Centaurian Ch. 09

All Rights Reserved © 2022, Rick Haydn Horst

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

CHAPTER NINE

Chronos, the primordial god of Time, had grown accustomed to knowing all events on the timeline, and for as much as his knowing could burden him, it conveyed a sense of order and logic that he appreciated. It often pained him how language could not comment upon it without grotesque inaccuracies like the crude simplicity of cause "A" leading to effect "B". It stripped away all nuance leaving little else but false impressions, like a five-year old's black and white drawing of a universe that had decillions of colors. But he also knew that if language could depict a genuine description of the relationships between causes and effects, it would ultimately lose its audience in its profundity. However, as it stood, the complexities of Time, and all it entailed, defied description. He alone could comprehend, in its fullness, the beautiful tapestry of the universe's seemingly infinite number of causal chains, and as such, he thought of it as a work of art in his own private gallery.

No one noticed the furry muscle god and his concerned expression atop the staircase at the entrance to the bridge. He watched as Ronan invited Emma, William, Hephaestus, and Colt with him to Olympus. Wanting to show his support for them, as they turned to leave, they saw him dressed in a Centaurian uniform like Ronan's. His shirt held a depiction of an hourglass made from a lemniscate—an infinity symbol—with the name CHRONOS stitched into the fabric.

"Angus," said Ronan, surprised to see him. "Is something wrong?"

"We should talk," he said.

Ronan turned to his companions. "Pardon me, I must stop Time for a moment." And he did so.

Angus entered the bridge and stared at the others.

"What's the matter?" asked Ronan. "Have I done something?"

"Yes," he said, "but I carry the fault, and it's complicated so bear with me. As I said, I have never had anyone but myself capable of stopping Time, and I have never unlocked anyone with Time stopped, so this is unusual. The experience of Time is linear, and events—with a minimum of randomness—are largely a matter of cause and effect, but those causes and effects have always occurred on the timeline. However, you're having to stop Time just to get things done—and given your perspective, understandably so—but many large events are happening off the timeline, and it has fractured the timeline's continuity, a problem exacerbated by the inclusion of many unlocked people during these extra—timeline events. They create ripple effects that appear to have no causes. If that's not clear, please let me know."

"I unlocked over two-hundred gods on Olympus."

"Yes, and it's making the timeline messy, which is a real problem, not because it damages the timeline per se (it's pretty forgiving), but because it hinders my ability to help you. I must apologize for this necessity, but since I only know events that happen on the timeline, I have had to secretly follow you to help mitigate the problem, so the faster we get back to the timeline the better. From what I can see, things smooth out soon, but I think that happens from this conversation, and I think I help you here, so we can get back to normal. You could create a great many extra-timeline events trying to coax Zeus into telling you what he has done with Liam, but I can tell you from what I know of him, he would reveal nothing. I wish to spare you that. I hope you know by now that I can't do this for you by giving you the final solution—that would be T.M.I. (Too Much Information). However, I have a tiny tidbit that I believe I should give you because I don't know how you get it; you do not receive it on the timeline. I worry that it's my doing, and if I hold to my usual code of silence, by choosing not to tell you, I might alter events. Perhaps, from that alone, you can see how messy this is getting. So here it is, ask Emma about Métis."

"Ask Emma about Métis. Got it. I apologize for making a mess of the timeline."

"You're just doing what you must," said Chronos. "So that you know, if you must stop Time, keep the number of people unlocked with you to a bare minimum; it helps to reduce the problem. Here's why this is so important. Even with all your power, this is a limitation for us both. Events are accessible along the main timeline because of its perpetual existence."

"Right."

"The moment we stop Time, as now, we begin a secondary timeline and any event that occurs on that secondary timeline is only accessible to us while that timeline is active. If something should happen on a secondary timeline that has damaged the main timeline, you can't go back to that secondary timeline to search for its cause to change it because it no longer exists."

"Oh... Well, no wonder you've followed me around. So, none of the secondaries are connected."

Chronos shook his head. "If you should stop Time again later, you are beginning a new secondary timeline, independent of all the others. Once they end when you restart Time, they vanish."

