"2565-54" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warlady 1 - 2565 Ad Book 2)2565 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Book Two Chapter Eleven "I permitted something horrible to happen," I told the High Priestess of Thistle's temple of Lys as we sat together there in a small windowless room off the main open portion of the temple. "I allowed another to torture a man almost to death, and then permitted her to kill him when we were finished with him!" Tell- ing her the story of how there had been an attempt on my life and what Lady Tirana and I had done later on to the crossbowman. The Priestess nodding, regarding me, her face fixed, unreadable. I wondered how many such "confessions" she had heard in her life. She was not young, the signs of age were much upon her, which meant that she was nearing the end of her own hundred and thirty years. Yet in a way she was still young. Her mind was still sharp, her thoughts still yet clear. I needed to unburden my- self. To seek a forgiveness that I knew could never be given me. "I will not remove the memories from your mind, or even con- sider removing their emotional impact upon you, Lorraine," she said to me in level tones. She seemed neither approving or dis- approving. "You will be judged by another when the time comes," she told me. I did not need to ask `who' or when that would be. We must all eventually answer to SHE for our actions. I would have to face HER, feel HER displeasure. Atone for my sins through perhaps yet another reincarnation. Such is the fate of souls such as mine. Such had been communicated to me on Mars. "And Lady Tirana?" I asked. I knew she too would someday stand before SHE. Be judged as I would be. We had done evil. I knew that only SHE can forgive. A Priestess can only advise you. "Has her own `burden' to bear," the Priestess answered. I recalled what SHE had once told me. Of the fact that HER own messenger to us had been crucified at the urgings of the Jewish priests who feared what SHE had to tell us! The Christian Bible is partly accurate, although many of the teachings SHE gave us are badly distorted as if evil men did not wish the TRUTH to be known. Perhaps it wasn't "profitable" to teach HER words to Man! I strongly suspect that some of those Popes that I've heard about got a real surprise when they stood before HER and found out how displeased SHE was with them for preaching against birth control. Irresponsible breeding is one of the worst "sins" you can commit. "You are aware that in Dularn all children go to school from the ages of six to twelve regardless of their castes?" I asked the Priestess, changing the subject. Having almost forgotten what I had originally come here to Thistle for. I knew from my readings in The Book of Lys that I would have to seek my forgive- ness elsewhere for my own sins. That only Lys, or SHE as I knew HER, could forgive such! And SHE was a strict judge of souls! "It is common knowledge," the Priestess answered. She was old, there were streaks of gray in the blackness of her hair. A sign that the anti-aging serums had reached their limits and that her death was not far off. In the final years you age swiftly. "Could it be `done' here in Thistle?" I asked, hoping she would "pick up" on what I wanted the Priestesses of Lys to do. I knew better than to ask Darlanis. She was quite content with things as they were. A revolution would be the last thing she would want to see happen. Those who can read often can overthrow governments. I recalled Gayle's exact words to that very effect. "That is up to the Empress," she smiled in reply, "We do not interfere in political matters except where human welfare is at stake." I noticed a touch of stiffness in her movements as she rose from the chair she had sat in. I knew it would not be long now before she stood before SHE to be judged worthy of eternal union with SHE herself. I wished she was younger, more un- derstanding of what the future might be to the people of Califor- nia. I got to my own feet, seeing the ankh there on the wall be- fore me. The symbol of Lys, of SHE as She is known now to Man- kind. Like the Christian Cross of my own era symbolizing Christ. "I am asking for a school system run by the Priestesses of Lys. One where the teachings of Lys can be taught along with the basics of reading, writing and simple arithmetic. The four 'R's' that would make so much of a change here in the 26th Century!" I said, taking her hands in mine. "Live long enough to do this for me," I begged, knowing that she had but a few more years to live. "There are books, things that must be purchased," she said to me. "The people are poor. They will not be able to pay for much of what will be `needed'." I nodded, understanding. Lady Lorraine would pay for such things out of her own income. It was only right and proper. Perhaps a new day was dawning for Man- kind. Perhaps I was indeed the second "Janet Rogers" that all of Mankind sought. We knew the mistakes of the past. With books, the ability to read, you can learn not to repeat them again! I thought it might make up a bit for the