The Gods Who Chose Us

by Michael J Roy

  “The vibration would wiggle across space and likely destabilize other wormholes. The only way to keep a wormhole open at that point would be to feed it sufficient energy at the moment of the disturbance, but we certainly don’t have that technology as it requires us to make constant measurements on the boundary of space itself. Acting too soon would result in drastically widening the wormhole and too late would mean the energy would simply create a new tear in space.”

  Dionysus realized he was pacing, talking to the ground and waving his hands in the air. He looked up and saw a dumbfounded Zetes. “Just understand that at least one person from a year from what we call ‘now’ reconfigured the present moment, and when they destroyed the Chronos Passage they used all our other passages collapsed as well.”

  “Ok…is it possible they just closed off a series of these passages across our galaxy, and potentially in others?”

  “Great question! Sort of. Certainly not outside our galaxy—the shockwave would have dissipated too much. It’s actually possible the repercussion scatters to essentially nothing by the time it reaches halfway across our galaxy, but this is all still theoretical.”

  Zetes smiled and looked like a child whose father was pretending to be impressed with their scribbled pictures. He looked back to the cockpit window. “I now know enough about Chronos Passages to last me a lifetime. What else do I need to know?”

  “Good. Now, we had three research bases near Earth, and my guess is they are all destroyed—we’ve had no contact with them since Athena sent her message. The facilities contain the results from the experiments, which is what Athena was originally sent to pick up.”

  “Because transferring them any other way wasn’t secure enough?”

  “Exactly. If anything was left at those facilities then there’s no doubt Athena already collected it. Hopefully, she found something; otherwise, there are only a few people—including myself—that know enough about what was going out there, as well as what’s occurring on Earth now, to piece together a workable solution to use in place of the results.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what sorts of experiments were going on there? I’m a bit surprised that the Council finds any experiments on humans to be essential to our long-term survival.”

  “They regard loyalty and allegiance. I might as well try to explain to you as much as I can in case you’re the only one that survives this little errand. We won’t get a second chance at this.” Well, not this time.

  Act II, Chapter 12

  Rendezvous

  Location: Iceland

  Vili left Lugh alone at the inn and went to investigate the sightings of a starship in Iceland. He buried thoughts of the Aesirian mythology on Earth and focused on the task at hand. The reports over the news indicated an “alien” spaceship was seen at his rendezvous point; although, Vili wasn’t sure if it was his team or an Olympian who would be waiting for him. As a precaution, he carried his weapons in a duffle bag across his chest.

  The distance to the rendezvous point, Krysuvikurberg Cliffs, was only 25 kilometers away, so Vili decided to run. The sun was still in the sky, but he wouldn’t have much time before nightfall. He followed a single lane dirt road, less than 500 meters from the rocky coast. The road led out of town and eventually placed Vili in hilly plains. The ground was a mixture of sparse green grass and light brown dirt for as far as Vili could see. After about an hour of running along the coast, he arrived at the cliffs.

  Krysuvikurberg’s coast stretched above the ocean tens of meters high. The cliff-face was flat, as if a knife cut through the land like cake; revealing neatly layered rustic red and light grey rock inside. Each plane contained volumes of geological information about the past, exposed for everyone to see.

  Vili scanned the short green grass that grew over the cliffs, looking for his team. A kilometer or so away he saw Sigyn sitting on the edge of the rock. She was clutching her gun and staring out over the ocean. Vili started running toward her and waving his arms. “Sigyn! Are you okay?”

  She didn’t turn to face him until he was within speaking distance. He noticed her eyes were bloodshot and her face was damp from tears. “Is Loki okay?”

  “I don’t know,” Sigyn replied as her eyes became glassy again.

  Vili put his hand on her shoulder. “Tell me what happened.”

  Sigyn took a deep breath and exhaled: “There are at least two Olympians on Earth, or at least there were. We tracked them to two facilities in Peru, but by the time we got to the second one there was only one Olympian there—the other flew into space.

  “The Olympian that was at the site in Peru detected our ship and confronted us. It was Atlas—I guess the Council lied when they said he died.

