Once again, the Twelve Tribes were waiting on the plain, with a Patron God or Goddess leading their own people. Since their numbers had grown over the past two years, each tribe had approximately three hundred members.

From the Temple of the Gods, Athena was sending to their Adjunts instructions. Where to go, places with resources and freshwater, was a priority. Since a system of satellites was centuries far from now, she had to rely on her "powers" to justify her knowledge. So far, her servants have been well received by the population, especially inside the school. The Greek tradition of open sky classes had evolved fast into a public education system, and everybody was invited to learn. In one year, even the less fortunate knew how to write, read, and perform basic calculations.

She needed to speak with her adjunts due to the acolytes' presence. Zeus spoke to them, "I command you to colonize this world. We will assist the humans, but we must encourage them to think and learn by themselves. Each ten years, the tribes will meet to celebrate its achievements and share knowledge and resources, if it's necessary. "

Adjunt Hermes asked, "How much we will teach them? In the end, knowledge will create weapons, and the results would be disastrous."

Athena answered to every God and Goddess, "we will advance their knowledge until they discover the metal conductive properties. From this point, we'll see what they can learn."

Ares inquired to her "father," "if the knowledge unleashed a war among two tribes, what are you going to do?"

Zeus pondered deeply his answer. Finally, he said, "we will not assist them. We will disappear until they find peace again."

All the adjunts nodded and saluted Zeus, simulating he was in charge of the Gods. Athena found this charade a bit silly, but she considered better to keep the Hellenic culture so intact as possible. She knew the pass of the time would change the original culture, and her teachings would prevail. A couple of centuries would be necessary, but a real, independent human race will emerge.

Each tribe was beginning the diaspora. In order, Demeter led Aerilon, Poseidon led Aquarius, Aries led Taurus, Apollo led Virgo, Artemis led Pisces, Athena led Capricorn, Hephasteus led Scorpio, Aphrodite led Leo, Hermes led Gemini and Hestia led Sagittarius.

Long rows of people, chanting prayers to the gods, initiated the long march across the northern continent. The big landmass covered almost half of the hemisphere, with a long mountain chain running across the continent from south to north.

Almost one year later, the tribes reached the places chosen by the gods. The journey, not except of difficulties and problems like diseases, finally ended. The tired people began to collect the resources they needed, and they began to build. Ten years later, the first real cities began to flourish around the northern hemisphere. Population increased, and the Gods still were with them, teaching and guiding them.

Three hundred years later.

If a satellite were orbiting Kobol, the cities would be seen as illuminated spots on the world. The electricity has arrived, and the planet was becoming civilized. And, with the civilization, as the gods feared, the first problems arrived to Kobol.

The planet had abundant natural resources like fossil fuel and coal. The Gods warned them about the atmospheric pollution, but they didn't listen. For the first time in its history, Kobol suffered the cities covered with smog, the river polluted with heavy metals and plastic residues. The transistor was discovered, and a new age with first primitive computers was born.

Around this time, Hadrian Boros was born. This man was destined to revolution the Kobol science.

Hadrian Laboratory, Tyll City, Tribe of Capricorn.

Hadrian arrived at his laboratory like many days before. He had been staying awake late and waking up early for weeks. He felt that, maybe this time, the distillate from that damned piece of rock might work. He had carefully controlled the distillation process, eliminating the impurities and using an ultracentrifuge to separate the different isotopes of this strange element.

He was fairly certain the rock wasn't from Kobol. It was known from ancient times that rocks fell from the sky. If he could convert this element into a viable fuel, his civilization could survive. He and his collaborators felt their time was running out.
Lately, the Gods had been reluctant to show themselves to the humans. As Lord Zeus had said centuries ago, if you provoke your misery, then you must survive by yourselves.

Hadrian greeted his two collaborators. They were going to test the last batch of distillates in his fission reactor. The huge instrument, an improvement of the fission reactors used in the navy ships, was adapted to use a spray of the volatile liquid instead of the traditional fuel rods of radioactive material.

Athena had warned them that this particular road would drive them to a very unpleasant discovery. However, she didn't say anything about the liquid. In fact, she was particularly pleased.

"Ok, let test an injection ratio of 1/1000 of distillate with liquid boron. Let see if the energy output increases this time," Hadrian said and prayed to Athena that this time things could work.

The machines hummed, and for the first time in three years of work, the output was considerably large. The three colleagues repeated the experiment ten times, and the results were constant. No more toxic elements were produced, and only a bit on neutrons were released. They had finally obtained a real clean energy source.

"It's time to celebrate and throw a big party. What should we call it?" asked Lydia, one of his collaborators. "We live in the city of Tyll. We could honor it by naming it Tyllium."

"Good choice," a voice congratulated him. The stocky figure of Dr. Pallas was coming in fast after a long reunion with the Funding Association of Sciences. "Please, tell me you were not practicing some kind of charade. I really need good news."
Hadrian stood up and approached his boss. He explained all the relevant numbers about the last experiments. The happiness and relief painted on his face were reaching new levels while the explanation was progressing.

