Alexander Kazantsev - The Destruction of Faena

Ave’s views were rejected by the experts as absurd. He became disillusioned in the Elders of learning, in the teachings and in himself, lost heart and began to pine away.

His father merely shrugged his shoulders. He would have preferred a son more adapted to life, although he loved and pitied him.

And now Kutsi Merc was demanding a sacrifice… To carry out the task, Dobr Mar must risk his son’s life.

Kutsi Merc was certainly calculating that the Ruler would back down, but he was mistaken. The Ruler, too, was cornered.

…As he remembered all this, Dobr Mar, “defender of the right and culture”, did not know what to do. He did not know how the operation on Powermania was going to turn out. Would the crazy mission succeed? Would the dangerous Kutsi Merc be eliminated, and would Ave survive?

Every evening, when bright Jupi began shining over the Dread Wall, Mother Lua conducted the alien Ave to her charge.

She kept watch for them with the hunchback, who always accompanied his master. The nurse and the secretary did not get on very well with one another. The hunchback was trying to get Mother Lua to take him somewhere, but she was frightened.

One evening, Ave came into the garden looking downcast.

“What’s the matter?” asked Mada in alarm.

Ave Mar confessed that he had to leave the Great Shore on the following day. The travellers were not allowed to stay any longer near the Dictator’s palace. Kutsi had spotted that they were being trailed.

The young Faetians, as at their first tryst, were standing in the shadow of the trees. Mada rested her head on Ave’s breast and wept. He stroked her hair, not knowing what to say. It was obvious that they loved one another and could not bear to be apart.

Mada held her head back and looked up at Ave. His curly hair blotted out the stars.

“Everything’ll sort itself out,” he said reassuringly. “We must use certain of your father’s oddities—his attachment to the old customs, for instance. He refers in his teaching to the former monarchs; he even remembers that intermarriage between the children of hostile kings used to stave off war. I’m going to my father. I shall ask him to approach Yar Jupi with an offer of alliance between us.”

Mada shook her head.

“What? Get married now?” Ave had read her mind.

“Yes. Before you leave.”

Mada said this firmly, almost imperiously.

“You mean tonight?” asked Ave, perplexed. “But who’s capable of marrying two polar opposites of hostility?”

Mada laughed, although her face was still wet with tears. Ave had an odd way of putting things in a foreign language.

“You just don’t know the ways of the Superiors. It’s the roundheads that need permission from the authorities to get married. But we longfaces are free. Any of the Superiors whose age exceeds the combined ages of the lovers can pronounce them man and wife.”

“But where are we going to find such an elder? Ave is only a guest of the Superiors.”

“What does ‘guest’ mean? Are you helpless to find an answer?”

Ave flared up.

“I was a pupil of Dm Sat himself, the first Elder of learning on the planet. He is old enough and he lives here.”

“But he’s a roundhead,” said Mada disappointedly.

“Urn Sat has only just been proclaimed ‘honorary longface’ in Powermania. He is equal to the Superiors amongst the Superiors.”

Mada pushed Ave away from her, but clasped his hands in hers as she looked adoringly up at him.

“Hurry to him! You’re a true Faetian and you’ll be able to convince him.”

Bowing low, the hunchback Kutsi Merc conducted the young Faetian into Dm Sat’s cell.

“Ave Mar? You have returned to your teacher?” said the Elder, half-rising from his chair to greet them.

“Yes, I have—at a most difficult moment in my life.”

“You speak as though it were a matter of life or death.”

“No!” Ave vigorously shook his head. “Much more. A matter of happiness!”

The Elder looked intently at his pupil’s face.

“So that’s it! But how can I help?”

“By using the rights bestowed on him by the Council of Blood, Dm Sat, by the law of the Superiors, has the right to join together for all time Ave Mar and she whom he loves more than life.”

“The clear-thinking Ave Mar has chosen none other than the daughter of Dictator Yar Jupi, the beautiful Mada, in spite of the obstacles,” interposed Kutsi Merc in the flowery language of Powermania.

“What? Roundhead Sat is to use the rights of the oppressors?” The old man was outraged.

“It is not just a matter of love,” interposed Kutsi Merc again. “The marriage of the son and daughter of the rulers of two continents will help to avert a war… That is what Yar Jupi says in his teaching.”

The cunning Kutsi knew how to convince Um Sat. The Elder became thoughtful.

“He talks sensibly. Though burning with shame, I did not reject the gift of the barbarians solely because I was thinking of how to avoid war.”

“Then use your rights and help us to be happy!” responded Ave.

“What must I do?” asked the Elder.

“The ceremony is quite simple. Mada’s nurse and Kutsi Merc will be the witnesses.”

“Is that enough?” The Elder was amazed.

“Yes, for the age of Um Sat exceeds the combined ages of the lovers, and he has the right to join them in wedlock.”

“So the man who created the doctrine of matter, the man who refuted the religions of the past,” said the Elder with a smile, “will have to perform almost the function of an unworthy priest…”

“And, what is more, in the shrine of a former temple,” interposed Kutsi Merc.

“Then let the marriage truly serve peace and remain a secret for the time being,” decided the scientist. “The wedding will be announced when Ave returns to Danjab. May it help the father to come to terms with Yar Jupi, if the Dictator is really in the traditions of the ancient monarchs.”

“So be it!” announced the hunchback.

“I will persuade my father. He’s a politician and won’t miss such a chance,” said Ave warmly in support. “However, the ceremony absolutely must take place tonight.”

“Why the hurry?” said Um Sat with a frown.

“Alas, travellers, even distinguished ones, cannot stay for long near the Dictator’s palace. Besides … it was Mada’s request.”

“There is no Faetess more beautiful and intelligent! She thinks of everything,” commented Kutsi Merc.

“Well, then…” Um Sat shrugged his shoulders. “The shrine is empty. And old men don’t need such a lot of sleep.”

Ave silently embraced his teacher. Um Sat gazed sadly at him for a long time.

The Blood Door opened once again. Mother Lua, as usual, was waiting for Ave and Kutsi in the half-ruined portico. The three of them went into the ancient monastery garden, lit now by the faint light of Lua. The dangling lianas didn’t look like snakes any more, they suggested the cords of costly curtains screening off the garden. The trees resembled colonnaded galleries.

There was a fragrance of rotting leaves and something strange and gentle—perhaps the flowers that Yar Jupi used to grow with such passion.

Mada was waiting for her beloved and rushed to meet him as soon as he walked through the Blood Door.

“Has he agreed?”

“Urn Sat has so far created reactions of disintegration, but now (may Kutsi Merc be forgiven for this!) he will have to accomplish the opposite,” joked the hunchback, and he grinned, but quickly changed the grin into an ingratiating smile.

It had grown dark in the garden. The silver light had faded. Lightning began flashing beyond the outer wall, casting dense black shadows onto the shrubbery. One of the trees seemed to leap out of the darkness and blaze up, its white bark shining.