The Demi-Monde: Winter

by Rod Rees

  ‘My age does not, I believe, detract from the correctness of my opinions.’

  ‘Nor from the arrogance of your attitude, it would seem,’ came the testy response. ‘You should be aware that the Coven and the ForthRight are allies … friends.’

  So her father had been right. Heydrich had deceived them.

  Heydrich had deceived them so comprehensively that he had persuaded Trixie to lead her army into the hands of his ‘friend and ally’. She and the WFA were now at the mercy of the Coven.

  A heavy silence fell on the hall. Finally the Empress spoke again. ‘I have consulted the iChing which advises that I should avoid war with the ForthRight, that I should not seek to tweak the tiger’s tail. This I believe is good advice: violence, in my opinion, is a poor substitute for the delicate deceits of diplomacy. But the price of peace is often a heavy one in that it involves the betrayal of those who trusted us.’ Again a silence and then a soft laugh. ‘Unfortunately betrayal and duplicity are indispensable parts of statecraft, and when one rules a nation or leads an army one quickly grows calluses on the soul, calluses that deaden finer feelings and dampen the pain engendered by betrayal. It is the express wish of Leader Heydrich that, as a token of the Coven’s friendship towards the ForthRight, we execute all members of the army you brought with you to the Coven and that we deliver you, in chains, into the custody of the ForthRight.’

  No, you won’t.

  As surreptitiously as she could, Trixie unbuttoned her tunic. The fools hadn’t searched her thoroughly enough – she had a small Colt holstered under her armpit. ‘That, Your Imperial Majesty, will only demonstrate to Heydrich that the Coven is weak and weakness is not a trait he admires.’

  More silence. Trixie’s hand closed around the butt of the Colt.

  ‘An interesting point, but not persuasive.’ There was the tinkling of a small bell and immediately the doors to the hall swung open.

  Resplendent in the immaculate black uniform of the SS-Ordo Templi Aryanis, Colonel Archie Clement strode into the hall.

  Trixie knew that she was a dead woman.

  How long they knelt there Norma didn’t – couldn’t – know: she’d spent the night encased in a magical bubble. Everything that happened outside the pentagon seemed distant, almost dreamlike. Even when Crowley and his adepts tore their gowns from one another and pranced around the cavern in a frenzied orgy of sexual indulgence it hardly touched on Norma’s consciousness. But now the music was louder and even more frenzied, the screams of Crowley and his adepts as they shouted out their spells and incantations more impassioned. She sensed the ritual was coming to its climax.

  Suddenly the shutters set high in the roof crashed open, allowing a shaft of sunlight to stream through, down into the cavern. In that instant, Aaliz Heydrich was bathed in a halo of golden light and the runes painted on her body seemed to writhe and twist like living things. Her body began to tremble. A low moan escaped her lips. And then, with a terrible scream, she arched back and collapsed unconscious to the floor of the altar.

  Norma felt herself tumbling into a dark nothingness, but just before she slid into unconsciousness she saw Crowley’s face, his mouth drawn back in the rictus of a smile.

  The Rite of Transference was complete.

  MAP OF NOIRVILLE.

  PLATE 5

  Epilogue

  The Real World: 1 August 2018

  She awoke slowly … cautiously, taking long careful moments to orientate herself towards the challenges to come, settling her nerves for what would be a performance of a lifetime … of two lifetimes.

  She kept her eyes closed, feigning sleep, but still she gathered information using her other senses.

  Smell …

  The Professor was close by: his cologne was unmistakable, almost overpowering. That was a comforting realisation: it was good to have a friend and ally in the room. But despite the competition of the Professor’s cologne she still detected the brush of Chanel No. 5 on her nose. This presumably signalled that the First Lady – her mother – was in the room; she was touched by her solicitude. And as a background fragrance there was that signature aroma of disinfectant and urine that was inescapably ‘hospital’.

  Touch …

  She could feel the stiff, clean bedsheets under her fingertips – my, how long her nails were! – could feel the press of the regimented arrangement of the blankets that confined her as she lay on the bed.

