Utopia Falling, page 13
Prudent S’Leen’s eyes followed the image of Teth rising from the floor as it curved up to the domed roof. “Just look at that Prudent Hansel, her arms open across an entire section of the room. Her head looks down at the room. And her eyes,” she exclaimed. “Her eyes follow you everywhere. She’s connecting with me.” The middle-aged Prudent could feel the warmth, the serenity, the peaceful contemplation flow into her, as would anyone who met Teth’s gaze in that room for the first time.
“Yes,” Prudent Hansel noted. “They depict her much as she is sculpted atop the city entrance. You’ve probably already noticed. Few can look away from the breathtaking beauty of the Goddess Teth in her naked form. You know, I find her eyes to be the most captivating feature of this painting.”
Hansel continued, “This depiction is a testament to how deeply she is loved as the founder of the city. Did you know she originally named this place New Phoenix? Humanity rising from the ashes after the Great Destruction. It wasn’t until after she left to find other survivors that the people changed the name of the city to honor her.”
“You are a devotee of the Gift of Knowledge, I assume. And thank you, I love that story.”
“Father Sun and Mother Earth can’t stand up to the love bestowed upon this human woman who is also a goddess. She stands at the center of Temple of Life doctrine. Through sheer will, overcoming impossible obstacles, she led the refuge of humanity following the Great Destruction to settle here in this place. By lore, the first settlement was established here, at the very spot of the great dining hall.” He sounded more like he was speaking to the flock than to another prudent.
“We’re all intimately aware of Teth’s story,” Prudent O’Hurn politely offered, hoping to put an end to Hansel’s pontificating to Prudent S’Leen.
“Maybe,” Prudent Serco joined in, “to those few Prudents, holy men and women all, who choose instead to look upon her form, worshiping her differently, diminishes all of us. We may celebrate the Six Gifts: Love, Knowledge, Flesh, Life, Nature, and Renewal as Teth guides us, yet in telling of her story this day, she sets her example for us to follow, but it does not give freedom to lust in our hearts.” He didn’t give Hansel a moment to reply. “Lust is one of the Six Torments, remember? Prudent S’Leen, you are our newest member to join the Council. I am Prudent Serco. I believe we’ve met before,” he said upon the conclusion of his condemnation of his fellow Prudents.
Leaning in so only she could hear, Prudent Hansel whispered, “You’ll get used to him.”
Stationed in a nearby anteroom of the great dining hall, waiting for Firstmeal to begin, Jerithan watched the gaggle of Prudents prance about. He followed their movements, one by one, gauging each of them: evaluating them, judging them, adding new insights into every Prudent in the room.
The Voice offered, “Do they seek her eyes and feel the connection with her, or do they seek other parts unspoken? It is not all that hard to figure out. Watch O’Hurn, follow his gaze as he looks upon your savior.”
Jerithan replied, Free love, a consequence inherent in the demands of aggressive repopulation, as the Covenant requires, is ingrained in our culture. Nudity is common; it’s everywhere. Temple of Life doctrine promotes The Six Gifts. A favorite among the faithful is the Gift of Flesh.
“The Gift of Flesh’s underpinning focuses on the physicality of the human body as a host to Communal Life forces. Free love and the celebration of the human form, as delivered at birth in all its glory, cuts deep into the entirety of your civilization. Everyone everywhere, in all nations, is committed to the Covenant, yet lust is a powerful human trait not easily dispatched.”
Given how pervasive the human form is throughout society in its depiction of both men and women, it does not surprise me how lasciviously several of my colleagues look upon the Goddess Teth.
Jerithan reflected on the stolen glances he often enjoyed and thought, We are only human. Lest we not judge ourselves too harshly.
