"2566-36" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 4 - 2566 Ad)2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Six "I'm sorry for how I reacted there," Maris said to me after her parents had left to see to the possible rebuilding of Sana. "I guess I'm not as much of a `Warrioress' as I thought I was." I could "understand" her feelings. Sana had been her "home". I was however rather surprised that she would apologize to me now. She was not the "sort" of a woman that I'd expected such from. "War is always a `shock' to the senses," I smiled back. "Another would have `taken life'," Maris answered softly. "Princess Sela Dai is more `level headed' than I expected," I smiled back. It would not have surprised me that much had she sacked Sana and taken women and gold. Such is commonplace here in the 26th Century. I was very "proud" of my little spit-fire! "I think it is more the `example' you have set," Maris said. "I fear I do not `live up' to my `reputation'," I smiled. There were those who thought of me as another like Princess Tara. I suspected now that Maris had probably been one of them too. I wondered what things would have been like had I kept Maris better chained than I had. Would she have become another "Gayle" to me? On the other hand Maris was an adult woman, not a teenage girl. She also had had a "chip on her shoulder" that Gayle never had. "Perhaps because few `understand'," she smiled down at me. "I wonder why I do the things I do," I said, looking up at her standing there before me. I had come very close this time to dying in a "conflict" that seemed to have little "bearing" on my life as Queen of Trelandar. Had Maris avoided attacking Trelan- dar I would have had a difficult time raising the forces I had!!! "We are women with `ideals'," Maris smiled back. She had "hers", I had "mine", and Darlanis had "some" all of her "own"!!! "There is no `second Janet Rogers'," I said to her. Maris' eyes for a moment burned down into mine. "We have for too long looked for a `savior' to come and `save' us from our own folly." There were those of course who looked upon me as just such too!* * I have also suspected from time to time that Darlanis views me as a sort of "hired gun" to go out and do the "fighting" for her. "I want a `better world' for my children," she said to me. Most women in this era expect to bear and raise children even if such is only a relatively "minor" part of their lives. With a lifespan of a hundred and thirty child rearing does not take as much of a woman's life as it did back in my own era. I too often wished to bear a child before I got any older, although without a "dispensation" from the Priestesses of Lys I had to wait until my third wedding anniversary before I might have my implant removed. Such is perhaps a wise policy considering everything, I suppose. "Every mother has wanted that," I smiled back at the Queen. I supposed someday she would marry again. She was young, beauti- ful, and the "sort" of a woman who could have her "pick" of men. She stands about 5'8" and also reminds me "somewhat" of Darlanis although her facial features are not the "same" as Darlanis' are. "I want my children to be `proud' of their mother," Maris said, staring out into the darkness past the stern of the ship. I could hear the sounds of men walking the deck above us, the common ordinary noises that one hears aboard a ship at anchor. The sound of someone hammering on something. A woman's voice. "I'm sure yours will be," I said to her. Maris nodded. "My sister has done well for herself," she said then. "I did try to be a good mother to her," I answered back. "Why did you let Darlanis take your daughter?" she suddenly asked, turning about, looking down at me lying there on the cot. "I felt it `best' for Sharon," I answered. This has always been a "sore spot" with me despite the fact that I "know" I did do the "right thing". Darlanis is a better "mother" to Sharon I feel than I would be. At least Sharon didn't run off and get herself married at seventeen like Gayle! (I still think Darlanis had "something" to do with all this, although she denies it all!) "You are the `Lorraine Duval' of legend," Maris said softly. "I am but a woman who `tries'," I smiled back at the Queen. "And not just a `M.P.S' like me," Maris smiled back then. "M.P.S?" I breathed, the words strangely "familiar" to me. "There was a `book' written back in your time," Maris said. "`M.P.S.'!" I smiled, remembering. Janet and I had tried to "refute" it over several nights of "discussion" without success. It had been written by a "Jerome Bigge" who lived in Muskegon. I had planned to sometime go "visit" the author, but never got the chance to do so. "M.P.S" (Members of the Privileged Sex) is a book that tells "truths" that most people tried to deny. While it is "biased" (I don't consider myself "privileged") I suppose it was once rather "popular", considering that it is still print- ed here in the 26th Century although almost "unknown" in Califor- nia. It is often the sort of a book that a husband will sit and read in front of his wife just to "bother" her a bit. Especially if he glances up at her from time to time and "nods" to himself!