From atop Mount Olympus, Zeus peers in perplexity through fumes of fire, dust and vehicle exhaust, toxic chemicals, roiling tempests and raging floods, idly wondering what those darned mortals are up to now…
First his eye is drawn to ancient Media, part of old Persia (now known under its modern name of Azerbaijan). Here a conspiracy is unfolding as 1770 oil magnates work out how best to enrich themselves while killing off everybody else – man, woman and child – and turn the planet into a charred, uninhabitable cinder as swiftly as possible.
The gods look on aghast, as human calamity unfolds… By Julian Cribb