Starship Gods Ch. 05-07

Chapter 5: The God Sanduval

"Father, they are coming," said Kristiana, taking her father's hand. The Asgard had just lifted off. She and Sanduval were wearing spacesuits, with the helmets off. They were truly on their own.

A crowd started to gather around them. Some of them held spears. They were in a city called Boeotia, one of the six major cities of the planet "Earth".

Sanduval raised his voice and spoke into the megaphone disc. "We are the Gods of Sparticus," he announced. It pained him to say that. In his own Church of the Unredeemed, calling himself a God would be considered blasphemy. But these were special circumstances. These heathens had to be civilized, at whatever the cost.

"I am called Sanduval. This is Kristiana." The people of Boeotia looked at them, at the old man, and the very attractive young blonde woman. "You have strayed from the path. We are here to show you the way."

Sanduval told them of the prohibition against murdering third children. He told them that they should not execute people for heresy. He told them not to rape their young girls. "This is the will of the Gods of Sparticus."

There was much murmuring among the people. Then one of them, in a Tollah's robes, said, "These are contrary to all the things we have always been taught. We are taught that if we do not follow these rules, that we will be sent to the Womanless Forest after we die. Are you sure about this?"

"Quite sure," said Father Sanduval. "In fact, if you do not follow the rules I have laid out, you surely will be punished. If you lift a hand against a child, or commit murder, you will be sent to the Womanless Forest. There you will be condemned forever never to enjoy sexual congress of any kind. Flying squirrels will swallow your genitals whole. Killer rabbits will chew your feet off, so you cannot walk. Blue Jays will come and peck your eyes out. Wild turkeys will come to slit your throat."

With each description of the horrors which awaited them, the crowd gasped.

"Will you return to the path of the true teachings of Sparticus?" Sanduval asked.

"Yes... Yes.. Yes God Sanduval! God Sanduval! God Sanduval!" they cheered.

"That was easy enough," Sanduval whispered to Kristiana.

********

What Sanduval did not know was that it was "easy enough" because the people of Boeotia were not at all like the people of Argolis or even Arcadia. They followed the Book of Sparticus only grudgingly, out of fear of being sent to the Womanless Forest. Most of them were happy to be relieved of these burdensome obligations, so Sanduval didn't really need to do very much convincing. By random luck, he had been fortunate enough to take charge of a city where the people were not so steeped in their religious traditions.

The Tollahs set Sanduval up in their local Palace of Sparticus. Sanduval was about to protest that he didn't need anything so elaborate, but Kristiana hurriedly whispered in his ear and he wisely said nothing.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Sanduval and Kristiana mingled among the population of Boeotia. For the most part they seemed to be complying with the new orders. It was a peace that Taylor or Samuel would have envied.

Sanduval started to feel emboldened, and began to teach the population new rules. Rules not from the Book of Sparticus, but rules particular to his own religion, of the Church of the Unredeemed. He started with the dinner prayer. The dinner prayer from the Book of Sparticus read as follows:

Oh Gods of Sparticus, we thank you for this bountiful meal.

Please make us strong and hearty so we may slaughter your enemies.

Give us strength to lift our swords so we may cut off the heads of the infidels.

Give us full bellies so we may march on the villages of the non-believers and slaughter their men.

Give us courage so we may take the women of the non-believers, and watch them scream as we fill their bellies with our vibrant seed.

And, please, Gods, if our conquests pleases you, please give us plenty of rich puddings and cakes.

But the new dinner prayer initiated by Sanduval was quite different:

Oh Gods of Sparticus, we thank you for this bountiful meal.

We are unworthy of such a munificent meal.

To your eyes, we must seem to be the most unworthy of groveling worms.

Please forgive us for our many defects.

We are not worthy of your love.

We are not worthy of your affection.

We are not worthy of your forgiveness.

We constantly strive to atone for all of our wickedness.

Please let us eat at least one more meal so we have another chance to pitifully try to justify your bountiful love.

We thank you for allowing us lowly worms to exist for another day.

And then, Sanduval started to issue new rules. All sorts of rules. Women having their time of the month were required to wear a strip of red cloth between their legs, except if it were snowing on a Tuesday. White wine could only be drunk on Fridays, unless it was an even-numbered day of the calendar. Stores could not sell anything made of leather unless the garments were all symmetrical. There were rules for sex, too, among them that the man must always be on top during sexual congress, and, to honor the Gods, the woman's arms must be above her head in a v-shaped position.

