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[ Kara faces the screen all but completely relaxed. It’s a huge change from her last post. She bites her thumbnail nervously, but apart from that she looks practically happy. Once she realizes she’s doing it she puts her hand down and addresses the camera. ]

I’ve been thinking, and I’d like to know more about Earth. Not just the places and the food, but the culture and history. There are plenty of other interesting planets I’d like to learn about, but most of the people here seem to be from Earth, so it’s probably the best place to start.

[ York said rebuild. Maybe now she’s building something new. It’s hard to say really, but her curiosity is what’s driving her now. That and the awkward social conundrums that arise from not knowing what any of this Earth stuff means, translation or not. The anonymous texter said to start with what she knew and work her way out. ]

I have a friend who’s from Ireland. She showed me around New York a little bit. I was wondering if anyone could tell me more about her home?

[ There. That’s a good start, right? ]

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[ Terrorism and civil war. Those are words she knows. ]

Wow. I had no idea. Was it ever peaceful?

There were lulls of peace, of course. But it's not like Ireland's the only country to go through things like that either. Most countries and places have war at some point.

[Annabeth you are sixteen you should not sound so familiar with the experience of war.]

Krypton has been at peace for ages. Apart from the clone uprising, I don't really know what war looks like.

You're pretty lucky then.

Clone uprising?

Yes. It turns out there's a flaw in the cloning process that causes their genes to decay and eventually drives them violently insane. They nearly destroyed the whole planet.

[A frown.] That's... unfortunate. I'm sorry that's something you've gone through. [she means the uprising.]

It was years ago. [ Not that many years, but years. Just before the city of Kandor was stolen along with her best friend. ]

Tell me more about Ireland.

[She nods, but.]

Ireland's not exactly my best subject. It's primarily a Catholic country, which feeds into a lot of traditions, even if the religious aspects change or get ignored, depending on the person.

[ That seems like a pretty good starting point. ]

What's Catholic-ism like?

Do you know what Christianity is?

No, I don't. Is that another religion?

Catholicism is a branch of Christianity, one Earth's most prominent religions. It's monotheistic, centered around the worship of the singular figure of God, but also his divine son, born to a mortal woman who would come to be known as the Virgin Mary.

If a God has a son, is he not also a God? [ Krypton, clearly, is polytheistic. ]

Most Christians consider him divine, but not to the exact level or reverence as God. Jesus Christ is what they call him now - that's where the name itself comes from, Christianity. It largely centers around his teachings as the Son of God.

I'm not a practitioner, and it's not something I'm particularly interested in or something I really needed to know about, so the philosophical aspects are pretty vague to me.

But I'd say that if a god had a child, their own status of godliness would depend on who the other parent was.

Oh, okay. If it's not something you're interested I won't ask about it.

That doesn't mean you can't - I just might not have the answers you want.

What are you interested in?

[ It's always more interesting to hear about something someone is passionate about. ]

Architecture. [That comes out instantly.] History, mythology - mostly Greek. Physics, math. I just like to know things.

Me too. I'd like to know more about Greek Mythology, actually, since it seems important to several of my friends.

[ Namely you and your boyfriend, but who's counting? ]

There's a lot I could talk about. How much do you know already? Or is there somewhere you'd like me to begin?

Percy told me the basic structure of the pantheon, but other than that I don't know anything at all.

[...Percy's version of basic and hers are probably very different.]

So he told you about the twelve Olympian gods? I mean, there's a lot more than that, but they're a good starting point.

Not their names. [ So... a much more bare bones 'basic'. ] Only Poseidon, I think was one of them?

[Hope you are ready for some tl;dr, Kara!!]

Poseidon is one of them, yes. He's the god of the sea. His brother Zeus is lord of the sky and king of all the gods. There's also Hades, their brother and lord of the dead, and together they make up the "big three," but Hades isn't one of the twelve Olympians.

There's Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare. [She says it with a puff of pride. And of course she'd start there, after the big three were out of the way.]

Apollo and Artemis, twins. Apollo is the god of healing, the sun, and prophecy, Artemis the goddess of the hunt.

Ares is the god of war, Aphrodite the goddess of love and beauty. [And she sounds unimpressed by them both.] Hephaestus, god of the forges. Dionysus, god of wine. Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Hermes, god of travelers and thieves, but also the messenger of the gods.

[Pause. Somewhat begrudgingly:] And Hera. Zeus's wife, goddess of marriage, and queen of the gods.

I mean, they all sort of have more functions than that, rule over more areas than that, but these are what they're primarily associated with. And they're certainly not the only gods in existence.

And do all of these Gods consort with humans?

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