Portal to the City of Gods

It is easy to confuse fiction and reality.

It is easy to destroy the world that is given to you.

But if you maintain your solidarity,

The world will never be surrendered to others.

A. V. Grigoryev.

Acknowledgements:

Обложка создана в системе Canva и Postermywall

© Alexandr Grigoryev, 2023

ISBN 978-5-0060-5228-4

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

All characters and events are fictional and have nothing to do with reality.

Chapter 1. The Destroyed City»

Alcmen was getting ready for bed when his father entered the room. The boy was very happy because they always had a great time together, but unfortunately it was very rare. Alcmen didn’t often get to see his father, who was a very famous archaeologist and therefore often absent from home. But when he was home, he always came to the boy’s room and told stories about lost cities, lost treasures, and artifacts that no one had ever heard of. In his father’s absence, Alcmen missed him terribly and dreamed of their next meeting. He constantly imagined how they would talk and wanted to spend as much time with his father as possible. He really wanted to hear from him all those stories that he unearthed from the depths of time. Or like everyone, at least listen to a bedtime fairy tale, because the story told by his father always turned into something more than just a fairy tale. It could easily become a legend or a myth, similar to modern fantasy.

Dad entered the room and sat down next to the bed. Alcmen looked at his father with a cunning look and his father immediately understood.

«It’s you again!»

«Dad, tell me a story,» asked Alcmen.

Dad stroked his son’s head.

«You know I’m a scientist, not a storyteller. I can’t tell stories. Let’s just chat,» suggested dad.

«Well, tell me. You know a lot of myths and legends, and they’re also very fairy-tale-like,» demanded the boy, he really wanted to hear a new story.

«Okay, I’ll tell you a legend about the destroyed city of the Gods, whose inhabitants disappeared,» said dad, intrigue in his voice, waving his hand in the air. The room immediately changed, the light became subdued, and the atmosphere was mesmerizing, it seemed that a knight in shining armor would soon appear from behind the bed’s back or a dragon would emerge from under the floor.

«Is it true or fiction?» asked the son, getting closer to his father, waiting for a wonder.

«Until recently, no one knew if it was true or not. There was a legend and live oral traditions, but there was no evidence of the existence of this city. But since it’s a legend, we believe that we can trust it, so we were looking for this city. Do you know the difference between a myth and a legend?» asked dad.

«Approximately»…, the boy said and hid his eyes, feeling like he didn’t live up to his father’s expectations. In fact, he was wrong. His father undoubtedly wanted to see something of himself in his son, but this was by no means imposed as a given. He understood that every person is already a separate personality from birth and can think completely differently than is assumed, let alone as others might want them to. Dad looked at his son and ruffled his hair, and then looked him straight in the eyes, as if piercing the invisible barrier between consciousness and subconsciousness. Alcmen recoiled.

«Real events and personalities that once existed are described in legends, without any hint of religious deviation, while myths have religious themes, and in myths, the life of the gods is fully described.»

«How uninteresting all these definitions are,» Alcmen thought and let them pass by his ears.

«Dad, tell me more about the city of the Gods,» the boy asked, his eyes lit up.

«The city of the Gods was destroyed six thousand years ago. At that time it was an enormous, developed metropolis. Science in the city had gone very far. Its inhabitants knew mathematics, astronomy and astrology, physics and anatomy, maybe sang songs and wrote poetry. They knew many things to perfection, better than we do now. Their builders surpassed our builders by several decades. We still have to perfect ourselves to their level. The city’s inhabitants knew how to control gravity and probably surpassed the speed of light, using sound and light for their purposes, using them in their economy. But at the same time, they did not cultivate fields, as they replaced animal and vegetable food with special synthetic preparations.

«So smart, and they ate junk,» Alcmen suddenly said.

«Not exactly. These manufactured products were not substitutes for real products. They possessed precisely the same properties as the real products. That’s where their secret lay.»

«That’s great!» exclaimed Alcmen.

The boy immediately imagined an artificial pizza coming off the assembly line like a machine. It is typical for us to imagine what we already know and completely untypical to imagine what we have never seen before.»

«What else did they have?»

«Most likely they were not religious. According to legends, the inhabitants of this metropolis could fly into space. They had flying machines like our rockets. They also had carriages without horses, but they moved without fuel. What propelled them is still unknown».

The boy closed his eyes and tried to imagine a huge metropolis where carriages moved on their own, rockets flew everywhere, and people ate artificial food. «It’s very difficult, despite the fact that Dad always says that I have a wild imagination.»

