Epilogue: Voices and Secrets

The room was dark, with no lights in it save for the glare of screens. Screens that showed little besides blurred human outlines or scrolling identification numbers. In the corners of the room, outlets allowed a sea of wires to run into a multitude of devices. Some were microphones, speakers, screens, technology that was sophisticated but easily identified. Others were computer towers of some description, while others were more esoteric, impossible to recognise without specialist knowledge.

In addition, there were scrolls carefully attached to the walls, barely visible in the dim light. Each scroll was different, one depicting several geometric patterns, another covered in Norse runes, and yet another held Japanese calligraphy. The one thing they all shared was the feeling of power running through them. It was clear that these were no mere decorations, these were scrolls of power, magic every bit as part of them as the ink they were written in.

All of this was needed. The men and women speaking to one another through this complex system required a high level of security to ensure that their meeting could be conducted without fear of being compromised. This was a meeting of voices, the blurred and indistinct figures on the screens were there only as a symbolic display of participation, nothing more.

“Is there still no development?!”

The voice spoke in English with a distinctly foreign accent to it, yet every word was intoned with textbook precision. Aside from that, the voice was deep, with an unmistakably masculine tone to it, the voice of someone used to speaking with authority.

“No. The area has been searched by agents, surveyed with satellites, and even investigated with what mystic assets we can bring to bear. So far there have been no results. The area is as normal a part of the French countryside as you can get.”

The reply came with almost maddening calm. In contrast to the first speaker, this voice was so utterly lacking in distinction that it almost faded from the mind as soon as it became silent. The message spoken was conveyed, but the voice itself was so bland that it seemed to melt away from one’s memories.

“Are you serious?! That flare lit up most of the Planet! There were gods and magic users on the other side of the world that felt it, even if they couldn’t see it, and you’re saying it left nothing!”

With every word spoken the authoritative voice grew audibly more frustrated, though it was clear that though his temper was straining at the leash, that leash still held strong.

“It is hardly a surprise that the source of such power would be difficult to pin down.” Another voice spoke, this one cultured, with a light Italian accent to it. “Something of such might would not be so careless as to be easily followed. Our agent’s inability to track the source should hardly be a surprise.”

“Perhaps,” The first voice admitted, though it was clear he was unhappy to do so. “But it does not sit well with me that there’s someone out there with that kind of power and we know nothing about them.”

“On that front, I may be able to help.” The new voice broke in, this time feminine, a lilt to her tone that sounded exotic. “We have finally been able to decode the readings that were taken of the Second Moon. It is by no means ideal, but we have some notion of the composition of the energies that made it up.”

“What can you tell us?” The second speaker asked.

“There were several distinct signatures to the flare, though the exact number is uncertain. It could be as few as two, or as many as six, there were simply too many different energies mixed in to be certain.

“What we can confirm is that the most prominent signature was unquestionably Abrahamic in origin. We can also confirm that the signature is of an extreme level of sophistication, indicating that the progenitor of that signature must have been one of the archangels.”

The ability to use technology to track supernatural powers was still in its infancy, but fast progress was being made. The best and most secretly guarded innovation had been modified sensors that were able to detect a wide variety of newly discovered energies. Supernatural beings and powers might operate on unknown rules, but they still existed in the framework science had been working out for centuries. Background radiation, electromagnetic fields, radio waves, ultra-high and ultra-low wavelengths of sound and light, all of them were affected by such forces as magic, chi and divine power, if you knew how to look. A scientist had described it as akin to looking for an invisible man in thick fog via the vapour he displaced, challenging, but not impossible.

Of course, there were a great many practical limitations, problems that might be overcome with time and research, but for now remained iron walls. A limited range was chief among them, distance causing the accuracy of the sensors to drop off sharply at a certain point until they became useless.

Still, the technology could be made portable, and trained agents had been able to gain many readings from the supernatural beings that had integrated into society. Apollo, Herne, demigods, and Nephilim, there had been many examples to surreptitiously analyse and compare. Other data was gathered in the field, including a scan of the archangel Michael during one of his two recorded visits to Earth.

