'Lucina you know I respect you. I couldn't have come this far without you, but we agreed it's to be my operation. I choose who. If that's not the case please say so now and I'll forget it. And I'm not being a silly girl. Please treat me with the same respect as I treat you. I can't run this operation if you're going to be interfering all the time.'

'Me interfere! You're very stupid if you think me interfering. Who do you think I am, ne? I Lucina always keeps her promises. I promise you this young lady, don't you dare think I interfere! Who do you think you're dealing with? I am Lucina Dodona, not some person from the street!'

Lucina tossed her fine head and made to stalk off towards the house. Penny did not move but was beside herself with anger. They were both angry. She shouted after Lucina, 'I resign, okay! Have it your own way Mrs. The Great Dodona! Do it your way, but you do it without me! I quit!' she waited a second or two and then added. 'I get sole charge without being nursemaided by New York or that's it!'

Lucina turned back to face her, her eyes smiling, a wry expression on her face. 'I'm sorry I make you angry my cuckoo, but you make me angry to doubt me.' Suddenly she was all sweetness and light. 'I only want the best for JNO the same as you. See here, I'll make deal. You take Hep on my recommendation. Believe me I know. You need him. Without Hep you'll fail. In all else you shall have full control of anything you want, my dear,' she said winningly. 'But you must have Hep. Without him you will fail my sweet. Hep will truly be a great help. You will like him and he you. Take Hep and I will never...hmm... interfere. Is it a deal?'

She'd agreed. What else could she do? As it turned out Hep was happy to be a kind of general consultant to the enterprise as a whole. She grew to adore him, and like everyone else was in awe of his manipulation of matter, his grasp of physics and mathematics. But still at the root of her, she was wary. In the same way as she had acquiesced to the upbringing of Alexander through Mnemosyne, Penny had been content to accept what she knew would be invaluable a.s.sistance. She never however, gave herself up completely to any of the people she met who were connected directly to Lucina.

To have inexplicably left her mother, her friends and her previous life for Lucina, after giving herself so utterly to Alexis all those years ago, had been enough giving of herself. It had left her with a fierce need for independence and an absolute fear of dependency. Her contact with Lucina had reinforced the wisdom of this att.i.tude. She hoped Alexander's independent spirit would make him react the same way.

As she left the JNO limousine and made her way to the main entrance at Markham, she was sure 'they' had already been talking to him - beginning with yesterday's visitation by Lucina.

Of course they had brought him up for their own reasons. She had not forgotten Lucina holding the new born infant to her breast. She was afraid they would involve him in their activities for reasons that were beyond her understanding. Paradoxically this knowledge only reinforced her resolve. If they had Alexander under their authority, she would work even harder than before to accomplish her work by her own efforts. Having Alexander meant they had everything of hers. They couldn't ask any more of her. She couldn't stop them. But she could distance herself from them.

She had reached a point in her work now, albeit with Hep's help, that even if Lucina was to explain everything, she was sure she would refuse to be involved. It was essential that she kept herself and her work within herself, in bounds which she could control. She had no desire nor any actual need to think beyond this. Knowing nothing of the Chronosphere, she found it best to keep these potent people at a respectful distance.

She gave them the respect due to their influence which she was unable to deny but that was all. JNO's projects were supervised on a day to day basis by Ric Trefoil her Project Manager. Hep had invented the electronic system which backed them up, but it was Penny and Ric who made it all work, who met the people, ironed out the day to day problems and developed the Firm.

Only she, Hep and Ric, knew to what extent GAIANET scooped into its vast electronic maw the endless swathes of raw data, tirelessly swirling round the globe. In many ways that had been the easier part. The biggest problem had been sifting the huge ma.s.s of material and making useful sense of it by distilling out coherent information about the ways people affected the environment. The really important breakthrough was Hep's creation of HIGO. This interpreted and then predicted the effects of this knowledge.

When the world went digital, Penny had seen to it that as much information as possible, made its way through all the pathways that could be tapped and funnelled into to her information base to test the interpretation skills of HIGO. And if she were HIGO's queen, Ric was its king. Not even Hep, its inventor, had the same level of skill in it's use as they had.

