Science Fiction Originals Vol 3 Part 3

Rahman put his fists upon his hips. "You do not use profanity in my father's presence. Do not use it in mine."

"My apologies, little master. I was only surprised that you did not know your own sister. She is the one your father pet-named Silent Her."

"Oh?" Rahman walked closer. His eyes narrowed as he approached her. "Are you certain?"

"Quite certain, little master."

He placed his fists upon his hips and studied her down the length of his nose. "She's not very pretty."

"Well, she is a twin."

The boy glowered at the guard. "That wasn't very funny, Jamil."

"A thousand pardons, little master."

Rahman turned his back and picked up his book. "Do not disturb me again, Jamil, or else I will tell my father."

"Yes, little master. I am most grateful."

Silent Her saw her brother glance at her as Sergeant Jamil took her away. Once they were going down the stairs and were thus out of Rahman's hearing, Jamil hissed, "By the Jesus, Muhammad, Abraham, Buddha,and the Bab! Don't use profanity in his presence! How was that fathered by Duman Amin? It's having that madwoman for a mother, is what's done it. That's what made such a p.i.s.s-dripping out of Duman's son and made such a disobedient salt out of you, girl. But, by the Buddha's benevolent b.a.l.l.s and the Bab's crabs, this time I'll beat Magda's salt out of your tail feathers!"

Once in the female wing, Jamil took her to the room next to the guard's station. As she struggled in his arms, he sat down, put her across his knee, lifted the hem of her dress, and began spanking her. As she struggled, her veil fell to the floor.

"Sergeant Jamil!" shouted her brother's voice.

The guard sergeant froze as his name was spoken. Silent Her lifted her head and saw Rahman standing in the doorway. "You should not be here, little master."

"I'll say where I am supposed to be in my own house, sergeant!"

"Forgive me, little master, but this is your father's house. What's more, I am your father's guard placed here to keep the females in the female wing."

Rahman stepped into the room and pointed at Silent Her. "My father would never approve of you beating my sister."

"You must forgive me once more, little master, but I am not beating her, I am spanking her."

"It's all the same whatever you choose to call it, sergeant. My father could never approve of such brutality."

"Little master, not only do I have permission to spank this female when she is disobedient, I have Duman Amin's permission to punish his wives if they misbehave."

She watched as Rahman reached out a hand and pulled down the hem of her dress, covering her. He said, "Never strike my sister again. If you ever do I will make up a terrible lie about you and tell it to my father."

The guard sergeant laughed. "I am more than your father's servant, boy. I am his friend. I was his sergeant during the War of the Prophets, and I saved his life. He attended my wedding and my eldest son is named for him. Now, what kind of lie could cast that in a shadow?"

The boy frowned at Jamil. "I mean it. I'll do it."

"Go back to your toys, little boy."

Her brother reached to his sash and withdrew a small folding knife. Opening the blade, he held it at his own throat with his right hand and said, "Father, I know this is hard to believe, but Jamil did something to me." He placed his left hand upon his crotch as a tremble crept into his voice. "He touched me here."

"What filth!" exclaimed Jamil, his eyebrows climbing. "Duman would never believe such a-"

"I cried out but he held a knife at my throat! See the scratch where the edge cut the skin! Jamil swore he would kill me if I told anyone!" Rahman increased the pressure of the blade upon his neck.

"You haven't the courage," taunted the guard.

A drop of blood dribbled down Rahman's neck and Jamil stood the girl on her feet and jerked Rahman's blade and hand away from his neck in one swift movement. He got to his feet, his hands trembling.

"By the ice, boy, you're as mad as your b.l.o.o.d.y d.a.m.ned mother!" He shoved Silent Her toward Rahman.

"There! Take her! And when Duman Amin wants to know why there's no discipline in the female wing, I'll send him to you!"

The guard sergeant marched toward the door, but before reaching it he paused and looked back at the girl.

He pointed a finger at her, his face now quite red. "Don't think you've found a rescue at the hands of some knight, girl. He'll tire of you the way he tires of all of his toys. I'm like the Enlightener in his ice: I'll always be there." Jamil left the room, closing the door behind him.

Rahman picked up Silent Her's veil and draped it over her head. Reaching beneath her veil he wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "We can play together. It'll be fun."

She looked toward the door and back at Rahman.

"Jamil is an old fool," the boy declared. "You are my sister and I am going to be your patron from now on.

You are the twin sister of Rahman, and I shall protect you."

She saw the tiny dribble of blood on her brother's neck and knew she had at last found her protector.

That night Rahman's face was in her mind. He was handsome, strong, and very brave. How he had stood up to Sergeant Jamil! How he had spoken to the guard! Could the heroes of the testaments have been any braver?

With her fingers she signed to the darkness, "Rahman" and "My brother. Rahman, brother of Silent Her."

