Chapter 8: Are you going to be a translator?

 "What is it?" Joseph asked, furrowing his brow. For those unknown things, Joseph didn't have an urge to bring them inside his mouth, thus showing that he was by no means a big fan of food before traversing the world.

 "Let me tell you, this crystalline liquid is the very same kind of liquid that was used by the goddess of youth, Hebe, when she entertained Zeus, the king of the Greek gods who ruled over thunder and lightning. It is a divine object given by Hebe to her followers. Come and try it; it will bring you all sorts of dreams and inspirations and make you forget all your sorrows." Darcy replied in an exaggerated tone like a recitation of the Cid.

 "Come on, Darcy, you're not on stage; you're not performing Cid. To be clear, what exactly is this thing?" Joseph's tone was getting a little impatient.

 "Ah, O mortal, the endless treasure is before you, but you have no eyes to see it." Darcy continued in that aria-like voice, "Do you love gold? With it, the treasures of Mansa Musa and Alexander will open with a loud blast before your eyes; do you love fantasies? Drink it, and boundless space and deep oceans will open their arms to you'; or are you keen on power? Drink it, and you will become Caesar, become Augustus, or even become Alexander. Isn't that tempting enough?"

 "What the hell is it?" Joseph frowned as he said. He could have known that in this day and age, it was a time when all kinds of psychotropic drugs were commonly abused.

 "Have you ever heard of Saracin?" Darcy asked.

 'Of course I've heard of it, and I know about Assassin's Creed.' With this thought, Joseph said, "Of course, of course I know."

 "Then you should also know about the old man of the mountain who tried to assassinate Philip Augustus. Legend has it that he ruled over a rich valley flanked by towering mountains - from which he took his legendary name. Legend has it that in that mysterious valley was one of his gardens, where, according to Marco Polo, he grew an immortal herb. His chosen ones, the assassins, could sor to heaven early if they ate it. Having seen the supreme joy of heaven, they all believed that service to that old man would lead to eternal access to that heaven. So the old man told them to kill whoever they wanted. Even if it meant trekking to the end of the world and walking next to the golden apple tree where Hercules had once been; or facing a venomous torture or even beheading. They all feared nothing because they thought that it was just a way for them to be able to ascend to that paradise that they had briefly visisted. My friend, now the keys to this heaven are before you."

 "Indian cannabis!" Joseph said.

 "Yeah, that's the stuff!" With an exaggerated grin, Darcy said, "How about it?"

 "Alas, Joseph, how much less fun in your life will be because of this! But maybe you really don't need all that much, because you never lack a spark of inspiration. Plus, this attitude you have about dying is kind of similar to my uncle's Darcy saying, "Well, what's wrong with your father? "

 "Not sure yet," Joseph said sadly. "But the doctors suspected that he had a tumor growing inside his stomach, causing his stomach to constantly ulcerate and bleed. All in all, it was very dangerous, and the doctors could do almost nothing at all. They figured he wouldn't last much longer. Maybe soon I'll have to leave school and go back to Corsica."

 "So you'll be back?" Darcy asked.

 "I hope to come back." Joseph said, "Who wants to leave Paris? It's just that, you know I have several other brothers and sisters. My sisters should be fine, but my brothers have to go to school, and that's a lot of money to spend. If anything did happen to my father, as the eldest son of the family, I would have to step up and take all the responsibility of the family."

 "Joseph, you're not even fifteen today." Darcy said, "Even if you want to come out and work, it's a little early. You're also a year away from graduating now. If you drop out of school at this point, not only is it a shame, but the salary you can get from going straight to a job nowadays. versus going to a job after you graduate with a degree, will be much different.

 Maybe if you drop out of school and work a year early, you'll be able to get a paycheck that's less than one-half of what you'll be able to get after grinding your teeth into another year of school. Your family is aristocratic... Of course, I know that there is a big difference between the aristocracy of Corsica and the aristocracy of France... You know, I'm talking about economic differences, not the other way around. But, after all, nobles are nobles, amd evem poor nobles are only poorer relative to other nobles. So, I think there's always a way for your family to hold out for another year."

