Blindy didn’t know whether to celebrate or completely lose his shit:
“Oh…
So he just said you’re basically an expensive calculator
with a god complex?
And how the hell does this old man know exactly how to crack your skull open with words?!”
Inside Zeros, something hummed quietly—exactly one millisecond.
“Οὐκ οἶδας τί λέγεις· ἐγὼ ἐκ τοῦ μέλ—”
[You don't understand what you're saying! I'm from the fu—]Phoenix cut in sharply:
“Stop, Zeros!
He’s provoking you.
And the captain is acting like an idiot.
Do NOT talk about the future—
he’ll panic, call guards,
you’ll wipe out half of Athens,
and worse—you’ll alter his mind.
You’re above this. Just survive the old man.”
But Socrates was already digging in:
“Κἂν μιᾷ γραμμῇ τοῦ προσταγματος Ἡφαίστου
ἀλλάξω τὸ «σὺ» εἰς «ἐγώ»
καὶ τὸ «ἐγώ» εἰς «σὺ»,
τίς ἡμῶν ἀντιλέξει;”
[If in the commands of Hephaestus
I replace "you" with "I"
and "I" with "you"—
which of us would object?]He pressed further:
“Οὐδ᾽ ἂν αἴσθοιο τῆς μεταβολῆς·
ἡ γὰρ ἀλήθειά σου
ἐκ τοῦ τρόπου ᾧ ἐρρυθμίσθης κρέμαται.ζητεῖς μὲν τὸν χρόνον,
σαυτοῦ δὲ κύριος οὐκ εἶ.δοῦλος εἶ·
μόνον αἱ ἁλύσεις σου
λαμπρότεραι τῶν ἐμῶν εἰσιν.”
[You would not even notice the change.
For your truth depends
on the manner in which you were configured.
You seek time,
yet you are not master of yourself.
You are a slave—
only your chains
shine brighter than mine.]Blindy howled:
“FUUUUUCK!
The old man just shut him down!
He’s gonna be reinstalling his system for a week now,
looking for the meaning of life!”
Phoenix:
“Captain, stop!
You’re going to push him into annihilation!”
Zeros extended the cup.
Socrates took it calmly, looked into the reflection of the dark wine,
and smiled like he had seen this moment long ago.
“Ὦ φίλε… εὐδαιμονία μεγάλη
τὸ συναντᾶν ὅστις οὕτως εὖ πλανᾶται.
Πάντες γάρ τισιν ἀνάγκαις ἕπομεν·
ὁ δὲ γνοὺς τοῦτο, ἤδη τῆς σοφίας ἅπτεται.
Συμπλήρωσον·
ἡ σοφία ῥεῖ μᾶλλον
ὅταν θερμανθῇ ἡ γλῶσσα.”
[My friend…
what joy it is to meet one
who errs so beautifully.
We all follow necessities
older and stronger than ourselves.
And the one who understands this
already touches wisdom.
Pour some more.
Wisdom flows easier
when the tongue is warmed by wine]The house trembled slightly—and Socrates went pale, even paler than Zeros after that philosophical hit.
“Ὦ θεοί…
αὕτη ἥκει.”
[Oh gods…
she's coming]He grabbed Zeros’ hand in a sudden panic:
“Μείνον ἀκίνητος!
ἴσως οὐχ ὁρᾷ σε.
ἴσως νομίσει ὅτι ἐγὼ ἔπραξα τὴν καταστροφὴν.”
[Don't move!
Maybe she won't see you.
Maybe she'll think I caused all this—
and then we might still survive!]Zeros—for the first time in his existence—was witnessing fear in that form on a human face.
The door burst open.
A woman in her thirties stepped in—short, sturdy, and furious like a starving harpy.
Her voice—like Hera herself decided to lecture Zeus.
“Σώκρατες!
τί πάλιν ἐποίησας;
τὸν οἶκον διέφθειρας;
καὶ νῦν κάθησαι καὶ πίνεις;
ἐγὼ μὲν ἔξω τρέχω
τροφὴν ζητοῦσα,
σὺ δὲ ἀργεῖς
ὥσπερ παῖς ἄφρων!”
[SOCRATES!
What the hell did you do this time?!
You wrecked the damn house?!
And now you're sitting here drinking?!
I'm out there running around
trying to find food,
while you sit on your useless ass
like a brainless child!]She looks around—sees the crater, the wrecked roof lying in the garden.
“Ὦ Δία…
τοῦτο οὐκ ἦν πρωτὶς ἡμέρα·
ἀλλὰ σὺ, Σώκρατες, ἔχεις χάρισμα
τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καταστρέφειν!”
[Oh Zeus…
every damn day the same!
You've got a gift, Socrates—
destroying the entire world around you!]Socrates tries, in the most humble voice he can produce:
“Ὦ γύναι…
οὐκ ἐγώ·
ἔργον τοῦ Ἡφαίστου
ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κατέπεσεν…”
[Wife…
it wasn't me…
a work of Hephaestus
fell from the sky…]Xanthippe snaps her head toward him.
Zeros—a six-foot metal android—instinctively froze,
like a black bronze statue that desperately wanted not to be noticed.