"We really do need to get back to the timeline then. Thank you. I'm glad you're telling me this."

"I'm pleased you understand," said Chronos. "I will leave you to it." He descended the staircase.

"Thank you, Angus."

Ronan turned to Emma and unlocked her. "Hey."

She smiled a little and looked around. "Where's Chronos? Is something wrong?"

"Apparently, I'm making a mess of the timeline by all these off-timeline events, like the one we're having right now, and the more people unlocked with Time stopped the worse the mess gets. He says that we need to get back to the timeline as quickly as possible, so he gave me a hint. He told me that I should ask you about Métis. The name is familiar to me, but what can you tell me about her?"

"Métis...," she said, sounding almost nostalgic, "I haven't heard or thought of that name in centuries, but I think I know why he told you to ask. Métis was the goddess of wisdom and good counsel, Zeus's first wife, and Athena's mother. Someone prophesied that she would bear two of Zeus's children, and both would have great power, but the second, was a son who would dethrone him. So, Zeus followed his father's example, tricked Métis into turning herself into a fly, and swallowed her. Unfortunately for Zeus, she had already gotten pregnant. Somehow, she made her way to his head, and she gave birth to Athena who grew there, causing him terrible headaches. When it became unbearable, he asked Hephaestus to crack open his head with an ax, and Athena leaped from Zeus's head fully formed and wearing armor."

Ronan laughed. "Uh-huh," he said, with a look of extreme skepticism. "How can that possibly be true?"

"Because, like yourself, the gods are more than we appear. You continue to view yourself as a physical being, but you're not. I find it charming that you prefer to live in the illusion that you're more biological than you are, and I understand why you prefer it, but we are energy beings. We have these bodies as a conduit for experiencing this universe, so we may have the ability to touch and sense and fully feel our emotions. We intuitively understand that this"—she patted her chest—"is living, but as pure energy, we would have only existence. That is how Zeus can survive an ax cutting open his head to release his fully formed daughter."

"I see. So, what happened to Métis?"

"Zeus sealed himself up again, keeping her trapped inside his head. Zeus said that she became pure thought and has the same role she had before he swallowed her...as his wise counsel."

Ronan tipped his head in disbelief. "Ha! Right. I'm more inclined to believe the ax in the head story."

"Well," she said, "I saw Hephaestus wielding the ax, so I can attest that it's true, however, we have only Zeus's word about Métis, and it would be an easy lie."

"Angus had me ask you for a reason, and the only one that makes sense is if she's still there, and she knows where Zeus took Liam."

"I agree. Why do you call him Angus?"

"That's a story you'll have to hear another time. I have a question to ask you, and I want you to think hard about this, and decide what you want. Would you like to leave Dolos behind? You could stop having to find ways around your trickster nature to help someone and you could become Erastís. Whatever you want, Emma, it's yours."

She smiled. "I appreciate the offer. I have yet to tell William; he may not want me once he knows."

"If he rejects you, that's his prerogative, but in that event, let me talk to him. What sort of relationship would you want with him?"

"You may not know this, but I never married, and I'm unsure how I feel about marriage. So, while I hesitate to get my hopes up, I would love it if he was my companion and lover." She took a deep breath and leaned her back against the wall. "Perhaps, William and I should stay aboard the ship; we should have that conversation, and it would mean two fewer people to unlock when you get to Olympus."

-------

The moment Ronan, Colt, and Hephaestus arrived on Olympus, the sun still shined high in the sky, but they found the once pristine marble mosaic of the courtyard fractured and sullied with piles of debris. Someone or something had mangled the gates and destroyed its surrounding columned structure.

A booming voice echoed, "Zeus!" Then came the sound of beating wings and a thunderous boom, followed by a shower of gold and marble chunks from the citadel which rained over the cliff edge behind them with lesser bits falling into the courtyard. Ronan stopped Time with a snap of his fingers. The sun in the sky vanished as though he had flicked a light switch, rendering all around them barely viewable in the glow from their mingled time-fields.

"Who the hell was that?" asked Colt.

Ronan shook his head and shrugged.

