“I wanted to become incarnate to learn some things,” Father said. “Athene offered me the Republic as a time and place to do that. It was my free choice.”

“And you’ve learned them, I see, and more besides. And you have a daughter. How very unlike you.” Zeus looked at me, and I met his gaze as best I could. He looked a little puzzled. I felt as if I should be terrified, but I wasn’t afraid at all. It wasn’t like the time on Delos where everything I did was under the control of Fate and I was going through a prescribed and required set of motions. I was entirely free to act and choose for myself. But I didn’t feel fear or anger, or anything at all really. Indeed, I felt preternaturally calm.

“My daughter Arete, my sons Kallikles, Phaedrus, Neleus, Euklides and Porphyry,” Father said, indicating us. I realized for the first time that Alkibiades wasn’t there, though he had been standing with the others. Was that because he had said he didn’t want divine powers? How did Zeus know? And how was Neleus here? He wasn’t really Father’s son.

“A place women can be excellent, eh?” Zeus said, punning on my name of course, not even the king of gods and men was above that. He seemed to hear a lot more than was said, because while I knew that Father usually only had sons because it was generally so unpleasant to be a woman, but the Republic was fair to both, Father hadn’t said anything to Zeus about that.

“Plato—” Athene said.

“Don’t start,” Zeus said. “After what you did to Sokrates?”

He stopped and looked at Ikaros. “To answer your unspoken question, I knew nothing about it until it was drawn to my attention by Arete just now, and now I know everything about it, as if I had always known.”

“Thank you,” Ikaros said. “And if you don’t mind me asking, why are you taking the time to explain this to me?”

“Because it’s better than overhearing your infernal conjectures,” Zeus said. As he laughed the mountain seemed to shake. Then he looked at Maia.

“And yes, this is Olympos, and you are correct that we are not perfect. And yes, Pytheas is Apollo.”

Maia nodded gravely. “Of course,” she said. “And Simmea knew, of course.” Father smiled at that.

“And you are here because Ikaros felt you were a deserving philosopher who had been right where he had been wrong,” Zeus went on.

“And since I was wrong, why from all the assembled citizens did you choose to bring me?” Ikaros was being very polite, but he didn’t seem afraid either. I wondered if calm was somehow in the air here.