Chapter 18 #2
was quite certain she had never seen it before.
“I thought the Vulcanal is over there,” she said, pointing to a roofed excavation behind the Umbilicus that, although hotly
contested among Forum archaeologists, was considered to be the site of the god’s ancient forge.
“Well, it is,” Aggie agreed. “But under it. Come.”
The gate opened before them, and she led them toward the Umbilicus.
There were a number of tourists milling about the ruins, but none seemed to notice them.
Aggie ducked into the dark space. Yumi didn’t hesitate to follow, but Aida paused just long enough that her friend reached back and pulled her through—into a long hallway with a red runner.
The atmosphere was surreal, as if the ancient world had collided with modern times.
The walls were adorned with frescoes depicting various gods and mythical creatures, illuminated by sleek LED lights.
“How did . . .”
Aggie looked back and shrugged. “Gods, you know.”
Aida and Yumi followed the goddess down the hall to a regal marble stairway that led to a landing and a large ornate door
made of a strange alloy that seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly glow. Two silver lions rested at the door, and when one
of them turned its head toward them, Yumi jumped backward with a shriek, almost falling to the ground.
“It’s all right. They won’t hurt you with me here,” Aggie assured her. Then she placed her hand on the door, which opened
with a low hum, revealing the inner sanctum of Vulcan’s forge.
A booming voice greeted them. “My love! Give me a second to finish.”
The moment Aida stepped inside, she found herself in a world where mythology had embraced the digital age. The room was vast
and domed, with an immense anvil at its center, surrounded by all manner of futuristic machines and tools.
At the heart of this breathtaking scene stood Vulcan himself, his tall muscular form draped in a modern heat-resistant outfit.
His hair was a dark fiery red that seemed to flicker with the energy of the flames he commanded, cascading down to his shoulders
in unruly waves. A neatly trimmed beard framed his strong angular jawline. He was manipulating molten metal using a high-tech
holographic interface, his eyes glowing with an intense fiery gaze.
The interface projected a 3D hologram of the workpiece, allowing Vulcan to visualize the desired end product and make adjustments with remarkable precision.
Aida had been to a few forges as part of her historical research, but nothing like this.
The forge itself was a marvel of modern engineering, seamlessly blending ancient elements with state-of-the-art technology.
A central high-efficiency furnace provided the intense heat required for Vulcan’s metalworking.
Robotic arms with specialized tools waited at the ready.
The walls were adorned with touch screens and panels that likely monitored and controlled every aspect of the forge’s operation.
Several golden humanoid figures worked at various tasks throughout the space.
Despite the obvious heat of the forge, Aida was amazed at how cool the room felt.
Surrounding the central anvil were multiple workstations, each equipped with a suite of tools and machinery for specific tasks, such as metal casting, welding, and engraving.
Aida and Yumi stood in awe, overwhelmed by the incredible sight before them. Aggie smiled and motioned them forward. “Heph,
I brought some friends.”
Vulcan looked up. When he saw Aida and Yumi, his face twisted into a scowl. “What is this? Aglaea . . .”
“It’s important,” Aggie said. “It’s about Euphrosyne.”
The burly god flicked off the hologram. As he walked toward them, Aida noticed something was off about his gait and understood
that some of the myths about his one misshapen leg might be true. He was probably wearing some form of prosthetic.
“Why have you brought mortals to my abode, Aglaea?”
Aggie admonished him. “They can help us. Hear them out.”
He folded his arms across his chest and stared down at them. “This better be good. I’d be happy to test out my new lasers
on you.” He waved a hand at the robotic arms, which Aida realized with shock were aimed right at them.
“Go ahead,” Aggie said, nudging Aida.
Aida tried to explain the situation to the intimidating god, ending with the strange circumstances at Palazzo Spada. When
she was finished, he let out a string of modern curses and turned back toward the forge. He stood there staring into the fire,
which seemed to grow hotter and brighter with his anger.
“The oranges, and forking the lawn. That’s my sister’s idea of a good time,” Aggie explained. “She is the goddess of discord,
after all.”
Vulcan snorted with derision. When he turned back to them, his eyes glowed with a dark red heat. “They don’t have the ability to create a machine capable of holding the world’s happiness. I’m the only one who can do that.”
“Then how did they . . .” Yumi began, but Vulcan cut her off with a wave of his hand.