«But that’s not all,» Dad continued. «According to legends, they could control time. In the city of the Gods, there was a temple of time, where there were clocks that could take you to the past and the future. But unfortunately, this is just a legend.»

«Dad is the real storyteller, talking about how people used to fly into space and control time. It seems more like a myth, because real history tells us that people were primitive and definitely did not fly into space, and most certainly did not travel through time. But what if it’s all true and Dad isn’t making it up? Dad doesn’t have as much imagination as I do,» the boy realized. «I wish I could see them,» Alcmen thought.

«Once something very mysterious happened in the city. Legend has it that it was a battle in which the strongest and most powerful inhabitants of the planet participated. The battle took place in the sky, flying vehicles like our airplanes were flying in the sky. Since the forces were not equal, the city was destroyed, and its inhabitants left it. They went to another world where there are no wars. Where they actually disappeared to, science still does not know».

The boy’s imagination immediately ran wild, he imagined how dozens of airplanes were flying in the sky and trying to shoot each other down. Everything falls on the city and destroys it.

«What are you thinking about?» asked the father with a smile, knowing of his son’s boundless imagination.

«I just imagined it. I wish I could see them and learn how they lived.»

«I can’t promise everything, but I can guarantee something. In about a month, we should determine the exact location of the City of the Gods, and we’ll fly there together.»

«And me too?» asked the surprised boy. He hadn’t even thought about asking to fly to excavate the mysteriously destroyed city, whose inhabitants disappeared without a trace.

«And you too,» said the father, flicking the boy’s nose. «Now go to sleep.»

«All my words have disappeared somewhere,» said the boy, pouting. «You never took me anywhere before.»

«This expedition is special. It’s more exciting than all the others. You’ll have the opportunity to visit the past, the past that no one will ever tell you about in school. And if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to see what’s left of the City of the Gods.»

«Awesome!» exclaimed Alkmen.

«Okay, quieter. We’ll go in about a month. I’m leaving for another expedition tomorrow and I need to consult, but as soon as I get back, we’ll go.»

«M-m-m,» said the boy, pursing his lips.

«Now go to sleep!»

«Okay…»

The boy turned to the wall and closed his eyes. «I’ll be able to see the mysterious past with my own eyes. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get answers to all my questions, or at least some of them,» thought Alkmen.

Through his thoughts, pictures from the past appeared, and the boy no longer distinguished between his imagination and dream. «Everything exploded and flew in different directions, but people still walked towards their death. It was hardest for them because they couldn’t fly or dodge, they didn’t have any extra protection. Kras lifted off into the air, not needing any additional flying devices. He unleashed all the power of his weapons at Vors and his flying machine shattered into pieces, sweeping away everything in its path, people, elephants, houses, and even hills. The force of the impact melted the stone, which flowed like thick tar and immediately solidified in fanciful shapes at the base of the slope. The machine flew a few more meters and crashed into a wall, which instantly turned into a pile of stones, leaving nothing living around it for hundreds of meters. «Victory will be ours!» Kras shouted and ran towards the retreating enemy army. No one knew how the battle of super warriors might end, it was impossible to predict the outcome. Kras thought victory was only one step away, but from somewhere in the sky, Lars rose up and unleashed all his strength on Kras. Bright lightning bolts flew towards him and piercing rays of light. Kras’s protective shield cracked and exploded into small pieces a moment later. Kras fired his energy charge at Lars, but Lars dodged it, he was less vulnerable than flying machines. Kras had nothing to do but launch himself at Lars in hand-to-hand combat. He threw off his protective ring and pounced on Lars. They flew down together, crashed into a building, but the building didn’t stop them. They flew further, leaving ruin behind. The building fell apart like a house of cards in different directions. The enemy army stopped and froze, waiting for the outcome of the battle between the two best warriors. Kras’ warriors stopped too, and for a while, silence hung in the air, and ash began to dissipate. After a while, Kras emerged on the surface. «Hurrah!» thundered from all sides. The enemy retreated again. The boy woke up in cold sweat. «Incredible, it was just a dream,» he said out loud, wiping the sweat from his forehead. «It was like going to the cinema, and Kras is a hero, he still won. I have to ask my father what kind of weapons they used and what they flew on.» But I couldn’t ask my father, he left on another expedition at night.