"These are wonderful news, my dear Hadrian. Now, if we can find new sources of this material," Pallas sighed and wondered if the goddess could help us. "We know this mineral came from the space around us, Dr Pallas. But we don't have any way to exploit it in space," Hadrias reminded him.

"As the Gods warned us, the pollution is reaching dangerous levels. We change our power sources or we destroy the environment," Hadrian said, frowning and adding with conviction, "the Tribe of Scorpio is sending these unmanned vehicles to the upper atmosphere. It's a natural evolution of this idea that humans can reach space, Dr. Pallas"

"My boy, I applaud your fertile mind, but this a bir farther in the future. We must consolidate this knowledge, and we have to share it in the next Congress of Science of the Twelve Tribes," Pallas nodded in approbation to his colleague.

Hadrian nodded, accepting that he must compile all the information and show it to the scientists. If they see the tyllium as a promise, he could suggest that man must reach space. So, they will shut down the reactor, and he will go back home for the first time in months.

Athena was watching the experiments, and she was very pleased with the results. The new fuel, the tyllium, could be the salvation for Kobol. A clean and powerful fuel that, in time, it will propel starships. A few research, however, were a bit worrying. The speeches about the injustice of the limited life span of mankind compared to the gods' immortality were expected, but she hoped the relationship between mankind and gods would endure the test.

Three days later, in Tyll City, the discovery made headlines in the local newspapers and across the continent.
"Clean energy has been discovered in Tyll City!" was the lead article in the Scientific Journal of Kobol. The government of Capricorn promised to test the viability of Hadrian's discovery in a pilot project before deciding whether to convert their industries to the new energy source.

Two months later, Tyllium-powered reactors were successfully tested, demonstrating increased efficiency compared to conventional fission reactors. As the gods predicted, knowledge of the new discovery spread quickly, and soon, other tribes began to clamor for access to the miracle energy. Although Athena was pleased, Zeus was cautious. He wondered aloud, "Will this new knowledge drive them toward conflict or cooperation?"

Hadrian became the most influential scientist of his time, receiving recognition from across Kobol. However, his fame also attracted enemies—namely, the leaders of Taurus and Sagittarius, who worried about Capricorn gaining too much power through its monopoly on Tyllium.

Two years later, in Caprica City.

The Assembly of Science was one of the most important events in the cultural life of Kobol. Thousands of scientists from the Twelve Tribes were exposing their discoveries and new theories about every branch of science, and the Gods and Goddess attended too. The Hadrian's exposition about the Tyllium was received with enthusiasm, with the obvious exception of the fossil fuel companies, and the authorities were hooked to the promise of clean energy. Funds to research new technologies to reach space were raining on the new rocket industries. Soon, the space race will start.

Fifty years later.

Mankind had reached the orbit thirty years ago, and space exploration had begun in earnest. A big space station was being built in orbit, and the only Kobol's moon, Selene, had a small permanent base on it. The rockets still used hydrogen and oxygen, but the tyllium and its promise were not forgotten. They lacked a tyllium source, so they must wait. Today, mankind will launch the first expedition to the asteroid ring and look for tyllium there.

The science had advanced at a steady pace, and they developed the transistor. The population had grown and spread through Kobol. Biology and neuroscience had discovered how to make a bridge between living nervous tissue and artificial chips. Slowly, the old dream of immortality was becoming less a dream and more a real possibility.

The gods were becoming aware of this situation. An assembly was currently being held by all the gods, and the meeting was developing into a cat fight. For the first time, the opinions were too divergent. Athena knew her Adjunts were autonomous. Even if she had the last word, she usually left them to reach a consensus by themselves. As she understood the two thinking lines, one side wanted to stop the cyborg project, and the other one whose wanted to allow mankind to choose its own destiny.

Athena knew that the design of artificial minds was in the not so far future. Two species together, organic and artificial, on the same planet, was a recipe for disaster. Finally, she made her mind and told them, "My orders from the creator is to stimulate the intelligence on a planet. I know that I failed my original orders, but they must mature without our interference."

Hermes said, "It exists the chance of having two separated mankind lines, one almost immortal, and the rest mortals. Envy from one side and pride on the other will cause conflict, even war."

Hephasteus confirmed that opinion, "They already have the tools. Fission weapons are being developed, and let me warn you that the tribes are becoming independent political entities."

This time, Artemis added, "Our reign on them is becoming weaker every year, Athena."

Athena knew mankind was an individualistic and anarquic species. When the numbers grow, most and most different lines of thought appear, making the decision-making process harder. "We were tasked to be caretakers and guides, not rulers. It's true we are posing as their gods, and we still have a lot of weight on their decisions, but this is not going to last forever," Athena reminded them

.
The Adjunts nodded since they knew it was the truth. Zeus only said, "So, we wait."

One hundred years later.

After one century, mankind was spreading through the Kobollian system. Selene was colonized, and thousands were living up there. Athena had visited the new colony, and she was impressed by their achievements.

However, a Faster Than Light engine was still seriously researched, but so far, the success was elusive. A very efficient ion drive was developed, and the intra system ships used it for mining the asteroid system. Tyllium was the main energy source, and everything, from cars to spaceships, used tyllium drives. The pollution had been cleared, and the planet was so close to a paradise as they could hope.

