"2569-34" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 7 - The Dularnian Queen)2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Four "You are `serious'?" I "breathed", sitting there "stunned". Prince Serak inserting a bit of food into Pussycat's open mouth. "Lorraine and I both respect you for what you are," the Em- press smiled back. "Dularn is in good hands with you as Queen." "The `hour' is late, and I'm a bit tired," Lorraine said. I supposed that she was. In the last few days she'd had little chance to get enough rest, and she was six months pregnant too... I stood at the window and looked out over the bay, the Moon low in the west now, the city of Sarn peaceful and quiet. The soft wan light of the Moon making just visible there towards the mouth of the bay the ruins of an era now mostly legend and myths. The ruins of a great bridge far beyond our ability to reproduce. Once Man had thought himself like a "god", able to do anything... Now we were but "barbarians" with swords at our hips, living in a civilization built on "memories" of "what once had been", guided by a woman who had altered all of human history by her existence. I "admired" Lorraine, even if I didn't like her "arrogance", the "condescending" way that she looked "down" upon all of us as mere "barbarians" hardly fit to polish her boots. She had been the woman who had "instructed" Janet Rogers, the "Lorraine" Janet herself had written of in her own books. Darlanis like many now "worshiped" the woman, and "thought" of her as being "the second Janet Rogers" which would lead Mankind to a second "Golden Age". "Having a hard time sleeping?" a voice suddenly spoke as I turned to see Lorraine now standing there, the Imperial Warlady's swollen body so "different" from what I'd remembered it before... I remembered too kneeling there before her, looking up into those eyes, feeling her "dominance", the "power" she possessed over me! "What was it like back then?" I said, standing there by the window, the moonlight shining in. The stars gleaming brightly. Jupiter was a bright point of light there up above the "teapot". "You confuse `technology' with `civilization'," Lorraine smiled back, joining me then, her dark eyes glowing into my own. "We were a people with `power', the ability to `do' almost any- thing we wished to do, to be, but without any `direction'," she spoke, seeing perhaps a much different "world" than what laid out there now. "Our political system pandered to human selfishness, to `those' who lived off the taxpayers and `bred' like a pack of dogs without any thought for tomorrow. I did what I `could', perhaps because I am not `truly' of the Twentieth Century, but yet another, one took `concern' for such things, who had her `dreams', a woman who dreamed she could `change' the world for the better. A woman who found one who `listened', understood..." "Janet did `try'," I said, touching her arm. Janet had not been completely "successful", but she had for a few decades al- tered the entire course of human history in a way no other ever has done. "And the world is better because you `tried'," I said. "It never would have worked," Lorraine answered. "Janet was `one of a kind', like me, and the flow of history is something no one can ever permanently alter," the Imperial Warlady said then. "There is only `one' like us in a generation, and that isn't `enough' to keep things going," the Imperial Warlady said to me. "You `altered' history here," I pointed out, aware now that Lorraine was "old", a woman living with dreams she'd never see... "Sanda Talen `altered' history, not me," Lorraine said. "A woman who saw the `chance' to push the Empire out of Trelandar. She `used' me, caused me to `hurt' Darlanis like no other could." "She was a woman with a `dream'," I said, remembering her. "She hated you with a passion," Lorraine smiled back at me. "Blonde, beautiful, `intelligent'," I smiled. I had been... "There was a `time' I thought she tried to kill me," the Warlady spoke, staring out the window at the moon lit bay beyond. "I even `suspected' Darlanis wanted me dead one time," she said, giving me a smile as she stood there, her face half lit by the moon. She is not a beautiful woman, although not unattractive. "I read your book," I said. I had found it "interesting". There was much that I had learned there about this amazing woman. "Why are you `concerned' about Valeris?" Lorraine asked me. "I fear `what' will happen afterwards," I said to her then. "I could understand `why' men hated us in the Twentieth Cen- tury, but why `now'?" Lorraine spoke, standing there beside me. "We have legal prostitution, no alimony, none of the `laws' that the women of my time managed to get passed in