by Robert James
“Is that to make you meaner?” I asked silently.
“Yes, that’s what they say” She responded. “But what could be meaner than to make a strong young female, like me, fight and kill my own old and tired Father?” The crowd and my hosts had all remained shocked and silent.
“Do these two men know that you’re Father and Daughter?” My anger began to burn.
“Yes Lord Robert” The male replied sadly “But they don’t care”.
“Go back to your cages” I ordered and they did. The two men made a dash for their whips and guns, but I willed the guns to slide away out of reach and the two whips to whip away! And that is just exactly what they did! The astonished audience watched, as the two unbelievably cruel men got thoroughly thrashed by their own whips.
The audience quickly forgot the mystical nature of the event and urged the whips on with bloodthirsty yells! I felt Zoran’s eyes on me, so I smiled back into his eyes nodding. He leaned forward and spoke to the Governor who snapped his head around to look at me.
“Those two bears are very unsuitably matched Governor Lucas” I told him quietly. The Governor looked up at me concerned
“Lord Robert, much money is gambled on this fight, it must be fair” He insisted, clearly serious. So I told him the truth. He stood up and walked over to the edge of our small balcony.
“A young strong female against an aged old male?” He demanded to know from the trainers. I stopped the whips so the trainers could answer, and a hush fell over the crowd.
The trainers stood, clothes shredded and bodies bleeding, in the middle of the cage, their heads hung in silent confession.
“You would cheat the people of Alpine Grand?” The Governor thundered “We should let you two fight them, in unarmed combat” He yelled. The audience roared out their approval.
“How many of you are in this building?” I telepathed to the bears.
“Twenty Sire” Came the Father’s silent answer.
“Their cages are now unlocked, tell them to bring all the trainers here” I ordered the bears silently. With the entry doors open, the two huge bears simply sat and watched the two now-terrified and helpless trainers, as they awaited their inevitable fate.
Most of the crowd was unsuccessfully trying to goad the bears in for the kill when the other twenty arrived, on the outside of their cages and pushed the rest of their totally mystified trainers into the cages, slamming the doors behind them. Then they wheeled back the Father and Daughter’s cages, so that all twenty two of them could come right to the front of the stage. There they simply sat down and waved, as I had instructed them to do. That caused complete and utter pandemonium! But, the twenty two, hundred and fifty plus kilo bears did nothing at all aggressive, they just sat at the front of the stage, in front of the cages full of their erstwhile trainers, and watched what blind fear can do to people. The audience were falling all over themselves, women screaming, men shouting and, when the house lights went up, it got worse!
I told all the bears to go back to their cages and I’d see they were freed the next day. I got many reverential “thank you s” and they filed off, leaving the twelve trainers, two of them already badly injured, locked inside the bear fighting cage.
“I’d suggest you send that lot into food production Governor” I told the State Chief meaningfully. But he didn’t get it.
“Lord Robert, would only that I could” The Alpine Grand leader replied “But bear trainers are few and far between ….” He began.
“You won’t need bear trainers anymore Governor Lucas” I told him bluntly “You will lead the people of this State to higher forms of entertainment than the spectacle of a Daughter tearing her Father apart” I ordered coldly. That really shook him up.
“Lord Robert” The Governor protested “You speak of these wild animals as if they were human, all animals kill each other Sire”.
“But only for food Governor Lucas, not for the sport of it, and never for their entertainment” I pointed out coldly.
“But they do not think as we humans Lord Robert” The Governor was not going to give up his no doubt lucrative ‘show’ easily.
“Then, Governor Lucas, how is it that I know the first two bears were Father and Daughter?” The Governor walked to the balcony’s edge again and with an audacity born of desperation, actually checked my word with the two injured trainers. They, of course, readily confirmed that fact. However Zoran was absolutely furious.
“You have the gall to question the word of Lord Robert?” He demanded, with an authority I had not seen from him before. Realising what he’d just done, the Governor dropped to one knee his head bowed low. His compatriots did likewise, as Zoran unleashed a tirade upon them. Did they not realise that a blink from me and their whole State would be demolished? Were they so mired in blood that they could not see the divine light? Susan and I kept our serious composure, but only just. She took over when Zoran had finished his tirade, his words had left them expecting Armageddon at any moment. She talked quietly with the very respectful Governor and his five aides, before we three were escorted back to their T.T.V. There was no further resistance.
It had been decreed that bear fighting, cock fighting and cruelty, of any kind, to animals, was forbidden from this day. By the order of Governor Lucas. As our destination still lay eight hours away, we declined their further hospitality, returned to the guest house and re-boarded our super T.T.V. The Governor’s team, photographers and a TV crew farewelled us, as we moved out of the sculptured gardens and skimmed off into the darkness, before getting some altitude and speed happening. Susan had the twelve men crying with laughter, as she re-told the events of the last day. I felt very much relieved that we had emotionally ‘conquered’ a major State, without having to try too hard. Largely thanks to this gift of being able to communicate with animals!
