The Mutant World

by Darryl T. Mallard

  “Watching seems to have the same effect on you as training, my lady,” said Talos removing her hand, “which means my training would suffer if you were present for any reason. Anyway, I came here to talk to you about the humans.” Beral made a face and sat down. Her husband sat across from her. “What do you think of these humans? The Earth humans I mean.”

  “I now understand completely what ‘Great Bellasaris’ was speaking of,” said the empress with a sigh. “They reek of greed, fear, envy and hate. Last night two Americans stayed behind at the feast. The others fled on the so-called pretense of privacy. However, of the two who stayed in the great hall, only one man actually stayed to enjoy himself with no ulterior motive. The other drank very little, but observed much. Humph! And not out of a voyeur’s pleasure either.”

  Talos cocked his head. “How do you know this?”

  “Your ancestor, ‘Great Lady Gorgo’ recognized him from her previous contact with the American humans two thousand years ago. Now THAT was most impressive. Unknown to the fool, she marked him early and although she and our great ancestor, Cato, had been enjoying themselves earlier, she lay there feigning exhaustion and sleep, and watched him as Bellasaris took her turn once the president and her man left.”

  “Humph! Even at a friendly feast they can do nothing but scheme!” said Talos sadly. “What of the other man?”

  “Actually, he’s very likable. The Ramsy clan is quite fond of him and he has made many friends among the court already. So far, he seems to be one who learns and adapts well to new cultures. Our telepaths have confirmed that he bears no malice towards mutants whatsoever and was originally chosen by the president to accompany her because of this.”

  “President Chambers has good judgment,” said Talos seriously.

  “I beg to differ,” replied Beral. “There was a man among her staff that was just the opposite of the one called ‘Luther’. He despised mutants and she knew it, but she brought him along anyway. That shows very bad judgment. I marked his body language and facial expression from the start. A little mental rummaging confirmed this. She soon realized her mistake though and kept him from any further contact with our people and as quickly as possible, sent him home on some stupid pretense via the teleport. But not fast enough to avoid detection. She almost sent the wrong man home.”

  “What do you mean?” said Talos.

  “Just what I said,” replied Beral. “The man, Luther, confided to Lady Lana, and so indirectly to me, (giggle) that he got into big trouble for letting himself go at the welcoming feast that night. And he was very close to being sent home and severely punished instead of the one called James. If it were not for the timely visit of Lady Ramsy he would not still be here.”

  “It was an informal party!” growled Talos angrily. “He was supposed to have fun! The food was there to be eaten! The booze was there to be drunk! And as for the women, they offered themselves willingly! He has no mate and they were far from ugly, so what’s the problem? He would have offended the ladies and their kin if he refused their hospitality. What’s wrong with these people?!?”

  “He is still here, honey. But his flaw as far as President Chambers is concerned is that he has trouble remembering to behave like an Earthman.”

  “Heh! If behaving like an Earthman means being a tight-ass, I can see why,” said Talos with a smirk. “What of the other humans from that realm?”

  The empress shrugged and said, “The same, they all have people among them who range from Luther to the man who was sent home. But their leaders all want the same thing. They have not verbalized it yet, but it has been seen in their thoughts. They want the teleportation technology. Queen Bellasaris’s wars and victories have not been forgotten on that world.”

  “I would imagine not,” chuckled Talos. “It’s only been, oh…thirty or so years, their time, since the war against the United States?”

  “And fifteen since our retaking Bain and crushing Paolo,” replied Beral. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. Still, they don’t have clean fuel engines or sophisticated lighting and heating systems, at least not by our standards. We have many things infinitely more useful…well harmless than the teleportation secrets and weapons. In exchange for allowing their mutants to immigrate here I’m sure they will be willing to deal.”

  “I don’t know about that,” said Talos. “History tells us that with them someone is always looking for a way to find military applications for even the most innocent of technology. Well, we’ll see. I still don’t think anything of worth will come from dealing with these repressed barbarians. If not weapons right now, it will be some sort or deal to get onto our rich and healthy world. Having nearly depleted or fouled their own resources they’ll want to degrade our planet for material profit! Make no mistake; no matter how much they rave about the god they worship, they revere NOTHING more faithfully than money and what it can buy for them! Already in my conversations with them the term, ‘Doing business together’ has been used many times. The ancestors were right. They are not to be trusted!” With that, Talos stood up and turned to leave.

  “Wait, my lord!” said Beral quickly. “I still need a strong opponent for my training. Stay.”

  “We’ve been over this before,” laughed Talos.

  “No, I’m serious,” said Beral. “I want to train. Do you know that ever since Queen Tana’s daughter stripped our son’s face at that party, and everything else that happened, I’ve been harassed by Illyrian noblewomen, queens from the other states, both of and outside the empire, and their daughters about Tabba and marriage! They won’t leave me alone! I need to work off some steam.”

  Talos looked at his wife. She seemed serious. To tell the truth he would look forward to a good workout with Beral. She was a very tough and skilled opponent and she had some years and experience on him. He had learned many good techniques from her when they trained and the workout was always good. There were not many who could match or come close to matching him in the strength department. The only problem was that every single time the training progressed to a higher level she became…aroused.

