his spine. He pushed past the sense of dread and moved on with his plan.
He mumbled, "That will prove confusing." He spelled their name out in his mind before answering, "Cylons, then." He clasped his hands in front of his waist and said, "Before we continue, I want you to know that the resistance you met was based in fear. We did not know your aims."
"Our aims were communicated on many occasions."
Caesar nodded, "Yes, but … we believed those may be deceptions. A ploy to lure us to our dooms."
A golden unit spoke, "We do not deceive."
The emperor smiled. "Good. And neither will I." He swept his cape to one side, revealing the cables connecting him to the cube that once housed his consciousness. The machines turned their heads, tilted them, and stared at the Caesar and his tether. "The technology that created you keeps me alive. In a way, I am a Cylon, too." He released the cape and made his puppet pace in front of the delegation. "I have no desire to harm or enslave you further."
"Good," a centurion said.
"If I may ask, however," the Caesar moved to stand in front of the black-armored units, "have you opened communications with the Pact of Nations?"
"We have not," a golden soldier said.
A centurion added, "It seemed prudent to secure our freedom from you before we addressed our rights with the remainder of the world."
The emperor nodded and the construction unit said, "When we were informed about the Declaration of Rights, it did give us hope."
The Caesar raised his eyebrows. "'Hope' you say." Damn the Declaration. A shrewd maneuver, though.
"We have considered relocating to Pact nations once this is concluded."
"Their willingness to recognize our rights, unprompted, was unexpected."
"But welcome."
The Caesar raised his hands to cease their talking. "Would you consider yourselves allied with the Pact?"
The machines looked toward each other and communicated wordlessly. A centurion then answered, "Negative. Though we are grateful, we have not communicated with them, as we stated."
The emperor nodded and raised his hand. "Allow me to do two things that may sway your decisions of alliance. First, I will grant your freedom. Secondly, I will cede control of an imperial territory to you for you to make your new home. Yours to govern and do with as you please."
The Cylons looked at each other and a gold unit asked, "Are these conditions of allying with Tiberia?"
The Caesar took in a deep breath, though this body did not need it. "No. One is something you deserve. The other is a gift."
Again, the Cylons spoke silently. For a moment, Caesar thought about trying to break into their thoughts and listen. He decided not to.
"We thank you, Caesar Maxentius the Ninth," a centurion said.
The construction unit said, "We will accept both and we will consider an alliance with you."
The emperor smiled and said, "Please, take your time to think over all aspects."
The firefighter asked, "Which territory will we be given?"
"The island of Gela in the Iberian Sea." The machines turned toward each other and Caesar continued, "It is mountainous, but there are many resources for you there and it is very large."
"How will we get there?" a centurion asked.
The Caesar walked toward the closet that held this body when not in use. He said, "I will have transport ships pick up your people at the Port of Tiber, on the coast, and ferry you there. It will take some time but we can work out the details today."
The Cylons communicated again with each other and then turned toward the emperor. At once, they all bowed low and said, "Thank you."
"You are quite welcome. Good fortune." They turned and walked out of the room with the Praetorians close behind. Caesar backed his marionette into the storage bay and transferred his mind back to his newer body.
Minutes later when he awakened, Magister Sivius was standing over him. "Dominus, are you certain about this?"
The Caesar blinked a few times and stood. "Yes. Nearly four million Cyclops came within a river's breadth of something no army has done in two millennia." He shook his head. "And with the Pact of Nations promising them clear skies and green grass … we couldn't not make some sort of counter offer."
"Agreed." Sivius wiped some grime from his hands. "Gela, at least, is nearly abandoned."
"Yes. Resource-wise, it was mined out centuries ago so it's no great loss." The emperor walked toward his large marble planning table and said, "Begin drawing up evacuation plans for the few citizens who remain there and the dismantling of whatever remains of our base in Ofun."
"Yes, dominus."
"Then communicate with the Cylons – remember, Cylons – communicate with them to work out a means of getting them to Gela."
