Noble Lies

by Gary Inbinder

Chapter 10, Chapter 11
appear in this issue.

Chapter 12

Seated on a couch in Finn’s garden, Zack stared at Berenice, marveling at her transformation. “It’s remarkable, Excellency. No one could tell the difference between her and Mistress Aurelia.”

Seated next to Berenice, the Consul smiled, put his arm around her and gazed lovingly into her dark green eyes. “Do you think you can fool Ludwig, my dear?”

Serenely confident, Berenice replied, “Of course, father.”

Finn took a sip of wine; addressing the General, he remarked, “She’s perfect, isn’t she?” Turning back to Berenice, he added, “Run along now; it’s time for your first session with Ludwig. I’ll expect a complete report afterward, in my study.”

Berenice embraced the Consul, bowed to Zack, and excused herself.

Finn leaned back on his couch, relaxing and savoring his wine, listening to the trickling fountains and warbling artificial songbirds. Sniffing floral and herbal scents wafted by a silent, central ventilation system, he narrowed his eyes and sighed contentedly, like a somnolent purring cat that had just devoured a fat, juicy mouse. “You’ve done well, Zack,” the Consul observed. “My confidence in you is restored.”

Beaming with satisfaction, Zack replied, “I’m forever in your debt and always at your service, Excellency.”

“Indeed you are, General.” Changing the subject, the Consul remarked, “Listen to the song of that nightingale: so elegant and delightful. It must have a purpose beyond the merely utilitarian, don’t you think?”

A bit perplexed, the General answered, “I thought it had something to do with mating and survival of the species; but I do agree, it’s very fine.”

The Consul smirked at the General’s response, sat upright and poured more wine from a lustrous aquamarine glazed jug. “Over the past several days, I contemplated amusing things I might do with those who thwarted my plans. Take Ludwig, for example. I considered putting him in the arena as a special attraction for my pre-election games.”

Zack cringed at the suggestion. “Do you think that’s wise, Excellency? After all, Ludwig is extremely popular. Why risk public discontent at such a crucial time?”

“Life without the spice of risk,” the Consul observed, “is a bland and tasteless dish.” Noticing the General’s seemingly bewildered reaction to his aphorism, Finn reassuringly added, “Don’t worry, Zack. Ludwig would be much more useful standing in my box with the new Aurelia at his side than he would be hacking away at my latest model gladiator androids. Nevertheless, you must admit the aesthetic appeal of such a spectacle.”

Relieved, the General replied, “Of course, Excellency, there’s nothing I like better than a good fight.”

Finn laughed. Reaching for the pitcher, he asked, “More wine, General?”

* * *

Ludwig blinked and asked, “Who’s there?”

After activating a soft, warm, golden-yellow light, Berenice entered Ludwig’s cell, followed by two female android servants. Berenice carried a clean, white toga and toiletries, which she carefully laid on a stainless steel bench in the corner. She walked to Ludwig’s side; a tear streamed from one of her eyes as she stroked his disheveled, unwashed hair, whispering, “Oh, Luddy, I can’t bear to see you like this.”

She unlocked and removed his restraints, while the servants wheeled in two carts: one, laden with hot, delicious smelling food, and aromatic black coffee, and the other, carrying a washbasin filled with scented water, along with sponges, soap and shampoo. Gently helping him from the gurney, Berenice watched as Ludwig stretched his cramped, aching muscles.

Assuming Berenice was Aurelia under the influence of drugs and behavior modification, Ludwig decided to play along with her. “Thank you, Aurelia; it feels great to be free of those shackles.”

Berenice embraced him; after a moment, she looked up and said, “I’m so sorry you had to suffer. Now, everything’s going to be alright; father will forgive us both.”

Turning to the servants, she gave directions for a sponge bath, shampoo and shave. Looking back at Ludwig, she continued, “We’re going to get you cleaned up and dressed, and then you and I will share a meal in more pleasant and familiar surroundings.” Ludwig smiled, remaining docile and silent as the women washed, shaved and clothed him.

