"2570-46" - 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 Six "`You' are condemned to slavery," I said to the woman as she knelt before me. She was attractive, with light brown hair. She would be shipped north, far north to Queen Freydis' territories. My forces had rounded up the last of Tara's agents, and I'd sent to Darlanis and Sharon by telegraph the names of those who had in their countries been in the service of Tara. As for Tara herself Joyce had learned little, just "bits and pieces" of information. "Your majesty is `merciful'," the naked slave girl answered, June Colt's hand in her hand holding her face up towards me now. Most monarchs in this era would have had her head for all this... "In the arms of a strong master you will forget politics," I smiled back at her. Joyce had said that she believed this woman had been a close lieutenant of Tara's, and had attempted to fol- low in her footsteps. I supposed that it was possible here too. She had read some of Tara's books, and formed her own ideas here. That she had been as "successful" as she had been was due I felt more to human "selfishness" than anything else she'd done to us. Like Hillary Clinton in the Twentieth Century she had been a wom- an who had been able to exploit the selfishness of others for her own gain. Telling people exactly "what" they wanted to hear too! "Yes, mistress," the slave girl answered, bowing her head. I wondered if her master would let her keep the name of Hillary? "Well, that's the `end' of that," Sanda said to me as we shared dinner. The Huntress was being repaired, the dead buried, the wounded were now recovering in the hospital. Tais had sent Bob and Carol back to their own time for their last few months... "The `world' is now once again at peace thanks to you," Jon smiled at me. I knew he had a high opinion of me, "too high", I felt. I am not a person to be admired in some respects, I fear. I tend to be a bit too "authoritarian" in some respects, too in awe of my own intelligence. Perhaps too I like warfare too much. "Tais said we were being `tested'," I smiled back at him. "I think `you' were the one being tested," Sanda smiled. "I keep thinking of Carol," I said, looking at no one. "She lived a good life," Jon said, touching my hand. "Someday I may be like that," I said, meeting his eyes. "She said to me before Tais took her back that she was glad to have been on the Huntress, to have been in battle again," our slave girl ventured softly as she knelt there beside Jon and me. Yvette Senchal's dark eyes holding mine as I nodded back in turn. "I think she was truly of the Warrioresses as few women are," our slave girl smiled, perhaps knowing more of such than I'd known... "Tais," I smiled, the First Priestess suddenly "there". Sue Cross, swollen with child, there to one side watching as I wrote in my diary. The glittering gems of the Priestess' golden ankh leaving no doubts as to "who" she was, if any had any doubts now. Jon sitting there staring at her, no doubt suspecting that Tais had plans here to transport me again through time to another era. "There is a `duty' for us to `perform'," Tais said to me as I stood, suspecting that I was about to travel again in time now! A sudden "blurring", a sense of "movement", and then Tais and I stood suddenly in a dimly lit bedroom, the old man and the old woman lying there on the bed quite familiar I think to us both. "I was `hoping'," Bob said, looking up at me. Carol's eyes holding mine as I "nodded" to her, her face already starting to blur before me as the tears came to my eyes at the knowledge of what they had done, the tiny bottle there on the bed table leav- ing no doubts. I knew of such things, of the fact that unlike my own Twentieth Century suicide was an "accepted" means of "ending" one's life both here in the Twenty First Century and my 26th now. The poison they'd used was one that gradually stopped the heart. Both were in uniform, Bob that of a Sealord, Carol of a Warlady. "There will be less `discomfort' with my `help'," Tais said. I am told that at the end that there is a sensation of "choking". "I remember the Huntress," Carol said to me, her hand gently squeezing mine as I knelt weeping at her side. "And standing on the deck of the North Star in battle," she continued on here now. "The arena in Trella, the sun hot on my body, Bob at my side..." There were tears in those old hazel eyes as she looked up at me. "You wear the uniform of a Dularnian Warlady," I said, the sword in Carol's right hand laid half across her old aged body. I wondered how much of her memories yet remained in her mind now. At the end Alzheimier's disease can steal every memory you have. "I was once a Warlady of that far country," Carol smiled af- ter a second's pause for thought. "I served a beautiful Queen." I wondered too how "clear" Carol's memories were of things now? I was tempted to ask her if she knew "who" the Queen was, but not if it would only serve to confuse her in her last minute of life! "Your bodies will be sent there by Janet," I spoke to her. "That is good," Carol Simmons smiled back in reply then. I knew, as they apparently did not, that they would not be buried in their uniforms, as Maris had discovered them attired in attire of the 21st Century. I supposed Janet had seen to such here now. "There is no `death', only life eternal," I heard Tais say. I knew the "truth" that she spoke, as I think did Bob and Carol. One of the "paradoxes" of time travel is that there is no death. "We are `together' at the `end'," Bob said to his beloved. "And with `friends' at our side," his wife answered him. I watched Tais lean over the bed, her eyes seeming to glow. I knew something of her powers, of what she was capable of doing. The "death" came swiftly then, in only a matter of a minute or so I think. Tais has the power to control the movements of matter, to stop hearts from beating, as well as being able to read minds. At the end I saw Tais clasp their hands together, their bodies "relax" as the "end" came swiftly then as their hearts both beat for the last time and