Simon Hawke - Argonaut Affair

"It has to add up somehow," said Delaney. "On one hand, the events-or the orchestration of events-are following those of our myth very closely. On the other hand, they seem to be aiming for a totally different result. And they're taking a lot of risks to do it. I can't understand it, either. How do we know what to do? Or what not to do?"

"I don't know," said Steiger. "They have to know about us, yet they haven't made any serious effort to knock us out of the picture. It's as if they want us with the Argonauts."

"If your theory is right that we've stumbled into one of their temporal adjustments, then there has to be a key moment in the scenario that's crucial. Maybe that's what they're saving us for."

Steiger nodded. "Maybe. But we're still only guessing."

"I keep thinking about those androids," said Delaney. "By the standards of our artificial intelligence technology, they were relatively unsophisticated. That doesn't fit in with the centaur. If the centaur was an android too, then it's so advanced that none of our tests revealed it for what it was. And if it was genetically engineered, then that indicates a level of technology that should have enabled them to build better androids. If they were capable of such sophisticated technology, why didn't they follow through with it on Lemnos?"

Steiger swore through clenched teeth. "There has to be something we're overlooking. I've never been in a temporal scenario that was so damned inconsistent."

"You've never been in another universe, either," said Delaney.

"So what are you saying, that this universe isn't logical? I don't buy that. There has to be a logical framework to all of this. It's got to be there. We're just not seeing it."

The wind picked up and the Argonauts shipped their oars as the lateen sail filled and the Argo began making good headway in the blow. They sailed past Samothrace through the Hellespont and into the Sea of Marmora, the spray soaking them all thoroughly as the bow of the ship rose and fell crashing into the waves. Not a few of the "men of the open sea" wound up hanging over the side, contributing to the volume of the water. By the end of the day, the winds died down and they were rowing along the Mysian coast.

They had failed to properly provision the ship at Lemnos and stores were running dangerously low. As they dropped anchor and waded ashore, a large group of people came running down to greet them. It was a friendly reception by the Dalions, ruled by King Cyzicus, and the Argonauts were invited to the palace by emissaries of the king. When they arrived, they found a feast being prepared in their honor. King Cyzicus greeted them warmly, offering to provision their ship with food, water and wine as well as clothing to replace their worn and soiled garments.

It was clear that the Dalions were not a wealthy people, but they spared nothing in making the Argonauts feel welcome. During the feast, musicians played and a wrestling exhibition was staged. Young women came out to dance for them and children brought them garlands of flowers.

"We are grateful for this kind reception," Jason told the king. "When we return, we shall sing the praises of Dalion hospitality and of the goodness of King Cyzicus. Would that we could somehow repay your kindness."

Cyzicus suddenly looked tired. "In truth, I had hoped you would respond in such a manner, as I could see from the beginning that all of you were warriors. We have but few soldiers of our own and my people are sorely beset by a fearsome enemy who plunders us at will."

"Fear not, Cyzicus," said Theseus. "If you have enemies who prey upon you, you have but to name them and they are vanquished."

"This is one enemy that will not be vanquished easily," said Cyzicus, "if, indeed, they can be vanquished at all."

Simon Hawke

Argonaut Affair

"What manner of men are these fearsome foes?" asked Jason.

"These are not men, but giants," Cyzicus said. "Each of them possesses not two arms, but six. And in the hand of each arm is held a heavy wooden club that with one blow can crush a skull or break all of a man's ribs. They descend upon us from the hills and seize our harvests and our livestock. There is nothing we can do to stop them. Our bravest men have fallen to them and our fairest women have been carried off."

"Be they men with two arms or giants with six," said Jason, "I was not taught to refuse help to those in need of it, nor is it in my blood to flee from danger. You have welcomed us and treated us as honored guests. You have acted honorably and we can do no less. What say you men? Shall we give these six-armed titans a foe worthy of doing battle with them?"

"Just how big are these giants, anyway?" Delaney said, but his question was lost in the cheer given by the others.

The Argonauts gathered up their weapons and followed Cyzicus outside, where they were joined by a group of soldiers who led them to the stables. Within a short time, they were mounted and riding toward the hills. The three temporal agents hung back at the rear so they could talk without being overheard.

"Six-armed giants?" Andre said.

"I know what you're thinking," said Delaney. "I'm thinking the same thing."

"First Amazons, now six-armed giants?" Steiger said. "What in God's name is going on here? What are these people doing, clocking androids back here by the dozens?"

"Why would androids carry off their women?" said Delaney.

"It almost seems as if they studied the events and creatures of our Greek mythology and are trying to duplicate them," Andre said.

Steiger stared at her. "That's a hell of an idea," he said.

"Let's run with it for a minute," said Delaney. "The Argonautica of Apollonius is supposedly based on actual historical events which became mythologized over the years. The situation here seems. similar. Let's assume we're confronted with an attempt to recreate those mythical events and make them real. Why?"

"Is it possible they could be trying to redirect the flow of their own history for some specific purpose?" Andre said.

"That would amount to creating a split in their own time-line," said Delaney. "Why would they want to jeopardize their own temporal stability?"

"We keep coming back to square one," said Steiger. "No matter what kind of explanation we come up with, nothing about this scenario seems to fit together. We're not getting anywhere."

"We're getting closer to Colchis," Andre said. "If events continue to progress according to the myth, then that has to be the focal point of this scenario."

"Then why use androids to try to stop the Argonauts at Lemnos?" asked Delaney.

"It leads nowhere again," said Steiger. "Every hypothetical scenario we put together falls apart from inconsistencies."

"Maybe that's where we're going wrong," said Andre. "We keep trying to come up with rational explanations."

"Meaning there's an irrational one?" said Steiger. "We're back to the supernatural again? It's going to take a lot of convincing to get me to buy that."

"If the answer keeps coming out incorrect, something has to be wrong with the equation," Andre said.

"So let's take another look at the equation," said Delaney. "Let's go back to the beginning and take it one step at a time. A number of factors seem to indicate that the people from the future of this timeline are attempting to construct a temporal scenario based upon the voyage of the Argonauts. We have the centaur and the incident at Delphi, plus the hooded man who keeps turning up everywhere. He may be with us on the voyage, posing as one of the Argonauts or there may be other explanations for his sudden appearances and disappearances, as well as for the centaur and what we saw at Delphi, but the androids at Lemnos can't be explained away. We're assuming our cover has been blown. We can't get rid of our warp discs. Our only alternative is to abort the mission and run if they close in. Only they haven't closed in. Why? Because they've made that choice or because they haven't had an opportunity?"