  “Do you promise to stay focused on what we’re here for?” said Talos sternly.

  “I promise!” replied Beral firmly. Talos nodded and walked over to the far wall and began to strip. Beral watched the muscles ripple beneath his ebony skin and chuckled to herself. “I’ve already broken that promise. I’d better control myself this time though, at least until we’re done, or else (giggle) he’ll never let me in here with him again!”

  ******

  The formal dinner was indeed more appropriate than the wild dinner turned orgy of the night before and nobody was naked…or even half naked. Many noted with relief that there were actually children, little princes and princesses, present this time. This was definitely a reassuring sight for the Earth people and Akkadians. Still, the clothes were not the stiff suits and gowns that one would have seen at a diplomatic dinner on Earth or in Akkadia. Plenty of skin, curves and muscle could be seen. Other rulers, princes and princesses had arrived too, along with their chiefs and retinues. These were not many. Most had been delayed because of issues in their domains or personal dilemmas. All were disappointed that they had missed the really fun reception and now had to settle for the restrained dinner reserved for Akkadian’s and the overly prudish Earth humans. Two rulers and their retinues were still missing however, one much to the relief of almost all the women. The queen of Melmoria and the empress were of the few women that were not pleased at this king’s absence. But it could not be helped. Queen Tana had informed the empress that this difficult man sent word to her that he would not be joining them, but sent his best wishes for the summit’s success. It was too bad. One of the empress’s daughters had her sights set on one of the kings sons. It was her hope that a bonding between the two would seal a real peace and bind these fearsome warriors to the empire both intimately and permanently.

  One such bo
nding had already possibly occurred between her house and another nation traditionally ruled by men. The present queen was sitting on the throne now only because a worthy male heir was not found of an age to rule. This was not the case with her children. Queen Tana’s sons were strong and capable. All had high telepathic abilities as well. It was very likely that another queen wouldn’t appear for many centuries if one of them succeeded to the throne. That was not acceptable to the rulers of the empire and already the plans for an agreement was in the works to insure that Tana’s daughter, Abe, would succeed to the throne. That is, in the event that the prince and princess had truly bonded and marriage negotiations began. If it worked, at least a new queen would rule for another century or two after Tana stepped down or passed away. This would be long enough for the people to accept this new (actually old) tradition and thus slowly bringing the forest kingdom back to its roots…they hoped. The savage nation even further to the west of the forest kingdom was an even bigger problem and one the empress hoped to solve in a similar manner.

  The mountain barbarians had strayed from the traditions of the rest of the peoples of Bellasaria to a degree that was truly frightening and needed to be corrected. Force was an option she didn’t like to think about. If that road was taken it could easily cause the disease to spread even more widely. If only King Roc had come. Beral noticed that another ruler from the far west hadn’t arrived yet either. She hoped they were not somewhere killing each other at this very moment. But no, if there was anything of that sort going on one of her spies in the queen’s country would have already sent word of it. No, these women were against the wall. The queen wouldn’t leave her capital until she was certain of its defenses and of the enemy king’s location. All things considered, perhaps it was better that neither had shown yet. The empress put the matter from her mind for the moment.

  ******

  Drinks were still flowing and the atmosphere was quite relaxed. Although none of the behavior seen on the night before was going on, people were actually dancing on the great floor. And much to the visitors from Earth surprise, some of these songs were songs they were well acquainted with, albeit VERY old. Many of these were accompanied by particular traditional dances unique to each song and seemed to be played for various reasons. When Luther asked Lady Ramsy about this she chuckled and explained.

  “Some of these songs a person will request to express his or her feelings, say for example, interest in a male or female they are too shy to make their feelings known to directly.” Lady Lana chuckled at this and said, “This is the case usually with young boys. Bellasarian females are NOT shy, especially if they are in heat or have fallen for someone. Others songs and dances are to warn other females away from a man they are interested in or as an invitation for some fun a little later. Most old Earth songs are just for dancing or listening to though.” Luther nodded. “Still, some, like the Macarena, are danced exclusively by women here, and NEVER at a dinner like this. For us it is a dance to fire the blood of men. When a Bellasarian woman starts swaying her hips and making those moves men have been known to ravage them on the spot before the dance is done, which of course, is the objective!” laughed Lady Ramsy.

  “I see,” said Luther with a grin. Looking at the curvaceous beauties here he could easily believe it. Just imagining one of those mutant women doing those moves half naked had him a little heated himself, and he hadn’t even seen it firsthand!

  “I’ll have to show it to you personally before you leave,” said Lady Ramsy winking. Luther swallowed. Even the human women were hot as all hell here, there were some that were on a par with the mutant women, and Lady Lana Ramsy certainly was one of them. “I’m surprised no one danced the Macarena last night,” said Lana. “But then after that fight and Princess Abe taking charge the way she did people’s blood was already boiling…in many ways. Normally love-play comes after dancing. Hah!”