“I like power Robert” Susan said openly, as we snuggled up in the sleeping cabin a couple of hours after leaving Alpine Grand “Is that a bad thing?” She asked me.
“No, I don’t think liking power and control is a bad thing” I answered Susan Proust’s question “Perhaps when the need for power is so great that you do bad things to get it, and worse things to keep it, they are the bad aspects of liking power Susan” I looked into her eyes. “And power does have a tendency to corrupt” I warned “If a person gets more than they can handle”.
“Am I corrupt?” She asked coyly, fluttering her eyelashes at me.
“You will be, by the time I have finished with you” I laughed softly, pulling her to me. I got a warm chuckle for a reply.
An hour or two later, it turned out that Susan’s guess at the location of Carabindy Province was out by less than a hundred kilometres, not bad at all. Our navigator knew all about the place, he’d been on one of eight T.T.V’s which ferried some of the original pioneers out to this totally isolated State. It had literally been carved out of the thick tropical jungle. As before, we were gently woken just prior to our arrival.
“I don’t know anyone down there” Susan told me as we looked down on what was no more than a township with a vast suburbia.
“You soon will my dear” I told her cheerily “Now, let’s go up to the cockpit and talk to them” Once again the navigator passed the mic to the Captain and he passed it to Susan.
“Your public relations officer?” Susan asked me for a title.
“My spokesperson” I replied, enjoying the glow of her pleasure.
“Who’s there? This is Carabindy Central, whose calling please?”A female voice asked. Susan took a breath “This is Susan Proust, spokesperson for Lord Robert” She sounded great “Our T.T.V. is within visual range and we expect to arrive in ten to fifteen minutes.” She advised the woman. There was silence for a moment
“Excuse me, did you say Lord Robert is here? In that T.T.V. with you?” The female voice asked, sounding overawed.
“That’s affirmative Carabindy Central” Susan responded, smiling widely at me. “We have an e.t.a. on your North
ern entrance of circa ten minutes O.K.?” Susan checked authoritatively.
“Uh yes, yes of course Miss …uh...” The flustered voice answered.
“Miss Susan Proust” Susan reminded her sharply.
“Oh yes Miss Proust” She replied. Susan switched off the mike.
“Well you may not know them, but they sure know you now” I said laughing, as Susan and I left the cockpit. Susan put the crewman’s uniform back on, complete with sidearm and short bayonet, she said she felt good in it. It certainly looked better on her than the men, and they all agreed with that too. We came in low over the thick, impenetrable jungle. Suddenly, we were over clear ground, so the pilot slowed right down and lowered our T.T.V. to the ground. Once again, we were in a bus sized, wheelless limousine, Susan and I returned to the cockpit, as we moved slowly along a five metre wide hard dirt corridor.
Though both sides of us were still uninhabited grasslands, we could see a huge dust cloud rising up ahead, between us and where we were headed!
“Can you get a read on what’s causing that?” I asked the navigator.
“No machinery Lord Robert. Small animals, most likely people, and some very large animals Sire” The crewman replied, a little apprehensive “Very large indeed” He repeated.
“Pull over to the left and stop Captain” I ordered “Susan” I told her “Call ‘em and tell them we will come to them. Have them stay there” She got up and did as I asked. I was instinctively concerned at what all that obviously fine dust might do to the sophisticated electronics on our T.T.V. Also, I had no great desire to be covered in that stuff myself!
We remained stationary on the side of the corridor till the pale orange clouds drifted off, on a wind blowing left to right. Zoran joined us just as the navigator gave me his report.
“I’ve never seen so many people in one place in my life” The crewman told us.
“I’m not surprised” Zoran replied “It’s a special day for this State”.
“Why is that?” I asked my wise old advisor.
“Didn’t Miss Susan’s information relay your special relationship with Carabindy Province Lord Robert?” Zoran asked, puzzled.
“No” Susan answered for me “There was no reference to Lord Robert in the Nav file, or the historic material” She told Zoran
“How strange” Zoran looked bemused “Seems the Supreme One must have deleted you from New World history when you left Sire” He told me, adding “Or tried to anyway”.
“Perhaps you’d be good enough to fill in the blank bit Zoran” Susan asked the old man.
“Lord Robert is the founding Patriarch of Carabindy Province” Zoran told us “I actually thought that’s why you chose to come here first Sire” Zoran added.
“How did I come to be this State’s patron Zoran?” I asked “Have I been here before?”.
“Many times Lord Robert, but not for thirty years, perhaps more” Zoran told me “You came as a lad with your parents, then as a young man with young Lord Edmond” Zoran told me smiling.
“When you discovered the Aklodyte, the Supreme One decided to make you the new locality’s representative in the Supreme House” Zoran continued telling Susan and I “When Carabindy Province received independent Statehood, you became the State’s Founding Patriarch” Zoran explained, adding “And now it’s time to see what your youthful love of high adventure brought into being Lord Robert”. Zoran was clearly proud of me and that really did make me feel good about myself. I asked the Captain to move back onto the road and start down it slowly. He did as I requested. What we came upon, a couple of kilometers down the road, was startling to say the least. Thousands upon thousands of men, women and children were waiting there for us.