  “Loki’s net trapped him long enough for us to take both our ship and his. Loki said he was going to take Atlas’ Linter and try to distract him while I flew up here to find you. I haven’t seen or heard from him since. I’m not even sure he made it out of Peru without crashing. Atlas was so close to him …” Sigyn tensed her jaw, clearly holding back her emotions.

  Vili stood up straight and looked her in the eye. “Sigyn, great work. You did exactly as you should have. I’m sure Loki is fine—there hasn’t been any news to indicate otherwise.

  “Given what you said, and what was reported, it would seem that the Olympian that went into space was shot out of the sky by Skadi’s forces. Atlas likely never caught up to Loki, based on the fact that no broadcasts have indicated another incident. The only reports that came in from Peru described unusual earthquakes in the area around Pachacamac—I’m guessing that’s where you battled Atlas?”

  Sigyn nodded.

  “The earthquakes followed after a video of ships flying out of the area. I think that was Atlas acting out of rage or trying to dig his way into a facility. Either way, I think Loki made it out of there alive.”

  Sigyn exhaled and collapsed to her hands and knees. After a few moments, she sat back and looked out over the ocean.

  “But don’t be surprised if he doesn’t show up here. You and I both know Loki could have ulterior motives for accepting this mission, deeper than simply wanting to explore old research facilities,” Vili said.

  “Yeah, Odin wanted me to keep an eye on him—I’m sure you knew that. Loki did show bouts of curiosity here and there about exploring the facilities, but nothing that was too out of the ordinary for him. I think he’s dedicated to the mission. Well, as dedicated as is possible for him.”

  Vili sighed. “I’m not sure. He seemed too eager to do this—too much excitement in his eyes. Of course, we knew his unique knowledge of ancient research sites and genetic augmentations would be useful. But truth be told, we wouldn’t have allowed him to come if you didn’t agree.”

  “Why is that?” Sigyn asked, surprise replacing melancholy in her tone.

  “His skillsets are useless if he doesn’t take direction. We thought, given your history with him, that your presence would keep him dedicated to the mission, or at least, as you said, as dedicated as he can be.”

  Sigyn stood up and brushed herself off. “My ‘history’ with him? What’s that supposed to mean?” she said sharply.

  Vili put up his hands. “Sigyn, I’m not implying anything. We just know you two are close, and you are possibly the only person Loki doesn’t secretly despise.”

  Sigyn turned back to the ocean. “Yeah, we were—are—close by Loki’s standards. You know, I was the only one to visit him in the hospital toward the end of his flight training on Valhalla.”

  “Is that the time he wrecked the Baldur?”

  “Yeah.” Sigyn’s disposition shifted to one of fond remembrance of a deceased friend. She smiled and continued. “Loki’s piloting abilities fed his ego back then. Frigg, his flight instructor, recognized him as above average, but certainly no standout. Not like Heimdallr, or, as Loki used to call him, “the sanctimonious lackey.”

  “Frigg appointed Heimdallr as the lead pilot for the graduation flight demonstra
tion. Loki was furious. Aesir’s naval leadership—from first class Sjors to the acting Olfossa—was going to be present, and Loki wanted his proper recognition. He thought it’d be smart to steal Frigg’s coveted, historical ship, the Baldur, and use that as his vehicle for the demonstration.

  “I can still remember his rationale: ‘Sig, only the best pilots can fly an outdated craft like Baldur—hell, it doesn’t even have biometric recognition and auditory voice commands, just some archaic physical key entry and ignition system. And Frigg won’t say anything—she won’t want her colleagues to know she let some student steal her most prized possession. A piece of history no less!’”

  Vili felt an urge to find Loki, and hit him. “The Baldur was one of the few remaining extant military craft prior to our struggle with Olympia. Every Aesir cherished it as an uncorrupted piece of us.”

  “Not Loki. He found the design—4 wings sticking out from a simple, cylindrical fuselage—more of a reminder of how unsophisticated our people used to be.