  Taste …

  Ughhh … yes, the taste of the plastic tube they had in her mouth, presumably there to ensure that she kept breathing, that she didn’t swallow her tongue. No one wanted her to die. That would be very embarrassing and the President would be very pissed off.

  Hearing …

  She could hear them whispering, so concerned, so considerate, so desperate not to disturb her. There was the President’s gruff, mahogany voice as he dealt brusquely with an aide who was reminding him of a ‘prior engagement’. The First Lady was sobbing quietly to her left. And providing a 70 bpm backbeat to the room’s whole bated cacophony was the beep, beep, beep of her heart monitor.

  She took a surreptitious breath, preparing herself. She opened her eyes.

  ‘She’s awake!’

  ‘Oh, thank you God!’

  ‘Please, she’ll be very weak.’

  ‘Please don’t crowd around her. Please don’t overexcite her.’

  ‘Oh Norma, darling, it’s Mummy.’

  She gave a weak smile, thankful that the plastic tube masked any element of theatricality.

  ‘Weak …’ she gasped in a ragged voice.

  The doctor – white coat, stethoscope, worried expression, must be a doctor – pushed closer and lifted her wrist, presumably checking her pulse. ‘Probably a little anaemic, young lady, we’ll organise a blood transfusion if that’s okay by you.’

  She couldn’t suppress a big smile: that would be very, very okay!

  The Demi-Monde:

  Glossary of Terms and Slang

  4Telling:

  Predicting the Future. From the declension: 1Telling = Silence; 2Telling = Speaking of the Past; 3Telling = Speaking of the Present; 4Telling = Speaking of the Future.

  ABBA:

  The chief deity of all religions in the Demi-Monde. God. Referred to as ‘Him’ in the ForthRight and NoirVille, as ‘Her’ in the Coven and as ‘Him/Her’ in the Quartier Chaud.

  AC:

  After Confinement (see also Confinement).

  Aryan:

  The bedrock of UnFunDaMentalism. The Aryan ideal is to be blond, blue-eyed and fair-skinned, that is, the same physical profile as the Pre-Folk from whom the Aryan people are supposedly descended. The UnFunDaMentalist Eugenical Policy espoused by the ForthRight propounds the belief that by careful identification of those citizens of pure Aryan stock and the ensuring – though legislation, propaganda and education – that these Aryans only mate with their own kind, over ten generations all racial contaminants can be bred out of the ForthRight.

  Awful Tower, the:

  The 350-metre-tall geodetic iron structure built in the heart of the Paris District to commemorate the signing of the Hub Treaty of 517 which marked the end of the Great War. Always contentious because of its phallic shape, the Tower divided aesthetic opinion, leading to it being generally referred to as the Awful Tower. Following the Great Schism it became a symbol of UnFunDaMentalism and masculine supremacy within the Medi districts of the Quartier Chaud. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World name Eiffel Tower.

  b&t:

  Blood and tonic: a cocktail of blood, gin and tonic water favoured by the more sophisticated set in Rodina.

  BC:

  Before Confinement (see also Confinement).

  Beyond, the:

  See Great Beyond.

  Biological Essentialism:

  Biological Essentialism is a cornerstone of the

  UnFunDaMentalist doctrine. It is predicated on the principle that the sexes occupy Separate Spheres of intellectual, economic and social func
tionality within the Demi-Monde, and that these Separate Spheres are ordained by ABBA and are thus natural, fixed and immutable. ABBA by making the sexes biologically, psychologically and intellectually different has equipped them for different tasks in life. UnFunDaMentalism teaches that the preservation of these distinctive Spheres of Activity is vital if social harmony is to be preserved, and for women this means adherence to the mantra of ‘Feeding, Breeding and MenFolk Heeding’ given to them by ABBA.

  Blanks:

  Derogatory NoirVillian slang term for Anglo-Slavs and all others of a pale persuasion.

  Blood-Banner:

  The flag that the Party’s SS regiments carried before them when they fought their first battle during the Troubles and seized control of Berlin’s Blood Bank. A sacred relic of UnFunDaMentalism.