* * To the 26th Century reader the book in parts makes little sense due to the changes in technology and the nature of society. The "fact" of female slavery, the legality of prostitution and por- nography, all tend to reduce the "power" of women as such. It should also be mentioned here that divorce here in this era is less "favorable" to women than it was back in my own time. (L.R.) ***************************************************************** "Hands on deck! All hands on deck!" the bosun cried. We were about to get "under way". The wind was not "favorable". I was glad that Maris was in command. I wouldn't have cared to have tried to sail the North Star out of a little harbor like Sana's in a wind like this. The seas were still high, I noticed. "A good ship, a disciplined crew," Maris smiled then to me. "And commanded by Dularn's finest captain," I smiled back. "If I had a Warlady...," Maris breathed, regarding me. "You couldn't `win' against the Empire," I answered her. "I don't wish to `win' anything but `peace'," she replied. "Sometimes `that' is harder to win than anything else," I said. It didn't seem to be something in any case I could "win"!! It seemed that ever since Sharon and I had flown through that "GATEWAY" into this era that it had been nothing but conflict of one sort or another. I'd been "responsible" in a way for a "revolution" against Darlanis, something others had "done" in my name so to say. Fortunately Darlanis had "understood" the situa- tion, although I suspected that she didn't "trust" me to much in a way, knowing well that there were those in the Empire who con- sidered me to be a more "competent" ruler than she who now sat on the throne of empire. And then there was the recent "revolution" on Mars that had broken the dominance of the Lorr over the Women. And the activities of the Priestesses of Lys who had shown all of us their own terrifying powers. I wondered if they had the power of time travel? There was also the "mystery" of Domino Tremaine. A woman who would be born to Darlanis sometime in our future, who would travel back in time to the 20th Century or the early 21st. A woman who would live to become the last Leaderess of Earth af- ter the death of Janet Rogers. Whose last remains Darlanis and I had buried there near the ruins of the home of Bob and Carol Sim- mons. If she had been what she had "claimed", the implications were awesome indeed, especially with what we now knew of things! I watched Maris now giving the orders, saw the ship being brought up to the anchor, men standing ready at the yards. I am a good sailor, but I would not have cared to sail out of here in this wind. That Maris felt herself "capable" told much of her. "You would not `attempt this'?" Maris suddenly spoke to me. "I would `kedge out' with the wind as it is," I answered. "Have boats place the anchors, then draw the ship up to them with the capstan." The "risks" of running aground were considerable. The sky was still mostly cloudy, the wind high, the air chill. "I value your opinion, but I think...," she smiled back. "I regret we serve opposite sides," I smiled up at her. "That is an `opinion' I think I can share," she smiled. "Look lively there! Stop thinking of your doxies!" Maris cried in a loud voice. She was "alert", well aware of things. I had "confidence" in her. More so than in any of my own captains in so far as sailing a ship went. In combat it might be another story, I suspected. Maris had little experience "under fire". I listened to her give her orders. Felt the ship move beneath me! Felt the wind fill the sails. Maris obviously had the "feel" of the North Star. It was to a certain extent of her own "design". I am of the 20th Century yet in my thinking. I can still be surprised by what a woman can "do" when she wants to. I suppose I shouldn't be by now, considering my "experiences" in this era. The North Star was swinging under the pressure of the wind, the sails well filled, taut. I heard Maris snap her orders, the ship swinging about like a frisky colt, the "handiness" of the Dularnian fore and aft rig obvious in these tight quarters. None of my heavier ships would have been as "handy" as this, I noted!! I saw the land seemingly spinning about, the North Star now on the other tack, dangerously close to land, to the shore of the natural cove that made up Sana's harbor. Maris was cutting it "close". A lot closer than I would have dared with my own ships! "Let fly the jib, haul in that spanker!" I heard Maris cry! The North Star coming about just in time, taking the wind now on the other quarter. Maris standing there beside me, the wind in her lovely golden hair, her emerald eyes like beautiful gems as I saw her glance down at me for just a second. The "meaning" of her glance had not been missed. Maris did have her own "pride"!! "You do handle her well," I smiled at the Dularnian Queen. "Ship design is a matter of compromise," she smiled back. "But the `skill' of the captain also counts," I answered. "It is obvious that you are of the Warrioresses," she said. "I hope we are not on a wild goose chase," Maris spoke. "If Sela is following my plans, she should be somewhere