《Tiny Gods》


 Part 1 of 2

    Chief Xenoarcheologist Sorgon gently lifted a gleaming metallic figurine from the sonic bath. The artifact gleamed in the harsh afternoon light of the sunbaked alien world-pond. Constant gusts of scorching, dry wind could not evaporate the wave of elation that washed over him. He held aloft the statuette with his three-fingered forelimbs and waved it in triumph. "More proof we''re on the path to finding the Many Gods'' home!"


    After two grueling weeks, the golden statuette was the most significant find from the excavation of the extinct alien civilization. He placed it on the laser scanner table and initiated the scan sequence. As a laser beam traced a glittering line across the figurine, he slathered more protective moisturizing slime onto his thin amphibian skin.


    "Not the first time I''ve heard that," Pilot-Commander Devati replied. The female Betelan, a one-meter-tall newt without hindlimbs or tail, watched the auto-excavator dig up artifacts. "This is my first time seeing the machine in operation," she said over the rhythmic pounding. "How does it work?"


    Sorgon, a two-meter-tall Betelan male salamander, approached the industrial excavator that was twice his height. He pointed to the illuminated area in front of it. "Sensors continuously scan the ground and determine what''s natural. Thousands of small computer-controlled hammers pound the soil and rock into dust, leaving refined and manufactured materials untouched."


    With a grunt, he lifted a metal safety skirt to expose the machine''s underside. "Tubes attached to each hammer suck in the dust and debris. Sensors scan the dust for organic material and divert anything interesting for DNA analysis. Everything else continues to this hopper where it''s compressed into bricks." He gestured towards a distant conveyor belt spewing out perfectly formed bricks.


    "So, it does the work while you stand around and watch?"


    The blunt assessment made Sargon''s chromatophores blanch. "Well, I analyze survey results, pick the locations to place the excavators, and clean and catalog what it uncovers."


    Seeing his discomfort encouraged Devati to continue needling him. "As much as you prattle on about alien civilizations and religious iconography, I imagined excavation work being more exciting."


    "This part is work. The excitement comes later in studying the artifacts to deduce their purpose or cultural meaning."


    "Congratulations on your find, but it''s time to start packing up. I''m returning to the spaceship to finish launch preparations." The injured Devati punched in a course for her biomechanical auto-walker. "No excuses this time. Have everything ready to leave the planet before tomorrow evening. We''re not spending a minute more on this lifeless world-pond than we have to." She engaged the walk-assist mode and ambled away.


    The dig site manager approached Sorgon. "Chief, you need to see this." He presented the datapad, its screen displaying a survey diagram of the excavation site. Luminescent blue lines traced the outlines of the building, and at the end of a long subterranean passage, a cluster of bright yellow blobs pulsated.


    "You tuned the sub-surface scanners to find the same metals as the figurine?"


    "Yes, Chief."


    Sorgon lifted his face to the sky. "The Many Gods be praised! There are dozens of them." He turned to the site manager. "Recall as many auto-excavators as you need. This is our priority."


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    The manager scuttled off to set his workers to the task.


    * * *


    That evening, Sorgon cornered the Devati at dinner in the spaceship''s feeding pool. "Your hind limbs are regrowing quickly, and your tail stub looks healthy, Pilot-Commander."


    She grabbed a floating food bulb and waved it at him. "Whatever the question or request is, the answer is no. Our mission charter is to find alien technology, not religious artifacts."


    "Your royally appointed, high commander and pilot of this blessed vehicle, I beseech you--"


    Devati splashed water at him. "Enough of the beseeching and formal titles. I said no."


    "--to grant an extension." He paused to consider his next words. "I know I always ask for more time on every world-pond, but this time I beg you." Sorgon rolled over onto his back. "I expose my underbelly in supplication. Rip it open with your claws or grant my request."


    She motioned for him to roll over. "I''m accustomed to your theatrics, but I''ve never known you to grovel. You must have found something important."


    Sorgon rolled over and burst into a frantic dialogue. "Only the most important find of my career. After years of ridicule, I have irrefutable proof my theory is correct. We found the home of The Many Gods!"


    He linked his datapad to a wall-mounted projector. Holograph images of two humanoid statuettes appeared on the water''s surface. "These are from two world-ponds we explored during previous missions. To look so alike, they must have worshipped the same gods."


    Devati scoffed. "Coincidence. Like most civilizations, those two shared a natural tendency to create idols resembling themselves. That''s not proof of shared gods."


    Sorgon tapped a key and a third figurine of metal shimmered into view. "This is the idol you saw this morning. Three alien civilizations, widely separated by space and time. All with similar-looking representations of their gods. That cannot be coincidence. It must be evidence of a common origin."


    He pointed at them in turn. "Carved hardwood. Fire-baked soil with a glaze. Cast metal. The simpler figures are the youngest. That''s a clear indication of technological advancement fostered by the Many Gods along their path of inward migration."


    "Not all civilizations arise at the same time or advance at the same rates. We happened upon them in that order."


    Sorgon pulled up a holographic star chart. "Here''s the star system we''re in now, the most technologically advanced, at the outer edge of the galaxy. Here are the other two, further in. A straight line connects all three civilizations, and our own, along a course leading to the galaxy center."