Wasting no opportunity while still waiting for Firstmeal to begin, Prudent Serco continued to foment opposition amongst his fellow Prudents to First Lord Jerithan’s rule. Prudent Beezup was the current recipient of Prudent Serco’s observations. “It is no secret to you my friend, I detested both Razoal and the First Lord. They’ve done nothing to advance the standing of the faithful in the outlying Kingdom of Adelle. Tandure is in my charge. It’s because I opposed Jerithan’s ascendance to First Lord and voted for Marvo that he’s holding back favors for Tandure to punish me. It’s going to bite him in the ass one day. Sooner than later if Tomelai ever decides to do something about it.” Prudent Serco did not hold back on his displeasure with Jerithan’s leadership.
Prudent Beezup asked, “Why then, if you despise him so much, did you give him all that info on Tomelai’s plans for electrics?”
“I had to—the right thing to do. I might not think much of our First Lord, but he has the connections with the other national leaders to kill the proposal. Electrics are wrong. Not natural. Electrics directly opposes the Gift of Nature. I serve only what’s right for the Temple. Even if someone undeserving sits at the head of the table,” Serco explained.
“You aren’t concerned Tomelai will find out you gave his plans to Jerithan?”
“No. He’ll never find out.”
Unlike fellow Prudent Beezup who gave the appearance of accepting the vote of the Council to raise up Jerithan, Serco chose a different path.
Prudent Beezup bent his head forward, close to Serco’s ear, and replied, “You are my friend. I mean this only in the sincerest way. You only have yourself to blame. You are too obvious. Play along, give them their due. They are our leaders. But not forever. Bide your time. An opportunity will come.”
Serco couldn’t let it go. Animus roiled to the surface. “What’s right is right. Razoal and Jerithan aren’t ‘what’s right’ for the good of the Order. The First Lord is the face of the Temple. I’m not convinced our current First Lord has our sacred way of life as his guiding principle. He’s going to lead us down the wrong path. All of us. You wait and see.”
He continued to whisper his rants for only Prudent Beezup to hear. Or so he thought. The sum of all his conspiratorial ranting would find their way to First Lord Jerithan before the day was through.
Beezup didn’t reply. He concluded there wasn’t any comfort to offer his friend to dissuade him from the destructive path he was on. Beezup watched from a distance in the hope his friend would come around. He would not be part of a groundswell against the Order’s most powerful member, First Lord Jerithan. If such a groundswell were to take hold, like the coward he was, he would be ready to join the cause—then and only then.
Razoal gave the signal to start the proceedings, letting Beezup off the hook from Serco’s belligerence. Beezup and Serco turned their attention away from their private conversation to dutifully face Second Lord Razoal, who was taking his first steps into the main dining hall.
Barriers Are Not Enough
Teth: 27th day of the Salmon Moon
Derr
Replacement KCG protectors, along with Captain Derr and the entire Kingdom of Adelle entourage, having met up with Tomelai and Derr, finally exited The Stand in what remained of the morning. Derr’s eyes darted in every direction as he rode out from Teth’s side of The Stand. He looked about, assessing every threat. Adjusting to the light of day, squinting made him look even more formidable, if that was possible.
“Hold here,” Derr commanded his team, giving them time for their eyes to adjust. The KCG, the Chancellor, and himself were all seated on the same steeds that had turned flesh into raw meat. The KCG advance unit had rounded up the horses while still inside the passage, wiped them free of blood and pieces of brain tissue. The band of horses rode in perfect formation, in perfect unison, and not even a trained equestrian could see anything in the behavior of the remounted steeds to suggest they had been in battle. Horses kept better secrets than any man or woman alive.
Lady Kaythlin and members of the Adelle entourage were right behind Tomelai. The entire procession would parade through down Teth’s Protisium, its principal thoroughfare, later in the day.
Shadows fell across the gap between The Stand and the stone wall standing before them.
Specialist Nardel of the KCG rode up alongside Captain Derr. “It’s my first trip to Teth,” she offered.
“Keep your eyes open. The city looks welcoming, but we know better.” Derr trailed off, catching sight of an older man slip something under his coat.
Nardel continued speaking. “Why this wall? Seems to me, The Stand did its job.”
