Strange Cosmology

by Alex Raizman

  Well, almost nothing. She had to be realistic.

  Cassandra had a thousand questions but restrained herself. Bast would have thirty minutes of limited freedom, and Cassandra wasn’t going to control how she used them. There would be time.

  “What would you like to talk about?” she asked.

  Bast was stunned by the simple kindness, and part of her raged that she had been so deprived that just being allowed to speak was a momentous occasion. “I...I’m not even sure. I...don’t know. If you have more questions...”

  It didn’t matter what they talked about, really. As long as they were talking, Bast could fill her Social hunger, and she didn’t want to waste any time because her mind had gone blank.

  “All right,” Cassandra said. “How did you become a goddess?”

  Bast smiled. “So you’ve discovered that we’re born as mortals? Clever. I was given my nanoverse, what you call the Black Sphere, by Ra.”

  “So Ra was real? Even before the Old Kingdom?”

  Bast nodded and began to speak about the pre-Old Kingdom civilization. Bast carefully avoiding anything that would cast her in a negative light, focusing on the kingdom itself and the work she had done for Ra after her initial Apotheosis. She talked of cities saved and monsters defeated, skirting the ugly details to focus on painting herself as a hero to the idealistic young woman. All too soon, Cassandra picked up the mask again.

  “We’re out of time. When it’s safe, I’ll take it off again. I promise.”

  “Cassandra,” Bast said quickly, “I want you to know that I would have gone insane without you. Thank you.”

  Cassandra hesitated, then touched Bast’s cheek. The goddess leaned into it, drinking in the touch, savoring the human contact, and finally feeling her need for socialization fill.

  After a moment, Cassandra pulled away and replaced the mask.

  I won’t kill you, Bast thought. I won’t hurt you. More: I will protect you. I will reward you. I will offer you my friendship. I swear it.

  Then she fell asleep.

  Chapter 17

  Line in the Sand

  The next day, the group reconvened in Crystal’s nanoverse. Ryan admired the stars and planets whirling in their usual dance above them. Isabel, lying face down on a couch with her hands pressed to her temples, only groaned.

  “How’s the head?” Ryan asked.

  Isabel extended one hand with agonizing slowness, and then just as deliberately extended a middle finger. “This?” she croaked, waving the impudent digit to make sure she had everyone’s attention, is for all of you. Every last one of you un-hungover assholes.”

  Ryan laughed as he slid into a seat next to Athena.

  Dianmu smiled. “I have a remedy that might help with that.”

  “Oh?” Isabel said, rolling over and looking hopeful. “Some divine power? Some kind of mystic cure?”

  “Ahh, yes,” Dianmu said, reaching into her pocket. “The ancient art of ibuprofen.”

  “Praise the ancients,” Isabel intoned solemnly, and greedily swallowed the medicine. “Not that I’m complaining, but why do you even have ibuprofen? Don’t you not get headaches?”

  “Awkward phrasing aside, I do not. But we’re traveling with a mortal. I figured it was best to be prepared.”

  “You are officially my new favorite god. All hail Dianmu.”

  Ryan glanced around the room. “Anyone heard from Horus?”

  As if on cue, there was a knock on Crystal’s doorway. She opened it, admitting the dour-faced man into the staging area. “I trust you all enjoyed your cavorting?” he asked, giving them all a disapproving glare.

  “Social Hungers need to be filled, love,” Crystal said.

  “We had an entire evening,” Horus said, taking one of the seats. “The social Hunger can be filled quickly, so long as a suitable partner can be found, leaving the remainder of the time free for more productive activities.”

  “Oh yeah?” Ryan asked. “So you had what, ten hours to take care of that, right? Out of curiosity, what’d you do with the other nine hours and fifty-eight minutes of your night?” It was childish, and Ryan knew it, but he was getting sick of Horus’s imperious attitude.

  “Nascent, it requires more than petty insults to get a rise out of me.” Horus’s glare belied his words, however. “I’m beyond such petty jabs, no matter how much they make the egos of mortal men shrivel.”

  “Can we not?” Crystal asked sharply.

  Ryan held up a hand. “She’s right. That was uncalled for. Apologies, Horus.”

  “I don’t want your apologies. I want you to learn.” Horus sniffed, but his glare abated to its normal level, a sign he was at least mollified.

  “We were attending to other business as well,” Dianmu said. “How was your evening?”

  Ryan mentally blessed the universe for Dianmu, who seemed to have the enviable ability to get along with everyone.