While she was in her bed allowing the memories of the afternoon with her hero play in her mind, she smelled smoke. Rising from her bed she went to the window and saw the dots of many small fires burning in the distant hills. Far below her in the courtyard stood all of the servants and hired hands. They were preparing to fight the hot breath of a fire storm. Droplets of water fell from the roof's edge while a fine spray obscured the view through the window.

There were anxious voices in the corridor and she heard Nabil shout, "It's a Magda! The worst one in fiftyyears! If we're not sharp we'll lose the house!"

Fear brought Silent Her to the door. She opened it in time to see Nabil's back as he ran down the corridor toward the stairs. Forgetting her veil, the girl slipped into the corridor, ran to Rihana's room, and opened the door. The room was dark, but Rihana was at her window looking at the fires. She turned and saw the girl sign, "May I stay with you tonight? I'm frightened."

Rihana nodded and climbed into her bed. The girl climbed in next to her and, as Silent Her hugged Duman's first wife in the dark, she signed by pressing her fingers against Rihana's arm. "What's happening?

What's a Magda?"

Rihana placed her arm around the child and signed with her fingers upon the girl's arm, "It is a kind of storm. It has very hot winds and can start many fires."

"Why is it called a Magda? And why does Jamil say I have Magda's salt in me? Who is Magda?"

"Magda was a woman who did an evil thing three hundred years ago."

"What was the evil thing?"

It was a long time before Rihana answered. When she did she signed, "Magda set fire to the world and brought the silence and the Female Law down upon women."

Isak was one of the guards on the door of the female wing. Silent Her knew that Isak hated her because Sergeant Jamil had scolded Isak and had called him horrible names because of her. It had been on Isak's watch when she had first escaped from the female wing into the other part of the house. Whenever Isak would be where she could see him he would frown, grimace, and draw his thumb across his throat.

Along with Sergeant Jamil and Isak, there was a third guard, and his name was Majnun. Majnun was very lazy. He would eat the fruit and candies he had hidden near his post, and then he would sleep in the room near the guard's station at the entrance to the female wing. She knew that she could leave the wing once she heard the soft snoring come from the room. She could then explore or play with Rahman for an hour or two and return before Majnun awakened.

She liked Majnun. He would laugh and tell her funny stories. Sometimes he would tell Silent Her about his own daughter. Her pet name was Azize and whenever Majnun would mention her his face would almost glow.

Silent Her thought that being Majnun's daughter must be the most wonderful thing in the world. Sometimes, making a great display of secretly doing something very wicked, Majnun would give the girl one of his candies.

On this day she had stolen one of Majnun's candies and had placed it in a deep pocket of her dress before she once more crept past the sound of the guard's snoring. Moving with the silence of a shadow, she darted behind and beneath furniture, trying to remain invisible as she explored the mansion with its many rooms.

As she pa.s.sed the great dining hall, she saw that the servants were preparing the table for a grand banquet. Nabil, the head servant, was arguing with Onan, the cook, while black-veiled serving girls silently polished and placed the silver.

The cook and the head servant were arguing over the place setting for a very important Imahnti. Onan had said that one of the fuzzywriggles would visit her father. The creature's name would be Huroot Ib, the most important trader on Angerona. Trader Ib represented all of the Imahnti traders in the world. Although the cook had been adamant about the fuzzywriggles eating little girls basted with gutter sludge, she could tell that Onan had been very impressed with the honor being done his master. She backed away from the door and let her fingers caress the polished wooden paneling as she moved through corridors and pa.s.sageways.

As she pa.s.sed the vestibule of the main entrance to the mansion, something touched her shoulder.

Instantly she froze. There was no one there, she knew. She had studied every corner of the vestibule for a full minute before she had entered. There could be no one there. Slowly she turned her head, her eyes widening once they saw the thing that had touched her. It was like a long snake covered with black hair. Beyond it was a column of writhing, fur-covered snakes. It was an Imahnti. Si covered her face with her palms and bowed toward the creature.

"Are you Duman Amin's daughter? The one called Silent Her?" asked the Imahnti. The voice was strangely soothing as the creature seemed to glide as it moved around her. Deep within Huroot Ib's fur were tiny black b.u.t.tons that reflected light. The girl thought they must be the creature's eyes. Something touched her hair and she stifled a shudder as she imagined one of those hairy snakes in her hair.

"You do not remember me, child, do you."

She shook her head.

"Many months ago I waved at you in the garden. I was with a very important priest. Do you remember now?"

She nodded and looked down, ashamed, at her hands. The very important priest had slapped them.

"Did you know I was at the birthing hostel the day you were born?"

She stared at Huroot Ib. Slowly she shook her head. "I was one of the few so honored by Minister Amin. That was almost seven years ago. Your twin brother's birthday is to be celebrated soon, is that not true?"

