22 Get pants, save the world (1/2)

Deka is one of the oldest cities on Myridia, and has been the capital of the planet for many centuries. Its population of five thousand might seem rather low, but since every Myridian can create at will up to ten thousand exact duplicates of him or herself, the actual population can rise to fifty million at any second.

Because of this, it's one of the very few cities on Myridia where buildings pre-dating the return of the gods are still standing. It resembles a modern Earth city, the only difference being the fact that a single Myridian can own an entire skyscraper.

The most striking feature of Deka is the statue of Demeter holding a sickle. It's over 600 feet tall, four times the height of the Staute of Liberty, and it was built over the ashes of the Myridian Parliament.

Nabric Ges has lived all his life in the shadow of Demeter's statue. He joined the Myridian Holy Guard right after reaching his Harvest year, and has been working as a guard for the Oracle Palace ever since. He's supposed to be on duty today, but nobody finds it strange that a dozen of his duplicates are moving crate after crate to his house.

This is Myridia, after all: people are supposed to be in many places at once.

Noriko Null is in the library, reading a book so fast it seems she's only flipping through it. She's sitting next to a pile of old books almost as tall as she is. She's still wearing the hospital gown.

When she notices Nabric opening the door, she doesn't slow down before commenting:

<This is amazing. Myridia already had a planetary government a thousand years ago. And did your people really go from iron age to industrial revolution in less than a century!?>

<What's a century? And when did you learn to read Myridian?>

<This morning, before breakfast. This is quite a collection of books, by the way. You don't strike me as the reading type.>

<Yeah, you got me. It's my father's collection; all the books are more than three hundred years old, you know. Older than Demeter's return.>

<I think I got this> Noriko declares, closing the book she's already finished <Thousands of years ago, the Greek gods established a colony here by moving of humans from Earth. Considering your language, probably from Crete or Mycenae. Was it Demeter?>

<I have no idea. My father thought it was Prometheus.>

<Interesting. Still, you were able to build an impressive civilization…until Demeter claimed this world as her own private possession. That's as far as the books go; I take it they're illegal?>

<I could be executed just for looking at them. The Oracles don't want us to know what life before Demeter was like. They say it can ”inspire revolts”.>

Noriko walks towards Nabric; she's still weak from the days of dehydration and malnutrition, and he's a trained guard with twice her weight. Her silver eyes flash, making his soul shake in fear.

<Inspire me.>

New Rhetra

Kari is trying to help Old Man Vor sit down on his chair, but he pushes away her duplicates.

<Did I say I needed help!?> he yells.

<This planet gets better and better> Max laments.

<-Don't get me started on this planet> the Old Man whines.

Vesta floats towards him, feeling uncomfortable as she always is around old people. Old age is something completely alien to her, something that quickly steals the people she cares about.

<Sir, we could really use your help. We're strangers on this planet; Kari thinks you might be able to help us find our friend and to understand where we are. We will be eternally grateful for any information you can give us.>

She gives a warm smile that even the Old Man can't ignore. At ninety-seven it really shouldn't have any effect on him, but Vesta's something else.

<You're a goddess, aren't you? I used to work for one.>

Vesta ”sits down” next to him, by crossing her legs and floating. The man with the red skin standing alone in a corner of the room looks at her suspiciously.

<She looks dangerous. I should kill her again.>

<You have something of a one-track mind, don't you?> Max teases him.

The red-skinned man answers by creating an energy sword and pointing it at Max's throat.

<Torn! What did I tell you about killing my guests?> the Old Man shouts, then coughing several times. Torn makes the sword disappear, crossing his arms and looking away.

<You never let me kill anyone.>

<You'll have to excuse Torn; he thinks everyone's an Oracle spy.>

<Kari mentioned the Oracles. They're the ruling class, right?> Vesta asks.

<They are Demeter's representatives. You see, Demeter rules over a hundred worlds; despite her propaganda, she can't be in more than one place at a time. Maybe that's why she decided to conquer Myridia.>

<I need to know what she did, sir. I haven't seen my sister for over two thousand years.>

<There isn't much to say. You know Demeter's the goddess of the harvest, right?>

<Yeah, she's always been into plants.>

<She came here to harvest us.>

Deka

Nabric Ges holds one of his father's books, as he recounts what has been passed from generation to generation. It's impossible to hide history from a civilization where everyone can whisper to ten thousand people at once.

<We had never met a goddess before; we didn't know what to expect. Demeter decimated our entire military force with her own power. Every industrial complex in the world was either sunk under the ocean or downright incinerated. In a single day, she sent us a thousand years back. Then she left the dirty work to the Oracles…her priests, each wielding a fraction of her power.>

<The jewel on their throats> Noriko recalls.

<Godstones, yes. My father wasn't the only one trying to resist, to carry the memory of our old history. Each city has a dozen of libraries like this. The Oracles are brutal but patient: they know Demeter can wait. Another generation or two, and everyone will believe her lies.>