Unaware of the Chronosphere, they did not know that he already had all the access he needed of his own on this parallel, vastly superior, primordial, system.

So amid the beginning of a growing buzz on the 'sphere, and the building up of knowledge through HIGO, a wary Penny and a preoccupied Hep, crossed the courtyard to the entrance door of Markham, followed by a wondering Alexander. The entrance door led into the same dark panelled lobby where Alexander had sought the keys to his room on his coming of age party. Now a reception counter prevented further entry. Uninvited visitors could go no further but were received with courtesy by well trained receptionists who made sure the surveillance system had them tagged all the time they were in or near Markham. The tagging system invented by Hep for security, discrete and unseen, logged onto anybody or anything, which entered a five mile perimeter. It checked everything about the intruding presence that it could and was capable of rendering any life form helpless, at a simple voice command.

The receptionist pa.s.sed them through into an ante-room off the main hall of the house. Hidden GAIANET scanners probed them for recognition, noted the genetic patterns linking Alexander to Penny and to Hep, and set up some pertinent questions on the monitor of the Chief of Security, who met the trio in the crush-hall.

Penny re-introduced Alexander to Marina as chief of security. Now a young woman, she was as less like a chief of security as it was possible to be. Hep nodded his h.e.l.lo while again Alexander was unable to take his eyes off her.

The rest of his world simply ceased to exist, there was only this woman filling his mind and its horizons. If he never saw her again, he thought, he would remember her always. Somewhere in the deepest recesses of his mind he recalled the human race emanated from Africa. He felt now he might be in the presence of the first woman herself. Although she was not tall, about five feet-six inches, she was perfectly proportioned, radiating a lithe muscular power which he found groin-rendingly sensual. A clinging red and gold, two-piece suit accentuated her tuned, well contoured body. Her confident posture gave her an irresistible presence and her large candid eyes and the broad planes of her face, invited one to honesty, as if to lie would invite a disapproval hardly to be endured. Alexander was totally mesmerised by her. She seemed to fill all the s.p.a.ce of his gaze. He was acutely aware of her restrained but intense s.e.xuality, while her personal authority said look all you like, but don't touch. He sensed she was aware of the effect she had on him, and he wondered if it was just him or whether she did this to all men.

'I shall have to vet Alexander,' she observed, matter of factly, gazing directly at Penny, as if expecting her to object in some way. 'You know the rules.' Alexander couldn't wait to be vetted alone with her whatever it was she had to do.

'Okay,' said Penny. 'We'll go on ahead to meet Ric at the HIGO centre, bring him along after you've done.'

Alexander followed Marina into to a small room behind the reception area, made him sit on a chair, placed a light plastic helmet on his head and shone two laser beams at each of his temples. She installed herself behind a bank of monitors. Alexander expected to feel something from helmet clamped to his head, but the whole process was entirely without sensation. He was disappointed. What went on in his head had changed since his awareness of the Chronosphere. He at first thought this Marina was one of 'Them' but she wasn't. He somehow knew that. But he now expected her to tune him into new experiences by her manipulation of his thoughts by this machinery. The electrodes however seemed merely to scan his brain activity to check, what precisely? He had no idea. He was glad however, without quite knowing why, that this wonderful woman was clearly not one of 'Them.'

Had he seen what Marina could see, he would have been more satisfied with the potency of the machinery. While it was immediately apparent to her that he was security clear in that he shared DNA patterns with his mother, his reading was quite unlike hers. The only other patterns she had ever seen which remotely resembled Alexander's were Hep's and Thea's and all three were unlike that of any other of the hundreds of people she had scanned. The only logical conclusion was that Alexander shared common ancestry with Hep and Thea and she wondered if Penny knew. She had been surprised about Thea's, which was different in inexplicable ways from the others and which had resembled nothing of Penny and which was also allied to Alexander and Hep. Her detective's brain logged this knowledge and when she gave Alexander clearance on the data base she noted this remarkable information and secretly marked the file by a code she alone knew, to indicate something unusual to be followed up if necessary.

'Okay. That's it. You're clear. If you would be so good as to follow me, we'll catch up with your mother and Hep over in the HIGO wing.'

