by Peter Ponzo
David paused, frowned then looked at Susan as though he wanted her to say something.
"Gordon," Susan continued, "there were eruptions on Earth, sulphur compounds in the atmosphere, light reflected back to space, planetary cooling, then massive amounts of carbon dioxide, acidification of the oceans..."
"Wait!" I said. "Is everyone...everything dead?"
"No," Susan said, "but much of the planet is scorched and geological features modified, disturbed. The magma chamber below Yellowstone Park, it burst. Beneath the park, a plume of superheated rock rising from Earth's mantle, a super volcano. The ejecta, the tons of pumice, it spread about the globe. Iceland, with its large volcanic system, located on a divergent tectonic plate, it was hit hard. The San Andreas fault–that was inevitable."
Susan seemed distraught, her words chaotic, spurting, frenzied.
"And the massive rock slab of the Canary Islands, the volcano Cumbre Vieja erupted, the western flank of the mountain broke off, slid into the ocean, a hundred meter super tsunami, travelling at six hundred kilometers an hour, inundating Eastern North America and Brazil and the Atlantic coast of Europe. Many life forms on the planet have died."
She paused to collect herself, then continued.
"But...the solar eruption had been predicted by cosmologists and many have been saved," David said.
"Saved? On a scorched and volcanic Earth?" I asked.
"Well, no," David replied. "With Uruk's help - in the Mariana Trench."
Part 7.2
It was the next morning before I understood what had happened and what the swarm of Godships had planned. David and Susan were sipping coffee, nibbling on burnt toast and talking to each other in a low voice. Tiesha was silent, drinking some yellow liquid which looked like lemon juice. I ate nothing, waiting for further explanation.
"So?" I asked. "How will this work, this Godship mission?"
David stopped talking to Susan and turned to me.
"Ah, Gordon my boy. There is a population living within a dome beneath the sea. They are quite advanced, want for nothing, but they are trapped. Part of the dome is, in fact, the Godship Uruk. It provides for them as our Godship provides for us. The humans living there need to evolve, to accommodate to the ocean environment. It is something that Gilgamesh and others in the fleet are..."
"Wait! Are you talking about turning humans into fish?"
"Fish? Hardly. I'm talking about humans with gills, so they can extract oxygen from water, escape the confines of their dome. It is something the Godships have been working on for some time. You must have realized that your android proxy, Gill, was such an experiment. Indeed, there is a place on board Gilgamesh that houses aquamen, an aquatic species and an almost-solution to the problem."
"I saw a room filled with water, when I was looking for the natives of Panama. I assume that was it."
"Yes, Gordon, that was it. It is not perfect, but other Godships are devising other solutions. Remember, a human fetus does have gill-like structures similar to those in fish. However, in humans, these branchial clefts develop into jaws and ears, not gills as they do in fish. And some fish, like Betta splendens, the Siamese fighting fish, can do both–breathe in water and air. They have an organ which can extract oxygen from the air as well as from water through the gills. One day humans will be able to do the same."
"But why would the Godships care about life, or lack thereof, on Earth?"
David frowned, then stared at me as though I were a child.
"Gordon, my boy, we have been nurturing life for billions of years, since the oceans were first seeded with organic molecules and the first single-celled protozoa formed. It is our duty to continue to monitor and, when necessary, support its evolution. Now there is a great need for intervention and Godships have gathered from every corner of the cosmos to assist."
"Are you saying that life on Earth is the result of Godship initiative?"
"Of course. Gordon my boy, how did you think life formed on Earth? Simply from haphazard molecular collisions, random genetic variations, survival of the fittest? Yes, of course, those mechanism were involved, but guided...always guided. Now, our guidance is sorely needed."
David clasped his hands together as though praying. He brushed his hair, pulled at his nose, scratched his chin, seemed distracted.
"You keep saying 'we'," I said, "as though you're part of this Godship thing."
