The Bronze Kings

2850-2400 BCE. The partnership between immortals and humanity faces its first existential test. A generation after nine immortal refugees helped establish civilization in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley, the fragile balance they created begins to fracture. Gilgamesh, the enhanced human king who embodied partnership between species, lies dying. His successor, Enkidu, leads a generation of enhanced humans who question why they should share power with "lesser" baseline humans when biology has made them superior in every measurable way. As genetic advantages compound into economic and political dominance, the constitutional framework designed to prevent tyranny strains under the weight of biological reality. Enhanced bloodlines control trade routes, monopolize resources, and accumulate power that baseline humans—limited to 60-year lifespans—can never match. The immortals who gave humanity these gifts now face the consequences: Thalia watches her hybrids suffer sterility and isolation. Prometheus's iron-working knowledge spreads beyond control. Sophia defends enhancement while witnessing its devastating social costs. In the shadows, the newly-formed Enochian Order documents everything, preparing humanity for an eventual revelation that could save or destroy them both. When Gilgamesh's death removes the last bridge between species, the immortals must choose: intervene again and prove partnership was always a lie, or let the system collapse and validate humanity's worst fears about their alien benefactors. Biology doesn't negotiate with ethics. But perhaps institutions can.