Kazuko Saito-McCarthy, stage name Sara, watched the news from her dressing room. They were covering the handful of protests that popped up after John’s interview the week before. Even ten years earlier the response to his statements about the Ten Commandments and aliens existing would’ve turned the world into a powder keg ready to blow, but while the mainstream religions were still dominant on the planet, people these days were a bit more open minded about what they might not know. After all, they’d been watching him perform miracles for nearly two decades now. Compared to things that had previously been expected to be taken on faith, his actions were all over the internet for the world to see and analyze.

She sighed and tossed her phone on to the counter in front of her. Naturally, one of those handful of protests had to be outside her concert. Her fans and fellow followers of Zekken easily outnumbered the protestors, and most were filing into the stadium without any issues, but that hadn’t stopped some roughhousing from going on. Neither side was completely innocent of starting the small fights that erupted either. It was to be expected when someone insulted what you passionately held dear, but it ironically went against what both sides’ preferred religion taught. She glanced at her phone, debating if she should make a call to someone to assist. She knew if she called John he’d be down in an instant, ready to help her however she needed, but she hesitated. She was his oracle. His way of delivering his message to the world through her. What kind of oracle would she be if she had to run to him for help every time something went wrong?

Making a snap decision, she stood up suddenly, scaring the hell out of the woman doing her hair. Apologizing to her absentmindedly, Kazuko walked over to a beat up guitar case sitting in the corner and popped it open, revealing a gorgeous Fender Dreadnaught. It was far larger than one would expect someone as petit as her to play, but she loved it. It had been a wedding present from John a few years before, and she knew he’d picked a huge guitar on purpose, practical joker that he was. She’d surprised him though by effortlessly handling it, tuning it to perfection by ear within seconds and playing a softer version of one of his favorite anime themes. She never told him that she was used to large guitars like this because she’d learned to play with her father’s guitar, an older version of the dreadnaught that she still kept hanging on her wall.

“And just where do you think you’re going, Mrs. McCarthy?”

“Mrs. Saito-McCarthy, Mr. McCarthy,” she said with a grin as she turned to face her husband. Slinging the guitar across her back, she stepped towards him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “It’s been five years, Billy. You might as well give up. My family name is as important to me as that pen is to you.” She tapped the blue and black pen sticking out of the breast pocket of his coat. “Both remind us where we came from. Without them, who knows where we’d be.”

Billy fingered the pen thoughtfully as he stared down at his wife. He’d probably be dead, if he was being honest with himself. If he hadn’t run into someone larger than life in an alley that fateful day, he probably would’ve gone down a path that ended abruptly. Instead he took Zekken’s words to heart and dedicated himself to writing. But creating worlds wasn’t what he wanted to do. There was too much going on in the one he currently occupied, and he wanted to share it with everyone. He dedicated the remainder of his education to writing and journalism.

He graduated from college with honors with a degree in journalism, then became a freelance writer covering Zekken and his influence round the world almost exclusively. His miracles, his mistakes, his childish antics, and his moments of complete sincerity. He became one of Zekken’s most devoted followers, in his mind at least, but that didn’t stop him from criticizing him when he felt it was needed. Making sure to separate facts from opinions, he rapidly made a name for himself as someone to be trusted when reporting. No spinning the story. No hidden agendas. He always laid out the facts exactly as they happened before stressing that his opinion was his alone. His trustworthiness soon netted him an exclusive interview with one of the world’s top musicians, which eventually netted him an exclusive place in her heart.

“Alright,” he conceded. “You still haven’t answered my question though.” He whipped out his pen and his notebook. “Where might the pop idol and Oracle of Zekken Sara be going with her prized guitar an hour before her scheduled performance?”

She smiled, then straightened up. “Well, Mr. Reporter, sir, I am going to put on a surprise performance for the crowd waiting outside. Tensions are running high out there, and I want to try to calm everyone down.”

Billy scribbled some notes down as she spoke. “Mmhmm. And are you doing this because it’s what Zekken would want you to do?”

“Nope. I’m doing this because it’s something I want to do. We Oracles are charged with spreading his desires for a better world, it’s true, but not everything we do is because of him. We have our own desires. We have our own hopes and dreams for the world. If those happen to line up with his, so much the better. What he said a week ago was controversial, and probably wasn’t delivered like he wanted it to be, but it’s not the first time he’s put his foot in his mouth like that and we both know it won’t be the last. Just like he’s helping the world be better, it’s our job to help him be better.”

“By ‘our job’ you mean the Oracles?” Billy asked.

Kazuko shook her head. “No. I mean everyone. All of us. People don’t understand that he wants that help and criticism. He encourages differing views, because looking at things from all sides, not just the sides we agree with, is what sparks change. Proper discourse is needed, and for that people need to be calm and rational minded. What’s happening outside is spiraling out of control, and someone is going to get seriously hurt before long. Their passions are overriding their common sense. I’d like to attempt to calm that down.”

Putting his pen and pad away, Billy switched from reporter to husband. “But is it ok for you to go out there? Someone may try something you know.”