Not looking in her direction, Derr continued to focus on the old man. “They need a dedicated space to queue up travelers and merchants looking to get into Teth. Can’t have lines of people inside The Stand. The Stand doesn’t afford city officials much opportunity to properly manage incoming visitors, incoming commerce, or keep out the unwanted. This second wall structure is all about money and collecting duties, fees, and taxes efficiently. It’s not intended as a defensive structure if you don’t consider squeezing every ounce of revenue out of every potential source defensive.”
Derr stopped.
An old man reached under his coat. Derr tensed, ready to pounce. A small writing pad appeared in the old man’s hand.
Derr eased and turned his attention away from the man back to Nardel.
“So, the second stone wall was a means to properly administer entry into the city,” Specialist Nardel said. “I see.”
Two barriers separated Teth from the rest of the world. One of stone and the other, now behind them, of wood. Each of the two barriers served a different purpose and stood separated by some fifty yards.
Dwarfed by the sequoias casting long shadows upon the open space, the stone structure rose from the ground a mere thirty feet. Unlike its taller sister, the inner wall offered a large opening, wide enough for the many incoming and outgoing travelers city officials processed each day.
Nardel’s jaw hung open. Rather than scolding the young woman for allowing herself to be distracted, in a moment of understanding, Derr offered an explanation. “Hanging over the entrance is more than a large wooden door positioned to drop across the opening if ever needed. It’s made up of several intact thirty-foot-thick sequoia trunks. The city practices the opening and closing of the inner wall at least once a year to ensure it’s in working order. You should see them try to get the huge trunks back up in the ready position.”
Eyes wide, she replied, “That must be quite a sight.”
“I’ve seen it myself,” Tomelai offered, jumping in the middle of the conversation. “They wanted to impress me on some state visit I can’t recall much about. But I remember seeing that thing come down,” he said, pointing to the massive wooden emergency door.
Although one of the younger members of the KCG contingent, Nardel was one of its brightest. She showed herself when she responded, “Something, my lord Chancellor, you would surely not forget. Perhaps you do recall Teth’s objectives for your state visit.”
The Chancellor laughed and gave her a practiced smile. “Drew, keep your eyes on this one. She might take your job one day. I remember thinking that same thing when it was added to the itinerary at the last minute.”
Specialist Nardel blushed at the praise from her ruler. “Thank you, my lord Chancellor.” Then she turned her attention, but not her face, to Captain Derr. “But please forgive me, Chancellor. You know so much more than me, yet I fear there’s no one alive today who can replace our Captain.”
“Oh, Drew, I’m going to keep my eye on her.” A chuckle escaped Tomelai.
“Drew?” Nardle asked.
“Captain Derr to you,” Derr replied.
Never threatened by insecurities, Derr gave her patronizing compliment little thought. He was assessing everything and everyone between The Stand and the wall. He kept on watching. He was always watching.
Lieutenant Ferpratt was waiting there too, between The Stand and the inner wall. He rode up to Derr. “We were here the entire time. Nothing went in,” he said, offering a short, direct explanation.
“If that’s all you have to report.” Derr trailed off. He would have none of it.
“My unit has already begun gathering intel, and they’ll inspect the remains. We’ll get you answers,” Ferpratt offered his Captain.
Derr, always clear about where one stood, made it obvious to the Lieutenant that he just stepped foot in Derr’s shithouse. Derr sent Ferpratt away with a stern look and a dismissive wave of his hand.
There would be hell to pay, and Ferpratt was likely to take the full brunt of Derr’s fury. The delay would offer Ferpratt time to organize his analysis and give Derr time to cool off. All things considered, it could have been worse for Ferpratt.
“Form up,” Derr gave the command to the entire Adelleian contingent. They moved in unison to take up their assigned placement. The Chancellor rode out in front.
Peddlers yelled out as the cortege passed. Chickens squawked, ducks quacked, and flesh merchants offering both men and women discretely showed off their private pleasures to anyone who looked like they might be a paying customer. Derr made out pickpockets working the gathering of onlookers.
Derr studied every one of them as he approached the entrance to Teth’s second passage. He thought an attack here would have had the second-best chance to succeed. He wasn’t letting his guard down just because they survived the first attempt.