Chapter 2. The Legend of the City of Gods

The next day, Alcmene couldn’t think of anything else. The unexpectedly revived city of the Gods in his imagination did not let him rest. «Snow-white walls of majestic buildings, columns must be there, many columns. The streets are paved with huge stone slabs. Flying apparatus in the air, and people walking freely on the streets, with self-driving carriages passing by them,» he thought, closing his eyes. For some reason, he was strongly convinced that the city looked exactly like this and not otherwise, as if he had already been there before. Right now, it seemed to him that he even knew the layout of the streets and could confidently navigate it. In reality, it was only his vivid imagination.

«I need to find any information about this city. Dad said that the City of Gods was destroyed and only legends remained. But if it is known about it, then something else must exist,» he guessed.

Alcmene quickly had some sandwiches for breakfast and got ready to go. He headed towards the library. They had a very good library in their university town, with books for any period and any need. They lived in a small town near the university where his father worked – he was a renowned scientist. In the town, which its residents called «university town», everything necessary for life was available: their own store, laundry, dry cleaning, hair salon, and a very good library. It was probably the best library, which even had scrolls from the Library of Alexandria, but access to them was limited. Only those who worked directly on the excavations in Alexandria could use the scrolls. The town even had a museum.

«We only have ruins and fragmentary information. But we know that they had self-driving carriages in the city, and flying machines in the sky. Dad said that the inhabitants of the city knew how to control time, which doesn’t sound like a primitive structure of a community. Something tells me that the world was very different from what is described in our history textbooks. They had highly advanced technologies, and the word «Gods’ cannot justify that,» Alcmene thought on his way to the library.

The library building was located around the corner from their house, so it was a short walk. And the whole town wasn’t very big, there were only two main streets intersecting at the point where the university was located. The university building was like a palace done in antique style. It was gray in color, but very majestic, towering over all the other buildings, as if showing its significance. It was like a lighthouse in this world of knowledge. In front of it was a small square with a fountain, and across from the university was the museum building, which was sometimes visited by tourists. There were no more sights in the city. On the one hand, living in such a small town was very convenient, there was no need to go anywhere, everything was within walking distance, but on the other hand, every day turned into one big day. Nothing changed around.

The library building was done in the same antique style, but it was less imposing, although it also inspired confidence. On the upper portico was a huge bas-relief of Calliope, the goddess of ancient Greece’s arts.

The boy approached the library building and habitually raised his head. Ever since he learned about the bas-relief of the Goddess Calliope, he stopped in front of the building and greeted her as if he knew her. You could say it became a tradition for him. «I wonder if everyone knows about her existence or not,» he thought and entered the library. Before him was a huge vestibule that could easily hold half of the books in the library. At the entrance was a desk with Dorsey checking passes, since entry into the library was by passes. Alcmene was a frequent visitor to the library and had a special pass.

As the boy walked into the reading room on the second floor, he began to look at the bookshelves. At that moment, an unfamiliar young woman approached him. He was a little taken aback, as he knew perfectly well everyone who lived in their small town near the university, and he had never seen this woman before.

«Hello! Can I help you with something?» the unknown woman asked politely with a friendly voice.

«Hello! I need a book about the Destroyed City of the Gods,» Alcmena quickly replied.

The woman nodded and walked along the bookshelves. «She didn’t ask me exactly what kind of destroyed city of gods it was. Only my father and I know about it. Strange,» the boy thought to himself, but didn’t show it.

«Who is she?» he whispered. «It’s as if the City of the Gods appeared in this library,» he thought.

Before this, Mrs. Marge had worked in the library, but she disappeared like the residents of the Destroyed City of the Gods. The woman disappeared from view. Alcmena looked between the bookshelves and pondered, «I feel like I’ve been transported to another time and space. I’ve been transported to another world where they can tell me about the City of the Gods.» The boy’s imagination took over again and he couldn’t stop. It seemed very strange to him that Mrs. Marge was not in her place and an unknown woman was in her place instead. In reality, there was nothing surprising about it. Sometimes in life, if something is supposed to happen, it will definitely happen.

Soon the stranger returned, with the book in her hands.

She handed him the book. «Thank you,» he said, taking the book and thanking the woman.

«Why don’t I know you?» Alcmena asked.

«I don’t know,» the woman shrugged in response.

The boy looked at her and left the reading room. He ran downstairs, wanting to ask Dorsey who the woman was, but for some reason, Dorsey wasn’t there. «Maybe I’ll go to the park, it’s a good place to read,» he thought, and left the library building.

