Divine Deception: The Will Traveller Chronicals (15 page)

Martin’s mother,
with her arms forward and palms upturned, in a silent appeal for
peace. Though the statue was of a young maiden, the classic beauty
was immediately recognisable. Martin turned back from ordering some
refreshments to see me admiring the superbly crafted statue.

“May I ask a
question Lord Robert?” His deep voice held respect, but not
subservience.

“Of course Martin,
as often as you wish” I told the Lowlander Chief “My function is to
unlock that knowledge which you need to progress your people to
peace” I added smiling.

“You asked my late
Mother if she was your Prophet, you did not know?” He asked me. I
explained to him what I’d been told by Peter and Zoran about the
Prophetess.

Apparently, she’d
been killed in the massacre forty years ago! That was when the ‘old
fortune teller’ had started to appear.

“We only
discovered the real reason the whites drove us off our lands a
couple of years ago” Martin told me, as we sipped sweet hot tea and
nibbled on nuts and dried fruit. No-one came near us, there was no
noise and his two valets stood at least three metres away “But it
was only a matter of time before we figured it out” He assured me
“Now, we can take our lands back” There was a frightening menace in
Martin’s words.

“You speak of what
they call Aklodyte?” I asked and he nodded.

“We knew nothing
of its powers and they wished it to stay that way” He replied
bitterly “Now that we have developed the two stone weapon, we can
use it to drive them off our lands forever”.

“Do you know what
they use it for?” I asked Martin. The two metre tall old man stared
back at me, his face blank “They use it to power their world” I
told him “To generate electricity. The thing that you fire from
your two stone weapon can power machines, give light, cook food,
heat and cool your homes and do many other wonderful things” I told
the completely astonished man. For the next few hours Martin and I
spoke, almost as equals, for he had no experience in being
genuinely deferential. He was supreme leader of his people, yet he
made it plain he recognised that I outranked him. Pieces fell into
place everywhere, the answers to my questions made the true
situation patently clear.

The Supreme One
and his fellow patriarchs knew that, if they didn’t get these
people away from the resource ‘I’ had discovered here as a lad,
they would ultimately learn to utilise its capabilities. Then they
would become an equally equipped social group, thus ending the New
World’s white supremacy. Without the ability to impose the Supreme
One’s Divine authority myth over the black races, because they
already had their centuries old religious beliefs of their own,
there would be no way to stop them going beyond the New World’s
restrictions and, ultimately, equalling the power of the Supreme
Family itself! That could not be allowed to happen, not if they
could stop it. There was also a reasonable explanation for their
apparent wanton slaughter of ‘every living thing they find’, to
quote my Carabindy Province elephant.

It was simply the
case that, as an agrarian society, they had developed storage
techniques for their vegetables, fruit and grain, but had only
slaughtered their farm stock as they needed it. As they had not
developed ways to store meat and had found that even two day old
game meat could kill them, they left behind what they could not eat
right there. Game had been plentiful when they first arrived, forty
years ago, but the crops had taken almost a decade to become
sufficient and the new arrivals had all but cleared the locality of
living things in their first decades. Game meat was a luxury these
days, unless you were a member of one of the forward field groups,
in this coming war of attrition.

“Did your Mother
ever ask you to avenge her murder?” I asked.

“I have not seen
my Mother since that day, till today” He replied.

“She died because
she truly believed we black folk could co-exist with white people”
His tone was bitter.

“Martin, have you
ever seen how white folks live up close?’ I asked the elderly
leader.

“Not up close no
Lord Robert, they’d kill me. But why do you ask?” He was
justifiably still very angry with white people. The reverse must be
said of Carabindy’s racist Bligh. I had dismissed my two eagles,
when we entered the building, fearing someone might shoot at them
while I got acquainted with Martin and his people, now, in the late
afternoon, I sent out a mental call to them.

“Can you taxi two
people from here to the white settlement and two back from there?”
I asked silently.

