The Prophecy, At the Citadel, Chapter Three

‘It’s too dangerous,’ said the Head of  Diplomacy. ‘Once anything leaves Terrestra at the moment, it could come under attack, if not from the Zandrians themselves, from their sympathisers.’

Razjosh had just finished putting his case for the transfer of himself and the new Peace Child from Terrestra to Zandra. He looked round at the hall full of Council members. It wasn’t the first time he had had to talk to them. Of course Elders should be able to talk to Council of Heads’ members. But they were all very clever people, all of them in charge of one aspect of life on Terrestra, and Elder though he was, it was still daunting.

Frazier Kennedy was staring at him. Razjosh had a lot of respect for the Head of Education. He was one of the most sincere  Heads of Services that there was. But he had changed since that daughter of his had gone missing all those years ago.

‘And the boy is quite ready, you think?’ he asked Razjosh.

‘He certainly is,’ replied Razjosh. ‘And raring to go. You know how bold our youngsters can be.’

‘I certainly do,’ said Frazier. ‘Thank goodness they are.’

He grinned briefly and then a cloud seemed to pass across his face.

I guess he’s thinking about one youngster in particular, thought Razjosh.

The Head of Education was staring, day-dreaming. Then he grinned.

‘You’ve always got to trust to delegate,’ he said. ‘After all, we made them what they are.’

Not all the faces in the Council Chamber were as friendly as Frazier Kennedy’s, though. Razjosh could not tell at all what some people were thinking and others were positively hostile. The Head of Transport slouched in his seat. He had not said anything during the debate and he had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was scowling at Razjosh.

He’s not supposed to look like that at an Elder, thought Razjosh. But he knew that he shouldn’t be expecting automatic respect. He was supposed to command it.  I’m losing my touch, definitely.

The Master called order.

‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said. ‘We shall vote after the recess. Refreshments will be served for thirty minutes.’

The members of the Council kept their distance from Razjosh. People never did quite seem to know how to deal with Elders. He guessed Frazier Kennedy would have been friendly enough, but he was deep in conversation with the Head of Building.

Suddenly someone rushed up to him.

‘There is no way, no way, any vessel will ever leave this planet again!’ shouted the voice. It was Ponty Davidson, the Head of Transport. ‘Not if I have anything to do with it. No way do we want any contact with others. We had to struggle to get this planet clean.’

Several people had turned to look to see what was going on. Razjosh recognized the face of Danielle Thomas, the Head of Science. She smiled encouragingly at the Elder.

‘It will bring havoc. There’ll be others wanting to come here next. We don’t need others. We don’t need that pollution. We don’t need Terrestra to return to being a free access planet,’ shouted Davidson.

‘It doesn’t need to do that,’ said Razjosh, quietly. ‘There have been people who have come and gone to the planet from time to time. You know that happens. You know that we just have to keep that from the general public. Surely someone in your position must realise that?’

‘Hah!’ said Davidson. ‘That’s probably how the disease came to Terrestra in the first place. This right that the Elders have to overrule what the Council says. Just who do you think you are? What has happened now just about proves that it’s time to modernise. We want proper democracy on Terrestra.’

The soft mumble of people talking and the gentle clatter of cups had stopped. Everyone was staring at Razjosh and Ponty Davidson. Razjosh knew he had a point. When he himself had left the planet that first time all those years ago, the Council had been hung: there were as many votes against as for. The Elders had overruled and he had been allowed to go. That wasn’t democratic, he knew, but the Elders had access to information which ordinary people did not, and which they were, in any case, in no position to understand.

All sympathy he had had for Davidson’s point of view, however, disappeared immediately in the next few seconds.

‘We do not want help from sub-human beings. Nor do we want to mix with them. I am amazed that Elders have picked a throw-back as a Peace Child. Can we even be sure that he’s a thorough-bred Terrestran? Where did he get that strange appearance from anyway?’

No wonder Kaleem had problems with Stuart Davidson, thought Razjosh. That child has obviously learnt a lot from his father. How can someone like that get into the position of responsibility he’s holding?

‘I’m sure you really don’t mean that,’ Razjosh said quietly to Davidson. But the Head of Transport turned his back on the Elder and marched back into the Council Chamber. The other Heads of Ministries gradually put their cups down and started moving back onto the meeting. No-one spoke a word. Several of them gave the Elder dark looks. Just one or two smiled thinly.

Razjosh braced himself for what he was certain was going to happen next.

The Master called the Council to order again, though this was just a formality this time. No-one was speaking anyway.

‘We shall commence the vote,’ said the Master. ‘Will all Council members connect via the iris scanners and make their choice.’

Razjosh watched the two bars filling up on the screens. He knew that he and Kaleem were not going to be allowed to leave the planet.

The red ‘no’ vote bar was getting longer by the second. The blue ‘yes’ vote bar hardly moved. There was going to be no Elder overrule this time.

