Templum Veneris

by Jeremy L. Jones

  “It’s funny to hear you preaching diplomacy,” said Althea.

  “You’re running around half-mad with a baby you found. Don’t think this is the time to start accusin’ people of actin’ funny,” said Viekko, looking back with a slight smile on his face. “Gotta admit though. Always liked the wild, reckless side of you most.”

  ​

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Despite the constant harassment of the Bruxa Fogo, the multinational corporations clung to the edges of Brazilian society. This was partly out of necessity as the trade disruptions caused widespread shortages across almost all parts of the Brazilian economy. It was also seen as an opportunity for enterprising smaller companies to capitalize. Brazilian shop owners, craftsmen, and factory owners were forced into terrible deals to import raw materials and export what they could sneak by government agents.

  To combat this, Diana Adriana created the edict of 2095. It essentially stated that the Bruxa Fogo, should root out corporate influence ‘by any means necessary’.

  What followed can only be described as a reign of terror. Foreign nationals and Brazilian citizens found themselves rounded up by the hundreds and murdered for crimes ranging from being the manager of an international bank, to owning an electronic device known to have been manufactured outside Brazil’s borders.

  -From The Fall: The Decline and Failure of 21st Century Civilization by Martin Raffe

  Isra leaned against the Rainha’s balcony overlooking Cytherea. The streets were deserted, outside of a few stragglers making their way home. There was another party in the Sala beneath her; she could hear the shouts and cheers of men drinking and feasting after a hard day’s soldiering. And yet, the sun barely shifted since this morning. It was as if Cytherea moved to a natural rhythm independent of the rest of the Universe. It must have been getting late though, her mind was cloudy, and her eyelids tried to force themselves shut. She became aware that someone approached from behind and she turned to see the Rainha walk out onto the balcony.

  “Good evening,” Isabel said slowly in English. “Did you enjoy Cytherea on this day?”

  Isra looked back over the city. “Yes. Thank you.”

  The Rainha snapped her fingers, and an oculto appeared with a silver tray with two crystal glasses. “I feel there is something wrong. Something you want to tell me.”

  Isra took one of the crystal glasses. It was filled with a thick, green liquid that smelled like a cat box soaked in paint thinner. Isra recoiled but took a small sip. Despite the smell, the liquor was delightfully sweet but strong enough to be considered a substitute for rocket fuel.

  “There is nothing,” said Isra, when she could talk again. “Your ways are strange but beautiful. Your city is a marvel, unlike anything in the Universe.”

  Isabel chuckled, as she took her own glass. “You need not play a game with me. I know things. You know things. We can talk as equals.”

  Isra took a deep breath. She could no more lie to the Rainha than she could to herself. Isabel could read people as well as Isra, and the Cytherean queen knew that something troubled her. Isra replied in Cytherean, choosing her words carefully. “What is the purpose of a Cytherean? Is it to serve the state and only the state?

  Isabel’s face hardened. “Sim. Of course.”

  Isra’s eyes met Isabel’s. There was something cold and predatory there, like a cat ready to pounce. “Why?”

  The Rainha appeared taken back by the question. “I’m sorry?”

  “Why do the people follow you? Why give their entire lives to you?”

  For a moment, Isra witnessed a fury rise in Isabel’s face. She realized that some taboo had just been crossed and, now, Isra was sure she would feel her wrath. But as fast as it rose it dissipated, and Isabel calmed herself and even let a little smile break through. “You have spoken to Althea, sim? She has told you things?”

  Isra looked into her glass. “Not yet. She is still missing and…” A realization crossed Isra’s mind so fast that she nearly dropped her glass. “How did you know Althea was not with me?”

  Isabel paused for a moment and then gave a tiny laugh. “Celia informed me, of course. She mentioned that she wished to… explore the city by herself.”

  Nothing in Isabel’s tone or demeanor indicated she was lying although she clearly was, “Celia was with me until we met. When did she inform you?”

  Isabel took a drink, either to keep herself from appearing uncomfortable or just as something to do while she thought of a response. As it turned out, a Cytherean soldier burst onto the balcony before she finished her sip. He quickly saluted using the Cytherean gesture and said, “There is a request for an audience, Rainha,” he said stiffly.

  Isabel waved him away. “Tell them I am busy. I will tend to our friends from Earth, and then I will hear what they have to say.”

  “It is the people from Earth, Rainha.”

  Isra’s teeth clenched. In the distance, she heard a crying baby.

  Isabel glared at Isra as if accusing her of setting this up and then relented. “Very well. Send them in.”

  The soldier saluted again and ran back the way he came. A few moments later, Viekko and Althea appeared. Isra expected to see Viekko. He was to chaos and destruction as sugar was to ants. Althea was a bit of a shock though, and she wondered why the medic hadn’t made any attempt to contact her before this moment.

  “Althea. Viekko.” Isra switched to English and forced a calm tone into her voice. “Just what are you two doing here? And…” she noted, with some dismay, the child in Althea’s arms. “Why do you have a baby?”

