When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony by Chris Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page A

Headquarters, Lake Pedam, Nigeria, March 29, 2020
    President Bill Jacobs surveyed the bustle going on to the east of him. The site was a beehive of activity, with so many large earth movers working that he wasn’t sure how they didn’t get into each other’s way. It was a well-choreographed dance of construction, he decided. As he watched, a truck pulling a flatbed with yet another bulldozer came trundling down the road from the airport, along with a giant crane.
    The new Terran Government Headquarters building was going up on his left, with the foundations of several other buildings also in progress. The site was nestled along Pedam Lake in the shadow of Aso Rock to the east of Nigeria’s capital of Abuja. Aso Rock was a 1,200’ tall stone monolith and Abuja’s most noticeable feature. He had found the site fitting, as the name ‘Aso’ meant ‘victorious’ in the native language of the local Asokoro people. He tried not to think about the fact that the Asokoro (literally, ‘the people of victory’) had themselves later been defeated and forced to move from the area.
    He turned to Arges, whom he had asked to meet him here. “We’re going to make this happen, even if I have to get out there and start building with my own two hands,” he said with a smile. “Happily, I think that we now have enough buy-in from all of the other nations that won’t be necessary.” The smile faded. “The Russians even appear to be committed to the process now, although I don’t know how we’re ever going to get the Chinese involved. The war pushed us so far apart that it will be difficult to bring us back together.” He looked intently at Arges. “I am not giving up on bringing them in; I just wanted you to know how hard it will be.”
    “You have done a tremendous job in a very little time,” said Arges. “And I believe that you have put together the beginnings of a world government. I wish that I had better news for you, but your accomplishments so far are only a small portion of the effort that will be required.”
    He paused, and the president waited for him to begin again. After a long pause, Arges began talking quietly. “For over 10,000 years, we have led the Alliance of Civilizations and have ensured peace in this galaxy. There are many other races, of which we are just one. Some are naturally caring, what you would call ‘good;’ others you would probably consider to be ‘bad’ or ‘evil.’ Most, like your own race, lie somewhere in between. You are capable of great deeds, but also capable of inflicting misery on others of your own race when you have power over them.”
    “Most of these races formed an alliance many millennia ago, and the races that are less benevolent were prohibited from interacting with civilizations that were just forming, like your own. Those days are over. The alliance that has watched over developing civilizations is no more. There are many races, like the Drakul, that now have free reign among the galaxy.”
    “Wait a minute,” said President Jacobs. “You’re telling me that I had to bust my ass to put together a world government just to find out that we don’t have a chance?”
    “Yes,” said Arges. “For two reasons. The first is that our rules really do prohibit transferring any technology to you without a world government, so you needed to have one for that. The other is that we’ve done an enormous amount of computer modeling on the future of this planet. In all of the scenarios where you didn’t have a world government, your planet didn’t survive another 25 years. You need a unified government in order to have any sort of a chance in the coming times. Our time is past. Our civilization is done. The alliance is crumbling and, like your Rome, the barbarians are at the gates. The races that were banished or that fled from civilized space have returned and are gobbling up systems on the periphery.”
    “So...” said the president, “we are