"You want to learn about mythology? Now?" Mr. Zhang was a little surprised. "I thought you would lose interest in these things after graduating from sixth grade."
The four of them had finished dinner. After cleaning up the tableware, Mrs. Zhang and Grandpa went to the study to look through old photos, while Mr. Zhang and Zhang Heng watched TV in the living room while eating fruits.
"Okay, what do you want to know? As long as it's something I know, just ask me." Mr. Zhang picked up an apple, took a bite, and said cheerfully.
Zhang Heng thought for a moment, "Is there really a god in the world we live in?"
"Pfft ~" Mr. Zhang almost choked on the apple he had just swallowed. He coughed twice, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "What's wrong? Are we still going to pretend that you are still in sixth grade?"
He took a sip of water to calm himself down. "I remember we discussed this a long time ago. Although your mother and I majored in theology, we don't have any faith. In fact, I'm interested in the historical and cultural parts of mythology. Your mother, she … well, she's just interested in all kinds of weird stories, and she likes to travel around in the name of religious archaeology. She likes to take photos, taste delicious food, and so on. If I remember correctly, her master's thesis was about the diet of medieval believers.
"From my personal point of view, the so-called myths are just stories written by mortals. Just like fairy tales, they're just for adults. For example, the Epic of Homer is said to have been written by the blind ancient Greek poet Homer. We all know that its theme is the Trojan War. In it, there are not only mortals, but also the demigod Achilles, the sun god Apollo, the sea god Poseidon, and so on.
"But in fact, only the Trojan War really happened in history. The rest is just Homer's artistic processing. The academic community generally believes that if Homer really existed, he lived in the ninth century BC. At that time, there were no serious historians, and no one emphasized the authenticity of history. So the way people recorded history was to mix real events with myths and legends. That's how we got the Epic of Homer."
Father Zhang paused. "In fact, if you really study a mythological system, you will find that they have their origins. Generally, they are some folk tales passed down by word of mouth, and they continue to develop on this basis. For example, Celtic mythology originated from Celtic folklore. In the process of its formation, it was influenced by ancient Rome and Christianity. If the stories in it are all true, how can they continue to change with the migration of civilization? The other more typical examples are Greek and Roman mythology."
Mr. Zhang said while nibbling on an apple. "Roman mythology is completely derived from Greek mythology. Many gods have different names just because they sound different. As for the story plot, they are exactly the same. How can they all be true?"
Zhang Heng was silent. In fact, this was the same as what he had always thought. If that was the case, where did those so-called gods come from? The existence he encountered in the Black Sail quest that claimed to be an ancient Celtic god, and the supernatural creatures he encountered in the real world. If the legends about them were all fictional, why were they real?
Zhang Heng thought of the guy named Einstein he met in the Apollo Training Camp quest. From his words, it seemed that he was on the same level as the old man in the Tang suit that Zhang Heng met before. However, Zhang Heng could not feel any connection between him and the myths and legends. The game items that he saw at the auction were also products of modern society …
Zhang Heng decided to put this problem aside for the time being and asked the question he had always been concerned about. "Who are the gods related to time?" Mr. Zhang raised his eyebrows.
"The god of time? Indeed, there are gods related to time in many mythological systems, but the most famous one is the hyperprimitive god of ancient Greek mythology, Kronos. He is the supreme god worshiped by Orpheism, symbolizing the first cause that transcends everything. He existed before everything began, and in the Twenty-Four Sacred Narratives, he is the supreme god with power above all things. He has no physical body, but sometimes he appears in the form of a snake with three heads — human, ox, and lion. But he is better known as the image of an old man because modern art usually describes him as an old man holding a sickle."
"An old man? An old man like this?" Zhang Heng took out the old photo he picked up when he was cleaning the study from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
A look of surprise flashed in Mr. Zhang's eyes, and he picked up the photo. "Ha … where did you find this thing?"
"You have participated in many research projects, and I take a lot of photos every time we go to a research site. Why is this the only time I found this photo in the entire room? Where are the other photos? "
"Because we lost a sled and four sled dogs near the end of the research. They fell into the ice hole, and everything on the sled fell into it, including our Kodak. We tried our best, but in the end, we couldn't pull the four poor little guys out, let alone the things on the sled. As for Mr. Time, he was the sponsor of this research, but we haven't seen each other for more than ten years after the research ended."
Although Mr. Zhang tried to maintain a relaxed tone, Zhang Heng could tell that he was not as calm as he looked, especially when his pupils contracted when he saw the photo. After that, he obviously hid something from Zhang Heng, but what surprised Zhang Heng was that it didn't seem to have much to do with Mr. Time.
When he talked about Mr. Time, his body relaxed again, and he changed to a more comfortable sitting position.
Zhang Heng didn't quite understand why his father would lie about the film, and his grandfather also knew about the research project. In other words, he was the only one in the family who was completely kept in the dark. The question was, why did his parents get rid of the photo and not mention the research project in Greenland 18 years ago?
What happened on that island in the Arctic Circle had nothing to do with him, who was only one year old at the time. If the strange man in the Tang suit had met his parents 18 years ago, then the fact that he chose Zhang Heng 18 years later wasn't just a coincidence and appreciation of Zhang Heng, as he initially claimed.
Rather than calling it an encounter, it would be more accurate to say that it was a wait of 18 years.
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