Percy really should have known, he's been expecting Annabeth to call on Luke or someone from the camp that had died. But, as Percy should have known, she called on Albert Einstein. Now, he knew it sounded super crazy, the guy was world famous… still! But, it did make a bit of sense.
According to Nico Einstein had entered Elysium the moment he died, not even a judgement. Apparently Einstein hadn't even been a son of Athena, just a regular, super smart mortal.
Annabeth sat in an armchair her back straight like a wooden plank, but her feet kept tapping the floor or bouncing on the soles. Percy smiled at her nerves, then looked out the window, still puzzled by who he wanted to see. He knew he could just pass over the opportunity, but it wasn't very day you got to have a conversation with the dead. You could do some weird ritual Nico once had done to call on a spirit, but the presence would be weak, whereas here, in the underworld, they thrived… almost as much as humans did. (That's if you didn't count the Fields of Asphodel, where they just… floated for eternity)
He stared out the window, not really seeing anything. A servant entered the room and spoke in a chattering voice, Nico entered just behind the ghost and translated, telling Annabeth that it was time. The servant turned and Annabeth followed it nervously into another room, she looked back at Percy just before she passed through the door and he gave her an encouraging thumbs-up, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Percy?" Nico said, which made Percy jump, unaware Nico had still been in the room. "You have any idea who you're summoning?"
Percy scratched the back of his neck, then smiled weakly. "Do you know if Charles Beckendorf chose re-incarnation?" He asked slowly.
Nico shook his head. "Hmm, I know he was thinking about it, but I'm not sure if he did it yet. Should I go check?" Percy nodded gratefully.
"Yeah. Thanks Nico." Percy turned back to the window and continued to stare snippets of Annabeth's conversation in the room next door reached him.
"Do you ever do judgement for the dead?" She asked.
A man answered her in a German accent. "Sometimes, but mostly my work keeps me busy." He paused, then continued. "I still do a lot of solving and working. Most of it is very advanced and stays here with me, but sometimes servant's will come and fetch it then take it to the living world where they leave it to be discovered. Obviously not under my name. Almost all of my intelligence stayed with me when I died. I've seen how souls come here and then forget who they are. Because of this the gods sometimes call on me. It's interesting how I, just a regular mortal, should be consulted by the Greek gods."
There was a pause in the conversation then Annabeth asked a complicated question to do with Maths and Percy zoned out.
"He's here." Nico announced. Percy was sitting in a comfortable armchair, but stood up and nodded towards Nico. Nico stepped aside and behind him came a smoky figure. The ghost stepped through or more… floated through the door and came to a stop by Nico. It whispered something to Nico who nodded then stepped out, closing the door behind him. Percy's heart rate seemed to pick up and his throat constricted but he managed to choke out. "Hey."
He cursed himself, after everything that had happened and all he could manage was Hey.
The ghost turned towards his and seemed to solidify a fraction.
"Percy." Beckendorf said and Percy could see a smile spread across his face. He strode over almost as if to hug Percy, then seemed to think better of it and sat down in the chair across from Percy's. Percy sat down too, and laughed to himself.
"I thought this was a good idea, you know. Now I'm not too sure."
"Well, that's just like you then." Beckendorf chuckled. "You know, Percy. You didn't need to be sad for me. When I was busy rigging up that blast, I thought to myself: If this is the way I die, it'll be a good way. And then it was the way I died. And when I found myself in the line to board Charon's boat I was actually happy, knowing I'd made a difference. I was a bit sad when I thought of Selena, you know, having to wait for her, but then she came to me a bit sooner, but I was happy. We've actually been thinking about re-incarnation. Trying for the Isles of the Blessed. Thinking if we found eachother in one life, we'll find eachother again in another. But, hey, riht now we're okay. Happy." He stopped, smiling to himself, then took a breath and continued. "I hear you've got that new Hepheastus kid… uh what's his name?"
"Leo." Percy said, then smiled, remembering his friend. "Yeah, but he's nothing like you."
Beckendorf laughed and lent forward on his ghostly knees as Percy told him about his adventures.