"I am Kore of the Fourth Generation, guardian of the harvest, Great Granddaughter of the Heavens and Earth. I bid you Gaia, to open at my command." I stomped my foot and the land split below me. I hopped into my chariot and flew right into the underworld.

Hades was not the only god who could part the earth with smoke and loud noises.

My horses had barely touched the banks of the Styx when the aforementioned god came storming over to greet me personally, generous host he was.

"What! Is! This!" he roared. The leg-length feathers that constituted his pathetic excuse for clothing quivered dangerously. For someone who was also known as the "Unseen One," he was providing much to see. The brown and black plumage adorned the headdress that was too big for his swelled head and the matching loincloth that was too small for his puny manhood. Thin chains of gold snaked around his limbs, neck, and chest. I could have easily mistaken him for a plucked bird in captivity.

A small, fluffy dog with three heads and a dragon's tail pranced around its master's heels and yapped away. I rubbed my ears. Such dogs were bad enough with just one head. I preferred pigs, myself. I found them more intelligent than some gods with whom I was on very good terms. Not to mention politer.

"I didn't come inquire about your health, so I'll be on my way." I began to walk towards Charon's boat, ignoring the growling dog and the fuming god. Fur and feathers, they weren't a bad match. And then, the little beast sank its teeth into my ankle! I screamed and kicked it off.

"Good boy, Cerberus," the big beast laughed. "Such a good guard dog, yes you are." He reached back and pulled out a treat from—I averted my eyes just in time.

Muttering darkly, I limped away while present company was still preoccupied.

"Wait!" Hades said angrily. "I forbid you to go any further-"

Without even looking back, I raised a hand and made vines burst from the earth and wrap themselves around the shocked god. It was very rude to use magic against another immortal, but I did not care. It would take him a while to get out of the bind, I doubted he knew how to handle plants. His expertise was in dead people, which explained his constant crankiness.

"Do not let her pass!" he howled. Charon took one look at his master, then the handful of coins in my hand, and let me in his boat. As we rowed away, I made an insulting gesture at the barking monster dog and the pathetic king of the underworld. Mother would have been appalled to see her darling Ko-ko act in such a manner.

#

As I rushed to the Pool of Memory, I had to zigzag around the many pots of molten bronze that were sitting on the ground. In the farthest corner of the underworld, I could make out the top of a sun. It cast a dim light across the Meadows and made the rock ceiling as red as the twilight. The palace was just a dark shape in the distance.

I recognized my destination by all the nymphs that were drinking from it. There was also a sign that read "Mnemosyne, Pool of Memory. NOT Lethe, Pool of Forgetfulness!"

I conjured a fishing pole, pricked my finger on the hook, and cast the line into the waters. I waited patiently until I felt an unmistakable tug. When I wound in the line, a silver fish was thrashing on the end. I removed the hook and held the fish up to my face.

"Put me back in the water!" it gasped.

"Only if you will show me my mother's memories. The ones that involve Poseidon, and her reason for giving up her atomos research."

"Fine," came the sullen reply.

I lowered the fish back into the pool but gripped its tail so it could not escape. The creature turned on its side and I leaned closer.

"For the best results, you'll want to stick head underwater. Otherwise you won't get the audio," the fish told me.

Indeed, I could hear tiny, unintelligible noises emanating from its fins, but I did not want to get wet. I settled for watching the small but clear pictures that appeared on the surface of the fish's mirror-like scales.

First, there was a herd of horses in a green pasture that I knew I must have seen many times before. They were all fairly ordinary, except for one mare that stood out from the rest because her mane shined like dull gold. When a fine stallion trotted into view, she neighed and began to race away. The stallion chased after her, apparently determined to mate. I admired the pair for their flying tails, smooth muscles, and gleaming coats that would have made them desirable at the front of any chariot. The stallion finally managed to find fruit in his pursuit, although the mare reared and bucked with agitation.

Then the vision suddenly vanished and the fish's scales were plain silver once more.

"You silly fool!" I cried. "I wanted you to show you me my mother!"

The fish tried to wrench away but I held fast on its tail. "The mare was your mother!" it squeaked. "The stallion was Poseidon!"

I fell into the water.

