A Dark and Hungry God Arises

infobox Book |
name = A Dark and Hungry God Arises
orig title =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Stephen R. Donaldson
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = The Gap Cycle
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Bantam Books/Spectra
release_date = 1993
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-553-56260-6 (USA hardback)
preceded_by = Forbidden Knowledge
followed_by = Chaos and Order

A Dark and Hungry God Arises (or officially "The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises") is the third book of "The Gap Cycle" by Stephen Donaldson, a science fiction series.

Plot introduction

As the newly 'welded' cyborg Angus Thermopyle and his distrusted companion Milos Taverner arrive in their Gap Scout, Trumpet, at the illegal outpost in Amnion space known as Billingate, The Bill, the ruler of Billingate, intercepts the escape pod containing Morn Hyland's recently forcegrown child, Davies Hyland. Despite being only a few days old, the forcegrowing technique the Amnion used on him have made him physically resemble a sixteen year old boy. Morn's use of a zone implant while the Amnion were copying her memories over to her child made Morn and Davies interesting humans to the Amnion in that Morn survived the process, and Davies retains Morn's memories of being a United Mining Companies Police (UMCP) officer, without Morn's impeding Gap Sickness, an ailment that randomly effects only certain humans that causes its victims to go insane after crossing the gap. Morn's particular form of Gap sickness only seems to active when she undergoes heavy G. These two circumstances make the mother and son uniquely valuable to the Amnion, a misanthropic alien race bent on eventual domination of the human race, who let them slip through their grasp previously.

Captain Nick Succorso aboard his ship the Captain's Fancy is furious at Morn for not only making him think that she loved him, but, more recently, for diverting the escape pod containing her son away from an Amnion warship. Nick had promised Davies to the Amnion and as a show of good faith. In his fury he then proceeds to give them Morn, but not before she has broken into his quarters to steal an immunization drug designed to counteract Amnion mutagens that would turn her into one of them.

Nick is left in a precarious position: The Amnion continue to demand Davies Hyland, but he is in the custody of The Bill who shrewdly asks for compensation for the child. Because of their convoluted dealings, the Amnion have revoked a credit voucher they gave Nick for a blood sample that they assumed would reveal Nick's immunity to their mutagen's to them, not knowing that his body had long metabolized it, leaving no trace. Because Nick has no credit to give The Bill for Davies, and because he can't get the money without giving the Amnion Davies, he is currently stuck on Billingate and simply wanders the 'cruise'.

After Milos finishes abusing Angus using the priority codes for Angus' computer given to him by UMCPHQ, Angus and Milos disembark at Billingate and eventually meet up with Angus' nemesis, Nick, and they form an unsteady truce.

Nick explains that he needs Davies and will give Morn to them in exchange for him should he be able to recover him. Nick of course does not mention he's already handed Morn over to the Amnion and, as far as he knows, has already been turned into one of them. Angus and Milos are surprised to learn that Angus' programming includes rescuing Morn, something they were told was not the case, and Milos becomes furious and begins to distrust his orders, the UMCP and Angus.

While waiting for Nick to find out where Davies is being held, Milos asserts his previously unperceived control over Angus, making him eat his live nic butts, in front of Billingate's bug eyes - a mistake that will cost him later.

After finding out where the detention centre is, Angus' computer reveals to him that he is capable of emitting a type of jamming field that can bend light rendering him invisible to electronic surveillance, thus protecting his identity. His programming makes him take Milos with him, because he cannot really be trusted on his own, and they descend into the depths of Billingate where they find Davies locked away in a cell.

When Nick handed Morn over to the Amnion, some of his crew, Mikka Vasaczk, Nick's second in command, Vector Shaheed, his engineer, Sib Mackern, his data first, and Ciro "Pup" Vasaczk, Vector's assistant, all begin to turn against him. Sensing a mutiny, Nick sends them to do specific tasks on Billingate to 'get them out of the way'. Against orders, they all meet up and decide to abandon Captain's Fancy as they've clearly outlived their usefulness to Nick.

When Angus and Milos return to Trumpet with Davies, they confront Nick when he arrives and decide to keep him rather than hand him over to Nick to hand over to the Amnion. Nick also reveals that Morn is in Amnion custody and Angus begins to form a plans to rescue her when Milos, and then Nick leave the ship.

Milos immediately heads to the Amnion sector of Billingate and there it becomes apparent that he's been working for them as a double agent for some time. The Amnion emissary, Marc Vestabule, an Amnion attempt at turning a human into an Amnion while maintaining a human-like appearance that went awry, informs Milos that both then and The Bill are aware that he has some kind of control over Angus. Vestabule then, to Milos' extreme horror, subdues Milos and injects him with Amnion mutagens.

In the meantime Nick is confronted by his former crew, Mikka, Vector, Sib and Pup. While arguing they are all approached by Billingate security and Nick, being barred from Captain's Fancy, slees for Trumpet while being perused by Mikka and company, followed closely by security.

