Needless to say I was totally shocked. The paralytic charge wasn't painful, but it managed to lock up my muscles. I might as well have been a statue. Serrena charged the glowing cylinder of light. She had a big fist balled up, all prepared to come to my defense. Big mistake. Whatever this was hiding within the glow stopped her in her tracks.

“You know, when I put forth life on this planet I had high hopes for it. Your ancestors were given exceptional skills at reasoning, and they had a high degree of intelligence. I gave them a full complement of data units to allow them to have a head start in building an empire to rival anything else in the universe. And instead I come back to squabbling, lame brained morons!"

The light grew brighter and brighter until the room was lit like a sun. Then it grew dim. I couldn't see a damn thing. My retinas were nearly burned out by that brilliance. I found that I could now move, and I could hear Serrena gasp a few deep breaths before she took a tentative step. That, however, didn't explain the other footfalls on the floor. I wiped at my eyes, trying to crush out the blindness. As they cleared, I saw a small figure standing there. He, if it was a male, was just a little taller than Bolshoi. 

“Hello Veracity. My you're a big bastard. The original genetic matrix allowed room for growth, but you're kind of vulgar."

                I was squinting at this thing. It was furless, except on top, and it seemed small and weak.  I knew  Lagos that had more meat on their bones. But it had just hit me with incredible power, and I was wary. “What are you?"

                “I'm me, which is more than I can say for you. Damn, you look like a cross between a rhino and a horse!"

                I had no idea what the first one was. He explained. “They're big, stupid, nearsighted lumbering beasts from my home world. Come to think of it, maybe some of their coding ended up in your DNA. You fit the bill pretty well, all except for the lack of horns."

                So our creator had a sense of humor. That was good to know. “Your world. Aren't you  God?"

                “If it helps your mind, sure. But your great, great, great, great grandparents would never have been so foolish. They knew what they were, and they knew what I was. There were no delusions; I created them to live on this world. It had everything life needed except the spark. It was so far along in its geologic history that I figured starting small was stupid. So, I created plants and animals, bacteria, fungus, and a few things that never were to inhabit it. It started out well enough. Now I just need to figure out where it went wrong."

                Serrena was watching this thing like it was a trigger happy maniac. “You just said you couldn't come across the; wherever you were, to be here. You said it would take a long time!"

                 “And I'm still there. I have the ability to be in two places at once. Luckily for me, this equipment is still in running order. Whoever had the sense to have it put in storage and connected to the power grid was a genius. Too bad there wasn't some who could keep up the maintenance on it."

                She gingerly reached out and touched it. It was solid.    

                The entity walked around with a bemused look on his face. “It's been a long time since I occupied a living body!"

                He was looking at his hands as he paced back and forth. He stopped when she touched him. He reached out and gave one of her triple nipples a squeeze. She jerked back as if she were burned.

                He smirked. “What's the matter? Are you afraid of getting zapped again? Sorry, but you're safe for now. Once the tissue generator finished configuring the genetic code I downloaded, that ability left me. I'm as fragile as you are. From now on I'll need to eat and sleep and all those annoying things I gave up a long time ago."

                She walked around him like he was a poison tipped cactus. “You're not what I expected from our Creator." She said it deadpan.

                “And you're exactly what I pictured when I saw your genetic code. You and this huge bundle of attitude over here."

                He pointed to me. I knew I could move, but I was afraid of the consequences if I did.

                “Look Veracity, if this world is in such dire straits, it seems only logical to provide as much help as I can. However, this body will not last for long. The machine is old and I can feel there are problems within its matrix."

                My voice cracked. “Why are you so small?"

                The nearly hairless thing cackled. “And what were you expecting? A hundred meter tall behemoth bent on destruction? That was the stuff of movies from my home world. No, true power is never in who you can kill or subdue. Money is not power unless you grant it control over you. Real power is knowledge. You of all people should know that."

                He was right. Sometimes having the dirt on someone was enough to keep them in line. When that failed, forced was the more enjoyable option. I wanted to exercise that option right now, now that this thing was vulnerable. But something in his voice made me quaver.

                “Look Veracity, just because you're three times my weight doesn't mean I can't drop you. But if all you intend to do is question me and bicker about details, then I'll sit in a corner and wait for this body to expire."

                Before I could make a retort, Bolshoi walked in. She looked around and her eyes went wide when she saw the third person in the room. The creator gave a low whistle, which unnerved her even more.

                “Hello foxy lady!" I had considered Bolshoi to be graced with good looks, even when I thought she was a he. But this thing; this creator; he had no qualms about stating his opinion.

