A man named Sam has two lives: As an average human male coping with the usual human problems, but also as the immortal god who rules a great empire.
"Two Sams" was inspired by the addictive game Civilization 2.
"I emerge from that low hot savage jungle to discover a tiny village inhabited by a tiny people. Their only clothing is the native red earth and the occasional skin of some brutalized animal. Without exception, they seem stunted by an impoverished diet. Their faces are wide and their blue-black eyes are huge and dull, and beneath their dirt is a yellowish skin hinting at sick livers and a wealth of parasites. But they farm, if only with fire and stone axes. And their huts, while simple, betray a working knowledge of knots and the art of weaving. When I look past their hunger and that enormous ignorance, I see a tiny light. The flickering that every great blaze must have at its inception. Plainly, they have never seen the likes of me before. I am wearing golden robes and jeweled sandals. I tower over their wide-eyed faces, showing them perfect teeth and a wise and patient smile. In their own half-born language, I tell them, I have come from heaven to make you a people. A nation. A civilization with no equal anywhere. I tell them, My name is Sam. Sam, the Strong. Then with a voice like thunder, I roar, Kneel to me! Now! Kneel!"
Robert Reed is a prolific author of science fiction, with occasional forays into other terrain. He is best known for his Great Ship series.
Genre: Science Fiction
"Two Sams" was inspired by the addictive game Civilization 2.
"I emerge from that low hot savage jungle to discover a tiny village inhabited by a tiny people. Their only clothing is the native red earth and the occasional skin of some brutalized animal. Without exception, they seem stunted by an impoverished diet. Their faces are wide and their blue-black eyes are huge and dull, and beneath their dirt is a yellowish skin hinting at sick livers and a wealth of parasites. But they farm, if only with fire and stone axes. And their huts, while simple, betray a working knowledge of knots and the art of weaving. When I look past their hunger and that enormous ignorance, I see a tiny light. The flickering that every great blaze must have at its inception. Plainly, they have never seen the likes of me before. I am wearing golden robes and jeweled sandals. I tower over their wide-eyed faces, showing them perfect teeth and a wise and patient smile. In their own half-born language, I tell them, I have come from heaven to make you a people. A nation. A civilization with no equal anywhere. I tell them, My name is Sam. Sam, the Strong. Then with a voice like thunder, I roar, Kneel to me! Now! Kneel!"
Robert Reed is a prolific author of science fiction, with occasional forays into other terrain. He is best known for his Great Ship series.
Genre: Science Fiction
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Used availability for Robert Reed's Two Sams