ahead of us," I answered, spooning the soup into my mouth, feel- ing its welcome warmth go through me as I laid there on the cot. The clouds had mostly cleared off, and I "welcomed" the hot sun. "Causing death and destruction wherever she goes," Maris snapped back a bit "unpleasantly", I thought to myself just then! "She has avoided taking life as far as she could," I pointed out, suspecting as I spoke that I was just wasting my breath now. "She is not exactly an `Imperial'," Maris smiled back at me. We of the Empire had the reputation, justified or not, of being a society of "barbarians" in the eyes of the Dularnians. We tended to view them in the same light, of course, considering them much as a gang of "Vikings" out to plunder whatever they could steal!! "I would also worry about what Darlanis might `do' if she learns of what has happened," I pointed out. If Sela believed me dead, and there was no doubt now that she did, then she might well send a message to Darlanis, and I had little doubt of "what" Darlanis would do! That beautiful blonde had a "temper", that I knew well from personal experience, and she would doubtlessly re- act much as I would have reacted had our positions been reversed! "That has been a `consideration' of mine," Maris admitted. ***************************************************************** Sela Dai, a Princess of Talon, stared out over the restless sea, the bright sunlight reflected off the waves dazzling her eyes. It still seemed impossible that Lorraine was dead. That the incredible famous Warlady of the Empire of California was no more. Gone as if she had never existed. Yet, Sela vowed, she would see that Lorraine's death would be avenged! She would see to it that the Dularnians "paid" for the dishonorable actions of their damm Prince. That Queen Maris herself was brought to jus- tice to answer for her crimes against the people of California!!! "You think deep thoughts, my Princess," Mark said to her as the Squala tore through the waves, the sails drawing well in the fresh breeze. A bit of spray from time to time leaping up to wet the deck. "You seem weighed down by your `responsibilities'." A pair of lovely dark eyes rising up to meet his as she now nodded. "She was too `trusting'," Sela answered, looking out to sea. "Perhaps it was just Darl Jord," Mark answered, wondering if anyone would take that into consideration now. He rather doubted it. Lorraine had been "popular", more so in some respects than Darlanis herself. There would be thousands willing to fight. He supposed that Darlanis herself would doubtlessly lead them now... 2566 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Six "I'm sorry for how I reacted there," Maris said to me after her parents had left to see to the possible rebuilding of Sana. "I guess I'm not as much of a `Warrioress' as I thought I was." I could "understand" her feelings. Sana had been her "home". I was however rather surprised that she would apologize to me now. She was not the "sort" of a woman that I'd expected such from. "War is always a `shock' to the senses," I smiled back. "Another would have `taken life'," Maris answered softly. "Princess Sela Dai is more `level headed' than I expected," I smiled back. It would not have surprised me that much had she sacked Sana and taken women and gold. Such is commonplace here in the 26th Century. I was very "proud" of my little spit-fire! "I think it is more the `example' you have set," Maris said. "I fear I do not `live up' to my `reputation'," I smiled. There were those who thought of me as another like Princess Tara. I suspected now that Maris had probably been one of them too. I wondered what things would have been like had I kept Maris better chained than I had. Would she have become another "Gayle" to me? On the other hand Maris was an adult woman, not a teenage girl. She also had had a "chip on her shoulder" that Gayle never had. "Perhaps because few `understand'," she smiled down at me. "I wonder why I do the things I do," I said, looking up at her standing there before me. I had come very close this time to dying in a "conflict" that seemed to have little "bearing" on my life as Queen of Trelandar. Had Maris avoided attacking Trelan- dar I would have had a difficult time raising the forces I had!!! "We are women with `ideals'," Maris smiled back. She had "hers", I had "mine", and Darlanis had "some" all of her "own"!!! "There is no `second Janet Rogers'," I said to her. Maris' eyes for a moment burned down into mine. "We have for too long looked for a `savior' to come and `save' us from our own folly." There were those of course who looked upon me as just such too!