                For her part Bloshoi, aka Veronica, look to the two of us for an explanation. I just sort of shrugged. What the hell was I going to say that she would believe?

                “Just who the hell are you?"

                He made a sweeping bow, an exaggerated motion that seemed to be purposefully elegant. “I am Jenar Lorash. Some of you seem to think I am your Creator, though I have said that you must look to your own parents for that. I was once jokingly referred to as God, but I never felt that was a good role model for me. Too many inconsistencies in all those old Earth mythologies for my logical mind." Then he did a slow walk around her.

                She froze like a kid with her hand in the cookie jar. He walked around inspecting her like a buyer in a Mord yard. “I know it's just the unfamiliar hormones speaking, but damn you look good! I was worried that some of the necessary recessive genes might end up predominant, but I see my fears were unfounded. It's so hard to tell what evolution will do when left to its own devices. “

                She was coming to grips with the idea that this was who so many worshiped as our great benefactor. Like the rest of us, she was receiving mixed signals.

                “Excuse me, but how did you get here?"

                He pointed back at the machine behind us. “Genetic generator. It's what I used to create the first people on your world. Well, that, and the primordials, and the plants, bacteria, fungi and everything else that this world could support. From my readings, life hasn't gotten far away from the point of origin here. I gave detailed instructions for expanding the population to the far corners of the planet within four hundred and fifty years. I am pretty pissed that it hasn't happened. I'm telling you religion was the near death of my world. The hell if I'll let it ruin this world as well!"

                “Primordials?" Of all the things she could ask, she asked what primordials were!

                “Yes! I think your predecessors simply referred to them as Mords. They are genetically close to some of the animals found on my world. You yourselves have much of their DNA incorporated into your structure."

                He was getting me curious. “And what else is mixed up in us…God?"

                “Me."

                “What?"

                “Hey, I learned it from religion. The concepts are great, but the delivery is awful.  It was something they called the divine spark. I mixed my DNA; human chromosomes and coding, into that of other species. It solved two problems. The first was intelligence. Humans had that going for them, though the fools seemed to think it was a curse. Heck, they treated it like a curse. Then there were the conditions on this rock. It was hospitable, but not for the kind of life I was familiar with. It took some tweaking to get things right."

                “Get things right? You mean you experimented on people?"

                The creator sighed. “Yes, if you want to put it that way. That's why this was called my great experiment. I regretfully had failures. Before you go trying to chide me, understand that I had good intentions at the time. Today I am far past that kind of thing. I now have a full set of calculations in place for generating genetic code. I could duplicate you; or you; or you, without any trouble."

                Bolshoi was examining the nude creature. “So you're a human? I always thought those were bedtime stories meant to scare us. Now that I see you in the flesh, you're not so frightening!"

                In a flash he had snatched her pistol from its hidden holster and was holding it to her head. In the next instant he had twirled it and placed it back into her hands. “Never underestimate anyone. Just because I may look weak compared to you doesn't mean I'm not capable of handling myself. I lived one hundred and thirty three years in a body like this, and centuries more as a free spirit. I've learn a lot during that time."

                “Free spirit?"

                He laughed. “Sorry! That makes me sound like a hippy. For me it meant full freedom. I incorporated my mind into a machine of my own construction. I've been traveling ever since I died. I had to stick around for my funeral of course, but then it was time to be off. My world was full of dissent. It hardly mattered to me if it was the religious wars that kept breaking out, or the craven greed that others allowed to rule their life. I put over a hundred years into trying to get them to come around. In the end, I stopped my heart, transferred my consciousness and left. I figured if you can't beat them, leave them."

                “So you're not really a god?"

                He got a sore look on his face. “I've been saying that. If you want me to be rude about it, then all you are are products of test tubes and Petri dishes.  However, what I was trying to do was create a better world, one that might grow where mine failed to thrive. I gave you everything right off the starting line, but apparently I gave you too much. The concept of money and religion mean well, but they always fall to the same evil."

                “What's that?" I asked.

                “Stupidity. I can cure all kinds of diseases, but an ancient Earth comic once said, “There ain't no cure for stupid!"

                I could only agree with this guy. I was getting more comfortable with him as the minutes passed. I had expected some sort of arcane nebulous phantasm. Getting a flesh and blood compatriot was beyond my breams. “Hey God…"

                “Jenar…"

                “OK then, Jenar. What are we going to do about the Brotherhood?"

                “Well Veracity, I think I'll do what I do best."

                “What's that?"

                “I'll blind them with science!"

                “Sounds good! When do we start?"

                He was walking around Bolshoi again. “Depends. This is the first time I've been in a flesh body for centuries. How about it sexy? You want to have a romp before we kick some ass?"