Fantasy Starship Gods

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The God Taylor and the Goddess Alexis​

They still couldn't believe they were living as Gods when they rose out of bed the first morning in the Palace of Sparticus. It was a big, elegant home.

Tara came out of her bedroom at the same time as Alexis and Taylor came out of theirs. It had been no accident that Tara's bedroom was right next to theirs. The walls were thick here, but Alexis had hoped that Tara could hear the sounds of her lovemaking with Taylor. They had had a wild session last night to celebrate their first day as "Gods".

Alexis enjoyed the hurt look from Tara as she and Taylor emerged from the bedroom, arm and arm. "Did you sleep well, dear?" Alexis asked sweetly.

"Yes, but this is all so... new to me," said Tara.

"You'll get used to it," Alexis said. That wasn't the only thing she would be getting used to.

"I hope not," said Tara. "We're only pretending to be Gods, remember?"

Alexis looked around to see if any of the servants were nearby. "Keep your voice down," she hissed. She looked to Taylor for support.

"She's right, Tara. We have to be careful of what we say," said Taylor.

It pained Tara to see him taking her side. But she tried not to show it.

Crewman Jefferson joined them at breakfast. He slept on the ship, to keep it secure.

"So what is our plan for our second day?" Alexis asked, as servants brought breakfast.

"We're going to have a look around Arcadia," said Taylor. "We're going to make sure that the High Tollah is keeping his promise to stop the killing and the raping."

"You don't trust the High Tollah?" Alexis asked, grinning.

"Not in the slightest," said Taylor.

When the servants were gone for a moment, Alexis said, "And I think while we're at it, that I'll get us some new servants as well. These were all picked by the High Tollah. I'd prefer to pick our own."

"Agreed. But how will we pay them?" Tara asked.

"It's a privilege to serve the Gods," said Alexis. She saw Taylor's expression harden. "I'll have the High Tollah set up an expense account for us."

"That will do, for now," said Taylor

For now? Tara thought.

After breakfast, the four of them casually walked around Arcadia. Arcadia was a large city of nearly a quarter million people, with satellite villages all around it. It was located on the southern shore of the continent, near the great ocean which encompassed most of the planet.

They started walking bright and early, shortly after the sun had risen. They no longer wore their spacesuits, but instead their regular shipboard clothes. At some point they would have to get more inconspicuous local clothing, Taylor thought.

They were joined by an escort of armed guards, and a Tollah named Najib. As they walked by small homes, they could hear a scream.

No, many screams. There seem to be screams coming from inside several homes.

Taylor rushed to the entrance of one home, but his way was barred by Najib and the guards.

"What is going on here?" Taylor demanded.

"It is nothing," said Najib. "The man of the house is simply welcoming the new day."

"Why does the new day sound like a woman screaming? Stand aside!"

Taylor and his companions entered the house. They entered a common room where a woman was pressed against a wall, topless, while a man held a large whip. Several scars could be seen on her back.

"What is going on here?" Taylor demanded.

"Who are you?" said the man.

"I am your God, Taylor," said Taylor sternly.

The man and the woman both immediately got to their knees in subservience.

"Stand up!" Taylor commanded, and they did. "What were you doing here to this woman?"

"My wife," said the man, and from the tone of his voice Tara suddenly got the impression that, despite appearances, he was a gentle man. "I was beating her," he said.

"I could see that, but why?" Taylor asked.

"To welcome the new day," said the man.

Taylor looked sharply at Najib.

"Surely the God Taylor knows the passage in the Book of Sparticus which states that the man should give a helping hand to his woman to welcome the new day."

Taylor's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying you beat your wife, every day?" Another thought occurred. "Are you saying that every man beats his wife, every day?"

"To welcome the new day," said Najib.

Taylor looked at him at horror.

The woman spoke. "He is most gentle, my lord. He barely leaves scars anymore."

"A symbolic whipping, nothing more," said Najib.

"And your screams, were they symbolic as well?" Taylor asked.

"I was... celebrating the beginning of the new day," said the woman, looking frightened.

"Well, from now on, this kind of celebration is now forbidden."

"My lord?" said Najib.

"Any man who whips his wife is going to be whipped by me," said Taylor. "And it's going to hurt a lot more."