She smiled and patted his cheek. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m an Oracle you know. Everyone out there knows it as well. If anything were to happen to me, they would face a literal god’s fury. If it would make you feel better, however, you can accompany me, dear. I’m sure you’d also get some good footage for a story later on.” Giving him a quick kiss, she stepped around him and left the dressing room. Sharing an exasperated look with the hairdresser moping in a nearby chair, Billy turned and followed his wife out.

*

“She really is something, isn’t she,” Aura said, watching the screen in her room. On it was a god’s eye view of Sara’s impromptu acoustic session in front of the stadium she was due to perform at. She stared in awe at the way the silver haired Japanese woman soothed the anger that had been bubbling up between the protestors and her fans. She closed her eyes and listened to the songstress’ voice float through the air like a warm spring breeze. “The freedom you give your Oracles has always astounded me.”

“Oh?” I said. “How so?”

“You remember how I was when we met for the first time. Bundled up in robes and forbidden from any kind of intimacy, friendly or otherwise, save for Drake, who raised me.”

I nodded, remembering the bundle of fabric seated in that lonely room.

“To Kamiki, we were her messengers, as yours are to you. However, she wanted us to be regarded as above everyone else, below only her. She placed us on pedestals and forced everyone to regard us as extensions of herself. Untouchable, unapproachable, to be held in the highest regard, and never to be considered mortal. She placed so many restrictions on us that any joy we might have found in spreading our goddess’ word was lost in loneliness and despair.” She gestured at the screen, then rested her hand on her belly again. “Your Oracles don’t have such restrictions. They’re free to meet people, make friends, get married, have children. You even took one as a wife. Look at her face, John. She genuinely loves you and the hope you’re bringing to the world. I never imagined such freedom existed for Oracles.”

I shrugged. “I really don’t know how other gods and goddesses do their business. I’m just making things up as I go. A lot of my leadership style comes from what I learned in the Army. What to do and, more importantly, what not to do. I learned a long time ago that if you wanted something completed there’s no need to tell them how to do it. Just tell them your end goal and why it needs to be done and they’ll figure out the rest. Unlike a lot of the guys I worked with, I never considered ‘why’ a dirty word, and ‘because I said so’ was forbidden in my vocabulary. It wasn’t a hundred percent effective, but it worked more times than it didn’t. Leadership through trust will garner more results than through fear and intimidation.”

She chuckled. “I imagine if Kamiki had utilized such means the galaxy would be hers.”

“And I imagine Ephine would have something particular to say about that.”

Damn right I would! came the mental response.

Weren’t you going to check on those incoming ships? I asked.

I’m going, I just heard you two talking about something interesting and wanted to eavesdrop.

Well, at least you’re honest about it. Now hurry on up. We’ve got that thing in a couple days and I’m gonna look stupid if you miss it.

*

Ephine chuckled to herself. Even if she were halfway across the galaxy she could be there with a thought. As much as she loved the little human, she had to remember that his world view, so to speak, was still decidedly narrow. He’s come a long way since she first started watching him, and even further since she started subtly tutoring him. An idea here, a suggestion there. She had very high hopes for him and humanity as a whole because of him and was intensely curious as to where he’d take them.

When she’d first decided to intertwine her life with his, she’d made an agreement with him to not interfere with how he developed his world. In truth she never had any intention of interfering. It had just been a long time since she’d seen such a young and energetic god. Most that she’d been observing were long passed the age of being bored and hardly paid any attention to their flock, exceptions like Kamiki notwithstanding, of course. She knew that particular upstart had eyes on Ephine’s position, but it would never happen unless she allowed it. Ephine didn’t rise to the rank of galactic goddess. She’s always been one. It’s just the way of the universe. Well, this one at least. She couldn’t speak to other universes, as most that cross that barrier rarely come back. She was aware of one or two that crossed taking peeks back into this universe somehow, but since they hadn’t attempted anything beyond checking on their old domains, she mostly ignored it. Mostly. Someone was peeking at Earth on occasion, and that was something she was curious about.

Of course, she had more pressing concerns at the moment. Ephine was currently in her incorporeal form. She was both nowhere and everywhere in the galaxy at once. In truth, this is how she preferred to be. She felt cramped when she used her body. Confined would probably be a better word to describe it, actually. Yes, she greatly enjoyed the physical time with her son and most especially John, but nothing felt more relaxing than spreading herself out over the Milky Way. In this form she could see everything at once. From the smallest parasitic creature hitching a ride on an oblivious Cheaqnor at the furthest reaches of the galaxy to the private bed chambers of the leaders of the largest empires. Every god, lesser god, demigod, and regular lifelorm. A colony of Antarian gnats that no one knew was sentient was plotting an invasion of a nearby Gelgin settlement near the galactic core. Ephine figuratively shook her head. Just because a species was sentient didn’t mean they were intelligent. She doubted very much that the Gelgins would even view the gnats as anything more than a seasonal irritation easily defeated by wearing long sleeves and pants.

Oh, that’s interesting, she thought, her attention drawn towards the Agneles region. Apparently Scorben Na’onn just discovered that his daughter married a lowly human. His first wife was currently attempting to talk him out of launching a fleet. Wonder how they learned that so fast. Oh, that’s a Junaian subspace ship. Kamiki tattled and spared no expense at that. Had to have cost her most of the ship’s crew to travel that far that fast. What a truly irritating goddess. Ah well. Won’t be a problem for another hundred years at the least.

