Professor Trenton and the Legacy of Zeus

By Terence A. Green

The fate of mankind and the fate of the gods are entwined in this fast moving thriller.
Ethan, Beth and Nora were just three lonely teenagers looking to better themselves.
When Pandoras box is opened to reveal a terrifying secret, the future of everything hangs in the balance.
The three teenagers must develop superhuman abilities to battle the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Professor Trenton and the Legacy of Zeus.
Can the dream of paradise on Earth be saved or will the wrangling of the gods destroy the world?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: May 22, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481794558

Terence A. Green

Terence A. Green was educated at Liverpool University where he graduated with a degree in mathematics and computer science. His career has spanned over thirty-five years in retailing, during which time he served as the CEO for several well-known high street names. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Hertfordshire. He spends his time between Somerset, Durham, and London. This is his first novel.

Book preview

Professor Trenton and the

Legacy of Zeus

Terence A. Green

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AuthorHouse™ UK Ltd.

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Bloomington, IN 47403 USA

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© 2013 by Terence A. Green. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/14/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-9454-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-9455-8 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

About the Author

Armageddon Rising

The Stone of Destiny

New Beginnings

Concord of the Gods

Cool Energy Research Facility (CERF)

EVOLUTION

Paradise and Pandora

The Legacy of Zeus

A Strange Encounter

Ambassadors of Evil

Lord of War

Champions Arise

The Treasure Hall of the Gods

Hades and the Horsemen

Warriors of Zeus

Plot and Counter Plot

Poseidon’s Proposal

The Crystal Citadel

Trident Island

The Sybil of Apollo

The Gods Make Plans

Visions of the future

Attack of the Hybrids

Into the Stadium of the Gods

Warriors of Good and Evil

Beasts of Hell

The Staff of Zeus

The Trident of Tears

The Scythe of Death

Heroes of Olympus

The Dark Power Rises

About the Author

T erence A. Green graduated from Liverpool University with a B.Sc.(hons). His career has spanned over 35 years in retailing during which time he served as the CEO for several well-known high street names. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. In 2010 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Hertfordshire. He spends his time between Somerset, Durham and London.

This is his first novel.

This book is dedicated to;

My partner Julie Anne for helping me to love animals.

My children Emma, Kate, James and Scarlett who inspired me to write.

Everyone who has ever wanted to fly.

Armageddon Rising

T he god’s footsteps echoed through the corridors of the crystal Citadel as he marched towards the sealed vault for the first time in thousands of years.

He lifted his staff and fired a bolt of energy releasing the clasps that kept the Lords of Evil locked inside. As the great vulcanite door swung open, Hades, god of the underworld, addressed the Four Horsemen trapped within the circle of Eternal Flame.

You are to be released to do your work at long last, my lords. He paused, examining their hideous countenances, before adding, Let the Apocalypse begin.

The Stone of Destiny

T he animals in the sanctuary, staring up into the night sky, followed the path of the aircraft as it passed overhead. As they watched, a Horseman on a white charger appeared out of the spirit plane and moved into the Earth’s dimension. Straining his giant bow he drew back an arrow of lightning and released it towards the target. Seconds later the plane exploded into a huge fireball. Once the deed was done, they saw him retreat into the realm of shadows. He was the first of the four Horsemen to be seen by the animals since their vigil had begun. Now they knew ‘The Reckoning’ had started, and their hearts were heavy.

The walkers stopped in their tracks at the sound of the blast. Scanning the night sky they sighted the stricken aircraft engulfed in flames. A blinding flash forced them to look away. When they looked back, the fireball had vanished. They watched in silence as the black silhouette plummeted through the starlit skies over Exmoor, the great National Park in the South West of England

Hearing the explosion Professor Trenton rushed to his study window. He saw a beam of white light shoot up from the top of the great stone in the grounds of his manor house. He watched it rise up into the night sky and engulf the damaged aircraft putting out the fireball.

Trenton’s eyes widened. He gripped the windowsill and stared into the darkness. The Great Stone, the one the locals called the Stone of Destiny, was beginning to reveal its secrets, but this was unexpected and beyond his comprehension.

Zeus, king of all the gods, sitting in his heaven on Mount Olympus spotted the Horseman out of the corner of his eye. It was the moment he knew would come. The moment he had been waiting for. He had his plan, conceived before the summit meeting of the gods to decide the fate of the earth. He hoped his chosen champions would make the right choices. They had free will and the future of the world would depend on it.

