LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (8 page)

"Assimilation has begun," the elderly Domestic Affairs Advisor Iris of Mergany announced.

Imperial Prefect Parisia of Acameir nodded her approval. "Thank you, Iris. Keep a watch for the next few days until the antidote takes effect. I trust you'll advise me of anything problematical."

"I'm sure I won't need to bother you."

Parisia was not so optimistic. "I hope you're right, yet I can't help but be concerned. We've never had so many arrive at once, nor have any previous crossovers been in chains or carrying weapons. Speaking of which, have they been destroyed?"

"Of course," Iris replied. "Exactly as the law requires."

"Yes, yes, that's right." Parisia sighed. "Perhaps I'm worrying needlessly but I will feel better once the antidote has adequately adjusted them." The Prefect dismissed Iris and motioned to her daughter, Brianne, who had been standing quietly in the rear of the office awaiting instructions.

Brianne had not been her original choice for the post of First Aide, but Parisia was now glad her child had nagged her into giving her the chance to prove herself.

As Brianne gracefully moved to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk, her mother's heart filled with pride. She was reminded of herself two and a half decades ago, just before she conceived her twins, Brianne and Jason. The only genetic characteristic Brianne had inherited from her sire, Delbert, was the jade coloring of her eyes. Otherwise, she looked very much like herself—willowy, someone once said—tall and lean, with ivory skin and hair nearly as light. On the other hand, Jason was nearly a duplicate of Delbert, with his dark hair and angular features.

It had recently become apparent that Brianne had also inherited her mother's organizational skills and leadership tendencies. She was going to make a fine Prefect one day.

Parisia gave her daughter the necessary time to comfortably seat herself and arrange her long flowing caftan, then asked for her opinion of the new group of crossovers.

"I share your concern," Brianne answered without hesitation. "It's been eight years since any Earth people were drawn through the gateway to Heart, and over a century since any females arrived. But it's the physical appearance of the males that is most troubling to me. The ones who have come before never seemed so young... or so...
dangerous
."

Parisia angled her head curiously. "Perhaps they just seem so now that you are older and more aware of the differences between Earth men and men of Heart."

"Perhaps," Brianne conceded. "At any rate, their masculinity will be neutralized very shortly and the size of their bodies will no longer have import."

"Agreed. However, I am seriously considering bringing the ten women to us, or at least separating them from the men."

Brianne gave that some thought then shook her head. "I believe the cost and complications involved in creating a separate, secure environment for them would be harshly criticized by the opponents to your budget proposal. You know Nadia would never go along with such a radical idea."

Parisia gave a slight grimace. "Nadia will take the opposite stand from me no matter what I recommend. Everyone is aware of that."

"Hmmph. Everyone is also aware that she is power-hungry and hopes to unseat you one day, but that doesn't quiet her. Unfortunately, Nadia is not the only concern in this matter. Until we have a chance to observe the female crossovers' behavior to be certain they do not have the volatile personalities of Earth men, I wouldn't risk integrating them into our society. Our cultures are simply too different for them to make a smooth transition."

"I don't fully agree, but I will wait a few weeks before making a decision. In the meantime, I'd like to go over another matter that has been brought to my attention. Did you have a chance to see the report that came in this morning from Delegate Koballa?"

"Not yet," Brianne replied. "I spent most of the morning in the Observation Room, watching the crossovers awaken. Did you hear, not even one hour passed before a power struggle occurred?" Her eyes grew wide and she leaned forward in her chair. "One man actually
pushed
another and I believe they might have come to blows if another man hadn't interfered!" Realizing that she had become a bit too animated, she resumed her sedate pose. "I found it very interesting."

Parisia refrained from criticizing her daughter's momentary lapse of composure. She had been a very passionate, active child and, though she was now a mature woman, occasionally that child still broke through the adult veneer. There were times she feared Brianne would never fully overcome her excitable nature, but it didn't seem to interfere with her work, so there was really no reason to medicate her yet.

"It's fortunate that you had the chance to observe their primitive behavior firsthand," Parisia said. "Most of our people have only seen old visual recordings. However, I can assure you that in a few days, they will be quite normal and not at all
interesting
."

"That's good. They are just a little frightening in their natural state." Brianne frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then abruptly recalled her mother's earlier question. "I'm sorry. You mentioned a report from Delegate Koballa. She's been at the Interplanetary Health Symposium, correct?"

"Yes. She just returned. Here's her summary." Parisia picked up a folder and handed it to Brianne. "You can read the entire contents later but there was one notation I wanted to discuss with you before I spoke to any members of Parliament." She paused a moment to collect her thoughts. "It has nothing to do with the meetings Koballa went to attend. In fact, she clearly states that it is an unsubstantiated rumor."

Parisia watched the expression on her daughter's face change from curiosity to concern and got to the point.

"Do you recall the legend about the time when Heart had only men as rulers?"

Brianne smiled. "Of course. Mythology is a required subject in primary school."

"Tell me what you remember."

Brianne's expression altered to curiosity again but she began the tale she had memorized as a child. "Once upon a time, all of Heart was ruled by men. Women were assigned the menial chores such as home-caring, food preparation, wardrobe maintenance... the sort of functions our men perform for us. But the men of that time were barbarians. They fought with one another over the most trivial matters and abused the women's bodies for sport. One day they were visited by beings from another galaxy." She interrupted her narration and cocked her head. "I'm sorry, I can't seem to remember what they were called."

"Velids," Parisia said in a flat tone. "Go on."

