Waking Gods (Themis Files, #2)

by Sylvain Neuvel

—I don’t think so. It’s 237 feet tall—a foot taller than the last one—and it’s standing in the middle of the dirt field the last one left behind. There’s nothing not menacing about it. —Is this a live feed? —Yes. Why? —I am wondering what those tiny white lights are. —All around it, I know. I asked myself that same question. There weren’t as many five minutes ago. —Can you zoom in? —No, that’s not our satellite. —We should try television. It has been there long enough for the press to arrive. —It’s the middle of the night in London. —People must be aware of its presence. It stands in the one place in the city that is not full of lights. It must be visible for miles, like a lighthouse. —There. It’s on CNN. It’s a lot more impressive from the ground. —I do not see any lights around it. —That must have been taken with a cellphone. I’ll try other channels. There has to be some real footage somewhere— —Stop. There. —Wh…They’re people! People holding candles. There must be a thousand of them. This is so— —Inspiring. —I was gonna say stupid. —The last time the aliens were in London, we sent the army to greet them. —We didn’t send the army to attack them. —Whatever the reason, the military got involved and we all know how it ended. These people are trying candles and peace signs. Instead of following their most basic instinct and running away, they are trying to make peace with an alien species. I find it extremely courageous. —I don’t doubt their courage, but there’s a good reaso...