Page 58 of Dark Rover's Luck

"But you know better." There was a hint of wonder in Fenella's voice.

Din nodded. "Humans gave divine interpretation to what they couldn't grasp, and the gods took advantage of that, playing into the narrative. According to the Clan Mother, their motives were benevolent. They wanted humans to develop a just and moral society, and to a large degree, they succeeded in doing so in Sumer. It's only after their destruction that things started to deteriorate, and humanity devolved instead of evolving. Regrettably, history is full of such circles. People erroneously assume that things will always get better and that their children and grandchildren will have it better. They fail to internalize what they learned from history, if they learned anything at all." He smiled at her. "I don't want to sound like a snob, but most humans are ignorant, yet they believe they know everything they need to know. It's very frustrating, especially for someone like me who does his best to teach them better."

As they kept walking from one display case to the next, Din pointed out curiosities that conventional archaeology struggled to explain—perfectly drilled holes in granite that would challenge modern diamond-tipped tools, pictures of precisely cut stones weighing hundreds of tons moved and fitted with millimeter precision, and artwork depicting what appeared to be advanced technology.

"This is one of my favorites," Din said, stopping before what must have been a replica of a relief carving from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. "It's commonly called the 'Dendera Light' because of its resemblance to a modern light bulb."

The carving showed what appeared to be an elongated bulb with a filament-like snake inside, supported by what looked like a cable connected to a box.

"Egyptologists insist it's a symbolic representation of a lotus flower with mythological significance. But considering the practical-minded nature of Egyptian art, that explanation never satisfied me. The gods possessed advanced technology, much more advanced than this, but they might have imparted a more primitive version to their human subjects."

Fenella studied the carving with skeptical interest. "So, the ancient Egyptians had electricity?"

"This particular device likely used some chemical reaction to create light."

"The ancients probably thought it was magic. It's like Clarke's Third Law," Fenella mused. "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Din looked at her with pleasant surprise. "Exactly. I didn't know that you were a science fiction fan."

She shrugged, a mischievous smile playing at her lips. "As we already established, there are many things you don't know about me. Back in the day, when I was a young lass, there were no smartphones with endless entertainment options at the tips of my fingers. More often than not, the only thing I had were books to keep the boredom at bay, and I developed a liking for science fiction. I liked stories that took me away from the drudgery of this world, but fantasy didn't appeal to me because it was all about sword fights and magic. Science fiction opened windows into different possibilities, and instead of relying on magic, it relied on science, and it was much easier for me to suspend my disbelief."

"I completely get why you didn't like fantasy. Given what you have been through, you've become too jaded and sarcastic to suspend disbelief. Science providing different realities is easier for you to accept."

Fenella's expression turned guarded. "It wasn't all bad. I saw the world, experienced different cultures, and learned to rely on myself."

Din wanted to say more—to apologize properly for his role in her difficult life, to promise he'd make it up to her somehow—but he sensed that she wouldn't appreciate that. In fact, he regretted even bringing it up and spoiling her mood. Fenella was a proud woman, and she didn't want him to think of her as a victim.

She was a fighter and a survivor, and he'd better remember that.

Moving along, he stopped next to a display case containing small mechanical objects. "These are known as the Baghdad Batteries, though these examples were actually found in Egypt. Conventional archaeology dates them to around 250 BCE, during the Parthian period."

The artifacts consisted of terracotta jars containing copper cylinders that housed iron rods, with evidence of an acidic residue inside.

"When reconstructed with grape juice or vinegar as an electrolyte, they produce electricity. Mainstream archaeologists debate their purpose—some suggest they were used for electroplating jewelry while others think they had medical applications."

"And what do you think?" Fenella asked.

"I think they're downgraded versions of much more sophisticated power sources the gods used. Over generations, the technology was simplified and its original purpose forgotten, but humans continued making them based on inherited knowledge."

"They were trying to copy what the gods had."

"Precisely," Din agreed. "Much of ancient human civilization consisted of imperfect attempts to replicate the gods' technology and customs."

As they moved to the next display, Din was hyper-aware of how close Fenella stood, the subtle floral scent of her hair when she leaned forward to examine an artifact, the animated way her hands moved as she asked questions. The academic discussion was comfortable territory for him but underneath ran a current of something more primal—an attraction that had only kept intensifying the more time he spent with her.

"What about this one?" Fenella pointed to a small stone object that resembled a modern airplane.

Din smiled. "Conventional archaeology classifies it as a bird figurine or perhaps a weathervane, but its aerodynamic properties are remarkable. A larger model of this was built and tested in wind tunnels, and it displays genuine lift."

"So, it's a model airplane?"

"More likely a glider, but I believe it represents a flying machine of some kind. There are similar artifacts from ancient Colombia and other pre-Columbian civilizations that exhibit the same aerodynamic features."

Fenella shook her head in amazement. "It's incredible how much evidence of the gods' existence is hiding in plain sight."

"Humans see what they expect to see. The paradigm of gradual technological evolution is so entrenched that evidence contradicting it is rationalized away or ignored entirely."

"That's what makes it possible for immortals to live among them undetected," Fenella said.

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