The populace wasn't resistant to these rules, not exactly, but there came to be so many of them and they were all so bewildering, so Sanduval set up a religious school to teach the flock the true way. The only thing that pained him is that he knew he had to keep up the references to the "Gods", plural, when he knew there was only one Lord of the Unredeemed. He prayed earnestly and anxiously each night in private, seeking forgiveness and understanding for what he was doing, but told himself that the people were not yet ready to learn the full truth, that there was only one Lord, the one he knew so well.

But at least he could tell them that they were Unredeemed.

"You are all unworthy," he told his subjects. "The lowest of the low." And they would gasp. "You are sinners. Every day from the moment you get up in the morning to the moment you go to bed, you offend the Gods. You are not worthy of their love! You are not worthy of their affection!"

People were confused by this. They wondered, then, what was the true path.

"You must pray. Earnestly. For forgiveness. Each and every day. You must go through life realizing how unworthy you are, what an irritating speck of dust you are in your God's eyes. Every day you must beg, beg for forgiveness, for forgiveness for how your very inconvenient existence upsets the Gods' plans for perfection."

People leaving Father Sanduval's lectures were humbled... and confused.

But people did attend his lectures. Some came out of the curiosity to see an actual God. And some came out of a genuine interest to learn. One student caught Sanduval's eye early on. She was an adult woman, in her mid 30's, with dark hair, dark eyes, and large breasts. Her name was Sabiba. Sanduval noticed her by the way she would boldly stare adoringly at him during class.

And then, after class, Sabiba would come up to him. At first, she would ask questions about theology. She seemed an eager learner. Gradually, their conversations expanded, and she talked about her growing love for Sanduval's interpretation of the Book of Sparticus.

Sabiba started to wonder if there was any way she could have private lessons, to accelerate her pace of learning.

Father Sanduval had to think about this. Meeting alone with a woman was not usually proper. Additionally, Sabiba was married. What would her husband think?

Sabiba assured her that her husband was progressive and did not object, although Sanduval never saw her husband attend any of his classes.

Sanduval looked at her, and saw how beautiful she was, and was tempted, but in the wrong way. Was he strong enough to resist temptation?

But then he found himself tempted in a different way. If he taught Sabiba in private, he could teach her the true teachings of the Lord of the Unredeemed. He could teach her from the actual Book itself, and teach her that there was only one, true Lord. And once Sabiba became a believer, she could spread the word to others, and this entire planet could turn to the light of the Lord of the Unredeemed.

This temptation was irresistible, and so he agreed to give her private lessons in theology.

********

Kristiana wandered among the small villages on the outskirts of Boeotia. She was technically a Goddess, but people mostly listened to her father. This was understandable. An older man, nearing 70 years of age, was more authoritative than a 23 year old blonde girl with blue eyes. Mother had been much younger than Father, which accounted for the age difference. Father had always been distant. She sometimes wondered if Father had been younger when she was growing up, if things might have been different between them.

Even though Kristiana wasn't authoritative looking like Father, people were still interested to talk to her. Everyone seemed friendly. She chatted with a farmer who was tilling his field. She talked to a rancher who was milking his cows. She talked to peddlers and merchants.

And then she met Ingram.

He was a young, muscular man with sandy hair, walking towards her, carrying a load of firewood on his shoulders. But when he saw her, he dropped the firewood abruptly, and abruptly dropped to the kneeling position.

"You must be the Goddess!" he whispered, looking down.

"Yes, I suppose I am," Kristiana smiled. Something in his manner amused her. "You may look upon me."

"I cannot."

"Why?"

"If I look upon you, I fear I may never be able to turn my eyes away ever again!"

Kristiana smiled at him, and Ingram, ever so slowly, looked up at her, and saw her smile, and blushed.

"You may rise," she said, extending a dainty hand.

Ingram took her hand, and felt electrified as he rose. "I have touched a Goddess," he said.

Kristiana tittered.

"My name is Kristiana. What is yours?"

"I am Ingram," said Ingram.

"What do you do for work, Ingram?"

"I tend my farm for my mother and sisters," said Ingram.

"Where is your father?"

"He is dead," said Ingram.

"I am so sorry," said Kristiana.

"I miss him, but I am also happy for him. He is in the heavens now, enjoying the pleasures of 173 women," said Ingram.