The weight of my robes dragged me deeper into the pool, in which there were hundreds of other mirror-like fish like the one I had caught. As they swam around me, I could see many different scenes flashing on their scales, presumably all the memories that ever existed in the world. I was not accustomed to breathing water, it was a refreshing sensation.

I felt a nibble on my ankle and saw that a fish was sucking at the drops of ichor that oozed from the spot where Cerberus had bitten me. Several other fish began to swarm around my ankle as well, and it began to bleed more than ever.

I stared, fascinated and mortified, as the scales of all the fish that drank my blood shimmered around me, providing many visions at once, most of them from my childhood. There was me trying to find a golden bracelet that had been "borrowed" by Hermes, me meeting Zeus for the first time, a group of Oceanids teaching me how to say bad words in foreign languages…

I gasped when I saw the all too familiar image of a weeping nymph. Her name was Io. "You have his eyes," she told a younger version of me. "I can no longer look at you. You have the eyes of the god who has violated me. When I see you, I see him."

I turned my head away so I would not have to watch my childhood self trying to burn out my eyes so Io would be my friend again.

"No," I insisted. "Show me the rest of my mother's distressing tale."

The fish obliged. Mother was back in human form, mustering what dignity she had left. She could find no sympathizers, however. Aphrodite simply could not understand why she had have chosen to lie with Poseidon in the first place. Athena had successfully fought of Hephaestus' unwanted advances and thought Mother could have easily done the same. Hera was still angry at my mother for having lain willingly with Zeus.

"But," Mother wept to Cyane, one of her favorite nymph attendants. "When Hera was taken by Zeus, she became the queen of the gods, even though she is only a queen in name. I wish I had been Poseidon's first conquest, but I am nothing."

Mother retreated into a cave and wore only black. She let the crops die and entrusted my care in the hands of the Oceanids. I had been a small child then, and preoccupied only with my immediate surroundings.

To my great surprise and mild annoyance, it was Hades who finally offered my mother comfort and suggested that she wash away her anger in the Laidon River. He even gave her his seat on Olympus so she could forever goad Poseidon with her defiant presence.

I watched, repulsed, as my mother buried her face into Hades' shoulder. "The Laidon washed away my anger, but not my sorrow and humiliation," she sobbed.

"Why would Hades help her?" I blurted.

A new vision materialized. Hades, Mother, Hestia, and Hera were completely naked and huddled inside a wet, reddish sack. I deduced that they must be inside of my grandfather Cronus' stomach. Imprisoned together for many years, they bickered and fought but also developed a special bond that they would not share with any of their other siblings. When Poseidon was born, his mother Rhea claimed that she had given birth to a foal, which Cronus swallowed instead of the actual infant. When Zeus came into being, his mother tricked her husband into accepting a rock swaddled in blankets.

With more images, the fish illustrated how Zeus and Poseidon were always suspicious and jealous of the attachment between their older siblings.

The scene switched to that of Hera confronting my mother in a room that looked like it belonged on Olympus. "Is it true?" Hera demanded. "Is it true that you are carrying the child of my husband?"

Mother blanched and denied it, but Hera assured her that she bore no grudge, they were sisters.

Mother looked relieved. "Forgive me." She fell to her knees held out her arms in supplication. "Forgive me, dear Sister, his charm was too great, I could not resist him…"

Hera recoiled. "His charm?" she whispered incredulously. "I had no reason to believe that he had used anything more than his strength against you. I never thought that my own sister... After all that we have been through…"

Mother's lips formed an "o" as she realized that she had spoken rashly. "You do not even love him!" she cried. "You wear those feathers on your bosom, to show that you struggled against him, to prove how much you hate him..."

I thought about what this meant. I knew that Zeus had taken the form of a beautiful bird to entice and capture Hera when she had resisted his prior advances. She must have pulled out those feathers in her fight to throw him off.

Unknown to either of them, Zeus was listening behind the door with an expression of grim satisfaction. It was fairly obvious that he had deliberately seduced my mother to drive a rift between her and Hera.

The fish became blurry again and showed Hades sitting on his throne. He appeared to be presiding over a judgment. I knew that Rhatha, a and Minos always confided in him before laying down the ultimate decision.

