"Woooooow..." - Said Rachel looking around.
"Agreed..." - Said David.
Cass smiled lightly.
"Yep. I got sort of a nice deal here. Selene gave us two plots of land on the Moon each. Currently we're near Mare Ingenii, on the dark side. We are quite powerful here, too... Neat, innit?"
Rachel giggled. "Neat? Aren't you a bit numb to it?"
"I believe that was Selene's doing when she gave you this place." - Said Nadine - "Just as gods must relearn their abilities more or less slowly, it is convenient for you and Lucas, as humans, to be a bit slower on understanding the whole implications of your new power. Consider what I myself might do with much power if I had gotten it all suddenly..."
Rachel shuddered. "Yeeeeah... Sorry to say, but you're right, I don't think it would be nice..."
Nadine nodded. "It helps that I got time to figure things out. For instance, Ms. Wilkins, did you consider you could heal people with this place?"
Cass smiled. "Really? Wow..."
"There should be a limit on how many per day, so you must ask Selene about that before doing so, but yes... You can bring people here if you know their name and, approximately, where they are, or if you just wish to bring someone at random with a given trait. And when you bring people here, you can do nearly anything with their bodies, except for reversing a sun change..."
"Anything? But then I could even..." - Cass shuddered. - "Oh..."
"Yes, dear. You could even kill people." - Said Nadine evenly.
"I don't understand..." - Said Cass, a little more fearfully - "Why would Selene give us what can be used, for all intents and purposes, as a Death Note?"
"I don't claim to know her..." - Said David, blushing - "But... Could it be that she knows you won't use it for this?"
"...How can she be so sure?" - Said Cass a bit bitterly. Being skilled in social studies and politically active, she could think of many people the world might well do without.
Nadine smiled sadly. She remembered this feeling, what Cass would be thinking right now. When her transformation came, she wondered if she could start a righteous crusade, use her power to restore morals, even if only in her small city, for instance.
"Well, dear" - She finally said, in a very motherly tone - "Would you? Suppose I, Rachel and David show ourselves out to give you some privacy. I could teleport myself and them back to school. Would you pick out a random criminal or even an international genocidal leader and kill him? We would not judge you. You might be doing the world a favor by preventing more people from being killed..."
Cass paused. Then sighed. "No. It's... not my place. It's just not..."
"But what about people that might otherwise kill again? Those leaders Nadine mentioned..." - Said David.
"I can't fix an entire system just by killing a leader, David, even if I were willing to do it." - Said Cass - "Even the most horrible leaders are the product of a system that put them there and gave them power. Killing one would just land another one from his lackeys to take his place. And who is to say said lackey isn't smarter, extending the dictatorship for years? Or more oppressive, killing thousands more?"
Rachel nodded. "I see your point..."
Cass smiled sadly. "Yeah... Anyways, I'll add more to this place later. Right now, though, we should get back..."
The four of them got back to school. As Rachel, David and Nadine left the room, Rachel turned to Nadine.
"Nadine, why did you outright tell her all these things? Didn't you say Selene's letting them find it out slowly?"
"Because these basic things would occur to them soon enough, anyways, Rachel. I only know Lucas from what another party told me, for instance, but, from what I was told, how long do you think it will take her to think the exact same thing about hunting down leaders she sees as oppressive?"
Rachel pondered. "All of fifteen minutes..."
Nadine nodded. "She'll likely reach the same conclusion too, but yes..."
"That's an odd question. But... No. I wouldn't kill a tyrant this way. It wouldn't do any good anyways." - Lucas sighed - "But why did you bring it up? I mean, a priest bringing up a way to sin?"
Maxwell chuckled softly. "Because I know you. It would occur to you sooner or later, child. And while you are a nicer person than you make yourself out to be, I know you don't necessarily follow all of my moral codes. Please do not read it as me saying that you would murder someone willy-nilly. But I figured you would see no problem in killing a tyrant, as you put it."
"Moral, no, I'm sorry, but I don't see one. Practical, yes. It wouldn't help and it might even cause more problems down the road. That and I'm really not sure Neruite would approve of me using her reward to pick out less savory people." - Said Lucas. "No matter how really, really satisfying that might be, and, again, I hope I do not offend." - She added.
"You do not offend me, child. I am rather glad that you came to that conclusion by yourself. One does not abstain from sin by pretending to themselves that they are immune to it."
Lucas sighed and sat by a tree.
"It's... a lot of responsibility, isn't it? I could do it if I wished. I could do a lot of things with that space if I put my mind to it... Heck, I am already doing it... What if it corrupts me? What if I become..." - She trailed off, but it was clear where she was headed.