the dissolution of Death came to them both. "We have a last `duty' to perform," Tais said to me. "It is one I can `do' by myself if you do not wish to assist me here..." "They weren't buried in those clothes," I pointed out then. "They left a will specifying just that," Tais said in reply. "However, those uniforms would raise `questions' that even Janet would have a hard time answering," Tais answered me in reply now. "Thus it is necessary that we destroy any references to Dularn." "That `uniform' meant a lot to her," I said to Tais, my eyes once again filling with tears. To strip the uniform from Carol's body was something I couldn't do, nor did I feel right in allow- ing Tais to do it despite whatever problems it might cause later! "I realize that," Tais answered, standing there before me. "You could send me back to the future," I said to Tais. I did not wish to witness this "desecration" of Carol's dead body. "Is that what you want me to do?" the Priestess challenged. "You will `rob' her of what her last `wish' was," I wept, the tears uncontrollable as they streamed down my cheeks. Carol had been a "friend", one who had meant a lot to me emotionally... "Was it the `uniform' that made Carol what she was?" Tais asked, no doubt well aware of the only possible answer to that... "And for Dularn to `exist' history must not be changed now," Tais continued on. I supposed she knew what she was doing here now. "I will help," I said, the tears running down my cheeks. I could only pray that Carol would understand why I did what I did! I picked out a lovely metallic mesh sheath for Carol, the sort of a dress that I knew she would have liked to have worn. I knew enough about Carol, about how she thought, felt, to know at least this much. I let Tais change Bob's clothing, but I took care of Carol myself, stripping her and then dressing her old and limp body in the lovely metallic sheath that she'd be buried in. I also took pains, wiping my eyes as I wept, to make her just as pretty as I could while Tais waited "impatiently" for me to come. Then as I straightened up, there was a sudden "blurring" again, a sensing of "movement", and I was suddenly back in my own palace! "Lorraine!" Jon spoke, taking me in his arms as I wept, the tears filling my eyes as I told him of what I'd had to do back in the year 2033. What I'd been forced to do by Tais so that histo- ry would not be changed or altered. Time travel is not always a "blessing". It can be extremely painful emotionally to a person. I had been forced to violate Carol's last wishes so that history would not be altered, so that there would be a Dularn for her and Bob to live in for just over a year and a half before they re- turned to their own time. I can only hope that Carol understood. That she understood as she witnessed this why it had to be done!* * It is a well documented fact that people, just after their own deaths, are often able to "see" what happens to their bodies. I note too that this knowledge even dates back to the 20th Century. THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty Six "`You' are condemned to slavery," I said to the woman as she knelt before me. She was attractive, with light brown hair. She would be shipped north, far north to Queen Freydis' territories. My forces had rounded up the last of Tara's agents, and I'd sent to Darlanis and Sharon by telegraph the names of those who had in their countries been in the service of Tara. As for Tara herself Joyce had learned little, just "bits and pieces" of information. "Your majesty is `merciful'," the naked slave girl answered, June Colt's hand in her hand holding her face up towards me now. Most monarchs in this era would have had her head for all this... "In the arms of a strong master you will forget politics," I smiled back at her. Joyce had said that she believed this woman had been a close lieutenant of Tara's, and had attempted to fol- low in her footsteps. I supposed that it was possible here too. She had read some of Tara's books, and formed her own ideas here. That she had been as "successful" as she had been was due I felt more to human "selfishness" than anything else she'd done to us. Like Hillary Clinton in the Twentieth Century she had been a wom- an who had been able to exploit the selfishness of others for her own gain. Telling people exactly "what" they wanted to hear too! "Yes, mistress," the slave girl answered, bowing her head. I wondered if her master would let her keep the name of Hillary? "Well, that's the `end' of that," Sanda said to me as we shared dinner. The Huntress was being repaired, the dead buried, the wounded were now recovering in the hospital. Tais had sent Bob and Carol back to their own time for their last few months... "The `world' is now once again at peace thanks to you," Jon smiled at me. I knew he had a high opinion of me, "too high", I felt. I am not a person to be admired in some respects, I fear. I tend to be a bit too "authoritarian" in some respects, too in awe of my own intelligence. Perhaps too I like warfare too much. "Tais said we were being `tested'," I smiled back at him. "I think `you' were the one being tested," Sanda smiled. "I keep thinking of Carol," I said, looking at no one. "She lived a good life," Jon said, touching my hand. "Someday I may be like that," I said, meeting his eyes. "She said to me before Tais took her back that she was glad to have been on the Huntress, to have been in battle again," our slave girl ventured softly as she knelt there beside Jon and me. Yvette Senchal's dark eyes holding mine as I nodded back in turn. "I think she was truly of the Warrioresses as few women are," our slave girl smiled, perhaps knowing more of such than I'd known... "Tais," I smiled, the First Priestess suddenly "there". Sue Cross, swollen with child, there to one side watching as I wrote in my diary. The glittering gems of the Priestess' golden ankh leaving no doubts as to "who" she was, if any had any doubts now. Jon sitting there staring at her, no doubt suspecting that Tais had plans here to transport me again through time to