  “Anyway, you know the rest: he crashed the Baldur while attempting to land, severely injuring himself in the process: a massive head injury that took a long time to heal, even with modifications. It caused him so much pain, but no one seemed to care. At some point during the end of his hospital stay I adopted the role of caregiver—changing his bandages and making him comfortable—because even the medical staff didn’t want to be around him.”

  “I can’t blame them. It was a stupid prank.”

  “Prank or not, he was in pain and I was the only one there to visit him.” Sigyn turned back to face Vili. “You’re wrong. He’ll meet us here.”

  “I hope you’re right. Come on. We should head back to the inn I’m staying at. I’ve found a Descendant and Earth has been organizing in response to what we’ve been doing. Have you heard about the COPUOS body within the ‘United Nations’ on this planet?”

  Sigyn looked confused. “I’ve heard those words mentioned during broadcasts, but I lack detailed knowledge of their purpose and structure.”

  “We have a lot to discuss. Let’s head to town so you can meet Lugh.”

  * * *

  Sigyn followed Vili back toward the inn, allowing him to set the pace of their jog. He was filling her in on Lugh and the drastic measures the humans took to keep their planet from falling apart.

  “They are threatening death for such a minor offense?” Sigyn said in surprise.

  “Yeah. I can’t pretend to understand human society, but maybe it’s what’s required to keep the peace.”

  “Unlikely. Sounds barbaric. We’d never do that,” Sigyn’s disgust with such primitive justice was profound.

  “This may sound hypocritical, but can you really hold humans to our standards? They may have a different moral nature, or simply be less evolved than us.”

  Sigyn didn’t want to engage in another ethics discussion after her argument with Loki. “Maybe. But are these the humans we need to negotiate and interface with?”

  Vili paused. “…Yes. I’ve been watching them closely. Other than a few emotional outbursts and believing in notions with little evidence behind them, they seem reasonable enough. Their exaggerated intra-species tribalism, delineated by nations, seems to be slowly eroding as the humans come together under COPUOS, which is encouraging,” Vili said in-between breaths. “As a last resort, if they refuse to cooperate, we can always threaten their leaders with the same punishment they’re promising their citizens.”

  Sigyn smiled back. “From what Loki and I gathered, there are definitely portions of the population that would welcome the removal of their leaders. And speaking of tribalism, Loki got the sense that humans have erratic and strong allegiances in almost all areas of life—sports, politics, anything really.”

  “I can see that. They also seem abnormally advanced from what I’ve gathered.”

  “Yeah, in about ten thousand years they went from hardly any established settlements to infrastructure covering the globe and satellites orbiting the Earth,” Sigyn said, pausing to pant. “I’m interested in seeing how far their purely theoretical work has come. I’m also interested in the Descendant you found—is Lugh the only one so far?”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t spent a lot of time looking. I really only needed to find one before the Svalinn shield dropped.”

  “Have you unlocked his genes?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened? Was it painful? Any clear improvements?” Sigyn’s mind flooded with unasked questions she knew were too technical for Vili, but she was suddenly desperate for any information he could give her.

  “It caused him a lot of discomfort—pain, vomiting, and a fever. But he’s fine now. He definitely appears to have a warrior’s advantages, strength, speed and a heightened recall for tactical thinking. Will you be able to test his blood for the specific augmentation?”

  “Yes, but I’ll first need to build some equipment based on recommendations from the Hephaestus box, so it may take some time.” I can’t believe it actually worked! And to think how many humans have lived and died with these latent improvements…

  “Understood. An odd piece of information that Lugh shared with me—and I honestly still don’t know what to make of it—was that Earth has legends of the Aesir. He knew the names ‘Valhalla,’ ‘Odin,’, ‘Loki,’ and ‘Thor.’” Sigyn saw Vili’s eyes slightly narrow as his voice slowed. “He didn’t know of Ve or me. Earth’s stories only reference us in relation to Odin, but nothing more.”

  Sigyn slowed her jog to a complete halt. “Did you read any of these stories? Are they accurate? How do humans have folklore about us?”

  “I haven’t looked into specific tales, but the few descriptions Lugh shared indicate a clear parallel to our society, albeit with some severe exaggerations, such as Odin’s legacy. No doubt these were planted by the Olympians. As for why, I’m not sure.”