"As long as you ask yourself 'What if I become a tyrant myself', child, you will not be one." - Said Maxwell - "And besides, have faith in your goddess. Would she grant such power to one who would oppress?"
Lucas blushed.
"I would hope not. But what if I disappoint her?"
"Then she will likely ask you to correct it way before it becomes something too bad. And if even my vision of God is all-forgiving, I would assume yours to be even more..." - He chuckled.
Lucas paused. "I crossed more than one boundary yesterday..." - Said Lucas, finally.
"You did, child." - Said Maxwell - "And you will have not only me, but also Miss Wilkins, Robert and Neruite herself to help you in this new world..."
Lucas blushed, and she and Maxwell kept talking.
Celine hadn't left her job when she became a goddess for a reason: She loved it. Or at least this part of it.
She was collecting samples at the beach, right now by herself. Her boss, Brad, was now a sort of fishman, more man than fish, with some fins throughout his body and a bluish skin that still didn't really make him hard on the eyes. He was very understanding, as he gave each changed a month off to figure things out.
"Hey, Andrews. You got a visitor. I think - I think - it's Hermes." - Said Brad as he walked towards her, with the usual deadpan delivery he did when something weird happened, which had been more frequent of late.
Celine sighed and changed from her swimsuit into her godly robes as she and Brad walked back. "Er, sorry about that, Brad..."
"Eh, no harm done. I figure at some point a goddess will end up coming here and I could hit on her." - He smirked.
"I'm a goddess too, you know." - Said Celine, smirking.
"Yep, but I don't date my co-workers. Whereas I can date their acquaintances." - Said Brad.
"Cute." - Said Celine.
"There you are, Selene." - Said a young man in a toga, with winged sandals and some scrolls strapped to his back.
Hermes turned to Brad. "I would like to talk to her alone, if it is convenient." - He said politely. Brad nodded and left.
"I don't like to condense messages, but it was a fairly widespread question, so, here it goes: Some gods sent me to you to ask, basically, this: Have you taken leave of your senses?" - Said Hermes.
"This is about the spaces I provided Lucas and Cassandra with." - Said Selene. That was a statement of fact, not a question.
Hermes nodded. "Please understand that I am only relaying a message here. But I need to know your thought process on this so I can also relay it to them."
"Tell them as follows: I am not a fool. Of course the 'omnipotence' I provided them with is limited, not that they know that, as them knowing it would defeat the purpose of it all. Not even Nadine knows that. They can't kill anyone in their places, nor can they create life. They cannot use the portals to access anywhere truly important such as, say, Fort Knox. Likewise, they cannot steal property, nor can they keep anyone in their spaces for more than a minute or two if the person is not willing to be there. They do have a considerable amount of power, but I put these and many other restrictions in place. Because I want to see how they act." - Said Selene - "Or even how they try to act."
"You are testing them." - Said Hermes. - "And what will happen when they find out the restrictions?"
Selene shrugged. "When they pass the test, they'll know it's mainly things they wouldn't do anyways, and I will gladly inform them on why they can't do some of the rest. On my word, I don't believe it will be an issue with either of them."
"And what makes you so confident they will pass the test?" - Said Hermes - "And if you are this confident, why test them at all?"
"I am testing them for the benefit of the other gods. And I know one of them with more depth than she would think. And I trust the other as well. I plan on them coming with me to the Assembly, and this test would allow them to be allowed in with less hassle than otherwise." - Said Selene calmly.
"You plan to bring mortals into the Assembly?" - Said Hermes, with studied calm.
"Yes. Three of them. Lucas, Cassandra and Celine Andrews. Am I to assume I must leave myself by the door before entering?"
"The rules do not forbid it" - Said Hermes - "Mainly because no one ever thought such an act would even be considered. Why do you plan to do it?"
"I now have been a mortal, Hermes. I now know their struggles, their feelings, their hopes and dreams. I may be wary of hasty changes, but this one change was imposed on us all by the Sun. And you, of all gods, surely are tired of looking down upon mankind. We now have to adapt to a world in which mortals are the equals of quite a few gods, myself included. I believe it will do them good to know how the gods think and I believe it will do the gods good to know how mortals think." - Said Selene.
Hermes nodded. "I am closer to them than most gods, yes. And I understand your concern. I am merely pointing out what will be said to you."
"I am still within the rules, and so will they be." - Said Selene.
"That you are." - said Hermes - "Who knows. Maybe I could get to enjoy their company..." - He smirked lightly. The Messenger God did have a soft spot for mortals. It was, after all, why he had given mortals so many gifts back in the ancient times.
Selene nodded and her robes changed back into a swimsuit. Hermes took the cue.
"Goodbye for now, Selene." - He said.
"Goodbye, Hermes." - Said Selene as she walked back to the spot where she had been collecting samples.