    "Which can be explained by chance alignment and our radial course of exploration." Devati manipulated the star chart. "Adjust for thousands of years of orbital rotation¡­ and the line bends into an arc."


    Sorgon waggled his tail, sending ripples across the water. "Beautiful. If you were trying to disprove my theory, an arc only made it likelier that the gods followed an intentional, non-random path."


    "No, it doesn''t. With only four data points it''s easy to make an arc."


    He frowned. "Why are you so determined to refute my theory on the gods?"


    The tone of her voice softened. "I may not believe your theories, but I do believe you are a talented xenoarchaeologist. Don''t throw your career away by pursuing heretical theories held up by faith instead of facts. Every one of my counter arguments will be expressed by religious scholars on Betel IV. Many of whom have motives to destroy you as a follower of the True Religion sect."


    "This world-pond is going to prove everyone wrong. We all share a common pantheon of gods who are disseminating religion and knowledge on a journey to the galaxy core."


    "Then why are we the only civilization to have discovered hyperspace travel? Why didn''t any of these civilizations find us first?"


    Sorgon waved a dismissive claw. "Maybe they did but found wormholes that sent them in a different direction through space. Or, as my xenobiology colleagues claim, amphibians are more intelligent than reptile, insectoid, and warm-fur species."


    "We''ll have plenty of time to debate your theories on the trip home. For now, we need to focus on meeting our scheduled launch time. If we miss the window for us to link a wormhole to our next destination, it''s five solar revolutions until both systems align again."


    "I can''t argue with celestial mechanics. I also miss the wetlands of Betel and do not want to live on this desert world-pond for five solar revolutions. Especially with such exciting news to share." He prostrated himself again. "Thank you for your time."


    "Sorgon," Devati said as she caressed his forelimb. "I am intrigued by your theory. You can tell me more on the journey home."

 Part 2 of 2

    Three days later, the ship was enroute to interstellar space. The navigation systems charted a course to a suitable anchor point to create a wormhole. With her duties complete, Pilot-Commander Devati upheld her promise to visit the Chief Xenoarchaeologist''s laboratory.


    She found Sorgon hard at work, surrounded by bins full of figurines that were stacked on every flat surface. "Are these all from the recent dig?"


    "Yes. As I indicated in my failed supplication, we found the motherlode. Surely, they''re a sign the world-pond is a source, if not the source, for all religions."


    "Why do you think so many of the figurines were stored in that building?"


    "My initial theory was the building was a religious shrine or place of communal worship. Located near the collection of statuettes, we found numerous photographs like this one." He handed her a picture of a group of natives. One of them held a large figurine over its head. "I first thought they were a high priest calling the faithful to worship."


    "What changed your mind?"


    Sorgon spread out several photographs on the table. "Notice how there are never more than three adult aliens? In each photo, they''re surrounded by a dozen or more younglings holding the oblong symbol of station held by the gods in miniature."


    "Except for their tiny eyes and lack of tails, I am reminded of the spawnmates from my youth in the rearing ponds."


    Sorgon''s eyes gleamed with excitement. "Based on the artifacts and building layout, I believe the dig site was an indoctrination center for their offspring. The idols were communal property. A small clutch of younglings, led by adults, were charged with the care of an individual god figurine."


    Devati examined the boxes of statuettes and the photographs. "Where you only see similarities, I notice the differences from the other god figures we''ve found. Look at all the writing on them. I don''t see that with other figurines." She slow-blinked in thought. "Perhaps they''re not religious icons at all."


    "Preposterous. Again, you posit the idea of a civilization that does not have religion as the prime force and motivation. The one thing I can say with certainty is that civilizations arise because a species becomes intelligent enough to form religious beliefs. Differences in representation are each species'' perceptions of the gods being filtered through the lens of their experience and needs."


    She smirked. "Although our society is guided by beliefs in many gods, our primary mission on these expeditions is scientific and not religious, correct? Why do you dismiss the notion alien societies might be guided purely by science?"


    Sorgon waved a foreclaw at her. "The mission is scientific, but the knowledge we gain informs our religion. We once believed ours was the only civilization in existence. Science proved that false so we changed our belief structure."


    "Because that''s where the science led. Whereas you let your religious beliefs guide your science. We''ve only explored a single world-pond in a star system with dozens of habitable world-ponds. Maybe the people of this world-pond were zealots devoted to this one god. What you''ve labeled an indoctrination center could be a factory or warehouse for the figurines."


    "One god? Now who is entertaining blasphemous notions? No, I hold to my theory that one set of gods is shared by all civilizations rather than numerous localized gods."


    Devati sighed. "I''ve heard you give variations of this argument on half a dozen alien world-ponds," she said as she returned the tablet and figurine.


    "And I will continue until it becomes accepted as truth. If we cling to the belief our gods are confined to the Betel system, we will never grow into a spacefaring civilization."


    "In my service as pilot-commander, I have experienced firsthand the dangers of space exploration and assumptions." She pointed at her juvenile hindlimbs and tail bud.