David looked puzzled.
"But, Gordon, I am part of this Godship. I assumed you knew that. Did you think I was still that haggard old drunk you first met on planet Earth? I have evolved, matured, become one with this vessel and I see clearly through the eyes of God."
I looked at Susan. She was gazing at David with respect and awe and, it seemed, abundant affection.
"So it is a God that motivates the Godships?" I asked.
Susan patted me on the shoulder as though I were a student. I hated that!
"Yes, Gordon. These vessels carry the word."
"The word? Are you speaking of the scriptures, like the Christian bible?" I asked.
"No, of course not," she said. "The Christian holy books, those of Judaism and Islam, the Analects of Confucius, the Vedas of Hinduism–they were all written by humans, humans with human frailties, human flights of fancy and imagination. In the Old Testament of Christianity and Judaism, humans influenced by war and evil and chaos. In the New Testament of Christianity, Humans influenced by love and understanding. Not an eye for an eye. Neither turn the other cheek. And man created a God in his own image."
Susan seemed wrapped in reverence, her eyes merely slits, her cheeks pink with emotion.
"No, Gordon," she continued, "I'm not speaking of any holy book. I'm speaking of the engine of the universe, the prime motivator, the premier entity, the God-creator of all things."
"And why doesn't this creator help the people in the Mariana Trench? Why us? Why the Godships? If it's so all-powerful, why doesn't this God...?"
"Gordon, you still think of God as a biblical construct, a being who answers prayers, oversees human conduct, provides messengers to influence human behavior. No, I am speaking of a God that sets universes in motion, provides rules by which natural processes proceed, a God that is just as interested in remote galaxies as planet Earth."
"But why are we being asked to assist?" I said. I found the notion of such a God unsettling. "Why does this God need our help?"
Susan saw that I was struggling to understand.
"Gordon," she said, "God employs every conceivable mechanism for the unfolding of the cosmos. Physical laws, yes, of course, but guidance as well. Man often recognizes his intervention as miracles. It's as though the universe, as we now see it, is a divine experiment. It is the latest of many such trials. In each, God makes adjustments, minor adjustments, minimal interference in order to observe, in this trial universe, the development and interaction of matter and energy–and life. In this trial universe, Godships assist him in his work. That, my dear, is why we are going to Earth. Our Godship is needed."
David was leaning back in his chair. He seemed eager to contribute to my understanding. I was now quite frustrated with the lecture I was getting.
"Gordon, my boy," he said, "we are the emissaries of God, here to do his bidding as revealed through the Godships."
I was confused. "I understood that the Godships were searching for their creator. Was I wrong?"
"Ah, Gordon," David said. "I too thought our quest was for a creator, a super-human entity. But every day brings me new knowledge, new understanding. The Godships know God, their creator. They wander the galaxies to do good works, to give glory to the creator of all things. They are the right hand of God."
I looked from David to Susan and back. They both seemed content to accept this explanation for the Godships. It didn't seem likely to me. A God that creates material things to do his work–like Godships? Why? If he is omnipotent, he should just wave his hand–if he has a hand. And a 'trial universe'? Does that mean that God h
as created others? However, much of what I've seen on the Godships seem to violate physical laws. The contraction and expansion of the vessel, the manipulation of gravity, the collection of black holes as cargo, the vanishing of starlight about the ship, speeds greater than light speed, the ability to move through alternate spaces.
I guess that a God would be able to accomplish that. Nevertheless, there must be a simpler explanation. Humans don't know everything, do they? There must be many things still unknown, still to be discovered, still a mystery. One day all will be clear–perhaps. In the meantime I think David and Susan are being brainwashed by our Godship. The scar on Susan's neck and the tiny wires. She is surely being manipulated. The Godships practice evangelism. They are missionaries. They must have a creator, but it is not a super being, not a God. I was now certain of that. It was something else...but what?
