Chapter 8

Later that night, after dinner, Thanatos talked with me about Reapers and The Ferrymen. He explained to me that the Ferrymen are broken up into two main groups. One group goes into the field and reaps the souls of the dead and dying. They are known as Psychopomps. The other group stays in the office. This group was broken up into several different groups, with the main two being the Processors and the Dreamers. He explained that the Processors sort souls into those volunteering for rebirth and those to go to the Underworld. The group that goes to the Underworld is then assigned, based on their life on Earth, either to Elysium or Tartarus. The Dreamers then design the paradise or torture that the souls go to spend eternity in.

"Each Psychopomp is paired with a Processor and a Dreamer," he said.

"So, you're a team?"

"Yes."

"That seems like it makes the job a little easier, but I still think being a Dreamer seems tougher than the other jobs."

"Having a team makes things more efficient. And being a Dreamer is a bit taxing, but it's easier than being a Psychopomp. The Processors by far have it the easiest. The sorting of the souls going into the afterlife is an automated process."

"I see," I said, nodding my head in understanding. "How does training go for The Ferrymen?"

"It varies a little from job to job and from Reaper to Reaper. But, there are some basics that we all learn. The history of Reapers and of The Ferrymen, how to reap souls, and how to use a scythe are all basics that we learn. The reason all Reapers learn to reap a soul is that there are times when we have a mass exodus, when there are a large number of deaths, and we might need extra Reapers on the field. The only Ferrymen that don't go on the field during these times are the Processors and the tech department. Souls just have to wait in the afterlife for their assignment until everything is taken care of."

"That seems a bit unfair."

"It's a rare occurrence, but if it looks like it's going to take too long other offices may step in to help."

"How many offices are there?"

"Each country has at least one. Depending on the size, there may be more. The US has at least one for each state, with Hawai'i having one for each island. Canada has one for each province. Most European, Asian, and African countries have only one."

"What does Hades do?"

"He keeps everything in order with the offices. He's one of the three Reapers keeping things running smoothly. Persephone keeps track of the river since the original Charon retired. In fact, she's working with our Charon so she can take over the role. Persephone wants to make a new department that's only task is to find new Reapers and bring them in so that none slip through the cracks again."

"So, do you guys get paid for doing this or something?"

"We do get paid. But we have another business that we the money of this from. It changes as the times change. Now we're a tech company that actually makes a pretty good profit. We have offices all over the world, and we have never been in the red. We pay our employees about minimum wage, and we turn a large enough profit that we can also donate to charities."

"Wow. That's amazing. What have you don't in the past?"

"Whatever was the biggest market. The only thing we never dabbled in is slavery. We've had plantations where everyone who worked them was paid and treated fairly."

I nodded. "Why are Reapers born to humans and not to other Reapers?"

"Because Reapers are sterile. It's one of the many curses the universe has bestowed us with." Thanatos gave me a sad smile as he spoke.

"Oh… I um… I read somewhere that Reapers can't experience human emotions, but that's not true, is it? I mean, I've been able to express human emotions my entire life."

"It's not true. We can experience human emotions. Though some are lost to us once we take on our scythe and die."

"Die?!"

"It's a sort of death we experience. We stop aging and become immortal. The only thing that can kill us is another scythe. Anyway, we lose some emotions when we take on our scythes. We can still feign those emotions, but we just don't feel them because we have no need for them."

We continued to talk late into the night, Thanatos answering all of my questions about Reapers and The Ferrymen. He even showed me his scythe, which was disguised as a tattoo on the left side of his chest.