I've been cuckolded and denied high position and publicly embarrassed, that my actions are reactions. Nobody sees my side of the argument. Once you become the villain of the piece, you're the villain of the piece for all time. You don't get the chance to be seen in any other light.''
''Your temper plays a part.''
''True, I do get a little out of hand from time to time.''
''You call tearing Osiris to pieces 'a little out of hand'?''
''I see red. I get carried away. It just happens. It's how I'm made.''
''And here we get to the nub of it,'' says Ra. ''How you're made. Set, do you think it's at all possible that you could change?''
Set is taken aback by the question. It seems that the thought has never occurred to him before.
''Change?'' he says, eyebrows knotting. ''In what way? And, more to the point, why?''
''The way is simple,'' says Ra. ''Be a better person, that's all. Control yourself. Be kind to others. And as for the why, see that?'' He gestures towards the tiny twinkling ember that is the universe, all but lost amid the blackness of the abyss. ''See how small and remote and fragile it looks? As though a casual breath could snuff it out? We are gods, Set, and we are powerful and we live for eons, but still, in the grand scheme of things, we are insignificant. Ultimately, nothing we do is of consequence. We may be big but the eternal void is infinitely bigger.''
''So why bother changing? Why bother doing anything? Isn't that the appropriate response when faced with your own insignificance? If existence is meaningless, it doesn't matter how you behave.''
''That's one way of looking at it, I suppose. The other way is: if existence is meaningless, then why not change? Why not alter your attitude, if only to create meaning?''
''Of a very limited kind.''
''In a limited environment, that's the best you can hope for.''
Set acknowledges this, and Ra detects, or thinks he detects, a glimmer of interest in those scarlet eyes. Set is actually considering the proposal laid before him. Set is intrigued by the idea of changing.
''I wouldn't be me,'' he says, ''if I didn't ask what's in it for me.''
''For a start, if you did sincerely make an effort to improve and become a kinder, gentler, more thoughtful and forgiving Set, I would release you from your penance.''
''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.
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