He had trained himself over the years to never get angry or allow any of his emotions to take hold of him uncontrolled. Anger, as much as any emotion, clouded one’s judgement. Any normal man would have been angry with Ferpratt and Milvoe. In their defense, he wasn’t sure how the assailants got through the posted KCG agents. It gave him little comfort as he looked ahead to see Tomelai riding out in front without protection, surrounded by no one and in the knowledge one assault on the Chancellor’s life had already been attempted.
A middle-class merchant approached from one side, holding a chicken upside down by its legs. Before the man could reach them, Ferpratt lifted his foot out of its stirrup, pushed his boot hard against the man’s chest.
“Get back!” Ferpratt commanded. The man flinched and fell back, losing his grip on the squawking bird, which took off running mindlessly in every direction. The crowd laughed at the guy lifting himself from a pile of dung, shaking it off his hands while trying to stand, only to slip and fall back again.
Fucking idiot, Derr thought. Ferpratt should know better. We don’t need the commotion. It put Derr on edge, surveilling as many of the merchants as he could. He saw danger everywhere. Even when the laughter died down, Derr’s senses heightened, his fingers tingled, and he squeezed them into fists.
Teth’s honor guards stood ceremonially, blocking the entrance to the inner wall. The two guards loomed in the center of the passage with scythes crossed.
By mutual consent, the two nations’ delegates agreed the official greeting was to take place at the main entrance to the city at the wall. Tomelai preferred a more grandiose setting. His delegation gained other concessions from Teth’s delegation for the low-key greeting.
Several wagon carts could pass through the entrance side by side. The wall was also much shorter than The Stand. At thirty feet tall, the builders made it of granite quarried close to the city. An arch decorated the top of the main entrance. Sculptured forms of the Holy Family stood looking down on all who approached. Over the years, other First Lords of the Temple of Life were added in sculptured form lining the top of the structure on both sides of the Holy Family: Father Sun, Mother Earth and their four offspring deities. Efros, the moon god, Malthus, god of night, Satrin, god of water, fire and wind, and their beloved city namesake, Teth, savior of humanity and the patron goddess of all the children of the world.
Father Sun and Mother Earth stood at the center atop the grand arch draped in sculptured robes, as were all the First Lords flanking the Holy Family. All the godly offspring stood sans clothing. Teth stood to Mother Earth’s left, garnering the lion’s share of attention.
Depicted as a young woman, naked like her brothers, with her arms spread wide, welcoming the children of Earth to her city. Representing a scene from the Book of Teth, she stood looking down on all who, symbolically, wished to enter her and her namesake city.
“Teth welcomes the honorable Lord Chancellor of the great Kingdom of Adelle, and all the good citizens he represents.” The words spoken by Provost Kwuinan were short, as per the agreed language. He was a tall man approaching middle age. A well-groomed full head of rich brown hair quaffed to perfection. An heir of competency and even confidence rolled off him as he stood in silence awaiting the Chancellor’s scripted reply. As the First Lord’s Chief Secular representative and selected by Jerithan himself, Kwuinan ran the day-to-day functions of Teth’s quasi-secular government. Other Teth dignitaries stood a few steps behind the guards posted at the entrance. The responsibility of welcoming high-ranking visitors was one duty Provost Kwuinan most enjoyed. He was a true politician at heart.
“Thank you for your First Lord’s gracious invitation to attend the Festival of Teth. I am Chancellor Tomelai of the Kingdom of Adelle, and these are my people. We formally request your First Lord’s permission to enter the great city of Teth.”
It irritated Derr his sovereign had to make such a pronouncement, as though he was someone subservient to First Lord Jerithan or his lackey, Provost Kwuinan. It was all diplomatic bullshit. The First Lord ought to be the one bending over.
Tomelai did his stately duty with grace and ease. Derr looked on as Kwuinan gave a signal to the guards to uncross their scythes, stepped apart, and permitted the Adelle retinue to enter. The entire Teth contingency bowed in unison as Chancellor Tomelai passed.
