Chapter 2 - Part F

The trip to the surface was completed in seconds and as rematerialisation completed Carelle looked around, peering into the darkness she realized that she could not see the light from the universal core that washed the rest of the galaxy, as Fernum’s programming adjusted her vision levels she came to realize that this was what passed for midday on this planet, an uncomfortably hot and humid noontime, she turned down the temperature control on her environmental suit. the planet was unique by any standards, and not in a good way. They appeared to be standing in the centre of a small village, a dusty square where the occasional spear of grass struggled to survive the trampling feet of the crowds swirling around them, shoving, pushing, shouting and cursing. Dogs roamed at will, not the glossy intelligent creatures she was used to but skinny snarly looking things, naked children were fighting inside an almost empty trough while a worn donkey ignoring them lapped at its base and a woman screamed at them to get out and go home, the children ignored her, as did the scurrying passersby. Many multistoried buildings were squashed together around the edges of the square leaning in a way that suggested they were holding each other up and if one fell they all would. This was horrible, so dreadfully different from life outside the veil. Waldor where people dwelt in living houses crafted from plants that were woven and grown into solid structures, if you wanted new room it would be grown to your exacting specifications, the Imperial Planet where all buildings were made of highly polished metals and decorated with coloured enamel mosaics dotted with gems of many hues, cuts and a hidden technological functionality. She had never seen a planet without a distinctive form of grace and beauty before this. The buildings, like the people, looked like they had grown out of the mud and looking more closely she realized that while the people were simple dirty the buildings actually were made out of mud, baked mud and straw bricks. The streets leading away from the square were narrow, and squalled, And then with horror she looked again at the people, closely, people with limbs missing, obviously long missing as they were using the stumps, people who were blind sitting in doorways begging for something only to be ignored by the crowds, those naked children with every knob on the backbones protruding, it was possible to identify each rib individually, not only was the world dark the people were dark in spirit. She saw a women lean out of an upstairs window and toss a bucket of what smelt like raw sewage onto the road, splashing into the fish displayed in a vendors trolley which he was trying to push through the crowd, he swore at the woman who gave him the finger and tossed out another pails worth.

“For this you started a war?” she wanted to cry, to hit Fernum, to shout at him but instead she continued quietly, “You destroy my world for this?” hand covering mouth and nose she tried not to breath “these poor people, they have no joy, no peace in their souls and definitely not the grace and beauty of the rest of us outside the veil, if this is what your ideas are producing then why don’t you give up and come back to us?”

“Please remember, there is a war on,” Fernum emphasized the is, “My people are the victims of the emperors policies, if they are maimed it is permanent, they die of old age before they reach their hundredth year, while still children, infants by our standards, as they do not have access to regen. They have no idea that there are worlds full of people out there, they think they are alone in the galaxy. they don’t know there is another way to live, they have no idea what they are missing out on and I can’t tell them… that’s what the Emperor has condemned these people to.” Fernums voice had hardened, anger evident in his eyes.