Angus reluctantly lets them in and while The Bill rages over the comm, they begin to formulate and act out a plan to rescue Morn.

Nick contact's Captain's Fancy and instructs Liete Corregio, his third in command, to attack the ship called Soar, as Nick has discovered that it is captained by Sorus Chatelaine, a woman who seduced, betrayed and abandoned Nick as a young man, but not before leaving the streaked scars underneath his eyes that act as his emotional barometer.

Angus instructs Davies, Vector and Pup to sabotage Billingate's communications systems while Nick, Mikka, Sib and Angus himself go EVA to the Amnion sector to rescue Morn.

After breaking inside Angus is confronted by Milos who has now been turned into an Amnion while still retaining his human memories, mannerisms and form - the Amnion apparently having perfected their mutagens. Milos attempts to use Angus' priority codes against him and his enwfound allies, but new programming takes over that override those codes with new ones, allowing Angus to ignore Milos' orders and attempt to kill him. Milos escapes, but they soon find Morn in her cell, still human thanks to the immunity drug she stole from Nick.

Angus puts Mikka in charge and gets Sib help Morn into the spare EVA suit they brought when he suddenly leaves to sabotage Billingate's reactor.

On their way back to Trumpet, the rescue party witnesses an Amnion shuttle containing The Bill leave the station, as well as the destruction of an Amnion warship after being rammed by Captain's Fancy, who Leite did to prevent the ship from firing on Mikka, Morn, Sib and Nick while they walk across the face of Billingate.

When back on Trumpet Nick attempts to take over the ship by holding Pup hostage, demanding that they leave without Angus. Pup manages to subdue Nick with a stun prod he landed on when forced into Milos' old command station when Angus appears back on board and begins to get Trumpet ready to leave.

While Nick and Angus finish the preparations, everyone else leaves for quarters to secure for heavy g.

An Amnion warship and a few other human pirate ships converge on Trumpet as is disengages from Billingate just as Billingate's reactor explodes. Trumpet escapes into the gap, presumably leaving all the other ships left behind to be destroyed.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Warden Dios, the director of the UMCP, gathers together his directors, Min Donner, director of the UMCP's Enforcement Division (ED), Hashi Lebwohl, director of Data Acquisition (DA), and Godsen Frik, director of Protocol (PR), for a video conference with the Governing Council of Earth and Space (GCES), brought about by the apparent escape of the known pirate Angus Thermopyle and suspected traitor Milos Taverner, as such was their cover story when they left UMCPHQ.

The GCES demands disclosure and uses the opportunity to ask about Morn Hyland, a UMCP ensign they apparently abandoned to pirates and the Amnion. Warden and Hashi tell half truths to the Council, telling them that they failed to recapture Angus and Milos, and that they arranged for Morn to be given to Nick as 'payment' for a job they had him do so that she could be used as a bargaining ship should Nick's mission at Billingate, which was to give a non-working anti-mutagen drug in hopes that it would disrupt Bilingate's usefulness to the Amnion, not letting on that they gave him a working anti-mutagen drug that the UMCP suppressed years previous.

Later Dios admits to Min in confidence that he did this purposely in hopes to get the UMCP severed from the UMC so that it will be reformed under the GCES, hoping to disrupt the power that Holt Farsner, the CEO of the UMC, has over human controlled space. He then instructs Min to leave UMCPHQ, which is orbiting Earth, for Suka Bator. There Min meets with Captain Sixten Vertigus, the man who made first contact with the Amnion, and is now a member of the GCES. She convinces him to propose a bill of severance that would put the UMCP under the control of the GCES, convincing him to act as if it was his own idea so that no one knows that Min Donner or Warden Dios had anything to do with it.

As Min is about to leave, she and Sixten are attacked by a kaze that Min recognizes in time to prevent the kaze's surgically implanted explosives from killing them. Despite being injured, Min then leaves so that no one knows she was there.

The Kaze causes the GCES to announce a state of emergency, suspending GCES meetings until further notice. Warden Dios declares a similar lockdown at UMCPHQ, suspecting that Frik or Farsner might be behind the kaze to keep Sixten from proposing the bill of severance that Dios hoped only he, Min and Sixten knew about.

Farsner attempts to summon Frik to his private orbiting station, but Frik refuses, citing Dios' orders as explanation, but in actuality would rather not confront his boss and mentor when another kaze kills Frik.

Dios is summoned to Farsner's home instead and is asked to explain himself for disclosing so much as to horrify the GCES and for why he restricted Frik's movements, resulting in his death. Dios manages to answer, but does not completely satisfy Farsner. Farsner mentions that he is aware that Dios send Min Donner to the borders of forbidden space to await the return of Angus and Milos. He instructs Dios to tell Donner to kill Angus and Milos should anything go wrong.