Chapter 37:
It wasn’t until later that night that Sukren realized he had completely and totally misunderstood Fourin-ra.
She’s done her part by being born, hasn’t she? Fourin-ra hadn’t been dismissing Mayah’s life as irrelevant with that statement. He’d been referring to the other interpretation of the Prophetess Darshana’s oracle.
There were two Free Serf schools of thought regarding the Promised Daughter. Among those under Lady Nari’s patronage, the generally accepted view was that Mayah was destined to unlock the secret of space travel. The vision Lady Nari painted for them was that of a utopia, all of them working together to create starships that would rocket out of the bio-dome, off of Chudami, back to Earth itself.
For centuries, the Golden Castle ruled us, and we couldn’t do anything about it, Lady Nari had explained. We needed the Rajas. Without them, how could we power the bio-dome? But now that the Promised Daughter is born, we need the Rajas no longer. Who cares if the bio-dome dies? With the Promised Daughter, we are free to leave it. The Rajas, the Council, though – they don’t like that. They prefer the status quo because they’re on top of it. It’s not good news to them, to hear about the birth of someone who will take away their power and the point of their existence.
The other interpretation, the one Fourin-ra’s comment suggested he ascribed to, asserted that the birth of the Promised Daughter, and her birth alone, had supernaturally turned the bio-dome into a self-sustaining structure. According to this view, the Rajas had become unnecessary thirteen years ago at the moment of Mayah’s birth. Moreover, the adherents to this view – commonly called Watchers – believed that Earth was not a home world to return to, but a symbolic term used by the Prophetess Darshana to refer to a new serf paradise that would be built under the bio-dome.
Lying on his back on a thin straw mat, Sukren frowned. This greenhouse village was one of Lady Nari’s. How had Watcher theology penetrated it? His stomach tightened at the thought of it, at the thought of the Watcher worldview gaining steam. It was dangerous, by Sarana, was it dangerous! Watchers actually thought the bio-dome would keep on protecting them even without activation by the Dome Ring. Their serf paradise was built on the bones of dead princesses. In contrast, Enablers understood the bio-dome had to keep running – that the Rajas had to keep on reproducing – while the starships were being built.
If the Watchers gained the upper hand…
Well, not only would Mayah be killed, there would also be no one to energize the bio-dome when it ran out of power. And if the starships weren’t launched by then, everyone under the bio-dome would die a slow, suffocating death.
I have to report this to Lady Nari, Sukren thought, his heart thudding. She needs to know that Watcher theology has taken root in one of her patron villages. Jroya and Pal, I hope this is the only one…
***
Gray stalagmites filled the salt field greenhouse. The red-tinted ceiling cast them in a bloody glow. Quickly Sukren told Lady Nari what he had learned. Anger flashed in her eyes as he spoke. “It’s Lady Ki’s doing,” she responded. “I heard she was evangelizing Watcher theology in my villages by Industrilia Castle. I didn’t think it would spread so fast to other quinters.” Lady Nari shook her head. “She’s thinking ahead. She knows that once the Uprising happens, all of us patrons who have been spearheading the Free Serf movement will try to claim power. She’s preparing for that by drawing my village serfs away from me to her. It’s a clever plan. I’m her primary rival. And she knows most of my constituents are in the castles. She gambled I wouldn’t notice right away that she was encroaching on my villages.”
Sukren was aghast. “How could she be so irresponsible?”
A trace of a smile touched Lady Nari’s lips. “Lady Ki is a genuine Watcher. She’s not using the theology just to establish her base. She believes in it herself.” Lady Nari looked at Sukren. “You did well to bring me this news.”
Sukren bowed his head in acknowledgment of Lady Nari’s praise. He appreciated it for the reassurance it gave him. He had asked Fourin-ra to use his contacts to request a meeting with Lady Nari – that had not been a fun conversation – and had prepared himself to be scolded, or worse. Instead, Lady Nari had been all business. She hadn’t even commented on Sukren’s insistence that he be taken out of LakeCentral Castle. The fact that she wasn’t mentioning it at all did make Sukren a little nervous. Although it was possible that Lady Nari didn’t much care that Sukren had abandoned his post. He had gotten the journal done, and that had been the point.
Speaking of the journal… Sukren cleared his throat. He wondered whether he dared to ask how Mayah had received it. He hesitated, then cleared his throat again.
“What is it?” Lady Nari asked.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Sukren cleared his throat one more time. “How… how is she?”
“She’ll find your notebook soon.”
Whether that was good news or bad, Sukren wasn’t sure, and Lady Nari didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. She was gazing over his shoulder at some red-lit structure of salt and stone. “Given this news,” she said after a moment of reflection, “I’ll increase her security detail. At the same time, I’ll arrange for her to be taken out of Lost Technology as soon as she reads your notebook. I don’t want to give Lady Ki the opportunity to assassinate her.”
