Chapter 11 – Planning and Revelations

[Main POV]

After Olivia closed the door, I collapsed on my chair.

"Whew. That was close."

I knew constantly lying wasn't sustainable. At least for the people closest to me. The question was: what to do about them?

I could periodically kill and replace them. Medium risk, low reward, high maintenance. Not optimal.

The other option was to make them loyal to me. The most obvious was to start a paganist cult where they worship me. Higher risk, high reward, low maintenance.

I could always try option 1 if option 2 fails. Questions, questions.

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The other question was what 8 other books I would send to the publishing company. I didn't want to give them something important like Harry Potter. That prize was too big for me to give any piece of.

Scrolling through all the books I had typed out on my laptop, I found 8 stories that were optimal.

They didn't have sequels. They were one-shots that were still pretty big hits.

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Time skip to June 1984

[Main POV]

Once again Olivia and I were on a bus, this time to Fort Worth, Texas. This was where the National Chess Championship would be held.

Over the past months, I was quite busy. I built a printer. I worked on some animations. I also sent a few satellites into space.

Oh, and Olivia knew that I was a god. Let me explain.

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Flashback to April 1984

[Main POV]

"Why're we out here again?" Olivia asked. It was 1:00 am and we were out in the middle of nowhere with 6 satellites that I had built and intended to "launch."

The car was parked on the side of a dirt road, and we had spent half an hour walking in the desert.

"Just running a few errands. You know, experiments and science stuff."

"Really? What's the experiment?"

"We're here to answer a simple, yet complicated question. Olivia, do you believe in the gods?"

She frowned before saying, "Gods? Don't you mean God? Like Ms. Davis talks about?"

I shook my head. "No, I mean Gods. Like Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."

Olivia paused before exclaiming, "Ohhh, you mean from like those Percy Jackson books you showed me. Aren't they just stories? I mean there's tons of scientific evidence that suggest they don't exist."

"Doesn't science also suggest that the Christian God doesn't exist? The most reasonable explanation being that everything in the Bible is a bunch of hocus pocus people in the past thought because of their ignorance?"

Olivia instinctively looked around. While she wasn't a firm believer herself, but she grew up in a Catholic orphanage, and respected Christian traditions. She also wasn't stupid enough to trash talk Christianity in Texas.

"Yeah, well a lot of people don't take the Bible as fact. People read it as an allegory. It's not like science can tell you how to live as a good moral person."

I stopped walking. "And so you believe in this framework of morality simply because a book tells you to?"

She stops about 10 paces away before answering, "I believe in a set of moral principles because a higher power said so. Any statement from a human source regarding morality is just as valid as the disagreeing opinion."

I paused, digesting her words. "So, if a higher power told you how to live your life, you would listen to them?"

"What's your point?"

"Just answer the question."

"Fine. Theoretically, if there were a higher power that told me to do something, yes I would defer to their opinion on matters."

"Well, that's one way to put it."

I look back to make sure we weren't being followed. A crescent moon was out that night, providing only a sliver of light for Olivia to see. As I turn around and face Olivia, she gasped.

"Apollo, your eyes…"

Indeed. My eyes were currently not normal. Inside each socket was a ball of fire, bright like the sun.

As I walked towards her, she matched my pace and stepped back. I used my super strength to stomp on the earth, shaking it, which caused her to lose her balance and fall on her bottom.

Once she looked up, I levitated myself into the air as my body burst into white flames,, making myself as bright as the sun. Olivia shielded her eyes before I lowered the brightness so she could look in my direction.

"Apollo, what—" Olivia gasped. "Apollo…"

"I, Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, stand before you, mortal, to illuminate your world with divine presence and offer my words of guidance. I am the radiant god, the one whose essence encompasses a multitude of domains, bestowed upon me by the heavenly realm.

I am the god of music, the celestial melodies that stir your souls and inspire creativity. With my songs, I weave harmonies that resound through the cosmos, igniting the flame of passion within your hearts.

As the god of poetry, I am the master of words, crafting verses that carry the weight of emotions, wisdom, and timeless tales. Through the rhythmic cadence of language, I offer solace, provoke introspection, and celebrate the beauty of existence.

Behold, I am the healer, wielding the sacred arts of medicine and wellness. In times of ailment, I bring forth my divine touch, soothing your afflictions and guiding you towards vitality and restoration. With my guidance, you shall find balance between body and spirit.

As the archer god, I embody precision and the pursuit of truth. My arrows fly with unerring accuracy, piercing through the veils of ignorance and revealing the path towards enlightenment. Seek my wisdom, and I shall illuminate the mysteries that shroud your mortal realm.

I am the bringer of light, the embodiment of the sun's radiance. As the god of the sun, I grace the world with warmth and illumination, banishing darkness and nurturing life. Each dawn marks my triumphant return, heralding a new day filled with possibilities.

I am Apollo, the god of music, poetry, healing, prophecy, and the sun—a deity whose influence reaches far and wide.

Embrace my presence, mortal, for I offer you inspiration, healing, and enlightenment. With my guidance, may you find harmony in the cadence of existence and walk a path illuminated by divine grace."

And yes, I prepared this speech beforehand.