* * I have also suspected from time to time that Darlanis views me as a sort of "hired gun" to go out and do the "fighting" for her. "I want a `better world' for my children," she said to me. Most women in this era expect to bear and raise children even if such is only a relatively "minor" part of their lives. With a lifespan of a hundred and thirty child rearing does not take as much of a woman's life as it did back in my own era. I too often wished to bear a child before I got any older, although without a "dispensation" from the Priestesses of Lys I had to wait until my third wedding anniversary before I might have my implant removed. Such is perhaps a wise policy considering everything, I suppose. "Every mother has wanted that," I smiled back at the Queen. I supposed someday she would marry again. She was young, beauti- ful, and the "sort" of a woman who could have her "pick" of men. She stands about 5'8" and also reminds me "somewhat" of Darlanis although her facial features are not the "same" as Darlanis' are. "I want my children to be `proud' of their mother," Maris said, staring out into the darkness past the stern of the ship. I could hear the sounds of men walking the deck above us, the common ordinary noises that one hears aboard a ship at anchor. The sound of someone hammering on something. A woman's voice. "I'm sure yours will be," I said to her. Maris nodded. "My sister has done well for herself," she said then. "I did try to be a good mother to her," I answered back. "Why did you let Darlanis take your daughter?" she suddenly asked, turning about, looking down at me lying there on the cot. "I felt it `best' for Sharon," I answered. This has always been a "sore spot" with me despite the fact that I "know" I did do the "right thing". Darlanis is a better "mother" to Sharon I feel than I would be. At least Sharon didn't run off and get herself married at seventeen like Gayle! (I still think Darlanis had "something" to do with all this, although she denies it all!) "You are the `Lorraine Duval' of legend," Maris said softly. "I am but a woman who `tries'," I smiled back at the Queen. "And not just a `M.P.S' like me," Maris smiled back then. "M.P.S?" I breathed, the words strangely "familiar" to me. "There was a `book' written back in your time," Maris said. "`M.P.S.'!" I smiled, remembering. Janet and I had tried to "refute" it over several nights of "discussion" without success. It had been written by a "Jerome Bigge" who lived in Muskegon. I had planned to sometime go "visit" the author, but never got the chance to do so. "M.P.S" (Members of the Privileged Sex) is a book that tells "truths" that most people tried to deny. While it is "biased" (I don't consider myself "privileged") I suppose it was once rather "popular", considering that it is still print- ed here in the 26th Century although almost "unknown" in Califor- nia. It is often the sort of a book that a husband will sit and read in front of his wife just to "bother" her a bit. Especially if he glances up at her from time to time and "nods" to himself!* * To the 26th Century reader the book in parts makes little sense due to the changes in technology and the nature of society. The "fact" of female slavery, the legality of prostitution and por- nography, all tend to reduce the "power" of women as such. It should also be mentioned here that divorce here in this era is less "favorable" to women than it was back in my own time. (L.R.) ***************************************************************** "Hands on deck! All hands on deck!" the bosun cried. We were about to get "under way". The wind was not "favorable". I was glad that Maris was in command. I wouldn't have cared to have tried to sail the North Star out of a little harbor like Sana's in a wind like this. The seas were still high, I noticed. "A good ship, a disciplined crew," Maris smiled then to me. "And commanded by Dularn's finest captain," I smiled back. "If I had a Warlady...," Maris breathed, regarding me. "You couldn't `win' against the Empire," I answered her. "I don't wish to `win' anything but `peace'," she replied. "Sometimes `that' is harder to win than anything else," I said. It didn't seem to be something in any case I could "win"!! It seemed that ever since Sharon and I had flown through that "GATEWAY" into this era that it had been nothing but conflict of one sort or another. I'd been "responsible" in a way for a "revolution" against Darlanis, something others had "done" in my name so to say. Fortunately Darlanis had "understood" the situa- tion, although I suspected that she didn't "trust" me to much in a way, knowing well that there were those in the Empire who con- sidered me to be a more "competent" ruler than she who now sat on the throne of empire. And then there was the recent "revolution" on Mars that had broken the dominance of the Lorr over the Women. And the activities of the Priestesses of Lys who had shown all of us their own terrifying powers. I wondered if they had the power of time travel? There was also the "mystery" of Domino Tremaine. A woman who would be born to Darlanis sometime in our future, who would travel back in time to the 20th Century or the early 21st. A woman who would live to become the last Leaderess of Earth af- ter the death of Janet Rogers. Whose last remains Darlanis and I had buried there near the ruins of the home of Bob and Carol Sim- mons. If she had been what she had "claimed", the implications were awesome indeed, especially with what we now knew of things! I watched Maris now giving the orders, saw the ship being brought up to the anchor, men standing ready at the yards. I am a good sailor, but I would not have cared to sail out of here