"So, you're an alien?" came the voice of an elderly man, his eyes dancing with curiosity. I, in turn, studied him as if he were a rare specimen.
"Yes. In fact, 90% of what you call pagan gods are my kind. Though not the Asgard—they're now scattered across the US, having lost an entire ship."
"So this is who appeared like those mysterious UFOs? The ones that crashed in Roswell?"
"Exactly. Although I don't interfere in their affairs, nor do they in mine. The Asgard are a race of colossal power, with whom my kind has crossed blades more than once. They are generally peace-loving, though how your Vikings grew out of their teachings is a mystery. Sometimes the Asgard are too clever for their own good; they hardly suspected how their good intentions would transform. However, why the Asgard showed any interest in Earth at all is unknown to me. Perhaps some crisis provoked by the Goa'uld Empire forced them to intervene more deeply than intended. I only know that they saved some of the Scandinavian inhabitants."
"So, the galaxy is inhabited by representatives of the human race?" David Ben-Gurion persisted.
"Correct. Because about eleven thousand years ago, Ra set foot on this planet. He discovered your species and summoned representatives of the entire Empire here—to replace hosts and regroup, as the Asgard were pressing us on all fronts. And to begin settling humans throughout the galaxy—as a more profitable labor force. We left only five thousand years ago. Another Asgard offensive began, aimed at ending the Goa'uld's claims to galactic dominance. Just then, a rebellion broke out on Earth in Egypt. Due to the planet's insignificance, it was abandoned. However, various Lords periodically used Earth as a sort of slave warehouse. They would arrive, gather as many as they needed, and depart, leaving behind new cults. For example, Celtic mythology, Japanese, and a number of others emerged precisely when various Lords needed labor. Given their passion for spreading quasi-religions, stories about them remained among those who didn't make it onto the ships. The latter, however, have formed their own mythology based on the information provided to them by the preachers. I know for a fact that Sokar visited you last—at least, he has English villages professing Christianity and using the "Hammer of Witches," which points to the 16th century. It's surprising that no records survive. Otherwise, the gods haven't visited you for 500 years, and pray it continues for just as long. Otherwise, that same Sokar, who loves negative publicity and his trademark—Satan—will exceed all expectations. Not that Ra, Apophis, and Baal are paragons of sanity, but even the Goa'uld consider Sokar insane. So, the essence of my message to you: in the System Lords' food chain, my place is below the bottom. I have been entrusted with a planet resembling Ancient Egypt in its level of development, except for iron and the methods of smelting it. I owe my lord a huge debt, and the interest is accruing inexorably. Therefore, I would like to accelerate my ascension by exploiting the technological innovations available to humans. While we dislike technologically advanced human civilizations that defend their right to explore space, I am not such a retrograde. Therefore, I am willing to trade with you."
"Why me? They could have turned to the US, Britain, or the USSR," came the reasonable question.
"Because contact with aliens will sooner or later become public knowledge, and that could lead to another war, which would end disastrously. I would have preferred to cooperate with private individuals, but I quickly reconsidered my position, as I had no idea how to find someone on the planet capable of becoming my agent. Therefore, I turned to those who were interested in helping and would honor trade agreements sacredly, since I would literally be their only ally."
"Very frank. But why do you think you'll be the Jews' only ally?"
"Because, looking at the political map, you're the underdog. Even in the looming confrontation between the USSR and the US, everyone will be interested in the opinion of the most powerful forces in the region, and they'll be the ones to curry favor—the Arabs. No one will back a sure-fire loser. This is a logical chain, accessible to any politician who believes they control the fate of the world. As soon as the British troops leave, the Arabs will try to destroy you. Playing their own game, the Western powers will tell the UN how sorry they are, but there's nothing they can do. The situation is similar to mine: victory or death. And in such situations, allies are invaluable."
"What will I need to do?"
"To develop my planet's industry, I need machine tools, mining equipment, and rails. I'll give you the full list later. And I need a lot of this. I'll give you the money to purchase all of this through your channels. You can keep half. The money will be in gold. In exchange, I'll help stockpile weapons for the Jews."
"What volumes of weapons are we talking about?"
"After the war, weapons were practically free. Even tanks. The thing is, I won't buy them—they'll simply disappear from the warehouses, after which I'll hand them over to you. Let me clarify that, in my opinion, the best solution would be to use German weapons, since they aren't subject to the same controls as national ones and are already flooding the black market. I'll simply seize some supplies from some trophy weapons depot. I'm talking about small arms; as for guns and tanks, that's not a big problem for me either. But you need to figure out where to store all this until the right time."
"What amounts of gold are we talking about to purchase the equipment you need?"
"20 tons of gold. If necessary, I can increase this figure to 50 tons." I had already visited Merlin's vault and removed the gold, as well as anything dangerous. It wasn't difficult. Apparently, Merlin hadn't installed Goa'uld protection there for some reason; passing the tests was easy. My Jaffa defeated the Knight; while Mitchell, not in the best condition, managed to defeat him, the Jaffa supersoldier did it in no time. You could say Avalon became my base of operations, in part because it contained Ancient technology, including beam teleportation and complete stealth. If I interfered with the ring control system, I could establish a coded signal linking Avalon's rings to mine. I didn't care how they laundered the money—it was simply resources to be spent. Not to mention, with a larger group, there would be fewer questions about the origin of the money. They would blame it all on the war.
"That's a significant amount of resources. What specific products are you interested in?"
"I'll give you the list, we'll agree on it later."
"Is technological trade possible between us?"