The city park was right behind the museum, which was very convenient, as tourists would often go to the park after visiting the museum to avoid going back right away. Alcmena walked out onto the central street and headed for the park, the book about the City of the Gods in his hands. He couldn’t wait to read it. He opened the book and read: «In this glorious city, long ago, the Gods lived. Therefore, the book talks about the life of the Gods…»

«Ha!» exclaimed the boy, immediately remembering his father’s words about the distinction between legends and myths. «Gods, so dad was wrong, it’s not a legend, it’s definitely a myth. How can this be! It turns out that dad just doesn’t know about it. When he comes back, I’ll have to tell him right away,» Alcmena thought, happy to have discovered the truth. Now he definitely wanted to tell his father about it, but his father was very far away and he had no way of communicating with him.

The boy quickened his pace, now he couldn’t be stopped. His curiosity was so strong that no obstacle was frightening him. He circled around the museum building and walked into the park. At the entrance there was a statue of the ancient Greek goddess of history, Clio. She towered over the trees and seemed to invite him into the park. In the park, mostly chestnut, hazelnut, and oak trees grew. Here and there between the trees there were flower beds. But most of all, Alcmena liked the place where there was a labyrinth made of trimmed bushes. There were benches in the most secluded places of the maze, and he could be alone and immerse himself in his illusionary world while being completely sure that no one would disturb him.

Alcmena walked into the labyrinth and immediately headed for his bench. There was no one around. He sat on the bench and opened the book.

«Our city is in danger again,» the elder said. «Kras, you need to step up to defend the city again.»

«I will save our city. There is no force that can overcome me,» Kras said.

«Take me with you,» the young girl begged. No one knew her name. She was so young that she had probably only just turned sixteen. All the city dwellers paid attention to her. They understood perfectly well that Kras wouldn’t be able to take her with him.

«You are still very young. We’ll manage. Be on guard for an hour. I’ll be back soon», Kras said, and stroked the girl’s head.

«I understand you. I won’t move from here,» the girl said.

«It’s time for me to go!» Kras said, and took off. As soon as he ascended into the air, fiery arrows rained down from the sky. The city was left in smoke.»

«What a book!» the boy exclaimed, hugging it to his chest. He didn’t even suspect what he would face next. Now he felt like an event participant and a full-fledged citizen of the City of the Gods.

After the smoke scattered, there was not a single resident nor a single intact building in the city. The Temple of Time was destroyed. No one knew what had happened to Kras and the young girl. No one knew where the inhabitants of the glorious City of the Gods had gone.

Author’s note.

To future researchers, this is dedicated. Someday, in the distant future, we’ll solve this puzzle. See you, friends!»»

The boy closed the book; he read it in one go.

«What an incredible discovery my father made. Not so long ago, I knew nothing about the City of the Gods’ existence, and now I’m discovering a world of complete unknowns. Our flat representation of the modern world and its past seem dim when compared to what I’m learning now. The history of our world was completely different and has nothing to do with what’s in textbooks.»»

«The boy turned the book over in his hands and headed home. Now all his ideas about the past of his native planet had changed. There was no longer primitive communal order, no more Stone Age. But there was a huge interest in figuring everything out.

«Thanks, Dad!» he said aloud, as if knowing that even though he was far away, he could still hear him. He now had full confidence that he had found the key to the secret knowledge that had been lost for some unknown reason. And all of human’s superpowers were not fiction, but a hidden truth.

«I feel like I can fly, as if I don’t know one important word or have forgotten the instructions, but as soon as I remember it, I’ll be able to soar. He looked up at the sky and saw birds freely soaring in it. It was getting dark and where the day had gone was unknown, it disappeared unnoticed, but it left a huge trace in the boy’s life, and all his ideas about the world were turned upside down. Alcmen closed his eyes and in his imagination he saw flying machines that showered the earth with fiery arrows. «Odd, if Kras had such power and was unbeatable. He had a spear of strength. Who could have destroyed the city?» The question kept spinning in his head, it was driving him crazy. It always happens that as soon as you find the answer to one question, another question immediately appears that you need to find the answer to.

Alcmen came home and collapsed onto the bed, he was really tired. As soon as he closed his eyes, his imagination took over, and he was already in the City of the Gods: «Kras flew past the enemy aircraft and collided with the enemy along with the aircraft. His enemy flew down, quickly burning in the layers of the atmosphere. Kras turned around and began knocking down enemies one by one with his spear. Soon there was no one left in the sky. Kras emerged as the winner again and saved the City of the Gods from destruction.»

The boy didn’t notice anything, the City of the Gods had engulfed him completely. It replaced all of his interests and became his biggest interest. So the month flew by unnoticed, and finally, his father came back.»