"You've mostly kept Time stopped," said Hephaestus, "and only a few actual minutes have passed since we left Zeus frozen here earlier, so whoever that is, they must have just gotten here."

"I will fly up and see who we're dealing with," said Ronan.

"Can you fly?" asked Colt.

Ronan burned away his shirt. "Should that really surprise you at this point? You two might want to move to the side of the courtyard. On the way up, my time-field will likely unlock a bit of falling debris. If your time-fields keep it unlocked, it might fall on you. While I'm gone, get to Zeus. We'll meet there."

As they backed away, Ronan turned, manifested his giant white wings, and took to the air causing some rock already in transit to fall farther as he rose into the sky.

Colt watched in amazement as Ronan flew out of sight and earshot. He asked, "Is my father a god?"

"No, I think he's something better. We should go." He gazed upon Ronan's son, smiled a little, and began leading him to the citadel above. They tromped through the debris to the gate. "I think you're a handsome man. Would you go out with me? That is the phrase, isn't it, go out?"

"But you're my first cousin," said Colt.

"I have news for you," he said as they climbed over the ruins, "all the gods are related. However, if that matters to you, just remember, you could never have my children. Beyond that one concern, is there anything applicable keeping us apart?" He helped him navigate some larger pieces of marble.

"You mean, other than the fact that I find you so shockingly attractive that you're well out of my league?"

"We have both seen one another naked," said Hephaestus. "All that should matter is that I liked what I saw. How about you?"

Colt raked his eyes over Hephaestus's body and jumped from the block he stood upon. "Of course, I liked it."

"Have you ever cheated in any of your past relationships?"

"No, definitely not."

"In that case," he said ushering Colt to the shortcut, "you sound perfect to me. If we do well together, I would swear upon the risk of ruining my reputation with your father, that I would be good to you, and I would never cheat."

"You barely know me, and already you speak of relationships. I've never had a relationship with a man."

"Good," he said, "neither have I. Zeus had arranged my previous marriages, and they both cheated. I figured if I could make my own choices, I would choose you. You are desirable, so I would feel awful if I held back and squandered this opportunity."

"When we get settled somewhere," said Colt, "I will agree to a date, and we'll see how it goes."

"May we have sex on the first date?"

"Looking at you, it would disappoint me if we didn't." Colt smiled to himself, as they entered the passage.

-------

The landscape of Olympus followed the shape of the mountain, and Zeus's palace lay at the top. The peak of the mountain held his highest and most favorite throne, enabling him to look down upon all his kingdom and subjects.

Every beat of Ronan's wings lifted him toward the peak. He manifested time-spheres in his palms to use them as searchlights. Swooping upward at the top when he saw the damaged building, he realized he stared down the throat of a giant snake with fangs that matched his height.

"Shit! Don't touch the snake!" Ronan struggled to back away with the tips of his wings coming within inches of unlocking the creature frozen in a wide-mouthed, standing posture

The light from the time-spheres hadn't provided enough light, so he backed much farther away, increased their intensity, and released them to illuminate all of Olympus, and he saw the massive culprit.

Typhon—known as the father of monsters and the youngest son of Gaia and Tartarus—had an immensity that one might expect of a Titan, one-quarter the size of Olympus. He had the head and muscular torso of a man, the massive wings of a demon, and giant vipers for arms and legs. Ronan had caught him mid-flight, and the time-spheres unlocked the air around him. Unable to keep himself aloft by his wings, the shadow beneath Typhon caused him to drift down from his position as if he weighed no more than a feather. He would have crashed upon the buildings below, but the closer he came to the roofs, the shadow would grow darker, slowing his descent to a stop before causing damage to them. Once Time restarted, however, they would bear his full weight. The beast had destroyed Zeus's palace, flattening and pulverizing what he hadn't ejected from the mountaintop.

Ronan flipped his body in the air to change direction, soaring to the courtyard at Zeus's temple below.

With Time stopped, Zeus and the other frozen gods had once again become visible. It showed them in slightly muted tones like everything that hadn't had a time-field of its own. Colt and Hephaestus joined Ronan as he stood before Zeus staring at him.