His voice echoed in the water as the image warped once again to that of him speaking to my mother. "I have been entrusted with an eye opening task," he said dully. "I see what no one else sees. Upon death, all souls come to me. When I oversee their final judgment, I see all that they have done, have felt. There is no rage like that of a father who never had the chance to give his daughter away. There is incomparable pain to that of a maiden's distress when she is bound to the man who has violated her. I see the suffering of all, I understand humans in a way that no one else probably never shall."

"And so you choose to not add to this suffering. You are no longer a mystery to me." Mother looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Her girly vulnerability made me want to gag.

"You need someone to confide in. Someone who can understand what you go through. Someone to share your burden, you need a special companion," she insisted.

Mother was in love with him! However, Hades refused to take her bait. Her conniving thoughts were as clear to me as if she were speaking them aloud. If I cannot have him, then my daughter shall, she told herself.

I shuddered.

He clearly wants a maiden unsoiled. She brought a hand to her stomach, which was already bulging with a brother or sister I had never met.

That explained why she had named me "Kore." It meant, "The Maiden." I decided that if I ever had children, I would be more creative in naming them. It would probably be easier to just keep using birth control, not that I had needed it for the past fifty years.
"What happened to the child?" I asked nervously. "The one born of Poseidon's rage and my mother's defiance?"

A talking horse appeared. Oh, he was so beautiful! Mother brought him carrots, sugar, and nuzzled his nose. I raised a hand as if I could touch him too, but I only felt the slimy skin of a blood sucking fish.

I wanted to see more of him, but was interrupted by a Nereid. I was so engrossed in the memories that I had failed to notice that I was at the floor of the pool. Although my heels and arms were bobbing up and down, the nymph seemed comfortably grounded as if she was above water. I recognized her as Mnemosyne, the guardian of the body of water that was named for her.

"Sorry, the master sent me down here to get you," she said. "There are things he doesn't want you to see, and if you keep feeding the fish, they'll suck you dry."

I snatched my foot away, but the creatures kept drinking greedily. I swam to the surface, with an entourage of glinting fish and a nymph.

When I broke the surface, I heavily pulled myself out of the water. Mneomsyne moved as if she were perfectly dry, she did not seem bothered by the weight of her own soaking robes. Hades was waiting at the bank, glowering at me. If his fury could have emanated as heat, he would have evaporated the entire pool. I walked straight past him and avoided his eyes.

#

I wanted to rush to Olympus immediately, but my unexpected presence would undoubtedly call attention to my conspiring with Hera. Neither of us was known for traveling great distances just to converse about frivolities, so I waited till the next ceremonial matter to speak with her. When I requested a private audience, she led me into one of the hidden side rooms. An enchanted mirror hung on the wall. Instead of my reflection, it showed the affairs of the main chamber as if it were a window. During the Civil War, these spaces had been used to secretly spy on interrogations or a prisoners.

"I have followed your advice, I have seen all," I blurted. "My mother's plight does indeed require a remedy, but you are too obsessed with punishing the victims of your husband's unwanted affections."

Hera permitted herself a tinkling laugh. "Do you expect me to direct my anger at Zeus himself? My husband? The king of the gods? When you are also a wife, you will find that the only way to inhibit your husband's transgressions is to punish his accomplices. I am the goddess of marriage, I must protect it somehow."

I questioned the matter no more. Besides, there were other important issues that demanded my attention.

It was my greatest desire to inflict immediate and immense physical pain upon Poseidon, but my justice would have to be more pervasive and effective. He was a powerful king, I was just one of Zeus' many daughters. I was easily replaceable. Atomos had been my mother's downfall, it would also have to be the means of her vengeance. My strength was Poseidon's greatest fear and ignorance, atomos.

#

"Ever since I spilled Rouge Bovigne on my sandals, the mortals can't stop staring at them," Hermes told me. He imitated their primitive speech. "Nice shooze! Ah lahk doze red winged shooze! What's up with doze red winged shooze!"

I laughed and shook my head as I flipped through my pile of mail, hoping for something more interesting than a request for donations or coupons for chariot maintenance. Finally, I found a papyrus scroll that looked very official. It read:

Dear Friend,

You are hereby invited to the Conference on the Implementation of the Treaty of Ndkuyleial to meet with your Roman counterparts, who have laid claim on Greece as well as a political boundary that the diviners call "Rome." Attendance is mandatory. Please report to Mt. Doycial no later than 4937, Mesopotamian Standard Time. A map and directions can be found on the attached scroll. We look forward to seeing you there.

