Different civilizations could create remarkably similar objects...
...and use them for completely different purposes.
Something that looked exactly like a mechanical pencil, for example, might actually erase your memories after a few clicks.
But the object that had fallen from space wasn’t like that.
Nick Fury was absolutely certain of one thing.
It was a hammer.
No matter what civilization had forged it, a short-handled war hammer had only a handful of obvious uses.
You hit things with it.
People.
Nails.
That was about it.
Which made the mystery even stranger.
A hammer was one of the oldest tools any civilization could invent. Primitive. Fundamental.
So how had something so primitive escaped its world’s gravity well and crossed interstellar space?
It clearly hadn’t originated anywhere in the Solar System. Even if life existed elsewhere among the planets, there was no evidence of advanced civilizations nearby.
Which meant it had come from beyond.
The odds of a random object drifting across the vastness of the galaxy and striking Earth by accident were unimaginably small.
Then there was its durability.
It had survived atmospheric entry without burning away.
It had slammed into the ground at tremendous velocity without a scratch.
What kind of civilization possessed metallurgy capable of creating something that durable...
...only to forge it into something as ancient as a hammer?
Science alone offered no satisfying explanation.
So Fury had decided to ask someone whose expertise lay outside science.
"Most people don’t know this," Fury said, "but we both know extraterrestrial life exists."
"And that Earth has been visited before."
Evenson nodded slowly.
"So you think whoever forged this hammer..."
"...or the civilization it belongs to..."
"...has been here before."
You’d actually be right, he thought.
The maker certainly has.
"Exactly."
Fury folded his hands.
"Consider the size of the universe."
"If Earth wasn’t the intended destination..."
"The odds of that hammer landing here by chance are effectively zero."
He looked directly at Evenson.
"And I believe you might know something about it."
Evenson sighed.
"So your reasoning is that ancient people mistook aliens for gods."
"And since I’m the resident magic expert..."
"...you assume I’d know something about ancient gods."
"It’s a reasonable guess."
He leaned back.
"But I told you before."
"Magic isn’t religion."
"In the eyes of a mage..."
"...a god is simply someone who has mastered greater magic."
Fury frowned.
"I thought you were a warlock."
"You’ve spent plenty of time explaining how those are different."
Evenson grinned.
"Fair."
"Then here’s the warlock version."
"If you gain enough power..."
"...you become the god."
Fury blinked.
"...That’s not what I expected."
"I’ve told you before."
"Science seeks truth."
"So does magic."
Evenson’s tone became unexpectedly serious.
"The pursuit of truth leaves no room for blind faith."
"If someone claims they’re beyond question..."
"They’re standing in the way of understanding."
Fury considered the statement for a long moment.
It reminded him of history.
For centuries, entire civilizations had treated inherited knowledge as unquestionable truth.
Progress had stagnated because no one dared challenge accepted doctrine.
Real discovery required skepticism.
Without doubt...
There could be no advancement.
"So you don’t worship gods."
Fury nodded toward the screen.
"But surely you’ve documented them."
"If beings capable of crossing the stars really visited Earth..."
"...whether they used technology or magic..."
"...someone like you would have studied them."
"You must have records."
"...Some."
Evenson nodded.
Internally, however, he felt a headache coming on.
Records?
Not exactly.
Warlock traditions had existed in this world for less than a decade.
There was no ancient archive waiting on a dusty shelf.
Of course...
He already knew exactly whose hammer this was.
Saying "That’s Mjolnir" five seconds after seeing the image, however...
...would raise far too many questions.
"I’ll need to consult my references."
He reached into his dimensional storage.
Fury and May watched with interest.
A second later...
Evenson pulled out...
...a tablet computer.
The room fell silent.
Both agents stared.
"You were expecting a giant leather-bound spellbook?"
Evenson smiled.
"Keep up with the times."
Years ago, he’d experimented with digitizing magical texts.
The results had been... mixed.
Reference books like the Encyclopedia of Azerothian Artifacts worked perfectly well in electronic form.
Spellbooks, however...
...were another story entirely.
Without the original enchanted medium, the mental resonance vanished.
The words became almost impossible to comprehend, much less cast from.
Fortunately...
Today he only needed to look convincing.
He glanced at the television.
"Could you enlarge the image?"
"I’ll compare it."
"No problem."
Fury picked up the remote.
The display instantly changed.
Rows of technical data filled the screen.
Atomic lattice diagrams.
Energy signatures.
Isotopic analyses.
Evenson stared blankly.
"...What am I looking at?"
"The isotope analysis."
"The current atomic structure model."
"Our material composition report."
Fury sounded perfectly matter-of-fact.
Evenson rubbed his temples.
"You know I never finished high school, right?"
"And more importantly..."
He pointed at the screen.
"Do you honestly think magical reference books contain atomic structure diagrams?"
"Pictures."
"I need pictures."
May covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Fury coughed awkwardly.
"...Right."
A few button presses later, the technical data disappeared.
Dozens of high-resolution photographs appeared instead.
Close-ups.
Wide shots.
Different angles.
Different lighting.
Much better.
Evenson walked over.
He reached toward the screen...
...making a grasping gesture in front of it.
Nothing happened.
He slowly lowered his hand.
Then he looked back at Fury.
"Tony Stark’s a consultant now too, isn’t he?"
Fury blinked.
"...Yes."
"When you get the chance..."
"Ask him to install a holographic projector in your office."
Evenson shook his head in disappointment.
"This setup is hopelessly outdated."
Fury stared at him in silence.
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