another era. "There is a `duty' for us to `perform'," Tais said to me as I stood, suspecting that I was about to travel again in time now! A sudden "blurring", a sense of "movement", and then Tais and I stood suddenly in a dimly lit bedroom, the old man and the old woman lying there on the bed quite familiar I think to us both. "I was `hoping'," Bob said, looking up at me. Carol's eyes holding mine as I "nodded" to her, her face already starting to blur before me as the tears came to my eyes at the knowledge of what they had done, the tiny bottle there on the bed table leav- ing no doubts. I knew of such things, of the fact that unlike my own Twentieth Century suicide was an "accepted" means of "ending" one's life both here in the Twenty First Century and my 26th now. The poison they'd used was one that gradually stopped the heart. Both were in uniform, Bob that of a Sealord, Carol of a Warlady. "There will be less `discomfort' with my `help'," Tais said. I am told that at the end that there is a sensation of "choking". "I remember the Huntress," Carol said to me, her hand gently squeezing mine as I knelt weeping at her side. "And standing on the deck of the North Star in battle," she continued on here now. "The arena in Trella, the sun hot on my body, Bob at my side..." There were tears in those old hazel eyes as she looked up at me. "You wear the uniform of a Dularnian Warlady," I said, the sword in Carol's right hand laid half across her old aged body. I wondered how much of her memories yet remained in her mind now. At the end Alzheimier's disease can steal every memory you have. "I was once a Warlady of that far country," Carol smiled af- ter a second's pause for thought. "I served a beautiful Queen." I wondered too how "clear" Carol's memories were of things now? I was tempted to ask her if she knew "who" the Queen was, but not if it would only serve to confuse her in her last minute of life! "Your bodies will be sent there by Janet," I spoke to her. "That is good," Carol Simmons smiled back in reply then. I knew, as they apparently did not, that they would not be buried in their uniforms, as Maris had discovered them attired in attire of the 21st Century. I supposed Janet had seen to such here now. "There is no `death', only life eternal," I heard Tais say. I knew the "truth" that she spoke, as I think did Bob and Carol. One of the "paradoxes" of time travel is that there is no death. "We are `together' at the `end'," Bob said to his beloved. "And with `friends' at our side," his wife answered him. I watched Tais lean over the bed, her eyes seeming to glow. I knew something of her powers, of what she was capable of doing. The "death" came swiftly then, in only a matter of a minute or so I think. Tais has the power to control the movements of matter, to stop hearts from beating, as well as being able to read minds. At the end I saw Tais clasp their hands together, their bodies "relax" as the "end" came swiftly then as their hearts both beat for the last time and the dissolution of Death came to them both. "We have a last `duty' to perform," Tais said to me. "It is one I can `do' by myself if you do not wish to assist me here..." "They weren't buried in those clothes," I pointed out then. "They left a will specifying just that," Tais said in reply. "However, those uniforms would raise `questions' that even Janet would have a hard time answering," Tais answered me in reply now. "Thus it is necessary that we destroy any references to Dularn." "That `uniform' meant a lot to her," I said to Tais, my eyes once again filling with tears. To strip the uniform from Carol's body was something I couldn't do, nor did I feel right in allow- ing Tais to do it despite whatever problems it might cause later! "I realize that," Tais answered, standing there before me. "You could send me back to the future," I said to Tais. I did not wish to witness this "desecration" of Carol's dead body. "Is that what you want me to do?" the Priestess challenged. "You will `rob' her of what her last `wish' was," I wept, the tears uncontrollable as they streamed down my cheeks. Carol had been a "friend", one who had meant a lot to me emotionally... "Was it the `uniform' that made Carol what she was?" Tais asked, no doubt well aware of the only possible answer to that... "And for Dularn to `exist' history must not be changed now," Tais continued on. I supposed she knew what she was doing here now. "I will help," I said, the tears running down my cheeks. I could only pray that Carol would understand why I did what I did! I picked out a lovely metallic mesh sheath for Carol, the sort of a dress that I knew she would have liked to have worn. I knew enough about Carol, about how she thought, felt, to know at least this much. I let Tais change Bob's clothing, but I took care of Carol myself, stripping her and then dressing her old and limp body in the lovely metallic sheath that she'd be buried in. I also took pains, wiping my eyes as I wept, to make her just as pretty as I could while Tais waited "impatiently" for me to come. Then as I straightened up, there was a sudden "blurring" again, a sensing of "movement", and I was suddenly back in my own palace! "Lorraine!" Jon spoke, taking me in his arms as I wept, the tears filling my eyes as I told him of what I'd had to do back in the year 2033. What I'd been forced to do by Tais so that histo- ry would not be changed or altered. Time travel is not always a "blessing". It can be extremely painful emotionally to a person. I had been forced to violate Carol's last wishes so that history would not be altered, so that there would be a Dularn for her and Bob to live in for just over a year and a half before they re- turned to their own time. I can only hope that Carol understood. That she understood as she witnessed this why it had to be done!* * It is a well documented fact that people, just after their own deaths, are often able to "see" what happens to their bodies. I note too that this knowledge even dates back to the 20th Century. |
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