Chapter 18 #3
the humiliation of his unfaithful wife. Vulcan demanded his dowry back, then kicked her out of his bed and his life. It was
said that Aphrodite, out of guilt, later encouraged the relationship between her ex and Aglaea.
“No wonder she didn’t want to talk about it,” Yumi said, shaking her head. She looked around the room. “Aida, what have you
gotten us into?”
“Now you sound like Felix. And let me remind you that you helped convince me it was okay to take this job!”
Yumi hung her head, sheepish. “Fine, I did.” She looked toward the door where Vulcan and his wife had gone. “If you had told me at the beginning that I would end up helping you hack the database of the gods, I would have escorted you directly to McLean myself.”
Aida raised an eyebrow at the reference to the psychiatric hospital in the Boston burbs, known for its famous patients Sylvia
Plath, Anne Sexton, Ray Charles, David Foster Wallace, and others. “We might both need to visit when this is said and done.
Come on.”
The room they entered was vast, with high ceilings adorned with frescoes depicting scenes from ancient myths. Warm golden
light emanated from sconces lining the walls. Intricately woven carpets graced the floor. Marble columns, masterfully carved
with delicate patterns, framed the room, supporting the weight of the vaulted ceiling above. A well-stocked library lined
one wall, containing both scrolls and tomes, complete with a cozy reading nook, plush cushions, and a warm flickering fireplace.
A tablet, likely for reading, lay on a side table. Four golden women—automatons—stood stationed in each corner, immobile,
but Aida was sure they were ready to move at a moment’s notice. In the center of the room, there was a large circular seating
area filled with comfortable oversize chairs and couches, upholstered in the finest fabrics. Aggie and Vulcan were seated
there, locked in a low heated conversation.
Aida cleared her throat. Aggie looked up and waved them over.
“Now then,” Vulcan said, looking at Yumi after she had sat down. “The gods seem to have accessed Pandora and probably all
the other automatons. It will be up to you to find her, but first . . .”
“Wait, why us?” Aida broke in before Vulcan could finish. “If a god took your automaton, can’t you just take it back?”
He grunted, but Aggie’s hand on his arm softened his response.
“I can’t interfere with the machinations of other gods and how they are compelling humans.
In this case, if we are right, the happiness of millions of humans is stored within Pandora.
As I did not initiate it, I cannot meddle because it is an arrangement between another god and humans. ”
Next to Aida, Yumi sighed.
“But there are ways to figure it out. I built a fail-safe—an override, if you will—into the automaton in the event someone
other than me took control of her. You’ll need to find the key to override Pandora’s instructions and subsequently control
all the other automatons. What you need to find is the specific pattern of the meander.”
“What’s a meander?” Yumi asked.
Vulcan explained, his voice steady and clear. “A meander, or Greek key, is a decorative border constructed from a continuous
line, shaped into a repeated motif. It’s a design that dates back to ancient Greece and is often found in architectural friezes
and pottery.”
“Mazes often use a meander pattern. That’s why it’s called a meander . . . You wander within them,” Aggie added.
Vulcan continued. “This particular pattern represents the eternal flow of life, the meandering path of existence. In the context
of Pandora’s key, the meander isn’t just a mere design, but a code. It’s crafted so that each turn and twist of the pattern
aligns with specific mechanisms within the lock. You see, the key and the lock are uniquely intertwined, much like the lines
of the meander—intricate, complex, and deeply interconnected.” He looked at Yumi. “To find the key, you need to break the
code by finding the pattern of the meander.”
“How do I do that?” Yumi asked. “I think she’s in London. The database IP tracks to a location there. And that’s where Aida
always goes for her work.”
“Okay. Then you need to go there. If Pandora is in the city, the meander will imprint itself in some way upon the most important public locations, usually into the architecture. The meanders change based on how the city and its people change if Pandora is in one place for a long period of time—so the key may always be found. There are five meanders.”
“But London is massive. There are countless museums and important buildings. How on earth will we know which ones are the
right ones?”
Vulcan made a movement with his hand, then held out his palm to Yumi. A gold-encircled lens lay in its center. “Like I said,
it will be the most important locations. If you use this, you’ll be able to see the correct meanders and the specific part
of the pattern you’ll need.”
Yumi took the lens and lifted it to her eye.
