Your browser does not seem to support JavaScript. As a result, your viewing experience will be diminished, and you have been placed in read-only mode.
Please download a browser that supports JavaScript, or enable it if it's disabled (i.e. NoScript).
It was deep inside an asteroid our hero Odysseus sat, glum and quiet. "I've almost forgotten how long I've been here," he sighed. "But Ithaca is somewhere out there. And I swear I will return." Quiet feet padded into the room. "Will you eat something, my love?" the goddess Calypso asked him, a tray in her hands. Odysseus gratefully took a fruit. "Growing fruit as this in the depths in space...I have subjects at home in Ithaca who would marvel at such magic." "Your people have conquered the mists of hyperspace, love," Calypso smiled. "You know the saying, Odysseus - 'any technology sufficiently advanced is indistiguishable from magic.' It was even one of your own philosophers." Odysseus leaned back on the soft couch, and looked out the viewport. "The stars are beautiful tonight, aren't they?" he sighed. "And you miss them still," Calypso said, touching his arm.
----------------------------
Aboard the vessel Olympus Mons
"Welcome, Hermes," the serving maiden said aboard the giant planet/ship. "Come, sit, and feast with your brothers and sisters." Hermes nodded at her briefly, and went into the feast hall. "Hail, Hermes," the elderly bearded man called from the head of the table. He flicked a few crumbs off his uniform. "How went your mission?" "Hail, Father Zeus," Hermes replied, bowing. "Badly, I fear. Agistheus and Clymenestra are dead." "Orestes?" Zeus asked. "The same." Zeus rolled his eyes. "I told that idiot Agistheus that killing Agamemnon and bonking his wife was a bad idea, but no, would he listen?" "I was the messenger," Hermes replied. "They are but men. And women, of course." "And now Agamemnon's son Orestes has committed matricide," Zeus commented. "It serves Agistheus right," a middle-aged, precise woman stated. She sipped from a goblet. "He got what was coming to him. But he isn't why I called this meeting." "True, Athena. But the law is the law." Zeus replied. "But tell us, what is this 'special agenda' you have for us today?" "Odysseus," Athena replied. "The war with Troy has been over for years, and of all the men who's feet were not stilled by spear, sword, or arrow, he alone has not returned. And yet he misses his land - for though Ithaca is a small land, it is still his home. And yet I am informed that he is on Calypso's asteroid, alone without a ship or crew. Do we gods like him so little that he must never see Ithaca again? Has he pleased you, Zeus, so badly that he cannot go home?" Zeus blinked. "My dear Athena, you of all goddesses should know that among men, none is more generous in sacrifice and deed than Odysseus. Heck, he's great! Smartest guy I know. But he killed Polyphemus One-Eye. And Poseidon's not happy about that. At all." Hades snorted. "A disagreeable fellow," he commented in his deep voice. "I tell you, the trouble with some people is that if they're not alive, they're dead. King of the underworld is a Hellish job sometimes, and Polyphemus isn't making it any easier." Zeus shrugged. "Be that as it may, once upon a time, Poseidon bonked a nymph, and she gave birth to that brat Polyphemus. Odysseus killed that son on his way home from Troy, and now Poseidon's pissed." "Where is Poseidon, anyway?" Apollo asked, spinning a golden orb on his finger. Athena snorted. "Off on some backworld, no doubt. He loves simple, pre-spacefaring civilizations. Treat him like a god." Quiet chuckles echoed around the table at the old joke. "Well, we all have our secret vices," Zeus smiled. Knowing eyes smiled back. Zeus was indeed well known for "visiting" beautiful women on many a planet or asteroid. "Seriously, though," Zeus continued. "Let's put our heads together, see what we can think of. IF we make Neptune happy, maybe he'll let Odysseus go home. Fair?" "Fair," Athena replied. "As a start, I suggest sending Hermes to Calypso's asteroid. The message: we have agreed that Odysseus goes home. Would you take that message, Hermes?" she asked. "Gladly," Hermes said, sipping his drink. "And I will go to Ithaca," Minerva said. "Odysseus has a son, and I wish to see what he's made of...and to tell him his father's coming home."
End of Part 1
The Odyssey was written (allegedly) by the same Homer who wrote the Illiad - a blind poet. Go figure. I can't read Greek, so I've relied on (url="http://"http://www.uoregon.edu/~joelja/odyssey.html")a translation(/url) from the University of Oregon. Granted, I've taken a few liberties, but that's artistic license for you.
(This message has been edited by ElGuapo7 (edited 08-08-2003).)
(This message has been edited by ElGuapo7 (edited 09-02-2003).)
Kinda odd, but that isn't a bad thing.
My only problem with this, aside from it's short length, is the odd language coming from the gods. They started off very serious, but kept shifting between "traditional" Greek god-speak to smartass comments.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")EVula,(/url) your friendly (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")self-promoting(/url) EV & EVO Boards/Addon/Newswire/Chronicles moderator (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")evula.com(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.evula.net/")evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/")evula.org(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")ev-nova.net(/url) :: (url="http://"http://forums.evula.com/")Lair Forums(/url) (url="http://"http://pftn.evula.net")pftn(/url) | (url="http://"http://dreamwave.evula.net")dreamwave(/url) | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net")davidarthur(/url) | (url="http://"http://ucplugs.evula.net")ucplugs(/url) | (url="http://"http://jager.evula.net")jager(/url) | (url="http://"http://stark.evula.net")stark(/url)
(quote)Originally posted by EVula: **Kinda odd, but that isn't a bad thing.;)
Mostly I kept this first bit short to gauge the reaction. A test bit - I've never tried anything like this before, and I'm still not sure how good it is.