They crossed a the main hall which was empty of activity and mounted a wide wooden staircase to a long gallery leading towards the main bedrooms. As he followed Marina, he was captivated by the movement of her figure and followed the flexing of the muscles of her b.u.t.tocks and hips, conscious of the stirring in his loins.

Marina, made sure he came up alongside her at the top of the stairs, regarded him up and down, smiled, so that his belly turned to water and walked him down the long gallery to a door at the end on which she knocked. She entered, announced him cleared by security and left briskly, her smile lingering in his after vision. A few moments pa.s.sed before he could refocus his attention.

The room he entered was pleasantly light and airy, tall windows gave a clear view of the rolling parkland beyond. Under one of the windows a bank of computer screens flickered round a console at which sat a man of middle years. Rangy and sinewy, he had long sensitive hands, straggling but greying fair hair, which fell still thickly over his eyes.

He swung his revolving chair round when Marina knocked and pierced Alexander with china-blue eyes. Standing with him were Penny and Hep, the three of them had evidently been staring intently at something on the screen. Penny motioned Alexander over to them, pointed him to a chair and ignoring him totally, continued with Hep and the other man to pore over the screen.

'There it is again,' said the tall, bony man, evidently Ric. 'I've asked the senior staff to come in today specially to set up a trace. It will take hours, maybe days and even then we may never get any more than a smell of it'.

'I can't see anything,' Penny frowned.

'You have to know what you're searching for,' said Ric. 'There, see how the cursor flashes out of sync for a brief beat. Watch, I'll bring up today's shipping movements.'

He hit the keyboard a few times and the pattern changed. Figures scrolled in one corner, while lines moved about on a map of the world.

'See there, that's the coffee shipment figures and main traffic directions at this moment. We'll see when changes of information trigger a response. Note how the security pattern hologram at the bottom of the screen revolves, see there, it hesitated a nano-second, it could be my eyesight playing tricks but I don't think so. Hep do you see it?' Hep was staring out of the window, he seemed not to be paying attention.

'I see it,' he spoke gruffly, 'What do you see?' asked Penny. 'You seem sure, more sure than Ric.'

'I see, I am sure' he replied. 'I do not know what I see exactly, but like Ric...I see.'

'Does Marina know?' asked Penny.

'No, not about this', said Ric. 'But I've asked her to double check the security around the building and grounds.'

'What does it mean?' Penny an anxious edge to he voice.

'I don't know exactly,' said Ric, turning to her. 'In general it probably means someone knows we are monitoring world trade movements and is curious. That in itself is not out of the way, we get the usual hackers as you know. If anyone gets into a system the anti-bug locks on immediately, feeds it enough innocuous information to keep it busy until we can identify and deal with it. Then we can turn it....and if they have stuff we can use we give them something to keep them happy and we check them out. It's fascinating, you'd be surprised who's hacking, everybody from gung-ho teenagers with a gift for it, to whole offices in IBC and other multi-nationals. But this has a different feel about it. Whoever it is, is not actually getting in. They're not even trying to get in, it's kind of licking at us....sniffing, like a dog to check us out. A hacker is always trying to get in, kind of burrowing, or dancing round, seeking an opening, like a burglar sussing out the security weak points. This is different, it's just sniffing around all our systems at once. Kind of sizing it up, getting a sense of what's there, and ....I guess....what isn't.'

Alexander felt a quiver from the net in his pocket. Without thinking he said 'Perhaps it doesn't want to get in.' He then glanced fleetingly at Hep, to check that he wasn't speaking out of place. The three of them turned to him as one, surprised at the voice of a fourth person they had forgotten in their preoccupation.

'Ric, I haven't introduced Alexander to you. Alexander this is Ric Trefoil, he's in charge of GAIANET and HIGO, that's the part of the system which takes raw data and makes it intelligible to the likes of you and me. Alexander has been given clearance from Lucina to get involved at the highest levels, so you can take it he is here with me and this is his part of his induction to the Firm.'

Ric nodded, security was not his business, if Penny said the lad was okay, he was okay.

'Why do you think it doesn't want to get in?' Penny surprised, asked Alexander.

