A Wild Time in Greece

Another in my series of alternate histories. Enjoy. #alternatehistory #alternatehistoryfriday

Olympus

For reasons similar to those explained in the Wild Cards fiction series edited by George R. R. Martin, around 1000 BCE a Wild Card-style mutagenic virus was released in Earth's atmosphere in the area of Athens . It quickly spread throughout Greece and Asia Minor. The mutations caused by it gave rise to a class of what the locals called Gods, Demigods and Demons.

The virus had one difference from the Wild Card virus: it affected animals as well as humans, giving rise to fantastic and horrible creatures. Wind currents and sea trade brought the virus to the rest of the world over the next decades. Everywhere it touched, a class of Gods and Demons arose, as well as creatures of legend.

The current time period is 243 A.C.E. and it is in TL 2. This Quantum 3 timeline is strictly quarantined for fear of bringing the virus to Homeline. The handful of observers spend their entire stay in a sterile force field, and they must remain in isolation for months when they return.

The original four agents who discovered this timeline have remained to avoid contamination. One of these agents contracted the virus and mutated into what can only be described as a dryad: a being with an intense affinity for and control of plant life. She recently broke contact with Homeline. It is feared that she has retreated to the fastness of the Northern European forests. The other three maintain contact with the Homeline observers, giving frequent reports of events.