“You won’t see anything unless it’s the right meander,” he told her. “Once you have identified all five, you must put them
together into the correct pattern to fashion a key.”
“An actual key?” Aida asked.
He shook his head. “No, not now. In the past, yes, I would have said that. But Pandora and the key adapt to the world around
them. If she’s being used as some form of database, then the key is likely digital—code that you would input directly into
her.
“Each meander will be unique in design. The differences might be subtle, but they will be there. Each will have its own structure
and its own number of turns and lines. The complexity of the lines, the length, the direction—these are not arbitrary. They
each represent something, a different numerical or alphanumeric value.” He glanced up at Yumi, ensuring she was following
along. She nodded her understanding.
“When you find these meanders, you’ll need to discern their unique features, and then overlay them, one on top of the other, in a specific order, based on the importance of the locations where you found the meander.
” He sat back and pointed at the lens in Yumi’s hand.
“That lens is a tool but also a guide. With it, you’ll be able to see the meanders and their potential combinations.
And when you look at the combined design through the lens, you’ll see something new.
Think of it like a QR code of sorts. The overlay creates a new unique pattern, which can be converted into a digital meander.
This will be the key. Based on how my automatons have adapted—” he waved his hand around the room at the golden beings “—Pandora will have a way to scan this key from your mobile device.”
“Wait, we can’t do this remotely?” Yumi asked, horror evident in her voice.
“Unfortunately, no. You’ll need to see the meanders in person.”
“And she’ll have to give you permission,” Aggie added.
Vulcan nodded sagely. “That’s right. She’ll have to agree to it.”
Aida gaped. “I don’t understand—are you saying that Pandora was willing to house the world’s happiness? That she took on the
information willingly?”
“Yes. My guess is that Apate deceived her in some way and convinced her to take on such a task. But yes, that’s exactly what
happened. She agreed. I’m the only one that can command her at will. And of all my automatons, Pandora is the only one with
free will to choose.”
Aida didn’t like where this was going. “Can’t you just go to Oizys or Apate and ask them about taking the contents of Zeus’s
storeroom? Isn’t that between the gods?”
“Yes, I could. And after we settle the matter of Pandora, there will be no limit to the wrath I will bestow upon them. But
if I went to them now, they could do too many things with the contents of Pandora—and I would be powerless to stop them.”
Aggie broke in. “They could move Pandora and better obscure her location. Or worse, convince her to destroy the happiness
somehow, rendering it impossible to restore. And while they can’t kill her, they could torture Effie, and break down her will,
which would further worsen the situation for mortals. No, we can’t risk interfering.”
Aida frowned, her brow knitting as she glanced between them. “But wait, if these gods are so nefarious, why store all this happiness in Pandora at all? Why not just destroy it to begin with?”
Vulcan exhaled, slow and thoughtful, his eyes darkening. “Destruction is simple. It’s final. But these gods prefer the art
of torment. Destruction doesn’t offer control, and it doesn’t draw out suffering.”
“Does that mean it’s not enough to erase joy?” Aida asked.
“Exactly,” Vulcan replied. “By locking happiness inside Pandora, they gain leverage. It’s not about the absence of joy—it’s
about holding it hostage, knowing that the world will feel its loss every day. In their eyes, that constant ache is far more
exquisite than outright obliteration.”
“This is all a game to them. It’s about watching us suffer,” Yumi murmured.
Vulcan gave a grim nod. “They don’t just want to win; they want to savor every moment of the struggle. And that’s why finding
Pandora isn’t just about restoring happiness. It’s about breaking their hold on the world. These are gods who delight in the
misery and manipulation of others. You have to find Pandora.”
Aida stood. While Sophie’s spell allowed her to be among the gods without fear, it didn’t prevent her from feeling the vast
emotions related to her own life and work. “Who are we to go up against gods?” She began to pace. “I didn’t take this job so I could get killed! This is not what I signed up for.”
“You don’t have many options,” Aggie said gently.
“What do you mean?” It was Yumi who asked the question.
Aggie gave Yumi a sympathetic look. “Well, you have better options. You could hop a plane and be long gone from here. But MODA will find a way to kill your friend if she
attempts to resign.”
“Then I’ll just keep working for them. I’ll do my job.”