Strange Cosmology

by Alex Raizman

  “It gets worse,” Horus added with a grim face. “If you fall to one of those things, you are not truly alive or dead. You do not resurrect because you don’t die. Mortals will die - they’ll suffocate because their lungs don’t work - but gods? We remain trapped until someone destroys the statue.”

  Ryan shuddered at the thought.

  “Oh, and just to add to that, love,” Crystal said with false cheer, “you’re aware the entire time. Unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to do anything but stare ahead until your statue is destroyed by the elements or your nanoverse undergoes heat death unless someone comes along and breaks you so you can resurrect.” Crystal shivered. “That was not a fun decade.”

  “I’m just glad I found you,” Dianmu added before turning to Ryan. “If you were to get caught by one of these things...I suppose we’d have to leave you trapped for a few years to ensure you had undergone Apotheosis before we destroyed the statue, to ensure you did resurrect.”

  “And by that point, the world probably would have ended anyway,” Anansi said with a shrug. “So...stay away from cockatrices.”

  “Yeah...I think I got that, thanks.”

  Athena nodded and picked up the story with Moloch’s transformation and his followers killing the cockatrice and ended with Horus’s arrival.

  Ryan glanced around. “Mind telling me why that’s bad so I can join you all in grim silence?”

  Apparently, humor wasn’t the right idea here. Athena just sighed before explaining. “By letting his followers feast on such beasts, Moloch’s giving them resistance to divine powers. We won’t be able to directly alter their biology, and their weapons will be harder to defend against. They may even gain some powers from the creatures.”

  “In time, they’ll become monsters themselves, and only divine flesh will satisfy their hunger,” Horus added. “I’ve dealt with their like before.”

  “I’d like to hear about it,” Ryan said, by way of a peace offering.

  “Yes. That is why I mentioned it. Because I intended to tell you.” Horus gave Ryan a level stare.

  Ryan just rolled his eyes and withdrew the olive branch now that Horus had broken it over his knee.

  “It was back during the period your historians call the Bronze Age collapse,” Horus began, leaning forward on the table. “After the Olympians and their Titanomachy destroyed civilization as we knew it.”

  Athena clenched her fist but didn’t interject. Ryan looked at her askance, and Athena only gave him a curt shake of her head.

  “A few of the survivors of Ugarit fled across the Nile, to settle south of our dominion,” Horus continued. “After what had happened to their city, we were inclined to allow them to stay there. Ba’al was nowhere to be found, and we hoped to incorporate them into our faith and kingdom. We didn’t know they already had a god they worshipped. Mot. Their death god. Mot saw an opportunity for conquest since he was now without a Pantheon. He started to feed his followers on the flesh of monsters in secret, hunting them down for his people.

  “I don’t know if Mot knew what he was doing to his followers at first. I’d certainly never heard of such a thing before, and it surprised even Ra. They came storming up along the Nile. It wasn’t a large army, no more than a thousand, but…” Horus took a deep breath, his eyes getting a distant look. Ryan got the impression he was peering back through time to the war that had raged. “But they were able to resist our manipulations of the elements. Many of us weren’t able to even harm them. Our soldiers had other problems. The followers of Mot could leap over walls, break bronze in their hands, and snap a man’s neck with a blow.

  “That was the end of the empire of Egypt. We had survived the aftermath of the Titanomachy, we had survived the predation of the Sea Peoples, and we had survived while our allies and enemies fell around us, but this was the final straw. We were able to kill them all, down to the last man, but our empire didn’t recover for centuries from the ravages that war left on our country.” Horus shook his head, dispelling whatever memory had held his attention. “That’s the power of these things Moloch has created. They can break empires and cut down gods. They’re superhuman.”

  “Damn,” Ryan said, slumping his chair. “Anything else we need to know to fight them?”

  “You?” Horus said, scoffing. “Your best action would be to stay behind your betters, Nascent. You have much to learn before you fight these things.”

  “Actually,” Ryan said, stiffening in his chair, “we already did. Right Anansi?”

