We might have gotten screwed by the crabs that ambushed us, but we also just discovered another volcanic region connected to the two we already found. Not only that, but it was another region with a volcano. One that wasn’t even too far from the first volcano we were claiming our way toward. And with a one-tile-wide path between two lava lakes, it could also serve as a chokepoint of sorts.

More importantly, there was a minor faction outpost and another unit in the new region.

That was both good and bad. Good because it meant we might get a new population source out of it, but bad because there was always a chance that their unit was hostile and would want to wipe us out.

I tried clicking on their unit.

Unfortunately, I got a message telling me that our we didn’t have enough information on them to know how many are in the unit nor what they are. The same thing happened when I tried to click on the outpost. All it did was tell me that it was, in fact, an outpost for a minor faction. There were no other options or anything.

“Getting three regions of the same type next to each other is already lucky,” Sara said. “Really lucky. Finding a minor faction this soon after what happened… not to mention two volcanos, the rare biomes…”

“I told all of you. All you have to do is believe in me and everything will work out. I can’t tell you how or when, but it will. That’s what it means to be American. To never give up and keep on pushing no matter how dark the situation might get. The darker the situation, the brighter our lights shine.”

Sara sighed and ran her hand back through her hair. “I hate how much you remind me of my brother. I really do. So, let’s say I have faith in you to get us out of this situation. Let’s say I even believe that you will, against all odds, manage to win this game. What about my brother? You said that you will figure something out in regard to him. How will you make up for ruining my plan to earn his freedom?”

“I have no idea. All I know is that we’ll get it figured out.”

“Inspiring faith in your ability to win this game is one thing. Even giving me the tiniest bit of hope in regard to freeing him is going to require far more than empty promises.”

“All I can tell you is this. Humans are stubborn and we like to take what we want, and us Americans are at the top of that. We get our way whether the universe wants to let us or not. If I say that we’re going to free your brother, it means we are going to free him. That’s all that matters.”

Sara walked away from me, leaving one hand on the top of her head, and let out an annoyed groan. “I hate this.”

“That you believe in me?”

“Yes. Even though my own brother sounded just like you and failed at his goals… I can’t help but to believe in you. Or maybe I simply want to believe in you. Maybe I want to believe that such a dramatic change is possible. That it is possible to strike back and win even against members of the Divine Pantheon. I… wait. That’s it.”

“What?”

“Members of the Divine Pantheon are those who have gained the unwavering belief of their people. Belief is an incredibly powerful thing in the universe—one of the most powerful things. And you keep on going on and on about believing in you. Generally, when you invest in religious technology, your sponsor is the one who is worshipped. That would be my father in our case, had he not withdrawn his support of us. Right now, because we have no sponsor, there is nobody above you. You could found a religion and declare yourself its object of worship. Between that, inspiring everybody else who is watching you, and your own determination… it may just be possible for you to become a member of the Divine Pantheon. That would give you far more power in regard to dealing with my father, and it may even open a route to freeing my brother.”

“No.”

“Why not?! It’s a good idea!”

“I have no interest in being worshipped as a god. No gods, no kings.”

“Listen. Whether you like it or not, acquiring that status would give you the power to do whatever you want. If you become a member of the Divine Pantheon and win this game, Earth would belong to you. That means you and you alone would determine its future. Your will would be undeniable. You know that means? That means you could personally make sure that nothing changes. You could go back to living a normal life on Earth where everything goes back to just like how it used to be. No other member of the Divine Pantheon would be allowed to do anything to Earth or any of the other worlds you would gain dominion over. Yes, you would basically become a god and be worshipped throughout the universe, but that doesn’t mean you have to do anything other than let everybody else do what they want. Isn’t that what you’re all about? Freedom?”

I had to admit that Sara had a point. “Yeah.”

“Then suck it up, become a benevolent god, and deal with it. Whether you like it or not, the ultimate way to grant anybody in this universe any amount of true freedom is to have absolute power over them and not do anything with it. Anything short of that is just waiting for some other member of the Divine Pantheon to take control, and you can’t trust any of them to truly live and let live. My father would have simply waited a few years before taking direct control of humanity despite his promise of leaving you all alone.”

“I won’t say yes to that, but I won’t say no. I’ll think about it.”

“Well, that’s better than your original answer.”

While being an all-powerful god-like being with total control of Earth didn’t exactly sound like my cup of bourbon, I had to admit that something like the “God of Freedom” sounded nice, but not as nice as acquiring true, everlasting freedom for everybody.

And there was no way I would trust any other member of the Divine Pantheon to rule over everybody without abusing their power. Just like how I would never trust any politician except for myself if I were to ever become a politician.

Maybe becoming a god wasn’t such a bad plan after all.