'Well I only thought that instead of searching for motives which may not be there, what if we took Mr. Trefoil's a.n.a.lysis at face value, it might offer better explanations than looking up a gum tree for a hacker, which he's pretty clear this isn't.'

'The lad's right', observed Ric over his half gla.s.ses, impressed. 'Call me Ric, son, everyone does. This is like no hacker I ever saw. It's more like a presence all round the system. We've already fully scanned the whole system and its not just poking around at random, it's detectable everywhere. Like Alexander just said, I really don't think it's trying to get in, it's surrounded us and seems to want to know what we are, rather than what we've actually got. My money is on another Firm just checking out how big we are. Though who it could be is beyond me. I don't know anyone except us big enough to have the computing power or a framework well enough designed to do this. After all we have covered our tracks as a conglomerate, n.o.body knows we are a single ent.i.ty, except us in this room and Thea, Lucina and Zarian. Someone else seems to be trying to find out though....I'm worried.'

Penny felt a falling sensation in the pit of her stomach, this was news she had dreaded from day one. She had spent millions to pre-empt anyone getting close to them. Even the possibility, however remote, that another Firm was trying to find out that she had any kind of operation going at all threatened her plans. She was so close to having enough control of the information highway to turn the economic tide towards sustaining rather than polluting the Earth, that a rival was quite out of the question and in any case she had no time to handle such a diversion. That such a thing could actually exist was unthinkable.

'They not find out what they want. They puzzled,' growled Hep, he continued to gaze out of the window as if all the answers were to be found in the trees on the far horizon.

'What do you mean?' Penny's voice was sharp. She was aware that not since those early, confused days on Ios, was she so close to losing her cool, unless she counted her confrontation with Lucina over Hep. But now her vision was blurring and she thought she might faint. She gripped onto the back of Ric's swivel chair for support. Hep, apparently lost in his own thoughts simply repeated himself with his usual heavy deliberation. She was conscious of the presence of Ric, who knew nothing of her vulnerability in this area though he picked up that something was affecting her composure.

'Ric, do you think this might be detectable over at the GAIANET wing, maybe it would be clearer there? Do me a favour, get over there and check on their procedures, Hep and I'll monitor things here and if there's anything we can cross check. I'd be happier if you'd go in person, things are too worrying to allow anyone outside this room to get any inkling. You can put a simple gloss on it over there if they've spotted anything.' When he had gone Penny turned pale and angrily to Hep.

'Hep, I'm not a mind reader!' she hissed between clenched teeth. 'What do you mean. 'They're puzzled' Who in the name of all that's holy are 'They'! I'm more than puzzled I'm b.l.o.o.d.y scared and I need some explanations, and I need them now! Do you read me?'

Alexander felt struck physically at the unexpected vehemence of his mother. She who was the epitome of clarity and self-possession seemed to be falling apart before his eyes. He was also surprised at the lack of regard she showed for Hep's grandeur and dignity. Hep on the other hand broken out of his reverie by her unaccustomed aggression, softly, grasped her by the shoulders and supporting her gently sat her on a sofa, rested himself against the edge of the console and spoke tenderly but deliberately. 'There's no danger...yet. But there is danger out there. But I think not for you Penny, nor for your part of JNO. Danger is for like me and him.'

He pointed to Alexander who felt himself blanch at this spoken link between him and this Ancient. He felt on the brink of great events to come, and then he thought of Marina, she wouldn't leave his thoughts. What a morning this was turning out to be.

Hep continued. 'What out there is not rival from outside, It come from inside, you have not got a rival, it what you call 'games' of Lucina and Zarian and,' he hesitated. 'Others'.

'What 'others?' ' demanded Penny.

'Listen Penelope, mother of Alexander, you know for long time Lucina and senior company people leave you to get on with reconstruction of earth force and make things good for people. I help you, yes? You know they have other business, not more important but...different. All is related but for now separate. This is to do with their business, that's all, they will go away soon and leave you to get on.'

'But why are they sniffing around my operation if they are in the Firm? And who are 'They' anyway? Why do I feel you are holding something back from me Hep, you know I trust you all the way, tell me what's going on, and what's it to do with my son?'

