Behold!" Percy Shouted. "the God's

One The Next Corner Stood A Cinder Block Restaurant With A Hand-painted Sign That Read Chicken & Waffles. There Was A Queue Of Twenty People Outside. “you Americans Have The Strangest Taste. What Planet Is This?

Hermes's Shoulders Sagged. "they'll Try, Percy. Oh, We'll All Try To Keep Our Promise. And Maybe For A While Things Will Get Better. But We Gods Have Never Been Good At Keeping Oaths. You Were Born Because Of A Broken Promise, Eh? Eventually We'll Become Forgetful. We Always Do." "you Can Change." Hermes Laughed. "after Three Thousand Years, You Think The Gods Can Change Their Nature?" "yeah," I Said. "i Do.

Meat!" He Said Scornfully. "i'm A Vegetarian." You Eat Cheese Enchiladas And Aluminum Cans," I Reminded Him. Those Are Vegetables.

Just My Luck, On Top Of Everything Else I Had To Take Baboon Medicine.

I Figure The World Is Basically A Machine. I Don't Know Who Made It, If It Was The Fates, Or The Gods, Or The Capital-g God Or Whatever. But It Chugs Along The Way It's Supposed To Most Of The Time. Sure, Little Pieces Break Off And Stuff Goes Haywire Once In A While, But Mostly... Things Happen For A Reason.