Chapter 8

The houses were wonderful. One by one they popped out of Hestia's pad and stood up for Athena to see. With a touch on her pad, Hestia opened them up and revealed the inside. She had furnished them with opulent couches and low tables. Each had its own kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms.

"They're beautiful," Athena said, putting her hand up as if to touch them, even though she knew they were only images. "I wouldn't know how to choose."

"Oh, this one's yours." Hestia indicated a building significantly larger than the rest.

Athena was slightly disappointed. She was more attracted to the small, cosy houses.

"Why is it so much bigger than the others?"

"Well, that's what Hera wanted. It's what she's used to."

Athena looked up in horror. "I have to live with Hera? In the same house?"

The idea was appalling.

Hestia laughed. "Well, she is married to your father."

Suddenly Athena's delight in the houses evaporated. She looked bleakly out over the mountainside, imagining a future dominated by her vile stepmother.

There was something moving out there, like a swarm of bees but much larger. She shaded her eyes against the sun. It was difficult to see with any degree of accuracy. Perhaps a herd of animals? Mountain deer?

"I'm just going to get my helmet," she told Hestia. "There are some animals on the mountain. I want to see them better."

Hestia looked in the direction Athena was pointing but could see nothing.

~*~

The Tribe took a long time to reach the mountain. They had to travel at the pace of the old people and the children, and the adults were weighed down by their provisions for the journey, their cooking pots, weapons and tools.

Prometheus had been assigned his old task of carrying the fire, much to Atlas's chagrin. He had himself been the Bearer of the Fire in Prometheus' absence. He followed a short distance behind his rival, glaring at him and muttering imprecations under his breath. Prometheus would have felt even more nervous if he hadn't been walking beside Pandora and under her protection. But he was clearly going to have to do something about Atlas. He couldn't live the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

It would have been so easy if only they hadn't chosen Pandora as the Mother. All he had to do was lose the foot race and Atlas could have married the Mother and he (maybe) could have married Pandora. Now he had no choice but to win the race and that would make Atlas his enemy for life.

In the meantime he had to keep out of his way. Especially when they got to the mountain. How easy it would be to trip someone and send them tumbling to their death. He could imagine himself tumbling over and over, still clutching the precious fire hidden in the protective fennel stalk. Would he dare? Would he dare touch him when he was bearing the fire? Prometheus shuddered and walked closer to Pandora.

~*~

Whatever they were, they were big and they seemed to be walking on their hind legs. They looked like bears or maybe apes. Even with her vision tuned to its finest she couldn't quite make them out. They were too far away. But heading in this direction.

Artemis came up and stood beside her. She was also wearing her helmet.

"Bipeds," she said. "Possibly humanoid."

Athena gave her a swift glance. "Humanoid? Surely not. They're covered in fur!"

Artemis laughed. "There's nothing to say you can't have a human species with fur. But anyway, I think it might be what they're wearing."

Athena retuned her vision and looked again. Artemis could be right. Some of their faces appeared to be naked. But then, some apes had naked faces, didn't they?

"And look," Artemis went on. "They're carrying bundles. Animals can carry things but not usually very much."

The two stood watching the group approach for the next hour or so. By this time half the crew had joined them.

Aphrodite was very excited. This was their first discovery of humanoids in the long voyage. She adjusted her helmet, now fitted with the newly-invented thought-enhancing device. She had been dying to try it out. She tuned it in, trying to catch the thoughts of the advancing figures.

There was no doubt now that the creatures were human. They were wearing fur and leather clothes and carrying not only leather sacks but weapons. The adults, some of whom had hairy faces, wore belts with axes and knives hanging from them.

The crew exchanged glances. "You don't think they've come to attack us, do you?" said Hermes, with a slight trace of nervousness.

"Hardly," said Ares. "Stone axes against missiles?" He gave a little snort of laughter.

"They don't know that," said Aphrodite. "How would they know that? They just know some new creatures have invaded their territory. Anyway, they can't hurt us. So let's just see what they do."

She twiddled with her controls again. Either the device wasn't working or they were still too far away.

~*~

While Prometheus had spent the entire journey trying to think of a solution to his problem with Atlas, Atlas had similarly been racking his brains, such as they were, to find a solution to Prometheus, and just as they began to climb the foothills of the mountain, a bold scheme occurred to him. He would change the rules! He would put it to the Tribe that it was not the swiftest man who should be King. What use to the Tribe was a fast runner? What you needed from your King was strength and courage, qualities Atlas had in abundance, whereas Prometheus had very little of either. See how he had just run away when he was accused of sacrilege! No, he was not a worthy King! And Atlas intended to prove it as soon as they reached these new gods. He would challenge them to a fight. Show them who was master. That would impress the Tribe!

~*~

The group of primitives had nearly reached the edge of the shield. By now all the crew had downed tools and gathered to watch.

It looked as if the group was a whole tribe or family rather than a fighting band. There were little children and old people, and in amongst them several dogs ran back and forth making small yipping noises.

"I could do with a couple of those," murmured Artemis.

The first to come up against the shield was a female wearing a long cloak of fur and a headdress of feathers. She walked forward proudly and smacked straight into the invisible wall. She reeled slightly, but did not fall over. An expression of vast puzzlement spread over her face as she began to feel her way along the wall. Now others were doing the same. Athena could almost hear what they were thinking. This was utter mystery to them. They seemed to be curious rather than aggressive.

Then, just as she was about to suggest they let down the shield and try to communicate with them, one of them, taller than the rest and with a very hairy face, leapt forward with a roar and threw himself at the shield. He bounced off and fell to the ground. Far from discouraging him, this seemed to infuriate him further and he threw himself at the shield again. The shield shimmered slightly with the vibration of the impact and the man bounced off again.

The other humanoids had stopped their blind groping along the shield and turned to watch the big male. They were obviously astonished by his behaviour. The female in the fur cloak seemed to be admonishing him, holding up her hand in an imperious gesture. 'Halt!' Athena heard the word as clearly as if it had been spoken in her own tongue. But the male took no notice. He seemed to be in some sort of crazed trance, throwing himself repeatedly at the shield.

Some of the others approached him with the obvious intention of restraining him, but he turned and snarled at them and they backed off. Then the big male found the neat pile of dressed stone standing at the edge of the plateau, just beyond the shield. He grasped an enormous block and hurled it at the invisible barrier. The crew members took an involuntary step backwards and watched as the stone also smashed against the wall and bounced off, the only effect of any note being that the shimmer was a little more pronounced.

"That's it," said Zeus, "Fetch the gun,"

Aphrodite grabbed him by the arm. "No. Don't shoot them. They can't harm us."

"I know that," he said, between his teeth, "but they can sure as hell crack the stone. Anyway, I'm just going to fire a warning shot. That should do the trick with primitives."

"No," she said, "Don't do it! Hephaestus is out there."

Zeus turned to look at her. "What!"

"He's been out all morning prospecting for something. I tried to raise him but he can't be wearing his helmet."

"Oh, for God's sake." Zeus reached for the weapon Hermes was offering to him. "What an idiot! He knows full well it's strictly against all the rules to go without suit and helmet on an unexplored planet."

Another stone smacked against the shield, then another. Several of the other primitives had joined in, all hairy males.

"Those are my stones, for my house. Stop them!" When Zeus did not respond, Hera grabbed the gun and it went off at the very second that a pod rose up behind the primitives. A bolt of light shot from the gun accompanied by a crack of thunder. It glanced off the pod, which crashed down onto the side of the mountain and began to bounce from one crag to another.

"Oh shit," said Zeus. "You've just killed Hephaestus!"