"William H. Keith Jr. - Warstrider 03 - Jackers" - читать интересную книгу автора (Keith jr William H)

the other plotters. Evidently, that was what the Men of
Completion were counting on.
Then the Tsurugaoka shrine dissolved into darkness,
and the Emperor of Man floated once more, adrift in the
endless, peaceful night.




Chapter 1


To Western sensibilities, the tea ceremony is alien, flat,
and lifeless. To Nihonjin, however, each motion, each
aspect is charged with subtle meaning, providing aesthetic
stimulation, refreshment, and the well-being and security of
time-honored ritual. Here, surely, is the soul of Zen,
understatement speaking directly to the mind.

- Japan: From the Past to Tomorrow
Frank Harrison
C.E. 2045

All of Earth was in mourning for Tenno-heika, the Fushi
Emperor, the Emperor of Man. His body had been
returned down the Singapore Sky-el, then placed in
funeral procession aboard the Imperial hydrofoil yacht
Manaduru for the voyage across the South China Sea and
final cremation according to Shinto rite at the Imperial
shrine at Kyoto.
If there was irony that the Fushi Emperor was dead -
after all his nengo, or era-name, meant Immortality - none
cared to comment openly. Even nation-states of the
Hegemony that did not accept the godhood of the man
occupying the Chrysanthemum Throne recognized that
they had lost a friend and advocate, for the twin suicides
of Konoye and his only son, his first heir, all but
guaranteed that the recent trend toward including
non-Japanese in Imperial affairs would quickly cease.
The Fushi Emperor's successor ascended to the
Chrysanthemum Throne within the Tenno Kyuden on the
fourth day of Sho-gatsu, the first month of the Common
Era year 2543. Ichiro Takeda had already chosen Tenrai
for his era-name, a poetic form meaning Heavenly
Thunder. There was sharp symbolism in the choice; where
the Fushi Emperor had striven for long-lasting stability, for
the immortality of Empire and Emperor alike, the Tenrai
Emperor would proclaim once again the power of heaven
above the Earth and all the widely scattered family of
Man. Tenno-heika Tenrai would be more god than man,