sins that I had committed. "What's all the excitement about?" I asked, smiling, seeing Sanda and the man of the Builders crouching over something on the ground before them. Some sort of metal case, stained with age. The workmen standing around, Gayle and Carl among them. Lady Tirana leaning over the two, just as excited by the find as the rest of them. Even the sheriff was there, along with several of the town's Scribes and another Builder, this one a woman, veiled. "It's Lorraine!" Gayle cried, jumping up and down. "She'll know all about it. She's from that time! She knows computers!" Everyone regarding said Lady with somewhat the same awe they would have greeted Darlanis herself had she come strolling down the street in all her royal regalia. It being obvious to me that someone had found the ruins of a 21st Century personal computer. The thing no doubt by now just a piece of rusted worthless junk! "Lorraine," Sanda breathed, opening the case as if it was something precious, revealing inside much to my shock and sur- prise an apparently perfectly intact portable computer not really much different than those that I had seen back in the 20th Cen- tury before I flew through the time-warp into this fantastic era! "It says `Apple-Duval' on it," Gayle breathed, looking at me. Apparently Duval Computer had been purchased by Apple in the time between 1988 when I had left the 20th Century and The War of 2047. It was, I thought, a good merger, as we both had used the same type of microprocessors, the Motorola 68000 series. The Duval Computer series, however, was "multi-tasking", whereas the Apple had not been. Duval having purchased an operating system called OS9-68K which allowed our computers to be both multi-task- ing and also "multi-user" at the same time. I thought of Janet Rogers. She was one of the finest "programmers" that we had. I wished they hadn't found the machine. They expected so much from their Lady Lorraine. I could see their eyes as I tapped the key- board. The keys responding as normal much to my surprise after some five hundred years of being buried in an airtight case ten feet beneath the surface of the Earth! The power switch did nothing, as I had expected, the battery no doubt hopelessly dead! "Could you?" the man of the Builders asked. He was almost like a child with a broken toy. Could the wonderful fantastic Lady Lorraine make it work again? I turned the computer over in my hands. There was no hope of ever generating 120 volts AC in this era without a lot of help. I was a bit nervous about the Lorr too. This was "technology" of an era forbidden to Mankind. I stood there in the sun, holding the computer in my hands. On the back I studied the places where you plugged things in. I saw much to my surprise a jack for TWELVE VOLTS DC! Apparently the computer was designed to run on either AC, internal battery, or off the cigarette lighter in an automobile! While I couldn't generate 120 AC, and recharging the battery was out of the ques- tion without it, I COULD GENERATE TWELVE VOLTS DC WITH WET CELLS! "We are going to have to go to Trella," I announced. I re- quired the help of the Caste of the Builders for this. I re- called that wet cell batteries required lead and sulfuric acid. I did not believe the computer would work after all these years, but this was not the time to dash their hopes that it might work! "Good night, Sanda," I said, retiring for the night, leaving her to sit there fascinated by that useless computer she was al- ready dreaming of someday soon using! The credit-card sized memory cards speaking of a technology beyond anything I had known back in my own time. The machine had been manufactured in the year 2046 according to the label still on the bottom of the case. Sanda had bombarded me with question after question, asking me this and that, not understanding that I was from the 20th Cen- tury, not the 21st! I didn't understand the memory cards either! That they plugged into the side of the computer was obvious, but as to how they worked, I was at as much of a loss as Sanda was!* * The memory card system was recently invented by Canon of Japan. The capacity is two megabytes per card. The principle is similar to that of CD-ROM systems now coming into use on computers. One assumes that a second type similar to floppy disks was used to record data generated by the computer. The technology, while yet a bit beyond what we have now, is certainly not beyond that of say the year 2000 or so. Whether or not any electronic device would survive for five hundred years, even buried in an airtight case, is questionable. However a CD-ROM disk, I am informed, does have a life measured in centuries at the very least! (JBB) I awoke from a tossing nightmare filled sleep to the sound of a muffled cry, the sound of something thrashing, the horrible sound of a dire wolf's snarls! The sounds coming from Mara's room! Delilah! I had let the dire wolf sleep with little Mara! With my heart filled with terror and my sword naked in my hand, that not being the only naked thing as I had been sleeping in nothing but clips and strap due to the