scholic

• The Trojan War itself, populated by characters from The Iliad; early in the novel the Greek gods are revealed to be superhumans enhanced by futuristic technology reminiscent of Lord of Light; this portion is narrated by Thomas Hockenberry, a “scholic” resurrected from the 21st century seemingly by the gods to observe the Trojan War and make sure it follows the “traditional” pattern as observed by Homer;

Archive 2007-07-01 adamosf 2007

A hundred feet beyond the cerberids are the burned remnants of the old scholic barracks.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

Now, in my role as spy rather than scholic, I stand close enough to hear the dialogue between Athena — morphed as Laodocus — and that buffoon (but fine archer) Pandarus.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

Drawing attention to oneself is the last thing a scholic wants.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

Some years ago — the fifth year of the siege, actually — there was a scholic from the Twenty-sixth Century, a chubby, irreverent Asian with the unusual name of Bruster Lin — and even though Bruster Lin was the brightest and most insightful scholar amongst us, his irreverence was his undoing.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

I wandered the streets of Ilium until nightfall and after, feeling more alone and depressed than any time in my nine years as a scholic there.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

Cloaked head to toe, invisible to friend and foe but visible to this scholic, she slaps the arrow aside the way a mother flicks a fly from her sleeping son.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

“Do you know why you have survived longer than any other scholic?” snaps Aphrodite.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

Sighing once, I picture the scholic dormitory at the base of Olympos.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981

The scholic is named Nightenhelser — a friendly bear of a man who, I had learned over the last four years of his residency here, lived and taught college and died in the American Midwest some time in the early Twentieth Century.

Ilium Simmons, Dan 1981