"It's not that I completely deny it. The problem is, it could put you at risk. For example, naquadah is a super-dense metal that's the foundation of Goa'uld technology and a source of fuel. I developed what you consider the Holy Grail—the ability to store energy in large quantities. It's a naquadah battery, but naquadah is practically nonexistent on Earth. Intelligence will eventually find such batteries and ask questions. Therefore, I believe it would be much wiser if I paid you in gold. Considering that, with the formation of your own state, you will have certain financial problems."
Ben-Gurion nodded.
"But what will happen if someone from your people comes to the planet?"
"That won't happen anytime soon. Ra is fighting Apophis. Their territories are closest to your position in the universe, and both Lords are more interested in mining worlds than empty ones. But even if that happens, I have a way to contact Asgard. They'll likely come to your planet's aid, and there will also be an opportunity to have Earth added to the list of Protected Planets. A similar agreement exists between Asgard and the System Lords, according to which small enclaves are to be created where humans are allowed to develop without Goa'uld oversight. But the status of an unknown, distant territory is far more advantageous than "protected," because, according to one of the clauses, the planet must not possess technologies that pose a threat to the System Lords. And they have the right to declare any technology as such—even electricity generation technologies."
"This is… absurd."
"On many planets, Ra forbids even basic literacy for slaves. So that's reality. Therefore, it's best to develop slowly, hoping the System Lords don't discover your planet. And if they do, flee to Asgard for help. I'll leave you with the communication systems, but I advise using them only in situations of greatest danger. Essentially, this is an open channel for the galaxy. On Earth, I can be contacted through another device." I handed over a long-range communications orb, as well as a primitive satellite phone. And yes, I hung a satellite above Earth, having painted it black first, just in case, having fashioned its casing from an asteroid. Even more so, just in case. There's no discernible telecommunications equipment there, so astronomers will simply assign it some index if they discover it. "However, if I discover any humanitarian technologies, I'll share them. However, I must warn you: large countries usually react very annoyed when small countries develop toys that are superior to theirs. Even if it is a new antibiotic or something similar."
"I thought advanced civilizations had conquered all diseases. And that there would be more advanced technologies."
"You thought like a human. But what is a disease-free race? Why would they develop pharmaceuticals? For example, my people live for twenty thousand years. And even that may not be the limit. I have yet to hear of a Goa'uld dying a natural death. While the proverbial cure-all exists, the price is exorbitant—a single application will cure anything except genetic problems. However, you will no longer have an immune system. And such a medicine would need to be taken daily to simply not die. With constant use, you can live a very long life, but the price of disrupting the supply chain is your life. Not to mention that possessing such a medicine confers colossal power. And where there is power, there is a desire to take it away. As for why I buy tractors from you, it's because people take out loans. To get a much faster start than my own resources allow. For example, I invented an antigravity platform that, using various attachments, can serve as both a tractor and a combine harvester.
However, I'll start mass-producing them in ten years, and the agricultural revolution needs to begin now. Much like other advanced systems, the Goa'uld are keeping people in the Middle Ages so they can use technology to instill faith in themselves as deities.
- But you are different.
"I'm literally 14 years old, the youngest among the System Lords, aged 5,000-7,000 years, and they've taken their places by imposing their views on others. There are far more liberal Goa'uld, called the Tok'ra, who prefer the standard liberal political package. Equality, brotherhood, and so on. But they're being hunted, and they fight the System Lords with guerrilla warfare. I don't fit into that ideological paradigm, as I don't meet the main requirement for membership—coexistence with the host on equal terms. However, beyond that, I share all liberal views. Although I can't say I'm a socialist—oh, your political parties can be mind-boggling, so even defining your political orientation is a difficult task."
- Considering that, judging by the stories, the Goa'uld are all feudal rulers, this should be difficult.
"Bastet is definitely a feminist," I clarified. "She has a female host, and her domain also protects women's rights. But yeah, everyone's a megalomaniac. I don't think that's anything unusual for you. Just look at the political map of the world and name a country without a megalomaniac in power."
- Good argument. I'll prepare all the infrastructure so we can exchange goods.
"Excuse me, I need to steal a couple dozen tanks right now. See you soon." I was also planning to steal a few APCs to equip them with antigravity technology, and it would be better to replace the armor with trinium. Why do I feel like while I'm interfering in Earth's affairs, Isara will simply sue me for Cheops? Although that's impossible; everything there is password-protected; the hyperdrive and weapons could only be used with a rather complex password. This will give me some time to seek other allies. Israel has long had very difficult relations with the rest of the world, so once the demand for initial supplies is satisfied, it's worth maintaining allies in the humanitarian sector, and perhaps in the military as well. Earth has many interesting weapons that could be adapted for combat between system lords.
Adding some firepower here and some control there. I didn't take any firearms for myself. Why bother? The Jaffa would notice any rearmament if the fighting broke out between the Goa'uld, and for the people of Urvashi... would they shoot me? So I should focus on economic development. I took penicillin samples, so I can produce a certain amount of antibiotics. I'll have to develop some of the drug production on my own planet, as purchasing drugs for 30 million people would attract anyone's attention. In general, it's best to discuss this with Isara. My plan is to economically develop a planet that is already capable of supporting an army and navy of at least a couple thousand fighters, a couple hundred Alkesh, and 20-30 Huttaks. A fleet like that, with one developed planet, is what's needed for explosive expansion. On the other hand, I'll clearly have more than one planet as a source of naquadah.
For example, excess naquadah could be stored to provide resources for future fleet construction, once the infrastructure is in place and experienced workers are recruited. That would take 10-15 years. Maybe longer. Right now, I'm supposed to be meeting with one of the private investigators. I'll find Seth, and I don't care how much money it costs. Considering that the money is, in fact, fake/real.