Starship Gods Ch. 08-10

Chapter 8: The Gods Khalid, Ahmed, and Chaka

It was all meant to be. Khalid was convinced of it, and it didn't take much effort to convince Ahmed and Chaka of the same.

Brother Khalid Anjahar was an instructor of religious philosophy at the University of Al-Sa-Naa on Ramada. It was a prestigious post, and his lectures on strict adherence to Laquintaism drew rave reviews. But it wasn't what he craved. He wanted a position of power, either in the religious establishment, or in the Emirate. But such positions were very competitive, and while Khalid had the skill, and the piety, he didn't have the connections. He always felt like he was destined for more, as if Laquinta had greater plans for him, but he had led a life of quiet frustration.

Until now. Until they had arrived at this planet, with this glorious opportunity simply handed to them on a golden platter.

Khalid addressed his younger brothers. "We have come to a planet where the religious practices are very similar to those of Laquinta, the Great God of Blood. Can it be an accident that we were brought to a place where people practice a corrupt form of worship so close to our own? Can it be an accident that we are being thrust into a position of authority to turn these corrupt believers into true ones?"

"Brother Khalid, what are you saying?" said Chaka.

Chaka was always the dumb brother. "I am saying that the Great God of Blood himself, Laquinta, meant for us to come here and convert these savages to the one true faith."

"But we promised the Captain-"

"A promise to an Infidel! It has no binding or relevance!" Khalid snapped. "We will turn these people to the one true faith. And then, when are ready, we will turn this entire planet into devout followers of Laquinta."

"And what of those who will not follow?" Chaka asked.

"Their blood will pave the way for the future," said Khalid, his eyes shining.

The three of them were standing in a plaza in Heraklion now, where people were gathering. Naomi Weinberg was kneeling respectfully behind them, as was proper for a concubine of her status. Being a simplistic Earth whore, she had been trained quite easily. But Naomi Weinberg would only be the first of many.

The Asgard, lead by the very helpful Infidel Michael Taylor, had just taken off. Its arrival and departure was attracting the crowd it had meant to. They had had very limited information about the six cities of this planet. Khalid had chosen Heraklion on a whim, figuring its cold, northern climate would breed more formidable warriors. Khalid smiled in the wintery morning sun as a crowd gathered. They would be the first of his followers. And for some of them, the first of his slaves.

A group of older old men made their way through the crowd. One was dressed in the robes of a Tollah; another looked like some kind of government official.

"We are the Gods of Sparticus!" said Khalid boomed. "We have come in the fiery chariot, as has been foretold. We have come to tell you that you have lost your way! We have come to set you back on the path to righteousness!"

Two older men came forward.

"Welcome," said one of the men, bowing his head. He waved his hand in a circular pattern that seemed to show deference. "I give you many greetings. I am Ailborne, first Councilor of Heraklion. And besides me I have the great honor of introducing Sanath, our Loving High Tollah."

"Your Loving High Tollah?" said Khalid, taking an immediate dislike to the name.

"I have that honor, sir," said Sanath, giving a gentle smile. And then he actually bowed to them.

"Well Sanath, o Loving High Tollah, the Gods have new commands for you," said Khalid.

"Speak, Mighty One, so we might obey."

That sounded promising.

"We wish to talk to you about your practices of executing heretics, and welcoming 12 year olds into the world, and slaughtering your third children."

"But my Lord-" said Sanath. Khalid glared at him for interrupting, but let him continue. "We do not do these things you speak of."

"You don't?" Now Khalid was the confused one.

"We know the Book speaks of these things, but over the years our Loving High Tollahs have opted for a more... gentler interpretation of the book."

"More gentle?" said Khalid, not sure if he was liking what he was hearing.

"Yes. We enforce the Book symbolically. When a third child is born, he or she is beaten with a feather, to indicate his third status."

"You beat them with a feather?" Khalid asked. He and Ahmed exchanged astonished looks. It sounded so incredible that he had to wonder if the Loving Tollah was making fun of him. But his face looked deadly serious.

"Yes, Lord. As for welcoming 12 year old girls into adulthood, they are welcomed. With a party. And a cake. And ice cream."

"Ice cream," said Khalid woodenly.

"And as for heretics, they are severely punished. They are made to wear the Flower of Shame on their clothes, clearly visible for all to see, for a week."