    "You weren''t with us on the Zarthan expedition. We thought we understood that world-pond based on our observations," Devati continued. "We saw creatures that looked exactly like the docile herbivores from Betel III. Small, warm-furs with large, innocent eyes I assumed were harmless."


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    She paused; her gaze distant. "We were terribly mistaken. They were vicious pack hunters and swarmed me before I could react. If the security team hadn''t reached me in time, I would have lost more than my hindquarters." She trailed off, her auto-walker shifting slightly.


    Sorgon''s chromatophores paled. " I''m sorry, Devati, and apologize for my thoughtless comments at dinner."


    "I''m not telling you this for sympathy," she said firmly. "Be warned, appearances can be deceiving, especially on alien world-ponds."


    "I recognize the dangers, but believe isolation is a greater danger. Eventually our civilization will stagnate, collapse, and disappear like so many others. As a follower of the True Religion, I believe our gods are universal and gifted us with hyperspace travel to become an interstellar empire."


    "Until the Grand Clerical Council of Her Most High Empress determines any part of your theory is true, it''s dangerous to be so certain in your findings. Although I may find the theory compelling in private, I remind you to not spread your heretical beliefs among my crew."


    * * *


    The royal estate on Betel IV was a massive stone structure that formed an artificial marsh. Life-size statuary of The Many Gods occupied every corner. The main hall featured a central fountain where Empress Nimbu presided from a carved wooden Lilly pad. Sorgon wheeled in a cart stacked with figurines. Ten assistants pushing similarly laden carts followed him.


    An elderly Priest-Attendant announced his presence. "Chief Xenoarcheaologist Sorgon, head of the Museum of Alien World-Pond Artifacts, recently returned from an off-world-pond expedition, requests an audience."


    "He may approach." The empress focused her large frog eyes on Sorgon. "Why does your name sound familiar?"


    "Your grace, my mother was a god-speaker for your mother''s court. My brother is also a well-known god-seer who decorated your court to resemble the mythical Pond of Paradise."


    "Your mother was blessed to spawn so many successful tadpoles. Why have you brought a collection of museum artifacts? Entertainment is normally reserved for dinner parties."


    Sorgon bowed. "Esteemed Empress Nimbu, ruler of the land and waters of three world-ponds, these are not from the museum. This is a portion of the haul from my expedition. The carts hold religious figurines of one god found all over a single, distant world-pond."


    A collective gasp rippled through the court.


    The empress''s eyes bulged and she leaned forward. "These are for one god? How many gods did you find?"


    "Fifty-one and counting. The richest source of iconography we have found on any world-pond."


    "A single world-pond worshipped fifty-one gods! Their priests must have numbered in the thousands."


    "Every other culture we''ve located has a single dedicated worship center in their cities to hold religious ceremonies and iconography. All other public and private structures hold no representation of the gods. In this lost culture, nearly every type of building, including their residences, had one or more shrines devoted to their tiny golden gods. Individuals were permitted to worship their gods in private."


    Unlike our stone statues of The Many Gods, the warm-furs created tiny gods of metal. Durable and portable so anyone could have one. They could be placed anywhere. Even on spaceships.


    The priests flanking the empress glared at him with disgust and mouthed silent prayers to their respective deities.


    Empress Nimbu rubbed the nictating membranes of her eyes in disbelief. "Although the priests consider it heretical, I entertain such notions of universal deities because ruling our empire is a daunting task. I require blessings and intervention from as many gods as I can find." She swept a large foreclaw to encompass the hundreds of altars covered with idols and attended by dozens of priests from every race of amphibian.


    "The Empress grasps the core tenet of my theory then. When an ecological catastrophe left their world-pond unlivable, the gods traveled among the stars. They sought other races to share their knowledge and the True Religion."


    "Thank you for bringing this god to me. How do I worship the god so it may bring blessings to the empire?"


    "It is an honor to serve, my empress. I believe you raise your forelimbs in the air and wave them around while shouting and eating snacks."


    The empress held up the golden figurine and spoke to it. "If that is all you required, what kind of god were you that you did not save them from destruction?" She aimed the camera of her datapad at the placard at the base of the idol.


    She looked at the text translation on the screen. "Which of these words is the name of the god?"


    "Translation of their language is ongoing and most of the words have no assigned meaning. However, due to its consistent use, I believe the last one."


    A synthetic voice from the empress'' tablet sounded out the words of an alien language not heard in a thousand years. ''Twenty thirty-seven state champions. Forest Pine High School Football''.


    "As you can see here empress, there are many honorifics granted to the god Football." He held two more figurines for her to see.


    "Here is another one from the same continent called ''East Valley High School Football''. This one is from another continent on the opposite side of the planet where they refer to the god as ''North Melbourne Kangaroos Football Club''.


    He returned the figurines to the cart. "We also found hundreds of statuettes for gods named Baseball and Basketball. My belief is the who-man world-pond was the breeding pond for gods throughout the galaxy. I''m confident there are more gods to be discovered if you approve a return expedition."


    The empress consulted with her advisors. "Approved. You are to accompany inquisitors of the Grand Clerical Council to the world-pond of the who-man warm-furs and bring us more of their tiny gods."