Page 15 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope (The Children Of The Gods #100)

NAVUH

T he shaman was more resilient than most humans, recovering pretty quickly from what must have been an overwhelming experience. But then again, Elias had always been different. His visions, his insights, his ability to navigate the dangerous waters of Navuh's court without drowning.

"Perhaps somewhere there's a great scoreboard, tallying the points over countless life cycles," Navuh said, laughing at his own observation.

"I would love to see my status on that cosmic scoreboard.

" The idea amused him that there was some sort of cosmic accounting of wins and losses, victories and defeats, tracked by a universal consciousness that cared about the outcome of its own game.

But as entertaining as it was to engage in a philosophical discussion with the shaman, it didn't solve his immediate problems. He had enhanced soldiers who might be able to coordinate with others like them who were scattered across the globe, and a clan that had somehow known exactly where to find and eliminate his cells.

"This hive mind," he said, stopping next to the transport. "Can they communicate with others like them across the ocean? I need to know if they can contact the enhanced soldiers I have stationed in other locations."

Elias rubbed his temples, his face still pale following the psychic contact. "It's chaotic in there, my lord. Busy and maddening. Thirty-nine minds are trying to merge into one consciousness but failing to achieve true unity. It's no wonder they're going insane."

Navuh studied the shaman's face. The man was deflecting, answering around the question rather than addressing it directly. It was a skill politicians and courtiers perfected, but Navuh had five thousand years of experience of reading right through such evasions.

"That's not what I asked," he said, his voice carrying just enough edge to convey his displeasure without seeming threatening. "Can the enhanced soldiers here communicate with those abroad? It's a simple question, Elias, with a yes or no answer."

The shaman met his eyes, and Navuh saw uncertainty there.

"I'm not part of their hive mind, my lord.

What I experienced was just a glimpse, like looking through a window into a storm.

I could feel the chaos, the connection between the soldiers, but I couldn't discern any details, not about the number of connected minds or their locations.

It would be like asking someone who glanced at the ocean to describe what kinds of fish are swimming in its depths. "

It was a reasonable answer, but Navuh wasn't satisfied because he didn't get the answer he needed. That didn't mean the shaman was lying, though.

He seemed sincere.

"I have other ways to test it," he said. "If they can communicate globally, that changes everything about how I deploy them."

As they climbed into the transport vehicle, Navuh considered his next move. The enhanced soldiers were both an asset and a liability. Their strength and coordination made them formidable, but their instability and resistance to his compulsion made them dangerous and limited their usefulness.

"The philosophical implications are fascinating," he said as the vehicle started moving. "But I'm more concerned with the practical applications. I don't particularly care what happens after my consciousness reunites with the universal one, if such a thing even exists."

The thought of that hypothetical reunion with his father brought an unexpected chill.

If consciousness did persist, if there was some form of existence after the body died, he would eventually have to face Mortdh again.

And his father's scorn would be eternal, his disappointment infinite.

Then again, some claimed that everything was forgiven on the other side of the veil and that it was a place of unconditional love.

Boring. Uninspiring. He'd rather go to hell because it would at least be interesting in there.

"The enhancement program will continue," he said, more to himself than to Elias. "But with better controls."

"That seems dangerous, my lord," Elias said, bold now that he'd been allowed unprecedented freedoms.

Navuh let it slide. He needed the shaman to speak freely.

"Every new invention and every new weapon goes through several iterations before it becomes viable.

The same is true for the next leap in human evolution.

" He turned to Elias. "The drugs might work just as well on humans as they do on immortals.

I wonder what the differences would be. If I can turn average humans into super-soldiers, I will be unstoppable.

There is an unlimited supply of humans, but a very limited supply of immortals. "

Elias looked horrified. "Those drugs would surely kill humans. The immortals barely survived it."

"The formula will need to be adjusted." Navuh watched the familiar landscape roll by, the manicured grounds giving way to rougher terrain, then back to cultivation as they approached the more developed part of the island. "Progress requires risk."

His phone buzzed with a message from Losham.

Three more potential scientists had been identified but extracting them would be complicated.

One was in a Chinese military facility, another worked for a pharmaceutical company with heavy security, the third was in a Russian psychiatric hospital—as a patient, apparently, though his research before his commitment had been brilliant.

A mad scientist to work with mad soldiers. There was a certain poetry to it.

