The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson [95]
“Then I had better write my own history to make sure that later generations will remember these events properly.”
She was delighted with this solution. “Yes, you’ll have to do that—and soon. Now, let me show you the weapons.”
Not overly interested in history or technology, Nam-Ek prowled among the flagstones and the fallen columns. He enjoyed stomping on the topaz beetles, crunching their shells under his big feet, and stepping back to watch as other ravenous insects scuttled forward to devour the oozing carcasses. These were not his beloved animals. They were bugs, vermin—like anyone who opposed his master. Nam-Ek stomped some more.
With obvious anticipation, Aethyr played the notes of “Jax-Ur’s March” on the crude and ancient musical instruments scattered around the square: a pitted tubular bell that still rang out low and clear, a hollow stone box that resonated when struck, a sheet-alloy gong that boomed like metal thunder. When she had completed the ponderous sequence of loud notes, the round covers of the underground silos ground slowly open to reveal the golden doomsday weapons standing upright in their cradles.
With shining eyes, Zod gazed at Aethyr, thinking that she looked more beautiful than ever, now that she had revealed her secret. He leaned over the lip of the nearest pit to stare down at the slender missile, with its smooth, bulbous tip that contained such untold destructive energy. He shook his head, nearly hypnotized by the elegant symmetry. Three of these warheads had been sufficient to blast Koron to rubble. Only three! “What could a warlord possibly do with fifteen such weapons?”
Aethyr lifted her softly pointed chin. “A man with such power could strike fear into anyone who might challenge him. Simply by possessing the nova javelins, a leader could ensure peace, prosperity—and total, absolute obedience.”
Possibilities swirled in the Commissioner’s mind. “Intriguing.”
The pair descended into the shadowy control-room bunkers she had found underneath the ruins. Zod inhaled the smells of dust, stale air, cold metal, and old grease. The ancient equipment looked intact and undamaged, except for the slow deterioration of time. Only a few of the old illumination crystals still functioned in the large and silent banks of machinery.
“The systems are strange, the notions old-fashioned,” Aethyr said, “but I don’t believe it would take much to fine-tune them.”
Later, when they emerged from the control bunkers, Zod admired the lost grandeur all around him. Studying the still-intact buildings and towers, he extended his hands as if he could feel ancient power rising from the ground.
“I like this place. It has a very solid feel, a sense of majesty. Think of how long it has endured.” He smiled at Aethyr. “Yes, once all my followers are in place, this will be a clean, fresh start for a new world. This will be Krypton’s new capital.”
CHAPTER 40
After the setback from the severe quake, Jor-El revised his plans for the telescope array, reinforced the structures, and set the teams to work again. In only a week, four more giant observation dishes unfurled, like the petals of enormous wire-frame flowers. With the structures geometrically arranged along two intersecting baselines, each a kilometer long, the array looked like a technological garden. He wished his father could see this. Yar-El would have been awed by the site.
The sensitive telescopes and receiver dishes would warn of any impending invasion, and they would also collect copious pure scientific data. The heavens were rife with mysteries and possibilities, but the Council had not wanted Jor-El even to look for them. Now, under the pretext of defending the planet, Zod had given him all the permission he needed.
Jor-El also set his mind to pondering designs for new defenses, just as Zod had asked him to do. However, even though he convinced himself the weapons would be used only against Krypton’s outside enemies, his mind often went blank now that he was trying to create destructive devices.
In the midst of Jor-El’s efforts