The Flower of Shame. Just what kind of people were these? Suddenly, Khalid got the very worried feeling that he had selected the wrong city to rule. Khalid had thought that the cold weather would mean the population was tougher, and more aggressive. It seems that the population they had been given was actually the opposite in temperament. They had landed among the very least devout people on the entire planet!

Khalid exchanged glances with Ahmed. He was realizing this too. Was it too late to switch cities with one of the other gods? They would have to call Taylor back here with the spaceship and find someone else who would agree to switch, and then go to the new city and explain that the Gods they just met weren't really their Gods but now they were, and then... no, it was too much to ask, too complicated, and too involved. They would have to do the best they could with these... sheep.

"Well, this is very interesting to learn," said Khalid, trying to salvage something from the situation. "But there is much that must be learned, and unlearned. First of all, your true God's name is Laquinta."

"Lacheeta?" said Ailborne.

Khalid resisted the urge to kill the man where he stood. "Laquinta. The Great God of Blood."

"The Great God of Blood. That sounds a bit... intense," said the Loving Tollah.

"It is a sound you will come to admire and love without a second thought. Blood is good, blood paves the way. Blood is everything," said Brother Khalid.

"And what of the other Gods?" the Loving Tollah asked.

"There are no other gods," said Khalid. He saw the immediate look of confusion on their faces and quickly amended it. "There are no other gods... as important as Laquinta."

"Why is this... Laquinta never mentioned in the Book of Sparticus?"

"He is mentioned all over the Book, whenever the Gods are spoken of. He is just never mentioned by name, because in the time of Sparticus, it was not yet time to name him openly."

"And now it is?" Ailborne asked.

"Most definitely," Khalid assured him.

"And you... you say you are the Gods as well?" The Loving Tollah asked.

This was another difficult question. There was only one god, of course, which was Laquinta, but if Khalid and his brothers were not gods, what exactly were they, and why should anyone pay attention to them? "We are... messengers of the Great God of Blood. Think of us as deputies to him."

"Deputy Gods," said the Loving Tollah.

Khalid shrugged. "If you like." It was not true, of course, but once the belief in Laquinta was firmly established, they would drop the pretense.

"And that young lady, kneeling behind you, is she a deputy God too?"

"She is a concubine, nothing more," said Khalid dismissively. "Surely you have those here?"

"No," said Ailborne, shaking his head.

"Then we shall have to introduce them to you," said Khalid, smiling broadly. "You have much to learn. But let us start with some of the basic rules. I am glad to hear you do not kill your third children. But if any third children are unwanted, they are to be handed to us." There must be a thriving black market in babies somewhere on this backwards planet. They could be sold to raise funds for the Caliphate.

"What will be done with them?"

"Laquinta will care for them at his side," said Khalid sweetly. He could see their uncertainty in their faces, but he continued. "Now, as for the punishment for heretics. All heretics must be beheaded, with a single stroke to the neck, unless their offense is aggravated, in which case they are to be tortured first."

"Tortured?" said the Loving Tollah, as if he had never heard the word before.

"Lesser offenses should be dealt with by whipping," Khalid continued, ignoring the interruption.

"Whipping?" said Ailborne.

"In expert hands, a horse whip can be an excellent tool for instruction," said Khalid.

Now they were looking at him in true terror.

"And lastly, let us talk of the rule about having sex with girls when they turn 12."

"As I told your Lordship, we don't practice that," said the Loving Tollah.

"And I am glad to hear it," said Khalid. "Sex with a 12 year old is an abomination. It goes against everything the Great God of Blood stands for."

"I am so relieved to hear it," said Ailborne.

"The proper age for a father to introduce his daughter into womanhood is 14. At the age of 14, all girls must be introduced into womanhood by their fathers."

"What?" said the Loving Tollah. "No God of Sparticus would ever require that!"

In one swift move Khalid drew his blaster and fired. A large hole appeared in the Loving Tollah's head, so large you could see through it. Without making a sound, the Loving Tollah of Heraklion fell lifelessly to the ground.

"There are no Gods of Sparticus here! There is only Laquinta!" said Khalid, speaking to the stunned audience. He raised his smoking blaster into the air. "You will all obey, or meet the same fate! Who do you worship?"

"Laquinta!" yelled the fearful crowd.

"Who?"

"Laquinta!" yelled the crowd.

