"2570-41" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 8 - The Queen Of Time)THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty One "Hold me," I said to Jon, slipping back in under the blan- kets beside him. Aware of my own death to come as never before. In another thirty years I'd look like Carol, just an old woman. Living with her memories of what had once been so long ago now... And would Jon love me then, an old woman, her hair turning gray? He'd still have his "youth", while I grew old, wrinkled, homely! "Carol seems to have a bad effect on you," Jon observed. "A vision of what the future holds, perhaps," I answered. "They loved each other so much," he said, holding me close. "They have had what few couples have ever had," I smiled. I understood as I had not before "why" their relationship was as it had been. Why even now there was a "bond" between them that I didn't think even death would be able to break. A "strength" to their marriage that I knew that even Jon and I didn't have now... We were husband and wife, but we both could go our separate ways, live out our own lives, and pretty much act as if we weren't even married. That had been something Bob had never done with Carol. They had been united in a way that so very few couples ever are. "I do not think he `sees' her as we would," Jon said to me. "There was only `one' Carol Simmons," I replied, watching. Carol was holding Bob to herself, an old woman, her mind failing fast, confused at times as to even where she was, but yet to him I did not think he saw her that way. He did not see the lines of her face, the gray of her hair, the way her body now sagged with age. She was still "Carol", his "Carol", the same woman who had one time stood in the hot sands of the Arena of Trella, naked but for a bit of leather, a sword gleaming in her hand, proud, vital! My Physician sitting back a little, watching the old couple here. "A woman like few others ever were," Jon smiled, holding me. "I think she was a woman who knew exactly `what' she was, and was happy being just `that'," he added, looking over at the couple. "I'm glad she no longer hates me," I said, watching them. "Perhaps Tais had her reasons for what she did," Jon said. "How are `things' this morning?" I asked, checking on Bob. Carol quietly regarding me as she sat beside him, watching my ev- ery move. She had at least not had any attack of confusion here. "Don't think I'd care to start a war with you," he smiled. "You did win the last one," I smiled, seeing Carol grin. "I think we were very `lucky'," the old Warlady smiled. "`Luck' is sometimes what you make of it," I answered. "You were `overconfident'," Bob pointed out to me. "Took me a long time to live it down," I agreed. "You `belong' here," Carol said, seeing me nod. "A part of the history of what is," I smiled. "A `living legend' of this era," Carol agreed. "Problems, June?" I asked, my captain getting her people ready for the return to Trella. Keri and her Scribes would stay, complete their labors, which might take weeks, I knew here now. There was much that could be learned of a time now only legend. "I don't think you should take Joyce to Trella," she said. "We need to put an `end' to this `prejudice'," I replied, my dire wolf moving beneath me as I swung up into the saddle, my sword at my hip, the sun already growing hot as it rose up in the east. I suspected that in a way I wanted to "prove" something... Queen Amethysta was sitting there on her own unicorn watching us. A few of my women watching us, others there busy at their duties. "You are going against the `teachings' of the Priestesses," she pointed out, seeing me nod back. I was the Queen of Trelan- dar, but the Priestesses of Lys were the actual rulers of Earth. Tais was for all practical extents the Empress of the Solar Sys- tem in that the Priestesses of Lys claimed dominion over Mars... Tais rarely interfered in affairs beyond the Earth, but she did have the POWER to do so, a fact that Raspa and Aurora were well aware of from what I knew. Aurora especially now resented Tais, the Leaderess of the Women feeling that Tais had no business in telling the Women what they could do and what they could not do. "They are just women with an impressive technology," I said. I was responsible for much of their "technology", as was Janet Rogers, who had carried on my research into electronic hypnosis. It was true now that they had gone far beyond what I had intended them to be, but I supposed it was just as well considering what had happened here. They were in their way Mankind's "guardians". "The people of Trelandar consider them `holy'," she spoke, looking up at me as I sat there astride my dire wolf, the sun warm on one side of my body, the morning still yet a bit chilly here. It would be a lovely day, with only a few clouds here in the sky. "And their power is for all practical purposes `infi- nite'," she added, her chocolate colored face filled with concern for me now. No one in the history of the last five centuries had ever gone up against the Priestesses of Lys and survived their anger, I knew. They were for all practical purposes our rulers. "I am sometimes a Warrioress who `ventures' where she should not," I smiled. By taking Queen Joyce to Trella I would be vio- lating