Analysing the massive Awakening flare had not been difficult, even with the limited range of the sensors. The ones available in France had been so inundated by the flare that the demigod might as well have been sitting on them.

“Were there any matches in our database?”

A new voice asked, this one . . . breathy, almost exaggerated in its femininity.

“No. Though definitely angelic there were no matches. Whoever was the progenitor they are not an angel we have encountered.”

“What about the other signatures? Were you able to identify any of them?” The authoritative first voice asked.

“Only in the loosest sense,” The lilting speaker admitted. “Only one of the signatures could find a vague match, and even then, we can only narrow it down to a general pantheon.”

“And just which was it?” A new voice, this one with an American southern drawl, asked.

“As far as we could determine, the signature belongs to the Jade Court.”

Silence pervaded the room after that announcement. The situation in China was in many ways the realization of every fear shared by those of this gathering. China was the only major nation in the world that had been completely taken over by the returning deities, an object lesson in just how outgunned military technology was by divine power.

Fortunately, the Jade Court had not been interested in expanding their new empire, but there was always the chance they would change their mind. Preparing for such an eventuality, or the possibility of some other group of supernaturals attempting their own conquest, had been a major reason this coalition had formed. That such a powerful demigod had ties to one of their biggest collective headaches was not a good sign. Add to that further ties to arguably the most powerful supernatural faction, the angelic heavens, and those headaches just got worse.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“We shall continue our analysis as more data becomes available,” The lilting speaker assured the group. “But for the moment this remains the limit of what can be accomplished.”

Again, silence met her words, the chamber quiet save for the background whir of machines. No one needed to say anything, all of them were thinking the same thing, asking the same question.

How did this change things?

The problem was the maddening lack of solid information. They knew the potential power of this new demigod, but that was it. They had no idea as to their character, their ambitions, their actual powers, or even their nationality or gender.

“What of our other operations? How goes the public image management?”

The question was answered by a new speaker, this time with a clearly North American accent to his voice.

“The initial steps have been taken and are showing early signs of success. Being able to influence the scripts of Apollo’s most recent motion pictures has been of major assistance, but it will still take time before we can reach the needed levels of media saturation to strongly shape public views in just America and Europe, let alone other countries.

“The management of information agencies and social media is still being established, but certain trends have been successfully . . . encouraged. If projections prove accurate then we should have reached at least twenty percent of our needed goals within the next two months. After that, we shall need to scale back our influence to avoid exposure, but all targets should be reached within two years, barring unanticipated complications.

“Lastly, a number of novels and independently produced comics that have been sponsored by us are due to be released in both paper and electronic format over the next few weeks. Steps have already been taken to ensure they will receive strong exposure and good critical acclaim. A number of influencers have been subtly coopted to further the resonance of their themes. With any luck they will tilt public opinion a few more degrees in the direction we wish.”

“Are there any further avenues of influence that can be exploited?” Another new voice asked.

“No. Should we move beyond a certain point of saturation too soon then the manipulation of information and media trends shall become too obvious, leading to a sharp decrease in effectiveness. A slower approach that incrementally increases its presence in the public mind is the best method.”

Nobody made any further comment, all of those present were aware of the importance of that project.

In the wake of the Black Sun, with the emergence of the supernatural and the revelation that humanity was no longer at the top of the food chain, the threat of anarchy and fear tearing civilization apart had been all too real. By shaping the narrative of events, by influencing how the public saw the demigods and deities, a hastily assembled alliance of movers and shakers had been able to avoid disaster, but it was an ongoing process.

What they were now trying to do was to shape the way people thought of those with supernatural power. Even more than the gods, they were aiming to shape the public perception of the demigods, and with it how newly Awakening demigods would view themselves. They knew they had little influence over the actions of the likes of gods or angels, but they hoped to at least sway how people chose to use the powers they might gain. It was an ongoing process, one still in its infancy, but they hoped it would yield future results.

“What about the other projects? We were expecting an update on the viability of Project Gemini, what is there to report?”

A light Russian accent tinged that voice, but there was no mistaking the iron will behind the words. The speaker was not one to be crossed.

