When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony Read online

  “The next questions that you are probably going to ask,” President Nehru guessed, “are how is this government going to work, and how do I know that it has my best interests at heart? As I have already stated, the Republic of Terra government will function similarly to the largest republics on the planet, with the current nations of Earth becoming states in the new republic. Although there will be some growing pains, I expect the transition to go fairly smoothly, as most people live under similar systems. For example, most of the participating nations have three branches of government to ensure the separation of power. The Republic of Terra also has three branches of government, the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches, so this should be very familiar to most of the people of Earth.”

  “Like India and the United States, the executive branch of the Republic of Terra will be led by a president, who will be elected indirectly by an electoral college of representatives from the current nations. The president will serve a five-year term and can be re-elected once. The legislative branch will have a bicameral, or two-house, parliament. The upper house, or ‘Council of States,’ will be made up of two representatives from each of the previously independent nations, who will serve in staggered, six-year terms. How each of these will be elected is up to the individual states. Seats in the lower house, or ‘House of the People,’ will be proportional to the individual state’s populations, with a seat given for every 50 million people or fraction thereof. That way, each nation will have at least one seat in the House of the People, regardless of its actual size. These representatives will also serve in staggered, six-year terms.”

  “The judicial branch will be made up of a Supreme Court, which will oversee the efforts of the High Courts in each of the current member nations. Its function is not to impose new laws over the member states; instead, it is the ultimate interpreter of the constitution and will be empowered to strike down state laws which are in contravention to it. It will also have original jurisdiction over cases involving fundamental rights and disputes between the nation-states and the republic’s government.”

  “We intend for this nation to be built around order and the rule of law, led by an open and transparent government. No individual will be above the rules,” she said as she walked around to the front of the podium. “Delegates from all of the participating nations have developed this, our new seal, as a symbol of the government and people of the Republic of Terra.” She pointed to the golden eagle. “Our new nation is a nation born of war. The eagle, or garuda for many of our Asian population, is a strong, brave bird that symbolizes our nation’s strength through war, while the gold color symbolizes greatness and glory. Like the Seal of Indonesia, the feathers on the bird are symbolic. There are 22 feathers on each wing, five feathers on the tail, 20 feathers below the shield on its legs and the base of its tail and 20 feathers on its neck. If you put all of these together, you have today’s date, 22/5/2020, the date that our new republic was born.”

  “The shield on the eagle’s chest is a martial symbol, standing for defense not only of the countries, but of the two planets in our republic. It has a background divided into quarters, colored black and white in a checkerboard pattern. The black quadrant bearing the golden star at the upper right corresponds to the belief in One Supreme God. The color black represents space and the star for the one God that exists no matter where we go. The star is a common symbol not only for Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism, but also for the secular ideology of socialism as well. While this symbol may be disconcerting for some, there will not be any religion that everyone is made to follow. People are encouraged to believe in whatever manner they will, or not to believe at all if that is their desire, but it was important to the overwhelming majority of the participating nations that this symbol be included.”

  “The yin and yang symbol of unity is in the lower right on a white background. This symbol shows us that, regardless of how opposite or contrary we may seem to each other at times, we are all interconnected and interdependent on each other. There are many dualities in nature, like light and dark, fire and water, and life and death. Neither of these has meaning without the other. They are physical manifestations of the yin and yang concept that draws all of us together. The American motto of ‘E pluribus unum,’ or ‘Out of many, one,’ was also suggested, but this symbol was chosen as it is symbolic to a larger number of our people.”

  “In the upper left quarter on a white background, there is a golden laurel wreath. This symbolizes our belief in the concept of democracy and its importance in how this republic is governed. The laurel wreath goes back to the ancient Athenians, who first came up with the concept of democracy. It can also symbolize a master’s degree of wisdom when it is used as ‘poet laureate,’ or can refer to victory. These last two concepts are also significant in the laurel wreath’s choice as a symbol.

  “Finally, in the lower left quarter on a black background is a golden sheaf of wheat, representing sustenance and livelihood. With a fair government and a strong military to protect us from the dangers that lurk beyond our system’s borders, our people will be able to follow their dreams and be productive and happy.”

  “Completing the design,” she said, pointing over the eagle’s head, “there are two gold stars over its head. These symbolize the two star systems, the Solar System and the Epsilon Eridani system, that make up the republic. Will there be additional stars in this constellation?” she asked. “Who knows? I, for one, expect there to be more; however, that is dependent on what we do to make it possible. Not just what I do, but what every member of the Republic of Terra does on a daily basis. Everyone is important to our efforts to protect and defend our planet. To paraphrase the American statesman, John F. Kennedy, ask not what your planet can do for you, but instead, ask what you can do for your planet and the Republic of Terra!”