“Under your
protection?” Came the hesitant, telepathic question.

“Yes of course” I
assured them. It seemed that humans, black or white, were feared by
all the other creatures in this land.

“I want you to
appoint your two most trusted colleagues to fly with me to the
white man’s camp Martin” I told him smiling “I will protect them I
promise you” I assured him. The dignified old man smiled and shook
his head

“You must not
leave today Lord Robert” He grinned back at me “Remember my
Mother’s advice?” He asked.

“I am not here to
tarry Martin” I let my voice cool “A crisis is fast brewing and we
must attend to it without delay” I told him sternly.

“If you hasten
your actions, I will summon the birds and we may well be back this
very night” I told him, adding “I will bring two of the white
leader’s trusted aides” I’d kept it a request albeit a firm one.
This time Martin didn’t smile, but he did shake his head.

“I don’t want to
risk good people to prove what my Mother died for. And, I won’t
allow those murderers near my people again” He glared at me “You
ask too much Lord Robert” He added firmly.

“I do not ask
Martin” I told the defiant leader “I command and you will obey” My
voice was pure ice as I returned his glare, without the anger that
usually masks a lack of confidence. The big man rose from his chair
in a slow, theatrical manner

“I command here”
He told me, with all the considerable authority and power he could
muster “No man gives me orders, least of all a white man” He added
defiantly. I was about to respond with something very painful when
I recalled my regret at injuring Attann. I too stood up. Just as I
looked across at the metre high statue of the Lowlander chief’s
Mother, seeking her help, it doubled in size and came to life,
albeit some thirty years older.

“How foolish you
are Martin” Her mellow voice sounded amused “To assuage your own
pride, you would disobey your Father and wrought the destruction of
our people?” She scoffed, appearing ethereal, yet visually solid.
Martin fell to his knees, my presence out of his mind entirely. It
was only then that I realized Martin’s Mother was white! Now that
wasn’t really possible was it?.

“I was born in
Rainbow at Supreme House” Martin’s Mother answered my unvoiced
question “My parents were in service to your parents, so I was put
into Red house as a kitchen girl. They brought me here as part of
their holiday staff, and I ran off to live with these people. I was
thought to be dead” She continued with no emotion, as though she
was speaking of someone else “I found that I was very much needed
here, so I stayed” She explained.

“So you actually
are Martin’s Mother?” I asked, rather surprised.

The woman smiled
and shook her head, smiling at her ‘Son’.

“I was barren, but
my knowledge of basic sciences and hygiene, and my ability to learn
from books, these things made me a Princess among what was then a
very primitive people” She said.

“I was adopted and
brought to this house” Martin’s Mother continued her story “They
built this place for me, as well as Martin and several other
children whose parents had died” She told me, looking fondly down
on Martin’s still bowed, greying head “Most of his Council are my
children Lord Robert, but none are as stubborn or fearless as this
one” There was no mistaking her pride.

“Courage is
greatness, when faced by an enemy or other threat” I told the
Lowlander chief’s grey head “Yet what need have you for concern,
when in your house with friends and family?” I asked him

“Your Mother and I
seek only to help you fulfil your destiny” I told Martin
sincerely.

“Am I to be told
what this destiny is?” He asked softly, keeping his head bowed.

“From the
beginning I told you Martin” His Mother answered “We Lowlanders
must make peaceful integration with the New Worlders” She reminded
him “It is not and never will be a matter of choice. It is a matter
of accommodate and integrate or become extinct” She went on, her
tone more Motherly “You will never match the power of sheer force
that the New Worlders have at their disposal. Remember, nothing
good can ever be achieved by bad actions” The beautiful greying
lady continued, her voice calm and matter of fact “When those who
oppress released me from my body, I became free to work with those
who seek the true emancipation of all human beings” She told him
softly

“Lord Robert being
among you is a unique opportunity” She told him “He is a doorway,
which history will never forgive you for not opening and passing
through. With trust, love and humility” She told him, reaching down
to cup her tiny hand under Martin’s chin, she turned his huge black
face up towards her. It was now a totally different face. Gone the
arrogance, the big man’s tear streaked face seemed ten years
younger. He brought his hand up to put it over hers and his eyes
widened.