Zeus waved his hand and a beam of pure energy released from the Stone of Destiny, rose up and snuffed out the fireball.

For the millions of viewers watching the news the crash was caused by a freak lightning storm. Initial reports claimed everyone on board perished.

It was the latest tragedy in a series of so-called natural disasters.

Violent storms, flash floods, and severe droughts were increasing all over the world. It was yet another sign for the doomsayer’s predicting the end of the world was nigh. To the rescue team it was a miracle anyone had remained alive; just three souls out of more than two hundred passengers.

The extinguishing of the fireball had made their survival possible.

The rescuers, grateful for their deliverance, felt in their hearts a force that compelled them to believe the three children had been saved for a higher purpose.

Six years later

New Beginnings

O n the journey from London the three teenagers, although meeting for the first time, only had one topic of conversation.

Their invitations said they would be studying, training, and working with the world famous Professor Alex James Trenton and his wife Dr Juliette Marites, at the CERF compound in Somerset.

Leaving their current schools, they all agreed, would not be a hardship. Each of them declined to elaborate, preferring instead to dwell on the opportunity that lay ahead.

Although they didn’t discuss it, all three had entered for the CERF sessions for pretty much the same reasons. They felt in their hearts a deep desire to improve themselves, a need to achieve something of note and merit. Above all, they wanted to escape from their past.

The CERF sessions offered something outside normal academic life. They were new and different. In order to apply, students had to prepare a piece of work, a presentation, or a test of knowledge in any of the categories listed. This would then be delivered in person in front of a panel of experts. The applicants did not need to be privileged, academically gifted, or laden with prizes in order to enter. It was open to all teenagers, ranked by age, and split by category. Entry was online, no approval was required, and anonymity was guaranteed right up to and including the actual sessions as they were called. No one would know who had entered for which category, nor would they be able to find out. Nothing was published. All entries were treated with strict confidentiality. The aim of the sessions was to help the entrants by giving them free life coaching, including advice on how to progress in their chosen discipline and a list of introductions for networking in the future.

There seemed to be two types of people entering for the CERF sessions: those who talked about them and those who did not.

The three teenagers on the train fell into the latter category.

Elizabeth Scarlett Jones had entered the CERF session in the drama category for the under-sixteens. She had written a play and performed all the main roles. Her storyline, along with her chameleon-like ability to portray the different characters using a variety of amusing accents, convinced the judges that Elizabeth deserved to be put forward for the invitation that would change her life.

It was a small triumph for a young girl who had spent half her life in hospital after the tragic incident that Elizabeth, or Beth as she preferred, fought every day to keep out of her mind.

The judges could not know that Beth’s singular efforts were a result of her self-imposed isolation. A loner by instinct, she was shunned by most pupils at her school because, by her own admission, she felt she didn’t belong. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she described herself as being on a different wavelength from the other pupils. Beth couldn’t remember if she had always been that way, or just since the crash.

She didn’t know then, nor could she have guessed, that the difference she felt would lead her on a journey beyond her wildest expectations.

Nora Mabel Conway entered the CERF sessions public speaking category for the under-sixteens.

She had to deliver a lecture based on a random subject drawn from a hat. Despite having no preparation time, Nora spoke for thirty minutes on the subject of bullying in schools, without hesitating once. She finished to applause from the panel of adjudicators, captivated by her emotion and candour.

The judging panel could not know that Nora’s lucky dip, as she referred to it afterwards, was the one subject with which she was familiar. Being bullied had become part of her life.

After her return to school following the plane crash that nearly killed her six years earlier, Nora’s classmates took exception to the special attention she got from the teachers. The CERF invitation proved to be a turning point. Nora didn’t know it then, nor could she have guessed that her days of being bullied were soon to be a distant memory.

Ethan William Henry Cain had memorised all the kings and queens of England, all the presidents of the United States of America, and all the capitals of the world, amongst other facts, prior to entering the CERF sessions general knowledge category for the under-sixteens. The judges were impressed and recommended Ethan for the invitation, although they didn’t tell him at the time.

Busy training as captain of the under-sixteens England Rugby Union team, Ethan had all but forgotten about his CERF session when the letter carrying the invitation arrived.

