s avoided fights all his
life. Now you are given these powers. What will happen?"

"I'll be strong."

"Exactly. You will be strong. And because you are strong, and almost
indestructible, you suddenly decide that you can now get your revenge on
the people who have pushed you around."

"Well," Forrester said, "I--"

"You begin to look for fights," Vulcan said. "You go around beating up
everyone you can find, simply because you now know you can get away with
it. Do you understand me?"

"I guess so."

"A man with a vicious streak in him would be intolerable in this
position. Can you see that? Take an example: Ares. Mars is a tough God,
hard and at times brutal. But he is not vicious."

Forrester was a little surprised to hear Vulcan say anything nice about
Mars. He knew, as everyone did, the long history of ill-will and
positive hatred the two had built up between them. It had begun soon
after Vulcan's marriage to Aphrodite/Venus.

He hadn't been a cripple then, of course. For a while, he and Venus had
had a fine time. But Venus, apparently, just wasn't satisfied with the
dull normal routine of married life. None of the Gods seemed to be, as a
matter of fact. Either they were altogether too married, like Zeus, or
else they weren't married enough, like Venus. Or else they were like
Diana and Athena, indifferent to marriage.

At any rate, Venus had begun looking around for fresh talent. And the
fresh talent had been right there ready to sign up for a long contract
on a strictly extra-legal basis.

One day Vulcan caught them at it, his wife and Mars. Vulcan was angry,
but Mars didn't exactly like to be interrupted, either, and he was a
little faster on the draw. He tossed Vulcan over a nearby cliff,
crippling him for good.

And as for Aphrodite--who knew? It was entirely possible that, by this
time, the Goddess of Love had run through the entire list of Gods and
was now at work on the mortals.

Forrester wasn't entirely sure he disliked the idea, on a simple
physical level. But there was more than that to it, of course; there was
Vulcan. Forrester found himself liking the solemn, positive workman. He
didn't want to hurt him.

And a liaison with Venus was certain to do just that.

He came back to the present to hear Vulcan still discoursing. "Also,"
the God said, "changes in glandular balance must be made. These changes
have a necessary effect on the brain. The personality changes subtly,
though I can assure