POINT OF VIEW: ATHENA
Friday, October 13, 2028, around 09.30 A.M
What are these buildings used for?
Where would these roads end up?
How does it feel to ride a bus or a car?
What different sensation will she feel when she starts exploring this modern city?
These questions were those Athena dying to find the answer, ever since she started observing the outside through the window in her room. When Dylan finally took her out, she was enthusiastic, and she kept asking him the function of each building. While leading her towards the bus station that would bring them downtown, he patiently answered every single question.
Getting on the bus, Athena was amazed when it started to move. Indeed she had read and watched about the bus on the books and internet, but experiencing it was a whole different thing. The big vehicle was quite slow compared to smaller cars, and sometimes the driver liked to abruptly stop the bus, it threw her forward. But as it was even more stable and faster than riding a chariot, she did not find a hard time adjusting to it.
After passing four other bus stations, Dylan told Athena to get off the bus. They went to a fast food restaurant and had an early lunch there, before visiting a virtual game studio located beside the restaurant. Athena also had studied about virtual reality, but she still could not believe that there would be technology to change the current environment into a totally different one. It was because the concept was similar to a magic that existed in her time. The magic would allow the wielder to manipulate the environment into anything crossing her mind, therefore it would be advantageous if she was fighting an enemy more powerful than her. However, in order to master this ability, one had to memorize a certain spell and channel the divine power into each word. Surely it was not a simple task to do, even for Zeus himself. That's why when she learned that activating a virtual reality required only pressing certain buttons, her limited experience could not comprehend it.
"Ah, there's a virtual game about the war between The Spartan and The Persian," Dylan said as he looked towards Athena. "Wanna try it?"
"Do you mean The Battle of Thermopylae?"
Dylan glanced back at the computer screen. "Yes, you're correct."
"They could recreate the scenes of this war?"
"Well ... more or less."
"Let's try it then. I'm really curious about how accurate their recreation is."
Dylan nodded. After taking care of everything at the staff counter, he led Athena to a room that only had frames and some strange machine attached to them. Two staff members approached and handed them two plastic swords and some kind of soft torso protectors. Athena could not understand what she should do with such a toy, and she also was convinced that if a soldier went to war with this protector, he would die in less than one minute. The staff members then explained to them about the game, before they handed two big eye covers that she had seen the replica in one of the books. Once the staff members had left, Dylan wore the eye cover and spoke to her. "The game is about to commence."
Athena wore the eye cover too. She was instantly surprised when she was now standing on rocky ground, accompanied by some soldiers. Far across them was a squad of armies dressed in the outfit of the Persian Empire. Seeing how similar they were to the real one, Athena nodded in amazement.
The soldiers beside her suddenly raised their hands and yelled, before they lurched towards the Persian. Athena was stunned upon seeing them, but Dylan reminded her that the game had started. He then followed the other soldiers, which made Athena decide to follow him too. When she got close to one enemy, she ducked down and pierced his heart. A floating number '100 EXP' came out from the fallen body, making her wonder what it was. It then vanished after a few seconds. But as new enemies came to her, she had no time to dwell on this mystery.
It took almost an hour before the game finally finished. The victory was indeed in Athena's hand. A floating message 'Highest Score Ever Achieved: 5,740,000' popped in front of her, right below the message 'You Win!'. While observing it proudly, Dylan approached her.
"The game's finished. We can take off this VR device."
"Okay then," Athena said. She then grabbed her helmet and took it off, just like what Dylan did. In a blink of an eye, she returned to the first room.
A few minutes later, the staff members returned. They praised Athena for winning one of the three most difficult games the studio had. Aside from that, her score was much higher than the previous record. The goddess only smiled victoriously and said, "The real one is more challenging, so this one is really easy to beat."
"The real one?" the staff members frowned.
"Ah, forget about that," Dylan said as he grinned. "C'mon Athena, let's leave."
*****
From the virtual game studio, Dylan and Athena went to a shopping mall. As soon as they stepped into the building, the goddess shook her head as she was reminded of the markets in her time. They were all just an area full of dirty or unmaintained stalls, with their products haphazardly stacked inside them. This building was more like a palace than a market. She was even convinced that none of the palaces she ever knew were as extravagant and beautiful as this. If only the barbarian lifestyle from the past still persisted, then this building would definitely be targeted for plunder or take over.
After exploring the mall for almost two hours, Dylan took Athena to see a Light Rapid Train. The station itself did not impress her. But when she arrived at a platform and saw the train with her own eyes, she was amazed at how the vehicle could carry a lot of people. It could also move much faster than a bus. If only she could return to the past with this transportation idea, she would definitely introduce it to the kingdoms under her protection. This way, they would have a safer and faster means to transport their soldiers to the battlefield.
The last place they visited was an art and history museum. Entering the building, Dylan immediately walked to a painting and pressed the blue button below it. A transparent man then came out from the button, surprising Athena. Thinking he was a ghost captured and enslaved by modern technology, she observed him from head to toe. She also touched his face; the result was it turned wavy. Athena became convinced that he was not a ghost. Looking at Dylan, she asked, "What is this?"
"A holographic man that will explain anything about this painting," Dylan said. "He will also answer any questions related to it."
"What's a holographic man is?"
"Well ... I'm not smart enough to explain the technical details. But in my own language, he's some kind of recording that can be called through this button."
"Some kind of recording, huh?" Athena responded. "I originally thought he's a ghost captured by some kind of machine."
"Huh?" Dylan tilted his head. "What makes you think he's a ghost?"
"Because he's transparent and can appear from a place a human can't."
Dylan chuckled. "Well ... I can't deny that the characteristics are indeed similar," he said, before he turned to the holographic man. "Please explain to us about this painting."
The holographic man nodded, before he gave the explanation that was relatively easy to understand. The same man would also appear before other paintings or objects, every time Dylan pressed the blue buttons. With the assistance of this figure, until twenty minutes before the closing time, Athena had successfully studied 183 objects in the museum.
"So, are we going home now?" Athena asked after they exited the building.
"Let's have dinner before we hit home. I know an outstanding place for it."
"If it's indeed outstanding, then I'd like to check it."
"Let's go then," Dylan said, before he took out his phone and booked a taxi with it.