However, since many problems and needs were satisfied, a part of the kobollian science invested a lot of resources into the cyborg project. Many scientists were opposed to this project, and the religious party was opposed to giving immortality to humans. They clearly stated the soul was patrimony of the Gods, not mortals's.

The Inmortality Project, as it was nicknamed, continued its development. Soon, they were capable of interphase the human brain with mechanical limbs. As the work progressed, an important milestone was achieved, the silica artificial neuron. An artificial nanodevice, able to work in tandem with an organic neuron, keeping a record of everything in the organic brain life. If a copy was made, who said it couldn't be replicated into a new brain?

In this state of affairs, a little cism was starting to grow in Kobollian society. Some people wanted to live forever, and the rest wanted to enjoy their natural lifespan as the gods dictated. Naturally, the group wanting inmortality banded together, and for the first time, they separated from the Twelve and created a godless tribe, the Thirteen Tribe.

The political tensions were running amok among the tribes and, for the first time since the Gods created the Twelve Tribes, violence was menacing to change into a war. As the Gods had promised, centuries ago, they left mankind alone.
Threats developed into violence and violence into terrorism, and finally, someone had enough. A nuclear preventive attack over the Thirteen Tribe was launched, with millions dying from the attack and the aftermath. As it was logical, the attacked tribe responded with their own nuclear devices.

After millions of dead people and unstable truce were established. Even now, the Gods were silent, and the prayers were not listened to or responded. The planet was suffering a nuclear winter, and more people were dying every day. Hunger, lack of safe water and radiation sickness was claiming more and more people every day.

Then, the Thirteen Tribe surprised everybody, announcing that they would not be responsible for more death. They will leave Kobol for another planet to live as they wish. It was a surprise to many people, but at least, introduced a bit of peace on Kobol. The damage to the planet ecology, however, was already done.

The Thirteenth Tribe dedicated all his resources to building four big ships, or arks, so they could migrate to a new world. It was apparent to everybody that four ships would be insufficient for millions, but they surprised everybody, announcing they would use their brain cloning technology. Stored minds, not living people will cross the stars.

The Great War and the Thirteen Tribe Exodus.

Among the sad facts of the last years, the war between the West and East Coalitions was destroying the fragile Kobol's ecology. The Thirteen Tribe left Kobol to find a new planet at sublight speed. They will need perhaps centuries to reach a good planet, but the silent ships only required a minimum of crew, and they had all the time.

Surprised and a bit bittered, the Tribes finally stopped the hostilities. Kobol was becoming uninhabitable, and the idea of the thirteens was considered seriously.

The gods have been absent all this time, and they finally showed themselves to the tribes. Athena understood that her experiment on Kobol was approaching fast to its end. The real problem, she knew it, was where the people could migrate and how. The powerful technology of the Thirteen tribe was greatly missed, but they were alone.

Athena congregated her Adjunts to the assembly, and since they were alone, she took the chair. "This experiment on Kobol is ending. We could ignore them and wait, but I brought them here. I found a new home for them, a quaternary system with twelve planets. It is too far from their engines, so we will transport them. Each one of you will use the nanomaterials in the oceans, and we will build twelve Arks. Unfortunately, so many people have died that these ships would be enough. Bring your tribes to the shores, and instruct them to wait for your Arks."

"How are we going to cross one thousand light years?" Hermes asked. "I will use all my power to charge your jump drive capacitor. The tyllium will keep your ships working, but it isn't enough for the FTL engine. A copy of me will take my place. When you land your arks on the new homes, leave them alone."

The eleven beings recognized that it was time to start again. The teachings and their legacy will be with them for a long time, so it wouldn't be useless. When the gods' announcements were published, the population, tired of this war, accepted that their time on Kobol had finished.

A warning was sent to the people. "If you return to Kobol, a price in blood will be paid."

The Arks.

From the ocean depths, twelve gigantic ships of four kilometers in length raised and stayed on the surface. Long rows of merchant ships transported hundreds of thousands of people from the shores to the Arks. With a last looking to Kobol, the people and the Gods left Kobol forever.

The travel to the Cyrannus star system lasted four years. The jump drive was a recent design of Hephasteus, and it was untested. They need to jump short distances, twenty light years every thirty days. After every jump, they needed to cold down the engine and check the components. Finally, after a last jump, they arrived in a strange quaternary system, with exactly twelve planets and asteroid rings.

One by one, the Arks landed on the planets, and the people arrived at the shores. The Gods were with them, and they saw how the Arks dissolved in a sand dust. With a last farewell, The Gods disappeared into a dust cloud, too. Only the gems inside them remained, which were kept as holy relics by each tribe.

Kobol.

The entity had spent so much energy charging their FTL drives. She was exhausted, and now, again, her world was empty, and all the precious organic life on it was dying. The ecology will recover in time, but it would be necessary thousands of years. She kept Athena as an identity, and she went to sleep for the next millennium. In time, she will try again with the genetic knowledge from human beings.