Chapter Fifteen: Extracting Information From The Black Book
I am just a renowned scholar in Greek mythology, or at least I was...
I died of sudden, whether it was predetermined or orchestrated— I don't know. But I recieved a second chance to be reborn as one of my myth's heroes.
I chose to be Reborn As Hades!
On waking up I had a rollercoaster of adventures— or mishaps as I choose to call them. From my experience with Hermes, to the issue with Prometheus and then my duel with Zeus.
I have had a wild ride since I got here, nothing went as planned but that's fine... I had a fun run!
I recently had a staggering revelation— Olympus is going to be destroyed by a series of calamities and I am the only one with the knowledge to stop it.
I don't know how but I know when— and how? Because a man-child god told me to!
"Oww, my head feels heavy." I pushed myself up from the bed and threw the blanket from my body.
My body was surprisingly light and brimming with energy, it had me in awe. I guess god's bodies are really durable. Lest I forget I reached under my pillow and pulled out the black covered book.
"Whew!" I sighed in relief that it was still there. I flipped through the pages in a rush out of anxiety. "Um Hades."
I had to be sure if he was also aware of the Watcher. I also had to know if they were in cahoots.
Words started to appear on the boom.
YES! I ENTERED THAT ASTRAL PLANE ALONGSIDE YOU. BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANY MEMORY OF THE WATCHER, MY FUTURE IS STILL A BLUR.
WITH TIME I SUSPECT MY MEMORIES WILL RETURN... DOES THAT BOTHER YOU?
I was speechless— the thought of who and who not to trust was evidently a recurring thing in mind. I could have been brought here to be used to solve a dispute on Olympus. The only advantage I had was the future only I knew of— speaking of future.
"Um, how is Olympus advanced?" I asked decisively.
I APOLOGIZE BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION...?
Oh right! Now about that, the black book could just be pretending to act stupid with me. How can I be sure if it really is Hades in there?
Yeah! I have trust issues, I know but that is how I survived in my world. I am self centered and egoistic, I deal with the facts as it is— and as of this moment I am a foriegner here with no one to trust.
But to move forward I have to rely on someone every once in a while.
EXCUSE ME...?
ARE YOU STILL THERE...?
!?
"Oh right?" I totally forgot about that. "Sorry, I tend to get lost in thought."
I UNDERSTAND! BEING THE ELDEST OF THE THREE MOST POWERFUL GODS I OFTEN SPENT MY TIME THINKING OF HOW TO MAKE THEIR LIVES BETTER— TO KEEP THEM SAFE!
I WAS SO WORKED UP IN MY ETHICS THAT I HAD NO TIME FOR MY FAMILY. IT WAS THAT DEPRESSION THAT CAUSED MY DEMISE.
The black book did have a point there, this was why I never had time for my wife amd daughter. I thought I got married to have a life but I only did it because my peers would not stop pressuring me about it. The only thing I cared about was my mythologies— that's why I was happy here.
"Black book, if we are going to work together I will have to know I can trust you to be sincere with me on everything." I had laid the conditions and naturally it would accept, and if it did— it means it cannot be trusted.
Your next response will determine if I can trust you...
SORRY--!
BUT I CAN NOT BE 100% SINCERE WITH YOU!
THAT IS...
TILL I AM SURE I CAN TRUST YOU WITH MY OWN SECRETS!
I had a slight grin on my face, now that was a more appropriate answer to my question. It did not mean we trusted each other, it did not also mean we would lie to each other. It meant we could work together because we needed each other to complete our alligned goals here on Olympus.
My goal was to enjoy my new life on olympus and live it to the fullest.
The book wanted to prevent the fall of Olympus.
Now I put forward the question I had earlier on. "This Olympus is very different from the one I have read fr my world. Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and he of the gods, it is a flourishing land. The Underworld is the land of the dead that lies beneath the land of the living, in other words this is hell. But it's all wrong, this world is futuristic and with complex structures from my world which should not exists from this time. The gods aren't inventors, humans are."
Now I just had to wait for the response from the black book.
A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER THE GREAT WAR WHEN THE GODS WERE STILL RECOVERING...
HEPHAESTUS, REACHED A BREAKTHROUGH THAT CAUSED HIM TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GODS. OVER TIME HIS TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS GREW THROUGHOUT ALL OF OLYMPUS AND EVEN REACHED THE UNDERWORLD.
THE TECHNOLOGY MADE MY WORK EASIER HERE SO NATURALLY I PROCURED IT.
"I see." I stroke my chin gently.
Now it all makes sense.
Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, smithwork, metallurgy, volcanoes, and artisans, who served as blacksmith for the gods. His Roman name was Vulcan.
It had be worried that the gods themselves was unable of such development, so Hephaestus must have received enlightment.
But why now?
It bothers me that there is such a big change with these here. It would definitely offset the balance of some of the myths I know. Luckily humans are still primitive.
So, did Hephaestus recieve enlightenment from? Did he copy humanity's future technology or did humanity copy his technology?
I swear I am going to get an headache figuring stuff out.
The first things first, I am the god of the underworld and I have to manage the underworld. Which my ex is currently managing— I think.
My main priority is the first calamity I have to avoide. The only thing I know is that it's on Zeus' 2000th birthday party which I dont know when it is.
Then I asked the book and I got this--
SORRY! BEING TO ABSORBED IN MY WORK. THINGS LIKE BIRTHDAY DATES SLIPPED MY MIND EVEN MY OWN.
SORRY!
"Wow! Not things just got harder." Who know how long I have been asleep for?