Olympian Complex

Warm daylight shone down upon her face. She blinked a few times, stirring faintly. They were heading for a building she’d never been in. She lay still, closing her eyes again.

She opened her eyes with a start at the feel of leather against her skin as Jared fastened a safety harness around her. She blinked, tracing his movements with her eyes as he fastened himself into the driver’s seat to her left. The small vehicle sealed itself air-tight and began to move.

Athena’s mind worked furiously. What was going on? She compiled and assembled the facts:

• Fact: She had failed most of her recent examinations
• Fact: Jared was not mad at her.
• Fact:Jared had seemed agitated when he entered.
• Fact: Jared had brought a syringe with him when he entered.
• Fact: Jared had not explained the syringe.
• Fact: The pinch had felt rather light compared to the pain of inoculation needles.
• Fact: She wore no bandage, nor was there blood on her arm.
• Postulation: She had not been pierced by his needle?
• Fact: She had been told to lie still.
• Fact: She was now leaving the compound.

Was she… being kidnapped? Her heart leapt. Jared wouldn’t do that. Was there some danger? Had the compound been compromised?

Jared began to speak softly.

“You were born and raised on a moon called Titan, in orbit around a planet called Saturn – you can see Saturn from here, actually, over that ridge. Your genes were engineered to produce what we call psychokinetic power – do you understand?”

“Psycho, from psȳch, related to the mind. Kinetic, from kīnétikós, to move. That’s how I move Pallas.” Athena was pleased to note the weary smile on Jared’s face – she had once again pleased him.

Jared sighed a little before continuing, tousling her hair affectionatly. “Yes. Your knowledge of etymology is, as ever, spot on. But, I’m trying to get across something new. Listen. You were engineered, yes, your genes were manipulated, but under it all, your basic DNA is human. You’re a human being, Athena, can you understand that? Do you understand what that means?”

Athena pursed her lips, thinking. Of course she knew what a human was – homo sapiens, a specific species of Terran primate, though tto be the only Terran species (and possibly the only species in the universe) with self-awareness. Of course she knew she was human in a dim fashion. She was a girl, girls were human. But the earnest pleading in his voice stopped her. Surely such a basic matter of biology wouldn’t carry enough weight to cause that reaction. What was he getting at?

“I.. I think so… but I’m… I fear I may not understand the question….?”

Jared sighed, clearly dissapointed. Wrong answer. “…of course you don’t. How could you? Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

Athena frowned, thinking harder. Humans styled themselves more intrinsically valubale than “lesser” lifeforms due to their intelligene. Athena was considered intelligent. The main example of their value was that they felt free to abuse or destroy “dumb” animals – their origin myths often involved divine right being granted over animals. So… “..because I’m intelligent? So I’m considered more intriniscally valubale than a less intelligent species such as cattle?”

Jared blinked, startled. “Yes, yes, that’s exactly it! You’re a human being, so you deserve to live, not be slaughtered cruelly because you didn’t meet some standard like… like a faulty computer chip or something.”

Athena beamed. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men – meaning all humans -  are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” she recites, proudly. Jared’s grin slips a little.

“Ah, yes. But, do you know what that means?”

Athena frowns. “The writers meant that all human beings have certain rights, primarily the right to live freely and persue happiness where it can be found. Notably, they don’t list the right to be happy, just the right to persue it…”

Jared rubs at his temples. “…right. Athena, I’m taking you away from here, ok?”

She blinks. “… Am I going on a mission?”

“No,” he replies, quickly. “You’ll never have to go on missions again.”

Athena blanches. “Am I … going to die?”

Jared pounded the dashboard in frusturation. “I just said you weren’t! I’m freeing you, Athena, don’t you get it? You’re safe now. I’ve rescued you.”

Athena said nothing, quietly wondering what she had been rescued from, exactly.