7 We have a plan

"Oh, really?" he challenged, knowing he had cornered her. "And why is that? The nine suns worked brilliantly, and it got the job done before. Did you not hear what Genesis said? The period for gradual solutions is over. We need a quick and effective one to save the planet. We should stick to what we know, and that is a solution that has been tried and true."

"Humans are no longer as primitive as they once were," the God of Sky spoke quietly. His voice was strong and powerful, and it was the first time the quorum had heard from him. The audience leaned forward, giving him their full attention. "Their numbers now outgrow any other species on Earth, with the exception of insects. If we try to plant the suns in the sky now, in desperation to survive, the humans will drag other species and creatures down with them. We cannot predict the outcome of this solution any longer. The variables have changed."

The Underworld God leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. He huffed, "We can monitor it carefully."

The Goddess seized the opportunity and pushed back. "If we have to monitor it so carefully, it is not worth our time. We want to implement solutions that are effective autonomously. As much as I love my children, we do not have the time to babysit them forever. The solution must sustain itself, so that we as deities can spend our time evolving ourselves into other domains. Otherwise, I might ask, what is the point?"

"Indeed, what is the point?" the Sky God repeated wearily, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. He took a breath and let out a deep dramatic sigh that broke the silence. "I was hoping you louts would come to the table with better ideas than these. Now, I might be forced to present my own."

The Creator arched his eyebrow at the Sky God, "And why can't you present your idea?"

"Because," he said with a mischievous grin tugging on his lips, "I'm afraid that my good looks will sway the vote and people will choose my idea for all the wrong reasons." As if to drive home his point, he raked his hand sensually through his silver blonde hair.

That awkward pin dropped into the room as the other gods processed his audacious words. The nerve of this shameless man! Loud roars of laughter swept through the room as the gods guffawed at the Sky God's joke. The God of Air slapped the Sky God on the shoulder with a playful but firm smack. "Get out of here with that," he said. "I'll take you on in the looks category any day. Maybe I'll come up with a better idea just to put you out."

Sky feigned a pained expression, "You hurt my feelings, Aero!"

Another deity yelled from the audience, "Tch! Sky's head is so far up his own ass that he could pleasure himse–"

"Ah, gross, I do not want that image in my head. Get the fuck out of here with that," the God of War groaned, trying to cover his ears, as the laughter in the council room continued.

Sky was clearly enjoying the reaction his humor got from the quorum. His joke dissipated the tense atmosphere in the room completely. He winked at the Goddess, who rolled her eyes and gave him an unimpressed look.

The man was a menace. She knew what he had just accomplished with his simple but effective joke: the room was already on his side before he even presented his idea. If it was a bad idea, she would have a hard time convincing the audience otherwise. Moon couldn't help but feel a little envious of Sky's ability to maneuver the other deities. She had never been able to recreate the same type of connection with other gods. Sky had an easygoing and candid relationship with others, and Moon felt like an outsider sometimes because she couldn't achieve the same.

She felt like she had to work twice as hard as the others because she didn't have the same easygoing connection with them.

"Well then, let's hear it, you arrogant ass! What is your brilliant idea? Tell us so that Moon can pick it apart," the God of Sea said in exasperation, while shaking his head.

"My plan is ingenious. My Lady Goddess would not be able to find anything wrong with it," he declared confidently.

"Now I really want to hear it," Aero chuckled. "Don't hold back, Moon Goddess. I want to see you drill giant holes into his idea. Maybe it'll teach him the definition of the word, Humble."

The Sky God flipped his friend off.

Oh help me lord, I'm dealing with a bunch of children, The Goddess groaned inwardly.

"Well then, let me begin," Sky started, shifting into a more comfortable position in his chair, as the laughter in the room slowly died down. He had the quorum's full attention. "I have been giving this some thought. If we cull the human population now, in a few thousand years, we may have to do it again. And frankly, I doubt any of us have the stomach for that. I can imagine Moon wanting to tear everyone's head off, each time we bring up the topic."