It was a pleasant surprise for the young man, left traumatized by the months spent alone in a hospital bed, recovering from the tragedy he’d rather forget. Expelled for insolence and fighting in two successive schools, Ethan had retreated into his own world.

The physical and mental regimes to which he subjected himself had paid off, but the feeling of loss and isolation remained. Becoming a loner was his choice.

Were it not for Ethan’s strength and prowess on the rugby pitch, he doubted whether he would have any friends at all.

The doctors had performed a series of operations on Ethan’s eyes to remove scar tissue and save his sight. Although they were successful, the rugby knocks and scrapes were beginning to open up old wounds. Fear of permanent damage brought an early end to his rugby career and also to his dream of one day playing for England. It was yet another disaster in a short life that had seen more than its fair share of tragedy.

Ethan didn’t see much of a future when he looked ahead.

The day he received his invitation was the day everything changed.

He didn’t know then, nor could he have dreamt, that he was about to embark on an epic adventure. His future would be entwined with not just the fate of the world but also the fate of the gods.

Concord of the Gods

T he gods had agreed their plan. They would return to the Earth before continuing their adventures elsewhere in the universe.

Zeus was particularly keen to see if his paradise experiment had developed in the way he had intended. He could not countenance failure; his power and position depended on success.

The gods, although possessing immense power, were often spoilt, immature, and spiteful.

Quick to anger they were also jealous of the spirit and cleverness inherent in mankind.

It was no surprise that what they discovered made them angry.

Mortals had stopped worshipping the gods and instead substituted their own. The relentless pursuit of wealth and power had become the new gods, with greed, envy and suspicion spreading malice amongst the peoples of the Earth. The sacrifices once made to the all-powerful gods of Olympus were forgotten.

Zeus pondered the problem. The trouble with mankind was the reflection of the gods within themselves. The gods had many good qualities, but they were often quarrelsome, full of deceit and trickery, and always so eager to meddle in the affairs of men. Since mankind had been given free will it should have been no surprise that mortals began to revel in the same vices as their gods.

Zeus privately admitted his guilt.

He had been unable to control his anger and overreacted when man stole fire. He had tricked Pandora into releasing evil spirits, plagues, and diseases upon the world. The struggle between good and evil had originally made a fascinating spectacle for the gods. Now they had discovered evil was prevailing, and the other gods decided the fault lay with Zeus. He knew the prospect of Paradise on earth, his grand design, was now doomed to struggle and fail. He had hoped he’d be wrong. He realised on their return, his hope was in vain.

Now Zeus might be forced to confront defeat, something he was not prepared to do. He needed to find a way to restore the possibility for mankind to rebuild Paradise on earth, without admitting his mistake. To do so would be to invite ridicule and censure from his rivals. He needed to avoid conflict. He knew more than any other god that conflict often led to overthrow.

Zeus called a summit meeting with the other gods of Olympus.

He encouraged them to recall how much fun they’d had playing on the Earth’s stage. Fighting over mankind’s affections, breeding with mortals, creating Demigods, Giants, and Heroes, it had been a great adventure.

But now, Zeus declared, mankind had become tiresome. Now it was time to settle the affairs of men and move on. Zeus invited the other gods to propose a suitable solution for the lack of respect they were shown by mortals.

It was no surprise that Hades was the first to speak. He was the king of all the underworlds, including the Elysian Fields for good souls, the place mortals called Heaven, and Tartarus, the realm of lost souls, the place mortals called Hell. Preferring to reside in the underworld nevertheless he was invited to the summit meeting as an equal to those who sat in Olympus. Hades always feigned contentment with his lot, but he harboured secret ambitions.

Seeing an opportunity, Hades proposed an idea offering a solution to the problem. Because it suited his purpose, Zeus accepted the proposal, feigning gratitude for the offering, as if it was a nuisance resolved.

And so, it was decreed by Zeus, in a Concord of the Olympian Gods Concerning the Fate of Mankind,

To release the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to claim dominion over all the souls on the Earth and deliver them into the realms of the underworld

This process was known as the Reckoning. Mankind had written of the Reckoning in ancient texts. Now the time had come, and the Apocalypse was upon them.