Get the Russian . He typed a message back. Contact Gorchenco. He can get him out without us having to do a thing .

Brilliance and madness were often the two faces of the same coin. They could surround the Russian madman with psychiatrists and psychologists and other biochemists to contain the mad element and encourage the brilliance.

"Are we returning to the mansion, my lord?" the driver asked.

Navuh had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he'd forgotten about his passenger. "No. Take us to the harem. Elias needs to get back."

He hadn't planned on visiting Areana in the middle of the day, but it would be nice to surprise her and have lunch with her and the other ladies.

He had gotten used to dining with them twice a day, breakfast and lunch, and now dining alone seemed too quiet, too orderly.

He had breakfast and dinner with Areana alone in their harem apartment, but his lunches were taken in the mansion's large dining room, which now felt odd since he was the only one there.

The driver adjusted their route without comment. The harem was on the opposite side of the island from the military installations, a deliberate separation.

Navuh leaned back, getting comfortable. "When you touched the soldier's mind, did you sense fear?"

"No, my lord. They're beyond fear, which is part of their madness. They believe they've transcended human limitations, touched something divine. They feel superior."

"Delusions of grandeur," Navuh mused. "Or perhaps actual grandeur. The line between madness and genius has always been thin."

"Some would say there is no line at all."

Navuh chuckled. "Careful, shaman. That sounds dangerously close to philosophy, and we've already established that I'm more interested in practical matters."

The road curved, bringing them past the mostly vacant resort hotel.

It would reopen to guests soon, once the last of the rebellion's damage was repaired. The loss of revenue was not an issue, but the lack of extorting material was more problematic. With no guests, there were no embarrassing recordings of them in compromised situations to hold over their heads if they didn’t promote his agenda.

Just one more thing to deal with.

After the coordinated strikes in California, which would have destabilized governments and triggered conflicts, had failed thanks to the clan's interference, he needed to come up with new plans.

"I'm curious about something," he said. "You mentioned the chaos in their shared consciousness. What would happen if one of them achieved actual clarity? Became a focal point for the others?"

Elias shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know, my lord. Perhaps they could bring order to the chaos, create a true hive mind instead of the fractured thing they have now."

"Or perhaps they could extend their influence beyond their immediate group—reach out to the others." Navuh watched the shaman's response. "

"It's possible," Elias admitted. "Consciousness is not restricted by space, and some say that it's not restricted by time either.

If they found the right frequency, the right resonance, they'd connect.

" The shaman smiled. "But that's another philosophical discussion, my lord. I thought you wanted to avoid them."

Navuh didn't respond to the reference. "The enhanced ones could become a network." Navuh smiled at the thought. "A global nervous system of operatives, all connected, all coordinated. No need for communication devices, no time lag between observation and response."

"But uncontrollable," Elias pointed out. "If they're truly connected at that level, traditional command structures become meaningless."

"Unless the commander is part of the network.

" The idea was taking shape in Navuh's mind.

"What if the next enhancement program included a hierarchy?

Soldiers who could connect to the hive mind but also maintain individual will?

Generals who could direct the collective without losing themselves to it? "

The shaman was quiet for a moment. "Are you thinking about enhancing yourself, my lord?"

"Am I?" Navuh kept his tone neutral, but inside, he was evaluating the possibility. His existing compulsion ability suggested his mind already operated on frequencies others couldn't access. Perhaps he was already halfway to what the enhanced soldiers had become.

But the risk was enormous. If the process drove him mad, if he lost himself to the collective consciousness, everything he'd built would crumble. Areana would be left vulnerable, and the Brotherhood would fragment.

No, he needed others to perfect the process first. Let them pay the price of experimentation.

As the harem grounds came into view, guards snapped to attention and opened the gates.

The driver stopped the vehicle at the harem's main entrance, and Elias reached for the door handle, then paused.

"My lord, may I ask something?"

Navuh nodded.

"If consciousness is truly fundamental, if we're all part of some vast game, what do you think the prize is? What does winning actually mean?"

It was a good question. "Power," he said. "The ability to shape reality according to your will. Gods create worlds, immortals shape civilizations, mortals struggle for control over their brief lives. The prize is always the same—dominion over your domain, whatever that might be."

"What happens at the end of time, when the game ends?"

"It never ends," Navuh said. "It just transforms. New board, new rules, same players in different configurations."