Strange Cosmology

by Alex Raizman

  Ha! I’m better at math than you, Ryan thought with a surge of exaltation. The woman snarled and held up her hand again, ready to try another attack…but nothing happened. Her eyes widened in shock.

  Realization struck Ryan, and he shouted, “Anansi! Their harnesses give them powers!” The woman hoisted her assault rifle, opening fire, but Ryan was already rolling and twisting, gathering a lightning bolt of his own.

  HIs remaining empowered opponent had vanished, so Ryan tossed the lightning at Anansi’s attackers. It split in two, targeting both of them. The tall man held out his hands and grounded the bolt with a positive charge on the floor - Shit, they learn quick - and the squat man simply tossed his rifle at the attack, letting it intercept the bolt.

  Anansi saw the opening. The spider-god leapt the distance between himself and the tall soldier, landing with his feet on the man’s shoulders. The soldier brought up his hands to try and ward off Anansi’s attack, but he was too slow - twin daggers lanced down and plunged into the harness. Anansi kicked off the soldier, sending him to the floor while Anansi flipped away. The harness went dead, and Ryan let out an excited whoop. The odds had just changed completely. One on one, and he and Anansi knew their opponents’ weaknesses.

  “Fall back!” The man who had been attacking Ryan shouted. “Fall back now!” He hurled another canister of tear gas towards Ryan and Anansi.

  Ryan rolled his eyes and stepped into the spreading cloud. Tear gas didn’t work, you haven’t realized that yet? He could see the commander was twisting equations and prepared to counteract whatever attack the man threw. Right now the soldier was altering molecular formulas. What are you hoping to accomplish? Ryan wondered. The commander was turning the main component of the tear gas, 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, into a much simpler formula. CH4.

  I know that compound. CH4. It’s...Methane! Ryan snapped his fingers in excitement at placing it.

  Then his face fell as it hit him. Methane.

  Shit.

  Ryan and Anansi both saw the woman open fire into the cloud and desperately grasped onto threads of reality. The first few rounds did nothing, but the fifth or sixth round struck something metal, which produced a spark. That spark found the methane and did what heat and methane were known to do best, which was exploding with enough force to demolish the building they were in, sending the roof briefly upwards before it collapsed down on the two gods.

  Ryan’s last-second barrier was enough to keep him safe, but it was a near thing. “Anansi?” Ryan gasped, straining against the weight of the rubble.

  He heard a reply, though he couldn’t make out what Anansi said. Ryan dropped his barrier and zeroed out gravity for everything except himself, making the rubble weightless. It was still a complicated process to push his way through, as chunks of the building kept bouncing around and barring his path.

  By the time he was free, their adversaries were gone. At least Anansi had freed himself too and was brushing plaster dust out of his eyes. Ryan rubbed his cheek, and his hand came away with a thin smear of blood. He could also see a few scrapes and cuts on his companion.

  He replaced the gravity around the debris slowly, letting it settle gently back to Earth. After all, somewhere, under the rubble, was Kwadwo’s body. “This is monstrous,” Ryan whispered hoarsely. He looked around with his divine sight. “There aren’t any people around. The local government must have cooperated, evacuated the area while we were talking. How did we miss that?”

  Anansi, staring at what remained at the building, and the surrounding area, didn’t bother responding. Ryan couldn’t blame him. It looked like a warzone. Nearby structures had bullet holes and shattered glass, and a pipe had burst in the street, spraying water into the air. A few pieces of paper were still fluttering in the breeze, blackened and charred by the explosion.

  Anansi’s face was a mask of sorrow when he finally broke the silence. “You see now part of the reason we have hidden for so long. When gods clash…” Anansi didn’t finish the sentence, instead moving his hand in a sweeping gesture that encompassed the wreckage around him. “The only one to die here was a mortal man. A good man.”

  Ryan walked over to Anansi. “I’m so sorry I brought this to you. I’m sorry about-”

  Anansi shook his head to cut Ryan off. “Did you know they were following you? Did you know they existed?”