There were a few scattered chuckles and nodding heads in the crowd in response to his comment.

"Do continue to keep us in suspense," Moon grumbled, shooting him a warning look.

He grinned at her. "I promise you will like my idea."

"Go on. We don't have all day, Sky," the Creator said nudged.

"Patience, Old Man. I'm just getting started," the Sky God said playfully. The Creator shook his head at him, in exasperation.

"I was thinking of how we can use this opportunity to expand our domains. In truth, getting rid of humans now will shrink our realms. I, for one, do not wish to see this. All of us have worked our asses off this millennia. It seems that our efforts were just beginning to pay off," Sky continued, with other deities nodding in agreement. "So why not plan ahead and expand our territories?"

"But how? You heard Genesis. If we don't do something drastic in the next few centuries, it can cause a mass extinction event. The planet has reached its capacity in terms of what we can do with it," the Sea God replied.

"Yes, the planet may have reached its capacity. But the Universe has not," Sky responded thoughtfully. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Moon. But historically, when humans have outgrown their habitat, don't they move into a larger one?"

Moon nodded slowly, not sure what he was getting at. "That's right. They migrate."

"Exactly," the Sky God said with a smile. "So why don't we migrate the humans to another habitat? Let's move them onto the nearest neighboring planet."

The Sky God's words got the reaction he wanted. The audience in the room began to murmur, each person weighing the possibility of Sky's suggestion.

"You mean Mars?" the God of War asked curiously. "I use that place occasionally for testing out new battle strategies. It is a barren land."

"Yes, it is a barren land now, but we can terraform it. Think about it. We have all the right ingredients here," Sky answered, nodding at each of the senior gods seated at the table. "Aero, Kai, Eureka, Cedric," he said, acknowledging the God of Air, Sea, Innovation, and Humanities respectively, "if we worked together, we can make that planet liveable for humans and other life forms. Moving portions of the population onto Mars can alleviate the stress that Earth is experiencing at the moment. And Axel," he said to the God of War, "You can lead this project. You are more familiar with the red planet than any of us."

Axel's chest swelled with pride, "Of course. I know of the most logical areas on Mars where it will adapt well to terraforming."

"That's excellent," the Sky God said, complimenting his friend and brother. "Your knowledge will be invaluable to all of us. This project will extend to all deities in this room, allowing for anyone who wishes to participate, to help us shape the future of Mars. It will increase all of our kingdoms, figuratively and physically speaking."

The excitement in the room grew to a fever pitch. The gods were mingling to one another, each with a new idea on how they may contribute to this cause.

Try as Moon may, she did not hate this idea. It was perfect actually. The look of wonder on her face was apparent. Sky gave The Goddess a gentle smile, "Didn't I tell you Moon, you would like my idea?"

"It would buy me the time I need, to put in gates that would slow the rate of humans reproducing," she acknowledged. "It…It is considerable," Moon responded with a nod, trying to fight the urge to return a smile to him.

"Yes, but I want to hear you say it," he teased with a grin, leaning in towards her direction.

The crowd started to quiet and they turned to The Goddess expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"Just give the fool what he wants," the Creator said, petting Moon's hand encouragingly.

Moon took a deep breath, glancing over at Sky and then looking away. She grumbled reluctantly, "It will work…"

"Wait, what was that, Moon? I can't hear you," Sky said teasingly, putting his hand up his ear. "I am an old man, you know." Other deities were giggling at the banter they were witnessing. Especially the goddesses present.

Moon groaned, completely giving up and shouted in his direction, "I said– it will work, you frickin' arse!"

The entire quorum broke out in applause and laughter, as the senior gods at the table hi-fived each other and congratulated the Sky God. The mood was infectious and Moon couldn't help laughing a bit as well. The man was insufferable. His ego is comparable to the size of Jupiter, she thought.

"Sky, you are an incorrigible rascal," the Creator laughed, stroking his beard. The Sky God's eyes twinkled with victory. "Well then," the Creator's voice boomed. "We have a plan."