After they’d performed their duties to her satisfaction, Berenice dismissed the servants from the room. Manipulating a tiny transmitter on one of the carts, she created a holographic and sensual simulation of Finn’s penthouse roof garden. “Do you remember our last meal here, Luddy? Everything is the same: the sun, sky, clouds, and the ocean breeze. The sounds of the circling birds, the early morning traffic, and the ships at sea, re-created exactly as they were that morning.”

Ludwig marveled at the verisimilitude of the illusion; he sensed the salty gusts and the warming early morning sun. He felt the cool wrought iron and smooth glass top of the little breakfast table and heard the bright, cloth umbrella flapping crisply in the wind. “It’s impossible, Aurelia. My hand should pass through the hologram.”

Berenice replied, “My father has revealed powers to me that even I never dreamed he possessed.”

Still chary of his surroundings, Ludwig sat gingerly. After a minute of accustoming himself to the chair and becoming more or less convinced he wouldn’t plop onto the hard, concrete cell floor, Ludwig greedily devoured his favorite breakfast of steak, eggs and fried potatoes smothered in hot sauce, washed down with large glassfuls of fresh orange juice and hot, strong black coffee.

Eventually feeling full, he leaned back and said, “That was so good, Aurelia. I can’t remember ever being this hungry, even when I was living on half-rations in the field.”

Berenice took his hand in hers. “I must go now and report to father, but I’ll be back to visit you, soon.”

Ludwig replied, “I miss you so much. Please convince your father of my loyalty. I’ll do anything he wants, just so we can be together again.”

“I’ll do my best, Luddy. Goodbye for now.” Berenice got up from the table and walked to the cart. Taking the transmitter in her hand, she said, “I must re-program the room, before leaving.” Ludwig stood, moving away from the table and chair, while Berenice transformed the roof garden, into the bedroom at Cato’s villa. “I think you’ll be more comfortable here. Of course, there’s an impenetrable force field blocking the exits. Don’t worry; I’ll make a very positive report to father, and I’m certain we’ll be back together very soon.”

Ludwig responded with a passive grin, feeling refreshed, well fed and in far more pleasant surroundings than before. Nevertheless, Ludwig was deeply troubled. He had no idea what Finn had done to change Aurelia, nor did he have any explanation for the illusions. There still must be a way out, he thought. If only I could recover the power of the Aureus.

“Before business, a little pleasure, daughter. I want you to develop an appreciation for the finer things.” Finn sat behind the desk in his study, pouring a snifter of cognac for Berenice, who sat next to him, in an Empire period armchair. “Taste it,” Finn continued, “and tell me what you think.”

Berenice held the snifter up to the light to better observe the dark, amber liquid’s color density, swirled it a bit, sniffed the aroma and then took a sip onto her palate and tongue. After a moment of reflection, she declared, “I believe this is from the one hundred year-old reserve casks at the northern villa; respectable, but not your best.”

Finn beamed with pleasure at her comment. “Very good, my dear; the daughter of the future Pontifex Maximus should know how to pontificate. Just remember to litter your observations with rubbishy words like “complexity,” “nuance,” “subtlety,” and “structure”; people will think you know what you’re talking about, even when you don’t. Now, tell me about your session with Ludwig.”

Berenice took another sip of cognac, replaced the snifter on a silver tray and began her report. “Ludwig is perplexed, but I believe he’s still capable of logical problem-solving. He believes that I’m Aurelia, but he also thinks that you’ve drugged and psychologically re-programmed me. I’m sure my illusions impressed him, and he must be convinced that you possess powers equal to or greater than Cato’s.”

“Alright, as far as it goes,” the Consul interjected. “Now, tell me something about his tactics and strategy; anticipate his moves.”

“Ludwig is playing dumb and docile, to put us off guard. I believe he’s planning to escape with the aid of the power of the Aureus.”