heat of these late Au- gust nights, I dashed to Mara's room, and threw open the door! "Delilah saved me!" little Mara cried, her arms around the dire wolf's neck. The horrible jaws dark with blood! The still form on the floor, the blood yet running from its torn throat that of a woman clad in black. In some sort of form fitting black outfit like a 20th Century jumpsuit. A dagger laid on the floor, the blade gleaming in the light of the lamp behind me. I had no doubt of what had happened. They hadn't expected Delilah! "Easy, Delilah!" I spoke softly, laying down my sword, know- ing that the dire wolf was "programmed" to attack upon seeing a drawn sword. I suspected that the woman had climbed in through a window, which wouldn't have been that difficult. I wondered what had happened to the guard that patrolled the grounds? I hugged my little girl and the great wonderful beast that had saved her! "The man on duty is dead, his throat cut from ear to ear," Carl Talen announced, his wife nodding as she searched the dead woman for any identification. I did not expect that she would find any. They had struck at my little Mara this time. They would have taken her but for Delilah. I let the dire wolf lick my cheek, smelled the blood there on her breath. Tirana had wor- ried what would happen if one tasted human blood. Delilah be- haved no differently now than she had been. She was, I thought to myself, a true "Guardian". I wished I had a dozen like her! I watched Delilah devouring the thick beefsteak she had well earned by her defense of Mara. Sanda sitting there at the table with a cup of coffee in her hand. We didn't seem to be getting much sleep lately around the place. Gayle sat quietly, well aware that she might be the next "target", although I doubted it. Few knew that Gayle was anything more to me than just Mara's own "companion". I worried about Sharon, although Darlanis' security was probably far superior to my own. She had the Imperial Guard to protect her. The Empress also had her own Royal Guard. The best fighting women in the Empire. It wasn't too likely that I needed to worry about things on that score, I thought to myself. "I don't `understand' all this," Sanda muttered, her husband walking in, the black leather of his attire leaving no doubt that he was of the Warriors. I had enough men at arms, but obviously they weren't the answer. I wouldn't get much done if I had to surround myself with an army just so I could sleep at night with- out worrying about who these unknown enemies of mine would go af- ter next? The whole pattern reminded me somewhat of 20th Century terrorism, but that was ridiculous here in the 26th Century! I had "enemies", it was true, but no one really hated me that much! "Well, we aren't going to get any answers from her," I said in reply, sipping at my coffee, referring to the dead woman whose identity we had not been able to determine. I had sent for the sheriff of Thistle. Perhaps he could shed some light on all this, although I rather doubted it from what he had told me the day before when I had mentioned the attack by the crossbowman. I had lied and told him that I had killed him with my sword, not wishing him to know what Lady Tirana and I had done to the man! ***************************************************************** "Hoist the anchor!" I yelled to the men there on the cap- stan, others drawing the sails up the three masts. I was taking the Squala out to sea. Going to Trella to see if those of the caste of Builders could figure out how to build a twelve volt wet cell battery. Something that could be used to power the 21st Century computer that had been dug up two days before in Thistle. "I hope these `sailors' of yours you got in Trella can sail this ship," I heard Sanda say to her husband in low tones. They did look more like a bunch of pirates in their colorful attire. I had enough of my own people aboard however that I didn't worry too much about whether or not they were actually loyal to me. I had gotten so I didn't really trust anyone, especially not after the other night when there had been the attempted kidnaping of Mara! Fortunately Delilah had been right there to protect her! "If not I'll `draft' these clod-hoppers and rough-necks of yours and make sailors out of them," I laughed back, taking the wheel, letting the Squala fall off for a moment before then feel- ing her come alive beneath me as she took the wind! This was a new experience for me, but one that I enjoyed despite my tendency towards sea sickness. What had amazed me was my instinctive un- derstanding of the forces at play on a fore and aft rigged schooner. The way that the wind worked with the great sails, how the keel beneath us served to guide the ship there through the water. All these things seemed to be so "easy" to me now! It was as if my mind in some secret part of it took control and told me what to do. How to trim the sails for the best speed that the Squala could give. This was my second time at the wheel, my first having been only a short voyage a few miles out to sea from my estates. This time I would be sailing all the way to Trella! 