She felt that same unease she always had with Lucina and Thea. She disliked the connections Hep was making with Alexander, putting him with 'Them'. Never before this had 'they' interfered with her operation. Quite the reverse, Lucina, Thea, Hep, had made it all possible, they would never jeopardise their own project....it didn't make sense.

Hep held both her hands and searched her eyes, she slipped into sleep. Alexander was astonished.

'She tired, when she wakes up danger over. Come we leave her.'

'But...' Alexander was too startled to get words out.

'Come!'

Hep steered him by the arm and propelled him from the room, out to the car park, and into the car before he could gather breath to speak. Beyond the boundaries of the Markham estate, Hep stopped the big car by the leafy entrance to an ancient and crumbling barn. He turned to Alexander, 'We are beyond my exclusion zone, we talk on L2. Put on net, make it easier for you, it help with energy'

Alexander put on the invisible net and felt the tingle again round his shoulders, friendly and expectant. He felt the mind-meld begin like the ones he had experienced with Lucina, Thea and to a lesser extent with Pannie. This time the meld had a different quality.

Through the gathering fusion he held on to enough of himself to recognise that each mind-meld absorbed the colouring of the being with whom he was in contact and that he was at the same time able to stay fully in touch with himself. He thought the power of the net clarified what was happening inside his head and a.s.sisted his control of the process. He was able to enter deeply into the exchange and maintain his own being at the margin without the experience being totally overwhelming.

He also thought Hep's approach to the mind-meld was kinder than any of the others so far. This, seemed to him a good test of sincerity or at least an awareness of the frailty of the mortal mind. This new revelation raised questions of Lucina and Thea's sensitivity to mortals, Pannie was another thing altogether. He felt Hep's irritation with his meanderings and thus admonished for his lack of concentration, focussed his attention.

Between them, Nemmi, Lucina and Thea, had given him knowledge, Hep offered a new dimension. He was a doer who made things happen. He grasped what there was and re-framed it, re-made it in the image of his creative mind. For him the building blocks of the universe were malleable, all things trans.m.u.table, all fears possibilities, all tangible materials, workable. Everything divided into everything else. The world Hep led him into was lucid and clear far beyond mere cause and effect, he could create, re-create, do and undo.

'I give possibility,' said Hep, reverting to L1 communication. 'So can you, even when you have doubt. Small doubt is good, like fear, is good in small degree to give you alertness, but too much is to stop you, to deny the possible, is bad. Your job is to make new mythology. Without that is no hope. Pandora, who I help to make, left hope for mortals it was designed so. All hope is kept true by useful mythology. If Gaia will be saved you must search and find way to regenerate new, more effective mythology to guide behaviour of mortals away from the exploitation of things of the earth. Need a different mythology from Yahweh, different even from Zeus. Zeus pa.s.sed this to you and he then leave Gaia for ever taking all old myths with him. This is the meaning of his bequest. He leaves Gaia to mortals alone without old myths. Old myths are killing her. This is a dangerous strategy, for without new mythology they will kill her in the end....or kill themselves. You are born to help with new myth, so Gaia and humankind can stand together without old myths of impotent G.o.ds. Mortals must contain their own G.o.ds....inside themselves. Through the bequest of the Last Will and Testament of Zeus, they must restore Gaia by themselves. For this they need knowledge and methods known only to G.o.ds. The new deal is to pa.s.s on our powers to humankind and leave Gaia to them. So We the Twelve help Penelope in JNO to find the Way before 2012 deadline. For all to begin you must first bring Hades from underworld to join with to Zeus to give him strength to bargain with Yahweh. To enliven the past to add to the present and then re-make a different future, Afterwards we will have other business among ourselves where there are no mortals.'

Through the mind-meld, Alexander began to understand. Hep, Lucina and the others were in their different ways explaining the task set for him by Zeus. His relationship with his mother and hers with the Firm were part of an interconnected web of destiny which was somehow already settled by Zeus. That Zeus was his father was a revelation resonating less within him than the knowledge that his destiny was decided. Knowing he had the active support of Hep and was part of the whole empire of old G.o.ds, gave him new courage to ease the fear from which he had tried to flee. To have a destiny was to have a purpose. These G.o.ds had lost their purpose until now, it had been lying dormant, waiting for him. With their help he had some chance of managing the task. He was not alone, had actually never been alone.