The Consul leaned closer to Berenice, hovering over her, and staring into her eyes. “How do you think he can use the Aureus, when it’s in my possession?”

“I noticed a scar on his chest. It’s a distinguishing mark: the sign of the ancient cult. The power is within him; I believe he may already realize that and will begin to use it.”

Finn grasped Berenice’s hand, squeezing it tightly in his powerful grip. “Tell me, child, how will Ludwig use his power? What is his next move?”

Serene and unperturbed, Berenice replied, “First, he’ll prudently test his powers, to determine whether or not he can mentally travel outside his cell without his movement being detected. If his experiment is successful, I believe he’ll try to intercept Charmaine and then contact Slim and Dax. This strategy saves his comrades and eliminates an enemy without betraying his intentions to us.”

Finn relaxed his grip, noticing the redness of Berenice’s hand; despite his painful grasp, she hadn’t flinched or wavered. Admiring her cool reasoning and calm demeanor under stress, he lovingly stroked her smooth forearm and replied, “You’ve done well my child; you may go now. Stay away from Ludwig until I’ve given you further instructions.”

After Berenice left the room, the Consul leaned back in his chair, took a swig of brandy and thought, It’s the eighty-five year old reserve, but who cares? She blathers like an aristocrat, and that’s all that matters. Closing his eyes and rubbing his brow, Finn muttered, “I’ll meet you in the mountains, Ludwig, and we’ll see how you’ve progressed. As for your Aurelia, I’ll pay her a little visit also, after I’ve taken care of business with you.”

Ludwig sat in a comfortable leather armchair, enjoying an after-dinner scotch and cigar. His new prison contained all the Golden amenities; his female androids even proposed spending the evening with him, an offer he politely declined.

After finishing his scotch and placing his half-consumed smoke in a silver ashtray, Ludwig walked to the bathroom. Staring into the mirror, under the high intensity shaving and make-up light, he scrutinized the cicatrice on his chest. Recalling something Bambi had said about the power entering him, Ludwig theorized that the mark was both a sign of recognition and a key to unlocking the power source; he would test his hypothesis that evening.

At ten-thirty p.m., an android servant knocked; entering the bedroom, she asked Ludwig if he wanted anything. After receiving a negative reply, the android bowed, bid Ludwig goodnight and quietly exited the room.

As soon as the android left, Ludwig knelt in a corner of the bedroom, just as he had done in the safe house antechamber. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the symbol of the crossed spears, cup and hovering bird. Instantly, brilliant green-gold light diffused throughout the bedroom; the scar on his chest burned like a red-hot brand.

Maintaining his composure, Ludwig thought himself through the entranceway force field. The light disappeared abruptly, and the burning sensation subsided and then ceased.

Ludwig found himself standing in the middle of a long, dimly lit, concrete corridor. While orienting himself to his new surroundings, he noticed one of his servants walking in front of him; apparently the android passed through him, as though he were an apparition.

Turning to his right, he looked through the force field entrance to his cell that acted like a two-way mirror, permitting the guards to observe the prisoner without the prisoner seeing them. On the floor, in the corner of the cell, his substantial form kneeled, exactly as he was before summoning the unknown power. This is better than I imagined, he thought. Now, let’s find out where I am and then go into the mountains, to stop Charmaine.

Ludwig explored the corridor, making a mental map of the area, including his cell’s location. However, in his eagerness to locate Charmaine and make contact with Slim and Dax, he cut short his reconnaissance and followed a servant into an elevator, noting that he was in a second level sub-basement of Finn’s building.

Exiting on the twentieth floor, Ludwig immediately realized where he was: it was a servant’s hallway near the kitchen of Finn’s Capitol Hill penthouse. Having seen enough for the time being, he teleported to the location of a ski lodge where Slim and Dax planned to rendezvous with Cato’s agent.