  Viekko scratched his head under his hat. “Well see, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much…”

  “Hush, Viekko,” hissed Althea, before replying to Isra, “I rescued him.”

  “Seems we have us a problem,” Viekko added. “And seein’ as this is all diplomatic; I thought we should have a little sit-down. You, me, Althea, and the Rainha here.”

  “What is the problem?” Isabel asked, speaking Cytherean.

  Isra took a deep breath. “Many apologies, Rainha, I think there has been a misunderstanding, and my people have overreacted,” said Isra, and then she turned to Althea and said in English, “Rescued it from where, Althea? What have you done?”

  Althea bounced the infant in her arms which did little more than modulate the screaming. “Outside the city. I saw her,” and she focused a white-hot look at Isabel. “She took the child out to that horrible place. She placed him on a rock and left him out there to die.”

  While the Rainha appeared to be watching the scene with serenely mild interest, Althea looked as if she might charge the woman and throttle her, if it weren’t for the crying infant in her arms.

  Isra breathed to calm herself again before turning back to the Rainha. She explained Althea’s accusation and ended it with, “Is what she speaks true?”

  Isabel took a drink. “What she says is true.”

  “You intended for this child to die?”

  The Rainha looked at Isra then at Althea. She finished the liquid in her glass and appeared to examine it for impurities. “I do not explain myself. Not to you. Not to people of a lost and decadent culture. A culture that has forgotten what it means to live and die with honor.”

  Isra looked back at Althea still cradling the baby in her arms and then back to the Rainha. “You would kill this child?”

  As quick as the snap of a whip, Isabel threw her glass to the floor where it shattered. When she spoke, it felt like an eruption of rage that had been building and finally found a release. “Who are you to question me? Question what I do for my city and my people!? This child this….thing… It would never pass Provacao. It could not live among us! For it to die, it would be a blessing. An act of mercy!”

  Viekko stepped forward. “Hey, hey, hey! Calma, calma. There ain’t no reason…”

  Isabel snarled at him. “You do not speak to me! Do you know what this is? This is an act of aggression. You have not come to
speak of peace. You come to speak of war! To destroy my people and my city!”

  Isra held up her hands. “We are doing nothing. We merely wish to understand…”

  Isra’s plea was cut off as two soldiers stepped onto the balcony responding, no doubt, to their queen’s yells and the general commotion.

  Isabel pointed to Althea and the infant. “Take the baby. Place it outside the city where it belongs!”

  Althea clutched the child tighter, unsure as to what was happening. She tried to cover the baby entirely with her body as she stepped back. “No! No! Stay away from me! Stay away! I won’t let you take him!”

  Viekko jumped in between her and the soldiers, and his hand went for his gun, which he immediately remembered wasn’t there. “Ah...Baas!” he cursed, then he put up his hands ready to fight. “Back up, ya hear! Back! Up!”

  As Isra touched the Rainha’s hand, she turned and fixed the small woman with a glare that could boil lead, but Isra remained steadfast. “Isabel. Rainha. Please. Listen to me. There has to be a way. Talk to me. Please do not hurt my people.”

  As fast as the rage exploded, the Rainha’s face and stance relaxed, and she looked at her soldiers. “Stop.”

  The soldiers obeyed her snap order immediately, and Isabel walked between them to Althea who held the baby away from her. But Isabel approached slowly and spoke to her in English and in a soft tone of voice. “The child cries too much. It will not survive. It cannot serve Cytherea.”

  Althea petted the baby’s head. “You needn’t kill him.”

  Viekko, standing in between the Rainha and Althea, relaxed enough to rub one of his ears. “She ain’t wrong about the cryin’ though. Kid howls like a panther with a stick up its iljig”

  Isabel appeared to consider something. “As you wish,” she said, turning to her soldiers. “Return the child to her mother. House Rondo. Do it immediately.”

  The soldiers saluted and started to walk forward again, which made Althea back away again. “No! Stop!”

  “It is all right, Althea,” said Isra. “The Rainha has agreed to return the child to his mother.”

  Viekko dropped his hands and stepped out of the way. “She’s right. You won.”

  Althea flashed them both a suspicious look but eventually let out a deep sigh. When one of the soldiers approached close enough, she held out the crying baby for him to take. The soldier then turned and marched off the balcony with the others as swiftly as they entered.

  Isabel regarded the team still standing on her balcony for a moment. “Consider that a gift in honor of your visit. But tell me how I should manage my city again, and I will enjoy sending your parts back to Earth.”

  With that, she whipped around and stormed off.

  Isra leaned against the railing not entirely sure what just happened. She felt that, although the Rainha screamed, raged, and threatened, she wasn’t actually angry. The same nagging feeling that had been bothering her all day grew more intense to the point of causing a small amount of physical pain. It was an act, but why? What did Isabel stand to gain?

  Viekko folded his arms. “Well, that could have gone better.”

  Isra glared at him. “You think so, do you?”

