"2569-53" - 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 Fifty Three "Beautiful night," my husband said, standing there beside me as the North Star plowed her way through a restless moonlit sea. "We are `fortunate' to have lived when we have," I smiled. "You do not `envy' those of the `past'?" Paul smiled back. "They never could `live' as we have done," I said, seeing him nod in reply. I thought that was "why" they had written all the books they had about life in a more "simple" sort of society. While Janet Rogers was not an "oppressive" ruler, she was a woman who demanded that Mankind follow her "orders" to the "letter"... On the other hand she was "tolerant" of things few Dularnians of today are. She did have her own "prejudices", but they were not the "same" as those we find today so "commonplace" among peoples. One wonders at times whether or not we have really learned much. "The price one pays for `unlimited' reproduction," he said. "Odd that they `allowed' such things," I smiled in reply. "Or that it took Janet Rogers to tell them," he "mused". "They did not `value' their world," I said, smiling back. "You are `wise'...," he smiled, giving me a kiss just then. "I am not a `dumb blonde'," I pointed out, "kissing back". "That `couple', I wonder `why' they `went back'," Paul said. "I think they `missed' the life they'd once had," I said. I did not think that they found it again to be the "same" anymore. I had no doubts from the bodies, from the coffins themselves that Bob and Carol had sought to "return", to come back "home" even if only their last remains would survive the centuries between us... I believe, however, that they understood that our "present" could not exist unless they were careful to keep the future a "secret"! "They carried to the grave with them a `secret' greater than that known by anyone in the entire history of humanity," I mused then. "If Janet Rogers had `known'...," he mused, seeing me nod. "None of `this' would exist now," I answered, Paul nodding. "I wonder if anyone would have `believed'," he smiled then. "I doubt it," I smiled, walking to the rail with him then.* * And if these stories were true, would you believe them? (J.B.) ***************************************************************** "A lovely little girl, isn't she?" Darlanis smiled as Sharon nodded, little Artemis peeking over the rail at the passing waves as the Astarte now cut her way through them towards distant Trel- la, the capital of Trelandar and the "home" of Lorraine Richards. "A woman who will `make history'," Sharon answered, wonder- ing if Artemis and "Domino Tremaine" were actually the "same"... Only the last diary of the long dead Leaderess implied this now, a point that both she and Lorraine had tried to make to Darlanis. On the other hand the physical description of Domino Tremaine, the size of her own bone structure implied that in life she had been a woman much the same size as Darlanis. She was known to have been extremely beautiful, such having been written up in the histories of that era and in the few remaining books of that era. There was also a badly damaged photograph of the Leaderess, who did apparently look like a "twin" to Darlanis, although "older". "Bob said that he met `her' in the 20th Century," Darlanis mused, her azure eyes, that awesome jewel-like blue, meeting her own as Sharon nodded in reply, wondering if Darlanis had perhaps brooded too much for her own good upon this very subject now... "My own mother looked `somewhat' like you," Sharon replied. The Empress nodding, and then strolling off to inspect the ship, and leaving the Queen of Orgon standing there on the quarterdeck. The young Queen wondering if perhaps she'd been too hard on her? Darlanis was a woman of the 26th Century, with the "beliefs" of a person of her time, and she did not "see" things as Sharon might. On the other hand she recalled the "stories" that I had told her, stories that indicated that "time" was not what we thought of it! The little girl standing there watching her was another mystery. ***************************************************************** Mara gave her a puzzled look when Tara released her from the electronic hypnosis headset there in the hidden cave not far from Baja's capital of La Paz. The girl's look one of horror when she saw the horribly scarred facial features of the former Princess. "I am a friend," Tara said softly, taking her by the hand. "Where is this?" Mara asked, looking about now at things. "A secret place you will never remember again," Tara said, aware that Mara would never remember what she saw in this cave. "There are things of the `Ancients' here," Mara answered. "Those who knew `more' than we `do'," the Princess