Sukren was startled. “Do you think that could happen?”
“The closer we get to the Uprising, the more likely it is.”
“Where will you send her?”
“I’ll assign someone to take her through the Temple.”
“That place is dangerous!”
“Letting her see what happens to no longer fertile Rajas is the best way to demonstrate the danger of Rajas rule to a princess like herself. It’ll be risky, but less so than leaving her in Lost Technology. I’ll send someone with her who can both protect her and tie her to the Free Serf cause. Do you have any recommendations?”
Sukren considered the planned phases Mayah was supposed to go through. After a period of isolation within the starter group – the Rajas, in Mayah’s case – the subject was to be exposed to fear that she would suffer harm from continued association with the starter group. At the same time, the subject was to be tied into the target group, the Free Serfs, through social relationships and literature. These two phases would be repeated as often as necessary, until the subject had aligned with the target group. Then the subject would be exposed to a controlled rejection from the target group, in order to trigger in her old fears of exclusion and a corresponding willingness to do anything to keep on belonging.
It was the strategy Lady Nari used on all her recruits, including on Sukren himself. It worked well. In Mayah’s case, only after she went through all the stages could she be told she was the Promised Daughter. That was Lady Nari’s policy. Only after she is totally aligned with the Free Serfs, ready to prove on her body that she is one of us, can she know of her position of power. We must wait until she shares our interests and our incentives. Otherwise she will be but an ally – and more than useless.
“Vek,” Sukren said slowly. “He’s very sincere. Charming. Mayah will like him.”
“Vek it is. Now, I want you to undo Lady Ki’s work at the village you’re in. I’ll arrange for you to get new papers. Make sure the adolescents, at least, re-convert back to Enabler thought. Give it a few diurnals. After that, I’m sending you to a safe house in Stoneset Quinter. You’ll join Mayah there.”
For a moment Sukren couldn’t breathe. He’d never thought that he’d be reunited with Mayah so quickly. He’d imagined it would take seasons of concerted effort. Was Lady Nari reinstating him as Mayah’s handler already? Maybe – dare he let himself hope – would she next send them both to a village?
“You’ll finalize her recruitment there, take her through the last stage.”
Sukren paused. “What do you mean?”
“Greet her with coldness when you see her again. Don’t demonstrate any intimacy. Instruct Vek and any others with you to keep her at a distance as well. After a week of this – no, two weeks –”
“You’re talking about the phases,” Sukren whispered. “You want me to – you want me to take her through the last phase.”
“I do.”
The way she said it, the way she looked at him… Sukren went cold. Lady Nari might not be angry that he’d wormed his way out of LakeCentral Castle, but now he understood that she didn’t intend to let him get away with it. She was giving Sukren this specific assignment for a reason. She knew exactly what it would do to him.
“After two weeks of this,” Lady Nari continued, her voice hard and emotionless, “you will bring her to me.”
***
Most villagers cared nothing for the political struggles that dominated castle life. In his efforts to re-convert Vegetable Post #6, Sukren never referenced the tensions that existed between Free Serf patrons. Nor did he attempt to explain the theological differences between Watcher and Enabler thought. Instead he shared stories about Mayah growing up in a serf village. This is a princess who would rather be a Chenta serf, he said, knowing it would be true eventually. This is a Rajas who chose our struggle. She will lead us back to Earth – our home planet.
It was the kind of line that would work only in a village. Animosity against the Rajas ran too high among the serfs who served in the castles. Sometimes Sukren wondered why Lady Ki had not attempted to woo away Lady Nari’s servies, those like Vek who were not doctor-priests or regents. They were a better audience for Watcher thought.
He supposed it was because Lady Nari’s dominion over her castle serfs was near absolute. It was widely accepted that there was no patron like her. Most patrons looked for strong, skilled serfs to take into their patronage. They wanted value. Lady Nari, on the other hand, had focused on the rejects. The children nobody looked twice at. Those who could not defend themselves against abuse. She’d even invited and traded for specific shadow members. Over time, Lady Nari had created a formidable network through these discards, most of them now adults, all of them devoted to the one patron who had given them a chance.
In a few diurnals Sukren had re-converted almost everyone from Mnidi to Fourin-ra back to Enabler theology. He received another booklet and a travel pass giving him permission to go to Stoneset Quinter. You’ll have to be careful, came a message from Lady Nari. We may have gotten Lady Ki’s attention. She’ll probably be looking for you.
I’ll be careful, Sukren thought to himself. I’ll be careful, I’ll be careful.
He was not looking forward to seeing Mayah.