  She turned and went back behind the podium. While she was moving, a number of people came onto the stage. “As president of the Republic of Terra, I am looking forward to working for all of you,” said Nehru. “Until a worldwide election can be held, the council of leaders forming the republic decided to set up the initial government in relation to the populations of the countries represented. Since China has decided not to join our efforts as of yet, India is the largest participating nation, with over a billion people. As such, India was selected to fill the presidential post, and I was chosen for this position. For those of you who don’t know me, I was previously the vice president of India, where I was also Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. The president of India stayed on in that position to ensure the continuity of our government and ensure that the country continued to put all of its efforts into supporting the new government.”

  “Similarly,” she continued, “the United States also nominated its vice president for the vice president slot of the world government. President Bill Jacobs decided to stay on as the U.S. president to ensure that the transition went smoothly. Indonesia, the third largest participating nation, will fill the Speaker position for the upper house of the legislative branch, the Council of States. Their president will be filling this position. The Brazilian president will be the Speaker for the lower house, the House of the People. The fifth position in order of succession, the Secretary of State, went to the Pakistani president.” She looked behind her at the men and women assembled and received a nod. “At this time, we will have the swearing in ceremony for the first five officers of the new government,” she said.

  Nehru walked over to join the other four leaders. With a small smile of satisfaction, she saw that three of the five leaders were women; besides herself, the presidents of Indonesia and Brazil were also women. All four of the other leaders were each standing in front of a representative of his/her respective faith. Nehru went to stand in front of the Hindu guru waiting for her. As one, the spiritual leaders said, “Do you swear in the name of your God, or what you hold holy, to faithfully execute your office within the Republic
of Terra?”

  The five leaders replied, “I do.”

  The religious leaders asked “Will you preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law, to the best of your abilities?”

  The five leaders answered, “I will.”

  The religious leaders asked, “And will you devote yourself to the service and well-being of the people of the Republic of Terra?”

  The five leaders replied again, “I will.”

  The guru reached out to shake President Nehru’s hand as the rest of the religious leaders did the same for their charges. “Congratulations, Mrs. President,” said the guru.

  The camera at KIRO-TV returned to Ms. St. Cloud. “There you have it, live,” she commented. “The new president of the world, President Katrina Nehru, has been sworn in. We now take you back to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.”

  * * * * *

  Chapter Ten

  Terran Space Force HQ, Moon Base Alpha, Dark Side of the Moon, May 27, 2020

  “Thanks for coming, Steropes,” said Calvin as he invited the Psiclops into his office and gave him a seat.

  Steropes looked around curiously. “Is this to be a meeting between just you and me?” he asked. “You certainly can’t be expecting to fit too many more people into this room.”

  “Yes,” Calvin replied, “it’s just us. I figured that you were the one Psiclops that I was most likely to get a straight answer from.”

  “Thank you,” replied Steropes. “I think.”

  “You have to admit that you guys haven’t always been completely forthcoming,” Calvin said. “Some people might even say that you haven’t always been entirely honest, either.”

  Steropes shrugged. “We are constrained...” he said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know,” interrupted Calvin, cutting him off. “You have rules, blah, blah, blah. I’ve been around you more than anyone else, and I’m starting to get a pretty good sense of when you are omitting details to stay within the rules and when you’re intentionally misleading us or bending the truth.”

  Steropes turned up his palms and shrugged his shoulders again. “I’m not sure what you want me to say,” he finally offered.

  “I don’t want you to say anything, other than the full truth and nothing but the truth,” replied Calvin. “If you don’t feel like you can tell me something, regardless of the reason, just say that you can’t tell me that, OK?”

  “I will do my best,” answered Steropes.

  “See?” asked Calvin. “One question, and you are already hedging your answers. Rather than giving me a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, you had to qualify that answer, giving you the ability to come back later and say, ‘well, I wasn’t able to answer that question at that time.”

  “Yes,” replied Steropes, “I do see what you are saying. We have been in the habit of doing it for so long that it is second nature to us. What is it that you want to know?”

  “A little while ago,” Calvin said, “Arges made the comment that I had the ability to be a telepath. Since then, he has avoided me. When he wasn’t able to dodge me, he changed the subject when I brought it up or found other ways to keep from answering the question. You are the Psiclops that I can most count on for a straight answer. What did he mean?”

  “Did he say that it was too difficult for him to talk about?” asked Steropes in lieu of an answer.

  “As a matter of fact,” replied Calvin, “he said almost those exact words.”

  Steropes nodded. “I figured he would,” he said, “and that is probably the truth, believe it or not.” He paused, obviously contemplating how to tell the story. “You are aware, of course, that Arges does not do well around conflict, correct?” he finally asked.

  “Yeah,” Calvin answered. “Usually, he runs screaming from it.”