She nodded. The creature glided around her once more, coming to a stop in front of her.

"My people celebrate the birthdays of both males and females. I would like to give you a present, but you are not allowed to own anything."

She smiled sadly and shook her head. The Imahnti wasn't so frightening.

"Can you do the Mogam finger-talking?"

Her face became as stone as she caught her breath. She looked around for a clear route of escape.

"Do not be alarmed, child. Banning females from reading and writing is not a law of the Imahnti. I asked, because I wondered if you could read this."

The front of the creature erupted in tiny pink worms. They quickly arranged themselves into a center line filled with Mogam letters. She saw the letters for gee and en followed by aych, cee, and ar.

"This is one present I can give you that no one can take from you. It is your life name in the language of the Imahnti. It is p.r.o.nounced jen ha-kaar." The worms slithered beneath the creature's fur and the line of Mogam vanished.

"Does it mean Silent Her?" she signed.

"No. It means Light of the Star. Star Light."

She lifted her hands and signed, "Thank you."

One of the snakes touched her right hand. It was warm and soft. The snake wrapped around her wrist and the tip of it touched the back of her hand. There was a slight stinging sensation which quickly faded. The snake released her hand and she looked at it. There was a slight redness that went away as she watched.

When the redness had gone, she frowned and looked up at the creature. "Why did you do that?" she signed.

"It is another present to you, Gen Hakarh. All you need do if you ever want to see me is show your hand to an Imahnti. If you should do that, either you will be brought to me or I will be brought to you."

She studied her hand for a moment, then signed, "Why do you do this for me?"

"I shall ask you a question, first. Do you know who Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Jesus, Muhammad, the Bab, and the Enlightener were?"

"They were the Messengers. They carried the words of Alilah to the people."

"The Imahnti have had messengers, too. In all of my travels I have been to many worlds and have known many races. Under many names, all of them know Alilah, and all of them have had their messengers. Does that surprise you?"

Silent Her nodded.

"Do you think that you might be such a messenger?"

Silent Her's face flushed red as she shook her head. She signed, "All of those men were good. They were blessed by G.o.d. They were men. I am female. I am evil. 'The Shaytan' tells me so."

"The Shaytan," from The Book of Peace, was the first thing that had been whispered into her ear after her birth, and it would be the last thing whispered into her ear as she died. Rihana had told her so. Father Yadin would sing the story in low tones over her emaciated body the way he had sung over the thin remains of Duman's mother. It had happened so long ago, but she still remembered an ancient woman at the burying who cried so much she had to have her red nose wiped again and again. She was the sister of the dead woman.

Very curiously, the Imahnti began reciting from "The Shaytan."

"On the Night of Death and Vision," sang Huroot Ib, "the Founders each had the same dream, and the dream was of the Enlightener. Each of the Founders whispered the name Kamil Marnin, and then died. The faithful Haramites searched the ancient father planet for seven years, and on the last day of the seventh year, on Kamil Marnin's birthday, they found him-"

The Imahnti knew the words better than she knew them, and she wondered why someone who was not female and who was not even from Angerona would have such an interest.

"-Kamil pointed toward the stars and spoke the revealed words of G.o.d. 'Build twelve great ships and gather the Haramite faithful into them. Set course for the center of the galaxy, and where the cl.u.s.tered stars of the nucleus form the pupil of night's eye, there you will find Haram, the planet forbidden to war....' "

Father Yadin had said that the story must be the last thing a female hears when she dies if she would avoid the fires of h.e.l.l, but the last thing Duman Amin's mother had heard was the sound of her own ragged gasping as the cancer ate at her.

Yet the priest had said that not so much as a petal from a tree flower falls without the movement of G.o.d's hand, and would Alilah deny Heaven to Duman's mother just because she had not listened to a story that G.o.d himself had made impossible to hear?

"The aged Kamil Marnin," continued the Imahnti, "his remains preserved in the suspension ice from which he never awakened, let his spirit search the stars until Alilah pointed toward the world where He would recreate Eden and set mankind once again in Paradise-" The creature paused and tilted toward her. "Am I doing well, child?"

She nodded and signed, "You did very well."

"Then listen." Huroot Ib's voice continued. "The new paradise of Haram was consumed by the flames of the Female War. Filled with the spirit of 'The Shaytan,' Magda Haram Marnin, great-granddaughter of the Enlightener, led the women of Haram against G.o.d and man and into war-"

"Huroot Ib?"

The quiet voice filled her heart with fear. She reached beneath her veil and covered her face with her hands as she sank to her knees and bowed before her father.

"Meiakab a'ti, Trade Minister Amin," greeted the Imahnti. "With your daughter's kind a.s.sistance I've been using my wait to practice 'The Shaytan'."