Chapter 1

Since the beginning of recorded history mankind has believed that there is another level of existence, or other realities, perhaps even different worlds capable of supporting life. What if humans could even for a brief moment see into one of those realities? Then imagine that this experience affected them so much that they created an entire religion or belief structure around that vision.

In the story I am about to tell you Alex Danes experiences a vision much like those before him in this tale. The difference is he is a part of this vision, this world felt somehow familiar to him. When he wakes up the next morning he goes about his daily life but his mind often reflects on this vision he saw in his dreams.

Let me introduce you to Alex Danes the adopted son of Peter and Debra Danes. Alex has wondered what happened to his birth parents for most of his life. His parents gave him all the encouragement and guidance that they could and Alex grew up to be quite gifted. A rare man, Alex could apply himself to almost any task and accomplish it.

Many marveled at this great gift considering him blessed. Being a moral individual Alex saw it as his task in life to help others.

In high school and college he helped to teach others giving other students the extra guidance they needed to excel. When he graduated at the top of his class as a doctor in medical school, Alex joined the military seeing another chance to help others and a chance to apply himself to a new challenging task.

He decided to join the Pararescue - one of the most difficult jobs in the Air Force. In his duties he was responsible for saving the lives of other airmen and bringing them safely home from the battlefield.

Pararescue was part of the Air Force's Special Forces, therefore few knew what he had done for his country but Alex didn't care. The thank you letters from airmen and their families that he had brought back and rescued from the clutches of death were all the thanks he needed.

Those who knew him were saddened when he was wounded going back for a dying teammate. The wound gave Alex a severe limp that would never fully heal. His teammate never forgot his sacrifice and would often come to visit him in the hospital as he recovered.

When Alex was released on a medical discharge he found himself experiencing an emptiness that was hard to fill. He had sacrificed years of his life for others and now he had no children or woman waiting for him back home.

Alex had simply not made time for such things not wanting to put a prospective fiancé and wife through the stress and dangers of his job. Now he returned home alone to the small town of his birth in Southern California, and the dreams he had experienced throughout his life suddenly became more vivid and real. One night after a long day working as a doctor at the local hospital he experienced the dream again.

Just like all the other times, he saw the Titan Prometheus from Greek mythology. Having read about Prometheus Alex knew much about this kind-hearted immortal who could see into the future and shared his wisdom with the gods, in truth he had always been Alex's favorite. Like Alex, Prometheus could not stand to see others suffer and it was this action that brought him to harm.

Seeing the plight of man cold and ignorant, Prometheus stole fire from the gods of Mount Olympus against the wishes of Zeus King of the Gods. For this trespass Zeus punished Prometheus. Ordering his son Hephaestus to make chains that would hold the Titan, Zeus had him chained to Mount Helen.

His punishment was that a great vulture would come each day to eat Prometheus' liver killing him. Only for him to come back to life with his liver re-grown to experience it again the next day. While Alex knew this part of the story that was not what he dreamed.

Instead, his visions were of Alex as a young babe called by a name he could not remember, and Prometheus was his father. This night a new vision came to him unlike the recurring ones he had experienced before.

In this dream Prometheus called to him saying, "Come to me my son. The time of your exile is over."

Like all the other times Alex opened his eyes expecting to awaken in the world he knew. This time he awoke at the side of a dirt road lying on the ground while wearing a strange garb that reminded him of clothes worn in Ancient Greece.

As he wandered around he found that his new environment reminded him more and more of that time period. He began to seriously wonder what was happening until he heard a distant call of that same familiar voice he had heard in his dream. It seemed far away, just on the edge of his hearing. Alex tried to visualize where it was coming from because he saw no one around him.

In trying to visualize the owner of the voice he instantly transported himself there. Now he stood before a tall man naked from the waist up sweating in the sun, chained to the mountain itself, that he had immediately recognized from his dream. The large man looked down at Alex and gave him a warm smile.

"Greetings Iptomas my son. At last we stand before each other. I have not seen you in person since I held you as a babe in my arms." Prometheus said.

"This is impossible. It was only a dream. This can't possibly be real." Alex said.

It was all too unbelievable, for it was just as he imagined it from the Ancient Greek myths. Before him was the great Prometheus, the wise Titan of his dreams. Prometheus looked upon him as a loving father onto his son.