“I am sorry to say that Project Gemini has been ruled as a dead end,” The voice that answered had no recognizable accent. It was a voice that did not sound native to the language, but which had no trace of its mother tongue. “At this time both technology and scientific knowledge are too limited to make the project viable. Divine DNA is simply too incomprehensible at this time.

“More than that, attempts to understand it seem to have a deleterious effect upon the minds of the mortals that try. Careful attention was paid to the psychological well-being of the researchers assigned to the project. They were not pushed too hard, nor were they placed under undue stress. They were merely meant to perform a preliminary analysis, an evaluation of potential future development.

“However, it was noted that otherwise rational personnel grew increasingly obsessive over the samples they were permitted to test. This erratic behaviour seemed to grow in proportion to not only their amount of exposure but also the level of effort they put in. Those more dedicated are the most affected. By the time the project was deemed unviable, there had been three different psychotic breakdowns.”

“This is not completely unexpected,” This time it was a voice so neutral that neither gender nor nation could be guessed from it. “In both Greek and Abrahamic mythology there is mention of mortals being unable to gaze upon the true form of a divinity without being destroyed or driven mad. Studying their DNA must have a similar effect, given that it is an attempt to see their essence and learn from it.”

“Another limitation then.” A South American voice stated. “What of the other projects? Have any of them yielded positive results?”

“Project Midas has shown some promise.” This time it was an older voice that spoke, however, the slight tremor in the words did not detract from the weight those words carried. “The samples of conjured and transmuted gold that were analysed have shown subtle but distinct markers, a means by which it can be differentiated from natural gold.”

“How difficult is it to find these markers?” This time it was a woman that asked, her tone eager but controlled.

“With the correct technology, it is surprisingly easy,” The more elderly voice answered. “As things stand the apparatus needed is somewhat bulky, but I have been assured that miniaturization is relatively easy. A model should be ready within a month for mass manufacture and distribution, should we choose to make it public.”

“What sort of price are we talking about? Will it be affordable for the general consumer?”

“I am told that the final version should be on a par with the average office computer.”

“Good.” The woman sounded satisfied. “Such a price will make them available to most reputable buyers of gold. Less legal locations will still purchase the created gold, but with such devices, we should be able to keep the value of gold from depreciating too far.”

“There is the concern of geokinetics,” Another voice offered. “Much of the planet's gold exists within the mantle or core, inaccessible to us but not so to one with the correct power. It would be entirely possible for them to acquire more gold than has ever been mined in the course of human history if they so choose.”

“There is little that can be done about that, which we aren’t already doing.” The Elderly voice replied. “Keeping the created gold from flooding the market is a higher priority. We are monitoring for any large influxes of true gold, but as of yet there have been none.”

“And any other projects?” Asked a new voice, this time with a British Oxford accent.

There was a moment of silence, and then the Russian voice spoke once more.

“There has been some progress on project Golden Bullet, but only incremental. The new alloys that were tested showed some increase in their ability to harm supernaturals, but only against random monsters found in the wild. My men were able to arrange for a suitable patsy to use the modified ammunition in an attempt to kill a deity making semiregular appearances in the city of Yakutsk. The bullets were not effective, though they did cause more pain than regular ammunition. The shooter did not survive the attempt.”

It was a grim reminder of just what the coalition was up against. The simple fact was that at the current point in time, humanity didn’t have the weaponry to seriously stand up to the gods. Even the nuclear option was of minimal use, maybe able to destroy the bodies of the weaker deities, but still unable to take them permanently off the board, thus not worth the price of use. They could simply create new avatars and return after sufficient time had passed, while the burnt and irradiated land left behind would linger for decades, not to mention the potentially massive death toll.

“Are there any further project matters that require immediate attention?” The North American speaker asked. When only silence met his question he continued. “Then I believe we should move on to the next matter, recruitment.”

There was another pause as he waited for all present to gather their thoughts for this new topic.

“We shall begin with potential agents. Ones that can be employed without full knowledge of our existence. I would like to submit this individual for evaluation. Ernest Brickson, a former army sniper with a gambling problem. His record is quite good, aside from his vice, and suborning him into our service should not be much more difficult than acquiring his debt. I am sending his file to all of you now.”

The rest of the meeting ticked away for many hours before the order of business was completed.