"We have made a beginning," said Brother Khalid, smiling broadly. He spoke to the other Tollahs. "Have his body chopped up and fed to the dogs."

The other Tollahs looked stunned.

"Surely you're joking," said Ailborne.

"Do I look like I am joking?" Khalid asked, rubbing his oily goatee. He looked at the Tollahs, frozen in place. "Carry out my orders! Unless you would care to join him!"

Immediately, four Tollahs sprang forward and went to lift the body.

"Chaka, go with them and make sure the orders of the God of Blood are obeyed in every particular."

Chaka, smiling, nodded.

Brother Khalid turned to Ailborne, whose face was as grave as stone. "We have made a good beginning here. But we have much work to do."

Chapter 9: The God Taylor and the Goddess Alexis

They still couldn't believe they were living as Gods when they rose out of bed the first morning in the Palace of Sparticus. It was a big, elegant home.

Tara came out of her bedroom at the same time as Alexis and Taylor came out of theirs. It had been no accident that Tara's bedroom was right next to theirs. The walls were thick here, but Alexis had hoped that Tara could hear the sounds of her lovemaking with Taylor. They had had a wild session last night to celebrate their first day as "Gods".

Alexis enjoyed the hurt look from Tara as she and Taylor emerged from the bedroom, arm and arm. "Did you sleep well, dear?" Alexis asked sweetly.

"Yes, but this is all so... new to me," said Tara.

"You'll get used to it," Alexis said. That wasn't the only thing she would be getting used to.

"I hope not," said Tara. "We're only pretending to be Gods, remember?"

Alexis looked around to see if any of the servants were nearby. "Keep your voice down," she hissed. She looked to Taylor for support.

"She's right, Tara. We have to be careful of what we say," said Taylor.

It pained Tara to see him taking her side. But she tried not to show it.

Crewman Jefferson joined them at breakfast. He slept on the ship, to keep it secure.

"So what is our plan for our second day?" Alexis asked, as servants brought breakfast.

"We're going to have a look around Arcadia," said Taylor. "We're going to make sure that the High Tollah is keeping his promise to stop the killing and the raping."

"You don't trust the High Tollah?" Alexis asked, grinning.

"Not in the slightest," said Taylor.

When the servants were gone for a moment, Alexis said, "And I think while we're at it, that I'll get us some new servants as well. These were all picked by the High Tollah. I'd prefer to pick our own."

"Agreed. But how will we pay them?" Tara asked.

"It's a privilege to serve the Gods," said Alexis. She saw Taylor's expression harden. "I'll have the High Tollah set up an expense account for us."

"That will do, for now," said Taylor

For now? Tara thought.

After breakfast, the four of them casually walked around Arcadia. Arcadia was a large city of nearly a quarter million people, with satellite villages all around it. It was located on the southern shore of the continent, near the great ocean which encompassed most of the planet.

They started walking bright and early, shortly after the sun had risen. They no longer wore their spacesuits, but instead their regular shipboard clothes. At some point they would have to get more inconspicuous local clothing, Taylor thought.

They were joined by an escort of armed guards, and a Tollah named Najib. As they walked by small homes, they could hear a scream.

No, many screams. There seem to be screams coming from inside several homes.

Taylor rushed to the entrance of one home, but his way was barred by Najib and the guards.

"What is going on here?" Taylor demanded.

"It is nothing," said Najib. "The man of the house is simply welcoming the new day."

"Why does the new day sound like a woman screaming? Stand aside!"

Taylor and his companions entered the house. They entered a common room where a woman was pressed against a wall, topless, while a man held a large whip. Several scars could be seen on her back.

"What is going on here?" Taylor demanded.

"Who are you?" said the man.

"I am your God, Taylor," said Taylor sternly.

The man and the woman both immediately got to their knees in subservience.

"Stand up!" Taylor commanded, and they did. "What were you doing here to this woman?"

"My wife," said the man, and from the tone of his voice Tara suddenly got the impression that, despite appearances, he was a gentle man. "I was beating her," he said.

"I could see that, but why?" Taylor asked.

"To welcome the new day," said the man.

Taylor looked sharply at Najib.

"Surely the God Taylor knows the passage in the Book of Sparticus which states that the man should give a helping hand to his woman to welcome the new day."

Taylor's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you beat your wife, every day?" Another thought occurred. "Are you saying that every man beats his wife, every day?"

"To welcome the new day," said Najib.

Taylor looked at him at horror.