“You are truly
here?” He could unexpectedly feel her hand.

“For this moment I
am here” She smiled into his eyes “But love does not end just
because we can no longer touch our loved ones” She counselled “I
have taught you all I know Martin, now you must learn from your
Father” She advised him gravely.

“Learn to forgive
and not to blame those people today” Martin’s Mother went on
advising him “They are not responsible for the actions of an
earlier generation” She pointed out. I was wondering how Martin
would feel, if he knew that I was the one who had discovered
Aklodyte and brought so much misery to his people. The Prophetess
picked up my thoughts, answering telepathically.

“The finding of
this mineral was a genuine blessing for all Lord Robert. But it was
abused” She told me silently “Wrong choices made it a curse, now;
right choices will release its real benefits” She told me.
Withdrawing her hand from beneath Martin’s, the Prophetess spread
her hands apart and a magnificent holographic globe appeared
between them. Martin and I watched in total fascination as the
future was paraded before us, in this spectacular, one metre three
dimensional presentation.

If Martin’s two
valets could see her, or the holograph, they gave no sign of it,
eyes ever-fixed on their leader. At least I’d been right about
exchanging a couple of each community’s leaders, I’d even got the
mode of transport right, but that was it. I’d fallen into a ‘trap’
that so often ensnares the all powerful. My plan was to impress the
two black leaders with all the benefits of working with the white
community, while the two white executives would be ordered to offer
what I thought was a fair and reasonable peace treaty. First off,
there was no war yet, nor need there be, so why a peace treaty?
Secondly, as with most intra-human difficulties, this was all about
basic economics.

There was no
longer any need to show Martin what electricity had done for the
white community at Carabindy, we could now see what it would soon
do for his own people. Water from the wells pumped into every
comfortable and illuminated home. Homes that were heated in winter
and cooled in summer, with clean cooking power and hot water on
tap! While Carabindy was indeed to be a watershed, it was Martin’s
asked-for destiny, which was the feature of this astonishing
presentation. With their lands returned, most of the Lowlanders
went back to their peaceful and sustainable rural lives. Several of
their brightest young men and women, who went off to study power
generation and distribution in Carabindy, returned with a far more
enjoyable and comfortable way of life. Many of the young men who
had been gathering for war with the white man, ended up in the
mines with them, on the same pay as whites! So, in due course, they
began to live among them as well. Word of this awesome leap forward
by Martin’s people spread out all across this massive jungle
Nation, which turned out to be far more populated than any of us
had believed. Martin came to be seen as the Father of the rapidly
uniting Black Nation. Although the Supreme One’s worst fears were
to be realised, it was not Martin’s people that were to be the
threat. They had no desire at all to leave their bountiful and
beautiful Nation, and they were not at all interested in the New
World’s politics. They happily expanded their mining industry to
the many places which they knew that Aklodyte was abundant in.

Having studied
with Carabindy’s much experienced mining men, Martin’s people soon
learned the mining trade and built refineries of their own.
Eventually, by virtue of their far greater share of the world’s
Aklodyte, the Black Nation assumed control of the whole world’s
prime source of power. Carabindy became a shrine, known as the
place where the knowledge to be free was first gained, although at
a terrible cost. The commemorative university built there became
the Black Nations’ seat of learning. It was more than gratifying to
know that what I’d started had ended up well. I have no idea how
long we spent watching the future unfold, nor how long Martin and I
stood there staring at nothing, after his Mother had gone.

“Goodbye my Son”
She had whispered, then returned to being a beautiful glowing white
statue of her younger self.