Part 7.3
I spent a great deal of time sitting in a chair, in the alcove, staring out the window at the Godship fleet. At times they were indistinguishable from stars. Sometimes, it seemed we were moving very slowly–almost stationary. At one point I thought I recognized the rings of Saturn. I guess that's the only planet I'd recognize–except Earth, of course. Mostly I was deep in thought, trying to imagine what it'd be like when we arrive, what our mission was, precisely. Would we actually descend to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean? Would we enter some structure that housed a population which survived the solar holocaust and mass extermination? Were there other such places of refuge on the planet? If so, where? On the surface or beneath the sea?
In particular, I worried about Susan and our relationship. If she were becoming a component of the Godship, could that be reversed and, if so, would she become the old Susan that I married–and loved? Could we start anew, perhaps beneath the sea? And what of David? Would he eventually leave with the Godship when our mission was accomplished?
"I'm afraid we have just one more stop before we arrive at the third planet."
I turned and saw David, dressed in a dark gray suit and purple cravat, standing by the far wall. The lighting on board was usually quite dim except in the mornings. The Godship, in order to create the illusion of a new day, filled rooms with a glowing pink light each morning. It didn't last long; just until breakfast. Now, however, our room was quite dim.
"One more stop?" I asked. "Before Earth?"
"Yes, my boy. It's been an interesting journey, so far. We avoided several quasars, several destructive radiation belts, countless meteorites, we have entered the Milky Way, avoiding the central black hole and we've made our way to the solar system. They were rather simple tasks for our Godship. Now we will pay a visit to the largest moon of Jupiter, Ganymede to be specific. In fact, it’s the largest moon in the solar system, slightly larger than the planet Mercury. There is a small settlement there, the only surviving colony of those that escaped the devastated Earth to build a new life on a Jovian moon. Alas, all other settlements succumbed to an inhospitable climate. Even the settlement on Ganymede had to solve the problem of living on a moon with surface temperatures hundreds of degrees below zero. However, I think...I hope we will find that they are now thriving."
"Do they need our help?" I asked. "Are we going to modify them genetically, so they can adapt to..."
"No, no, not at all. It is...what shall I say? It's a social call. Just to see if there is anything we can provide, what problems they are having, to find out what Earth was like when they embarked on their journey to Jupiter. We will stay a day or two, not longer. In fact, it was Gill who suggested that we pay them a visit. Had he not done so, I suspect that Gilgamesh would have continued directly to Earth."
I was puzzled. What influence did my synthetic surrogate have over the Godship? Could he actually cause the vessel to make a pit stop at Ganymede?
"Can Gill do that?" I asked.
David smiled...a very insubstantial smile.
"Well, it may seem strange, but Gilgamesh seems to have taken a liking to that android. If Gill feels that some event should take place, the Godship seems to oblige."
David paused and scratched his chin.
"The other day," he continued, "Susan was asking Gill if any of the people who survived on Ganymede were struggling to endure. Gill immediately said 'Let's find out!' and I could feel that the Godship was changing course. I have a feeling that Gill will eventually be the human eyes and ears of our ship. I...uh, actually thought that I was to play that role."
David looked somber. I think he really didn't like that android; Gill the usurper.
"Then, after we're finished with the mission on Earth, will you leave with the Godship?"
"Alas, that is not my decision to make. However, I will know God's pleasure soon enough."
"Hello you two."
It was Susan, dressed in a heavy brown sweater and light blue slacks. She looked delicious. She smiled and I saw that her uneven teeth had straightened out. In fact, her teeth were brilliant and her smile radiant and her complexion exquisite. I didn't really think it was possible, or even desirable, but Godship had made major improvements and they were good.
"Hi Susan," I said. "We'll be visiting Ganymede, the largest moon of Jupiter, one that..."
