Immortalys

Chapter Nineteen: The Requisition

Altair was shaken from his passionate reverie by the rapid sound of a chime behind him. Returning to the window-seat, he found that a new text had appeared on his Surface, sent by Cassandra Donahue. He smiled to himself as he perused the request:

"Altair: I assume the 11:00 meeting has concluded. You had been wondering if the Withouts had anything in particular they wanted to do as their house was being built. Linda Alioth informed me today that Willow and Friction expressed a wish to visit Deneb while on the tour. If indeed you want to grant them a vacation, this would be it."

Cheered that his thoughts had been interrupted by an occasion such as this, Altair replied, "Thank you, Cassandra. I would be happy to grant them a vacation to Deneb. I'll surmise that your Tours and Recreation Board will make all the arrangements."

"Sounds good," Cassandra responded quickly. "We'll surprise the Withouts with the good news. I can only conclude that you think very highly of them!"

"I do," he typed back. "Also, make sure you don't leave out Blainey."

"Blainey? Ok, we'll let her know she's invited too. Any particular reason?"

"She's their friend," was Altair's simple answer.

Cassandra replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

What a treat they're going to get soon, Altair said happily to himself as he lounged on the window-seat again. Certainly their appreciation for Immortalys would grow deeper as they saw the many benefits citizens enjoyed all over the empire, the beauty of Deneb, and the generosity of the officers. It was any Without's desire to leave Immortalys that pained Altair the most.

Now, he knew, Willow, Friction, and Blainey would be travelling to Deneb in anticipation at the same time Altair would be travelling to Amn-Heuthe.

He had scarcely sat down for thirty seconds when another chime sounded in the direction of his desk, it being a different pitch than the text he had just received. Slightly ruffled, Altair approached the desk. A new notification had just appeared on the large screen, marked with a red border signifying it was urgent.

He started to scan this new request with the same casualness as he had the first one, but after only a few words his face paled, and his knuckles whitened after each line as he clenched his fists on the desk. It had been ages since such a message as this had appeared on his screen.

His personal plans he so carefully constructed in the last month were now in jeopardy.

ATTENTION: URGENT CALL ADDRESSED TO ALL MAJOR SOVERIGN LEADERS OF THE CAL'HAQ SUPERCLUSTER

Queen Hehatl Terahoirr of Ethel'reille and dictator Bo'Razhar of Ak'har have formally called a council to be held on Polaesshia on the fixed date of 4113.25.9 ULST (Universal Linear Standard Time). The discussion will be centered on the uncertain ownership of the newly discovered planet named Ae'Horn in the Fringes of the Myrrhah Galaxy, which both said leaders stake claim to. All leaders who have received this message are expected to convene.

--Congress of Interplanetary Relations

Altair, his fingers curling and uncurling upon his desk, felt his ambivalent emotions making him feverish. 4113.25.9? he repeated to himself. Why must they have chosen so unfortunate a date? I'm supposed to be travelling to Amn-Heuthe then.

Then again, he thought, if I'm not at the council, I could miss out on a huge opportunity. Leaders didn't call councils if they could work out the ownership problem by themselves; this was as good as throwing the planet into the open market. Just by showing up, he could get lucky.

It had been exactly eleven years since the last council, when again Bo'Razhar was the one causing trouble; it was the presidency of Beldov which had requested it then, wanting their borders to be better drawn since they claimed the Ak'har military forces kept trespassing. Indeed, Bo'Razhar was that leader who loved to conquer places and cause grief to other people, provided he could hoard precious resources to himself. At least he was appreciated a little better at home, where there was much competition to work in his government center on the main planet of Ak'har. Furthermore, he had at least thirty wives, which he hand-picked from the most beautiful women in the capital, and which he bragged about mercilessly in front of the other leaders at almost every council— especially in front of Altair, whose status of being unmarried was always Bo'Razhar's primary target.

"You stump me," he had bluntly said after a council once in his thick accent, standing on his short stout legs and gazing up at the much taller Altair. "Of all the planets you own and all the years you've lived, you haven't even gotten yourself one wife."

"I'm waiting for the right one," Altair replied simply. "Who knows how long it will take?"

"Bah..." Bo'Razhar flapped a hand. "There's no such thing as the 'right one,' Chasm; you take what you get. Let me divulge to you some advice: once you see a good one, you take her before someone else does. Else, you'll probably be waiting forever." He beckoned Altair to pace the floor with him as if they were talking about some serious leadership business. "Listen: women are the most fickle things. If they're unhappy in the smallest way about what they've got, they'll move on to someone more satisfying. Putting your trust in a 'loyal' wife is only going to purchase you disappointment once she elopes with somebody else. Here's my solution for you, Altair: keep many women, and give them all that they could desire as long as they live with you. If one is unsatisfying, leave her in her room and grab the next one on hand, and take her to bed with you. They'll have no doubt of your power and charm over them; they love it."

Altair stopped pacing to gaze at Bo'Razhar intently, not bothering to hide that his lip had curled in disgust. "Bo'Razhar," he said, "that's not the kind of power that I want. Besides, you know the laws I set up in Immortalys: a man can only marry one woman."

Bo'Razhar rolled his eyes. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you when someday you become depressed because you've got no women."

Such were Bo'Razhar's domestic policies.

Altair, taking a seat in front of the large screen displaying the newest requisition, noted the other person who had called the council: Queen Hehatl Terahoirr. The monarch of a kingdom comprised of one planet only, she was a much different kind of ruler than Bo'Razhar was. Uninterested in expansion, she busied herself with looking after her people and carefully watching the movements of foreign powers. Altair thought it rather unusual for her to have called the council, especially since she never cared for new planets, and figured that whatever was happening with the planet Ae'Horn must have been Bo'Razhar's fault.

Altair and Queen Terahoirr had always been friendly towards each other, despite his obsession with expansion and her disapproval of it. After a promise of never invading each other's territories with armed forces, they became the most agreeable of trade partners. She had visited Immortalys a few times and received feasts in her honor in the capital city, and in turn she had occasionally invited Altair to Ethel'reille for their yearly feasts. In contrast to Altair's hesitance to see Bo'Razhar again, he would be pleased to see Queen Terahoirr.

If only it was any other time than the time they had announced.

Well... he said darkly to himself as he picked up his Surface, thinking about his foiled plans, I'll have to tell Seneca and Andromeda I'll be joining them in a couple of weeks rather than one.

Besides, if he played this well, Immortalys might even walk away with another planet to add to the Logbook. Physical strength and military prestige, of course, could be overruled by a few cunningly formulated words from a skilled rhetor. And when the council was finished, despite what will have happened during it, Altair's reward would be the knowledge he would uncover on Amn-Heuthe.

He had waited nearly two centuries to go to Amn-Heuthe; another month shouldn't make that much of a difference.