Dressed, as now, in a flowing gown of shimmering white satin, she had met with the Questor General. He was, it seemed to Sofarita, an intelligent man, cultured and sensitive.
She had taken him on the same flight as Questor Ro. He had observed the thirty golden ships and had estimated their arrival at Egaru within twenty-four hours.
He had questioned her at length about her powers, and asked her if she had ever come into contact with a healing crystal. Sofarita was not skilled at lying, but equally she knew that Viruk had broken the law by healing her cancer. ‘Yes,’ she said, finally. ‘I was dying and an Avatar healed me. I will say no more.’
Rael nodded, as if understanding her reticence. His thoughts were easy to read, but of little interest to Sofarita. He was still thinking strongly of the golden ships and how to deal with them. But one striking thought came through, tinged with dread.
Crystal-joined.
Sofarita picked up an image of a young girl, slowly turning to glass, dying in cold and brittle agony. She felt Rael’s pain and drew back from him, allowing him privacy in his remembered grief.
Coming back to the present she wondered how the debate was proceeding within the chamber, and drifted through the wall to hover above the long table. The Questor General was sitting at the head of the table, a slim man with close-cropped blue hair and keen, discerning
eyes. He and the other twenty people present were listening to a hugely fat man. He was adorned with gold, rings on every chubby finger and a massive gold torque upon his swollen neck. Sofarita scanned the councillors. Questor Ro looked angry, his face pale. Beside him sat a slim hawk-faced man fighting to keep a smile from his features. As the fat man continued to speak Ro suddenly stormed to his feet, pointing and shouting. Sofarita, her spirit ears closed, wondered what the row was about.
Tentatively she allowed sound to penetrate.’… insane! Have you completely lost your wits, Caprishan?’
‘Not I, but you,’ replied the fat man. ‘Whatever were you thinking of, Ro? The Vagars exist as our servants. That is what the Source intended. To allow one to live who has demonstrated such power is to undermine everything we stand for. It sends a message to all Vagars that they can aspire to be our equals. And that, my friends,’ he said, turning his gaze from Ro, ‘would be the beginning of the end for us. I recommend that the woman be put to death forthwith!’
As he sat down the Questor General signalled for Ro to speak. The little man tugged on his blue forked beard. These are desperate times, my friends,’ he began, still struggling to control his temper. ‘I have seen the enemy and he is powerful. Very powerful. Thirty ships are on their way here and others have already landed in the far south. Through Sofarita’s power we can observe them, listen to their plans perhaps, and outwit them. Without her we are blind to their ambitions. To talk of continuing Vagar subjugation at such a time is to miss the point entirely. When an avalanche threatens a house one does not wonder whether people will be available to clean the windows.’
The hawk-faced man raised his hand. ‘We recognize our cousin Niclin,’ said the Questor General. Ro sat down.
‘There is a major flaw in Questor Ro’s reasoning,’ he said. ‘We do not know whether the newcomers represent an avalanche or a blessing. They are Avatars, like us. We could be at the dawn of a new age of greatness. Until they arrive, and state their intentions, we cannot judge them. What we do know is that they possessed a power source that enabled them to escape the cataclysm in their own world. Together our combined knowledge could create awesome possibilities for the future. But that is surely a secondary question.
‘Here and now we are discussing the implications for our culture of a young Vagar woman possessed of powers we ourselves no longer enjoy. Caprishan is quite correct to point out the psychological effect that such a woman would have on the Vagars we rule.