  Anansi sighed deeply, looking at Ryan. “Unfortunately, what we fought was something new. What the followers of Moloch do, it’s an old practice, one most gods banned long ago - and why we allowed the creatures of legend to be locked away.”

  “Until Arthur set them free,” Ryan muttered, making a note to have words with the King of Hell if he ever got the chance. He addressed the larger group. “Anansi and I didn’t face that - we were up against something different, something new. The United States government has found a way to make gods out of technology and sent a squad of them against us.”

  Athena put a hand to her mouth, and Dianmu leaned forward. “Elaborate, if you will?”

  So Ryan told his story, with Anansi adding details Ryan had overlooked. He started with the tear-gas grenade going through the window and ended with the explosion. “The good news is,” he added, “if you can get the harness off them, it’s pretty much instant power down. Also, they have to have a power source, which means it’s finite. If you know what you’re dealing with, you can probably outlast them.”

  “I’m not certain about it being finite,” Anansi said. “We didn’t see any evidence of that.”

  Ryan thought for a moment. “You’re right. I’d love to get a better look at one of those harnesses.”

  The other four goods looked confused, and Ryan stood up, pulling a wooden rod out of his nanoverse. “Here, I’ll show you.” He began to sketch a crude stick figure in the dust on the floor of the Hall. “They have guns, some kind of assault rifle,” Ryan said, adding a line coming out of the stick figure’s hands, “and they carry smoke grenades. Probably other weapons as well, although they seem to prefer to keep one hand free to twist reality.” Ryan drew a question mark over the other hand. “The harness goes across the chest like this,” Ryan continued, drawing an X over the figure’s chest and adding a few more lines. It was rapidly turning into a scribbled mess.

  Anansi glanced at the drawing. “There’s a strap across the back,” he added.

  “That’s right here,” Ryan said, pointing to one of the lines.

  Anansi regarded him flatly. “That’s a strap across the back?”

  Ryan nodded.

  Anansi looked at him for another long moment, then started to laugh. “As much as I’m enjoying watching your artistry, perhaps I could try?”

  “Fine,” Ryan said, dropping the stick. Anansi reached out and began to twist. A perfect image of the leader of the soldiers appeared floating over the table. “You can do holograms,” Ryan sputtered, “and you let me scribble with the stick?”

  “You were having so much fun,” Anansi said kindly. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  Ryan flushed as even Horus grinned.

  Crystal snorted. “Well, that’s brilliant. So we’ve got theovores and super-soldiers. Sounds like a lovely time.”

  “And there’s still the end of the world, let us not forget,” Dianmu said mildly. “Although if push comes to shove, that problem could solve the other two.” They all looked at her, and she shrugged. “I’m not advocating it, but it sounds like the world must end. If these factions cannot be faced, then perhaps they can be erased during the End Times.”

  “I don’t think so,” Ryan said, surprising even himself. He took a moment to catch up to his own subconscious. “If we’re going to end the world peacefully, which is still the plan, it’s going to be delicate work. I’m sure of that. We can’t risk doing it while either of those groups could beat down the doo
r and interrupt us.”

  The other gods looked doubtful until Crystal spoke up. “If he’s saying that, then he’s right. I didn’t have anyone to explain the eschaton stuff to me when it was my go-around, loves. But I do remember some things just making sense like that, yeah?”

  “Also,” Dianmu mused, “there is the problem of Ryan’s Nascency, which is evident to any god who faces him.

  “It is?” Ryan asked.

  Dianmu’s eyes widened. “You were not aware?”

  “No,” he admitted, and Dianmu wrinkled her nose as she looked at both Crystal and Athena.

  “There’s been a lot to cover,” Athena broke in, “and not a lot of time.”

  “I see,” Dianmu replied. “Well, having successfully mentored more than a few Nascents over the years, I’ve become something of an expert in the process.”

  Ryan noticed Athena’s eyes narrow as she watched Dianmu. What’s that all about? he wondered.