The idea being, behind the scenes, the gods are informal. In front of men, they are more formal.
This story is a sort of experiment...triggered by that first "Odyssey" story with the Bush administration. Anyway, I've never done a "modernization" like this before...dunno how it'll turn out.
One of the penalties of experimentation, I suppose...sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
Cheers, Guapo
------------------ "Quote it, paraphrase it, soak it in peanut oil and set it on fire. I don't mind in the least." - forge Founding Member of WORRPBOITAMPSH (url="http://"http://guapohq.jonpearse.net")GuapoHQ - for all your Guapo needs(/url) (url="http://"http://insanekp.tripod.com")The Insane Klown Posse Website!!!(/url)
(This message has been edited by ElGuapo7 (edited 09-02-2003).) **
Quote
Zeus rolled his eyes. "I told that idiot Agistheus that killing Agamemnon and bonking his wife was a bad idea, but no, would he listen?
Artistic license my ass. This same story had been tried earlier without success, but you seemed to have done a better, if wackier, job.
P.S. Everyone knows that, "boinking," not, "bonking," was more appropriate in that sentence.
------------------ Man have pity on man
Well, when you think about it, the plot should be quite interesting with all the tech stuff of the future.
One thing I don't get: Why do you keep switching the names between their Greek and Roman names? (e.g. Athena and Minerva, Poseidon and Neptune, etc. etc.)
Otherwise, it's alright. But definitely not your best work!
------------------ Ie amh thuh ilitterit rietur.
Originally posted by Spaceiscold: ** Why do you keep switching the names between their Greek and Roman names? (e.g. Athena and Minerva, Poseidon and Neptune, etc. etc.)
**
Where did I do that? (The switching...)
Anyway, I know it's not my best. You're quite right. I guess I'll have to make up for it with another "Yesterday's Frontier" story....
I guess in his quest for universal domination, EVula has forgotten us.
(quote)Originally posted by Jas86: **I guess in his quest for universal domination, EVula has forgotten us.
Guapo
------------------ "Quote it, paraphrase it, soak it in peanut oil and set it on fire. I don't mind in the least." - forge Founding Member of WORRPBOITAMPSH (url="http://"http://guapohq.jonpearse.net")GuapoHQ - for all your Guapo needs(/url) (url="http://"http://insanekp.tripod.com")The Insane Klown Posse Website!!!(/url) **
Story's up, as well as an explination. I might be switching back to a normal schedule, since I am running rather short on new stories.
------------------ (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")EVula,(/url)** your friendly (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")self-promoting(/url) EV & EVO Boards/Addon/Newswire/Chronicles moderator (url="http://"http://www.evula.com/")evula.com(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.evula.net/")evula.net(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.evula.org/")evula.org(/url) | (url="http://"http://www.ev-nova.net/")ev-nova.net(/url) :: (url="http://"http://forums.evula.com/")Lair Forums(/url) (url="http://"http://pftn.evula.net")pftn(/url) | (url="http://"http://dreamwave.evula.net")dreamwave(/url) | (url="http://"http://davidarthur.evula.net")davidarthur(/url) | (url="http://"http://ucplugs.evula.net")ucplugs(/url) | (url="http://"http://jager.evula.net")jager(/url) | (url="http://"http://stark.evula.net")stark(/url)
I'll try to get all of Chapter 1 done for you. But I can't make any promises. (That I will inevitably break.)
Heya Guapo- interesting take on the Odyssey.
I'm a really big fan of Greek mythology, so forgive me if I get a bit (over)zealous, ok? (By the way, I think it's spelled Clytemnestra and Aegisthus)
Although definitely more readable that a the previous attempt at a space-age Oddysey, it this story doesn't seem to fit well in its new sci-fi trappings. Imho, I don't think this telling of Odysseus' tale doesn't take advantage of its setting- aside from the names, there is scant "relevant" reference to space and technology. In other words, I mean that the references to space and technology seem superfluous to this story- why not just keep it in ancient Greece?
This comment is entirely my opinion- I just had some difficulties with the concept that gods talk so... informally. Zeus being so fratboy-ish, and Athena, while her description is accurate, saying "he got what was coming to him" seems, well, inelegant... I realize this was your intention, but since we never see the gods being formal in this piece, the impression is that the gods are always informal. But I guess that's a matter of artistic license.
Spaceiscold noted that Greek and Roman names were intermixed, notably in the last few paragraphs: Athena/Minerva, Poseidon/Neptune.
Points for effort, ElGuapo! Actually, if no one minds, I would like to take a stab at this EV/Odyssey beast. I kind of feel, well, irrelevant so long as I just critique on the stories here without submitting my own for similar commenting. But I don't want to beat a dead (Trojan) horse- if this style of story has old in its time on the Chronicles, I can find another topic to write about.
(quote)Originally posted by Astyanax: **Heya Guapo- interesting take on the Odyssey.
I'm a really big fan of Greek mythology, so forgive me if I get a bit (over)zealous, ok? (By the way, I think it's spelled Clytemnestra and Aegisthus) Sure, a little egg on your face, but what the hell.