"Does your mother mind that?" Kristiana asked.

"No," said Ingram. "She knows that when she dies, she will join my father."

"Along with 173 other women?"

"I suppose so," said Ingram, who hadn't given that aspect of the afterlife much thought. His thoughts shifted. "Why is the great Goddess here in our humble village?"

"I am touring to learn more about your people."

Ingram could see that the Goddess cared, and he was touched. He strained to find something else to say, to continue the conversation, but he was dumbstruck.

"It was nice meeting you," said Kristiana, smiling.

All Ingram could do was wave back. He watched her go with longing eyes.

Kristiana walked on for some time longer, greeting strangers. Everyone was friendly to her. But then she came to a pig farm, and she saw two dirty teenage boys, wrestling in the mud.

"Hey, what have we here?" one of them grinned.

"I am Kristiana," said Kristiana.

One of the boys, caked in dirt, stepped out of the pig pen. "Yes, you're the Goddess."

"The Goddess of Love?" asked the other, also climbing over the pig fence.

"You're very pretty, Goddess," said the first boy. His name was Klem.

"Thank you," said Kristiana, feeling a bit uncertain.

"Why don't you show us some of your love, Goddess?" said the second boy. His name was Situs.

Kristiana took another step back. "I don't think so."

"What will happen to me if I grab a Goddess?" Klem asked. He took her arm.

"Let go of me!" she cried.

Klem looked up. "Did the Gods strike me down? No? Then I wonder what will happen if I kiss a Goddess!" He held her tightly, and pressed a kiss against her lips. Kristiana struggled, but couldn't get loose.

When Klem was satisfied, he pulled back, but still held her arm. "You're a good kisser, Goddess! But I think we mortals could still teach you a thing or two."

"Take off her dress and show her, Klem," said Situs gleefully.

"That's right," said Klem. "We wouldn't want to get your pretty little dress dirty, would we?"

He started to pull at her clothes.

"No!" Kristiana cried.

The boys laughed.

But suddenly they stopped laughing, when a shadow appeared over them, and Klem was thrown away from her. He fell to the ground in a tumble.

It was Ingram. Ingram stared at Klem, his fists clenching. "How dare you?" he raged. "How dare you assault a Goddess?"

"She's no Goddess, Ingram," said Situs. "She's just a slut who needs some loving."

Ingram roared and lunged at Situs, and punched him so hard that his body recoiled against the fence. Klem took that opportunity to grab Ingram from behind, but Ingram threw him off like he was made of paper. He fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

"If either of you so much as look at her in the wrong way, I will kill you both!" Ingram roared. He looked at Kristiana, and instantly his tone was soft and full of concern. "Goddess, are you all right?"

Kristiana was flustered, in more ways than one. "Yes, yes, I think so."

"Your dress... it is all dirty," said Ingram, looking at the mud prints.

"It will be fine," said Kristiana.

"Please, let me escort you safely home. I beg you," said Ingram.

"Yes," said Kristiana. "I think I would like that. Very much."

When they got back to the Palace, Kristiana told her father what had happened. He was outraged. "These persons touched you inappropriately?"

"Yes, Papa. But Ingram saved me," said Kristiana.

Father Sanduval gave Ingram an appraising eye. "Why did you help my daughter?"

Ingram got to his knees. "She is the Goddess. It is my duty to protect her."

Sanduval nodded. "I am going to hire you, young man, to be her bodyguard. I will give you a fair wage. Does that suit you?"

"More than anything, God Sanduval," said Ingram, still staring at the ground.

Kristiana smiled. It suited her too.

********

Sanduval's private lessons with Sabiba continued. She was an avid learner, and could recite teachings almost immediately after she was taught. As her lessons progressed, she brought him snacks, from her house. Sanduval thought it impolite to refuse. So he ate her cookies, and slices of carrot cake, and wheat bread.

They all tasted delicious. But as he ate them, his mind started to cloud. The lessons started to change in tenor. He still remembered teaching Sabiba things, but now it seemed that Sabiba started teaching him things as well. She said words to him, words he could not recall, but words that made an impression on him nonetheless.

It was confusing, but shortly after their lessons, his mind always cleared, and he felt that Sabiba was making excellent progress. He looked at her appraisingly in a new light. He sensed she had the potential to become much more than just a devout believer.

