It wasn’t just time.

That’s what I thought as I sat in the centre of the Great Library of Hatua.

I sat in the central camber – a gargantuan cylinder which was lined with platform along which were countless bookshelves and containers.

Several Shangazi, teachers and students could be seen perusing through the many books within the library which, although shaped like the Coliseum in Rome, had a roof which resembled the bulbous one of the Temple of Tablets. This roof extended five hundred meters beyond the library’s walls creating a canopy which shaded the buildings beneath.

My throne sat in the centre of the chamber atop a grand pedestal which was bathed in the light of several lights that lined the ceiling. These lights were electrical and had been developed over ten years of extremely fast technological advancement. Hidden from sight within the Coliseum's walls was copper cabling which received power from stations dotted across Hatua and while it would have been east to use Glass to power them, it was decided that coal be used since it was way more abundant.

Yes, this would mean my denizens would have to dig into me but I had given them a window to do so.

I glared at a tablet in my hands which was one of the many accounts detailing the Downfall of the Pāttiram.

It was written by a Glass Gatherer, the only cast that seemed to remain among their ranks when they landed on me and he genuinely couldn’t recall learning or even hearing about what happened.

All the last Pāttiram seemed to remember was drifting endlessly through space and time in search of Glass.

That was where most of their recorded history began.

A few other accounts hinted at some great war that nearly ended their entire species.

I was starting to believe that it wasn’t just time which doomed them.

Something else happened but the idiots didn’t remember-

I took a deep breath and gently placed the tablet next to my throne before standing up.

Kneeling at the foot of my seat was a Caretaker and my secretary, Hekima.

He was dressed in his usual indigo, baggy robes which covered everything but his wrinkly face which had been shaved of its eyebrows.

He looked at me with his beautiful grey eyes and I looked at his pale grey skin.

I could see the tiny microbial life that danced across it and I watched as his body processing nutrients into the energy he needed.

They were just as much my children as Hekima.

“My Lady?” He asked but I remained silent while making my way out of the library with him in tow.

I had a designated exit and entrance on the roof and so I ascended one of the two spiral staircases that went around the inner wall of the Coliseum.

I eventually reached a pair of grand doors which were guarded by two men who were clad in tactical armour that resembled that worn by soldiers back on earth only it was dark grey and their faces were hidden behind woollen masks.

Holstered by their hips were pistols which had been developed over the years. It started with us developing technology that allowed us to harness the power of combustion and eventually led to me thinking about how people who couldn’t use magic or didn’t have access to Glass could defend themselves.

How did guns stack up against magic?

A gun would come out on top nine out of ten times but things got tricky when a powerful Magician was the threat.

We had learnt that Uyil Torsion could essentially make a person bullet proof and magic at a large enough scale could wipe out entire cities.

Ua was the most extreme example seeing as she was able to survive my attacks for a time.

I exited the Coliseum via its roof although I was still under its canopy.

My Oval shaped ship was also up here and it sat on a landing pad which was for my personal use only.

I entered the vehicle along with Hekima and it rose out of the opening at the top of the roof and it was here that I beheld the Capital of Hatua, now known as Kupumzika, as it stood after ten years of Progress.

To the north was Temple Kupumzika which remained mostly unchanged and at its foot was the Hatua Department of Administration or HDA.

A semi-circular building at the foot of the mountain wherein Hatua was governed.

It’s senior most resident was Sadia who held the title of Prime Minister although she had shared with me her plans to retire.

To the north of the HDA was a vast stretch of land dedicated to residential and business buildings.

Further north was the Great Library of Hatua and even further north was the Kifo Valley which had been enclosed and made a wildlife reserve.

I loved the Humanoids but I wasn’t going to let them be the only beings that enjoyed this new age of prosperity.

To the west of Kupumzika was the farmlands and to the east were the Crystal Lands which had lost half of their contents over the years.

We had been careful as to not rush through the Glass we had and the end goal was to harvest the moon completely.

This would equip the humanoids with the resources they’d need after they built enough ships to explore the stars.

The Forest Afor had also been sealed and turned into a reserve although the Chofumah who still called it home were allowed to live there.

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Structurally speaking, Abanafash hadn’t changed although ships now travelled between it, the Island of Tablets and Y’shuah.

Any threats in the water were dealt with although to prevent the endangerment of entire species of animals, we moved a of them into tanks within preservation facilities.

As for Kimbilio to the far south, the Great Library there had been built and the city had been revamped to accommodate the technological advancements it experienced.

Ed was named Prime Minister and although tensions had faded somewhat between north and south, there was a growing cultural divide in that those to the south didn’t want to associate themselves with Ua or Hennean Dynasty iconography or traditions.

Blessed Sisters were rare and while the north kept the crest of the spear within the diamond, those to the South used the Pangolin shield as their symbol.

The Diamond Spear represented the determination held by those in Hatua on their forward march of progress while the spear represented the strength of will held by those in Teva, the southern part of the continent.

Hekima and I flew past the Island of Tablets which was being expanded.

It would be the launch pad for a majority the ships which would carry the humanoids to the stars.

Tal was on the Island and she was studying Sav’taism of all things.

I wanted to drop by and see her while she studied but I wanted to talk to Musa first.

We flew above Y’shuah to see that the city of Pele had been completed.

The cavern beneath had been evacuated and, fortunately, the humanoids had reinforced the subterranean structure to support the weight of the city above.

Most of the Elephantine Forest was walled off and made a wildlife reserve while the land to the north was used for farmland.

We flew past Y’shuah and eventually arrived at my northern pole where the dragons still lived. They flew gracefully beneath the soaring sun and although I really wanted to ride the Red Emperor, that would have to wait.

