“It wasn’t clear whether the old woman properly understood what we were asking, or if she thought we were saying we were from Minos,” Kallikles said. “It was horrible. I wanted to help them somehow. Give them my knife, or better, teach them how to make iron and wash. Teach them philosophy! But at the same time I couldn’t wait to get away. The way the old woman was talking to Maecenas, ducking her head as if she thought he’d strike her!” He shook his head.

“You can’t help them, it could break history,” Maia said.

I turned to her, surprised out of myself. The deck lights had just come on, giving everything a warm golden glow. “What do you mean break it?”

“If Kallikles taught them how to make iron it could change everything. Not that village, maybe, but imagine if the Trojans had iron weapons and the Greeks only bronze! Trying to help them could ruin everything!”

Ficino laughed, and we all turned to him. “We don’t know that. It could be what sets history right. Nobody knows much about what happened in Greece before the Trojan War. Maybe the Age of Iron began because Kallikles taught these primitives how to make it.”

“I don’t actually know how,” Kallikles admitted.

“I expect it’s in the library.” Erinna said. I wanted to turn to look at her, and I normally would have, but I kept still.

“We could send out expeditions to teach them medicine and technology,” Kallikles said. “We could really help them.”

“That would be wonderful,” Erinna said.

Maia tutted. “And if Troy had iron and didn’t fall?”

I was breathless again at the thought. I had imagined Ficino going to Troy’s aid despite knowing they would lose, now I imagined him going and changing everything.

“And what would happen then?” Ficino asked. “A different history starting from here where Troy never falls and Rome is never born? I don’t think that’s possible. We’re here, we’re free to act, anything we do is already part of history. We won’t change everything. We’re embedded here. We’re in a secret forgotten part of history, but history can’t be changed. We know what’s coming. We’re safely tucked in the margins of history. Athene saw to that.”

“You have a lot of faith in her still,” Maia said, sharply.

“In Providence,” Ficino said. “If these people need help and we can give it, perhaps that should be part of our mission. If we’re going to do it then it’s already part of what we will do. And it might relieve some suffering.”

“But what would happen if we tried to change history?” Erinna asked. “If we deliberately did something—if we told Paris what would come of him stealing Helen. If we told Helen?”