  “When you have completed Apotheosis,” Dianmu said to Ryan, “your blood will turn to divine ichor, which any god will recognize at a glance. For now, it is quite clear that any one of us could permanently destroy you.”

  “And if these soldiers are using our powers somehow,” Horus put in, “they might be able to figure it out, too.”

  “Meaning,” Ryan said gloomily, “that I could be right in the middle of executing the perfect plan to end the world…”

  “And have your head blown clean off,” Crystal finished. “So we can’t just go around ignoring nasty people who want to kill you.”

  Athena nodded in agreement. “Then it seems obvious Moloch should be our first focus. The entire United States is a large area to search, and I at least have some idea where Moloch’s base may be.”

  “What about Tartarus?” Ryan asked. He hated bringing that up, but if Athena felt she couldn’t talk about it...someone needs to remind her we do care about that.

  “My kin will have to wait. Moloch is a greater threat.” Her voice was neutral, but Ryan knew it was tearing her apart, not knowing what happened to the Olympians.

  “All right!” Crystal said, clapping her hands. “So we have a plan? Well, not a plan, but at least a vague idea what we’re doing next?” Everyone nodded. “Great. Let’s try to make that into an actual plan then, loves. We’ve got two main problems: Moloch and the super-soldiers in America. Is there anything else we need to take care of?”

  Anansi gave Ryan a pointed look, and Ryan grimaced. “There is one other thing. I made a promise I need to fulfill.”

  Athena looked at Anansi, then back at Ryan. “And what oath did you make, Ryan?” she said, her every word slow and chosen with the utmost care.

  “Nothing bad, I swear,” Ryan said before Athena could draw some terrible conclusion. “Anansi merely brought an excellent point to my attention...namely, that I still have family out there I’ve been ignoring. Throughout all of this. And, well, since the world could end...I should probably reconnect with them, to make sure I don’t lose focus on why I should care about saving the world.”

  “Oh.” Athena thought for a moment and nodded. “I think he may have the right of that.”

  “Too bloody right,” Crystal said, her voice a bit harsher. “Ryan, I kind of assumed you didn’t have a life.”

  “Thanks,” he muttered.

  She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “You’re immortal, you nob. Or you will be. You’ll live for thousands and thousands of years, but your friends and family will die, and that’ll be the last you see of them. If you have them, you should be spending time with them.” Ryan was taken aback by the heat in her voice, and by her face, Athena was as well.

  “I will,” Ryan said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “Promise.”

  “Oh, yes, you will. I’m going to make sure you do. This is important, Ryan.” There was a fire in Crystal’s eyes, one Ryan hadn’t seen in a while. He could only nod in agreement.

  “She’s right,” Dianmu said. Her voice wasn’t as heated as Crystal’s, but it was every bit as firm. “The transition to Apotheosis can be alienating. Maintaining a connection to your mortal life is vital, in my experience.”

  Horus snorted, pulled out a knife, and began trimming his nails. “What a load of sentimental crap. We forge connections as gods. Better to rip off the Band-Aid when it comes to your mortal life. They’ll die before you know it, anyway.”

  “Yes,” Dianmu said, her voice icy, “because the god who has spent the last two thousand years throwing himself into every war that happens anywhere is a paragon of well-adjusted divinity.”

  “Spare me that, Dianmu,” Horus shot back. “This idiot is who you all believe we have to depend on to save the world, and you want him to go hug his family? We don’t need that. We need action. There’s no time to sit around singing campfire songs. We need to deal with Moloch, we need to deal with these toy soldiers, and then we need to find Bast.”

  “Okay, you know what?” Ryan snapped. “I’ve just met you, and I’m already getting sick of your shit, Horus. You don’t know anything about me.”

  “I know everything I need,” Horus said. “You’re Nascent. You’re weak. And you’re not all that bright.”

  “Horus,” Athena said. She sounded calm, but it was the dangerous calm before a storm. “In all the millennia I’ve known you, you’ve been wrong about many things. So have I. However, that might be the most incorrect thing I’ve heard you say since you propped up the Ptolemaic dynasty.”