Hades was pleased with himself. The elder brother of both Zeus and Poseidon, he felt that the throne, and the title king of all the gods, belonged to him by right. With this concord, Hades knew his kingdom was set to grow bigger, much bigger. The destruction of mankind and the deliverance into the underworld of all the souls and creatures on the planet would result in a significant increase in his power and influence. It was agreed in the detail of the concord, that after the Reckoning,

The good souls, not tainted by evil, shall be returned to the Earth to re-establish Paradise, and they shall have dominion over three quarters of the globe

Hades had cleverly inserted this clause into his proposal knowing that it would appeal to Zeus’s vanity. But he had no intention of keeping his oath and promise.

Hades had already released the Four Horsemen. The dominance of evil had been increased by the destruction of good spirits. Corruption of mankind had grown apace. Disease, despair, and death would follow, until all living creatures had been expunged, including the whole of mankind and the fellowship of animals.

The Reckoning would see all souls on the earth sent to Tartarus. There would be no good souls left to return to establish Paradise. It was an unwritten law that once souls had passed over the sacred River Styx and entered the underworld, none were allowed to leave. Hades expected that Zeus, when the time came, would not notice, would have forgotten, or perhaps Zeus really didn’t care what happened to mankind, as his demeanour appeared to show.

But Zeus did care. He regretted his actions, realising he had been too harsh. He was a merciful and just god but was not without cunning and guile. Whilst he had welcomed the solution put forward by Hades, he knew Hades was not to be trusted. He had already taken precautions. Zeus was not yet ready to abandon his hope of building a Paradise on Earth.

He had left mankind a legacy, a legacy whose time had come.

Cool Energy Research Facility (CERF)

E merging from Taunton Station, the three teenagers were greeted by an unfamiliar voice from the inside of a strange-looking car. They would have walked past it if the voice had not mentioned them by name. Discreet letters along the side of the car spelled out CERF.

It whisked, or more accurately whispered, its way through the Brendon Hills. To the youngsters’ amusement, the console voice pointed out interesting sights and landmarks along the journey in a West Country accent.

The Cool Energy Research Facility or CERF, as it became known, was situated atop a hill surrounded by views stretching to the horizon. When asked why he’d chosen such a remote spot, Professor Trenton always said, The atmosphere here compelled me to do it.

As soon as he had purchased the property, Trenton set about building the research facility that was to become renowned the world over, not least because the entire house, grounds, and laboratories were staffed by Cerbots, or cool energy robots, built by the professor. The Cerbots were connected to one another by the Cerbots Command Centre, known as ’threecee’ because of its initials CCC. Programmed to obey his voice commands, wherever he was in the world, ’threecee’ would ensure the Cerbots worked together, completing regular tasks with unfailing enthusiasm, despite the oddities Trenton had built into their personalities.

As the Cerbot car glided into the discreet main entrance, they were greeted by what appeared to be another talking Cerbot, with an American accent. After the Cerbots exchanged pleasantries, the car continued its journey up the long drive through the parkland before finally arriving at a grand manor house. To the young teenagers, it looked more like a stately home from a bygone age, rather than a research centre.

They were greeted by the professor himself, the owner of the manor and the founder of CERF. A well-dressed, handsome man with greying hair, stocky build, and piercing blue eyes, Professor Alex James Trenton looked much younger than his fifty-one years.

Trenton, as he liked to be called, had many titles and honours, including President of the Royal Society, a post once occupied by Isaac Newton, and like Newton, he was brilliant, charismatic, and multitalented.

Known for his cutting-edge experiments and his radical thinking approach, Trenton was a lone pioneer when it came to pushing out the boundaries of understanding. Many of his contemporaries thought his achievements bordered on the miraculous. His paper entitled On the electrochemical transmutation of trentonium leading to cold nuclear fusion, like most academic papers, was difficult to follow, but it made him a celebrity overnight and won him the Nobel Prize for Physics. It was a discovery for which scientists had been searching for nearly a century, following Einstein’s famous equation linking energy and mass, which had led directly to the atomic bomb and nuclear energy.

Not since Einstein had one man lit up not just the scientific community but the whole world. Trenton appeared on magazine covers in more than a hundred countries and was feted in the White House, where he explained to the President himself the nature of his discovery.

The press, having decided that cool was a better word choice than cold, soon dubbed him the man who invented Cool Energy. It had a ring to it, and