  Actually some of these women had danced the Macarena that night and with the desired results, but Luther, Lady Ramsy and her friends had been too preoccupied themselves to notice.

  Suddenly, Lady Ramsy held up her hand for silence as a new song began to play and the Bellasarian women let out a cheer. Luther couldn’t believe it. That song was older than him. On this world it was even older…centuries older. But no doubt about it, it was Mary J. Blige’s ‘I Can Love You Better’, the original, sung by the lady herself.

  The empress giggled, grabbed her husband and pulled him onto the floor. The others cleared the floor as the vassal queens and their consorts cheered and applauded. Luther and the other men, both human and mutant, Earthman and Bellasarian watched open mouthed and drooling as Beral III danced with Lord Talos. She had her hands on her hips as she rotated in rhythm to the music. Her face was making the most sensuous expressions as she danced before her lord.

  The black woman with the American president’s party grinned as she watched the empress. “Damn! Will you look at her work that ass!” said the woman to another aide. “NOW I believe she’s got some black blood in her!” The other woman grinned and nodded, but her eyes were glued on the High Lord’s impressive body.

  The Akkadians seemed scandalized by the empress’s behavior and indeed the Earth people were shocked as well. This so-called formal dinner was much more relaxed, not to mention fun, than any diplomatic dinner they had ever went to. This was turning into a huge party! Many of the other Bellasarians were cheering the imperial couple on, especially the empress. Some of the diplomats and their aides were pleased by this. Others however, felt this behavior was improper at such an event and by people of such high stature. When President Chambers asked a Bellasarian about this he said that dinner parties, both formal and informal, were still parties and that seriousness was meant for serious talks in council chambers and formal throne room discussions.

  “This song is very popular with our people,” said Lady Ramsy. “It’s a classic and has a theme very familiar to our women, especially the mutant women. One part of the song is difficult to understand though. We believe that the second woman in the song was rhyming in some unique Earth slang. Still, it’s a good dancing song and it is popular with those who desire’s a particular man and those (giggle) who mean to keep what they have. The empress is clearly marking her territory.”

  Luther nodded. He couldn’t take his eyes off Beral III’s backside. It was beating a mean rhythm beneath that dress as she danced before Lord Talos. The other parts of her juicy figure were jiggling around in a maddening rhythm too. He sincerely doubted that Lord Talos was going anywhere. As for himself, Luther prayed that no one would ask him to stand up for any reason right now. Luther sighed. Even he had heard about Beral III’s reputation in the sack. A human would never survive a tumble with her between the sheets. But in that moment, Luther Jeffries absolutely believed that just one night with that woman would be worth his life. The empress then threw her arms around Lord Talos’s neck and the two danced together closely. And as the song closed, the queen and High Lord kissed. The other kings and queens cheered.

  I wish diplomatic dinners were this much fun back home, thought First Man Barry Chambers. Grinning, he leaned over to the Akkadian President and said, “So how is this a formal dinner again?”

  “Nobody’s naked, fighting or fornicating,” laughed President Kaminski.

  Other women began to drag their men onto the floor as the empress and her consort resumed their seats. One of the Earth delegates looked at the mutant women dancing with their mates or even alone and said to one of the Bellasarian men sitting beside him, “No wonder you let the women rule here.” The Bellasarian man laughed.

  ******

  The Next Day

  Lindsey LeBron, the president’s chief aide and spokeswoman on Bellasaria sat in an informal gathering of Bellasarian and Earth women in the home of Lady Lana Ramsy. In fascination she listened to the conversation as aspects of Bellasarian history and culture unfolded during the discussions. She aske
d many questions of her own as well.

  “I’m still surprised and impressed at the way women have taken charge in this society,” said Lindsey. “And you’ve had this system for two thousand years.”

  “Yes, how have you’ve managed to dominate the men of this world,” laughed another woman. “Maybe we could learn a thing or two from you.”

  The empress didn’t like this woman, nor did President Chambers. Lindsey recognized her as one of the United Kingdom’s representatives. She also knew that she was an outspoken feminist…and a lesbian.

  “Dominate is a harsh and inaccurate word, Lady Cain,” said Beral III, “and it is not possible. Not with our men. The more accurate word would be ‘Pacified’. Bellasarian men, mutants at least, can be pacified and thus ruled, if done the right way, but it is impossible to master and dominate them.”

  Many of the Earth women looked at one another and thought on this for a moment. Then Lindsey looked at the empress and said, “How?”

  The empress looked at the woman and grinned. “Why, the same way any system or government that wants to stay in place does…by keeping our men happy.”

  Cain and several other females from Earth didn’t like the way that sounded. “How do you mean?” asked Shannon Cain.

  The Tabonese Queen chuckled and shook her head. “You human women…excuse me, some women, especially those from Earth and who are of a certain way of thinking, always become defensive at this simple logic. Actually, we understand this part of your mentality well. Mutant women were once under the worst sort of male domination. It was human, true, but male nonetheless. We have taken great steps to see to it that this never happens again. At first we tried separating ourselves from our men altogether, but that was a complete failure.”