Notes from An Alien (13 page)

    D. C.: It happened much more in the past and it will happen much more as our numbers grow and our influence in communities' social and economic activities increases.

    WNM: How do you know there will be more killings?

    D.C.: The relative peace the Worlds now enjoy is not the Worlds' Peace that Akla promised. That can only happen when the majority of people truly believe in the principle of the Oneness of all Angians. There are still many pockets of political and general dissent. There is still much prejudice and prejudice is the mother of hate. The hate will continue until its stream of blood becomes a witness to the necessity for justice in our everyday dealings with each other. The death of a martyr is a powerful spiritual statement. Killing someone for the promptings of their conscience is a potent means of furthering the very activity for which they were killed.

~~~

Mura made a declaration on her fifteenth birthday. Delva and Verluin knew it would come someday. Verluin met it with an internal prayer. Delva greeted it with joyous laughter. Mura had said:

    "I know you both want the best for me and I just don't feel like it's here, in this house, with two people who may love me but don't understand me at all. I want my own life and, if you don't voluntarily accept my decision to move out, I'll still do it. I don't want to hurt your feelings but I can't take it anymore. You're famous. You're respected by everyone. You talk to that life-form. You try to relate to me but all it feels like is you're being condescending. You always talk about how the truth and justice are so necessary. Well, I'm telling you my truth."

    Verluin had had his eyes closed through the whole speech. Delva had been looking straight into Mura's eyes. Delva laughed like she did when someone finally understood what she was saying, like she laughed when Angi broke above the horizon in the morning, like she did when Anglana sang in her mind and heart. She wasn't happy about what Mura had just said but she was overjoyed that this was happening when she was fifteen and not in her twenties or thirties. She said:

    "Mura, you do whatever you want. Your father and I will be here to pick up the pieces."

    Mura stared at her mother with thinly-veiled respect. She covered that with her final words before she picked up her traveling bag and left.

    "I knew you wouldn't understand."

~~~

Months passed and Mura didn't return home or communicate with her parents. Haalii had been keeping tabs on  Mura. Haalii was known in many circles and had many informants. They didn't know they were informants. They thought they were just the lucky people who got to meet Haalii and talk to her at one social event or another.

    Haalii was very patient. She had cultivated relationships with sixty-four people who considered her their best friend. She considered them to be her tools. Every undertaking needed the right tools and Haalii's next-to-final task, before she finally communicated with Chirzt and Laiy and the others of the movement, was to befriend Mura. After crafting Mura into her perfect tool, Haalii's final task was to re-establish ties with Verluin and Delva.

~~~

Mura and Haalii finally met at a regular gathering that had attained a reputation as the place to meet people who could be valuable when one needed particular forms of influence in trade matters. This notoriety wasn't what the event was known for by the general populace. When it was noticed at all, the monthly gathering of the Artists and Artisans Co-operative was known as a somewhat rowdy gathering of artists and artisans.

    A man named Terlon guided Mura to where Haalii was sitting. He hugged Mura tightly as he said:

    "Haalii, I want you to meet my new friend, Mura. She seems to have rare talent as a dancer."

    "Does she dance for you?"

    Mura blushed and Terlon said:

    "Only when we're alone. I'm trying to get her an audition."

    "Well, as long as it's an audition for public dancing, the kind that respectable people watch, I can help you."

    They shared a laugh as Terlon guided Mura to sit next to Haalii. He claimed some important chat with some important person as his excuse to leave them alone.

    After he'd left and Haalii's hand signal had secured drinks for them, Haalii said:

    "A dancer, eh?"

    "Yes, I started when I was quite young, two or three. My mother and father did a lot of dancing and I just sort of fell into it. When I was nine, my mother engaged an instructor for me. I'm sixteen."

    "If you found yourself becoming in demand for your dancing, what name would you use?"

    "That's interesting 'cause I actually wouldn't want to use my real name. My parents are famous and I really don't want my career to be connected with them."

    "Your parents are famous?"

    "Yes. My parents are Delva and Verluin Namis."

    "Oh! Yes, I'd definitely say they're famous. Important, too."

    "I don't know about important. I mean they talk to that life-form and they're always communicating with the Worlds' Council but those things aren't important to me."

    "What is important to you, Mura?"

    "Being free to dance. Making a living at it. Not having to sleep with men I don't really like."

    "I see..."

    "Well, Terlon is nice enough but he's a little crazy, too. He has friends I really don't like. They seem to be the kind of people that stir up trouble. He doesn't let them bother me, tells me to stay in our bedroom when they come over, but I can hear them talking and I don't like what I hear."

    "My, my. I've only known Terlon for a short time and what you say is important for me to know. I certainly don't need people like that in my life."

    Haalii had known Terlon for years. He'd been specifically tasked with finding and seducing Mura when word had begun to circulate that the Namis' daughter had left home.

    Mura ordered another drink, then said:

    "Haalii, do you know any women I could live with while I try to become a real dancer?"

    "I think I know one who would be honored to have you be her house guest. And, it wouldn't be an honor because of your parents, either."

    "Really? Who?"

    "Me."

    "Really? I don't believe it! You're known all over the place, not famous like my parents but known in all the right places. And, even though you're not a dancer, can't one artist learn from another, no matter if they do different arts?"

    "Absolutely, Mura. Absolutely."

10 ~ Might

Haalii had no time to devote to anyone but Mura. She called on some of her trusted tools—people who considered themselves friends—to entertain and probe for information from the thousands who clamored after contact with her. She even had to steal some time to train a corps of twenty-four artisans to create weavings for her business. No one noticed that these substitute creations were fakes. People met one of the artisans, spent some time with them, waited while they "consulted" with Haalii, and felt completely entranced with the results. The artisans would never sacrifice the large sums of money to reveal the truth.

    Mura was developing a radically new style of dance that one news Mesh reported was related to the dances inspired by Anglana. Mura furiously denied it, saying: "I saw the plasma glows and watched my parents dance. I never felt an urge to taste Anglana and, if you think my dances are anything like what people do when incorporated with that life-form, you're as stupid as my parents."

    Even with her new name, Mura was still widely known as Delva and Verluin's daughter.

    Haalii didn't need to train Mura in the ways necessary to discredit Delva and Verluin. She only needed to encourage Mura to continue to do what she was prone to do. Haalii did, however, need to spend enormous amounts of time facilitating Mura's connections with the public, setting up performances for her, lining up news coverage, and supplying a slowly rotating entourage of lovers—very carefully chosen lovers.

    The fact that the Worlds' economy was structured in a way that favored massive trading between Anga-Param and Anla-Purum yet had to deal with restrictions when it came to trade with Angla-Palli made anything that could be exported from Anglana's planet attain extremely high worth. Even a simple Mesh news item could fetch a higher price if it came from Angla-Palli. Traders living on Anglana's planet quickly adapted to the commerce restrictions and profited greatly from what they were permitted to buy and sell.

    A single Mesh broadcast of Mura's dance creations brought nine times the value of a month's worth of food shipments.

    Haalii cared little for the money and took only five percent of the proceeds. She did, though, counsel Mura closely about where to invest the other ninety-five percent. Within a few years, Mura owned or had controlling interest in an estimated fifteen percent of all the Worlds' businesses.

    Haalii made sure Mura stayed busy and well-bedded. She would instruct her in what to do with her wealth when the moment for Worlds'-wide turmoil came.

