''Who would battle Apophis in my stead?''
''I would attempt to broker a truce with Apophis. I imagine he is as weary of the relentless conflict as you are, especially given that he comes off worse every time. Failing that, I would fight him myself.''
''An onerous burden for you.''
''Then I pray that negotiation with him succeeds,'' says Ra. ''I think it will. The other benefit for you would be improved relations with all of your family. No longer would you feel this sense of estrangement, of victimhood, that keeps you apart from your kin. If you resolve to become a reformed character, and strive your hardest to keep to that resolution, I think you'll find that attitudes towards you will alter. Others will respond in kind. Most of all your sister-wife will actively enjoy spending time with you, rather than running off to be with Isis at every opportunity. I'm offering you a chance to improve your lot radically. All you have to do is be a new god. Put your past self behind you.''
''I change, and yet no one else has to make the effort to. Hardly seems fair.''
''Nephthys has agreed to change too. She is to confess her adultery with Osiris to all. She will admit she instigated it.''
''Really? After so long, with her falsehood so well entrenched, that will take some courage.''
''And yet she is willing to do it, in order to clear the air between you all, and in order to regain the full love and respect of her husband.''
''Hmm,'' says Set. ''And for my part, how should I begin this process of reform? Any suggestions?''
''Ah, I have a tailor-made solution for you. The Lightbringer.''
''Who? Oh yes. Him.''
''Him. Join with Nephthys and vanquish him. Smash the little mortal upstart. Wipe him and his army off the map.''
Set looks at Ra askance, a smile twitching at his lips. ''The Lightbringer seems to have got under your skin, O Sun God. You sound positively aggravated by him, and you such a mild-mannered type normally.''
''I…'' Ra bows his head. ''I do find him bothersome. I'm not sure why. It may be because I can't 'see' him properly. I look at him and don't know who he is or anything about him. Something is keeping me from identifying and understanding the man. Perhaps it is his Freegyptian genesis, perhaps that mask he wears, I don't know. Some power is… is eclipsing him in my perceptions, and I do not like that, not at all.''
''He is an unknown.''
''Yes. Just so. An unknown. An anomaly. And on those grounds alone I want him off the world. I want him swept away. Him and all his followers.''
''I can arrange that for you.''
''You and Nephthys.''
''Yes. We can rid you of this turbulent human. It would be an honour.''
''And a good start to your bid to improve your standing among the gods.''
''That too. Mutually beneficial.''
Ra appraises Set, and is pleased. The younger god seems truly to be seizing this opportunity. He is eager to chart a new course for himself. And that, in turn, will chart a new course for the rest of the Pantheon, Ra is sure of it. Set is the key. Once he aligns himself with the other gods, universal harmony will ensue.
24. Nonomura
David was exhausted, but couldn't sleep.
He had spent the past two days helping to arrange the Lightbringer's forces around the plain in the most strategically effective manner and establish a fortified position on Mount Megiddo. Atop the mountain — a sharply rising 700-foot-high plateau — lay the ruins of the city of Megiddo itself. Narrow streets running between the remnants of stone walls made for perfect trenches and gun emplacements, while a high, vaulted chamber with arched alcoves, which had once been a storehouse, was easily put to use as a command post. From the plateau's perimeter the entire plain could be seen, spread between the slopes of its valley, and the view stretched all the way to Mount Carmel in the west and Mount Tabor in the east.
The troops were divided into units, each a hundred strong, which were distributed at intervals along three lines radiating southward from Mount Megiddo. Each unit was accompanied by a Scarab tank or a conventionally armed vehicle. The indigenous smallholders were none too happy at having men and machines trampling across their fields and bedding down among their crops, but few raised any objections. The wise ones, sensing what was coming, simply packed up their valuables and got out with their families while they could.
The Anubian C39s occupied a central position at the foot of the mountain, and it was here that a restless David went, picking his way down a steep footpath by moonlight. The Anubians were night owls, and he had spied them from above, gathered around a campfire close to their gunships, drinking. Awake in the small hours, jangling with pre-battle nerves, he craved company.
Squadron Leader Nonomura invited him to sit. Nonomura and his men were pink-eyed drunk. A saucepan of sake was warming over the flames, and David was passed a porcelain cup full of the steaming liquor. It burned his throat in more ways than one, but he chugged it down and asked for another. Nonomura approved.
''The only way to drink sake is carelessly,'' he said. ''Like there's no tomorrow.''
''There may well not be,'' David said. ''It's the eve of battle. The Nephs are on their way. If they don't reach us later today, then definitely the day after.''
''A toast to that,'' said Nonomura. ''Kampai.''
His men raised their cups and echoed, ''Kampai.'' Among them were a couple of Australians, who followed up with ''Good on yer'' and ''Down the hatch''.
''You say the Nephthysians are on their way, Lieutenant Westwynter,'' said Nonomura. ''You know this?''
''Intelligence is sketchy. We're relying on radio newscasts as much as anything. But it looks like the Setics have relented and told the Nephs to go ahead and attack. Whatever was troubling their high priests isn't troubling them any more. So we've got Neph infantry battalions amassing to the north of us in Damascus, and a whole lot more troops moving in from Baghdad and Riyadh. And that's not the worst of it.''
''No?''
''We reckon the Setics are going to get involved after all. Chang's making noises about sending several battalions-worth of reinforcements down through the Caucasus and Persia.''
''The gods have changed their minds?''
''Set, apparently, has. Or maybe it's just politics. All the sabre-rattling that the Horusites and the Hegemony were doing. They've stopped now, but it seems to have galvanised the Setics into action. Suddenly it's high priority for them that the Lightbringer is stamped on, most likely so as to prevent the Hegemony taking matters into its own hands. Last thing anyone in the region wants is an Osirisiac invasion of Arabia.''
''Something is going on up there,'' said Nonomura, pointing to the starry heavens.
''Something always is.''
''But don't you feel it? I do. Everything seems uncertain, shifting, one day this, the next day that. It's as though the Pantheon is no longer setting the agenda. They're trying to keep up with events down here. Mortals, for once, are influencing the gods rather than the other way round. The Lightbringer has reversed the order of things.''
''Is that why you've defected to his cause?'' David asked. ''You think we're the winning team?''