The gong on the dataserve signalled that the vote was completed.

‘The Council have voted that there shall be no further mission to Zandra in the foreseeable future,’ said the Master.

Several of the Council Members started to pack away their things and make their way out of the chamber. Danielle Thomas caught Razjosh’s eye. She raised one eye-brow lightly. He guessed  he knew which way she had voted. Not that she would have dared say anything. At times like this it was more important than ever to keep your views to yourself.

As Razjosh slowly made his way to the transporter that was waiting to take him back to the Citadel, he asked himself  what he was going to tell his young trainee. How was he going to be able to tell him that it looked as if all that training had been for nothing? And there was then the question of what to do next. It was vital that they should negotiate with the Zandrians.

The Prophecy Chapter Three

This just did not happen. Not in the thirty-fifth century. There
was no need for it. It was barbaric.
No matter how she tugged, the tunic would not close at the
back. She couldn’t bear anything touching her breasts. She
couldn’t even bear touching them herself. And this horrid feeling
every morning, and sometimes at other times of the day. This
feeling of fullness, of something wanting to get out, then her
throat filling with the foul-tasting liquid, which forced itself out
of her mouth.
Gross! She thought as she looked at the contents of the lavatory
pan.
It wasn’t supposed to happen anymore, either. But the diastic
monitor had not been able to adjust the water supply this time.
The alarm bell rang – the first one to ring for over two hundred
years.
Marijam shuddered as she remembered. She was alone then
and managed to disconnect the machine before it relayed its
information to central control. She started to do her own research.
It was called vomiting. It used to happen when there was
something wrong with the digestive system. Nobody had things
wrong with their digestive systems any more.
She’d found out just the day before. Vomiting also used to
happen often in the first stages of pregnancy in the old days when
babies were gestated in a human womb, not in artificial incubators
as they were now.
Surely she had received the Stopes treatment as a child? She
rechecked her medical record. Certainly, it was there. And surely
Gabrizan had done the same?
So how had this happened? She must talk to him. Last night
was the first time she hadn’t seen him since that first time at the
Waterfall when he had kissed the back of her neck, sending ripples
of excitement through her…

Gabrizan had had his interview yesterday for the Northern
Lights Project. He had had to stay overnight at the Nuffield Centre.
Would she hear something soon?
On cue, the dataserve kicked in. There was an important message
for her. She held her breath.
Her father’s picture came on to the screen. He had his official
face on. It was probably being broadcast to everyone, then, and
not a personal message.
Marijam didn’t know whether she liked him most when he
was just being Dad or when he sat there as now, looking wise and
dignified and seeming a whole ten centimetres taller.
‘Well Miss Kennedy,’ her father’s official voice spoke. ‘Good
news. You are invited for interview to join the Northern Lights
Project as a research student. On successful completion of your
Part 1, you would be able to proceed to becoming a full research
fellow.’ Frazier Kennedy then grinned. ‘Well done, sweetie,’ he
beamed.
He really looked happy. For a few seconds Marijam felt
pleased as well. Then that uncontrollable wave of nausea came
again. She ran towards the bathroom.
Just in time, she managed to bend her head over the toilet.
The vile orange fluid came up again.
This is really gross. But really, thought Marijam. This can’t
be happening. Why hasn’t the Stopes programme worked?
She must find Gabrizan. Perhaps he would know how this had
happened. Was it something to do with him?
Pull yourself together, lady, she said to herself as she made
her way back to her room. You’ve got some important business to
sort out here.
The dataserve whirred.
‘Downloading joining instructions for the Northern Lights
Project interview,’ said the tinny metallic voice.
‘Relate,’ said Marijam.
‘Your interview will take place on Level 6, Lab 10 at the Nuffield
Centre,’ she read. ‘Please report 15.30, Day 79, 3500. A

transporter pod will be sent to collect you at 14.00. Please bring
overnight bag. Interview procedures take 24 hours.’
Lab 10! That was where Gabrizan had had to go yesterday.
Perhaps he would be going back there? Perhaps they would be
able to work together. If she was allowed to work at all, of
course, now.
What was she going to do? Was she some sort of freak that
the Stopes programme wouldn’t work on? Or Gabrizan? Should
she tell her parents?
She couldn’t. How could she tell that their daughter was a
misfit, a quirk of nature?
At least Gabrizan was due back this evening. How she was
going to tell him she couldn’t begin to think. But it would be
good to see him.
She didn’t look too bad in the blue velvet tunic. It was the
best colour for the moment. The only one that didn’t make her
look even greener. But it still wasn’t a pretty sight that greeted
her in the mirror. Her hair seemed to have lost most of its shine.
There were dark circles around her eyes. She had not been able to
sleep well for the last two nights. Her face was white.
What will he think? she asked herself.
Marijam felt dizzy as she made her way up the rungs in the
tube. She was used to the fresh air now, but feeling so ill and
worried seemed to make her unsteady. Even so, it was still a thrill
to breathe the natural atmosphere and taste the delicious green
smell. It would be good to see him. Even if she did have to give
him this unbelievable news.
She arrived early. That gave her time to sit and think about
what she should say to Gabrizan when he arrived.
The sound of the Waterfall was soothing somehow. She was
so looking forward to seeing him, despite everything. Everything
seemed so much more alive up on the surface. The running water
moved on its own. The water channels in the caves were driven
by motors. It smelt so different, too. She dangled her hand into
the pool that formed at the bottom of the fall. It felt silkier than
her finest tunic. The soft breeze, moved one of the ferns so it