  “Isra,” Althea started “I’m sorry. But at least we know now. It is probably for the best that we leave this place. A culture that is willing to toss out children like garbage so that everyone conforms to some sick ideal… there will be no reconciliation between it and the Ministry.”

  Isra watched the hallway that the Rainha disappeared down. She was aware that there was someone still there, still watching them; they were well hidden, but Isra could sense them. Whatever the motivation, it was clear that her team was being observed to see how they would react.

  Isra took a deep breath. Isabel wasn’t the only one who could put on a show.

  Althea started for the exit off the balcony. “We should go back to the shuttle—”

  “We are not leaving,” said Isra.

  “What do you mean?” asked Althea, a little confused.

  “I meant what I said. We are on a mission, and we will complete it,” said Isra, her voice growing stern. “And, just so we are clear, that is the last time I will put up with that kind of behavior. You are here to treat injuries and diseases and otherwise see to the health and well-being of the crew. Keep your mind and energy on your duties and do not meddle in what does not concern you.”

  Althea turned all the way around to face Isra head-on. “Doesn’t concern me? How could it not? What did you expect me to do, leave that child to die? Did you want me to just walk away and pretend that I didn’t just see them leave a baby to die of exposure, because I cannot do that and, if you’re at all the person I thought you were, neither could you.”

  Isra noticed something else moving inside the Sala behind Althea. She took a deep breath. “Althea Fallon, you are out of line. You have no standing regarding diplomatic relations here or anywhere else for that matter. You may not offer deals or demand any capitulation from any sovereign body on Earth or beyond. Are we clear?”

  Althea frowned at Isra and then at Viekko, who was suddenly very interested in his shoes. “You two can cozy up to an insane dictator if you like. You can turn your head the next time she or her minions decide to take an innocent life. But I can’t do that. Regardless of the consequences.”

  “Then you are not leaving me any other choice. You are to be confined to the shuttle. Return there immediately, and if your services are needed, you will be called for. Otherwise, I order you to remain there for the rest of the mission.”

  Althea’s mouth dropped open, and she shook her head. “You can’t…”

  “Viekko, go with her. Make sure she goes directly to the shuttle and nowhere else. Do you understand?”

  Before Viekko could say anything, Althea spun around. “I can find my way there myself. I don’t need a bloody nanny.” Then she stormed off.

  Viekko stood there with a stupid expression on his face.

  Isra glared at him. “Was any part of that order unclear, Viekko?”

  Viekko sighed and rubbed his chin. “No, Isra. Pretty shuvuud clear,” he said and went to follow Althea through the Sala.

  ****

  Viekko rushed to catch up to Althea, who was already halfway down the hall toward the main room of the Sala Gran. The sound of the nightly party echoed through the empty corridors. The place smelled of honey wine and debauchery.

  “Althea! Althea, will you just hold up for a tam minute!” called Viekko.

  “I can find my own way, thank you!” Althea yelled back.

  Viekko caught up and grabbed her arm, so she had to turn around.

  “Just talk to me,” he said.

  Althea’s eyes were puffy, bloodshot, and looked like she could break down and cry or stab him in a murderous rage. Both seemed equally likely. She spoke with great heaving gasps. “What’s there to talk about, huh? I’m out. I’m done. You heard her, and you didn’t say a single word.”

  “Well, she wasn’t wrong,” barked Viekko. “Running off with that kid. Makin’ demands of the Rainha like that. This here is a delicate matter, and you’re acting like a crazy gichii…”

  Before he could even finish the thought, Althea snatched her arm back and ran down the hall before he had time to say, “Althea, wait!”

  She stopped and looked back at Viekko, her face twisted in anger. “You know what? It’s fine. I don’t care. You should feel quite happy here. Nothing but cold, unfeeling, soulless killers. Bloodthirsty bastards the lot of them. Perfect for a savage.”

  With that, Althea turned and bolted down the hall. This time Viekko let her go.

  ****

  Althea was somewhere beyond mere anger as she stormed out the massive doors of the Sala Gran and into the courtyard. She wanted to take a torch to this city and let the fire consume it to ashes. She wanted to watch Isra and Viekko running in panic as the whole city tore itself apart. She wanted the planet to open up and swallow Cytherea, s
o there wasn’t a single stone to serve as proof that such an evil place ever existed in this Universe. And she wanted to push the button that made it all happen.

  The courtyard outside was empty and silent, nothing but stone statues depicting muscle-bound men and women who were, at the time of the carving, in between human atrocities. She ran to the fountain just beyond the courtyard and scooped water on her face. It washed away the tears and sweat, but it didn’t do much to cool her off. She splashed her face several more times, before sitting down on the edge to try and gather herself.

  Isra was right. It was best for everyone if she went back to the ship, and bloody well stayed there. Isra would finish what she came here to do soon. All Althea had to do was tough it out for a day or so and they would go back home. She had a tidy sum of money waiting for her on Earth from the software she stole from the Financial Consortium. She could set herself up properly in Arkester. Nothing extravagant, but nice. It wouldn’t be hard to roll another Corporation stooge for a few hundred thousand credits when she got low.