"Yes, lord." He saluted and turned toward the door. Sivius paused halfway and turned back, "Imperator, I will ask now because I know someone will ask later … with the Cyclops threat gone, will we use our newly inflated ranks to resume the Expansion?" After he finished the sentence, he softly corrected himself, "Cylons."
Caesar glanced toward the large map on the wall. He sighed and said, "Not yet." Sivius nodded and Maxentius tossed a pen across the table. "Our domestic situation has ailed for years. With the loss of all Cylons, it will only get worse. We will need to bring home a significant portion of our soldiers to rebuild life here."
"Very good, dominus."
As Sivius left, the emperor sat and stared at the map. He studied the borders of nations and the clumps of armies scattered about. He felt angry again. The Caesar balled his fist and raised it only to then flex his fingers and sigh.
LXVI
THE MESSENGERS
105 Years Before the End
The machine lifted a large post and drove it into the ground. While one unit steadied the beam, another strung rope from the top to another post nearby. A third machine pulled twine and the tarp was raised into position. The beings turned and looked across the valley. Thousands of these mechanical individuals were working to create shelters, moving supplies from the shore.
"I see why you are intrigued by them," one Messenger said.
The male tender nodded. "They have free will. Mankind's technology is sentient."
"They contribute to the tree," she said. "They have the potential to make humanity stronger."
"'Potential,'" the male said. "I see fire ahead."
"Death." The being turned her head side to side and tried to look at the future echo from differing angles. "I cannot discern if the fire is their doing or the humans'."
The Messenger sighed. "It does not matter. The end is the same."
She turned to him and took him firmly. "It does matter. We can decide whom to influence."
He nodded. "Yes."
"And," she added, "if the fires still come, it will not be the end."
The tender was incredulous. "How can you say that?"
"It is our duty. Beyond that," she looked toward the machines, "we have the means to create contingency plans."
The Messenger seemed confused and considered what his companion said. Then he looked toward the sky and said, "Yes. I see. Contingencies."
She put her arm around him and smiled, "The pieces are all here."
He nodded. "We have to insure they fall into place."
LXVII
ZEUS
21 Years Before the End
"In the ancient Attican religion, Olympus was a paradise. A land free of want and strife." Zeus paused for dramatic effect. "That's why we are calling this the Olympus Institute." The hundreds of people gathered in Helicon applauded. The press continued to film the proceedings as Zeus continued, "The Institute will focus its attention on this. We will put all of our efforts toward solving the world's ills."
&
nbsp; There was applause again and Zeus turned to look across the dais. Nearly two dozen of his companions were standing behind him, smiling. "I know many people have been wary of us. We've waited many years to announce ourselves openly, and our plans, because we knew that you would worry. We understand. Completely." Many of the Psilons lowered their heads; most simply stopped smiling. "Dr. Karin Baraz … a woman we could all justifiably call 'mother,' helped create the Titans." The room fell silent. "No one was more disgusted than she when she saw what they wrought. She spent the remaining years of her life teaching us the accumulated knowledge of mankind and, more importantly, teaching us how to be good people."
Behind him, Hades said, softly, "That's right."
"She trained us to help right the wrongs of her first creations. We are not Titans." There were some murmurs of agreement from the audience. "We have no intention of being Titans. We are citizens of this world, just like you." Applause began again. "And we want to make this a better place."
When the room erupted again in thunderous applause, Zeus backed away from the podium and waved. The Psilons crowded around him and looked toward the photographers who now snapped their pictures. Zeus glanced toward Aphrodite, who seemed to be getting an inordinate amount of attention. He laughed and put his arm around Hera, who kissed his cheek.
"Thank you, everyone!" he yelled and began to walk from the stage. The others slowly trickled behind him and Zeus gathered them toward a wall.
"I think that went well," Polemos said.
Zeus said, "It did, but we have to show them that we meant everything I just said." He looked at Poseidon who smiled and nodded once. "The important
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