Along with the people, stood several hundred huge horses, uncountable metre-high dogs and three absolutely gigantic elephants, each standing at least ten meters tall! They were ranged across the grassland, in an arc that had to be at least a kilometre from end to end. We came smoothly to rest behind a two story high mobile structure, with red carpeted steps that led up to a very plush red speaker’s Dias, complete with microphones and red lectern. As it was turned to face the multitude in front of us, it seemed obvious that it was for me. Except for a small group who had come out into the centre of the semi circular clearing in front of the Dias, the people seemed to be very casually and colourfully dressed. Loosely fitted dresses or shorts and shirts were the order of the day.
The five in the middle all wore something akin to safari suits and broad brimmed hats. When the T.T.V’s door came up and the transom rolled out, the roar would have done justice to world soccer final! With Susan and Zoran on either side behind me, I walked out onto the transom, down the three steps and over to the wide, thick carpeted, but very tall steps that led to the Dias, from which I was to address my people. Concerned that the hefty climb might be too much for the old man, I suggested he and Susan stay on the ground. They agreed and I began the easiest accent of a double flight of stairs in my life, my feet actually stayed three of four centimetres off the steps! I literally floated up those steps and arrived, absolutely effortlessly, on the speaker’s lectern.
There were two completely different types of audio chaos. One of them was the multitudinous and very excited crowd, with all their cheering and clapping, the other racket was only in my poor head.
“This is their God?” “Looks like them to me” “I’ve never seen ‘em so emotional” Along with a host of other comments, were cluttering up my ability to think. As I held my hands up, I also sent a telepathic mental message to all the animals.
“I am Lord Robert, come to see the work of my people and all those of my kingdom” I telepathed “You must cease your talk until I’ve heard what the humans have to say” I told them silently. While the racket still echoed in my ears, my head was totally silent. All the animals had ceased to move around and were now looking up at me.
All except for the elephants, their three pairs of eyes were level with mine, and from a hundred metres away I could see the comprehension dawn on the three of them.
“It shall be as you command Lord Robert” The giant in the middle nodded his head slightly. My raised hand eventually brought about an end to all the welcoming cheers and applause. The tallest of the group of five raised a megaphone to his mouth and almost yelled. “We the grateful people of Carabindy Province have long awaited the return of our patron. Your Excellency Lord Robert” He called out “We offer you our best and beg that you enjoy our humble welcoming ceremony” He added.
It would have been impossible not to. Upwards of a hundred children, all decked out in streamers that ran the gamut of the colour red, ran out behind the five men and escorted them to the rear of the enormous semi circle, then they danced their way into a human fence, around a football sized field. Into this prettily fenced oval leapt a half a dozen youths, dressed identically to myself, and the same number of dogs, all dressed up to represent wild animals. The valiant ‘Lord Roberts’ fought mock battles with the brilliantly trained dogs, who seemed to be having lots of fun as well. For the next twenty minutes the presentation included several variations of this all conquering hero routine and must have featured almost a thousand children, aged from ten to sixteen. But it was the big finale that really got to me though.
Born by one of the elephants and gently riding to the ground on the huge animal’s trunk, a slim young man brought a megaphone to his mouth and after bowing to me, turned to face the largest crowd that I had ever seen. He prepared himself to give a speech.
“The Covenant of Carabindy Province. Ordained as the law of this State by Patriarch Founder Lord Robert of the Supreme Family” The young man intoned, in a clear and as yet unbroken voice “All men and women are born free and equal” He paused “No-one shall be denied the right to pursue the positive actions of their choice. Destruction without cause is forbidden. No animal should be killed but for food and clothing. Effort must be rewarded by progression through society’s ranks. No-one shall use anyth
ing which does not belong to them, without the consent of the owner” The young man paused dramatically between each edict.
“No-one shall place their personal benefit ahead of the State’s welfare. No-one shall behave in a way that harms or disturbs the efficient, safe and equitable running of the State’s affairs. In observing this Covenant the people of Carabindy Province shall remain free, industrious and at peace with the world”. The youth then held up his hands and the entire crowd repeated the last line in absolute unison. It was readily apparent that this was a long rehearsed welcoming ceremony. Clearly, these people knew I was to come back. At this point, two dozen older youths marched into the centre; each pair supported a banner held between two poles.
Each banner depicted me doing battle with giant animals, on land, under water and in the air! Given my interesting trip up the stairs, I wondered, could the invincible Lord Robert also fly? I walked to the very front of the richly carpeted Dias, even though the microphones were all on the lectern behind me. I knew that it was time for my automatic voice to speak, so I held up both my hands and the massive crowd fell completely silent. I spoke in a moderated, public speaker voice, not loudly, yet I was quite certain that every creature in front of me would hear every single word with crystal clarity. I sensed a vital moment in this world’s history.