2565 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Book Two Chapter Eleven "I permitted something horrible to happen," I told the High Priestess of Thistle's temple of Lys as we sat together there in a small windowless room off the main open portion of the temple. "I allowed another to torture a man almost to death, and then permitted her to kill him when we were finished with him!" Tell- ing her the story of how there had been an attempt on my life and what Lady Tirana and I had done later on to the crossbowman. The Priestess nodding, regarding me, her face fixed, unreadable. I wondered how many such "confessions" she had heard in her life. She was not young, the signs of age were much upon her, which meant that she was nearing the end of her own hundred and thirty years. Yet in a way she was still young. Her mind was still sharp, her thoughts still yet clear. I needed to unburden my- self. To seek a forgiveness that I knew could never be given me. "I will not remove the memories from your mind, or even con- sider removing their emotional impact upon you, Lorraine," she said to me in level tones. She seemed neither approving or dis- approving. "You will be judged by another when the time comes," she told me. I did not need to ask `who' or when that would be. We must all eventually answer to SHE for our actions. I would have to face HER, feel HER displeasure. Atone for my sins through perhaps yet another reincarnation. Such is the fate of souls such as mine. Such had been communicated to me on Mars. "And Lady Tirana?" I asked. I knew she too would someday stand before SHE. Be judged as I would be. We had done evil. I knew that only SHE can forgive. A Priestess can only advise you. "Has her own `burden' to bear," the Priestess answered. I recalled what SHE had once told me. Of the fact that HER own messenger to us had been crucified at the urgings of the Jewish priests who feared what SHE had to tell us! The Christian Bible is partly accurate, although many of the teachings SHE gave us are badly distorted as if evil men did not wish the TRUTH to be known. Perhaps it wasn't "profitable" to teach HER words to Man! I strongly suspect that some of those Popes that I've heard about got a real surprise when they stood before HER and found out how displeased SHE was with them for preaching against birth control. Irresponsible breeding is one of the worst "sins" you can commit. "You are aware that in Dularn all children go to school from the ages of six to twelve regardless of their castes?" I asked the Priestess, changing the subject. Having almost forgotten what I had originally come here to Thistle for. I knew from my readings in The Book of Lys that I would have to seek my forgive- ness elsewhere for my own sins. That only Lys, or SHE as I knew HER, could forgive such! And SHE was a strict judge of souls! "It is common knowledge," the Priestess answered. She was old, there were streaks of gray in the blackness of her hair. A sign that the anti-aging serums had reached their limits and that her death was not far off. In the final years you age swiftly. "Could it be `done' here in Thistle?" I asked, hoping she would "pick up" on what I wanted the Priestesses of Lys to do. I knew better than to ask Darlanis. She was quite content with things as they were. A revolution would be the last thing she would want to see happen. Those who can read often can overthrow governments. I recalled Gayle's exact words to that very effect. "That is up to the Empress," she smiled in reply, "We do not interfere in political matters except where human welfare is at stake." I noticed a touch of stiffness in her movements as she rose from the chair she had sat in. I knew it would not be long now before she stood before SHE to be judged worthy of eternal union with SHE herself. I wished she was younger, more un- derstanding of what the future might be to the people of Califor- nia. I got to my own feet, seeing the ankh there on the wall be- fore me. The symbol of Lys, of SHE as She is known now to Man- kind. Like the Christian Cross of my own era symbolizing Christ. "I am asking for a school system run by the Priestesses of Lys. One where the teachings of Lys can be taught along with the basics of reading, writing and simple arithmetic. The four 'R's' that would make so much of a change here in the 26th Century!" I said, taking her hands in mine. "Live long enough to do this for me," I begged, knowing that she had but a few more years to live. "There are books, things that must be purchased," she said to me. "The people are poor. They will not be able to pay for much of what will be `needed'." I nodded, understanding. Lady Lorraine would pay for such things out of her own income. It was only right and proper. Perhaps a new day was dawning for Man- kind. Perhaps I was indeed the second "Janet Rogers" that all of Mankind sought. We knew the mistakes of the past. With books, the ability to read, you can learn not to repeat them again! I thought it might make up a bit for the sins that I had committed. "What's all the excitement about?" I