  Ryan shook his head.

  “Then do not apologize for the evil other men do, Ryan Smith. Do not apologize for not knowing the future. They are the ones who will have to answer for Kwadwo’s death.”

  Ryan stepped up behind Anansi and put a hand on his shoulder. “And I promise you, Anansi. They will pay for that.”

  Chapter 8

  Divine Council

  Ryan stepped out of his nanoverse, the obsidian sand of Cypher Nullity crunching under his feet. He craned his head back to enjoy the sight of the alien worlds drifting through the broken sky above, crossing impossibly fast across the black lines of lightning that permanently scarred the air.

  Unlike the last time he was here, there wasn’t that forlorn, empty feeling of kenopsia. This place was still a dead, desolate world, but it no longer felt abandoned. Perhaps because it has a purpose again, Ryan mused. Anansi stepped out while Ryan was still taking in the sights.

  “Over six thousand years old,” Anansi murmured, “and I still find new marvels in hidden corners of the cosmos.”

  Ryan chewed his cheek before responding. “Does it ever get old?” he asked, his voice quiet. “After millennium upon millennium, do you ever look at things like this and think ‘oh, bah, another marvelous alien world?’”

  Anansi chuckled and shook his head. “Never. At least, not for me. I feel immensely sad for those gods that do lose that wonder.”

  Ryan nodded in agreement. In the distance, he could hear the others in conversation. “Guess we’re the last ones to arrive.”

  “One thing I don’t understand,” Anansi asked as they walked. “Why this place? Among all the cosmos, why here?”

  “Well, for starters, it’s free real estate,” Ryan said, looking over at Anansi and waiting for a laugh. When Anansi met his amusement with blank patience, Ryan winced. Right. Pop culture references aren’t great for immortals. “I mean that literally in this case. This used to be the Lemurian afterlife. Since there’s no more Lemurians, and there hasn’t been in ages, it’s empty. There was a hecatoncheires here, but Crystal and I took care of it.”

  Anansi gave Ryan a curious look, and Ryan corrected himself. “It was mostly Crystal, but I helped.”

  Anansi raised an eyebrow.

  Ryan sighed and explained, “I’m sure my screams were very distracting.”

  “I saw you fight a hecatoncheires on the news,” Anansi said. “I didn’t doubt that you had helped. I appreciate the honesty, though.” He flashed Ryan an impish grin.

  “Anyway,” Ryan said, forcibly changing the topic before he embarrassed himself into oblivion. “We wanted somewhere that wasn’t being used by anyone, and no one besides the people here knows it exists. Others can’t find us if they don’t know where to look. It was Athena’s idea to use meet here.”

  The gods were gathered in a building near the Reliquary of Squandered Dreams. Ryan skirted around the Reliquary, giving it a wide berth. He’d stepped in there the last time he was on Cypher Nullity, and for his troubles had been rewarded with a sight of what his life would have been like if he’d lived without regret. He would have married Jacqueline after confessing that he saw a suited man following him at all times, would have had children with her...and then the world would have been swallowed by the Sun going supernova.

  He had no interest in reliving that experience.

  Instead, he headed into the place Crystal called Hall of Forlorn Contemplation. To Ryan’s eyes, it looked like a cathedral designed by a madman - a massive structure that looked almost organic, with spine-like supports placed at regular intervals and the worn stone of the walls giving the appearance of flesh stre
tched between them. The walls were spotted with stained glass windows that allowed light to filter into the room.

  The building’s interior was less menacing than its exterior had suggested. The fleshy theme did carry over, with the columns looking like stacked femurs and the ceiling covered in a webbed pattern that reminded Ryan in of veins and arteries. But millions of years of dust covered the whole thing, creating a softening effect that made it more sad than creepy, a haunted house that had fallen into depression with no one to torment, desolate for so long it couldn’t bother to try to frighten those who were now inside.