Possibilities from the past, he now thought, lived in the deeds of those long gone, not just as fairy stories but examples of what can be done. He would find them and bring them into the present. All the past was contained in the realm of Hades. All knowledge was there. Zeus knew what he had to do, The Morae Sisters knew and he had let go his chance to find out more.

Perhaps it was as well, he would have to act, that was certain. Only in action was the future contained. To know and not to act is impossible. Action, he realised with a shock, depended on hope, on risk based on expectation. Hep, Lucina and Thea had expectations, Zeus had defined it for them all.

'What happens now, Hep?' asked Alexander, aware Hep was intently following his thought processes.

'You find this 'hacker'.'

Alexander did a double-take in his mind which was noted by Hep. To contemplate action in a theoretical sense was fine, to find he was expected to start immediately was something else. Panic set in.

'Will you help me?' he gulped down his fear.

'I help, but in background. I not want hacker to know me, know my connections. I have fear of connections.'

'I don't understand....I can't believe you have fear of anything'

'I'm not afraid of things, I have fear of who and what they may do. I have fear of the acc.u.mulated power of the past. I have fear of what does not change. Of what gathers in all and holds down tightly.'

In the deep recesses of his knowledge, Alexander dimly began to understand Heps' communication. While he was afraid of the risks of action he had come to understand the equal risks of inaction.

'You on right track, son of Penelope, recognise and accept. We act now. Hacker will send his information to his master soon. He is still sniffing round, who knows how long it will be before he sends back his message.'

'Where to, where will it get back to?'

'Think - you know this too, Alexander, you fear it. If Hades and Chronos find out what Penny is doing, they may unleash terrors which have slept for aeons to gain Gaia from Mortals, especially if they think Zeus is weak. Ambition subdues with age and Zeus is old and tired, but I think not weak. He leaves his will to you, you must deprive Hades of his hoped for prize of determining the present only by the past and wholly determining the future. It would be the death of free will, of creativity. But Gaia must be saved by mortals alone. You must bring him to Zeus so past and present can be reconciled and the future made between them in brotherhood and pa.s.sed on to mortals so they know what they have to do. Hades will not come by himself, there is too much between them for him to make a move and Zeus is too proud to do it himself. Hades is safe with Chronos, he has the advantage that all souls are his in the end and so he waits below to gather them all up. He is happy to see the end of Mortals since by their deaths he will take them all into his realm and will therefore have Gaia to himself when Zeus is defeated. Only a mortal beloved of the G.o.ds can stop him....and bring him to us. You must start with our friend the hacker. He is the clue. I bring you out from Markham outside the zone I create to stop the 'sphere. I cloak it so Penny can work in secret with no prying eyes. Someone probing for gap I make in 'sphere. Our hacker is on the 'sphere not on GAIANET, he is worked by forces against the future, he is from, or is an ally of the Underworld. We must identify and stop him, and at the same time he can lead you to his master.'

'What have I got to do?'

'There's no time to explain, trust me, I'll tell you later, now we act.'

Hep, got down from the car in that smooth motion through s.p.a.ce which for such a large personage, continued to amaze Alexander. He made for the barn, bending his huge frame round the ramshackle door hanging half off its hinges. In the inner darkness Alexander made out a small figure lounging against a pile of old, mouldy straw.

'Watcher, me ole' c.o.c.k sparrer. 'Ow yer doin' then?' Pannie's goatee waggled, a comma, punctuating the gloom. 'Hi Heppie, you want me ter take care of this boychick again. I got the message onner 'sphere, ter be 'ere p.r.o.nto like.' The three of them linked briefly on L2 and then Hep and Alexander set off back to Markham.

Chapter 13.

Hep and Alexander left Pannie in the barn and drove back to Markham. They returned to the room where they found Penny still unconscious. Haephestos was sympathetic towards the sleeping figure wishing he could shoulder burden she carried. Zeus' prohibition preventing any member of the Pantheon from carrying responsibility lay heavily upon him. But if any mortal was going to make a difference it was she. He would give her all the help of which he was capable.