What on Gaia was the treaty of N-whatever? Zeus signed so many, pretentious thing he was. I went to the Olympian library to look it up but the tablet was checked out. Fortunately, I spied a group of five other gods clutching similar invitations and huddled over a tablet. I leaned across the table and read the article upside down.

Treaty of Ndkuyleial (pronounced nuh dek AY ell)

During the earlier times when the world was younger, there was ample space and resources for each pantheon to create its own population of human worshippers. However, the humans bred and exploited the earth at an unanticipated pace. The competition over resources and the sheer size of the human populations led to quarrel. Whenever humans of different group identities fought amongst themselves, their divine guardians also became insulted on their behalf, leading to a vicious cycle of divine and mortal conflict. It was soon decided that no god would be permitted to fashion any new humans from raw materials. However, this led to the issue of who would worship the newer pantheons that were bound to come into existence after the enactment of this treaty.

To prevent conflict and violent quarrel, all the gods of the civilized world agreed to divide the mortal populations into geopolitical units and take turns at governing them. It was at this conference that the present pantheons established a standard timeline which would be used to determine the time slots for various jurisdictions. The most comprehensive agreement is the one pertaining to the Spoiled Banana.1The Sumerian pantheon is currently governing the mortals, then they will peacefully hand over power to the Babylonian gods. The Assyrians, Hittites, and Zoraster will follow respectively. In the case of Greece, the Olympians ousted their predecessors, the Titans, in a bloody civil war. To this day, the Olympians enjoy exclusive control over Greece.

The next tablet had a color coded map of the world that showed the spheres of influence and the dates of when each new pantheon would assume power.

#

Zeus and Jupiter, the king of the self proclaimed "Roman" gods, bowed and smiled for the artists who painted their portraits. Today was a significant historical event, proof that the Greek gods were willing to cooperate with the rest of the world instead of fighting to defend its monopoly on worshippers. The global press was going crazy over it.

"In a surprising show of diplomacy, Zeus, the king of the Greek gods, agreed to eventually assimilate duties with the Roman gods and split the sacrifices evenly once the entity of 'Rome' comes into being," dictated one reporter. Her scribe scratched away at a clay tablet.

Hades, the pompous fool, was more than happy to provide an interview. "You see, everyone assumed that we Greeks were violent and unwilling to share power because we overthrow the Titans. This is untrue. We fought a civil war against the Titans because they were unwilling to coexist with us. The Olympians prefer diplomacy."

Ares looked like he disagreed, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He shared a meaningful look with his Roman match, Mars. I supposed the two war gods would have preferred to let the winner take all.

I watched disapprovingly as Mother conversed with her new partner Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain. I thought the agreement was well meant, but difficult to execute. The arrangement completely undermined mortal agency and dictated a very large aspects of their lives. As of now, Greek humans were still primitive and could not think for themselves, but surely that would change soon. The successful transition to a joint rule with the Romans depended on the stunted evolution of human beings.

I pulled Athena aside and voiced my concerns on this matter, but she only chastised me.

"This is why you must not allow the mortals to have atomos," she whispered. Her eyes darted nervously from side to side. "If divine authority is diminished, the mortals will not transition to the new gods as planned."

"Even without atomos, mortals will develop cognitively and make decisions for themselves. It is an inevitable process," I argued.

"This treaty is meant to prevent a world war, you must not do anything that could upset the balance of power," she hissed.

"This agreement is pointless!" I lowered my voice when she hastily shushed me. "As long as there is an underprivileged mass to fight and an ambitious elite to send them fighting, there will always be war. If the mortals choose of their own accord to worship a different pantheon, why can't we just accept it peacefully?"

Athena simply refused to see my point. She may have been the goddess of wisdom, but she was ever her father's daughter.