  Inside he found Athena and Crystal had been joined by not one, as expected, but two new gods. Ryan assumed that the woman standing slightly apart from the others was Dianmu, but the man sitting near Athena was a mystery. Ryan started slightly as he noticed the man’s military gear, and only relaxed when he saw the lack of a harness. He glanced over to Anansi. “I don’t know that guy,” he whispered.

  “Horus,” Anansi replied, also keeping his voice low. “I’m a little surprised to see him here. He and Bast have a...complicated history.”

  Ryan wanted to ask more questions, but Athena had spotted them and motioned for Ryan and Anansi to join the group. Horus’s attention was on Crystal, and he gestured firmly as he spoke. “I know Moloch is a threat, but we need to find Bast. If she is working with him, there must be a good reason. She may very well be in danger.”

  Before Crystal could respond, Athena turned to him, her eyes narrow and harsh. “Bast murdered Tyr right in front of us, knowing Enki was going to destroy his nanoverse, Horus. You’re in denial.”

  “You can’t know that for certain!” Horus said, his voice matching the anger in Athena’s eyes. He had turned to face the Greek goddess, but it was Crystal who responded.

  “Sure, we can’t read her mind,” she said, “but she buggered us. Hard, and not in the fun way. Which means Enki had her trust, so we have to assume she was complicit in the whole thing, yeah?”

  Horus scowled. “I know her. She wouldn’t-”

  “Incorrect.” Athena interrupted, “You knew her, but by your own admission you haven’t seen her in three hundred years. People change, Horus. Surely you aren’t the same man you were in the 1700’s?”

  Ryan shared a look with Anansi, and they altered their course. Since Dianmu was off to the side, away from the group, and not embroiled in a heated argument, talking to her seemed infinitely more appealing than joining the others at the table.

  He offered Dianmu a hand. “Ryan Smith. I’m the Eschaton, apparently,” he said in a low voice as Horus began to rebut Athena.

  Dianmu’s handshake was firm but friendly. She moved with an easy calmness that contrasted with Athena’s steady deliberation and Crystal’s energy. “Dianmu,” she said.

  “Good to meet you. How long have they been at it?” Ryan asked, looking over at the table. Crystal had picked up the thread of the argument again, once again pointing out it was safer to assume Bast had gone evil.

  “Only about fifteen minutes,” Dianmu responded, glancing over at Athena, “although I get the feeling that it was a longer discussion before Crystal and I joined in.”

  “Gotcha.” Ryan wasn’t sure what to say next, so he was glad when Anansi decided to jump in.

  “Anansi. I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.” He offered Dianmu a hand, and she shook it with a bit more caution than she’d used with Ryan.

  “No, we have not. But I still know you by reputation, Trickster.” Her tone was still friendly, almost teasing. “My husband and I were still married when he had his run-in with you.”

  Anansi considered for a moment. “Leigong? You were married to him?” Dianmu nodded, and Anansi chuckled. “Back then, I was more prankster than Trickster, I’ll admit. How long did it take him to find all the feathers?”

  “Five decades.” She shook her head, her face a combination of bemusement and frustration. “And another two to be certain he really had found them all. He wasn’t amused.”

  “And that’s why I avoided China for the next three thousand years,” Anansi said.

  “A wise choice. I don’t think he had forgiven you, even by then.” Dianmu turned towards the table and frowned. “As nice as it is to meet the two of you, I think we had best step in before this argument repeats itself for the fourth time.” Although her tone was still polite, it now carried a tiny hint of irritation. She grabbed her glass of water, moving towards the table without waiting for a response.

  “Perhaps we can set this argument aside?” Dianmu said when they reached the others. Her voice was level, but firm enough to cut through the argument. They all looked at her. “It’s becoming obvious that neither side will convince the other, so allow me to ask a question that I think everyone has overlooked: do any of you actually know where to find Bast?”

  Reluctantly, both Athena and Horus shook their heads.

  “Then perhaps we can wait until we have some idea of where she is to argue about what should be done with her?”

  “Especially since we have bigger problems,” Ryan chimed in. All eyes moved from Dianmu to him, and he shifted uncomfortably under the attention. “Hi,” he said, turning to Horus. “We haven’t met. I’m Ryan Smith.”