Alexander had the feeling that time itself had been suspended like a video recorder held on 'pause'. As Hep restored her to the exact point of consciousness as before; holding her hands in his great paws. She woke still angry and exasperated.

'Stop humouring me Hep,' she said, extricating herself from his grasp. 'Just who is nosing around? I can't believe this is happening! I can't believe you know and won't tell me! I have to trust you, you and Lucina and...I can't work with you without trust. So Hep...what's...what's it all about? What the h.e.l.l is going on?'

Hep sensed the danger. He knew well that Penny was too intelligent to be fooled. He smiled to himself. If Hera had been treated as she treated Penny she would wreak a dreadful revenge. He had never accepted Hera's dismissive approach to Penny's need for explanations. But then Hera never had his feeling for people. She liked the idea of mortals in principle, but her imperious nature made her a.s.sume she could control any mortal by manipulating any of their thoughts she found irksome. She paid no heed to the confusion she caused, mortal feelings did not touch her. There were many G.o.ds who saw mortals as their own playthings, and Hep despaired of this need for control, this Olympian disdain - especially now in their time of almost total decline. He was not surprised that Zeus wanted to throw in the towel once his great aim was fulfilled.

He had left Markham to enable him to sense what was happening on the Chronosphere. His exclusion zone around Markham was working too well. Not even he could communicate while inside without first dismantling the blocking system. The zone had the desired effect of preventing those on the 'sphere from interfering with Penny's work and that had worked fine before Zeus' spectacular announcement. Now the 'sphere was buzzing, properly woken up for the first time in centuries and he needed to be in constant touch with it. It was only a matter of time before someone discovered his artificial gap in the 'sphere where G.o.ds were unable to enter. Firstly it would be taken as some kind of glitch, not taken much notice of, but in the current climate there would be greater curiosity and then suspicion. The snooper already knew he was onto something interesting, he had to ensure he was distracted before he learned too much. He was surprised at the speed at which he had arrived. He thought it would have taken longer. Hep did not know who the snooper was but he was pretty sure who had sent him. He hoped the Old Thunderer and his often vindictive consort knew what they were doing.

He gazed down at Alexander, the one chosen to cross this first threshold of his destiny. Alexander needed help, that had been the reason for the meld in the barn. Pan was the guide, Alexander the envoy. This was hard enough, thought Hep, for both of them. But was Alexander up to it? Lucina, for her own unfathomable reasons had opted out of direct involvement. Zeus had his own fish to fry, though both were keen listeners on the 'sphere, so the two of them would be available to help Alexander if they wanted. Of all the G.o.ds Pan was one of the very few who had access to the underworld and he would not take long for him to be out of his league down there if things went out of control. The power of the past was an unknown quant.i.ty. Hades had been acc.u.mulating many forgotten things for a long time without restraint from Zeus or anyone else in the living world. Hep was sensing a new readiness for action in Hades which others on the 'sphere also recognised as a problem for the living. His active mind found all this speculation tiring and he turned his attention to the immediate problem of keeping Penny on an even keel.

'There is danger in this hacker. Like I say...but not for you personally. You want to know what it is about. Well I can tell you but you will worry. I have respect for you and of course you must trust me, but it will mean a deep anxiety for you, more than you need at this time when your work is so close to results. So you must choose. This knowledge is not necessary for your work, not for dreams not for hopes. It concern Thea, Lucina, Zarian and me. And I think is better if you do not ask for explanation.'

Penny was calming down at the even tones of her friend but was nevertheless shaken. For years she had given up in the face of the blank wall when she had asked basic questions. She knew there were momentous things 'They' knew in which she was uninvolved. She admitted it was a relief to focus on her own work and thus overcome the confusion 'They' set up in her. But Alexander was now involved. She needed to know.

'This concerns Alexander too?' she asked. Throwing him a glance.

'Yes.'

'Then tell me what I need to know so that I can help him. You know I trust you no matter what,' she said, but she was unable to lift the defeat in her soul and felt horribly alone.