The being that called itself a god felt confused. The world had changed to the point of almost becoming unrecognisable, the people moved so fast these days, not better but faster. Their brains were connected to electrical signals that they carried with them or connected to all around within the atmosphere. The speed was both faster and slower than previously before, with more near-constant signals but the quality had dropped.

As though there had been a shift in the state of the world, it realised that humans had developed technology and more advanced tools in their way but the amount of communication had become shorter and less refined. More machinery although the amount of free available biological entities had been transformed into small numbers but far more concentrated than before.

The spiritual environment although noisy was far quieter than before. Where it had been more akin to a busy ecosystem like a jungle with all of the animals, plant life and insects causing a constant drone of noise now there remained a faint buzzing sound that although smaller was immediately noticeable.

Visible colours were different as well, everything had become a similar shade. Occasionally blotches were seen but there were no longer the bright lights and vivid colours that there had once been. Stars once shone in the vision of the god across the spectrum in locations both near and far. It felt somewhat unsettled.

Humans were still humans though and there remained the same instinct and primal drive that all homo sapiens had. They desired and fought and loved, all of this was expressed in as many forms as there were colours and shades of colour in existence.

Still, the god remained confused. Its senses told it that a human being stood in front of it, it breathed and circulated blood within its body and electrical signals and chemical transfers were continually flowing through. This one though was wrong; it had a particular presence around it that should not and could not exist in this type of form.

This particular god studied the biological forms of living creatures, it examined the skeleton, internal organs even the cell structure and found that it was almost similar to any other living creature in existence. The god remembered the scientific research that it had once carried out in the empires of old, how easily the humans sacrificed themselves to see a purpose that was greater than themselves. The High Priests back then had asked to win wars against their various enemies and build an everlasting empire, the god had chosen to grant their prayers.

Blood, flesh, and unnaturally enhanced bone provided a form of enhancement to the soldiers who fought, boosting their natural skills and abilities with unnatural vitality. They would continue to fight even if they lost limbs and blood loss meant little when the coagulation process happened so quickly that any cut or wound closed off almost immediately. Not healed though, no, it did not want to give all the gifts that were at its disposal. Research and true enlightenment were to be hoarded as was any true treasure, it needed further test subjects for experimentation and perfection.

Slaves, soldiers, and beggars became minor deities in themselves for short spaces of time on the battlefields. Cutting the head off led to a faster death it was true but for the space of dozens of seconds more their bodies would continue to fight on. Living biological reactors are designed to kill in a controlled scientific environment. Oh, how the god had enjoyed these times when the most powerful would seek its favour through forms of human and animal sacrifice.

Aliens for the god meant outsiders from a different region, even if it was capable of differentiating between types of humans. It saw biological building blocks fit for purpose, all living beings regardless of size, species or type were clay that could be sculpted into new forms.

Or transformed. It had forgotten a large part of itself during its time in enforced captivity. The human it reminded itself, stood in front of it with arms raised outward in supplication but without fear or hesitation. He should be offering prayers and asking for sufficient gifts, to become more than he was, to live longer, remove afflictions of the mind and body or to reduce the suffering of a loved one.

The being that thought of itself as a god would answer all prayers that had been passed to it in its form as it had done with the single villager who had survived the slaughter of his people. His soul had tasted sour filled with extreme disbelief of the spirit world, and the god had allowed it to pass onwards rather than use it for fuel as he had known respect and in turn, it had provided him with his desires of vengeance.

It knew what an amygdala was, but it would be the same as a person breathing in and out, a purely unconscious reflex action that was undertaken by the body. Any living being did not need to think about breathing and know exactly what it was doing and the biological processes that both affected themselves and their natural environment.

The god considered itself a scientist of sorts, although the actual term was slippery for it to grasp. It knew that the purpose that it held was to make humans into better forms, the same for all lifeforms that passed in front of it. To enhance them to become better or more diverse, failure and death were part of the path to a process of absolute perfection.

If the god was able to be asked directly in terms that it understood, it would reply that it was a god-maker on a path to creating an ultimate form. Purpose, it knew, was hard to find but desirable in all forms. It never claimed to be sane. To create a true physical living god that existed in the flesh but lacked all semblance of the spirits was the embodiment of all that it held. Even if that god turned on it and destroyed its essence the being that called itself a god would have

‘Do you require any sustenance great one?’

Came the voice from the human dressed in the leather jacket and dark grey jeans with a light purple scarfwrapped around his neck.

His body was slim enough around his waist but tapering up to broader shoulders and a surprisingly handsome face with wire-rimmed glasses and dark brown hair. If the god recognised beauty by human standards, it would have called him a handsome man, alas the god only appreciated what lay inside the body. Flesh, bones, organs, genetic structure and potential flaws and illnesses to be ironed out.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The man could pass for being in his late twenties except for his eyes which held a trace of coldness inside them. His mouth was creased into a firm smile, and he stood in front of the statue aware of the presence of the god within, but his body was firm without a trace of hesitation or nervousness.

‘You do not answer my questions. I fully understand you need time to process this new world that you find yourself in. I do not think that is the technology of man that addles your mind, you feel the lack, no, the absence. In time you will understand how the world has changed for both your kind and mine. I will leave you to your thoughts as you are our most esteemed guest ancient one.’

