Tassy stood on the balcony of her lab, her boots crunching in orange snow which was rapidly melting into mud. The sky was clearing to a glowing violet, with only a few cirrus clouds smeared high above. She felt relief that the storm was over, and a little stab of anxiety at the same time; Del could fly now, and he probably wouldn't waste any time with whatever plans he had. She should have asked him what his intentions were when he was here at the lab. He might have told her.
She set the bowl Del had drunk from a week ago and the polymer container given to her by Tocho on the ledge of the balcony.
She opened the container, watching the fly bots scramble awake; their tiny eyes glowed faintly red. They flew up and crawled along the lip of the bowl for several minutes, then all flew off in the same direction.
"Sorry, Del," she whispered.
A ping sounded from within the lab; it was an unknown party on the comm. Curious, Tassy tripped as she kicked off her muddy boots and stumbled into the lab.
The holopanel showed a familiar face, but Tassy couldn't remember who it was. A pretty young woman with black hair and bright silver eyes smiled.
"Hi! I hope you don't mind me searching you out, Tassy. I'm Lorma. We met through Del."
"I remember," said Tassy, "But I might not have time to do your hair just now."
"Not why I pinged you," said Lorma, "Although I'd love that. I went back to that yurt to get my guitar strap, and I saw a stack of boxes of explosives. I knew the box because my Mom was a miner. I don't know what he's planning but something is definitely off with that guy. Sorry, I know he's a friend of yours. And good looking. But something is off. It worries me."
Tassy stared into space for several seconds, her heart pounding.
"Hey, are you OK?" asked Lorma.
"Did you talk to him very much?" Tassy asked. "I mean, did he drop any hints about his plans or anything?"
"I don' really remember."
"If I did your hair tonight do you think we could go through any memories you have?"
"Hey, that's generous of you!" said Lorma. "I've got a big gig coming up. It's a deal."
Scene Break 1
The sheltered canyon walls surrounding the hospital shimmered at certain times of day, but Kallo hadn’t had time to go down for a closer look. Now she sat on the hospital roof with Nabindi and three other health workers she had befriended; the twilight processional was led by Lady Jewell, who was dressed in traditional Massai beadwork. Most of the people in the procession behind her wore yellow, pink and orange silks that fluttered behind them. A tall Kinlani man walking just behind the Lady was checking his wrist unit as he walked; he paused, took out a laser tool, gave one gentle shot into the stone, then the Lady put something into the same spot with her fingertip. She and the rest of the procession stood back in a line, looking at the wall.
Lights from the roof of the palace swept across the wall. In the shadows of the procession, the wall glittered. Several jewels had been set in the stone, inwhat looked like a celestial design.
Nabindi leaned down to whisper in Kallo's ear, "When people die we make their remains into jewels and we mount them on the wall in a star map of the year that they passed."
"Beautiful," breathed Kallo.
The musicians in the procession plunged into a joyous, violin-rich song. Kallo's attention was drawn to a guitar player with metallic silver hair who's fingers blazed over the strings. Fire dancers emerged from the shadows surrounding them and began spinning and swinging as their costumes rippled with light designs.
The song slowed and became more melancholy and tender. A Tuuvan chorus rose from a line of singers who walked from the rear of the procession to join the front line in deep, heavily vibrating tones with soaring, eerie top notes.
Kallo felt the mood change, within her body and in the air. A looming holopanel opened above the procession, scrolling pictures of, Kallo assumed, the Lady Naserian, from infant photos to elderly lady and all ages in between. There were graduation pictures, pictures of traditional dances wearing dazzling beadwork,yet more captures of a student, a young woman, and then a Lady of the Bowl in grey Mars ironwool dresses with her hair draped in a net of Mars opals. She spoke before crowds, officiated every kind of event, and made landmark decisions in Mars and Interworld court cases.
Soon personal pictures of people with the Lady Naserian began popping up on the panel, overlapping each other. The Tuuvan chorus, joining powow drums, began a long, droning note that seemed to wrap around everyone and pull all into a pocket of deep blue melancholy and, somehow, soaring joy. The music ended suddenly on an overarching, shimmering note.