"Yes, Velids. According to the legend, they looked like giant centipedes as they exited the ship, but once they saw the humans of Heart, they altered their physical appearance to copy them. Rather than attempt to communicate, the men killed all the alien visitors on sight. Apparently the men had never heard of metamorphs and automatically assumed they were evil. Before long, another ship of Velids arrived to avenge their people's deaths. Because Heart men believed women were helpless, they placed them and the children in protective shelters during the brief battle."

Brianne rose from her chair and slowly paced the office as she continued.

"When the fighting ended and the women left the shelters, they discovered that nearly half of the male populace was dead and the planet had been decimated. Without the men to restrain them, the women's natural superiority surfaced. They used their innate skills to rebuild the cities and reorganize Heart's culture, with the focus on peace and serenity." Reaching that point, Brianne stopped but her mother motioned for her to continue.

"It was clear that the men's violent instincts were solely responsible for the death and destruction. In the restructured society their behavior was controlled, first by physical restraints, later by medication."

"Something else was attempted," Parisia reminded her.

Brianne frowned thoughtfully then her eyes lit up with recollection. "Yes, genetic alteration was attempted, but the results were so disastrous, further attempts to permanently alter the men were outlawed. They used only the special antidote thereafter.

"As long as men were required for reproduction, they couldn't be eliminated, but the women soon learned how to accomplish conception without having to subject their bodies to invasion as if they were dumb animals."

She returned to the chair and folded her hands on her lap. "I remember asking you what an invasion was. Your explanation was so upsetting I didn't ask another question for days. Did Koballa learn something new about the reproductive process?"

Parisia hesitated a moment before answering. Someday she would have to have another discussion with Brianne about conception but not today. "No, dear. It's not that. Koballa's report includes information regarding the possible destruction of a humanoid planet in the Templar System."

"That's light-years away from here. The information, if it was factual, would be ancient by the time news reached us."

"Not necessarily. Koballa states that several cultures represented at the conference are developing faster-than-light travel. Soon no corner of the universe will be out of reach. If we accept that fact, then we must consider the possibility that the information from the Templar System could be current and accurate."

Brianne looked doubtful. She had to see something to believe it. "How was the planet supposedly destroyed?"

Parisia took a slow breath. "An army of giant worm-like beings, with the ability to morph their shape, attacked unexpectedly, killed every human and levelled the cities."

"Velids?" Brianne asked in a shocked whisper. "But they're mythical creatures."

"What if they're not? What if the legend is completely true, and those beings are still seeking revenge against the human race? With faster than light travel, might they return to Heart one day in the near future?"

"Oh, Mother, I hope you're wrong."

"So do I. But it brings up a serious question. What will we do if there really is a threat out there? If not today, tomorrow? We've lived in total peace for thousands of years, as have all the other life forms in this quadrant. We have no weapons, no defenses. There has never been a need for such."

"Surely we could request assistance from outside."

Parisia raised her eyebrows a notch. "Request assistance? From one of the more aggressive, male-dominated planets that we have always shunned? I wouldn't count on them hurrying to our rescue after we've consistently refused to deal with them. No, I believe we would be on our own. My question to you is this. Do you think an unsubstantiated rumor is sufficient for me to go before the Parliament and suggest we alter our constitution to permit the creation of a defense system and the manufacture of weaponry?"

Brianne needed to rise and pace again before answering. "If you go before Parliament with a rumor, you could be ridiculed. Worse, suggesting we change one of the basic laws of our people could get you impeached and Nadia would lead the move against you. However, if you do nothing and the threat is real, our world will come to an end and protecting your position will have been futile." She stopped and met Parisia's troubled gaze. "If I were the Imperial Prefect, I would have to argue for self-protection."

Parisia gave her a sad smile. "Good. Because that's precisely what I'm going to do. But I feel like I'm walking into a cage of hungry she-wolves."

"When do you plan to talk to Parliament?"

Parisia glanced at the calendar on the wall. "Three days. That should be sufficient time for the new crossovers to be fully assimilated before I introduce any new problems."

She didn't tell Brianne what was bothering her more than suggesting Heart develop a defense system.
If
Parliament could be convinced to change the law, who would design it? Who would implement it? She didn't believe a single female on Heart was capable of killing another being. Only men, in their natural state, had the aggressive traits necessary to wage war, and Heart men had been medicated for so many generations, no one knew if the neutralization could be completely reversed at all let alone in time to make a difference. In any event, Parisia was certain the women would never agree to expose themselves to male dominance, even if it meant survival of the race.

* * *

Nadia of Hinac pretended to listen to the inane gossip of the two women that had waylaid her. Her need to keep them as supporters forced her to be polite and feign interest, though her mind was on a drastically different track.

She had spent an hour that morning in the Observation Room watching the new crossovers awaken. Some of the observers with her were repulsed by the barbaric behavior of the Earth men. Others, like the Imperial Prefect's brat, were intrigued, in the way a child might study an ant colony.

Nadia's reaction was neither of those, though no one else could tell. Outwardly, she showed disgust and spoke of how relieved she would be once the antidote took effect. Inwardly, her pulse raced, her stomach fluttered and she had to clench her thighs to ease the itch between them.

It had begun when she received news of their arrival. So many of them at once. Some in chains. Some with weapons. The danger was so close she could practically taste it.

She had given in to the temptation to watch them being taken care of in the hospital, knowing that later she would be obsessed by visions of their large, masculine, nude bodies. Tortured by fantasies of how she could use them to satisfy her secret needs—needs that women weren't supposed to have. But the itch had already begun and she was never able to resist the dark pleasure that followed it.