looked as if it was waving to her. Shoots of green which were
coming up through the now much browner earth. And it was just
eight weeks since the poison cloud had lifted. What was it going
to be like when the others came up to the surface in two days’
time? She was going to have to pretend she was surprised too.
It began to get dark. Marijam shivered. Where was Gabrizan?
It wasn’t like him to be late. She was beginning to get cold. It
hadn’t been this cold before up on the surface. The sun was going
down rapidly now. Some clouds were forming on the horizon – the
first ordinary rain clouds since the poison cloud had disappeared.
Marijam decided to walk a little way up the path which led
from the base of the waterfall to the cliff above. It must have been
a natural path, because it was still easy enough to walk along,
even though no-one had been along it for over 1200 years – apart
from when she and Gabrizan had been up there a few days ago.
She just loved the view from up there. She could stare for hours
at the pink and grey rock which was getting a lace-like coating of
green.
By the time she reached the top, though, the sun had gone all
together. The clouds were so thin and scanty it was still possible
to see the night sky. But she couldn’t see land like she had the
other time.
Marijam sat and stared at the stars. They were so clear and
bright compared with how they had looked from behind the plastiglass
and further dulled by the poison cloud. Time never seemed
to matter to her and Gabrizan when they were out there.
Only it wasn’t ‘they’ tonight. It was just ‘she’ now. Marijam
shivered again. She pressed the controls on her wristband. 20.30
already. He had never been this late. In fact, he had never been
late. Now it was more than an hour after the time he’d said he
would come. Why didn’t he use the mini compu? Was he so far
away that he was out of range? Perhaps being outside made a difference.
Marijam wasn’t so sure she liked it out here so much now that
she was on her own. It was getting colder and colder. She touched
the button of her compu.

‘Gabrizan Taylor 0051,’ she said, after the tinny voice had
asked whom she wanted to contact.
‘Unavailable,’ squeaked the robotic voice. Not out of range.
Nor occupied. Just not available. His interview was taking longer
than they had expected. Oh she hoped he would get on the Northern
Lights Project. And that she would, too. It would be great to
work together.
Except there was just this one little problem. Well, no it was
actually quite big really. Another wave of nausea passed through
Marijam. She knew that this time it was not to do with that
strange biological change that had taken place in her body. Not
directly, anyway. It was because she didn’t think she could face
the other changes which were about to happen.
She shivered again. Well, it was obvious she wasn’t going to
see Gabrizan tonight. He just must have got held up at his interview.
It was almost a relief not to have to give out this dreadful
news tonight. Even though she missed seeing him.
Marijam was quite glad to get back inside. It was more frightening
and less of an exciting adventure to go out there alone. She was
feeling tired as well. Perhaps she would sleep better tonight, now.
The lights were on in the communal room of the Kennedy
apartment when she arrived back. Both Frazier and Louish Kennedy
were sitting there in silence. Their faces looked grim.
‘Well, did you see him?’ asked Frazier. Marijam had never
heard him sound so angry.
‘Did he turn up for you?’ he demanded. ‘Because he sure
didn’t turn up for his second interview!’
‘We tried to get you on the mini compu,’ said Louish. ‘Only
we couldn’t get through.’
Marijam wondered whether it had been because she was outside.
But then her compu had communicated with the centre. Perhaps
it could get to the centre but no further…or perhaps they had
called just as she was trying to call Gabrizan.
‘He’s a waste of space,’ hissed Frazier. ‘We’d set up a really
expensive programme for him. No-one else could do what we had
in mind for him.’

Then Marijam realised what her father had just told her. Not
only had Gabrizan not turned up to see her this evening, he had
not turned up for the second part of his interview. He had disappeared.
He was gone. She was on her own now.
The nausea came again. She managed to mumble something
about being tired, and hurried off to her room.
She just made it to the bathroom in time. Now it came as a relief
to throw up the heavy feeling out of her stomach. As if she
was giving way to all the tension that was inside her.
She came back from the bathroom and collapsed on to the
bed. The tears started. She could hear her parents’ muffled
voices. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but that her father
had sounded angry and her mother concerned. She heard the
door open and her mother say, ‘Can’t you see how pale she
looked? That boy has hurt her.’
Marijam closed her eyes. Then there was nothing. Just blackness.
Marijam hoped she might never wake up.