their own favor..." "I do not think such things can be `understood'," I smiled. "In a society like Valeris' men are `unnecessary'," Lorraine said, looking at the bay there before us. "Both the Women and the Lorr have lived without men or male members of their species for thousands of years. And I am sure that Valeris is well aware by now that we possess that drug that allows women to `fertilize' their ovums without the aid of a man," she spoke, seeing me nod. "That is `why' men feel that the Free Women must be destroyed..." "I would not care to live on a world without men," I said. "Men fear that most women `would'," Lorraine smiled back. "We are `not' the Lorr," I pointed out to Lorraine then. "In this issue `reason' does not apply," she answered. "The Priestesses would not help?" I said to her then. "They feared the `consequences'," Lorraine answered. "The `ultimate war'," I breathed, looking at her. "If you and Darlanis `fail'," Lorraine answered. I watched the airplane take off, lift off from the bay, heading to the south, towards Trelandar and Trella, its capital. Darlanis would probably not return until late this afternoon now. Then tomorrow we'd fly back to Arsana, then on to Freydis' lands. From there it would be a long flight to Valeris' capital there in the frigid lands just south of Alaska. I prayed to Lys that the Queen of the Free Women would be "reasonable". That she would "understand" why Darlanis had to withdraw her military support... "You have a good ass," Serak said to me, giving me a smile. I supposed that I did. I was rather "full" in the rump, which of course has led to certain little "ditties" back there in Arsana. "Your wife is more beautiful than me," I smiled back at him, reaching up, touching the silver chain that circled my throat, a lovely symbol that marked me as a wife of less than three years. "It would have `better' for all of us if Darlanis had never tried to `do' what she did with Valeris," he said to me then too. "Your wife is no doubt `aware' of that," I smiled back now. "There are those in the Imperial Senate who agree," he said. "Your brother is `involved' with Queen Freydis," I "smiled". A number of Darlanis' guardswomen were standing there listening. "There is but one `Darlanis'," Prince Serak said to me then. "The `tensions' are building," I spoke, Darlanis nodding. I had been reading the newspapers. Darlanis' actions in supporting Queen Valeris were not "popular" with many. "Sexual hatred" was building up right here in the Empire just as it was now in Du- larn. The sexes were being "polarized", with men now speaking of a "holy war" against "The Queen of Darkness" as Valeris was seen. Darlanis looked "tired", as if she was under considerable strain. She did little more than "pick" at her food as we ate our dinner. I suspected that she did not rest easy, given the situation now. "The Priestesses of Lys refuse to get `involved'," she said. "Nor will Aurora `welcome' the Free Women to Mars," I spoke. "There will be battles, blood will be shed, and the issue of `feminism' will be resolved for all time," Prince Serak spoke. "Good will `win' over Evil, and Valeris will pay for her crimes." "And Man will maintain his `dominance' over Woman," Darlanis snapped rather unpleasantly here, "As he has through all time..." "`Here' on the Earth," I spoke, seeing the Empress nodding. "Men are not `fools' like they were in Lorraine's time," he answered. "We all know what `happened' back then," he added now. "And you've learned `nothing' from it either," Darlanis re- torted, her azure blue burning into his like blue hot lasers now! I saw Pussycat creep forward, kneel at his side, her head down... "We have learned that `democracy' is not always the answer," he smiled back, tousling Pussycat's hair as she knelt there now. "That there are `things', `issues' not properly subject to being `voted' on. We understand now that the majority must not be al- lowed to make certain `decisions' as to the survival of a `sex'." "There are few women who wish to live like Valeris' does," I interjected here. I found the idea of "lesbianism" disgusting. It is, contrary to common belief, no more "common" or "tolerated" among the women of Dularn than the women of any other nation... "It is," Darlanis spoke, "An `issue' of whether anyone, male or female, has the `right' to control another's life," she said. Such a question had been proposed and "answered" by Janet Rogers. "And if Valeris is not a `military threat' to anyone, then do `men' have the `right' to make `war' upon her?" I challenged him in reply. "I think you know the answer to that `question'." "She is `not' a `dumb blonde'," Darlanis laughed in reply. "Nor is the woman that I am married to," he laughed back. 