Sunset of the Gods Read Online Free Page B

civilization.”
    Landry almost choked on his pipe-smoke. “Oannes! Wasn’t that the name, in Sumerian mythology, of a—”
    “—Supernatural being, half fish and half man,” Jason finished for him. “As rebellions spread, the Teloi tried to create a kind of super-stock of humans, using women as surrogate mothers of artificial embryos, to serve as proxy rulers. This was the origin of our legends of semi-divine Heroes.” One of whom I got to know , he thought, remembering Perseus. “Once again, the Teloi blundered; their tame demigods were even less amenable to control than the general run of humans, and led still more rebellions.
    “Eventually, the Teloi withdrew in disgust from the original civilized areas. By 1628 b.c., their area of activity stretched from western Europe to northern India, with a special focus in the Aegean.”
    “The Indo-European pantheon!” Landry blurted, scattering hot ashes on his shirt-front, which looked as though this had happened to it once or twice before.
    Jason nodded. “Yes. We know them by many names from many places. In Greek mythology the older ones were the Titans, the first generation of gods—Cronus, Hyperion and the rest. The younger ones were the Olympians.”
    “But,” Landry persisted, brushing off his shirt, “what happened to them? As I said, one hears some rather remarkable rumors about your expedition.”
    “Some rather remarkable things happened,” said Jason mildly. “You see, the Teloi had an absolutely invulnerable refuge: an artificially generated ‘pocket universe’ with only one access interface, which was portable. We arranged for that interface to be obliterated in the Santorini explosion. The ‘Titans’ were permanently trapped in the pocket universe with most of their high-technology paraphernalia.”
    “Imprisoned in Tartarus by Zeus,” Landry breathed.
    “So the later Greeks thought. But it wasn’t Zeus who did it. Oannes gave his life to make it possible.” The last of his race , Jason recalled. Not just on Earth but in the universe. Their war with the Teloi had proceeded to mutual annihilation. The Nagommo evidently won, but to do so they gengineered themselves into overspecialized subspecies . . . unsuccessfully, in the long run.
    I knew that, having seen the horror show that is the Nagommo home planet in our era, an endless vista of ruins inhabited by none but degenerate, deformed, sub-sentient travesties of what was once a great race—the race that unknowingly died to give us a future free of the Teloi. But I never told him I knew it. I thought I was being merciful. Was I?
    “One of my team members also gave his life,” Jason continued. “A Dr. Sidney Nagel.” A conceited, opinionated, socially inept little twit . . . who taught me what courage is.
    “Wasn’t there a third member of your expedition?” Mondrago asked.
    Jason’s features went immobile. “Dr. Deirdre Sadaka-Ramirez,” he said expressionlessly. “She remained in the seventeenth century b.c.”
    They waited attentively for an explanation. None was forthcoming.
    “Thank you, Commander Thanou,” said Rutherford briskly. “Now you all know the background in general terms. During the next few days, you will be given more in-depth presentations, including video and auditory recordings of both the Teloi and the Nagommo.”
    Chantal Frey’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm, which was immediately banked down by puzzlement. “But. . . . If you don’t mind my asking, how were such recordings obtained? The Articles of Agreement were very explicit: we aren’t allowed to carry any out-of-period equipment into the past.”
    “Good question,” Mondrago nodded. “I’m new to the Service, but even I know about that restriction.”
    Jason and Rutherford exchanged a look. No words were needed to express their joint conclusion: these people had had about all they could handle for now.
    “The answer will become clear in due course,” said Rutherford smoothly. “In the