“Not all is as it seems, Doctor,” Sheridan said.

“Indeed,” said the Captain. “We are trying to stop them. Of course. We are humans, are we not? We want to preserve humanity.”

“But they’re your gods,” Avery said, honestly puzzled.

“Yes, and we quail in fear of them, and love them for the blessings they’ve given us and the promise of still more blessings to come. But their wrath is a terrible thing, and must be tempered, or all is lost. Civilization will fall.”

“The Starfish have been destroyed,” Avery said quietly, with conviction.

“And what now?” the Captain said. “The assault of the Starfish was our gods’ idea of a surgical retaliation, striking only the countries that had wronged them. The Starfish could only have survived a few days outside of the sea. They could have only leveled the coastal powers, those that had risen against us. Now that the Starfish are defeated, the gods will have no choice but to unleash even more unholy terrors, things, plagues, the warping of reality to the point where anything native to this dimension will perish.”

Sweat trickled down Avery’s back. “What ... what ...?”

“You begin to see,” Sheridan said.

“But Layanna said the R’loth had no further resources—”

“Layanna has been away for centuries,” the Captain said. “Even then, the Great Elders held things back from the rest, waiting to unleash them. That time is now.” He let that sink in, and Avery felt cold all over. Then, slowly, the Captain said, “There is hope, though.”

“Hope?” Avery said, his mind racing.

“Of course. It’s why we are here, is it not? The gods do not want to destroy the world, or civilization, merely transform it. It is why they have not done so yet.”

“What are you saying?”

“They built a flaw into the Starfish,” Sheridan said. “A weakness.”

“A weakness?” he repeated, then understood. “The ghost flower.”

“Yes,” said the Captain. “Not specifically the flower, of course. Once the relic on the Atoshan Islands was found, the Starfish were reconfigured to be susceptible to poisons or technologies from certain ruins, the ruins of a once-great race of gods that used to dwell here, gods that even the Collossum revere.”

“The Ygrith.”

“Even so.”

“Layanna spoke of gods her people were trying to reach ...” He stopped himself when he saw the others looking at him, but he need not have bothered hiding what he knew.

“It’s why the Great Ones came to this world,” the Captain said, nodding. “The R’loth. To find these greater gods. The Ygrith. When the Collossum couldn’t find them immediately, they found another way. Part of their plan was to establish themselves as lords of the surface and use their subjects to hunt for sign of the Ygrith, explore ruins, research ancient mythology ... all of which Octung has done, and was continuing to do until ... well.”

“The relic,” Avery said, starting to understand. “The artifact taken from the Atoshan monastery ...”

“Exactly,” Sheridan said. “During the war Octung occupied numerous countries that held the ruins of races that worshipped the Ygrith, and from deciphering their texts we found one such ruin with an unopened chamber believed to hold an actual item of the Ygrith. Davic gave me the relic and told me to bring it to Rigurd, who, through his association with Admiral Haggarty and his control of the Ghenisan Navy, had been working to decipher yet more texts recovered by Haggarty. Rigurd confirmed the relic was indeed Ygrithan and was able to use its extradimensional signature to create the specific weakness in the Starfish using machinery he had manufactured.”

“That’s why the ghost flower nectar only began working after he activated it,” Avery said.

“He didn’t activate the relic. He broadcast its signature to all of the Starfish, creating the weakness to similar signatures—specifically signatures related to certain items thought to be helpful—and it was after that broadcast that the nectar became effective.”

“And now?” Avery said.

“The reason the Collossum engineered the weakness in the Starfish was so that only by finding a specific trace of the Ygrith could the Starfish be driven back. In the Crothegra we found that trace.”

“The Key ...” Avery suddenly felt cold. “Only by finding the Key could the Starfish be stopped. All those millions of people died just so you could get your hands on it ...”

“It’s what Octung was looking for during the war,” Sheridan said. “It and the thing it’s the key to. It’s why they conquered and occupied so many places. In a sense, finding the Key, and what it is used for, is what the war was all about.”

“And now you have it.” Avery’s mouth was suddenly very dry. “But I don’t understand. The Starfish could have leveled the coastal powers! Octung and the pirates could have swept in and taken over. That was surely the plan. The Starfish could have won the war for you. What more can the Key do?”

“The Starfish could only have won the war on two or three continents,” Sheridan said. “Apparently they don’t live long enough to do more than that, and no more of them can be made. But by letting them continue on, even after the relic had been found, the R’loth were able to motivate their enemies to do what they couldn’t do themselves. Octunggen scientists are either on the run or locked up in Octung, under siege, without recourse to the broad range of materials needed to find the necessary weakness to the Starfish. And the pirates, of course, have no scientific knowledge. No, only our enemies could have found a substance that would have led us to the Key, and it makes sense that it would be you and your ... Layanna ... that would be the ones to accomplish it. The R’loth didn’t realize that someone with her abilities would be needed at first or they wouldn’t have tried to kill her in Ethali, but I’m sure they’re glad they failed. Anyway, with the resources and security given to you by Denaris you were able to locate the weakness, the ghost flower, and to set out after it. I knew that by following you you’d lead me to the Key or to what the Key is used for.”

Avery took a breath. “And? Now that you have it?”

The Captain turned back to the window. The land scrolled away below, dark and distant. “We have but a narrow window,” he said. “Between the destruction of the Starfish by your ... friends, Doctor ... and the Collossum’s implementation of their next method of destruction. Their Failsafe. Something far more lethal and more devastating. I don’t know what it will be, but I know some of their resources, some of their abilities ...” He had gone even grayer, and his face was tight.

“What can we do in this ... window?” Avery said, wary.

Sheridan touched his arm, and he saw something in her face, some warmth, and it was only then that he realized what he had said. We. He cursed himself for a fool, and yet there it was. Perhaps Sheridan had been right all along.

“That,” said the Captain, “is a very good question. And to answer it is where we’re going now.”

THE END

OF VOLUME EIGHT

OF

THE ATOMIC SEA

FROM THE AUTHOR:

If you enjoyed The Atomic Sea: Omnibus of Parts Six, Seven and Eight,, it would be greatly appreciated if you left a review so others can, too. It will not only help new readers discover The Atomic Sea but is incredibly rewarding to me to see how people liked it, as well as learning any ways I can improve.

In fact, to encourage you to leave a review, if you liked the novel and review it, just email me at jackconnerbooks@gmail.com and I’ll thank you with a free copy of Nightmare City or City of Shadows, your choice.