James White - The First Protector

"In that you are not alone," said the Emperor dryly. "But in this nonreligion that you teach, are your students invited to contribute, voluntarily of course, to cover the cost of providing tapers, candles, food, wine, and such to maintain an agreeable level of worldly comfort for their teacher?"

Ma'el's reply was quiet, deferential and the words well-chosen as befitted one who was telling the most powerful man in the world that he was wrong.

"Imperator," he said, "no collections are taken up. The young women who come to me are required to bring nothing with them but their minds. If any of them should try to make such a contribution, they are thanked and instructed to give or spend their coins elsewhere. I have no need of wealth or property beyond that which I already possess, and feel no desire to complicate my life by making additions to it."

"If what you say is true," said the other, a skeptical edge in his tone, "then you are indeed a wealthy and contented man. But what exactly do you teach, and why is it taught only to young women?"

Ma'el did not answer at once and the Emperor said impatiently, "Come, come, learned magician. Do not waste my time on verbal invention. Be truthful or at least let your lies be consistent with the truth I already know, because certain young and nubile slaves of my household attended your meetings and reported the proceedings back to me. It surprised me when they said that you taught without asking anything for yourself, not even the payment in carnal pleasure that a young woman can give to an old and loveless man. Speak without delay."

"My apologies, Imperator," said Ma'el. "I paused but to order my thoughts and fit the right words to them…"

As he listened, Declan was reminded of the time the old man had explained the workings of his magic chart to Captain Nolan when he had been warning him of the impending storm. Then his words had been strange, precise but confusing. Constantine was an intelligent man, but it would not be wise for Ma'el to risk confusing him to the point where he might feel stupid in front of strangers. An angry Emperor and judge was not what they needed just now. Fervently he hoped that the old man would think about their situation and use words that were simple and reassuring rather than precise and confusing.

Sinead had refused to tell him anything about those meetings, either out of sheer perversity or because there was nothing to tell, and he and Klum'bgaa had been unable to see or hear anything because they had been standing guard at the mouth of the access tunnel to ensure that it was only females of the specified ages who gained entry. He already knew how the deep underground chamber looked when it was empty, but now Ma'el's clear, simple words were painting bright pictures in his mind of what had been happening there.

He saw the big chamber lit by a hundred long candles each of which was being held in the joined hands of young, bareheaded women dressed in white robes. They had not been required to wear this form of dress, Ma'el said, but all of them had elected to do so because they sensed the importance of the occasion and wanted to be fittingly attired. Each candle was being held so that its flame was at eye level to the bearer, who stared at it without word or movement. The only sound was the soft, clear and continuous voice of Ma'el as he moved among them to stand briefly behind each one in turn while he placed his hands lightly on the top of every head.

"… The laying on of hands and the focusing of attention on the candle flames," Ma'el was saying, "have no religious significance. They are simply a means of concentrating the recipient's mind on what I am saying to them, for it is they who must do the real work. They use my words to travel and explore the inner paths of their own minds so that they can find and, of more importance, recognize a gift that is already in the possession of all women. Alas, many of their minds will not be responsive enough to be able to find, recognize, or use this gift that is already theirs…"

"Magician," the Emperor broke in impatiently, "your words are clear but their meaning is not. You must now make the meaning of your words clear to me. Describe this gift, how is it used, and why it is that only women possess it?"

Please, Ma 'el, Declan pleaded silently, no living charts, no weather systems and no geostationary orbits, whatever they are. Keep it simple. But when the old man resumed it was as if he had overheard the unspoken thoughts.

"Imperator," Ma'el replied, "the last part of your question is the most important and bears on the rest, so with your leave I shall answer it first.

"Women are your childbearers," he went on, "and on them depends the future of mankind. Men play an important part also, by combining and passing on the inheritance of health, strength, and beauty that they receive from both their male and female parents. But unlike the man, it is the woman who has a direct connection through her own body and those of her mother and her mother's mother before her into the distant past. The connection that exists between this succession of females' bodies also extends into the far future.

"If I have succeeded in awakening it, which is by no means certain, the ability will make it possible for these women to see into the futures of their female descendants and to view the important events that will affect their lives."

Constantine looked as if he wanted to speak but could not find the words, and his features were beginning to darken with anger.

Ma'el went on quickly, "In the past that is distant beyond the memory of memories or the writings of our earliest ancestors, when the world was young and savage beasts ruled the earth, the ability would have been used to warn the fighting men of dangers that would threaten the unborn young and the future of their tribe. But in these times of civilization and culture and the rule of law, there is less danger and the ability has fallen into disuse and been lost.

"But occasionally, when dire events impend, the ability is awakened and future events are seen, perhaps imperfectly, in the form of visions or dreams. An instance could have been the warning dream of Calpurnia before the assassination of Julius Caesar, her husband, which caused a great upheaval in the Empire. Another might have been the…"

"Enough," said Constantine, an angry edge in his voice, "of your metaphysical babblings. It might be amusing to debate this strange theory with you if matters of state left me time for amusement. Your idea is ridiculous. You are saying that men, who in the past have carved empires out of the wilderness and raised great cities and temples that are eternal works of art, live only because of their womenfolk and are blind to their future. Magician, this is demonstrable nonsense."

"With respect, Imperator," said Ma'el gently, "your men are the builders and defenders and fathers of their people, but the women are the lifegivers and preservers. I wish to help them to warn and preserve your people from the many grave dangers that are to come."

The Emperor was silent for a long moment while Declan joined Sinead and Brian in holding their breath. When Constantine spoke again his tone was still angry, but judicial.

"Ma'el," he said, "I find no evidence of criminal intent in your activities, and you furnish the proof yet again that an intelligent man can be a fool and misguided in the thinking of which he is capable. Your contention that women are equal if not superior to men is untenable. Women are both a necessity and a pleasure for the continuance of life, just as is the grain and the cattle we eat to sustain us and the beasts of burden that work for us or carry us into battle. Like those beasts we feed and treat them with fairness and consideration or, if the circumstances warrant it, by applying the whip. Often, like beautiful and docile beasts, we come to love some of them deeply. But they are not and never will be the equals of men."