smiled. "I feel `confused'," the young Dularnian maid admitted then. "It will `pass'," Tara smiled, giving the girl a hug and now leading her out of the cave, back out into the sunlight where on the beach several sailors and a small boat now awaited them both. ***************************************************************** Captain Tori Wells, head of my Royal Guard, looked out to sea as she had so many times before, wondering if any of those she had seen sail off aboard the North Star would ever return... Would she ever again see the daughter she'd sent to see to learn discipline? There had been no word of the North Star or of the Imperial first rate that had escorted the flagship on its voyage. Some people even now claimed that the Queen of Dularn and Empress Darlanis had sailed off the edge of the world never to return. An educated woman, Tori knew "better", but even so this "waiting" was getting on her nerves, even though she knew that even the North Star could not sail a distance of over ten thousand miles as a round trip in less than a couple months at the very best... ***************************************************************** "Every day it's the same," Karis Valdis said to me as we had dinner together there in the North Star's stern cabin. Diane Wells nodding thoughtfully. She had done well on this voyage, I thought to myself. Her mother would be proud of her, I mused... "It's a big ocean," I smiled back, seeing her nod in reply. "It's even hard to get the lookouts to stay awake," she smiled back. There was nothing to see but just ocean everywhere. Day after day we sailed to the east, towards a distant Dularn. "We should sight land within the week," I smiled back. "Calculations indicate a thousand miles yet," she said. "Four days sailing at our present rate," Paul mused then. "I'd like to sail her around the world someday," Diane of- fered. "She's really a great ship, a `credit' to you, my Queen." I nodded, meeting her eyes, seeing the "gleam" there in hers. I supposed such a voyage was "possible" with the North Star, al- though it would probably take the better of a year to do it now. "Perhaps someday you'll be her captain," I smiled at her. "I'll take good care of her," Diane quickly promised me. "Wind's dying out," Karis said to me that afternoon a couple days later. We were now perhaps six hundred miles from home now. "Order the engineer to raise steam," I smiled back at her. "Aye, aye, your majesty," she smiled back at me in reply. "Not much wind," my husband "commented", looking about, the black smoke pouring from the funnel up into the azure sky above. The steady "thud-thud" of the engine leaving no doubts either... "We have coal enough for three days," I smiled in reply. "Barometer's starting to fall," Karis said to me then. "Get those top sails in and those masts down," I spoke. "The lookout reports a dark line of clouds on the horizon to the north," Diane said to me, the last of the top masts now down. "Jib, spanker and main stay sail," I smiled back at her then. This time I would not take any "chances" with the ship. I saw Diane nod, watched Karis supervising the stowing of the masts below. Miss Wells clumping down to the main deck, speaking to the first officer. Karis glancing up at me, and then the sky up above, a hot mid summer sun blazing down upon us from azure blue. We were still under steam, although I had ordered no more coal to be fed into the boiler as I preferred to sail in a storm instead of relying upon the steam engine, which I didn't trust that much. "One of those `northwester's' like back home," Karis said as the line of clouds came racing down towards us, the waves now again leaping up against the side of the ship as she heeled over. "We're doing about six knots, I'd say," I smiled back at her as Karis nodded, her black rooted blonde hair leaving no doubts. The North Star could do "better", but there was no cause to push the old girl at this point in the "game", I thought to myself... "Drifting to `leewards' too," Karis grinned back at me. We were drifting somewhat to the south, but that was something that I could "allow" for and make corrections for in our course now. "Wind's pretty strong," I replied, my hair now blowing out, while Karis' half covered her face as she stood with her back to it, the leaping waves like rows of attacking warriors racing on towards us. The whistle of the wind in the rigging a sound that I've heard many a time before standing here on the quarterdeck. "We're going to be drifting south of Dularn," she said. "Feeling homesick?" I grinned, suspecting the "truth". "Too long at sea for my liking!" she grinned back. "It won't be too long now," I then promised her. 