Chapter 6: The Goddesses Brianna, Kyrsten, and McKenzie

Brianna Lindsay, Kyrsten Hymen, and McKenzie Risella watched the Asgard lift off. A crowd had already started to form around them. They were on the edge of the city called Imanthia.

They were not fearful. Nor were they anxious. They were excited.

Before they had embarked, Brianna had held a private meeting with Kyrsten and McKenzie.

"I think our presence here was no accident. I think, by the Goddess Aura, we were meant to be here," said Brianna, speaking in hushed tones.

"Really?" said Kyrsten.

"Just think about it, Stenna. We're here, in a brutal patriarchical society, and we are being given the power to change everything."

"But Captain Taylor said we were only to stop the killings and the rapes," said McKenzie.

"Kenzie, Kenzie dear, we're going to be gods," said Brianna. "I don't think any of this--the damage to the ship, our landing here, finding this regressive testosterone poisoned society--has been an accident. I think we were put here, by the Goddess Aura. I think Aura saw this society which has been so badly fucked up by men, and that she sent us in to fix it."

"You think so?" Kyrsten asked.

"I really do. I prayed to Aura and I felt it. It was undeniable," said Brianna. Her eyes grew wide, and she whispered in a hushed tone, "I think we have been put in a perfect position to practice Nurda Gababba."

Nurda Gababba, loosely translated to mean "Heal the World", was one of the basic tenants of the religion of those who worshipped the Great She-Goddess Aura. Nurda Gababba stated that everyone should work to gain positions of power in society, which they could use to improve the lives of others. The idea was that individuals, on their own, have no concept of Nurda Gababba or how to help others. That is why they needed people in positions of authority to coerce them to aid the poor and the less fortunate. Under Nurda Gababba, it was perfectly legitimate to raise taxes, redistribute wealth, push social justice, environmental justice, and all other kinds of progressive justice, and to teach people to idolize women and girls above all else.

"Nurda Gababba," said McKenzie excitedly, her nipples hardening just from the thrill of hearing those words. "Yes, I am starting to feel it too."

Brianna smiled. "Once we assume our roles as Goddesses, of course we will stop these heathens from murdering each other. But we will also use our roles to instill social justice, to better the plight of women and girls, and to heal Mama Earth."

The girls grinned. They were in total agreement.

"But what of Captain Taylor?" Kenzie asked.

"Captain Taylor will be hundreds of miles away. He'll never have to know," said Brianna.

The girls agreed. The girls decided everything together, as a rule, once Brianna told them what they were going to do.

Originally, they had been a couple: the brunette Brianna, with her shoulder length hair and moderate size bosom, and Kyrsten, the blonde bombshell with a short, man hairdo but much larger breasts. They had met at a Girlpower! conference on Earth nine years ago, and had been inseparable ever since.

But as their relationship had matured, they both started to feel that a little more spice in their relationship was needed. That zesty spice manifested itself in the form of McKenzie Risella, a fiery redhead with large breasts and an infectious smile who they met at a lesbian stripper bar in Amsterdam. Brianna and Kyrsten took one look at the beauty and they both knew they had to have her. Brianna saw her and whispered something to Kyrsten.

Kyrsten turned to Brianna. "Bri, why do I always have to be the one to seduce them?"

"Stenna, The She-Goddess gave me the brains, and you the titties," Brianna explained. "We have each been given our own divine division of labor."

So Kyrsten had gone over and seduced McKenzie. It really hadn't proved very difficult. McKenzie had been immediately attracted to the blonde bombshell. She found something oddly attractive about her mannish haircut and large breasts. And when Kyrsten brought McKenzie back to her apartment for a little getting-to-know-you session, and Brianna suddenly appeared and introduced herself, McKenzie didn't even blink, simply asking who wanted to get eaten out first?

And so the couple quickly became a triple. With a brunette, blonde, and redhead, the trio quickly became known as "all flavors to all women".

But there were fundamental insecurities to a triple which weren't present in a couple. As the newcomer, McKenzie always felt a little insecurity that she wasn't as "in" to the relationship as the original pair, Brianna and Kyrsten. Brianna worried that maybe McKenzie favored Kyrsten a little too much over her, and McKenzie worried that at times that she couldn't always fully satisfy Kyrsten, despite her moans of pleasure whenever she would use her lips and tongue on Kyrsten's most sacred place.