The god felt confusion once more. According to the rules that had been set when it had first been imprisoned the man had no temporary means of protection against it. Instinct was a hard creature to stop and when several creatures of similar species were placed in front of it the urge to induce immediate change into a higher form took priority.

This would in turn give time to humans to have a small degree of protection within the vicinity of the god while they performed other tasks. It hadn’t helped that the confines that it had been kept in diluted its ability to rationally think and act, the captors that had controlled it and kept it isolated from the outside world had severely limited its interaction with any forms of new technology that humans had created.

When the man had arrived in the desert region outside of the massive, forested area the god had first assumed that he was a mere wanderer of the desert regions, but his actions had been unsettling, he had begun talking about a blank emptiness and a shift in minds and how he was there to assist the god in finding new forms in its mission.

His presence was unnoticed by the god at first and although it was not surprising it found itself initially lacking in what response to take. Not to attack mostly out of curiosity as the man held a particular presence that encouraged all to listen to him.

All that he had asked the god was it listened to him on occasion, not act nor any knowledge that it might possess regarding the fields of biology and change but simply listen to his spoken words. The man had talked about the statue of the god and how we would carry it to a city full of light and darkness in a short time, it only needed to be patient and work with him.

He had utilised a technology that the being had never seen before, it flew on the winds with noise and smoke but it was organic except for the smallest part of it. A single red outline that was crouched in the front part of the design, was almost shielded but not quite. There was a gap that could be taken advantage of so the being thought about using the last of its power to take it and transform it into one final meal.

When it had reached its power to take control of the unprotected organic matter onboard the flying vehicle it had been blocked. It was not like a chariot with wings but a construction or a tool that was used to enable it to fly. In some ways the being admired the design and considered how much resources it would take to build in but in a purely organic fashion.

‘If you try to kill my hard-working staff, I will have to act ancient one. You will find the sustenance you need once we enter the city. I promise your hunger will be assuaged. I only need to ask you a single question. Are you a god or an animal?’

An animal would always eat food places in front of it when hungry, but a sentient being would consider first if it was a trap, it would be able to choose to eat or starve to death. To be reduced to a lower form of life had been the ultimate humiliation, the god was fed and eaten in turn without maintaining a constantly higher level of awareness.

The souls of animals did not provide enough sustenance or sufficient power for them to perform beyond minor transformations of flesh, bone, and muscle. The decay that set in was almost immediate and it had been unable to measure enough variables.

Each time it had animals in wooden cages placed in front of it by patient villagers it now realised that it had attempted to perform the same experiment too many times. To transfer the essence of the animals into the opposite form barring species. Red-plumaged birds would turn into blue-plumaged birds, wild pigs would turn into domesticated animals. Genetic alteration at its most basic, to escape and locate higher forms of life should have temporarily increased the adrenalin flow and aggression instincts, but it lacked even the most basic understanding.

Such as the fate of the imprisoned. Without sufficient education and outside stimulation, even the sharpest minds would slowly lose their edge. Hunger. The god felt the need for further essence to devour and transform.

When they arrived in the city, the god was unable to understand why the human population had reached such high levels. The man had kept to his promise and allowed it to both eat and experiment before the results were released back into the dirty streets to find a cleaner death than at the hands of the living god.

Its statue had been placed in a secure warehouse and the man frequently came to visit by himself after several close accidents had almost happened with members of his staff. The last time that he had approached after the final incident and he had shown marginal signs of displeasure. Standing in front of the statue in the middle of the empty warehouse he spoke clearly and softly.

‘Would you prefer something sweeter to eat? We can certainly find something for those of discerning taste like yourself.’

The god heard the voice of the man inside its mind but still felt uncertain about responding directly, it wasn’t quite frozen in the way that an animal would stop and hesitate when it sensed danger but a subtle wrongness that gave off a sort of warning.

Aberration. Mortal yet not. Do not cross.

It felt certain that the man communicated by using an unmodified meat tongue and forcing air through alone but there was something wrong with him. A distance too far for it to reach alone. The lack of other lights was too confusing still, it caused some initial thoughts of pain and loneliness. The other lights used to fight each other, this was normal, the strongest would take and eke out their niche and the weaker ones would be relegated to the sides until the battle was once again joined.

A single word came into its mind unbidden. Melammu. The presence that should not exist within a mortal frame had been taken by this creature, this man. He had followed the path of demi-gods of old and stolen power that had not belonged to him. The path of gods lay before this man but he had retained his organic mortal form and not abandoned it to become a being of pure energy and raw power.

Death. Punishment. The gods and spirits of the world would allow no mortal hands to possess such power, but the world felt so silent to the living god. An absence of any real active presence concerned it, that, and its near lack of power over biological organisms. To retreat into its statue which served as a prison and refuge would become a necessity soon, it would need to preserve enough energy to think and understand the bizarre nature of this new world where the heavens and hells had fallen silent, and the doors and windows had been closed.

The man stopped his supplication and stood upright; his hands held in front of him with his eyes fiercely glaring under the glasses on his face. He smiled at the living god with the patience and kindness of a man talking to a toddler. Adjusting his purple scarf he adjusted his glasses and spoke.

‘All beings in existence have their set purpose ancient one. You have been fed and kindness has been shown to you as a quest. Would you like us to help you to find your purpose now?’