City of Ruin - Mark Charan Newton [150]
‘What, just like that?’
‘There were . . . complications. Technology had become so intimidating, so it is said, and much of your kind rebelled against Frater Mercury and his creations. Given the bloodshed, it became prudent for us to sidestep into another realm of existence – and we departed from the very location where Villjamur now sits. So now I have come here seeking to bargain with the most powerful leader in these islands, and the fact that you are no longer the ruler of this Empire, Jamur Rika, causes me a predicament. You are the one my superiors instructed me to find. It is by your permission that landscapes can be altered. It was with you alone that we were supposed to form an alliance, so that we could move ourselves from our world in a well-ordered and peaceful manner.’
‘Peaceful?’ Randur snapped. ‘You didn’t seem particularly peace-loving just a while ago.’
‘In my superiors’ eyes, I am considered violent,’ Artemisia admitted. ‘Why else do you think they keep me away from my homeworld as often as possible?’
‘Why not just negotiate with Urtica?’ Randur sneered. ‘He’s the one in power now, so you should be talking to him.’
‘He suffers from some kind of . . . instability, so it is believed. It is clear that he is not one for us to debate with. He would not understand our ways, which makes our task substantially more complex, and, furthermore, he is not a man with a peaceful nature. As I said, the repopulation must be conducted harmoniously. Besides, my instructions were to find you, Jamur Rika.’
‘Couldn’t you just come back at any point in time and repopulate?’
‘You say that as if there was any room for debate in the matter. There are a handful of time-paths available. This is the path of least resistance – because you are still so primitive, and the land remains reasonably hospitable. Remember, we come not to fight.’ She turned to the two women. ‘Jamur Rika, I feel, has a more pacifist nature than other leaders. To introduce our alien culture into yours successfully, it is essential that the process is holistic and integrated. Otherwise, this entire world of yours collapses too.’
‘Can’t you put a stop to any of this endless violence, in both our worlds?’ Rika interrupted.
Randur realized then that Rika was ready to believe everything this death-machine was saying to them.
‘On these islands,’ Rika continued, ‘across my Empire, peace would always be preferable, then your lives would not be wasted.’
Artemisia laughed bitterly, then simply shook her head. Randur imagined he saw the distant millennia reflected in her oddly glowing eyes. Here was a woman absolutely tired of what she was. ‘You say peace as if it were an offering of wine.’
Rika took hold of her gaze for a moment.
*
Artemisia left them alone for a while, and the three sat in ontemplative silence. Dusk approached, and the two moons progressed alongside each other, skimming the blood-coloured cloud-base.
‘It might all be lies,’ Randur said eventually. It irritated him, this sudden revelatory burst of new knowledge.
No one responded to him at first.
Eir said, ‘Unlikely though, isn’t it? I mean, just look around you. And don’t stare at me like that. Whenever you don’t understand something, you simply become irate. It’s perfectly all right to not understand this.’
Calming himself, Randur glanced up to watch the Hanuman flapping about eccentrically as silhouettes. Artemisia rejoined them eventually, carrying what he took to be a telescope. For a moment she focused on the horizon.
‘The two moons look beautiful from here,’ Rika offered.
‘You think both of them are moons?’ Artemisia seemed surprised, and pocketed the device. ‘That does amuse me.’
Not more crap. Randur was now feeling overwhelmed by unwanted information. His entire concept of the world had been shattered by these conversations. He almost didn’t want to know the truth, preferring the sanctuary of innocence