by Robert James
“That’s all very well I’m sure” Peter was getting huffy “But, personally, I’m a little bit concerned about betraying my family, you know, working with the enemy, sort of” He said worriedly.
“That’s bothering me too Robert, if that’s who you are?” Young Margaret agreed, still clutching her little black ray gun. I turned to Zoran, who stood discreetly out of hearing range. He came over
“Yes Lord Robert” He asked, looking meaningfully at the other two as he spoke, he was certainly in no doubt as to who I was.
“How long will it take to assemble all the off duty and non-essential staff here for me to talk to?” I asked the smiling old man.
“Perhaps if you and our honoured guests were to retire to your quarters Lord Robert, I could have the assemblage waiting in ten to fifteen minutes.” He replied dutifully.
“Please do” I told Zoran, rising, with my two siblings, and heading off up the stairs to my apartment and Miss Susan Proust. This should be interesting, I thought.
“For a woman of such humble birth as I to be in the presence of not only Lord Robert, but two of his Divine Brethren. It is an honour for which I would gladly die a hundred times” Susan bowed deeply, as her words flowed effusively.
“How did you come to be with Lord Robert?” Lady Margaret inquired, openly admiring the Centropolis woman’s stunning face and figure. Susan had expected only me and was dressed, well, pretty much undressed for the occasion, in just a flimsy black lace outfit. Susan told her of how she had been there, as the personal assistant of the Governor of Centropolis, and that I’d invited her.
“Do you know how Lord Robert got to be in such a place?” Peter asked, apparently impervious to Susan’s well exposed charms.
“Such things are not for me to know” Susan was clearly shocked that she should even be asked.
“I think you’ll get some answers soon Peter” I told him smiling “My intuition tells me that you’ll both find my upcoming address very interesting. And not only because it will prove that I am who I am either” I added mysteriously. With perfect timing, Zoran tapped lightly on the apartment door.
“Your household staff are assembled Lord Robert” He called softly through the slightly opened door. Suzan shot off to the bedroom like a frightened rabbit, at the sound of his voice, while the three of us walked out to the landing. There were nearly thirty young men and women, all in their early or mid twenties and, of course, Zoran, who stood on the middle landing to my right.
“All of you are the Sons and Daughters of those who’ve served the House of Red since my birth” I began “Because of my absence, many of you younger folks have never seen me before. Yet you, Rachael” I pointed to one of the bathing beauties “Your Father told you of when I, as a child, lost my mother” My auto voice spoke “His older Sister was asked, by the Supreme One in person, to be my acting Mother” I told the pleased looking girl.
“I remember that” Peter smiled; now swinging right back to believing me.
“Jarrat, your parents met in the kitchens here, exactly thirty years ago today right?” I told a young man, who was visibly impressed and confirmed my words. I looked over at Zoran
“You have been ever there, as no Father could have dear Zoran, always in support, even when you knew that what I was doing was very wrong” I told him.
“It is not for me to know such things Lord Robert” The old man protested “Whatever you do is right, I have no right to judge you Sire” Zoran believed what he was saying.
“Yes, you do my trusted friend” I looked across the small assemblage “You all do” The two stirred beside me, I felt my younger Sister tense up, little black weapon still in her hand “It is come the time for all of us to leave this place, as equals!” I told them strongly “It is true there is but one God, but no mere human can represent Him. The Creator lives within each and every human being” I continued telling the now very nervous little crowd of youngsters gathered below.
Peter was annoyed rather than angry at my words, he seemed to want to interrupt but couldn’t. However, I could sense the white hot anger in Margaret and I noticed she was easing back, quite possibly so that she could fire her little laser ray gun at me without warning. At the very last moment, Peter saw what Margaret intended to do and, in desperation, he leapt in between us.
“Margaret No! Uh” He cried out, but he was too late! She had already fired it. The thin red beam seared a surprisingly large, perfectly circular, bloodless hole through Lord Peter. Then, it hit me and bounced off, crushing several stones in the supporting pillar where Margaret had fired from. She was shocked at what she’d done to her Brother Peter and had not done to me!
Margaret didn’t notice the tower of masonry that came crashing down on her until it was way too late. Peter seemed quite un-distressed, watching his kid sister get broken into bloody pieces, by a ton or two of masonry, even the gaping black, still smoking hole in his stomach seemed little more than a nuisance
“Well all this trying to do good Robert” He said, sounding a little winded “See what it gets you” He coughed and flecks of blood appeared around his mouth “Now you’ll have to get out, and take them, else he’ll kill them all” Peter said, staggering forward to the broad marble rail. “Zoran, you know the West Pass?” He Gasped. The old man nodded. Leaning heavily against the railing, his life rapidly draining away quickly, Lord Peter made an effort to do something good himself.
He gave Zoran and the two oldest men in my household staff, directions on how to get at and take one of the big T.T.V’s, the current operational pass words, and the compass directions for Centropolis, Alpine Grand and Oasis City.