~~~

Verluin sat with Delva on the coast of the largest sea on Angla-Palli—the largest concentration of Anglana's consciousness. Delva had just returned from a tour of visits to all the Territorial Councils and had shared what she'd learned with Anglana. Delva's return had also thrown her into prolonged communication with Anglana about Verluin's state of health.

    He'd been exposed to certain toxins when he'd been growing up during the harrowing times on Anga-Param. He'd had damage done to his endocrine system and not just from the Corporate implant. The onset of his condition had only become obvious to Anglana and was being dealt with by continual rituals of re-incorporation. Verluin had been attending to the treatments every week during Delva's prolonged absence. Anglana had just told Delva and Verluin that, in spite of her attentions, Verluin had only two years left to live.

    Delva used Anglana's presence to communicate with her husband at levels no other could master.

~~~

Excerpts from The Attempted Translation of Delva's Communication With Verluin Concerning The End of His Life:

"Verluin, what of Mura?"

"Mura is under Akla's protection."

"What of her wealth?"

"It will be ill-used."

"What of her future?"

"Faith, Delva, faith..."

"Anglana wishes for Mura's incorporation."

"Faith..."

"What shall I do about the rising power of the Independents?"

"Akla long ago predicted a fracture in the political peace."

"Is there no way to moderate the damage?"

"Delva, never let my physical presence or absence make you doubt your profound mediation abilities."

"When you leave me I will plunge myself into prolonged, first-hand mediation."

"I will never leave you."

"I will have Anglana's comfort from her awareness of your essence and Morna's abilities to invoke your voice and image but you I will lose."

"Never, my dear. You will know the truth of this after my body dies."

"Transfer to me, Verluin, your deepest appreciations of Anglana."

"Akla speaks through Anglana, though, not with the Voice of God. Anglana is our star system's focal point for the blessings of Akla. Anglana is the planet and the planet is Anglana. There are aspects of Anglana's power we cannot now even guess. When events are most dangerous, Anglana will act for the protection of the Angian system."

~~~

It was deemed best to announce the approaching demise of Verluin.

    The effect on the Aklans was to infuse them with a deeper conviction to spread the Word of Akla—to educate their fellow citizens to the wisdom and mercy of the social and spiritual axioms of their Faith.

    The Councils of the Worlds worked to reproduce and disseminate a history of Verluin's contributions to Worlds' culture.

    The Independents took the news as a trumpet blast that spurred them to more bold actions and more audacious pronouncements.

    Mura was adamant in her, "No comment."

~~~

The Independents were strengthened in their efforts to subvert the Worlds' Council and shape the actions of the Territorial and Regional Councils toward their agenda. Their slogan was: "Individual Decisions Will Always Beat Out Council Oppressions." The increasing strength of their movement came from their ability to harness the near-suicidal actions of Dissatisfieds and the financial contributions from companies that were beholden to the influence of Mura's money.

    Mura herself, as she grew in knowledge from the effect of being a Worlds' traveler, was beginning to find outlets for her creativity that didn't include her wildly popular dance performances. She began, with the expert tutelage of Haalii, to give impromptu political comments during her performances; even giving them names that promoted various aspects of the Independent agenda. She also began to devote more time to news sessions on the Meshes that she used to explain how her dances were the enactment of the freedom that the acceptance of the Independents' agenda would bring to the Worlds.

    When the announcement of her father's death reached her, she told Haalii that she needed a break from her schedule. Haalii tried to dissuade her but Mura's naturally growing self-reliance prevailed and she dropped off the Mesh and was, to all but Haalii, unreachable.