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Fifty Three "Beautiful night," my husband said, standing there beside me as the North Star plowed her way through a restless moonlit sea. "We are `fortunate' to have lived when we have," I smiled. "You do not `envy' those of the `past'?" Paul smiled back. "They never could `live' as we have done," I said, seeing him nod in reply. I thought that was "why" they had written all the books they had about life in a more "simple" sort of society. While Janet Rogers was not an "oppressive" ruler, she was a woman who demanded that Mankind follow her "orders" to the "letter"... On the other hand she was "tolerant" of things few Dularnians of today are. She did have her own "prejudices", but they were not the "same" as those we find today so "commonplace" among peoples. One wonders at times whether or not we have really learned much. "The price one pays for `unlimited' reproduction," he said. "Odd that they `allowed' such things," I smiled in reply. "Or that it took Janet Rogers to tell them," he "mused". "They did not `value' their world," I said, smiling back. "You are `wise'...," he smiled, giving me a kiss just then. "I am not a `dumb blonde'," I pointed out, "kissing back". "That `couple', I wonder `why' they `went back'," Paul said. "I think they `missed' the life they'd once had," I said. I did not think that they found it again to be the "same" anymore. I had no doubts from the bodies, from the coffins themselves that Bob and Carol had sought to "return", to come back "home" even if only their last remains would survive the centuries between us... I believe, however, that they understood that our "present" could not exist unless they were careful to keep the future a "secret"! "They carried to the grave with them a `secret' greater than that known by anyone in the entire history of humanity," I mused then. "If Janet Rogers had `known'...," he mused, seeing me nod. "None of `this' would exist now," I answered, Paul nodding. "I wonder if anyone would have `believed'," he smiled then. "I doubt it," I smiled, walking to the rail with him then.* * And if these stories were true, would you believe them? (J.B.) ***************************************************************** "A lovely little girl, isn't she?" Darlanis smiled as Sharon nodded, little Artemis peeking over the rail at the passing waves as the Astarte now cut her way through them towards distant Trel- la, the capital of Trelandar and the "home" of Lorraine Richards. "A woman who will `make history'," Sharon answered, wonder- ing if Artemis and "Domino Tremaine" were actually the "same"... Only the last diary of the long dead Leaderess implied this now, a point that both she and Lorraine had tried to make to Darlanis. On the other hand the physical description of Domino Tremaine, the size of her own bone structure implied that in life she had been a woman much the same size as Darlanis. She was known to have been extremely beautiful, such having been written up in the histories of that era and in the few remaining books of that era. There was also a badly damaged photograph of the Leaderess, who did apparently look like a "twin" to Darlanis, although "older". "Bob said that he met `her' in the 20th Century," Darlanis mused, her azure eyes, that awesome jewel-like blue, meeting her own as Sharon nodded in reply, wondering if Darlanis had perhaps brooded too much for her own good upon this very subject now... "My own mother looked `somewhat' like you," Sharon replied. The Empress nodding, and then strolling off to inspect the ship, and leaving the Queen of Orgon standing there on the quarterdeck. The young Queen wondering if perhaps she'd been too hard on her? Darlanis was a woman of the 26th Century, with the "beliefs" of a person of her time, and she did not "see" things as Sharon might. On the other hand she recalled the "stories" that I had told her, stories that indicated that "time" was not what we thought of it! The little girl standing there watching her was another mystery. ***************************************************************** Mara gave her a puzzled look when Tara released her from the electronic hypnosis headset there in the hidden cave not far from Baja's capital of La Paz. The girl's look one of horror when she saw the horribly scarred facial features of the former Princess. "I am a friend," Tara said softly, taking her by the hand. "Where is this?" Mara asked, looking about now at things. "A secret place you will never remember again," Tara said, aware that Mara would never remember what she saw in this cave. "There are things of the `Ancients' here," Mara answered. "Those who knew `more' than we `do'," the Princess smiled. "I feel `confused'," the