#

To Kore, friend, thinker, and dreamer,

As long as you shall seriously pursue the magic of atomos, I bid you to wear this ring, which bears a stone fashioned from the rock to which I shall be chained for all eternity. It will serve as a reminder of what fate you may suffer should you continue your noble task. If it is your desire to enlighten the mortals, you must know that it may come at great cost, and you may not necessarily succeed. If this ring represents Zeus' anger when I gave fire to humans, my own boulder will be comparable to his wrath should you give them atomos.

With the utmost sincerity and concern,

Prometheus

I unwrapped the enclosed velvet bundle and a ring fell out onto my palm. It consisted of an iron circle with a polished gray rock welded on the outer ring. I slipped it on and shivered when I realized how cold and heavy it was. It was my own miniature manacle, symbolic of Prometheus' burden. I did not like the way it felt against my skin, but I would wear it as a reminder. Atomos was a serious issue, whether I liked it or not.

#

"Humans are my children," he sighed. "I wanted them to be more like their creator. If only I could have made them long lived, perhaps they would have had more regard for the gifts we give them."

I nervously twisted the iron ring on my finger. "Do you ever have any regrets?" I asked. "Was there ever a time when you wished you had not given the humans fire?"

I'm scared, I admitted.

But she knows that once she succedds completely, no god can take the gift back.

If you are going to do something, must do it for selflessness, not glory. Glory will not lessen your pain when an eagle is pecking out your ilver. But generousity will.

"But how do I know I do not have ulterior motives. Who does not wish for fame and glory?"

"It would have been easier for you to invent a new crop."

Prometheus absentmindedly stroked the terrible scar on his side. It was raised and bumpy, the only mar on otherwise perfect flesh. I hated to look at it, but it was revoltingly fascinating. "It is not the most enjoyable pastime to have an eagle peck out your liver," he admitted. "But it is a small price to pay for the welfare of humankind." He leaned his head against his boulder and sighed.

"Do you think atomos would promote human welfare?"

"If humans do not abuse it."

"How can I ensure that they won't?"

"You can't."

#

The dig site at the Indus Valley was deserted, for it was pouring rain. Nonetheless, I toiled in the mud, looking for any artifacts that would shed more light on the role of atomos in Indus society. Yu Hwang Da Di held a gigantic umbrella over my head as I worked. I kept telling him to go back to his inn, but he insisted on staying.

"You Greeks are spoiled with sunny weather and clear skies," he scolded. "You are not physically eligible to withstand this terrible rain."

As usual, my ever present companion, the security guard, was standing in a distance, staring at me as if I was about to steal a juicy earthworm. I wanted to do something to ruffle his feathers, but I figured he was already as peeved as only a wet bird could be.

"The inns here are so stupid!" Yu complained. "They all have beds that are elevated from the floor! They are narrow too. Last night, when I was having sex, I fell off and hit my head! Next time I am pushing two beds together."

"I have never fallen off the bed during copulation," I remarked.

"That is because you never move."

This was true. Also, I had had very few opportunities to fall off in such a manner. I often longed to have the curly brown hair of Apollo, or the lovely gray eyes of Athena. Straight blond hair and blue eyes were considered boring, characteristic of most members of the Greek pantheon.

"Your looks are fine," Yu remarked, as if reading my thoughts. "No matter how beautiful you are, no one will bed you if you tell them you want to rub them over with sweet and sour sauce."

I sighed. At the tender, inexperienced age of 400, I had misinterpreted Aphrodite's advice on erotic foods. At the time, I had not seen much of a difference between "sweet" and "sweet and sour." "I was inebriated when I uttered those words," I lied.

"Were you also inebriated when you said you wanted to spread your disease?"

I had initially wanted to say legs, not disease, but had felt that the former would come off as unattractively aggressive. Ironically enough, I was now in very little danger of catching any form of venereal infection. It was no wonder I had so much time to focus on research. If I were to ever reclaim my status as a maiden, I would hardly have anything to reclaim.

#

300 celibate years later…

I marked the final sheet of my notes with an "861,945" in the corner. Page 861,945 contained the hypothetical means of performing a feat that I still could not accomplish. Across the top I had carefully printed, "On How to Divide the Indivisible."

(chapter break)

As an earthen goddess, I felt that I had natural allies in the nymphs, the long lived friends of the gods and often the victims of their undesired affections. I also summoned the rest of Gaia's deities, for I thought they may lend me a sympathetic ear.