“Don’t know the rest but your ops-code will get them for you from anyone of those three” The mortally wounded man gasped “Go now, while no-one suspects any….” Lord Peter slid slowly to the ground dead. Whether he sought to save the rest of his Supreme Family or me and my people I will never know, but it was certainly a whole new ball game now. I had Zoran send two girls up to Susan, to grab what clothing they could, while she was getting herself dressed.
I then instructed six of the men to get supplies and six of the girls, including Rachael and our other bath mate, to come with me, along with the toughest four men that we had. With them, I was going to hatch a plan to get rid of our four guards. Hopefully, without having to harm them. The lights in the darkened courtyard out front of Red House flicked softly into life, casting a magical scenario of sculptures and shadows. Music began to softly emanate from the mini castle’s huge front doors, when they swung open. The four young Supreme House Guardsmen all stood up, stretched and moved around a little, so they could get a better look. And it was a look worth having too! Rachael and her equally uninhibited team of very pretty young girls, danced slowly out the doors and around the perimeter.
Beyond a fluttering scarf or a large feather, the six girls wore not a stitch to hide their lissom and well endowed bodies. The girls danced in ever smaller circles, moving faster as the music’s tempo increased. As they did, the four guards, believing themselves to be unobserved, moved ever closer, till they were right at the edge of the concrete and marble forecourt. Zoran flashed a light from the door and, instantly, the four guards fell unconscious but otherwise unhurt. Victims of fifty thousand watt stun guns that were part of the Red House’s defences. I had my four successful ambushers don their conquests’ uniforms, Zoran and I collected Peter and Margaret’s laser ray guns and prepared to leave..
After a little persuasion, via threats with one of the stun guns, the guard’s senior man agreed to call in two buggies and an escort for Lord Robert and Lord Peter. Soon enough, the entourage arrived. Given the unexpected circumstance, it wasn’t so hard to see why it was so easy to take the new arrival’s guns, uniforms and air bikes. They simply didn’t expect their own colleagues, who were there guarding us, to point their guns at them! We left four men in the guards’ uniforms and with their weapons, they were to guard the house literally! Zoran, Jarrat, myself a
nd our four man, heavily armed squad moved out. It was only at this point that I realised the buggies were actually ‘driven’ by small, man shaped robots!
When we arrived at the central T.T.V garage, where we’d first arrived just two days ago, the evening crews were all off duty as no-one had ordered anything.
“Lord Robert” The man in charge jumped to his feet, along with his dozen or so men. Zoran and Jarrat moved forward to explain. In accordance with our plan, I behaved as expected and sat in my hovering buggy with air cycles, ridden by my men, at each corner.
It looked as though Zoran was having problems, so I motioned my escort to move us closer. As we did, my once challenging, now servile black spectre arrived, via the elevator. He walked swiftly over to Zoran, they exchanged a few words, then the man in black looked over and saw me. Immediately he came over, Zoran and Jarrat trailing behind him.
“Lord Robert it is my honour to serve you” He saluted me.
“Is there some problem Zoran?” I asked imperiously, ignoring the man in black completely.
“Merely a formality Lord Robert” The old man assured me with a smile. Between us, we had thoroughly upset the tall, gaunt faced man in black
“It’s far more than that Zoran” The man in black barked, then, in a respectful but frosty voice he turned to me and said firmly
“My orders are from the Supreme One Himself, Lord Robert” He announced “No vehicles are to leave without His personal approval” He emphasised, his folded arms saying it all.
“And, my dear man” I replied imperiously “Exactly what are you supposed to do if I choose to defy those orders?” I asked him haughtily “Arrest me, how? Shoot me? Then you die as is the law?” I turned to Zoran “Who is this underfed impertinent who addresses me without consent?” I asked regally.
“I am Dakar, I hold the trust of the Supreme One” The thoroughly angry, but respectful man announced at me, more than to me.
“Come now Dakar” I turned to him, my voice dripping patronisation “You’d have to stand closer than any but we are permitted to, in order to hear His orders” I challenged softly.
His body language indicated that I’d scored a bulls eye, so I pressed on with my charm offensive.
“You get your orders from Lady Ursula, Dakar” I told him, adding pleasantly “Because you are naught but an ordinary human. And you know that you must obey me” I told the now unsure Dakar “I, on the other hand, have every right to do as I please, without her consent! Do I make myself clear?” I snarled, suddenly angrily at the gaunt and increasingly confused man.
“Lord Robert” He pleaded “Please do not choose so, for I must obey orders, even if it cost me my life” He raised his laser ray device. The workmen and foreman jumped for cover, my men all raised their wicked looking machine guns, pointing them at Dakar.
“At ease men, he cannot hurt me” I reminded them, then turning to Dakar I added “Only you will be harmed if you blindly obey”.