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Four "You are `serious'?" I "breathed", sitting there "stunned". Prince Serak inserting a bit of food into Pussycat's open mouth. "Lorraine and I both respect you for what you are," the Em- press smiled back. "Dularn is in good hands with you as Queen." "The `hour' is late, and I'm a bit tired," Lorraine said. I supposed that she was. In the last few days she'd had little chance to get enough rest, and she was six months pregnant too... I stood at the window and looked out over the bay, the Moon low in the west now, the city of Sarn peaceful and quiet. The soft wan light of the Moon making just visible there towards the mouth of the bay the ruins of an era now mostly legend and myths. The ruins of a great bridge far beyond our ability to reproduce. Once Man had thought himself like a "god", able to do anything... Now we were but "barbarians" with swords at our hips, living in a civilization built on "memories" of "what once had been", guided by a woman who had altered all of human history by her existence. I "admired" Lorraine, even if I didn't like her "arrogance", the "condescending" way that she looked "down" upon all of us as mere "barbarians" hardly fit to polish her boots. She had been the woman who had "instructed" Janet Rogers, the "Lorraine" Janet herself had written of in her own books. Darlanis like many now "worshiped" the woman, and "thought" of her as being "the second Janet Rogers" which would lead Mankind to a second "Golden Age". "Having a hard time sleeping?" a voice suddenly spoke as I turned to see Lorraine now standing there, the Imperial Warlady's swollen body so "different" from what I'd remembered it before... I remembered too kneeling there before her, looking up into those eyes, feeling her "dominance", the "power" she possessed over me! "What was it like back then?" I said, standing there by the window, the moonlight shining in. The stars gleaming brightly. Jupiter was a bright point of light there up above the "teapot". "You confuse `technology' with `civilization'," Lorraine smiled back, joining me then, her dark eyes glowing into my own. "We were a people with `power', the ability to `do' almost any- thing we wished to do, to be, but without any `direction'," she spoke, seeing perhaps a much different "world" than what laid out there now. "Our political system pandered to human selfishness, to `those' who lived off the taxpayers and `bred' like a pack of dogs without any thought for tomorrow. I did what I `could', perhaps because I am not `truly' of the Twentieth Century, but yet another, one took `concern' for such things, who had her `dreams', a woman who dreamed she could `change' the world for the better. A woman who found one who `listened', understood..." "Janet did `try'," I said, touching her arm. Janet had not been completely "successful", but she had for a few decades al- tered the entire course of human history in a way no other ever has done. "And the world is better because you `tried'," I said. "It never would have worked," Lorraine answered. "Janet was `one of a kind', like me, and the flow of history is something no one can ever permanently alter," the Imperial Warlady said then. "There is only `one' like us in a generation, and that isn't `enough' to keep things going," the Imperial Warlady said to me. "You `altered' history here," I pointed out, aware now that Lorraine was "old", a woman living with dreams she'd never see... "Sanda Talen `altered' history, not me," Lorraine said. "A woman who saw the `chance' to push the Empire out of Trelandar. She `used' me, caused me to `hurt' Darlanis like no other could." "She was a woman with a `dream'," I said, remembering her. "She hated you with a passion," Lorraine smiled back at me. "Blonde, beautiful, `intelligent'," I smiled. I had been... "There was a `time' I thought she tried to kill me," the Warlady spoke, staring out the window at the moon lit bay beyond. "I even `suspected' Darlanis wanted me dead one time," she said, giving me a smile as she stood there, her face half lit by the moon. She is not a beautiful woman, although not unattractive. "I read your book," I said. I had found it "interesting". There was much that I had learned there about this amazing woman. "Why are you `concerned' about Valeris?" Lorraine asked me. "I fear `what' will happen afterwards," I said to her then. "I could understand `why' men hated us in the Twentieth Cen- tury, but why `now'?" Lorraine spoke, standing there beside me. "We have legal prostitution, no alimony, none of the `laws' that the women of my time managed to get passed in their own favor..." "I do not think such things can be `understood'," I