  Blood Brothers:

  The NoirVillian gangsta sect responsible for the black-market trading of blood. The leader of the Blood Brothers is Shaka Zulu.

  Blood Hounder:

  A half-human, half-animal creature developed by the SS specifically to track down Daemons. Blood Hounders have an enhanced sense of smell and are able to detect one drop of blood at a distance of 100 yards.

  Blood Standard:

  The monetary system adopted on a Demi-Monde-wide basis by which the paper currencies issued by a Sector are convertible into pre-set and fixed quantities of blood.

  Boundary Layer, the:

  The impenetrable, transparent ‘wall’ that prevents

  Demi-Mondians leaving the Demi-Monde and entering the Great Beyond. UnFunDaMentalism officially defines the Boundary Layer as a Selectively Permeable Magical Membrane.

  Censure:

  Slang term for the Political ReEducation experienced by ForthRight citizens who are obliged to attend a Compulsory Corrective Counselling Clinic. Such attendance is mandatory for those citizens found guilty of displaying deviant, degenerate religious/political/sexual beliefs.

  Checkya, the:

  The secret police of the ForthRight, administered by Vice-Leader Lavrentii Beria. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World word Cheka.

  CheckyaPoints:

  Border, road and river check-posts operated by the Checkya.

  CitiZen:

  The official term for a citizen of the Quartier Chaud.

  Cleansing, the:

  The purging of Royalists and other Enemies of the People conducted in the ForthRight at the end of the Troubles.

  Confinement, the:

  The mythical event leading to the sealing of the Demi-Monde behind the Boundary Layer. As a consequence of the Fall of the Pre-Folk from grace with ABBA (see also Lilith), ABBA punished the peoples of the Demi-Monde by confining them behind the impenetrable Boundary Layer in order that they should not corrupt the rest of His/Her Creation with their Sin. Only when they have repented all their Sins, have come to Rapture and returned to Purity will ABBA, once again, smile upon them and allow them to be reunited with the rest of the Kosmos.

  crypto:

  Originally coined to describe a Suffer-O-Gette terrorist who had infiltrated the ForthRight, but now commonly used to refer to all spies and fifth columnists active in the Demi-Monde.

  Daemons:

  Mischievous and occasionally malignant (when in league with Loki) Spirits who manifest themselves in the Demi-Monde. They may be identified by their ability to bleed.

  Dark Charismatics:

  The coterie of men (and only men have been recorded as Dark Charismatics) who exhibit the most extreme and malicious form of MALEvolence. Dark Charismatics, though physically indistinguishable from the host population, are extremely potent, possessing a perverted and grossly amoral nature. As such, Dark Charismatics present a morbid and extreme threat to the instinctive goodness of Demi-Mondians. The only reliable means of identifying Dark Charismatics is by the examination of their auras by Visual Virgins.

  Declaration of Ancestry:

  The proof of racial purity necessary in the ForthRight to claim status as an Aryan. The authenticated and apostilled genealogical chart that confirms an Aryan’s ancestry is uncontaminated by UnderMentionables for ten generations.

  Dialectic ImMaterialism:

  A wholly pessimistic philosophy – developed by Karl Marx – which proposes that it is the unending and irresolvable Antagonistic Contradictions between the Sectors that have led to the state of Permanent Revolution in the Demi-Monde. Not only are these Antagonistic Contradictions – themselves a product of differing race, ethnicity, language and religion – incapable of being settled by compromise but they will inevitably lead to the destruction of the DemiMonde. Everything mankind might do to avert this destruction is immaterial, or in the famous words of Lord Marx himself: ‘in the end we’re all borsch’.

  ExCreatures:

  The nanoBites which inhabit the rivers of the DemiMonde and which are responsible for the consuming of sewage pumped into the rivers, rendering it harmless and capable of being washed through the Boundary Layer. Aka MicroFish, ShitSprats.

  Femme:

  Covenite term for ‘woman’.

  ForthRight:

  The Demi-Mondian state created by the union of the

  Rookeries and Rodina. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World term Fourth Reich.

