On a well-settled Mars, the five major city Council regimes
struggle to meld into a stable, working government. Embracing an official
Unified Faith In Humanity, the Councils are teetering on the verge of pogrom
directed against Christians, Molesters , Jews, Rapists, Buddhists, Murderers,
Muslims, Thieves, Hindu, Embezzlers and Artificial Humans – anyone who
threatens the official Faith and the consolidating power of the Councils. It
makes good sense, right – get rid of religion and Human divisiveness on a
societal level will disappear? An instrument of such a pogrom might just be a
Roman holiday...To see the rest of the chapters and I’m sorry, but a number of
them got deleted from the blog – go to SCIENCE FICTION:
Martian Holiday on the right and scroll to the bottom for the first
story. If you’d like to read it from beginning to end (70,000+ words as of
now), drop me a line and I’ll send you the unedited version.
Martian society needed
to be responsible for lifting Artificial Humans up. In fact tolerance in
Martian society had vanished at some point, replaced by a harsh ideal that
every person must agree in all things – or there would be a chaos of different
opinions.
Aster had the chance to
change all of that. FardusAH, with her network of assistants to all of the
other Mayors of Mars, was a powerful ally. The – literally – underground
society of Artificial Humans were a power far beyond any that Naturals
imagined.
The Orphans Ball might
very well be the crux by which Martian society might return to one that allowed
all beings a voice. A place where none were silenced and all were welcome to
speak.
The slithering person of
vo’Maddux was a different issue. In that
creature’s mind, the Mayoral Consort should stay in the Pylon. But the “blue-collar”
workers and FardusAH’s allies, the Natural and Artificial men and women who
listened to her dad, attended his secret Christian church needed to know that
what Aster had planned wasn’t “a stunt” by the Mayor’s Office. A union of Martians, is
what she wanted – a union against the current power structure – and was
something she was ready to work for. She suddenly realized that she wanted to
do it, no matter what it cost her. Up to and including her life. She explained
the Orphan’s Ball, then added, “After that, our intentions will be public
knowledge. It will be impossible for Naturals to ignore the fact that
Artificial Human families are as vulnerable as they are. It’s clear that the true
enemies of all commoners both Natural and Artificial lived in the highest classes
of Naturals; those who made their homes in the Owner’s District.
She said, “We must make sure that those in the HOD come to the Ball.”
One dark blue arm
lifted. Aster nodded. A voice thickened by many years of use; distinctly
neither male nor female. It said, “You bring the HODders there and mix in blue’uns
and you get yourse’f a shoot.” The hand dropped down.
Aster scowled. The
accent and the slang was virtually impenetrable to her. A younger inti stepped forward, letting her see him
full on. He couldn’t have been more than thirteen – though she knew full well
that Artificial Humans were manufactured at whatever age and size required by
the purchaser or the job. Still, he looked young. He said in clear SpanDarinGlish
(a creole of Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and English), “She means to say that if
you throw this Ball of yours and we come in, the HODders will call out the
guard and it’ll be a massacre.”
She nodded gravely. “True.
But I will also have invited those among the other influential – those in
medicine…”
Someone from deeper in
the dark laughed and called out, “They cut us open like rats!”
Aster, Escort of the
Mayor of Opportunity snapped back at him, “And some have answered to me that
they deplore the practice and have sued for change! I am the Escort of Mayor Etaraxis!”
Her title rang from the high ceiling of the underground intersection. She let
it for a moment. Then she said, “I have been delivered into this peculiar
bondage and have kept a timid post. Until now. I will cease to live in the shadow
of my captor. I will direct a modicum of the power that streams from the Mayor
to my own use. I will direct to Mars; to free all Martians, to create the
society my father and those with whom he came to this Newest World envisioned.”
She stopped, hands held down, before her, chin up.
There was silence for a
time.
Then the gender-neutral
voice called again from the darkness, “You watch that witch by ‘is side, girl!
She be evil with flushin’ slime! We watch fo’ ye, girl. I watch fo’ ye! Mark me
wor’!”
The intis began to leave.
The young man stepped up to her and said, “Great-Great said that you need to
watch vo’Maddux. That she was a slimy evil.” He leaned closer, “We will watch
for you, your Majesty. We will watch and protect you.”
Aster frowned. “I know,
vo’Maddux…”
The heavily accented
voice called again from the darkness after it let loose a long cackle. It said,
“vo’Maddux’s just a pit bull, Deary! The real power behind her is dark; he’s
been plannin’ ‘is from the Landin’! He be ready to move soon, whennuh high’n
mighty Mayor is in his tower and thinks e’s safe! Warn ‘im, Deary! An’ ye watch
yer own back, girl! Watch yer back. Your daddy, he knows the name! Ask him the
name and the time!”
The looked he fixed on
her made her want to shudder. Instead, she nodded slowly and said, “Go, then.
When the moment is right, I will give the signal.” He grinned, turned, and ran
into the darkness.
A moment later, Aster
was alone.
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