“So be it then” He snarled and fired at me. I cupped my hands like a baseball catcher and the beam did a perfect reflection, right back to the place it came from! The tall thin man stared in disbelief as a fist-sized hole appeared in his upper stomach. He looked back up at me, then fell forward. I had Jarrat collect his laser device, while the crew got very smartly to work, preparing two of the largest, fastest T.T.V’s in the Supreme House’s garage. With more time to look, I could see these were fighting craft. Rows of barrels were just visible and missile launching tubes ran both sides, fore and aft. It was thirty minutes or so before the super sleek craft were ready for their pilots to fly them to the West Pass. With our mission complete, we headed back to Red House, to gather our people and guide them up a secret trail, on the west side of the crater.
Poor Susan was in shock, as were many of the young ladies and even one or two of the men. Seeing ‘Gods’ die. Me and my laser bouncing trick, and with their world crumbling around them, who could blame them? Zoran had our ‘escort’ lock up the T.T.V. garage crew, to prevent them sounding any alarm, and all seemed quiet, as we left via a back passage way, normally used to take the garbage out. The two buggies and four air bikes which stood out on the Red House’s front courtyard, gave the appearance that I still had visitors, and guards. With the men well laden, the women much less so, and Zoran and I carrying nothing, because ‘It would not be right’, we made our way quietly around behind the blue house, then up through the well vegetated forest floor.
Soon our little party of ‘escapees’ reached a very well hidden cave entrance. Once the cobwebs were cleared away, we entered and, almost immediately, came out the other side. There, in a small clearing, our two space craft looking T.T.V’s gleamed in the moonlight, waiting for us.
Chapter Three
“So you don’t have much recall from before you left Sire?” Zoran asked, as we sat in our now still and silent T.T.V.
“Virtually none at all Zoran, what I know I’ve learned since I returned” I answered. We had left the outside of the Supreme House’s crater and, at the request of young Jarrat and Rachael, as conveyed via Zoran, had flown over to Willow Vale, where their parents, and all the other Supreme House’s retired staff lived, in a ‘resort-like retirement village’ founded by the first Supreme One’s wife. But we had arrived after midnight, so we had parked quietly, beneath some tall trees, and all the Red House staff, as well as the two, three man crews of the T.T.V’s, were getting some sleep.
We had a momentary scare when the T.T.V radio chief ordered our two crew to return to base, until I pointed out that, if they tried to, I’d have to kill them. That pretty much settled the matter. Now, I was trying to work out what came next, by getting some facts from this wise and loyal old man. Zoran had explained that most people born in the Supreme House’s civilian community, which numbered over a thousand souls, went into House service, after their twelve years of schooling. The brightest ones go up to Admin House, where the Patriarch’s views on world issues are formulated. The rest go into production, which involved farming, making soft goods and clothes and light manufacturing. Only one in five of the women were allowed to remain fertile.
“That’s better than the New World Lord Robert” The old man replied to my negative response “It’s usually less than one in eight” He told me.
“In Centropolis, it’s currently one in ten” Susan Proust, whose lovely head lay on my lap said, with sadness in her soft voice.
“How do they decide?” I asked her.
“It’s a lottery, but isn’t all of life?” She asked resignedly. Through these two, I had now acquired a fairly clear picture of the world I was in. But there were so many occasions when one of them surprised the other, with facts and information that was totally contradictory to what they’d believed all their lives, that I doubted if anyone actually knew the whole truth.
Already disillusioned with her long-revered Supreme Family, Susan was still frequently shocked at what Zoran had to tell me about this inexorably devolving and often thoroughly disgusting family of mine. It had started out as a way of preventing the omni powerful junior members of the Supreme Family from going overboard on their own ‘Godliness’, in effect, a strict code of obedience to the Supreme One. But it had degenerated into the utterly immoral old man acquiring sexual control of his family. Incest was now the norm, along with an excessive use of a wide variety of ‘mind expanding’ drugs. That explained the ever calm Lord Peter. Zoran was saddened to hear from Susan that, out in Centropolis and ‘most likely in the rest of the New World’, the original concept of government by meritocracy had slid back into a world of nepotism and bureaucratic fiefdoms.
Zoran had served at Admin, then retired ‘Back to Red House’.
“I specifically requested to be returned to Red House, from out here, just after you left Lord Robert” Zoran had an odd expression on his face. Obviously I was supposed to ask
“The prediction? You knew all about it?”.
“I have known since you were a very naughty y
oung man Sire” The old man’s voice confirmed what I’d figured out. He had come back to ‘wait on and guide’ me in the performance of my mission.
“May I be allowed to know Robert?” Only Susan had been able to accommodate my request to be called just that, by everyone else. I nodded and Zoran told her all about the mysterious appearing and disappearing old woman and her predictions.
“As to exactly how I’m supposed to accomplish this mission” I cut in, when he had finished “Well, I haven’t figured that part out yet” I told her, then turned to ask Zoran how many of these T.T.V’s the Supreme Family had all told. The old man thought a moment.
“Just twelve full combat units, including these two” Zoran estimated “And another six or so older models, used only for personnel and goods” The old man added. Although the total number of combat ready troops numbered just three hundred, including the eighty T.T.V. crew members, the location and the defence technology of the Supreme House, made it totally invincible to any currently existing force outside of it.