  “Do you always introduce yourself with your full name?” Horus asked. “It makes you sound like a simpleton.”

  Ryan pursed his lips. “Oh, I’m so glad you decided to join us. Between Crystal, Athena, and I, we have plenty of snark, but we were lacking in any outright assholes. Good to know that role is being filled.”

  Horus’s eyes narrowed. “Little-”

  “Athena!” Anansi said brightly, stepping between Horus and Ryan to offer Athena his hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you finally. It’s been on my to-do list for at least seven hundred years.”

  Athena took and shook his hand like he’d offered her a live snake, and she was trying to crush its skull. “Anansi,” she said in a cool voice, her smile tight and strained. “I’m a bit shocked to hear you wanted to meet so badly.”

  “Well, you were the mastermind behind the Trojan horse. When Hermes told me about that, I laughed for days. A war goddess employing Trickster tactics? I had to meet you.”

  If Athena’s smile got any tighter, it would snap. “Cleverness is not the sole domain of Tricksters,” she said. Crystal discreetly nudged Athena’s calf under the table, and Athena made herself relax with a visible effort. “Still, I appreciate the compliment. Apologies if I seem rude. There are three stories about me that are repeated the most often, that being one of them, and sometimes I wish I was known for anything else.”

  Behind Anansi, Horus had calmed down. He gave the Trickster a gruff nod. “Haven’t seen you seen the Punic Wars, Anansi.”

  “Same,” Crystal piped in. “You kind of dropped off the grid, love.”

  “Hardly,” Anansi said, shaking both their hands in turn. “I just realized warfare was never going to be something that appealed to me. I prefer the version we have in stories - much less death, much less chaos, and much more heroism.”

  “Better to leave the warfare to those of us that are good at it,” Horus said with a laugh. He clapped Anansi on the back and then shot Ryan a resigned glance. “Eschaton. You mention a greater threat. Explain.”

  Do you even know how to ask questions, or do you just demand things? Ryan wondered. Aloud, he said, “There’s an army being made that poses a serious threat to us.”

  Crystal and Dianmu only looked worried, but Athena’s mouth dropped open in shock. “You encountered them too?”

  The question made Ryan sag. “I was really hoping they only had the few Anansi and I fought. If they were in South America, then we’ve got a bigger problem than we realized.” Anansi nodded in agreement.

  “Well, it’s hardly surprising they were in South America,” Horus said, seemingly willing to put aside his argument with Athena for the moment. “Moloch is behind them.”

  “Oh c’ mon!” Ryan nearly shouted
- not at Horus, but at the universe. “Moloch is working with the United States military?”

  That took Athena and Horus aback, and they glanced at Anansi as if seeking confirmation. “The United States military is involved?” Athena asked.

  “Well, yeah,” Ryan said, tilting his head. “I mean, they had US flags on their uniforms.”

  “Uniforms?” Athena’s forehead wrinkled. “When I saw them, they were naked or just wearing plain robes.”

  “Except for the harness, I assume?” Anansi asked.

  “Harness? No, just the tattoos.”

  “What tattoos?” It was Ryan’s turn to furrow his brow. “None of the ones we fought had tattoos, at least not that we could see.”

  “Oh bloody hell in a handbasket!” Crystal snapped, getting everyone’s attention. “Athena, tell us what you saw. Then, Ryan, you tell us what you saw. Because I’m pretty sure you’re talking about two different sodding things!”

  Dianmu reached out and put a gentle hand on Crystal’s arm. Crystal pursed her lips as she took a deep breath. “Please,” she added, and Dianmu smiled.

  “Very well.” Athena began. She told them about arriving in Venezuela and sneaking past the soldiers waiting to ambush anyone going in and out of the park. Crystal cursed when Athena mentioned the cockatrice.

  “Wait,” Ryan interjected. “It can turn us to stone?”

  Athena nodded. “Even the gods aren’t immune to the powers of beings like that. It’s why we sent Perseus to dispatch the original Medusa.”