City of gods - Hellenica by Jonathan Maas Read Free Book Online Page A

had no response.
    “I want to ask you another question,” said Elazar. “What has our society produced in the last century? I’m not talking about a new temple or some shiny amulet, but what have we produced ?”
    “I made this suit,” said Tommy.
    “Precisely. But you made it here , outside of the district’s constant feuds.”
    “Perhaps.”
    “The members of the conurbation are at a standstill, Tommy; they’re in crisis,” said Elazar. “They do nothing but appease their own personal deities at the expense of others.
    “What little progress that’s made is made out here . Suits, medicines, electronics are all made here by a small fraction of the population—by the grievously ill, no less! You should be happy to know that Hephaestus himself has seen the prototype of your suit and is quite impressed.”
    Tommy’s heart skipped a beat.
    “Hephaestus is reasonable,” said Elazar, “as is Hellenica. They have their share of petty gods and infighting to be sure, but Hellenica depends on reason to survive. And they recognize that though Lepros brings in the sick of body, we are pure of soul. The same can’t be said for the conurbation.
    “And so this comes to you, Tommy; what are you going to do about it? How are you going to clean up our city?”
    “Me?”
    “Yes, you.”
    “With all due respect, sir, I’ve never set foot outside this island in my life. I fear I wouldn’t survive if I left.”
    “Poppycock. You’ve survived more than a phalanx of warriors face in their lifetime. Every disease on earth tried to kill you, but couldn’t. You built a suit to protect us from you.”
    “Are you sending me there? To the mainland?”
    “Only if you want to go. This island is nothing if not a society of choice. But if you go it’s not because I’ve sent you,  it’s because you’ve been called. Hellenica has asked for those with your abilities to join a special school, an Academy . They’ll train you to fight the corruption, the pettiness of our gods.”
    “But why me?”
    “They’re not just asking for you,” said Elazar with a laugh, “they’re bringing in a group of young beings with powers. Gods, if you will. But these are not entrenched gods like Dagon and Lugh. Hellenica wants the young, the unjaded. They want those that still care more for society than themselves.”
    “I’m not a god,” said Tommy. “I can’t even walk without assistance.”
    “Do you remember your early youth, your parents, Tommy?”
    “No.”
    “Nor do I. You may be a god, or something very much like it; there’s a character similar to you in a book based on my Torah.”
    “If I’m in the Torah then I can’t be a god,” said Tommy. “Your religion is monotheistic.”
    “ Vehemently monotheistic,” said Elazar, “but both the Torah and this book, which we call The Bible , have certain grey areas when it comes to supernatural beings. If not a god, you’d be considered a demigod, or perhaps an angel . The book calls your kind Horsemen. ”
    “I still don’t follow.”
    “You won’t need to, Tommy,” said Elazar, “but I’ll tell you that your talents are wasted on this island. My question to you is this: do you want to further your studies at the Academy, or stay here building toys?”
    Tommy thought for a moment. The prospect excited him to be sure, but he was happy here. This place needed him, and he knew no other home.
    “I’ve worked my whole life to make a perfect society, Tommy, one based on compassion and harmony, not strife,” said Elazar. “But I’ve only succeeded in an unseen microcosm here. No one cares for Lepros, and no one ever will. But if you go inland, you’ll show them what we can do. Will you go?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good,” said Elazar. “You report this evening. So listen to what they teach you, and be careful. The Academy is trustworthy, but the rest of the world is not. Though you may have supernatural powers, I fear you can still be killed. And there are those in the