Ludwig floated through an evergreen forest and over deep snowdrifts, onto the crest of a steep hill. The purple sky glimmered in pale moonlight, sparkling in reflection on the frigid white carpet spreading below. Mild winds sprayed glittering, silvery powder across the frozen landscape. To his left, beyond the hill’s ridgeline and about two miles distant, the shadowy crags and snowy peaks of a great mountain loomed huge and ominous. Ahead of him, about a hundred feet up a narrow, swept walkway, stood a small cabin, with wispy smoke rising from its low chimney.

Ludwig entered the cabin. Dax slept in an upstairs bedroom. Slim was on guard in the main room; he sat on a plain, rustic wooden chair by the fireplace. Satisfied that his friends were alone and unharmed, Ludwig hovered outside the front door. Scanning the perimeter, looking for Charmaine, he didn’t have to search for long. She emerged from the forest, walking along the pathway toward the cabin. Hurtling forward, he passed through her without having any effect.

Realizing that he would have to take form to block her, he materialized. The combat ’droid attacked him on sight, aiming a killing blow that he expertly deflected.

Ludwig fought Charmaine, the way he had fought Finn in the alternate world, enhancing his considerable martial arts skills with movements at the speed of thought. Powerful as the android was, she was no match for Ludwig. After a few minutes of combat, Ludwig decapitated her, sending her head flying over the ridge. Her quivering, truncated body fell into the drift; spewing android blood melted the snow, staining the frozen ground red.

Hearing the commotion, Slim and Dax ran out of the cabin, just in time to witness Ludwig’s killing blow. Sensing imminent danger, Ludwig called to them, “Get away from here now. I’ll contact you later.”

Slim and Dax ran to the hover-car, put it in full flying mode and escaped, just as Consul Finn appeared at the cabin door. Surveying Charmaine’s wreckage, Finn remarked, “What a waste of good machinery.” Glowering at Ludwig, he added, “Now that you’ve finished sparring, are you ready for a fight?”

Ludwig flew at the Consul; Finn evaded him, streaking across the chasm to the mountain’s ice-crusted summit, where he stood, jeering, “Why don’t you go home now, like a good boy? Aurelia wants you.”

Ludwig shot to Finn’s side, where they grappled on the wind-swept precipice, thousands of feet above the valley floor. As they struggled, lightning flashed through the black sky, striking the peaks with blazing, phosphorous bomb-like explosions. Thunder roared, and gust-whipped hail pelted them like frozen buckshot. Finally, Finn caught Ludwig off guard, throwing him from the summit onto the other side of the mountain, where he tumbled halfway down the glacier, into a crevasse.

Recovering, Ludwig looked up just in time to see Finn hurl his spear. Ludwig avoided the deathblow, moving aside as the hurtling lance burrowed deep into the glacier, triggering an avalanche. Borne downward by tons of falling ice, rock and snow, Ludwig teleported himself out of danger.

Battered and bleeding, Ludwig lay on his back, on the cabin floor. His vision obscured by blood flowing from a gash in his forehead, he sensed a nearby presence. Wiping his eyes and desperately trying to focus, he looked up, recognizing a face. Emerging from the shadows, lit by the flickering fireplace, Consul Finn grinned, as he watched Ludwig drift into unconsciousness.

Ludwig awoke on the silk-sheeted bed of his Golden prison cell. Unfettered, he turned painfully to one side and saw Berenice beside him; she wore a brief, translucent nightgown.

Reaching out with her soft, fragrant hand, she tenderly stroked his cheek and whispered, “Luddy, we were so worried. You walked into the force field and got a terrible shock. You’re lucky to be alive.”

Ludwig stared at her in bewilderment and despair. He recalled the merciless beating he received from his father years earlier and his father’s words about the death of the weak and the survival of the strong. His spirit crushed by a sense of shame and dishonor he stared at Berenice, imploring, “Aurelia, if you still love me, please kill me.”

Holding him in her arms, Berenice burst into tears, exclaiming, “Please don’t say that; you must live for me... and our child.”

To be continued...