one of the most deeply rooted prejudices Mankind now had!! On the other hand I live by a moral code all of my own, one that has been forged by my life in two utterly different societies. I am a woman of two worlds, of two eras in time, of two cultures... "The people could turn on you," June warned, standing there. "If they do, I will die as a Warrioress should," I smiled. "You would not die alone, your majesty," she said to me. "I'm just a woman `good with a sword'." I smiled back. "You are a woman who is `legend'," she answered me. "Just an `old bitch' past her `prime'," I smiled. "`Mount up', you bunch of `doxies'!" I heard June bark, my Warrioresses not too delighted by the idea of taking Queen Joyce to Trella, especially as they knew what the consequences could be once the population of the city heard of it. On the other hand I am thought by most people to be rather "alien" myself, so I had a hunch that the reaction might not be quite as everyone expected. On the other hand I had enough political enemies who would be de- lighted to exploit a situation like this, a fact I knew well too! And even if the Priestesses of Lys didn't react to Joyce, I had no doubts that Les Hawkins would certain drum up his "Democrats" in opposition to me. The rabble of Trella that he called "his"! "Her language is `picturesque'," Bob grinned, sitting beside his wife in the wagon I felt it best they ride back to Trella in. Joyce beside them, half shielded now by a canvas over herself. I knew she found the direct light of the sun uncomfortable, a "problem" that the Lorr also "share", I might mention in passing. "She's a bit `nervous' this morning," I smiled back at him. Explaining in a few words what reasons June had to feel so now... Why my own Warrioresses might feel much the same way here too. "I don't think anyone but you would try to do something like this," Carol said, regarding me, her arm around her husband here. "Others have considered me `fool hardy'," I grinned back, a nod and an answering smile from the old Warlady making me smile. I have garnered such a "reputation" over the years, I fear here. "One thing I've always admired about you is `guts'," Carol answered, for a moment almost the same Carol I'd once known here. "The willingness to stand up for what you believed in `right or wrong'," she added, June now getting my women properly organized. It is important under such circumstances that discipline be main- tained. Such is part of the Codes by which any Warrioress lives. "Sometimes it does help to be a `living legend'," I smiled. "Trella," June said to me, perhaps more to make conversation here than anything else. I had "done" what no one else in the history of this era had done, not even the Priestesses of Lys... I wondered if I had this time stepped over the "bounds". If I had gone beyond the "point" that even a Queen of Trelandar might go now. Queen Joyce was "alien" in a way not even the Lorr were. Her sort were seen by Mankind as "monsters" to be destroyed by any means available. Like the vampires and all the rest that had populated Twentieth Century horror movies. Even the Priestesses themselves taught that anything "mu" must be destroyed without any hesitation. They still killed any newborns that were not "hu", and "woe" to be any who opposed them in this, I understood. What the "reaction" would be to my bringing Joyce to Trella was something no one could say for sure, although there was no doubt in my mind that my political enemies would exploit it for all it was worth. Especially "those" like Les Hawkins, who would be doubtlessly delighted to have something like this to "exploit"... "No doubt you have been reviewing your past life in the last few moments to `guess' what Lys might make of it?" I smiled back, such being a part of the teachings of the Priestesses of Lys. I had once met Lys Herself on Mars, although I think SHE is a bet- ter name for a Being who Mankind knows as Queen of the Universe. June was unmarried, although I knew she did have a "lover" here. I suspected it was Tom Stevens, who was one of Sanda's "people". "You are perhaps a `legend' like no other who has ever lived in all of history, your majesty," she said to me, giving me a smile, her teeth white against the darkness of her attractive face. Back in the 20th Century I'd not had too high an opinion of the Black race as such, but here in the 26th Century I've had good reason at times to reconsider my earlier opinions of Blacks. "I am woman `good with a sword' and with certain `ideals'," I smiled back. That is how I see myself, not as others perhaps see me. I am I suppose "awesome" with the blade, although Darla- nis is nearly as "good", and far more "attractive" than I am too. On the other hand I am extremely intelligent, and take pride in the fact that I was Janet Rogers' "mentor" during the time I knew her in the Twentieth Century. That I did make a "difference" in history despite the fact that even Janet herself made "mistakes". I do hope that when the time comes that I stand before SHE and am judged for my sins that SHE will take into account that I did try to live a good life, that I did try to do on to others as I would have wished to have been done on to. Perhaps that is ALL anyone can ask. I have tried to be a good Queen, a good