  From the looks around the table, Ryan realized that must be a reasonably biting insult. “Who-” he started to ask.

  “A long story full of decadence, incest, and interfamilial murder,” Anansi said quickly. “Like that show with all the naked women and dragons, only with fewer dragons and more murder.”

  Horus growled, “An insult the idiot needed explained to him.”

  “An idiot who was instrumental in outsmarting Enki,” Athena said firmly. “A coward who had only a pointed stick and harsh language when he faced down a god who had merged two nanoverses. A Nascent who faces death with less fear than some full immortals I know. I know your feelings on Nascents, Horus - you believe they should be locked up in a pyramid until they undergo Apotheosis, so they cannot be harmed. I know you spent your own Nascency in the exact same way.” She stood up and leaned forward, her face inches from Horus. “Call Ryan a coward again. I dare you.”

  Horus met her gaze. For a long instant, Ryan thought they would start fighting. Then Horus looked away. “Not worth my time,” he muttered.

  Athena sat back down, content with letting Horus save face.

  “Now, then,” Crystal said, clapping her hands for attention. “Here’s the best plan, I think. I’ll see Ryan safely to his sister. I don’t like the idea of him traveling alone with those government goons running around. While I do that, the rest of you lot head to Venezuela and see if you can track down Moloch. Sound good?”

  No one argued. As they were getting ready to go, Ryan turned towards Athena and gave her a shaky grin. “I’ll be honest, I kind of wish I was going with you.”

  “Even though you’d have to face Moloch, who could kill you?”

  “See, that’s the thing,” Ryan sighed. “Moloch might kill me. But after everything that’s happened so far? My sister definitely will.”

  Chapter 9

  Wheels Within Wheels

  Drip

  Bast licked her lips again, as she had every few seconds for the last several...she didn’t know. Hours? Days? Weeks? No, it couldn’t be that long. Days seemed most likely. With the way her captors turned the lights on and off at irregular intervals, it was impossible to be sure, but she had overheard that some team - Project Myrmidon - had been dispatched again, which meant enough time had passed for them to have a mission, come back to the base, and head back out again.

  The important thing was that it had been long enough that she was no longer thirsty.

  Having one of her Hungers finally met nearly b
rought her to tears. She’d held on to that feeling, crystalized it, and smuggled it in the back of her mind. She might need it later.

  Drip

  Her tongue lanced out reflexively, and while it was still good to have liquid, she realized that it was not sustainable. Eventually, it would become a form of torture, the slow and intermittent dripping driving her slowly madder. Mad. I’m not crazy yet.

  With her vigor somewhat renewed, she’d taken note of the lab technicians that scurried about her cell and drew her ichor. She’d been able to pick up their names, and even hints of their personalities. All four had a tendency to forget she was in the room as they experimented on her. They clearly didn’t realize that she was alert. Aware.

  Waiting.

  Eugene always had something to complain about, no matter what happened or what breakthrough they’d made, and moved with a slow and cumbersome gait that was punctuated by sighs. Cassandra was his opposite, an excitable woman who would always counter his claims with a burst of obnoxious optimism that made Bast want to rip her heart out and shove the organ, still beating, into her mouth and chew and chew and...

  Drip

  The water droplet brought Bast’s mind out of its obsessive spiral. She licked her lips and continued her list of techs. Grace had a high and light voice that made it sound like she was constantly daydreaming if daydreams involved theories and formulas instead of empty-headed thoughts. Liam was a nervous man with a slight stutter. When he held drinking glasses, they clattered together, and he often asked one of the others to do something delicate, which suggested to Bast that he had some kind of muscular difficulty.

  Liam and Grace had some sort of romantic interest, and they’d whisper to each other when the others weren’t around, sharing private thoughts and sweet nothings. When they did, their hearts would pound, twin drums of young love...or at least young lust. Bast could swear she could see the two hearts, even though they were behind and above her, miniature suns that promised an end to all want.