  “I took care of my minimum sleep requirements,” Horus said, “then did some investigation of my own. A sphinx had barricaded passage in and out of a small town in Siberia, allowing none to pass unless they could answer its riddle.”

  “Four legs at dawn, two at noon, three in the evening?” Ryan asked, settling into his chair.

  “Indeed,” Horus said. “I believe even among those folk, one of them could have answered it, if only they spoke ancient Egyptian. I taught the village elder how to say the words properly. The sphinx fled to find another town.”

  “You didn’t kill it?” Anansi asked. Coming from anyone else, it might have sounded accusatory, but Anansi just seemed honestly curious.

  “No. A fight with a sphinx would have been overly draining.” Horus pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Nascent, are you good with the Internets?”

  Ryan choked back a laugh. Do not antagonize him. Do not antagonize him. “I’m good, but not the best.”

  “What do you need?” Isabel asked, sitting up carefully.

  Horus looked at her, his eyes widening, and Ryan wondered if Horus hadn’t noticed her, or just hadn’t imagined she could possibly be useful. “I have written the phonetic pronunciation for the riddle’s answer. Can you disseminate it, so it is easy for mortals to find at need?”

  Isabel nodded, and took the paper, then lay back down and took out her phone. “Soon as we’re back in reality, I can take care of it.”

  “The Core,” Dianmu said.

  Isabel craned her neck. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “When referring to Earth and that universe, we call it the Core. Where you are is just as real as that.”

  Isabel gave her a thumbs up. “The Core then. When we’re back in the Core.”

  Athena drummed her fingers on her arm. “You said you were investigating, Horus. Did you learn anything from the sphinx?”

  “Not from him, but from the townspeople. They’d been stuck there for a few days, and I wondered why Moloch might want them trapped.” Horus grimaced. “He told every able-bodied individual in the town that if they came with him and served, he’d send the sphinx away. He took at least a dozen people with him, all believing that their sacrifice had saved everyone else.”

  “He’s getting more aggressive in his recruiting,” Anansi said, steepling his fingers in front of his face. “I don’t suppose this was after the attack on Shadu?”

  Horus shook his head. “Before, damn him for it. Still don’t know where he is.”

  “And that’s a problem for the future,” Ryan said.

  Horus stiffened. “Does that mean you have a lead on Bast?”

  “No,” Dianmu said. “I’m afraid that we don’t.”

  Horus scowled. “Then how can you say Moloch is a problem for the future?”

  “Believe me,” Ryan said, “hate saying it as much as you hate hearing it, I promise you that. The thing is...we’ve tried everything we can think of, and we still don’t know where Moloch is. We have no way to find him. And we have another problem, one that we have to deal with.”

&nb
sp; “The super-soldiers,” Anansi said, nodding in agreement.

  “Yes,” Ryan said, looking over at Horus to make sure he had the god’s undivided attention. “The four of them nearly took Anansi and me out. If we hadn’t figured out the trick of removing their harnesses, we would have been dead. When the lone soldier attacked me at Isabel’s place, I couldn’t get a fix on his harness. It was like it was resisting my twists. They’re getting better each time we fight them and getting more dangerous in the process. The longer we ignore them, the more dangerous they become.”

  Horus pursed his lips. “The longer we ignore Moloch, the greater the threat he poses as well. He murdered an entire pantheon.”

  “Yes, but-”

  “No, Nascent. You don’t understand.” Horus clenched the edge of his chair. “Moloch has been a threat to this world for countless millennia. He has destroyed cities, ravaged nations, and killed gods. He has gone unpunished for too long. As much as it pains me, I have been convinced that we must make him a top priority. Mortals have opposed us before and been beaten. This will be no different.”

  “It kind of is,” Ryan said, feeling the first twinges of a headache. “They are making gods, Horus.”

  Horus sneered outright. “Gods that managed to fail to defeat you twice. One fell to you, an inexperienced Nascent. When you had a competent god to assist you, they managed to lose despite superior numbers. I’m hardly concerned about the doings of these ‘super-soldiers,’ as you call them.”

  Crystal interjected before Ryan could speak. “Horus, love. I’ll happily go after Moloch first.” Ryan whirled towards her, his mouth hanging open, but Crystal held up a finger, her focus on Horus. “As soon as you can look me in the eyes and say it’s because you believe Moloch to be the bigger threat, and not because you think there’s a chance that he could lead us to Bast.”

  If looks could kill, Crystal would be a stain on the floor. Horus clenched his teeth but didn’t speak.

  “Both would be easier if we had aid,” Athena said, her voice tight. “If we retrieve the Olympians, we’ll be able to pursue all three goals.”