in this wind. That Maris felt herself "capable" told much of her. "You would not `attempt this'?" Maris suddenly spoke to me. "I would `kedge out' with the wind as it is," I answered. "Have boats place the anchors, then draw the ship up to them with the capstan." The "risks" of running aground were considerable. The sky was still mostly cloudy, the wind high, the air chill. "I value your opinion, but I think...," she smiled back. "I regret we serve opposite sides," I smiled up at her. "That is an `opinion' I think I can share," she smiled. "Look lively there! Stop thinking of your doxies!" Maris cried in a loud voice. She was "alert", well aware of things. I had "confidence" in her. More so than in any of my own captains in so far as sailing a ship went. In combat it might be another story, I suspected. Maris had little experience "under fire". I listened to her give her orders. Felt the ship move beneath me! Felt the wind fill the sails. Maris obviously had the "feel" of the North Star. It was to a certain extent of her own "design". I am of the 20th Century yet in my thinking. I can still be surprised by what a woman can "do" when she wants to. I suppose I shouldn't be by now, considering my "experiences" in this era. The North Star was swinging under the pressure of the wind, the sails well filled, taut. I heard Maris snap her orders, the ship swinging about like a frisky colt, the "handiness" of the Dularnian fore and aft rig obvious in these tight quarters. None of my heavier ships would have been as "handy" as this, I noted!! I saw the land seemingly spinning about, the North Star now on the other tack, dangerously close to land, to the shore of the natural cove that made up Sana's harbor. Maris was cutting it "close". A lot closer than I would have dared with my own ships! "Let fly the jib, haul in that spanker!" I heard Maris cry! The North Star coming about just in time, taking the wind now on the other quarter. Maris standing there beside me, the wind in her lovely golden hair, her emerald eyes like beautiful gems as I saw her glance down at me for just a second. The "meaning" of her glance had not been missed. Maris did have her own "pride"!! "You do handle her well," I smiled at the Dularnian Queen. "Ship design is a matter of compromise," she smiled back. "But the `skill' of the captain also counts," I answered. "It is obvious that you are of the Warrioresses," she said. "I hope we are not on a wild goose chase," Maris spoke. "If Sela is following my plans, she should be somewhere ahead of us," I answered, spooning the soup into my mouth, feel- ing its welcome warmth go through me as I laid there on the cot. The clouds had mostly cleared off, and I "welcomed" the hot sun. "Causing death and destruction wherever she goes," Maris snapped back a bit "unpleasantly", I thought to myself just then! "She has avoided taking life as far as she could," I pointed out, suspecting as I spoke that I was just wasting my breath now. "She is not exactly an `Imperial'," Maris smiled back at me. We of the Empire had the reputation, justified or not, of being a society of "barbarians" in the eyes of the Dularnians. We tended to view them in the same light, of course, considering them much as a gang of "Vikings" out to plunder whatever they could steal!! "I would also worry about what Darlanis might `do' if she learns of what has happened," I pointed out. If Sela believed me dead, and there was no doubt now that she did, then she might well send a message to Darlanis, and I had little doubt of "what" Darlanis would do! That beautiful blonde had a "temper", that I knew well from personal experience, and she would doubtlessly re- act much as I would have reacted had our positions been reversed! "That has been a `consideration' of mine," Maris admitted. ***************************************************************** Sela Dai, a Princess of Talon, stared out over the restless sea, the bright sunlight reflected off the waves dazzling her eyes. It still seemed impossible that Lorraine was dead. That the incredible famous Warlady of the Empire of California was no more. Gone as if she had never existed. Yet, Sela vowed, she would see that Lorraine's death would be avenged! She would see to it that the Dularnians "paid" for the dishonorable actions of their damm Prince. That Queen Maris herself was brought to jus- tice to answer for her crimes against the people of California!!! "You think deep thoughts, my Princess," Mark said to her as the Squala tore through the waves, the sails drawing well in the fresh breeze. A bit of spray from time to time leaping up to wet the deck. "You seem weighed down by your `responsibilities'." A pair of lovely dark eyes rising up to meet his as she now nodded. "She was too `trusting'," Sela answered, looking out to sea. "Perhaps it was just Darl Jord," Mark answered, wondering if anyone would take that into consideration now. He rather doubted it. Lorraine had been "popular", more so in some respects than Darlanis herself. There would be thousands willing to fight. He supposed that Darlanis herself would doubtlessly lead them now... |
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