Text and Image (C) 2024 Kyrinn S. Eis All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Antje, Paden, and Bosh sat before Daisa and Anethra, all five attended Zhazonom in the Dark Council chamber.
"The five of you and my ...psychical daughters -- more on them in a moment -- represent my choice persons, you sit above my generals, my commissars, and my other leaders. You and your decisions will steer the Enem Sea for decades, generations, centuries to come. I am with each of you; my daughters shall be even nearer to the people and the city, -- and together, we shall hold the torchlight through the coming darkness until dawn comes again."
Bosh lightly screwed-up his features -- he was not used to, -- comfortable with, this sort of language: esoteric, perhaps even overtly occult in nature. He shifted in his seat, the only man among four women... he smiled, snorted lightly, mostly at himself. 'She must think me worthy, if I am the only man here -- almost as worthy as a woman, is it? Hmm...'
~ Yes, Bosh, you are worthy, but because of how you have accomplished your mighty deeds in temperance, always, with mercy at your core, and with thought of how women and children suffer on all sides of war, rebel and regent alike. You may be the 'odd man out', as it were, but never think lowly of, nor allow the women to ignore, your perspective -- you are my Warlord -- WARLORD. When it comes to war, you will be the sole proprietor of responsibility for its prosecution and which victories are worthy us, all. Mercy grips Severity even as Severity strengthens Mercy:: [Impress]/~
Bosh felt as though he had slipped lightly unconscious and back in an instant. He hadn't missed anything, Zhazonom was strangely silent. Bosh looked to his left and saw what seemed similar communion ...grace upon Antje's face. Her gold-shot green eyes seemed distant, dreamy. Her lips parted in a smile like that of welcome sight of a lover, and she smiled ever more sweetly as her private message drew to a close. Antje then looked to him, smiled more superficially, but only slightly; a smile for others, but one genuine nonetheless.
-- "I accept, Witchqueen, and shall give notice of my departure --, ah, then you would have me stay on in both roles? How can I be loyal to both -- yes, of course, only to Her, Matride bless us all and me in the oath-keeping, then. Yes, before them -- Us all, I swear it. I, Anethra Dash Uldwnyerna Khath swear to uphold the Constitution of the Enem Sea as service to Matride, here, in The World. I swear it." She had stood early in the transitive conversation, and with eyes open, those charcoal eyes of grey and brown bound like mica flecks in anthracite. She smiled. At first it turned cronelike, but then softened midway, to a serene self-confidence of the feminine divine. She slowly lowered herself back into her seat.
Daisa stood and moved to the stone hearth and watched the flames,
--- "We have been chosen to execute a plan which transitions contemporary people used to electricity and weatherproof shelter, sanitary food storage, functional water and sewage, to a way of life which requires no electricity save that generated by wind or other simple, non-volatile means. Houses designed and built, now, with the technology we have available, -- but using materials and techniques which the descendants of our current population will be able to replicate when these machines are dusty curios." During those words, Daisa had moved to pour herself a glass of Jewelled Ellap juice, into which she muddled a few aromatic leaves. With her deep, carnelian red, drink in her left hand, Daisa turned to hold in tongs, a simple ice cube.
--- "We have the evaporative means to create, and the bricking techniques to maintain, ice production during the hot and humid months. We, the Enem Sea, will become renowned for our Ice production, salt and preservation capabilities, and our medical knowledge. Our medical staff have already been in training, programmes which they do not realise involve major downgrades of technology, reversion to earlier techniques, and an overall reduction in the quality and quantity of daily medical necessities. Training in the manufacture of these lower-grade essentials will also become a major focus over the next years, and those who, in addition to their current medical studies enter into a contract structure to undertake this training will receive greater financial and civil rewards.
"Civil reward will become increasingly important at all levels of our education, and for lack of a more polite term, cultural indoctrination undertakings, where standing in the society, not through actual social credits -- we have gamed that and it turns an already difficult time into a nightmare of recrimination and false witness -- no; we have iterated through gaming platforms a method by which empirical analysis and social review together establish one's standing in a functionally-fluid rating. Our -- my initial concerns with a family gaining a perpetual Standing such that its scions need never meet personal responsibilities has been edged out -- statistical data for a more in-depth study is available on flexies or hardcopy,' she stopped to sip. Daisa looked far off into the darkness, smiled slyly to herself, almost nodded, and then wiped that clean and turned to the others.
"You will each find dossiers with your essential tasks in a 50-year plan--"
Antje laughed,
Silence prompted her reply,
---- "I -- it simply strikes me as a bit funny to think that we have half a century's stability in a bottle to--"
--- "Not at all, Antje. We have the need of centuries of work, and a realistic maximum of fifty years of our contribution towards it; if you can last longer, and from what I have --" Daisa looked askance and nodded slightly, and then frowned with even slighter tell. Her posture changed, and she turned back to Antje who was coolly upset, at being interrupted if not worse.
--- "My apologies, Antje, you were saying..."
Antje looked about and realised that each of them, like herself, was being guided in this process of co-operation by Zhazonom -- the one of the lot who would most be endangered by the coming Dark Age reversion.
~ Yes, but, rest assured, that I have taken steps to minimise the impact upon my mainframe network; I shall be dormantly-aware, dreaming of reality, and my Psychical Daughters--~
~"My Psychical Daughters. It is that time in our gathering. Antje, may I suggest that you pour yourself a beverage before I present my data?"~
Antje smiled, walked to the stoney bar and mixed a cocktail for herself, and made it a double. She returned and sipped at it, clearly concerned. Silence caused her to stop and place the drink upon their shared table.
--~"Mama."~
Text and Image (c) 2024 Kyrinn S. Eis All Rights Reserved Worldwide