  “If,” Anansi said. “That seems like a significant word. We do not know for certain they are in Tartarus. We do not know if they still live. We do not know if they will want to aid us. That is a great many things we do not know.”

  Athena’s eyes flashed. “Then what, pray tell, would you have us do, Trickster?”

  “The super-soldiers are our greatest threat,” Anansi said, nodding his head towards Ryan.

  “Horseshit,” Horus spat. “Crystal, you called me on my motives, and I’ll admit you were correct. So tell me, Anansi, Ryan - can you honestly say the super-soldiers are a greater threat than Moloch, or do you want to avenge the man they slew?”

  Anansi’s hands curled inwards. “While I may not be objective-”

  Horus wasn’t finished. “And you, Nascent. Do you want to go after them because of the threat they currently pose, or because the threat they made against your sister?”

  “Oh, you know what, Horus?” Ryan said, rising to his feet. “Take your whole damn attitude, turn it sideways, and shove it so far up your ass that you choke on it.” He balled his hands into fists.

  “And we’ve moved on so quickly from my point,” Athena growled. “With the aid of my kind, we can accomplish both at once.”

  “Sorry, love,” Crystal said. “It’s a week to get there. Who knows what we’ll be dealing when we get back? We’ve got to nip this in the bud.”

  “I agree with Athena,” Dianmu said. “These ‘super-soldiers’ are a threat, there is no doubt about that. Moloch has been a threat to the world since before I obtained my nanoverse. Reinforcements would be beneficial.”

  “Bloody hell, listen to yourselves,” Crystal snapped. “Moloch, remember? The single greatest divine threat still running around out there?”

  “You’re siding with Horus?” Ryan asked.

  “A broken clock is right twice a day.” Crystal shrugged. “Sorry.”

  “But you shut him down a moment ago!” Ryan spluttered. He couldn’t help it. He’d assumed he’d have both Athena and Crystal on his side.

  “I just wanted to know his motivation,” Crystal said. “Look, I get it. These super-soldiers are bad news. But Moloch is a threat to what we’re trying to accomplish here. Remember? Saving the world? Or at least the people on it. Moloch could actually beat us.”

  “Again, I think Athena’s view has merits,” Dianmu said.

  “Merits, sure,” Crystal conceded, but her expression was unyielding. “But right now I don’t want to be away from the Core that long.”

  “Why don’t you split up?” Isabel suggested from the couch. “I mean, Anansi and Ryan can track down the super-soldiers, Horus and Crystal can look for Moloch, and Athena and Dianmu can go to get the Olympians. Whoever accomplishes their goal first calls in the others. Everyone wins.”

  “Won’t work,” Athena said. Every line of her body was tight with fury. “Tartarus is a difficult realm. Our nanoverses can only take us as far as the entrance. The week would be our travels through the Labyrinth.”

  “And we can’t face the super-soldiers shorthanded,” Ryan said.

  “Nor Moloch,” Horus added.

  “We don’t know where Moloch is,” Anansi growled. “Or what he wants.”

  “We also don’t know where the super-soldiers are,” Crystal countered, folding her arms and scowling.

  “No,” said Ryan, “but we know what they want. Me.”

  Everyone turned to look at him. Ryan shrugged awkwardly. “They must have had Isabel under surveillance since I went on television. They were waiting for me. Whatever the United States’ end goal in all this is, my death factors into it.”

  “That’s a good argument for avoiding them then, isn’t it?” Athena asked.

  Crystal nodded. “If their goal is to kill you, we shouldn’t dangle you in front of them. Especially while you’re still Nascent and could still be killed.”

  “Like Moloch’s any safer?” Ryan countered. “Sure, he’s not actively gunning for me, but I think he’d still kill me if he had the chance.”

  “If the super-soldiers are looking for Ryan, it could give us control over when and where we engage,” Anansi said. “Moloch’s plans don’t seem to involve hunting us down anytime soon. When we fight him, it will have to be on the battlefield of his choosing.”

  “All the more reason to gather reinforcements,” Dianmu countered. “It still will take time to find either, and the longer it takes, the stronger they’ll be. But with the Olympians aiding us in the search, we can find them quicker, and I doubt they can build up enough to withstand that pantheon. Few are larger, and at least we have an idea where the Olympians might be.”

  “So we’re at an impasse,” Ryan said, frowning. He looked over at Crystal. “Why are you so set on Moloch?”

  She pursed her lips and looked away from Ryan. “I just...I really don’t want to be away from the Core for very long,” she said softly.

  “Why not?” Athena asked with sudden concern. “Crystal...what’s wrong?”