young Dularnian maid admitted then. "It will `pass'," Tara smiled, giving the girl a hug and now leading her out of the cave, back out into the sunlight where on the beach several sailors and a small boat now awaited them both. ***************************************************************** Captain Tori Wells, head of my Royal Guard, looked out to sea as she had so many times before, wondering if any of those she had seen sail off aboard the North Star would ever return... Would she ever again see the daughter she'd sent to see to learn discipline? There had been no word of the North Star or of the Imperial first rate that had escorted the flagship on its voyage. Some people even now claimed that the Queen of Dularn and Empress Darlanis had sailed off the edge of the world never to return. An educated woman, Tori knew "better", but even so this "waiting" was getting on her nerves, even though she knew that even the North Star could not sail a distance of over ten thousand miles as a round trip in less than a couple months at the very best... ***************************************************************** "Every day it's the same," Karis Valdis said to me as we had dinner together there in the North Star's stern cabin. Diane Wells nodding thoughtfully. She had done well on this voyage, I thought to myself. Her mother would be proud of her, I mused... "It's a big ocean," I smiled back, seeing her nod in reply. "It's even hard to get the lookouts to stay awake," she smiled back. There was nothing to see but just ocean everywhere. Day after day we sailed to the east, towards a distant Dularn. "We should sight land within the week," I smiled back. "Calculations indicate a thousand miles yet," she said. "Four days sailing at our present rate," Paul mused then. "I'd like to sail her around the world someday," Diane of- fered. "She's really a great ship, a `credit' to you, my Queen." I nodded, meeting her eyes, seeing the "gleam" there in hers. I supposed such a voyage was "possible" with the North Star, al- though it would probably take the better of a year to do it now. "Perhaps someday you'll be her captain," I smiled at her. "I'll take good care of her," Diane quickly promised me. "Wind's dying out," Karis said to me that afternoon a couple days later. We were now perhaps six hundred miles from home now. "Order the engineer to raise steam," I smiled back at her. "Aye, aye, your majesty," she smiled back at me in reply. "Not much wind," my husband "commented", looking about, the black smoke pouring from the funnel up into the azure sky above. The steady "thud-thud" of the engine leaving no doubts either... "We have coal enough for three days," I smiled in reply. "Barometer's starting to fall," Karis said to me then. "Get those top sails in and those masts down," I spoke. "The lookout reports a dark line of clouds on the horizon to the north," Diane said to me, the last of the top masts now down. "Jib, spanker and main stay sail," I smiled back at her then. This time I would not take any "chances" with the ship. I saw Diane nod, watched Karis supervising the stowing of the masts below. Miss Wells clumping down to the main deck, speaking to the first officer. Karis glancing up at me, and then the sky up above, a hot mid summer sun blazing down upon us from azure blue. We were still under steam, although I had ordered no more coal to be fed into the boiler as I preferred to sail in a storm instead of relying upon the steam engine, which I didn't trust that much. "One of those `northwester's' like back home," Karis said as the line of clouds came racing down towards us, the waves now again leaping up against the side of the ship as she heeled over. "We're doing about six knots, I'd say," I smiled back at her as Karis nodded, her black rooted blonde hair leaving no doubts. The North Star could do "better", but there was no cause to push the old girl at this point in the "game", I thought to myself... "Drifting to `leewards' too," Karis grinned back at me. We were drifting somewhat to the south, but that was something that I could "allow" for and make corrections for in our course now. "Wind's pretty strong," I replied, my hair now blowing out, while Karis' half covered her face as she stood with her back to it, the leaping waves like rows of attacking warriors racing on towards us. The whistle of the wind in the rigging a sound that I've heard many a time before standing here on the quarterdeck. "We're going to be drifting south of Dularn," she said. "Feeling homesick?" I grinned, suspecting the "truth". "Too long at sea for my liking!" she grinned back. "It won't be too long now," I then promised her. |
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