"So, what will you do about Typhon?" asked Hephaestus.

"For now, nothing," he said. "Frozen in Time, he's of no danger to anyone. Zeus is a more pressing matter. I can't unlock him without taking his power, so when I take it, what should I do with it? Neither of you will get this reference, but it's sort of like Emma and the inches from the men aboard ship, I can't just hold onto it, it must go somewhere."

"Inches?" asked Colt.

Ronan laughed. "It's a funny story. Remind me to tell you later."

"I think that Zeus could absorb the power of a god for quite a while," said Hephaestus. "He would have done that with Poseidon, so you probably could absorb it."

He turned to him, his face an expression of having scented something rotten. "I consider his power tainted, so thank you for the idea but no."

"You have only one other option I can see," said Colt. "Use a container of some kind."

"That's what I was considering," said Ronan. "What container is strong enough?"

"If you froze it in Time," he said, "a container wouldn't need a lot of strength, would it?"

"That's a good point," said Hephaestus.

"What do you intend to do with it once you have it?" asked Colt.

"Not sure," said Ronan, "but I probably won't give it back to him."

"In my opinion," said Hephaestus, "a powerless person who sits on a throne is no monarch. If you take and keep Zeus's power from him, you're the king. Is that what you want?"

"Would that really be so bad?" asked Colt. "After all, what is a good king but a leader? You're already that without the label."

"There's far more to being a monarch than just acting as a leader," said Ronan. "But I seek neither a kingdom nor followers to lead. You are my friends and my son,"—he put his arm around Colt—"and I love you all very much. I've just wanted to help people, and for now, Liam needs my help the most. Whether I ever return Zeus's power to him remains in question, but that he must lose it for now, is certain. Thank you for the idea, son. That's what I'll do."

"How will you remove his power?" Colt asked.

"I'll siphon it off him like this..."

Hephaestus rested his hands on Colt's shoulders. "Let's not stand too close." He moved them back a few feet.

They watched as Ronan held out his hands and acted as though he pulled long and powerful lines of fiber from Zeus which he imitated as though he were spinning threads onto a single strand that wound around itself, and as he did, Colt watched as though his father had lost his mind because nothing was happening. When Ronan finished, he said, "See? Just like that."

"Okay," said Colt, "I'm impressed by your pantomimical theatrics, but let's see you actually do it."

"I just did," he said. "It's done. Now, I need a container for it."

Colt tipped his head back and glanced up at Hephaestus's grinning face, looking for some shared skepticism. "He's pulling my leg, isn't he?"

Ronan smiled. "Watch and learn." He moved to the side of where he had stood as they looked on. He held his hands out with his palms open as though he would catch a fly, and he paused before shouting, "Now!" The king unfroze, and Zeus wailed while his power extruded from every pore in thin fibers of golden light, and it spun together and wound itself onto a ball of glowing string at the exact spot Ronan meant it to. As it continued, Ronan waited, his hands at the ready.

"I have been patient with you, Zeus," said Ronan. "You have grown so comfortable with bullying and hurting others with impunity. But I had warned you; I'm not putting up with your shit."

As the last of Zeus's power left him, he fell to his hands and knees. Ronan manifested two halves of a diamond sphere and encapsulated the brilliant light before him. He twisted the two halves together and froze them in Time. As he held the crystalline container, lines of embering surrounded it in a layer of adamantine, and a layer of gold until he held a perfect golden sphere. He then applied a layer of cork and finally a white leather cover with the familiar red stitching around it and printed it with the words "Zeus" and "Powerball".

"He held no more energy than that?" Colt asked. "It wasn't much."

"The power in this is coherent, stable, and ultra-concentrated," said Ronan. "If I hadn't bothered it would probably end up the size of a beach ball. Here catch." He gave it a little toss. "I'm placing you in charge of that until I ask for it back."

"A baseball?"

"A last-second decision. I couldn't resist."

Hephaestus took Zeus's arm and lifted him to his feet. He looked a little pale and weakened.

"You'll regret this," said Zeus.

"You and I need to have a talk," said Ronan.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"A narcissist like you with nothing to say. I find that unlikely."