Dr. Zeus Inc. - Origin of Dr. Zeus Inc.

Origin of Dr. Zeus Inc.

The story of the Company's origin evolves through the sequence of novels and short stories. As told in the introductions to In The Garden of Iden and Sky Coyote, the Company was founded in the 24th century by scientists and businessmen who developed both the immortality process and time travel. This theory is backed up by the mortal Bugleg who, in Sky Coyote, claims to have developed "Pineal Tribrantine 3", an artificial hormone which keeps the cyborgs youthful.

Towards the end of Mendoza in Hollywood, Mendoza gleans enough from historical records to realize that the Company has, operating under various names, been active on Santa Catalina Island for some time in history. Exiled to that island in the distant past, she is instructed to await the arrival of technologically advanced humanoids and inform the Company when their technology reaches a certain level. At this point, she believes, Company operatives will arrive from the future, kill all the humanoids and hide their technology to be "discovered" later.

Further clues appear in The Graveyard Game when Lewis, attempting to discover Mendoza's location after her disappearance, stumbles across a secret society in Victorian England called "The Gentlemen's Speculative Society". This is the most recent in a series of secret societies, apparently dating back to ancient Egypt, dedicated to discovering advanced technology and exploiting it for profit. The successor to the Society is a company known to be an early cover for Dr. Zeus Inc. The first incarnation of these societies, in Egypt, was started by none other than the Facilitator Joseph, Lewis's friend and partner in the search for Mendoza.

At the beginning of The Life of the World to Come it is revealed that Sir Francis Drake discovered a cache of secret documents and mysterious potions and gadgets on Santa Catalina in the 16th century. He then gave the discovery to the alchemist John Dee, a member of one of the secret societies.

In the final book, the artificial intelligence known as "Zeus" is created in the 24th century, in an attempt to counter the powerful AI owned by Alec Checkerfield. Since "Zeus" has access to all the Company's information and the time travel technology, it effectively existed before its creation. This fact is underscored by the delivery, minutes after the activation of the AI, of a communications terminal in the shape of the god Zeus, ordered a few years previously. At this point, it can be argued, the Zeus AI intervened in history to ensure its own creation in the 24th century, instructing its operatives to carry out those activities which produce the history already known to have happened.