"My knowledge on atomos is mostly theoretical," I admitted. "Atomos is actually resistant to any divine manipulation. However, it is not an impossible task to command the atomos as one would command the elements." To demonstrate, I raised my palms and conjured handfuls of 11-3alpha and 17-3alpha each. When I put my hands together, white grains fell from between them.

Everyone eyed the pile of salt that was now lying on the grass.

"Is this all that you can create with atomos?" the Northern Wind asked. "A white crystal that tastes funny?"

"If I am to ever phase out the elements with atomos, I need more hands and minds to help me do so," I argued. "One day, we could be living in a world built upon a self governing alternative to the elements. Atomos are more stable, they can never be neglected, they are simply more practical-."

"We are not gods, but humble stewards of the earth. We have no control over the elements, much less this atomos," a nymph pointed out. "You expect us to throw our collective efforts into an unproven magic from which we may never benefit."

The skepticism spread faster than gossip. The nature deities slowly left me, all but my own Oceanid attendants. However, even their faces reflected doubt and suspicion. I could rely on them to dress me, to prepare my food, but not to further my science without a reluctant heart.

Dejected, I ran my hand through the mound of salt and watched the white crystals mingle with the brown dirt. I stared at this in deep contemplation. Salt had somehow depleted the soil of the Indus Valley. It had also polluted its sea. And now, I was the only being in existence that could make this new substance bend to my whim. It may not have been enough for the nature deities, but it was sufficient to serve my own purpose. Three hundred years of painstaking research had not gone to waste after all. When I tapped the earth with a finger, each grain of salt vanished.

I turned to one of my Oceanids. "Tell Poseidon that I seek an exclusive word with him."

#

The god of the sea looked at me quizzically, as if wondering what a silly girl like me could want with a great king like himself. How arrogant he was. With much effort, I kept my calm. I had often found that quiet words reached the ear better than loud accusations. And so, I spoke in a low voice. "Sir, you once violated my mother in the most unspeakable manner. It burns my tongue to mention it."

He narrowed his eyes. "You think I am cruel, filled with uncontrollable lust. This is not so. I did not do it out of lust, or anger. Nor did I do it just because I could, or because I wanted to. I did what I had to do. Without a fear of gods, there is anarchy. " He showed no remorse, no guilt. It infuriated me. How dare he claim righteousness!

"Anarchy is preferable to tyranny." I replied coldly.

His face darkened. "Is that what you call it? You know nothing of tyranny and oppression. How innocent you are. You are so naïve, like a child."

"If I am naïve, you care only for your own power. You know as well as I do that the mortals do not need gods meddling in their everyday affairs."

"Think about your mother. I could not take her life, so I took her livelihood instead. Never since has she slept a peaceful night. I can do the same to you."

"Yes, you could," I admitted. "But if all the mortals were to die from a barren earth, there would be no one to give you sacrifice."

His laugh gave me the chills. "You think I'm a monster don't you. Know this, I do not inflict harm just for its sake. When I was born, my mother gave my father a foal to swallow in my stead. I felt guilt that I had been spared while my older brother and sisters had not. Then we fought a bloody war for ten years to avoid imprisonment. I vowed that we would never be subjugated again, we would be so mighty that we would never again have to fight a war to defend our right to exist. A world of atomos opens up possibilities for other gods to take control, for mortals to break away from us. I will not let this happen."

"You fear more for your power than your freedom. Your concerns are unwarranted, your crime is unforgivable."

His eyes glittered. "I am Poseidon of the Third Generation, Grandson of the Heaven and Earth. What powers do you have against me?"

I took a deep breath. It was thrilling to finally exact justice upon the god who had brought my mother grief. "For every tear my mother has shed because of you, I shall cast a grain of salt into your sea. May you forever know thirst in your own kingdom."

Poseidon laughed incredulously. "I shall simply rid the sea of this salt by casting it out to shore."

"Then your sea shall forever wash to shore." I turned and left, leaving him staring after me with murder in his eyes.

I knew I would pay for my hubris, but I was my mother's daughter, and I could not allow her plight to go ignored. How dearly I would pay, I could have never imagined.

1 Also known as the Fertile Crescent, to you mortals.