![]() Walking along peaceful Bell Boulevard this late at night, he could hardly believe that war raged in Europe, that the Benefactors roved the Restricted Zone in killing packs, and that he had been passed over as Cardinal.Īs he reached Corinthians Avenue, he saw St. He saw a barn owl staring down at him from a telephone pole. He liked its pleasant avenues and stately ivy-covered homes. It was by far the oldest part of the city and also the most attractive. Bernardine’s Shrine, a square mile of prime real estate at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, where most of God’s good government in the Territory was conducted, and where most of the clergy and civil servants lived. He was in that wide, flat part of the city known as St. He walked down Appleby and turned left onto Bell Boulevard, then continued toward Cyrus-of-Jerusalem Square. His home now seemed like a haven to him, a place where he could hide from the Benefactors. A breeze rustled through the poppies in the flower bed next to the white picket fence. Tastefully placed flood-lamps lit the front. He put his jacket on, went outside, and looked up at the Ecclesiarch’s Manse. “I’ll be waiting for you,” she said, lifting her Bible from the bedside table. The ankle doesn’t feel too bad right now. Unless they knew about his Latin-English dictionary. “I know, but I still feel guilty for some reason,” he said. We have to take care to appease them any way we can, just as Abraham did when he sacrificed his son Isaac to them.” They’ve destroyed whole cities and wiped out entire armies. We have to remember that they can be truly dangerous and that we should take care not to stir their wrath. “We have to remember, as the Bible tells us, that the Benefactors can be great and terrible when they have to be and that they should be treated with caution. “I thought he was going to kill me, Ingrid,” he said. “Eric?” She must have seen the uneasy look on his face. She rolled over, and blinked in the light. He stood up and tested his weight, took a few steps. Still badly bruised, but at least he wasn’t limping anymore. He turned on the lamp and looked at his ankle. ![]() He pushed himself up and swung his feet out of bed. Walked by … as if Gallio the Vanquisher were the most loathsome man in the universe.Įric couldn’t get to sleep. He was sure Filoda would reassure him that he wasn’t loathed. But he wanted to make sure Filoda still liked him, so he simply extended his hand in greeting. Anything Gallio said would sound like bird chatter to Filoda. The Anvil rose, silhouetting the Ionic columns of the outdoor bath on top of the hill. He should try to remember more often that he was once the legendary General Publius Gallio Corvinus, vanquisher of worlds, enslaver of whole races, one of Caesar’s handpicked favorites, not a soft and corpulent governor on a backwater planet like Hortus.Īs the last light of day faded from the sky, Filoda appeared over the hillside carrying a basket of olives. He would like to see his belly flat again some day. He didn’t want to believe that the Hortulani could loathe him. The olives were as big as fists and as green as the sea. Later, after Gaius Lurio had departed in his pendeo carrus for the capital, Gallio strolled down an irrigation access lane and climbed the hill into the olive grove. They know we can pin the Anvil to the sky any time we like. There’s no word for extortion in their own language, but they understand the concept well enough. ![]() Something about Lurio’s eyes bothered Gallio these days. “Could we not offer them a form of free association?” he suggested. Gallio glanced at the rolling countryside, where Hortulani farmhands worked in the fields. A conquered race feels not so conquered when they’re given the opportunity to talk.” Roman citizens wishing to stay on Hortus will have to apply for temporary immigrant status until a wider and more detailed immigration bill is adopted.” Lurio sat back and grinned widely. They’ve drafted legislation that demands immediate withdrawal of Roman troops and colonial civil service staff from Hortus. They’ve enacted an unilateral severance treaty, and they tell us they’ll stop paying tribute to Rome in sixty days. “But the Hortulani Senate tells us that their own Societas Scientia has figured out a way to lift the Anvil into a stable orbit, and that therefore they won’t be needing our services anymore. “I wish I could say they were,” replied Lurio. “I hope the talks are of a peaceful nature,” he said. Was he really so far removed from the center of things that he had heard no rumor of talks between Granarium and Elysium? I’m here to conduct talks with the Hortulani’s Senate in Granarium.” “I’ll speak frankly, Gallio,” said Lurio. ![]()
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