Thursday, January 11, 2007
~ 11:03 PM ~
"And who would have thought the Prof. had a wife?" Merc laughed at the shy Prof. Hephaestus. This was such a rare sight until yesterday, when his automation programme finally worked. A celebration was imminent, and Prof. Hephaestus generously offered to host it. Never have we heard of his house, lest step in it. A man of low profile, he had always hid his domestic affairs out of our talks.
"A wife is nothing, but a beautifully existing wife is worth applausing!" Although in such a jolly mood, I cannot resist but notice a slight disappointment in Minerva's glittering eyes as she spoke. Perhaps it was a hallucination.
Prof. Hephaestus bowed his head in embarassment, while his wife served us muffins. To the mundanely shallow, it would have been a strange sight. Prof. Hephaestus is definitely not one of the good-looking guys categorised by the common person. Yet his wife offers more beauty than an artist could ever want in his entire life. Prof. Hephaestus would be considered a very lucky man by the common public, if he ever cared about their comments.
Delphi was more solemn as he sat quietly at the side. His quest for the long-lost twin sister is full of twists and turns, as if it were a beautifully crafted story. The apparent 'clues' and their ultimate falsiblity came to no end. He now relied entirely on chance.
However, today was meant to be celebrated, and the spirits were high generally. Prof. Hephaestus and Minerva's blueprint was done as well, a primary reason why they could even attend this celebration, and Jove began constructing it. The joy of freedom from burdens was a shared feeling that day. Until the simplest of questions came from the simplest of people. In this case, it was Merc.
"Mrs. Prof. Hephaestus, though I should call you by this, I am too tired by the time I finish it. What is your maiden name, so that I may call in a more efficient way." Upon hearing that, Mrs. Prof. Hephaestus (I have no idea why I have to name her in this way as well.) looked at Prof. Hephaestus, who seemed nervous beyond words.
"Well...Well, you see... Names are so mundane that I have decided to abandon unnecessary names in the future and classify people under categories. You may call her Mr. Hephaestus. Nothing else matters."
"Really? But she does have a maiden name," Merc was not going to give up that easily as he turned to her again, " don't you?"
"My maiden name is Alic..." She could not finish her sentence before Prof. Hephaestus covered her mouth with his hand. Not realising that the hand he used was his left, which also functioned as the hand holding on to his crutches, he immediate began to fell, only to be lifted in time by the young Merc and Mrs. Prof. Hephaestus.
"Be careful, my dear. I am in fault for saying too much." Such obedience could not have been inculcated easily by any common family. I wonder who would have such power to discipline a girl in an emancipated world as ours. How cruel it will be to do that.
"No, my lady. I should not have been too sensitive about a simple thing as a name, when all seated here are my closest friends, or maybe the only friends I have. I have a responsibility to reveal to them your name." Prof. Hephaestus apologised as he struggled to get on his crutches again.
"Her name is ... Alice. Alice von Neumann."
"Von Neumann? Then is she related to Jove?" I queried immediately after recovering from the shock.
"Yes. She is his adopted daughter made to bear his name."
"He gave her to you for your contributions to him?"
"Not exactly. However, that is a story for another day. For now, lets drink!" With his promise of more stories tomorrow, nobody bothered to pester him. It wouldn't work anyway. The rest of the day and night were just root beer, root beer, and more root beer. We'll never get drunk!
