Trekmaster. James B. Johnson

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СКАЧАТЬ King glared a challenge and casually returned his sword to its scabbard. He turned to converse with the Queen as the jester moved from his kneeling position in front of her. The fool began a series of motions which Kellen suddenly recognized as an exaggerated mime of the drama that had just unfolded. Kellen knew instinctively that the legend of Thomas Jefferson Shepherd would swell to new dimensions this day. The King ignored the mess on his formal uniform, casually wiping the gore off his Muster medallion with his braided sleeve.

      Kellen watched as the king finished the ceremonies. You’d never know anything had happened except that the main floor was covered with sand and the King was splattered with blackening ichor.

      The ceremonies completed, Kellen found himself walking beside the herald, following the royal party at a respectful distance. They stopped momentarily when a general in the palace guard intercepted the party. The King took him aside and spoke with him. Kellen saw the general standing at attention and not replying. The King spoke harshly in his face for moments, and only by straining could Kellen hear any words at all. He knew that the general—Vero, he picked the name up—was being lambasted. “...could’ve killed, goddamnit...kind of cheap security..Jesus, a bunch of young girls, for Chrissake,” and “...take them apart, no damned accident....”

      The King dismissed General Vero and turned to join the party. He walked next to the off-worlder named Sharon Gold. Kellen didn’t know her purpose, but could guess some of it. The story went that Bear Ridge had recently been rediscovered by the Federation. The centuries-long separation from other worlds was now over. This was one of the main reasons Kellen had come to Crimson Sapphire.

      They continued down the long corridor and Kellen eavesdropped on the King’s conversation with Gold. He towered over her, talking and waving his hands about as if saying something important.

      “...and I have been an avid student of Olde Earthe history,” the King was telling her. Kellen felt a twinge of jealousy. There was so much he wanted to learn—for without knowledge, without the learning skills, he would not be able to better himself, to reach further....

      They entered an antechamber. This room was more businesslike, not the ostentatious display Kellen had expected; spacious offices fed off from this reception area.

      The King waved everyone to a seat, but no one sat. Kellen started to sit down when a cold glance from the herald told him no one sat before the King did.

      The jester had accompanied the procession and slumped unceremoniously into a corner, scratching his rear end. Nobody seemed to notice.

      The King disengaged himself from the envoy and addressed the herald. “Well, Alfred, what is the order of business?”

      Sharon Gold stepped back and stood beside Kellen. She was taller than he. Her eyes remained on the King.

      The herald said, “Sire, the calendar is clear for both the celebration and the staff meeting this afternoon. Besides this young man here.” Alfred nodded toward Kellen, “there is only one pressing matter of business.”

      “Well, Hark, what is it?”

      “Sire, the Ethnarch of Juarez requests an immediate determination regarding an ecological problem.”

      “This is pressing business?” demanded the King.

      “It is, Sire.”

      “Shall we see if the facts bear out your judgment, then, Hark?”

      “Yes, Sire.” Alfred spoke aside to a guard who stepped into a side room. Soon he returned with two men. The first was formally garbed with the tunic insignia of a province official. The second was a young man, about Kellen’s age, dressed in many bright colors like a young nobleman.

      “Sire,” said the herald, indicating the official, “this is Hammond Wouk, the representative of the Ethnarch of Juarez.” The man bowed. “And this young man is a representative of the Juarez Ecological Society, Franco Valdez.”

      “Well, what’s the situation? Can the Ethnarch not handle his own problems these days?”

      “Sire,” said Wouk, “that he can. However, there is a conflict between two different royal decrees. Thus it is not resolvable at our level.”

      “It is so urgent that it could not wait for a business day?”

      “Time passes and money is lost.”

      “Tell me what the hell the problem is, then. Let’s get this over with.”

      “Yes, Sire. Construction was to have begun three days ago on the long awaited aqueduct from the lake to the city of Figgeredwrong. Running water for the first time. The Juarez Ecological Society has prevented its start.”

      “How?”

      “May I, Sir?” asked Valdez.

      “I wish somebody would.”

      Valdez visibly blanched, gulped and started. “Sire, the royal decree regarding ecology will be thwarted. They plan to cut through a large forest, despoiling wild life and ruining thousands of trees.”

      “Your Highness, the aqueduct is necessary for sanitation and public welfare, all found in another royal decree—plus it is in accordance with your modernization drive,” Wouk put in.

      “Ah, I see it now. The conflict.” The King nodded.

      “The crews are waiting in place and it’s costing the provincial treasury daily to have them sit thusly,” said Wouk. “And. by extension, the royal treasury.”

      “Good thinking. Any other ancillary problems? Like, for instance. Mr. Valdez, would not the people of the province require the cut timber for building and winter heating?”

      “Yes, Sire, but that could be done more judiciously, more selectively. And not harm the wild life.”

      “Did it occur to you, Valdez, that people are a form of life and deserve to be considered under an ecological order?” The King was standing over Valdez and glaring down at him.

      “Er, yes. Sire. People can think for themselves, choose their own habitats without disturbing the natural scheme of things.”

      The King’s eyebrows went up. “And the sheepaloe your province lives off, are they in the natural scheme of things?”

      “Er, yes. Sire.”

      “Negative, Valdez. Our ancestors introduced them from Olde Earthe. Ever wonder why one animal is so useful? From the wool to the meat to the hooves? Wonder why sheepaloe grow fat on the sparse vegetation of the hills?” Valdez looked bewildered. The King stepped back and looked around him. He rubbed his hands as if approaching a favorite subject. Kellen saw the Queen stifle a groan. “In vitro mean anything to you? No, I can tell it doesn’t. When you’re settling a planet, you can’t take everything you want with you. So the genetic engineers on Earthe stole from the sheep, the longhorn steer and the buffalo, the toughest and most adaptable animals, and developed an animal that would not only live on Bear Ridge, but thrive on its harsh conditions. Once they had the sheepaloe perfected, they preserved sufficient sperm and ovae. So they only had to ship a few of the animals to act as host mothers. Fortunately, the herds were building well when the Rollback came and the wars separated Earthe from its former colonies. All the time we spent СКАЧАТЬ