"But... my Lord... it's a proud tradition...."

"Which ends right now. Get me High Tollah... what was his name? Aristedes. I want to see him, now," said Taylor. He turned to the man. Women were being beaten all over the city today, but at least he could save this one. "You are not to touch this woman in this fashion again."

"Yes, my lord," said the man. He looked genuinely abashed. Definitely not malicious, Taylor thought. Just misguided. In fact he sensed he loved his wife, and she him. They had just become prisoners of an evil tradition.

They went outside and continued walking. They came upon a large boulder which had fleshy flowing blood on it. Tara gasped when she saw it.

"What is this?" said Taylor asked.

"It is a boulder," said Najib carefully.

"I see that. But what is that on the boulder?"

"It looks red," said Najib unhelpfully.

"Like blood. Did I not say yesterday that the practice of eliminating thirds was to stop?"

"You did, my Lord."

"Then explain this!"

Najib peered at the boulder. "Perhaps a chicken or goat was killed here."

"A chicken or a goat," said Taylor. He paused, considering. "Let's resume our tour."

They came to a local square. There was a platform there, and two people were hanging from it. They looked quite dead.

"Are these goats and chickens too?" Taylor asked.

At that moment High Tollah Aristedes came forward, flanked by lesser Tollahs.

"Great One, good morning," said Aristedes, bowing humbly.

"It may not be a good morning for you, High Tollah," said Taylor ominously. "What is the meaning of this?" He said pointing to the dead bodies.

"They are heretics, my lord."

"Did I not say that heretics were to be brought to myself for punishment?"

"You did, my Lord."

"Did I not also say that the killing of thirds was to cease immediately?"

"You did, my Lord?"

"Then why have you chosen to defy your God?" said Taylor, his eyes blazing.

Aristedes shifted uncomfortably in his sandals. "My Lord... your ways are all so... new. We need time. Time to adjust."

"Time to spread the word?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," Aristedes said. "Time to spread the word."

"Very well. This I understand. Gather as many people as you can in the plaza where we arrived. I wish to address them."

"My Lord," said Aristedes.

He turned and left.

"What are you going to do?" Tara whispered.

"I'm going to stop this insanity right now," said Taylor.

The plaza was soon filled with people, just as the High Tollah promised.

Taylor put his microphone disc to his mouth. "People of Arcadia! Your Gods are most displeased! Yesterday I ordered the end to the mur*er of thirds. Yesterday I ordered that girls reaching the age of womanhood should not be touched. Yesterday I ordered that heretics should be brought before me, and not executed. My orders have been ignored. They were ignored because of this man."

Taylor drew his blaster, and shot the High Tollah through the chest, where a huge bloody, gaping hole suddenly appeared. People screamed as he collapsed to the ground. Tara was one of them.

"This is the penalty for disobeying your God. Your former High Tollah has now moved on to the Womanless Forest. He will spend eternity there, and never be serviced in any way by women again. This is the fate for all those who defy me."

"Hence forth the killing must stop. The raping must stop. The whipping of women must stop. Anyone who defies me will get a one way trip to the Womanless Forest."

He put down the megaphone disc, and studied the stunned crowd. Well, he certainly seemed to have gotten their attention.

"What did you do?" Tara whispered.

"What had to be done," said Taylor.

Back at the Palace, Tara was still processing events. "Did you really have to kill him?"

"He did," said Alexis, rubbing Taylor's arm affectionately. "Aristedes would have continued to oppose us, and refused to carry out our instructions."

"But... to mur*er the man... couldn't you just have locked him up?"

"We needed to set an example," said Taylor. "Otherwise the next Tollah who replaces him will be just as obstinate. What I did may seem cruel, and excessive, but consider who I executed. A man who supervised the raping of thousands of young girls. The man who supervised the whipping of thousands of women. The man who supervised the mur*er of men, women, and children. If we were on Earth, he would have gotten the death sentence."

"But we're not on Earth," Tara whispered.

"You're right, we're not," said Taylor. "But if they don't learn to fear us, they will keep butchering each other. What I did will save a lot of lives, and you know it."

"No, I don't know that," said Tara hesitantly.

Alexis and Taylor exchanged guarded looks. Tara could be a problem.​