  Future History:

  The mathematically based science that has empiricalised 4Telling.

  galvanicEnergy:

  Electricity. Discovered by the ForthRight scientist Michael Faraday.

  Ghetto, the:

  The Warsaw District of the Rodina Sector, where the Checkya have confined all ForthRight Under -Mentionables.

  GoldenFolk, the:

  Certain classes of UnderMentionables – especially the Polish – who, after careful consideration by ForthRight genealogists, are deemed worthy to be classified as Aryan. A corrupted memory of the Real World word Goralenvolk.

  Great Beyond, the:

  The vast and heavily forested area of the DemiMonde that lies outside the Boundary Layer.

  Hel:

  The Demi-Mondian term for the underworld. A remembrance of the Norse word Hel.

  HerEticalism:

  The official religion of the Coven. Developed by the Empress Wu, HerEticalism is a religion based on female supremacy and the belief that if the DemiMonde is to survive and flourish it must be protected from MisMANagement, which, in turn, will require the subjugation and ultimate elimination of nonFemmes (aka Men). HerEticalism rejects heterosexual sex, believing it to be an artificial socio-political patriarchal construct by which nonFemmes have oppressed Femmes. Instead, HerEticals practise Femme2Femme sex known as MoreBienism. HerEticalism teaches that the utopian condition of MostBien – of the achieving by Femmes of political, religious, economic, intellectual and sexual supremacy in the Demi-Monde – will only be secured when the male of the species has been eliminated from the breeding cycle. More radical HerEticals – notably the Suffer-O-Gettes – are of the opinion that the ultimate expression and apotheosis of MostBien will require the total extermination of all nonFemmes.

  HimPerialism:

  The official religion of NoirVille, based on an unwavering belief in male supremacy and the subjugation of women (or, as they are known in NoirVille, woeMen). HimPerialism teaches that Men have been ordained by ABBA to Lead and to Control the DemiMonde and that woeMen’s role is to be Mute, Invisible, Supine and Subservient (subMISSiveness). Further, HimPerialism states that an individual’s Machismo may be enhanced by the exchange of bodily essences, a practice known as Man2naM. HimPerialism has a more aggressive brother-religion known as HimPeril which espouses violence as the only means of securing the triumph of HimPerialism in the Demi-Monde.

  HimPeril:

  The militant/terrorist wing of HimPerialism, HimPeril is dedicated to the use of violence and intimidation to achieve male supremacy and the subjugation of woeMen. The leader of the HimPeril movement is Mohammed Ahmed aka the Mahdiman.

  Hub, the:

  The grass and swampland area si
tuated between the urban area of the Demi-Monde and Terror Incognita.

  iChing:

  The Covenite method of divination and 4Telling.

  ill-ucination:

  The illness manifested by those who are unable to distinguish between real and imaginary worlds. nuJu psychiatrists also refer to it as ‘schizophrenia’.

  ImPuritanism:

  The official religion of the Quartier Chaud. ImPuritanism is a staunchly hedonistic philosophy based on the belief that the pursuit of pleasure is the primary duty of mankind and that communion with the Spirits can only be achieved during orgasm. The ultimate aim of all those practising ImPuritanism is the securing of JuiceSense: the experiencing of the extreme pleasure that comes from an unbridled sexual orgasm. To achieve JuiceSense requires that men and women are spiritually equal and that man’s proclivity towards MALEvolence is controlled and muted.

  jad:

  The swing music that came out of the JAD. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World word jazz.

  JAD:

  nuJu Autonomous District. The area of NoirVille settled by the nuJus and granted independence by His HimPerial Majesty Shaka Zulu.

  JuiceSense:

  The ultimate orgasm. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World word juissance.

  Kept, the:

  Those Daemons captured in the Demi-Monde and denied a return to the Spirit World.

  LessBien:

  Derogatory slang term for a woman who finds sexual enjoyment/comfort/satisfaction with another woman. A play on the word ‘MostBien’. A corrupted remembrance of the Real World word lesbian.