She shifted her primary focus around again, this time focusing on the ships heading for Earth. Two Yazari ships. Spiritual herbivores that have been wary of Kamiki’s encroaching conquests near their home system. Judging by their speed, Ephine estimated them arriving in Earth orbit about 75 years from now, just like she predicted before. Half a dozen ships from the Tandori refugee planet. She would have smiled if she currently had a mouth. Keeping this secret from Aura has been harder for her than she expected. The poor woman thought she was one of the last of her kind. She really had no reason not to tell Aura, except that she wanted to see the look on her sister-wife’s face when they arrived in a couple years. She swatted away a rogue comet that would’ve ended half the fleet in a couple months. Couldn’t let anything happen to this endangered species before they arrived on Genesis.

Ephine mentally sighed and turned her attention to the last group. 47 warships loaded for bear. Shouldn’t arrive for another three hundred years, but was still a problem waiting to happen. As much as Ephine would love to blame Kamiki for this problem, it was actually a civilization whose god had abandoned them millennia ago, having been unable to turn their zealotry into anything useful. The irony that the Vretten were aggressively spreading their faith in the name of a god who had abandoned them was known only to two divine beings, Ephine and her long absconded suitor Prax, the very god they worshipped. Just another reason she didn’t miss him all that much. Now she was left to deal with his problem. Well, technically John was, since she promised not to interfere.

She mentally shrugged. Three hundred years wasn’t long in the cosmic scale of things, and hardly an eye blink to someone who’d lived for billions of years. If John kept progressing like he was and human ingenuity was just as amazing as their tv shows liked to show them as, the Vretten would pose little threat to the two blue and green marbles her family lived on. All the same, she decided it was time to take a more active role in his training as a god. But should she tell him what to expect from the ships, she wondered, then decided not to. A rough timeline of arrival for each wave, but not the makeup. How he greeted the newcomers might give her insight into how he’d deal with the galaxy at large.

Suddenly her attention was drawn towards Earth and wave of happiness pulsed through her. He was trying to get her attention. His telepathic range was growing to encompass a larger portion of the solar system, but if he couldn’t pinpoint where someone was, he still had difficulty getting his thoughts through. Since she was technically everywhere in this form, he really had no chance of narrowing it down.

Yes, dear?

There you are! It’s been two days, Eph. It starts in an hour. Would you care to grace us with your presence?

Oh my, she thought, genuinely surprised. Time really flies, doesn’t it?

Felt like two days here. Come on home. Your son hasn’t stopped asking about you all morning.

Ephine burbled with happiness to herself, inadvertently causing a couple older stars to go nova a couple million years early. Quickly checking to make sure no one would be adversely affected by her accident, she calmed herself down, then returned home.

“Mommy!” Uther cheered as she reappeared in John’s gaming room. The seven year old dropped the game controller he’d been holding and dove into her waiting arms. As she held him, she tingled with happiness. In her long life, she’d created many things. Planets, nebulae, cosmic wonders humans wouldn’t discover for hundreds of generations even if they left Earth now. She’d helped seed the galaxy with life of all shapes and forms. Nothing, however, compared to the life she now held in her arms. She’d never allowed herself to get pregnant in all that time until John came along, and now she wondered why she’d ever made the decision not to. At first, she’d just been playing with him, saying she just wanted a little girl from him, but somewhere along the way he’d managed to tie her down. Figuratively, of course. Well, literally on more than a few occasions as well, but that wasn’t the point. The freewheeling galactic goddess was genuinely in love with this backwater god and the little boy he’d given her. Carrying Uther within her from conception to birth was both fascinating and miserable for her, and she couldn’t wait to do it all over again, many, many times with her husband.

“Hey sweetheart,” she said. “Isn’t Junior supposed to be playing with you now?”

“Miranda dragged him off. She missed him a lot,” Uther said cheerfully, then turned serious. “Um, Mommy? Are you going to go away for a long time again? Cause you were just gone for two days and I’m afraid you’ll leave again. I miss you when you’re gone.”

“No, baby! I’m not going anywhere for a while. Not unless an emergency happens, ok?” Ephine crushed him into a bear hug, burying the poor boy into her massive chest. He returned the hug tightly for a moment, then started to flail for a second before popping out of her grasp and reappearing across the room, heaving deep breaths.

“Couldn’t… breathe!” he gasped out as he inhaled deeply. His face was red, eyes wide in panic as he bent over at the waist and attempted to get his breathing under control. Confident he was breathing normally again, he cautiously glanced over at his mother. He expected to see a pained or angry expression on her face after escaping her hug like that but was shocked to see the obsidian beauty on her knees where he’d left her, giggling.

“I’m sorry,” she said between giggling fits. “I didn’t mean to hug you that hard. Anyway, shall we go see your father? We’ve got guests today. Including one I know you’re particularly eager to see.” She held out a hand to him, with a wink tacked on to her last sentence. Blushing, the yellow haired boy took her hand and accompanied her out of the room.