The God was dead.
Killed by the giant plllnk—a scourge from which, evidently, even the Gods were not spared. The huge plllnk, even now creeping around—wrinkle-skinned and detestable, its coloration the same as the God's; the most loathsome sight imaginable ... a god-plllnk!
Grg and Yrl moved into view, from the shadows of the crater wall. Their thinking trunks tingled with misery, sorrow, bitter anger and disappointment.
The plllnk stopped, having sensed them. Then it darted for the hole it had eaten in the God.
Yrl moved to intercept it. The plllnk changed course and headed swiftly up a sand dune. With a great bound, impelled by outrage, Yrl was upon it.
While Grg touched tentacles with the dead God, in reverent mourning, in terrible sorrow, in loss, in supplication, Yrl shredded the god-plllnk.
Two days later, a second God was detected. It silently circled Phobos from the Universal Eye.
It did not land. It silently circled Phobos, and then returned to the Eye.