[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

about his wife, Carol's aged eyes looking into his. "And I still `love' her
just as much as I did when I married her that June 14th back in 1975," he
added, giving her a loving hug. Jon standing there nodding at me, perhaps
understanding more now.
"There are certain `things' I haven't forgotten," Carol smiled, the
couple perhaps lost just then in "memories" only they shared... Sanda standing
there looking at me, her eyes like mine wet with tears. They were by our
standards incredibly "old", due to die in another year, but yet I wondered if
even my marriage to Jon was as "strong" as the marriage had been between these
two??
"You still wear a sword at your hip," I said to Carol then. She was gray
haired now, no longer the "brownette" I remembered there in Arsana only a few
days before. The psychological "jolt" of that was something I had a hard time
"accepting" emotionally.
"I plan to die with it in my hand as a Warrioress should," Carol
answered, her eyes, still sharp and hazel, meeting my own!
"She is still my `Warlady'," Bob said, seeing me nod back.
"A `legend' who will not be `forgotten'," I answered him.
Chapter Thirty Six
"Sanda," I said, walking to the window, looking out, "Per- haps there is
a `way' around our `problems'." My Prime Minister standing there looking at
Bob and Carol, perhaps aware for the first time too now of the true "power" of
the Priestesses of Lys.
Page 123
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"And `what' would `that' be?" she then challenged me back. Jon giving me
a grin, aware that Sanda was not my "match" here...
"Consider the `possibilities' of `Constitutional Amendments' that would
prohibit the government of Trelandar from `involving' itself in any way in the
economy, or in `relationships' between people. We would limit the government
to `national defense' and `relations' with other nations," I concluded, giving
her a smile. "Janet Rogers did the same thing back in her own time," I added.
That was not exactly true, but Janet had done something like it.
"You could `sell' them to the people of Trelandar as means of `insuring'
their `freedom' from `government tyranny'," Bob now added, standing there with
his arm about his gray haired wife. "Point out what Darlanis `did' when she
was ruler of Trelandar."
"I'll make the same `suggestion' to Darlanis and the others," I
"smiled". That would put a "halt" to this "socialist plot" against us.
"Limiting" government to national defense and relations with other nations
would force the "pro-socialist" forces and others of the "ilk" I'd met this
morning to reveal their true intentions here in a way that would leave no
doubts...
"Take some `doing', but I think it could be `done'," Sanda mused
thoughtfully, "Although you realize that it could boomerang against us in the
future," she now pointed out to me as I nodded. Bob grinning at Carol, holding
her close, her body against his. Such a "love", I thought to myself, was
something rare, something like a lovely beautiful flower one might find in
bloom somewhere. They would die together in another year, and Janet Rogers
would carry out their last wishes to be irradiated and then placed in
stainless steel coffins hidden just outside of what was once Vic- toria on the
island of Vancouver where they would remain forever.
"If such had existed in the past, there never would have a `national
bankruptcy' or any `need' for Janet Rogers," Bob said. "Nor any civil rights
laws, social security, or anything else..." I reflected that if we had a
"second chance", this time we'd do it differently, making sure that government
was limited in power.
"People would have been forced to resolve their `differ- ences' without
the `intervention' of government," I pointed out. "See to their own `welfare'
without relying upon `government'," I added, looking out over the ruins of Los
Angeles, remembering how Hope and I had ridden across them, the "horrors" that
we'd faced. It had been FDR here in the United States who had introduced the
concept of a government that looked out for people's "welfare"... The
philosophy of "socialism" had been popular then too, I knew, few understanding
that the ultimate consequence of giving a "gov- ernment" unlimited power was a
"social order" like Soviet Russia.
"We could have a problem of people `taking the law in their own hands',"
Sanda pointed out thoughtfully. I suppose it was "possible" here that the
castes and the guilds would try to do so to "protect" their own "interests"
from possible "competition". On the other hand perhaps "that" was better than
the way we were doing it now. Sometimes it is "best" if "issues" are "settled"
with cold steel. Then there is no "doubt". The "abortion issue" of the 20th
Century wasn't resolved until the time of Janet Rog- ers, and even then it was
more the destruction of Christianity by the Priestesses of Lys that actually
"settled" the issue here...
"I am of the Warrioresses," I smiled, Sanda nodding back.
Page 124
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"And `steel' is a Warrioress' `companion'," Carol added.
"I don't `understand'," Sanda spoke, standing there.
"Some things cannot be `explained'," Bob smiled then.
"I suppose not," Sanda admitted, giving him a grin back.
"There are `issues' that cannot be decided by vote," I said.
"You are `different' now than you used to be," Sanda spoke.
"I am `older', and hopefully a bit `wiser' too," I smiled.
"If word ever gets out..." Sanda mused, looking down at the wine there
in her goblet as we ate lunch, her eyes meeting mine.
"I doubt if anyone would believe us," I smiled back at her.
"The `death' of a world," Bob smiled, picking at his food.
"I `remember' you from `before'," Sanda said to him then.
"You're the `same', the old former Dularnian Sealord said.
"I keep wondering if this is a dream or reality," she said.
"More wine, `mistress'?" Yvette asked, standing at my side. I shook my
head in the negative, Jon now motioning the girl over.
"I want you to get your staff working on those Constitution- al
Amendments just as soon as possible," I then said to Sanda... I wanted to set
an "example", to see if what I believed was true. In the past "government" has
been more often the "problem" than the "solution" to social problems. I
wondered the same was true now in this era. There was a constant "pressure"
upon my govern- ment to extend "favors" to this group against that group. My
own audiences this morning had been ample proof of this here too now! Everyone
with their "hand out" to their Queen for some "favor"...
"Queen Amethysta is back," June Colt said to me as I nodded the next
afternoon, Bob and Carol off somewhere with Jon. She'd been out "touring" the
country, seeing all the "changes" I'd made since her time. I suppose for many
people life was little "dif- ferent" now than it had been back there in the
24th Century. Sanda was away from the palace, trying to drum up "support" for
my proposed Constitutional Amendments there in the Assembly. She had not been
too sure if our "trick" wouldn't be seen through, but I thought it well worth
the attempt, as if she couldn't do anything with the Assembly, I might be able
to take matters to the people of Trelandar, and get what I wanted in that way
too... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]