The woman spoke. "He is most gentle, my lord. He barely leaves scars anymore."

"A symbolic whipping, nothing more," said Najib.

"And your screams, were they symbolic as well?" Taylor asked.

"I was... celebrating the beginning of the new day," said the woman, looking frightened.

"Well, from now on, this kind of celebration is now forbidden."

"My lord?" said Najib.

"Any man who whips his wife is going to be whipped by me," said Taylor. "And it's going to hurt a lot more."

"But... my Lord... it's a proud tradition...."

"Which ends right now. Get me High Tollah... what was his name? Aristedes. I want to see him, now," said Taylor. He turned to the man. Women were being beaten all over the city today, but at least he could save this one. "You are not to touch this woman in this fashion again."

"Yes, my lord," said the man. He looked genuinely abashed. Definitely not malicious, Taylor thought. Just misguided. In fact he sensed he loved his wife, and she him. They had just become prisoners of an evil tradition.

They went outside and continued walking. They came upon a large boulder which had fleshy flowing blood on it. Tara gasped when she saw it.

"What is this?" said Taylor asked.

"It is a boulder," said Najib carefully.

"I see that. But what is that on the boulder?"

"It looks red," said Najib unhelpfully.

"Like blood. Did I not say yesterday that the practice of eliminating thirds was to stop?"

"You did, my Lord."

"Then explain this!"

Najib peered at the boulder. "Perhaps a chicken or goat was killed here."

"A chicken or a goat," said Taylor. He paused, considering. "Let's resume our tour."

They came to a local square. There was a platform there, and two people were hanging from it. They looked quite dead.

"Are these goats and chickens too?" Taylor asked.

At that moment High Tollah Aristedes came forward, flanked by lesser Tollahs.

"Great One, good morning," said Aristedes, bowing humbly.

"It may not be a good morning for you, High Tollah," said Taylor ominously. "What is the meaning of this?" He said pointing to the dead bodies.

"They are heretics, my lord."

"Did I not say that heretics were to be brought to myself for punishment?"

"You did, my Lord."

"Did I not also say that the killing of thirds was to cease immediately?"

"You did, my Lord?"

"Then why have you chosen to defy your God?" said Taylor, his eyes blazing.

Aristedes shifted uncomfortably in his sandals. "My Lord... your ways are all so... new. We need time. Time to adjust."

"Time to spread the word?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," Aristedes said. "Time to spread the word."

"Very well. This I understand. Gather as many people as you can in the plaza where we arrived. I wish to address them."

"My Lord," said Aristedes.

He turned and left.

"What are you going to do?" Tara whispered.

"I'm going to stop this insanity right now," said Taylor.

********

The plaza was soon filled with people, just as the High Tollah promised.

Taylor put his microphone disc to his mouth. "People of Arcadia! Your Gods are most displeased! Yesterday I ordered the end to the murder of thirds. Yesterday I ordered that girls reaching the age of womanhood should not be touched. Yesterday I ordered that heretics should be brought before me, and not executed. My orders have been ignored. They were ignored because of this man."

Taylor drew his blaster, and shot the High Tollah through the chest, where a huge bloody, gaping hole suddenly appeared. People screamed as he collapsed to the ground. Tara was one of them.

"This is the penalty for disobeying your God. Your former High Tollah has now moved on to the Womanless Forest. He will spend eternity there, and never be serviced in any way by women again. This is the fate for all those who defy me."

"Hence forth the killing must stop. The raping must stop. The whipping of women must stop. Anyone who defies me will get a one way trip to the Womanless Forest."

He put down the megaphone disc, and studied the stunned crowd. Well, he certainly seemed to have gotten their attention.

"What did you do?" Tara whispered.

"What had to be done," said Taylor.

********

Back at the Palace, Tara was still processing events. "Did you really have to kill him?"

"He did," said Alexis, rubbing Taylor's arm affectionately. "Aristedes would have continued to oppose us, and refused to carry out our instructions."

"But... to murder the man... couldn't you just have locked him up?"

"We needed to set an example," said Taylor. "Otherwise the next Tollah who replaces him will be just as obstinate. What I did may seem cruel, and excessive, but consider who I executed. A man who supervised the raping of thousands of young girls. The man who supervised the whipping of thousands of women. The man who supervised the murder of men, women, and children. If we were on Earth, he would have gotten the death sentence."