asked, smiling, seeing Sanda and the man of the Builders crouching over something on the ground before them. Some sort of metal case, stained with age. The workmen standing around, Gayle and Carl among them. Lady Tirana leaning over the two, just as excited by the find as the rest of them. Even the sheriff was there, along with several of the town's Scribes and another Builder, this one a woman, veiled. "It's Lorraine!" Gayle cried, jumping up and down. "She'll know all about it. She's from that time! She knows computers!" Everyone regarding said Lady with somewhat the same awe they would have greeted Darlanis herself had she come strolling down the street in all her royal regalia. It being obvious to me that someone had found the ruins of a 21st Century personal computer. The thing no doubt by now just a piece of rusted worthless junk! "Lorraine," Sanda breathed, opening the case as if it was something precious, revealing inside much to my shock and sur- prise an apparently perfectly intact portable computer not really much different than those that I had seen back in the 20th Cen- tury before I flew through the time-warp into this fantastic era! "It says `Apple-Duval' on it," Gayle breathed, looking at me. Apparently Duval Computer had been purchased by Apple in the time between 1988 when I had left the 20th Century and The War of 2047. It was, I thought, a good merger, as we both had used the same type of microprocessors, the Motorola 68000 series. The Duval Computer series, however, was "multi-tasking", whereas the Apple had not been. Duval having purchased an operating system called OS9-68K which allowed our computers to be both multi-task- ing and also "multi-user" at the same time. I thought of Janet Rogers. She was one of the finest "programmers" that we had. I wished they hadn't found the machine. They expected so much from their Lady Lorraine. I could see their eyes as I tapped the key- board. The keys responding as normal much to my surprise after some five hundred years of being buried in an airtight case ten feet beneath the surface of the Earth! The power switch did nothing, as I had expected, the battery no doubt hopelessly dead! "Could you?" the man of the Builders asked. He was almost like a child with a broken toy. Could the wonderful fantastic Lady Lorraine make it work again? I turned the computer over in my hands. There was no hope of ever generating 120 volts AC in this era without a lot of help. I was a bit nervous about the Lorr too. This was "technology" of an era forbidden to Mankind. I stood there in the sun, holding the computer in my hands. On the back I studied the places where you plugged things in. I saw much to my surprise a jack for TWELVE VOLTS DC! Apparently the computer was designed to run on either AC, internal battery, or off the cigarette lighter in an automobile! While I couldn't generate 120 AC, and recharging the battery was out of the ques- tion without it, I COULD GENERATE TWELVE VOLTS DC WITH WET CELLS! "We are going to have to go to Trella," I announced. I re- quired the help of the Caste of the Builders for this. I re- called that wet cell batteries required lead and sulfuric acid. I did not believe the computer would work after all these years, but this was not the time to dash their hopes that it might work! "Good night, Sanda," I said, retiring for the night, leaving her to sit there fascinated by that useless computer she was al- ready dreaming of someday soon using! The credit-card sized memory cards speaking of a technology beyond anything I had known back in my own time. The machine had been manufactured in the year 2046 according to the label still on the bottom of the case. Sanda had bombarded me with question after question, asking me this and that, not understanding that I was from the 20th Cen- tury, not the 21st! I didn't understand the memory cards either! That they plugged into the side of the computer was obvious, but as to how they worked, I was at as much of a loss as Sanda was!* * The memory card system was recently invented by Canon of Japan. The capacity is two megabytes per card. The principle is similar to that of CD-ROM systems now coming into use on computers. One assumes that a second type similar to floppy disks was used to record data generated by the computer. The technology, while yet a bit beyond what we have now, is certainly not beyond that of say the year 2000 or so. Whether or not any electronic device would survive for five hundred years, even buried in an airtight case, is questionable. However a CD-ROM disk, I am informed, does have a life measured in centuries at the very least! (JBB) I awoke from a tossing nightmare filled sleep to the sound of a muffled cry, the sound of something thrashing, the horrible sound of a dire wolf's snarls! The sounds coming from Mara's room! Delilah! I had let the dire wolf sleep with little Mara! With my heart filled with terror and my sword naked in my hand, that not being the only naked thing as I had been sleeping in nothing but clips and strap due to the heat of these late Au- gust nights, I dashed to Mara's room, and threw