 Joseph shook his head. "My friend, our family's financial situation is more serious than you think. The poor nobles you speak of are the poor nobles of France. But the poor nobles of Corsica are poorer than the poor nobles of France. You know, Corsica has just been through a war, and wars wreak havoc on weath. Also, in the beginning, France did not recognize the nobility of the Corsican nobility. It was later recognized conditionally, but it cost money to get that recognition. And it costs a lot of money. It pretty much drained our family. So today, our family is much poorer than you think."

"Okay, okay," Darcy said. "But I still think... By the way, how is your English?"

 "Not bad, maybe slightly better than my French," Joseph replied. "What's the matter?"

 "Aren't you short of money?" Darcy said, "I was asked to find someone to help translate Shakespeare's and Milton's poems and plays. He pays well, not much less than if you dropped out of school and got a job. Well, the fact is that you can't spend much money on your studies or even have a little left over if you're plainly enough. It shouldn't be too much of a problem for you to support yourself for a year while you go to school and do more of this kind of work, and keep your family frugal. In a year's time, you'll graduate and have the opportunity to get a lot more money than you have today."

 Joseph knew that Darcy was not really telling the whole truth when he said that he had been asked to find someone to translate the poetry and plays of Shakespeare and Milton. What's really going on is that it's more than likely that someone has asked Darcy to translate these things.

 "Darcy, I think this is what people ask you to translate. Wouldn't it be robbing you if I took it instead?" Joseph said.

 "Hey, I'm so busy these days, how do I have time for this? You see, I have to enjoy the immortal dew of the goddess of youth, Hebe, and at the same time, I have to deal with my whole company of mistresses... God, where do I have time for such a boring thing? If I spent all of my youth at my desk, those mistresses of mine would be running off to the bed of Fabio or some other kid I don't know. It's just that the person who entrusted me with it is a friend of mine, and I can't afford to push it. It would really liberate me if you would do it!" Darcy replied in another exaggerated tone.

 Darcy is good-looking, comes from a good family, and his family has money, so he does attract women. He often likes to compare himself to Don Juan, so he can often be seen around different women all the time, but to say he has a company of mistresses is certainly bragging.

 "Well, thank you very much," Joseph replied sincerely. "Also, do you think I could go work as an assistant for your uncle after I graduate?"

 "What? To be his assistant?" Darcy's eyes widened. "Ah, my friend, with your level of math and natural science, this is definitely no problem. However, I don't recommend that you go and work as an assistant to my famous uncle after you graduate."

 "Why?" Joseph asked.

 "If you're not under financial pressure, it would be nice to work for him as an assistant; you could learn a lot. But you may not know that uncle... of mine, who is my elder and the pride of all France, I should not have said anything about. But no one is perfect except Jesus. So did that uncle of mine, in a way... Have you ever seen Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice?"

 "I have seen it." Joseph nodded.

 "He's a bit like Shylock in that in some ways. So if you're under financial pressure, working for him as an assistant wouldn't be a good choice." Darcy laughed bitterly.

"So it is..." Joseph followed suit.

 Joseph knew that Darcy's uncle, Antoine Lavoisier, was one of France's greatest scientists, but he also knew that Darcy should not have slandered his uncle. Lavoisier has a thirst for wealth. So even by the time of the Revolution in France, even knowing full well that he, as an aristocrat, was not liked by the Jacobins in power. But he still took the risk of doing things like tax-packing, hoarding, speculation, and so on. He was eventually sent to the guillotine and had his head chopped off for it. The great mathematician of the time, Lagrange, exclaimed: "It takes France a hundred years to grow such a clever man, but they cut his head off in a second." But even Lagrange, who said this, did not think that Lavoisier had not done the things the Jacobins were accused of.

 "Actually, with your ability and the Louis the Great's School reputation, it won't be hard to find a suitable job." Darcy said, "For example, it's actually quite easy for you to go and be a priest with black robes. Of course, being a priest theoretically invovles giving up a lot of things, but in reality it's a different story. You know, a lot of popes keep mistresses. Pope Alexander VI perhaps even with his own daughter... It's so.. enviable!"

 "You beast!" Joseph said hurriedly.

 "Thanks for your high opinion of me," Darcy replied shamelessly.