All trembled in the silence.
Then the whoops of celebration started up, music began again, streamers flew through the air and the crowd began dancing.
Kallo wiped her eyes.
Scene Break 2
A team of workers carried massive sheets of silk onto the platform. As they tossed them up polymer forms sprang under the silk and they settled into the shape of a tall, narrow tent of yellow, pink and orange. A bright spotlight fell on the platform next to the tent.
The Lady Jewell, in brilliantly colorful, glittering traditional Massai beadwork collar, cape, necklaces, bracelets and long earrings swinging, strode into the spotlight. The crowd erupted.
Cameras and a spotlight followed her as she sat on the edge of the platform, dangling her bare feet. Holopanels along the balconies of buildings duplicated the action, but the there was no feedback in the sound. Everyone heard every word.
"Hello."
The crowd called out greetings.
"I am Jewell Isikerari, named after this, the jewel of the red world, the Bowl!" She threw up her arms. The crowd roared.
Then she became quiet. No one in the crowd moved as she spoke. "In order to arrive here my team and I were forced to stow away on a mining vessel. The women of Earth are embroiled in a terrible struggle for their freedom. Many young women are imprisoned and used as breeding stock. Thousands have been genetically engineered for the amusement of men, including reduction in frontal lobe brain function, without autonomy. Women who fall into neither category are being hunted down, detained, and eliminated. This crisis will not infect our world. We must be ready to protect our way of life, to stand by each other."
She stood, held out her arms, and said, "In service to each other-"
"Do we thrive!!" shouted the crowd.
Flowers began to shower the platform. A huge pink hibiscus bloom hit the Lady directly on the nose. She flinched, then smiled.
Quiet fell over the crowd.
The Lady picked up the bloom, dipped her nose into it, then looked over the edge of the flower at the crowd, her enormous Earth-dark eyes fluttering heavy lashes.
"My favorite," she said, smiling. "How did you know?"
The crowd cheered.
The tall Kinlanian man strode onto the stage, his long braid swinging, followed by a medical worker carrying a small case and Anma, carrying a case and a larger bag.
Lady Jewell put her hand on the tall Kinlanian’s shoulder. “People of the Bowl, I introduce my first councilor, whom you will know well. This is Hank, from the community of Kinlani, who heroically aided me in my journey here from Earth.”
Greetings were chanted in the crowd.
Hank stood facing the lady and said, "My Lady, do you take the block?"
"I take the block lovingly, for here in the Bowl to every child born, every privilege is given. May all children be wanted, welcomed and have equal privilege and opportunity.'
Jewel stepped inside the tent with the medical worker and after several minutes emerged again, to more cheers; she had changed into a simple long gown of grey wool; her hair was dressed high and covered in a net of opals that caught the light with a milky rainbow glimmer.
"She has taken the block, as we all do in the Bowl, for we only have children according to our ability to sustain them." whispered Nabindi.
"But that's everyone on the world," Kallo whispered back.
"Not the tubes," said Nabindi,"They do as on Earth, just procreate freely and then expect the world to provide."
"I didn't know that, "said Kallo, "That's stupid. I didn't know the Tubes were so different. That's strange."
"The tube colonies were among the first original Earth colonies, and many cling to the ways of Earth. We study them to understand the social phenomena."
"I was being judgmental. That's no way to learn," said Kallo.
"But you are learning. All the time. It's quite impressive." said Nabindi.
"You are the kindest friend I have ever known,"said Kallo.
Nabindi hugged her. Long ago Kallo would have been embarrassed by this impulsive show of feeling but now she returned it with gratitude, and without reserve.
"We do all we can to help, but of course they are not properly engineered for the environment and need so much care. They use many resources. It's unconscionable and greedy. But they need care, so we provide it."said Nabindi, then, proudly, "The Lady leaves Earth behind to become our Lady, the First Servant of the People. She now wears the ironwool and opals of Mars."
"I am honored to devote myself to your service." Jewel said.
Music exploded. The crowd began gathering around the platform, their hands outstretched. Lady Jewel stepped down into the crowd, her arms also outstretched, fingertips reaching to meet those of everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment