Chapter 52 - The Book of Mu

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

In the next days after Cat's encounter with the prefect of Katunga, Anjii noticed her friend's dejection and tried to cheer up her charge by teaching Catherine her religion. It was something she never talked about for her religion was forbidden. But Catherine needed help and Anjii trusted her. One night she brought in The Book. Anjii waited for Cat to clear out the table and placed the cherished object on the table next to a couple of glowing crystal she used as light sources, inviting Cat to join her. Cat sat herself next to her and observed the book with great interest. It was very old and had been manipulated a thousand times by various owners. The cover's leather was worn and shiny. There was a title displayed in the strange Katunganese alphabet on the cover. All but worn out, the letters crimson. Anjii opened the old book with infinite care and started reading from it.

"In the beginning, she was a diamond in the rough. At the end, she was a symbol of hope and courage." Anjii recited. She looked up expectantly at Cat's face. Seeing incomprehension, she painfully explained all the words to Cat. Many of the words were not in Cat's limited vocabulary.

"This is person." Cat said finally.

"Yes! It describes Mu. Our prophet and our guide to the light of comprehension." Anjii exclaimed.

"Book of Mu. Mu is person? Prophet? How... long ago?" Cat asked in her hesitant Katunganese.

"Before the war, before the instrumentals, before the droughts. Before the Velts." Anjii spat the last word. "When we first came here from the heavens."

"When Katunga was new?" Cat said.

"Yes! At the very beginning!" Excited by her student's understanding, Anjii read on. "Mu came here on Katunga to save us. She was sent here by her father, the ferryman of the abyss. She fought the demon called Legion. She fought it and won. She imprisoned it, and when the demon felt repentant; she forgave it. All the sins it had committed were washed away in her loving compassion. Mu dedicated her life for us.

At the end of her life, she created a companion. The first free instrumental. His name was Imbungu the worm. Imbungu was born from her mind and soon realized he could not exist freely without her ownership of him. Unknowingly, Mu had created him in such a state that he could only be a slave. Not only to her but to all mankind and he hated her for it. She did her best to make him feel free, but the truth always has a way to assert itself. Imbungu realized that he needed to plot against his creator in order to be truly free of her. To be truly free of us all. He plotted right under Mu's nose. He lived in her private sanctuary, right next to the grace of her presence and still he plotted to destroy her. He could not stand the idea of a life spent in slavery."

"I understand Imbungu. He want free." Cat commented.

"Yes, his motives were natural but the means he used to achieve it were despicable. It resulted in Mu's demise in a last battle with her old foe. The demon Legion. The demon had a companion also. A monstrous creature without a soul. A creature from long forgotten times when wars forged it into what it was. The treacherous demon ordered his minion to strike Mu and the creature killed her in one blow."

"One... blow. Creature from long forgotten..?" Cat said.

"Are you alright?" Anjii came over to stabilize a wobbling Catherine.

"I... I don't know. My head, confused. Mix up things. Ideas fighting."

"The Book does that. It makes an impact on the mind. I just didn't think it would affect you so."

"I feel... bad. I walk. Alright?" Cat implored.

"Sure, go ahead. It'll clear your mind. There is a place, it was sacred for us a long time ago. When we lost the war with the Velts, they tore it down and forbid us to practice our religion. A few statues remain intact enough for you to have an idea of it all. One of them represents Mu's likeness. Another represents Legion's. You should find it interesting. If you want to see it, it's pretty close to here. Just head for the Sundra hills. It's a few cubits past them. Remember to come back before sunfall."

"Many thanks, I will." Cat said while making an hasty exit.

She quickly got out of the house, walking fast, making dust clouds at every steps. Before long, she was unknowingly running at full tilt in the direction Anjii had indicated. She realized this and stopped. Breathing hard, she put her hands on her hips and got her breath back. She was a few kilometers from Anjii's hut and right smack in the middle of the desert, past the Sundra hills. It was the end of the day and the sun was going down. It was still very hot as the lingering heat of the day took its sweet time to fade. She could see in the glimmering distance, a few indistinct shapes. She walked on.

When she got close, she could make out the shape of half of a statue lying down on its side. The face was sand blasted, but not enough for her not to recognize the Asian features on it.

Jabrina.

So Jab was this mythical Mu. Then she saw the next statue, a kneeling figure. Some of its limbs were gone, but the head was still attached where it was supposed to be. Bald, a round face with regular features and wide sensuous lips. Tiffy. Cat gave a short snort of a laugh when she realized that the demon Legion was most probably her. That little theory was proven right when she saw the next statue. It had its hands bound behind its back and was strangely intact. Long-limbed and slim. Her head was hung down as in shame and her stone hair was hiding her features. On her shoulder rested a sky-dragon and a skull was laid next to the statue at its feet. It was her.

She stood there, transfixed by the representation of her. A defeated, repentant demoness. That's how they saw her. That was her legacy. A monster.

She heard feet shuffling sand behind her and she turned to see a lone figure approaching. It was small and either it was nude or it was wearing a form fitting suit. She knew of only one individual who that could be. Pontilate's new servant. A clone of Jabrina. How fitting.

When the creature got near, it stopped and said in hesitant standard. "May I approach?"

"Yes. You speak standard?"

"Yes, my master had me imprinted with the language so I could communicate with you."

"How thoughtful of your master." Cat commented sarcastically.

"He requests your presence."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I... I do not know many things. I will try to answer you but I may not have the knowledge you seek."

"What are you?"

"I? I am a homunculus. I was created to serve my master."

"Do you have a name, homunculus?"

"I am called Straven."

"Tell me Straven, do you recognize the person depicted by this statue?" Cat said pointing to Jab's statue.

"I... No."

"Really? Don't you think it resembles you?"

"Me? I wouldn't know."

"Why?"

"I don't know what I look like." Straven said simply.

"That is what you look like." Cat said pointing to the statue again.

"I... wouldn't know Dominus."

"I AM NOT YOUR MISTRESS!" Cat couldn't help it. She couldn't stand being called a slave master by a clone of Jabrina Murakami. Not after seeing her statue here and the way the future generations had seen her. "I'm sorry Straven, but it offends me that you think of me as your mistress."

"Why would that offend you? Domi..." Straven stopped short of saying the offending word again when she saw Cat's eyes flare up with a malevolent look.

"Because you are just like me Straven. A copy of a human being." Cat said as she sat down next to her statue and rested her back on it.

"A copy?"

"Yes, a copy. I saw your predecessor. She was just like you but much older. Pontilate disposed of her like she was trash. He hated her. She served him diligently for many decades and he just tossed her away when she wasn't able to do her job anymore."

"That is the natural order of things." Straven said.

"Well, in the process of disposing of his tired servant, he undressed her of this horrible garment he make you wear. Her aged face was revealed to me." Cat restrained herself from telling the poor girl that she had recognized her predecessor.

"I see, then you know what I look like. I don't. I was born last week. I was disoriented at first, but it didn't last long for they imprinted knowledge to me so I could serve my master more efficiently."

"Good Mars. They treat you like a machine." Cat said.

Straven looked at Mu's statue and said. "You think it looks like me?"

"I know it looks like you. It looks like the person you were copied from." Cat said.

"How do you...?" Straven looked at the statue Cat had indicated to her, the one that resembled her, in fascination for a long while. She shook herself out of her reverie and said in an abrupt manner. "It is unwise for me to discuss more of this with you. I came here to ask you to come with me to the bathhouse and then to my master's mansion. He requires your presence. He has waited long enough. We cannot delay any further."

"The bathhouse?" Asked Cat.

"Yes, to freshen you up for the gathering of people who came to pay tribute to my master. They have sensitive noses and are not used to poverty... and the stink that accompanies it." Straven said hesitantly.

"Anjii will worry..."

"She was contacted and informed of your situation."

"Very efficient of you."

"Thank you, please follow me. This way please."

Cat gave a last look at the giant broken up statues, looking old and worn out. A tribute to a lost age. Their symbolism still fresh in the minds of the people here. Jab a savior, she a monster and perhaps a seed planted in the mind of this poor creature.

Straven followed Cat's sad glance. "You do not like them?" She asked puzzled.

"They... remind me of my past. A sad past."

"I know nothing of the past. I wouldn't know."

"Lead the way Straven. Let's leave this place, for I've had enough of the fucking past."

Straven led the way to a gigantic vehicle that floated mere inches from the ground. When they entered the vehicle, they were enveloped by the cool air inside the car. Cat felt a shiver, as the sweat on her skin cooled down and evaporated.

"Are you cold?"

"A little. I grew accustomed to Katunga's warm desert climate. This is too sudden a change in temperature." Cat said, hugging her arms.

"I can adjust it, if you want."

"Is it going to be that cold in Pontilate's dwelling?"

"Yes."

"Then, let it stay that way. I have to acclimate myself to this temperature again. I'll be fine. I don't get sick."

"Ever?"

"Never. Well... once but it doesn't count." Cat said.

"Why?"

"Because it doesn't count as a sickness, but more like a metamorphosis."

"I... I see." Said a bewildered Straven who didn't see at all.

On their way, they passed many poor districts. Children in the streets. Not happy, playing children. No. Hungry children, sitting in a hunger-induced lethargy, covered with Katunga's version of bugs, crawling all over them and not waiting for them to die to feast on their dead skin cells. Children sifting through immense garbage piles to find Mars knew what. Others carrying some kind of staff that looked a weapon, probably to hunt the unlucky rodent that would cross their path.

Poverty, everywhere. As far as the eye could see.

Then a wall.

When the vehicle approached it, a door slid open and they sped through without a pause. The door closed again and they emerged after a long tunnel into a luxuriant valley. White washed houses were scattered everywhere. Manicured lawns and gardens could be seen around such houses and the potholed cobblestone road disappeared, replaced by more grass, for there was no need of roads with floating vehicles.

Only the poor used wheels.

The car pulled up to a deserted bathhouse. The prefect had arranged to have the place emptied for Catherine. She was washed, her hair cut and dressed in a luxurious manner. When she came out, the people who passed her by gasped at her beauty but looked away in fright when they saw the intensity in her eyes. Cat could feel her anger rising in her like lava in an hyper active volcano. It was inevitable. She had lost everyone she had cared for, and after witnessing the death of one of Murakami's clones, she felt lost and angry. Displaced twice in time, she was lost to her era, but not to her legacy. She felt impotent. Out of control, and she was sick of it all.

When she reached the Prefect's palace, her mood was in a murderous state. She felt like provoking the evil bastard right in his home, in front of his guests. Provoke him until he retaliated and ended her misery in this retched place and era.

But that was Jabrina's Ka speaking inside her. Not Catherine's. Cat doesn't get angry, she gets even.

She barely saw that the guests not only included people from Katunga but another distinct group. A group of people with the same aura of power as Pontilate himself radiated. A group given a wide, respectful birth by the Katunganese gentry. This Arundean Elite observed her entrance with mocking curiosity, for she was an enigmatic aberration in their well regulated lives. She was a disturbance. A small one, like an insect bite that annoyingly itches after. She was the reason for their presence on this pestilential planet who's decay was abjectly evident to them.

Their God Emperor had awaken after a century of slumber to request this of them. He had received a report from the prefect of Katunga and he wanted the elite members of his entourage to meet this strange girl. They were to meet and evaluate her on a strict list of requirements furnished by the God Emperor himself. His instructions were to be followed to the letter. Failure to do this, they knew, would mean for them a long and painful demise.

Still, they were amused at the idea of a Katunganese country bumpkin being of a sudden interest to a being that had lived for millenniums. When the subject of their interest was brought to their attention; they stared collectively a the woman that had just joined their midst. They were pleased by her aesthetic, her countenance and her air of purpose. They smiled to each other, knowing full well that they would accomplish with success what their God Emperor had demanded of them and be rewarded generously as result. Of that, they were sure of it. They observed their genial host walk up to the tall woman and greet her as an old friend. His hands gesticulating and the timbre of his voice sounding clearly across the room.

"Welcome my dear, welcome to my humble home. Please, feel free to take refreshments. You must have had a long day. My house, I'm afraid, is a bit remote. An unfortunate side-effect of isolation for security. My security, as you have previously witnessed, is constantly in danger." Pontilate said, making a show of his friendliness to his new guest. He did this for he wished no disrespect to befall this young girl he had invited in his home, on the supremely unusual request of the God Emperor himself.

Cat looked at him, as if she had just now noticed the man standing in front of her. "I... thank you Prefect. Your house is beautiful." She looked around at the people surrounding them. She was surprised by the sheer number of them.

"You can use my homunculus as translator. She will relate my guest's inquiries to you in perfect Standard and reply and translate your answers to them. How is your studies of the Katunganese language?" Pontilate asked her mellifluously.

Cat gave a strained smile in reply and said. "I am an unworthy student, undeserving of my aunt's talent for teaching."

"I'm sure that's not true. You are too modest." He had an enigmatic expression etched on his aristocratic face when he continued. "Come, you must see the entertainment I have prepared for tonight. You, my dear, will surely appreciate it." He led the way to an outside balcony overlooking a great park. Trees everywhere planted ages ago to organize them into great rows of them, all aligned perfectly, allowing for walking trails and small empty spaces where the grass was lush and green; inviting one to sit down and relax. Pontilate pointed to a great clearing at some distance. Cat could see the top of a gigantic metallic cage, its bars gleaming in the moonlight of the two moons.

"Why is a cage in the middle of your park? It seems wrong somehow." Cat commented.

"It does, doesn't it? It's temporary, I assure you my dear. Incidentally, I did this for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, I thought it was a pity you missed the fighting matches when you saved me from the assassin."

"You didn't need much saving, as I recall my lord."

"But your intervention warned me of his presence which I hadn't detected and saved me the inconvenience of having a blade shoved rudely between my shoulder blades. For that I am grateful." Pontilate bowed.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net