know the future, and your imprudent act is destructive of all the
plans I have had for you. You must leave us instantly, for that
instrument is for the gods alone. Moreover, the knowledge of that
which you have seen--"
Here his voice positively thundered, and the frown that came upon his
brow filled me with awe and terror.
"All knowledge of what you have seen must be removed from your brain,"
he added, grimly.
I was speechless with fear as the ruler of Olympus touched an electric
button at the side of the room, and the two huge slaves, Gog and
Magog, appeared.
"Seize him!" Jupiter commanded, sternly.
In an instant I was bound hand and foot.
"To the office of Dr. AEsculapius!" he commanded, and I was
unceremoniously removed to the room wherein I had had my interview
with the great doctor, where I was immediately etherized and my brain
operated upon. Precisely what was done to me I shall probably never
know, but what I do know is that from that time to this all that I
saw in that marvellous Futuroscope is a blank, although on all other
subjects pertaining to my visit to the gods my recollection is
perfectly clear. It suffices to say that I lay for a long time in a
stupor, and when finally I came to my senses again I found myself
comfortably ensconced in my own bed, in my own home; not in Greece,
but in America; suffering from a dull headache from which I did not
escape for at least three hours. Again and again and again have I
tried to recall that wonderful picture of a marvellous future seen by
my mortal eyes that night upon Olympus, that I might set it upon paper
for others to read, but with each effort the dreadful pain in the top
of my head returns and I find myself compelled to abandon the project.
So was my brief visit to Olympus begun and ended. In its results it
has perhaps been neither elevating nor remarkably instructive, but it
has given me a better understanding of, and a better liking for, that
great company of mythological beings who used to preside over the
destinies of the Greeks. They appeared more human than godlike to my
eyes. They were companionable to a degree, and for a time, at least,
would prove congenial associates for a summer outing, but as a steady
diet--well, I am not at all surprised that, as men waxed more mature
in years and in experience, these titanic members of the Olympian four
hundred lost their power and became no greater factor in the life of
the large society of mankind than any other group of people, equal in
number and of seeming importance, whose days and nights are given over
solely to pleasure and the morbid pursuit of notoriety.
THE END
Transcriber's Note: The author refers to a type of golf club
as a "brassey" and also as a "brassie". Both spellings have
been maintained in this document.