Horizon Storms - Kevin J. Anderson [189]
Assisted by Thor’h and a chattering group of attenders, the Imperator raised himself and took his position in the new chrysalis chair. He settled in, grasped the curved sides, then activated the lifting mechanism that held him above the polished floor.
“According to the pilgrims I have dispatched to observe him, my brother Jora’h now allows his feet to touch the ground. He claims to be the Mage-Imperator, yet he walks about like a man, equal to other men.” Rusa’h‘s face darkened with disgust. “He has so lost his way that he will never regain the shining path. As the true and real Imperator of our people, I intend to adhere to the purity of our traditions, as decreed by the Lightsource.”
“Another reason why we must follow you, Uncle.” Thor’h ran his fingers over the chair’s inlaid jewels and meticulous carvings.
“Now that I am mobile, I wish to inspect the new nialia fields, the irrigation canals, and the shiing-production facilities. They will become the cornerstone of my expanding rule.”
“No one has rested since their conversion, Liege. All other crops have been burned and plowed under for fertilizer. New canals are being dug, and every single agricultural kithman is devoting his or her greatest ingenuity to expanding the plantmoth growth and distribution.”
The chrysalis chair started forward, and Thor’h accompanied it. They passed vine-covered columns that framed the open courtyard where Rusa’h had once held his celebrations and parties…and now his important audiences. Attender kithmen scrambled about, clearing the way, while four loyal courtiers strode ahead to announce the Imperator’s passage.
Rusa’h sent them all away. “I wish to travel alone with my Prime Designate. Tell the workers in the nialia fields that I will address them when I reach the harvesting and distillation facility.”
Attenders ran about like a swarm of insects, frantically doing what they were told; noble kithmen stepped aside, bowing reverently as the chrysalis chair passed. Reaching the nearest fields, Rusa’h guided the chair out onto one of the silvery irrigation channels. As Thor’h walked beside him at the edge of the waterway, the chrysalis chair moved like a ceremonial barge along the mirrorlike water.
Glittering creatures swam in the canals, jellyfish that fed on water, nutrients, and sunlight to grow into a protein-rich gelatinous food source. Periodically workers skimmed the canals with large screens to catch the jellyfish, which were consumed raw in joyous feasts. Rusa’h had given orders for the jellyfish to be harvested regularly, preserved, and added to the food stockpiles, which were then rationed, now that all of Hyrillka’s agricultural lands had been converted to shiing production.
“Will we have enough food for our population, Liege?” Thor’h had asked.
“We will soon conquer other worlds, starting with the Horizon Cluster. Shiing is the key, and therefore other crops are secondary. Once my new thism web spreads, we will have all the food of other planets, and my new armies of loyal Ildiran subjects will feed us.”
As the two gracefully moved among the nialias, male plantmoths fluttered about, seeking female flowers to fertilize. Organized laborers marched through the fields, harvesting transplantable shoots and hard seeds. Other Ildirans drained milky bloodsap from ripe pods, collecting every drop and passing it along to runners, who delivered the vessels to the distillation facility, where the potent liquid drug would be preserved in its raw pearlescent form.
The majority of these workers were not agricultural kithmen bred to serve in the nialia fields, but Imperator Rusa’h‘s new