Not a diety

“Oh, please: No worship,” you can feel the ring shudder on your hand, “that's a quick route to power, but you lose yourself in the process.”

Wait… “So you could be?”

“Yes…” he begins, taking a slow breath, “...someone who knows how to do it, but not just how bad of an idea it is, can become a deity. Get worshippers, siphon the magic they send, collect their souls as they die, siphon most of the magic from the dead soul to maintain them in an afterlife, and a little more for personal power. Lots of little bits add up.”

You remember something… “You mentioned there’s a problem with sharing…” you decide to use the teacher's word choice, “...magic.”

“Yes. A soul's power carries an imprint of the soul: Memories, desires, personality traits…” he sighs, “...I knew Zeus and Hera when they were mortal. They gathered their court together, hatched a scheme… I told them it was a mistake… and they pulled it off, too. But… ugh. The people they got to feed the scheme were, by and large, evil people that deserved much worse… but then their worshippers’ evil thoughts and desires fed the pantheon. My ill-advised friends slowly became self-centered, pleasure-fueled, petty, and hedonistic… on a good day.” He takes a breath, “...they get almost no fresh worship anymore, but have a considerable storehouse of souls in their underworld, keeping them both powered up and corrupted.” The ring sighs again, “so no, no worship for me.”

You nod and circle back, “And the other question: Just how strong are you, exactly?”

“Oh,” he considers, “strong enough, but I can't do much of anything without a body, materials, and time to prepare.”

“Two of which I'm providing nightly,” you press, “the last of which you just buy whenever, so not really much of a limitation. What do you mean by ‘strong enough’ where the rubber meets the road?”

The dragon pauses for a long while, “A few centuries ago on my personal timeline, several millenia ago yours, I moved the solar system - star, planets, asteroid belt, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, and all - a distance of several thousand light years by way of teleportation, as it was the least disruptive way to deal with a problem. We ended up with a new comet because of a chunk of rock that happened to be in the destination zone.”

You consider the sheer scale of that for a minute, “Umm… do I want to know what problem that solved?”

“A too-close supernova,” he answers. “Astronomers will be very happy with the light show when it shows up.”

“So…” you lick your lips, “...if you wanted to destroy the Earth…”

“Single evening project, assuming I needed to start from scratch,” he confirms, “but this is where all the best toys are found.”

You nod, “And if you were to fight, say, Ultrama'am?”

“I wouldn't want to put down such a symbol.” He replies.

Which is answer enough. “So why don't you just…”

“Take over a host permanently, be the world's superest hero, forget about training people?” The dragon interrupts.

“...yes, that,” you answer.

“A couple of reasons,” he begins. “First: I don't want to be evil. Usurping someone's body permanently would be so. Second, one unbeatable colossus doesn't make a country invulnerable, much less a planet.”

“Seems like it would…” you begin.

“Oh it's a valuable asset, sure, but a single colossus can't secure a country. Consider: The colossus can only be in one place at a time. What happens if the country is attacked simultaneously on three different fronts?”

You consider that, “...then the country loses on two fronts. That makes sense. Continue.”

“Third, while I don't mind working, I don't want to do all of it. I want to spend at least some of my eternity relaxing and enjoying life. I can't do that if no one else takes up the mantle.”

You nod, and he keeps going, “Fourth, if there aren't new supers, there's nothing to study. Fifth, there's always someone better. Sixth, I don't want to be evil.”

He seems done, so you pause, “I thought that was your first point?”

“It bears repeating.”

You nod, “Okay. Anyway…I supposeI have the answer.”

You ‘hang up’, just putting your hand down, and talk to your mother… Mark… “So… yeah. My guest has been taking us out while I sleep, and sometimes his dates spill their drinks. I haven't been drinking.”

Mark considers that for a while, “Well… you're certainly making good money. But…” he trails off.

“The idea that someone else is having sex in my body while I sleep is supremely weird?” You hazard a guess.

“Yeah… we'll start there,” he shakes his head, “I’m also wrestling with: ‘Is this prostitution?’”

You stop and consider that, “Umm…I don't think so? I mean… he isn't giving me cash… yes, he's giving me benefits and using my body sexually, but that also happens between a guy and girl who are simply dating, doesn't it? Husband and wife, for that matter.”

He pauses, “I supppse… it just… doesn't feel the same, you know?”

Heh. You did a paper on that a couple weeks ago… “...in the end, despite all the logic and arguments based on axioms and observations, a philosophical framework is judged not by the soundness of the logic, but by how people already feel about the conclusions it reaches.”

Your mother considers that a bit, as he eats, “You're quoting philosophy?”

“Eh, someone else probably reached the same conclusion and said it better… then got shouted down in scholarly circles because it's anathema to them,” you chuckle, “but it's my own words from a school paper.”

“How'd that go?”

“She couldn't find any logical or reference errors, but graded it a C based on how she felt about it. Was very explicit about that in the notes."

Your mother laughs, and you both finish eating.