  Sigyn nodded. “This is unsettling. I’ll speak with Lugh further about it.”

  * * *

  By the time Sigyn and Vili arrived back near the inn, the sun was dipping below the horizon, briefly filling the sky with an orange-red glow. The sunlight danced around the thin strips of clouds that gracefully wandered out to a calm sea. The town was quiet and the streets were empty, slowly reverting back to its old self, before humans realized they weren’t alone.

  As they approached the inn, Vili grabbed Sigyn by the arm and pulled her behind one of the few buildings on the block.

  “What was that for?” Sigyn asked.

  “Did you see the woman talking on the comm device in front of the hotel?”

  “I think they’re called ‘phones’ on Earth, but yes.”

  “She’s a Descendant.”

  Sigyn’s eyes widened. “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I got lucky with Lugh—I struck up a conversation with him while drinking alcohol. Any ideas on how to approach the woman in front of the inn?”

  Sigyn took a moment to think. “I could say I just got to town and am looking for a good place to eat? Maybe try to convince her to come with me? If nothing else, I should be able to start gaining her trust.”

  “Great. Let’s get going. You go first—I don’t know how long she’ll be out there. I’ll follow in a few minutes—don’t act like you know me. I’ll walk right past you guys and straight to my room. It’s number 110. Meet me there when you’re done.”

  Sigyn briskly approached the door and heard the woman ending her phone call, spoken in Chinese, one of the five most common languages used on Earth. Good, I can communicate with her. Her voice was gentle and slow, patiently allowing her words to float out one by one and capture the listener’s attention. “Don’t worry, mom. I’ll fly home soon. Love you.” Sigyn hesitated by the door for a second and turned around. “Hey, do you know anywhere good around here to eat? I just got here and I’m starving.”

  The woman began to respond as she turned to face Sigyn. She was a little taller than Sigyn, just as thin, and let
her thick, straight black hair fall far below her shoulders. “Yeah, I—” She stopped speaking and stared at Sigyn.

  * * *

  Wen Shi focused her attention on the delicate-looking stranger. “Your Chinese is amazing. Where are you from?” She was not prone to be judgmental, but she had rarely, if ever, heard such perfect and fluent Chinese from a non-native speaker.

  The question appeared to catch the woman off-guard, she threw her hands up and her eyes darted to the left. “Uh Peru, but I travel a lot.”

  Wen Shi was slowly becoming wary, but something was urging her to unravel the mystery of this stranger. This woman, who quiet simply didn’t look like she should speak such beautiful Chinese, also didn’t look like she was from Peru. Start subtle, and see where the conversation goes. “I travel a lot too, is this your first time in Iceland?”

  “Yep!”

  “Where else in Iceland have you been?”

  “Oh, this is my first stop.”

  “So you decided to start your journey in this sleepy town, away from any major airports?” None of this is sitting right.

  “Yeah I guess I go where the wind takes me. Anyway, it sounds like you know the area well—any food recommendations?”

  As Wen Shi was about to speak, a prodigious figure walked into the hotel. Wen Shi saw the woman send a familiar glance his way. That’s a look of help…

  Wen Shi yawned and responded, a bit more intrigued now, and switched her language to English. “I’ve visited this place a lot going back and forth between work and home. What kind of food are you in the mood for?”

  She noticed the woman didn’t yawn back and seemed to have trouble with the question, but she did seamlessly flip her response to a letter perfect, completely unaccented English. “What kind of food? Uh, food from the sea?”

  Given the recent developments that were dominating the news, Wen Shi had an inkling that this petite woman wasn’t of this world, but wasn’t threatened by that notion either. She didn’t show any signs of reciprocal yawning, but didn’t seem like a psychopath. She spoke Chinese and English perfectly, and claimed to be from Peru, but didn’t seem well-traveled or look like a Peruvian native. Her facial expression to that unnaturally large fellow indicated she knew him, but otherwise didn’t act like she had ever seen him before. She claimed to have just arrived, but didn’t have any luggage. And she was having trouble with basic questions.