open the door! "Delilah saved me!" little Mara cried, her arms around the dire wolf's neck. The horrible jaws dark with blood! The still form on the floor, the blood yet running from its torn throat that of a woman clad in black. In some sort of form fitting black outfit like a 20th Century jumpsuit. A dagger laid on the floor, the blade gleaming in the light of the lamp behind me. I had no doubt of what had happened. They hadn't expected Delilah! "Easy, Delilah!" I spoke softly, laying down my sword, know- ing that the dire wolf was "programmed" to attack upon seeing a drawn sword. I suspected that the woman had climbed in through a window, which wouldn't have been that difficult. I wondered what had happened to the guard that patrolled the grounds? I hugged my little girl and the great wonderful beast that had saved her! "The man on duty is dead, his throat cut from ear to ear," Carl Talen announced, his wife nodding as she searched the dead woman for any identification. I did not expect that she would find any. They had struck at my little Mara this time. They would have taken her but for Delilah. I let the dire wolf lick my cheek, smelled the blood there on her breath. Tirana had wor- ried what would happen if one tasted human blood. Delilah be- haved no differently now than she had been. She was, I thought to myself, a true "Guardian". I wished I had a dozen like her! I watched Delilah devouring the thick beefsteak she had well earned by her defense of Mara. Sanda sitting there at the table with a cup of coffee in her hand. We didn't seem to be getting much sleep lately around the place. Gayle sat quietly, well aware that she might be the next "target", although I doubted it. Few knew that Gayle was anything more to me than just Mara's own "companion". I worried about Sharon, although Darlanis' security was probably far superior to my own. She had the Imperial Guard to protect her. The Empress also had her own Royal Guard. The best fighting women in the Empire. It wasn't too likely that I needed to worry about things on that score, I thought to myself. "I don't `understand' all this," Sanda muttered, her husband walking in, the black leather of his attire leaving no doubt that he was of the Warriors. I had enough men at arms, but obviously they weren't the answer. I wouldn't get much done if I had to surround myself with an army just so I could sleep at night with- out worrying about who these unknown enemies of mine would go af- ter next? The whole pattern reminded me somewhat of 20th Century terrorism, but that was ridiculous here in the 26th Century! I had "enemies", it was true, but no one really hated me that much! "Well, we aren't going to get any answers from her," I said in reply, sipping at my coffee, referring to the dead woman whose identity we had not been able to determine. I had sent for the sheriff of Thistle. Perhaps he could shed some light on all this, although I rather doubted it from what he had told me the day before when I had mentioned the attack by the crossbowman. I had lied and told him that I had killed him with my sword, not wishing him to know what Lady Tirana and I had done to the man! ***************************************************************** "Hoist the anchor!" I yelled to the men there on the cap- stan, others drawing the sails up the three masts. I was taking the Squala out to sea. Going to Trella to see if those of the caste of Builders could figure out how to build a twelve volt wet cell battery. Something that could be used to power the 21st Century computer that had been dug up two days before in Thistle. "I hope these `sailors' of yours you got in Trella can sail this ship," I heard Sanda say to her husband in low tones. They did look more like a bunch of pirates in their colorful attire. I had enough of my own people aboard however that I didn't worry too much about whether or not they were actually loyal to me. I had gotten so I didn't really trust anyone, especially not after the other night when there had been the attempted kidnaping of Mara! Fortunately Delilah had been right there to protect her! "If not I'll `draft' these clod-hoppers and rough-necks of yours and make sailors out of them," I laughed back, taking the wheel, letting the Squala fall off for a moment before then feel- ing her come alive beneath me as she took the wind! This was a new experience for me, but one that I enjoyed despite my tendency towards sea sickness. What had amazed me was my instinctive un- derstanding of the forces at play on a fore and aft rigged schooner. The way that the wind worked with the great sails, how the keel beneath us served to guide the ship there through the water. All these things seemed to be so "easy" to me now! It was as if my mind in some secret part of it took control and told me what to do. How to trim the sails for the best speed that the Squala could give. This was my second time at the wheel, my first having been only a short voyage a few miles out to sea from my estates. This time I would be sailing all the way to Trella! |
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