“They must have found Zeus’s storeroom.”
Aggie gasped. “You mean . . .”
Vulcan nodded. “They have Pandora. And my other creations. Shit, they probably even have my golden dogs.”
“I’m not sure we understand,” Aida said, glad for the calm spell Sophie had given her. The lasers were still trained on them,
and Vulcan’s response to the news was terrifying. She could feel Yumi trembling next to her.
“Pandora is an automaton,” Aggie explained. “She’s a husk waiting for instruction. The first robot, you mortals might say.
It is near impossible for humans or gods to see the difference between an automaton and a human. They behave just as humans
do, react in all the same ways, and are even as fallible.”
“I made hundreds of them, but she’s the jewel in the diadem.”
“And if she’s like a robot, that means she could be programmed,” Yumi said in a low voice, understanding tingeing her words.
“Exactly!” Vulcan boomed.
Aglaea sighed. “They’re using her to store the world’s happiness.”
“Has she just been sitting in the storeroom for millennia?” Yumi asked, her voice halting at first but steadier the longer
the gods let her speak. “And if so, how could the other gods bend her to their will? I thought she was curious, not malicious?”
“After she unleashed all the evils upon this world, her purpose was complete, and she was rendered immobile. Zeus hid her
and the other automatons away.” Aggie looked thoughtful. “My bet is that Oizys or Apate have been looking for his storehouse
since he left, and finally found Pandora.”
Vulcan sighed. “And that’s bad.”
“Why didn’t the gods just keep all their items? Why were they locked away?” Aida asked.
“What we make on Earth is specific to Earth. The gods that went with Zeus during the Age of Stars wouldn’t have been able
to take them. They would be useless. But they can’t be left lying around. So Zeus locked everything up for safekeeping until
the day when the gods may decide to return,” Aggie explained.
“As for Pandora, if they found her, all they would need to do is change the meander and give her a new purpose. She was already
unlocked,” Vulcan said. “But I’m sure they have since locked her up tight so other gods can’t access her.”
Aida didn’t understand what he meant about a meander, but in her mind, he was glossing over the most important part. “What
does that have to do with Effie going missing?”
“If they’ve imprisoned Effie somehow, she can’t replenish the world with happiness as they remove it,” Aggie explained, her
voice low and tinged with anger.
“And if they have found the storeroom, they have the means to detain a god. They could do it with any number of items. The
necklace I made for Harmonia. The throne I made for my bitch of a mother.”
“We don’t talk about that,” Aggie told him, her voice sharp.
“We have to talk about it!” Vulcan boomed. “If they have the throne, you can bet that’s how they’ve trapped Euphrosyne.”
A shadow fell across Aggie’s features. “It’s how he forced Hera to give him Aphrodite as a wife,” she explained to the young
women.
“Ahh . . .” Aida breathed, remembering that the god had first been married to Aphrodite. “But that means they also have your
net?”
Vulcan’s features darkened and Aida wished she hadn’t asked the question. “No, it was destroyed when I released them.”
Yumi threw up her hands. “Net? Can someone explain all this to me?”
“Go ahead,” Aggie said, turning on a heel and going toward a door opposite where they had entered the forge. “But I’m not going to listen to this.”
“Don’t try anything funny in here. All it takes is one squawk from Bubo there, and those lasers will be happy to take care
of you.” Vulcan looked toward the corner of the room where a little golden owl with ruby-and-silver eyes sat on the edge of
a cabinet. It twisted its head toward them.
Aggie looked back. “Join us when you are done telling the wretched story.”
Vulcan followed after his wife. When they had gone, Aida explained to Yumi how Vulcan had made the throne in revenge for being
thrown out of Olympus by Hera when she saw that her child was deformed. Years later, Vulcan returned to Olympus as a skilled
blacksmith, bringing a golden throne with him as a gift for his mother. She was so delighted with it that she sat on it immediately
but was trapped by unbreakable chains that wound around her body. Vulcan agreed to release Hera in exchange for being allowed
to marry Aphrodite, and Zeus agreed.
But Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, which Vulcan didn’t take kindly to. So he created a net with fine golden chains that
were so delicate they could not be seen. Then he pretended to leave for a trip. When Aphrodite lay on the bed with Ares, the
chains sprang up and trapped them both. At that moment, Vulcan revealed himself and called the other gods to come and witness