"Yes, isn't it exciting? When Gill mentioned that a colony was on this moon I asked how they were doing and poof! Now we're going there to find out, so I'm wearing something warm. Did you know that Ganymede's temperature can drop to eighty degrees Kelvin? That's almost two hundred degrees below zero, Celsius. Where we'll be, when we go down, it's all solid ice."
She came to the alcove, gave me a quick peck on the cheek then looked out the window. Looking over her shoulder I could see the pale brown image of the Jovian moon.
"We're here already?" I was surprised.
I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"We are the early bird and will catch the annelid."
I turned to see a smiling Gill.
"We will visit the colony on Uruk Sulcus," Gill said. "I don't know why Earthlings picked that region of the moon to establish their colony. There were other more suitable places."
"Uruk Sulcus?" I said. "Not again. That name is everywhere. Why so popular?"
"Aah," said Gill, warming to his response. "Did you know that Uruk was an ancient city in Babylon, ruled by the king Gilgamesh, mentioned in Genesis, in the Christian bible and..."
"Yes, I did know that," I said, realizing that I only knew a fragment. But Gill was sometimes so damn professorial.
"And Sulcus," Gill continued, "is a furrow and refers to the fact that this moon's surface, at that location, is grooved. The grooves, I suspect, were convenient when designing a colony abode."
David came to the window and it widened so that all four of us could stand and watch the approaching moon.
"Will we go down in that sphere, like we did last time?" I asked.
David and Gill answered simultaneously.
"No...molecular beam decomposition...reconstruction..."
"Please," I said, "one at a time."
Gill stepped away from the window and David continued.
"The four of us will go down in the same way you came up to the Godship. Our bodies will be analyzed and beamed to the surface molecule by molecule then reassembled there. You won't feel anything except a slight dizziness. In fact, I think we will be beaming down very shortly."
David looked at Gill and Gill nodded.
"In a half hour," Gill said. "You needn't dress warmly. The temperature within the colony coffers is quite temperate."
Part 7.3
We gathered together near the alcove and, after a minute, Gill waved his hand as though he was signaling that we were ready. I saw the others fade and I felt the dizziness I recalled from previous excursions. I closed my eyes and when I opened them we were standing in some sort of hallway. When I looked around I could see that the hall extended for perhaps a hundred meters in each direction, with a door at each end.
"Come," said Gill. "We'll surprise our Ganymede hosts."
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"Be careful how you walk," David warned us. "Gravity is very low, about one-seventh Earth gravity."
"Do you mean the people here, they don't know we're coming?" I asked.
"Well," David said, "they do know, but it'll still be a surprise, nevertheless."
Gill headed for one of the doors with a gait that was more like sliding than walking. When I began walking I, too, found it was better to slide, like skating. Normal walking resulted in rather large hops. I followed Gill, imitating his movement. I hadn't noticed before, but I could see that he was carrying what looked like a cloth bag. Gill placed his hand on the door and it slid aside and I could feel a warm rush of air. Beyond the door there was a rather large room with plastic chairs and tables and walls covered in shelves filled with books. It appeared to be a library.
"Nobody's here," Susan said. "Maybe we can ring a bell...if we had a bell."
Gill looked at Susan. "Ah, Susan," he said, grinning. "Your face rings a bell." I hated that grin.
"Very funny," Susan said. "Hey! There's somebody!"
Susan pointed to the far wall and we saw a man come into the room. He was deep in thought, listening to an audio book, the plugs visible in his ear. He didn't notice us until he was quite close. When he looked up he dropped the book and the earplugs fell to the floor.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you here," he said, stooping to pick up the book. "Clumsy of me."
He placed the book on a shelf and began to walk back to the door.
"Wait," Susan said. "We're strangers and would like to ask you some questions–if that's all right with you."
"Strangers?" he said. "From Coffin 7 I presume."
"Coffin 7" I asked. "Where's that?"
The fellow leaned forward and stared at each of us. We could see that his face was very pale, almost white and he was extremely tall and frail, with very little wispy hair on his head.