wife to Jon... THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty One "Hold me," I said to Jon, slipping back in under the blan- kets beside him. Aware of my own death to come as never before. In another thirty years I'd look like Carol, just an old woman. Living with her memories of what had once been so long ago now... And would Jon love me then, an old woman, her hair turning gray? He'd still have his "youth", while I grew old, wrinkled, homely! "Carol seems to have a bad effect on you," Jon observed. "A vision of what the future holds, perhaps," I answered. "They loved each other so much," he said, holding me close. "They have had what few couples have ever had," I smiled. I understood as I had not before "why" their relationship was as it had been. Why even now there was a "bond" between them that I didn't think even death would be able to break. A "strength" to their marriage that I knew that even Jon and I didn't have now... We were husband and wife, but we both could go our separate ways, live out our own lives, and pretty much act as if we weren't even married. That had been something Bob had never done with Carol. They had been united in a way that so very few couples ever are. "I do not think he `sees' her as we would," Jon said to me. "There was only `one' Carol Simmons," I replied, watching. Carol was holding Bob to herself, an old woman, her mind failing fast, confused at times as to even where she was, but yet to him I did not think he saw her that way. He did not see the lines of her face, the gray of her hair, the way her body now sagged with age. She was still "Carol", his "Carol", the same woman who had one time stood in the hot sands of the Arena of Trella, naked but for a bit of leather, a sword gleaming in her hand, proud, vital! My Physician sitting back a little, watching the old couple here. "A woman like few others ever were," Jon smiled, holding me. "I think she was a woman who knew exactly `what' she was, and was happy being just `that'," he added, looking over at the couple. "I'm glad she no longer hates me," I said, watching them. "Perhaps Tais had her reasons for what she did," Jon said. "How are `things' this morning?" I asked, checking on Bob. Carol quietly regarding me as she sat beside him, watching my ev- ery move. She had at least not had any attack of confusion here. "Don't think I'd care to start a war with you," he smiled. "You did win the last one," I smiled, seeing Carol grin. "I think we were very `lucky'," the old Warlady smiled. "`Luck' is sometimes what you make of it," I answered. "You were `overconfident'," Bob pointed out to me. "Took me a long time to live it down," I agreed. "You `belong' here," Carol said, seeing me nod. "A part of the history of what is," I smiled. "A `living legend' of this era," Carol agreed. "Problems, June?" I asked, my captain getting her people ready for the return to Trella. Keri and her Scribes would stay, complete their labors, which might take weeks, I knew here now. There was much that could be learned of a time now only legend. "I don't think you should take Joyce to Trella," she said. "We need to put an `end' to this `prejudice'," I replied, my dire wolf moving beneath me as I swung up into the saddle, my sword at my hip, the sun already growing hot as it rose up in the east. I suspected that in a way I wanted to "prove" something... Queen Amethysta was sitting there on her own unicorn watching us. A few of my women watching us, others there busy at their duties. "You are going against the `teachings' of the Priestesses," she pointed out, seeing me nod back. I was the Queen of Trelan- dar, but the Priestesses of Lys were the actual rulers of Earth. Tais was for all practical extents the Empress of the Solar Sys- tem in that the Priestesses of Lys claimed dominion over Mars... Tais rarely interfered in affairs beyond the Earth, but she did have the POWER to do so, a fact that Raspa and Aurora were well aware of from what I knew. Aurora especially now resented Tais, the Leaderess of the Women feeling that Tais had no business in telling the Women what they could do and what they could not do. "They are just women with an impressive technology," I said. I was responsible for much of their "technology", as was Janet Rogers, who had carried on my research into electronic hypnosis. It was true now that they had gone far beyond what I had intended them to be, but I supposed it was just as well considering what had happened here. They were in their way Mankind's "guardians". "The people of Trelandar consider them `holy'," she spoke, looking up at me as I sat there astride my dire wolf, the sun warm on one side of my body, the morning still yet a bit chilly here. It would be a lovely day, with only a few clouds here in the sky. "And their power is for all practical purposes `infi- nite'," she added, her chocolate colored face filled with concern for me now. No one in the history of the last five centuries had ever gone up against the Priestesses of Lys and survived their anger, I knew. They were for all practical purposes our rulers. "I am sometimes a Warrioress who `ventures' where she should not," I smiled. By taking Queen Joyce to Trella I would be vio- lating one of the most deeply rooted prejudices Mankind now had!! On the