Beneath the dragons was Musa’s facility and second home. It was about the size of twelve football fields and littered with broken Pāttiram vehicles.

We landed on a pad next to the central building which had an appearance akin to that of the Temple of Tablets, in that it had a bulbous shape, and we exited the vehicle.

Several guards greeted us with deep bows and they lined the path which led into Musa’s place.

I entered it only to be assaulted by several loud banging noises.

The space I entered was littered with metal scraps and broken machines.

At the centre of the pile of… things was Musa who mercilessly punched what appeared to be a shiny metallic suit that had a humanoid form.

This was what he had been working on for the past ten years and although he had helped his kind in developing all kinds of other technologies, his passion was always Pāttiram based technology and he wondered if he could scale their vehicles down to fit a normal person to allow them to do far more than their bodies could on their own without having to resort to Life Energy augmentation.

He was dressed in dark and dirty overalls and even though I had demanded that he at least cover his head with protective equipment several times, his head remained uncovered revealing his handsome face.

In a sequence of events that confused me, both he and his sister had grown to match the age they would have been if they were still humanoid with Musa being twenty five and Tal being sixteen. Well, she was almost sixteen.

Her birthday was in a few days and that’s why I was visiting Musa.

He had grown taller and had a robust body which was a far cry from that of his dainty father.

His hair was also cut short and his once smooth skin was covered in small scratches and scars he’d gotten from his stupid and dangerous experiments.

The foolish boy eventually noticed me and, after taking a deep breath, he greeted me with a weak smile.

His eyes were no longer bound since he and Tal had gotten accustomed to their super vision.

“Good afternoon, My Lady.” He greeted as I turned my eyes to his hand which had gained new scars after his little tantrum.

Since it was made of Glass, the damage it took appeared in the same way as the damage on an old window.

Small cracks were here and there on top of numerous scratches.

“Ahem! Yeah, sorry I keep forgetting to finish the plans for the tram system-“

I raised my right hand, silencing the boy, before traversing the sea of steel to the couch behind him where I promptly dropped myself.

Musa chuckled as he grabbed a dirty rag which he used to wipe his hands.

“What’s wrong?” He asked while sitting next to me.

“I can’t think of anything to give her!” I sighed while rubbing my cheeks but this just made Musa chuckle some more.

“Have you tried talking to her or asking her directly?”

“Ugh, you know how your sister is. That’s why…” I grinned and it was here that Musa’s eyes widened.

“What?”

“I want you to talk to her for me.”

Musa’s eyes shook.

“Aren’t you supposed to be an omnipotent God?” He tilted his head but I scoffed while standing up.

“Please. Even if I were to widen my perspective to its limits, the part of me that is able to perceive and comprehend things is only able to focus on a singular point in space and time. And besides… I don’t want to spy on you.” I explained although I muttered the last part.

Musa laughed at me but I had a job for him so grabbed his hand and led him out of his place all while Hekima watched with an amused expression.

I threw Musa into my ship and joined him inside while he groaned.

“Sheesh. You’d think you’d be gentler. What with me being a Mal’akh and everything.” Musa scoffed but I rolled my eyes while looking out of the ship as it flew back to the Island of Tablets.

“How’s work?” I asked.

“Ehh… it’s all going fairly well. Emunah’s funeral went smoothly although L’vanah didn’t attend which definitely caused a few people to whisper but I’m sure she was just meeting up with her Aviyvist friends again. Although I’m guessing you already knew all this and I wonder why you made me say it anyway.”

“I just wanted to hear your voice, I suppose.” I sighed and this made Musa tilt his head in confusion but I dismissively waved my hand, undoing the knots on his brow.

We eventually landed next to the Temple of Tablets where I told Musa to wash up and change into some clean clothes.

Hekima and I then made our way into the City of Godrest, named so because it was thought that this place is where I came to rest after creating everything.

I accepted this name because it meant that I didn’t have to name it myself.

Our destination was the Second Temple which was essentially a university where people studied Theology, philosophy, art, literature and other such thoughtful subjects.

The sun was steadily getting closer to the western horizon meaning classes were over and so I decided to wait for Tal at the university’s entrance.

People had long since gotten used to my presence so no one made as scene although they stared and muttered prayers from a distance.

I let out a sigh and this made Hekima chuckle.

“What?” I asked and he gestured that I sit with him on a nearby bench.

I did as he asked.

“It always surprises me whenever I see you, our God, struggle to deal with her children.“ He smiled but this made me frown.

“I don’t struggle with them!” I asserted but a stupid smile remained on Hekima’s face and for a second I contemplated throwing him to the moon.

However…

“It’s not that I’m struggling. They’re… they’re not being very cooperative, that’s all.” I pouted but this just made Hekima grin.

“Such is the nature of children. Speaking of which, two of them are fast approaching.”

I turned around to find Tal exiting the university.

She had grown to be quite tall and stood almost as tall as Musa at one hundred and eighty centimetres.

She had a slender figure which she moved shyly, a possible consequence of the attention she got by being my daughter.

She was dressed in the university uniform which was essentially a loose fitting indigo suit which was topped with a black coat.

She also wore an indigo head wrap like the other students, both male and female.

Walking alongside her was Cheche, who stood shorter and was on the chubby side. Cheche said all manner of things in her usual bombastic way but this made Tal smile and that made me smile in turn.

Tal’s smile, however, dimmed as she turned to look at me.

She and Cheche eventually reached us, deeply bowing shortly after.

“Good afternoon, My Lady.” They greeted simultaneously.

They then stood upright and Tal looked at me with eyes that saw me as nought but a god and this circled back to why she was studying Theology.

She was trying to figure out a way to access Nurukes and communicate with her mother even after I had told her that, according to everything I knew, it was impossible.