Page 45 of Alien Peacock
We’re standing about halfway up the spiral. At regular intervals, there are little spots of light that shine on strange objects, all different. There must be hundreds or even thousands of them.
I walk to the nearest one. “What is this?”
“I haven’t been able to find out exactly what it depicts. It’s probably a sculpture, like most of the other objects.”
The thing does look like a sculpture, all crystals and weirdness. “On Earth we call this ‘art’.”
“Ait?”
“Arrrt.It only exists to be itself. It has no other function.”
Arelion reaches out and taps the sculpture with one finger. It rings with a bright, many-layeredting. “I thought that sound meant something.”
I try the same, making a different, deeperbongthat lasts for a long time and seems to go up and down a long scale of tones. “Maybe it does. Maybe it’s part of the art. Or maybe I’m completely wrong and it’s just a part of an alien hyperdrive.”
“No, I think you may be right. On Eo we also make objects that are made for no particular purpose, except to look like other things or persons or such. But we prefer ourartto be beautiful, whereas these things are mostly strange. Some are quite unappealing.”
We walk along the spiral, going up.
The next artwork is a cube that looks simple, but when I look closer, there are smaller shapes within it, and then even smaller shapes within them, and then shapes that seem to move and pull away, as if into an infinite space…
“Maeve.” Arelion touches my shoulder.
I snap out of it, suddenly conscious that minutes must have passed. “Oh, sorry. It’s hard to look away from that.”
He nods. “That’s what I meant when I said this is a place it’s easy to get stuck in. Many of the objects are like that, some of them much worse than this one. Sometimes after I’ve been in here, I dream of them at night. But still I come to look at them whenever I visit Gigori.”
We walk on.
“Peroena called you ‘Your Supremacy’,” I state. “Does that mean that you own this place? Or does it have something to do with the job you want?”
“You’re right on both counts. The ‘job’ is that of Supreme Leader of the planet Eo. And I already have it. The people elected me some time ago. But I was prevented from assuming the position because a warlord called Buroteo invaded our capital city and occupied the planet with thousands of alien troops. I barely escaped with some of my friends. Buroteo claims that the Fire Mages never acknowledged that I’m the rightful Leader, and so I must be considered unwanted.”
Arelion’s voice is flat, but I can sense the tension below the surface.
“But they did really acknowledge you?”
He snorts. “It’s been hundreds of years since any Supreme Leader of Eo has needed the acknowledgement of the Fire Mages. It’s an ancient custom that has lost all meaning. No, it’s a completely made up reason that would never work if Buroteo hadn’t brought his troops to the planet. That is strictly forbidden, by the way. You don’t bring alien forces to Eo itself! It’s a capital offense. But that’s not the worst part. He’s now locked the planet down and started the most repressive rule we’ve ever seen. There are executions, disappearances, andarbitrary arrests. The courts of law have been dissolved, and the population lives in a state of fear. Buroteo has started a cult of personality, and he insists on being called Liberator. Anyone who opposes him is arrested. There are many other things that I can’t bear to think about. But none of it can continue!”
I’m starting to feel overwhelmed. Arelion, the elected leader of a whole planet? And yet, once I’m over the first surprise, I accept it as obviously true. I’ve never met a more natural leader than him. “So how will it help if you get the archmagus to acknowledge you?”
Arelion takes a deep breath, calming himself. “Then Buroteo’s argument crumbles, and I can legally bring my own forces in to defeat his aliens. Most of them would desert him, anyway. If an archmagus gets involved, you don’t want to be on the opposing side.”
“And if he won’t help you?”
His jaw clenches. “Then I will have to bring forces in illegally. It will be a real war, with both sides fighting hard. And while I’m sure we’ll win, I want to avoid the bloodshed. But I refuse to accept my people being repressed by anyone. I’d rather die than watch it happen.”
We stop at the next artwork, an ever-moving flame made from some kind of luminous plasma. It dances and shifts before our eyes. It’s even more hypnotic than the other one.
“Don’t look at this too closely,” Arelion warns. “I once had to come and get Peroena out of here after she was gone for nearly a day. She was standing here, staring at this thing. She might have starved to death without knowing it. The next one is much better.”
I look up at him. “I never knew you had that kind of responsibility, Arelion. Supreme Leader of your planet.”
He shrugs. “It’s not the kind of thing I broadcast. It would be ridiculous to make a big splash about it when I can’t even land on my own planet without being attacked or arrested. The galaxy is full of people who claim to be the rightful rulers of their planets. Most of them are out of their minds. In my case, it happens to be true.”
We reach another artwork. It’s a cylinder coated with intricate, metallic panels that shine like mirrors, but are really pictures of landscapes and cityscapes. As I get closer, they start to move like films, spinning soundlessly all the while. Clouds slide past alien suns, beings walk or crawl, plants sway in the wind. It feels as if time passes really fast in the images, and I get the impression that things are getting better with each passing moment. For some reason, the images give me a calm, happy feeling, as if they’re telling me that everything is going to be all right.
I sigh as some tension leaves me. “This is a nice one.”