smiled. "In a society like Valeris' men are `unnecessary'," Lorraine said, looking at the bay there before us. "Both the Women and the Lorr have lived without men or male members of their species for thousands of years. And I am sure that Valeris is well aware by now that we possess that drug that allows women to `fertilize' their ovums without the aid of a man," she spoke, seeing me nod. "That is `why' men feel that the Free Women must be destroyed..." "I would not care to live on a world without men," I said. "Men fear that most women `would'," Lorraine smiled back. "We are `not' the Lorr," I pointed out to Lorraine then. "In this issue `reason' does not apply," she answered. "The Priestesses would not help?" I said to her then. "They feared the `consequences'," Lorraine answered. "The `ultimate war'," I breathed, looking at her. "If you and Darlanis `fail'," Lorraine answered. I watched the airplane take off, lift off from the bay, heading to the south, towards Trelandar and Trella, its capital. Darlanis would probably not return until late this afternoon now. Then tomorrow we'd fly back to Arsana, then on to Freydis' lands. From there it would be a long flight to Valeris' capital there in the frigid lands just south of Alaska. I prayed to Lys that the Queen of the Free Women would be "reasonable". That she would "understand" why Darlanis had to withdraw her military support... "You have a good ass," Serak said to me, giving me a smile. I supposed that I did. I was rather "full" in the rump, which of course has led to certain little "ditties" back there in Arsana. "Your wife is more beautiful than me," I smiled back at him, reaching up, touching the silver chain that circled my throat, a lovely symbol that marked me as a wife of less than three years. "It would have `better' for all of us if Darlanis had never tried to `do' what she did with Valeris," he said to me then too. "Your wife is no doubt `aware' of that," I smiled back now. "There are those in the Imperial Senate who agree," he said. "Your brother is `involved' with Queen Freydis," I "smiled". A number of Darlanis' guardswomen were standing there listening. "There is but one `Darlanis'," Prince Serak said to me then. "The `tensions' are building," I spoke, Darlanis nodding. I had been reading the newspapers. Darlanis' actions in supporting Queen Valeris were not "popular" with many. "Sexual hatred" was building up right here in the Empire just as it was now in Du- larn. The sexes were being "polarized", with men now speaking of a "holy war" against "The Queen of Darkness" as Valeris was seen. Darlanis looked "tired", as if she was under considerable strain. She did little more than "pick" at her food as we ate our dinner. I suspected that she did not rest easy, given the situation now. "The Priestesses of Lys refuse to get `involved'," she said. "Nor will Aurora `welcome' the Free Women to Mars," I spoke. "There will be battles, blood will be shed, and the issue of `feminism' will be resolved for all time," Prince Serak spoke. "Good will `win' over Evil, and Valeris will pay for her crimes." "And Man will maintain his `dominance' over Woman," Darlanis snapped rather unpleasantly here, "As he has through all time..." "`Here' on the Earth," I spoke, seeing the Empress nodding. "Men are not `fools' like they were in Lorraine's time," he answered. "We all know what `happened' back then," he added now. "And you've learned `nothing' from it either," Darlanis re- torted, her azure blue burning into his like blue hot lasers now! I saw Pussycat creep forward, kneel at his side, her head down... "We have learned that `democracy' is not always the answer," he smiled back, tousling Pussycat's hair as she knelt there now. "That there are `things', `issues' not properly subject to being `voted' on. We understand now that the majority must not be al- lowed to make certain `decisions' as to the survival of a `sex'." "There are few women who wish to live like Valeris' does," I interjected here. I found the idea of "lesbianism" disgusting. It is, contrary to common belief, no more "common" or "tolerated" among the women of Dularn than the women of any other nation... "It is," Darlanis spoke, "An `issue' of whether anyone, male or female, has the `right' to control another's life," she said. Such a question had been proposed and "answered" by Janet Rogers. "And if Valeris is not a `military threat' to anyone, then do `men' have the `right' to make `war' upon her?" I challenged him in reply. "I think you know the answer to that `question'." "She is `not' a `dumb blonde'," Darlanis laughed in reply. "Nor is the woman that I am married to," he laughed back. |
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