  “Most Psiclopes do,” noted Steropes. “I am one of the few that are able to deal with conflict, mostly from close association with it in the past. Neither he nor Brontes would be able to tell this story.” He paused, considering. “Several thousand years ago, all humans were able to speak mentally,” he said. “It was a trait that helped them hunt and ensured their survival. The ability was dormant when a child was born, but when they reached adulthood, their parents could give them a psychic ‘nudge’ that brought them into full Awareness of everyone around them. This also let them speak telepathically with each other.” He paused again.

  “Atlantis was the largest city on the planet,” he continued looking down at his hands. Calvin could hear the anguish in his voice as Steropes’ relived the city’s final days. “It was home to tens of thousands of the brightest people in the world. When it was destroyed, all of them were killed. Their outcry as their lives were extinguished was horrible...simply horrible.”

  With a sniff, he continued, “The psychic trauma of such a large number of humans dying at the same time burned out the psychic ability of every human alive at that time and greatly affected all of us Psiclopes for a long time, as well. It caused us to have to go into an extended sleep cycle to repair the damage done to our brains. Succeeding generations of humans have had the telepathic ability, but haven’t had anyone to help ‘nudge’ them into Awareness. Unfortunately, our brains function differently, and we cannot do it for you. Eventually, the knowledge that the ability existed was lost. Since then, scientists have often wondered why so much of the brain seems unused; that is why.”

  “So how do we activate it again?” asked Calvin.

  “I do not know,” replied Steropes. “Perhaps a different race might be able to activate it within you. The ability runs more strongly in you than in all of the humans I have known since the fall of Atlantis. That is why you can sense us when we are around, even if we are cloaked. It is also why you hear a buzzing sound around us. You are catching a piece of our telepathic conversation although it isn’t enough for you to decipher.”

  President’s Chambers, National Assembly Building, Abuja, Nigeria, June 3, 2020

  “Now that we have a functioning world government,” Terran President Katrina Nehru said, “we would like to know more about the galactic political environment.” The president had asked the Psiclopes to attend a strategy session with the five senior leaders of the Terran government. A private meeting, it was being held in the president’s conference room so that any information that might be worrisome to the general public could be controlled.

  “What is it that you are inquiring about?” asked Arges.

  “As you are aware,” Masood Khalil, the Secretary of State replied, “we are a small stellar nation that is largely unaware of its surroundings. We know of only one other culture, beyond our two planets, and that race attacked us without provocation. As Secretary of State, I would find it most helpful to know what other races we are likely to come in contact with as we journey further out into the stars. It would be nice to know which civilizations to avoid, and which might give us aid. Perhaps a brief history of the galaxy might be a good start so that we understand what is going on out there. It is time that we found out more about the galaxy.”

  “It’s well past time we found out,” disagreed the vice president. As the closest confidant of the U.S. president, he had known about the Psiclopes for almost as long as anyone. The fact that they had delayed passing on this knowledge was a constant source of irritation to him.

  “Yes,” replied Arges, “it is past time for you to hear this, but there were excellent reasons for the delay. We can debate the efficacy of the reasons at another time.” He looked at Steropes. “Perhaps you would like to brief them on this topic?”

  “I would be happy to,” answered Steropes. “Without going too far into it, I will start out by saying that there have been space-travelling civilizations for tens of thousands of years. Most of the races that currently exist came onto the galactic scene about 11,000 years ago. We know that there were civilizations that existed a long time before that, the Progenitors, but they vanished before the current races came to prominence. All we
have are their artifacts, like the stargates, to tell their tale.”

  “Around 11,000 years ago,” continued Steropes, “seven races came into contact with each other. Five of these races were generally peaceful in nature, while two of them were not. The five banded together and were able to contain the advances of the two. One of the warlike races destroyed itself; the other is a race you have already met, the Ssselipsssiss that your forces fought on their first mission. They are a culture built on warfare; all they understand is force.”

  “The five original peaceful races saw that they were stronger together than apart, so they decided to form the Alliance of Civilizations. The Psiclopes were one of those founding races and agreed to host the alliance government on our home planet of Olympos. That was just over 10,000 years ago. At that time we had a thriving society. All of the races got along well, and we were at the height of our power. This arrangement worked out well for almost 6,000 years.”

  “The beginning of the end for the Alliance of Civilizations came just over 4,000 years ago. It didn’t happen because of the appearance of a new culture, or as a result of bad leadership or through any other cause that you might expect. The downfall of the Psiclopes society, and the alliance as a whole, was caused by the development of an anti-aging technology discovered by one of our scientists.”

  “How is that?” asked the speaker of the lower house of parliament. A model before becoming the Brazilian president, Amanda Silva remained ever-conscious of her looks. If an anti-aging process existed, she wanted it.

  “Our scientists found a way to rejuvenate cells at the most basic level,” replied Brontes, taking up the story. “They didn’t just slow the effects of aging; they stopped it completely. The process couldn’t reverse any aging that had already taken place, but it could stop it from proceeding. For all intents and purposes, we became immortal.” She didn’t sound happy about it.