other hand I live by a moral code all of my own, one that has been forged by my life in two utterly different societies. I am a woman of two worlds, of two eras in time, of two cultures... "The people could turn on you," June warned, standing there. "If they do, I will die as a Warrioress should," I smiled. "You would not die alone, your majesty," she said to me. "I'm just a woman `good with a sword'." I smiled back. "You are a woman who is `legend'," she answered me. "Just an `old bitch' past her `prime'," I smiled. "`Mount up', you bunch of `doxies'!" I heard June bark, my Warrioresses not too delighted by the idea of taking Queen Joyce to Trella, especially as they knew what the consequences could be once the population of the city heard of it. On the other hand I am thought by most people to be rather "alien" myself, so I had a hunch that the reaction might not be quite as everyone expected. On the other hand I had enough political enemies who would be de- lighted to exploit a situation like this, a fact I knew well too! And even if the Priestesses of Lys didn't react to Joyce, I had no doubts that Les Hawkins would certain drum up his "Democrats" in opposition to me. The rabble of Trella that he called "his"! "Her language is `picturesque'," Bob grinned, sitting beside his wife in the wagon I felt it best they ride back to Trella in. Joyce beside them, half shielded now by a canvas over herself. I knew she found the direct light of the sun uncomfortable, a "problem" that the Lorr also "share", I might mention in passing. "She's a bit `nervous' this morning," I smiled back at him. Explaining in a few words what reasons June had to feel so now... Why my own Warrioresses might feel much the same way here too. "I don't think anyone but you would try to do something like this," Carol said, regarding me, her arm around her husband here. "Others have considered me `fool hardy'," I grinned back, a nod and an answering smile from the old Warlady making me smile. I have garnered such a "reputation" over the years, I fear here. "One thing I've always admired about you is `guts'," Carol answered, for a moment almost the same Carol I'd once known here. "The willingness to stand up for what you believed in `right or wrong'," she added, June now getting my women properly organized. It is important under such circumstances that discipline be main- tained. Such is part of the Codes by which any Warrioress lives. "Sometimes it does help to be a `living legend'," I smiled. "Trella," June said to me, perhaps more to make conversation here than anything else. I had "done" what no one else in the history of this era had done, not even the Priestesses of Lys... I wondered if I had this time stepped over the "bounds". If I had gone beyond the "point" that even a Queen of Trelandar might go now. Queen Joyce was "alien" in a way not even the Lorr were. Her sort were seen by Mankind as "monsters" to be destroyed by any means available. Like the vampires and all the rest that had populated Twentieth Century horror movies. Even the Priestesses themselves taught that anything "mu" must be destroyed without any hesitation. They still killed any newborns that were not "hu", and "woe" to be any who opposed them in this, I understood. What the "reaction" would be to my bringing Joyce to Trella was something no one could say for sure, although there was no doubt in my mind that my political enemies would exploit it for all it was worth. Especially "those" like Les Hawkins, who would be doubtlessly delighted to have something like this to "exploit"... "No doubt you have been reviewing your past life in the last few moments to `guess' what Lys might make of it?" I smiled back, such being a part of the teachings of the Priestesses of Lys. I had once met Lys Herself on Mars, although I think SHE is a bet- ter name for a Being who Mankind knows as Queen of the Universe. June was unmarried, although I knew she did have a "lover" here. I suspected it was Tom Stevens, who was one of Sanda's "people". "You are perhaps a `legend' like no other who has ever lived in all of history, your majesty," she said to me, giving me a smile, her teeth white against the darkness of her attractive face. Back in the 20th Century I'd not had too high an opinion of the Black race as such, but here in the 26th Century I've had good reason at times to reconsider my earlier opinions of Blacks. "I am woman `good with a sword' and with certain `ideals'," I smiled back. That is how I see myself, not as others perhaps see me. I am I suppose "awesome" with the blade, although Darla- nis is nearly as "good", and far more "attractive" than I am too. On the other hand I am extremely intelligent, and take pride in the fact that I was Janet Rogers' "mentor" during the time I knew her in the Twentieth Century. That I did make a "difference" in history despite the fact that even Janet herself made "mistakes". I do hope that when the time comes that I stand before SHE and am judged for my sins that SHE will take into account that I did try to live a good life, that I did try to do on to others as I would have wished to have been done on to. Perhaps that is ALL anyone can ask. I have tried to be a good Queen, a good wife to Jon... |
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