QBLH
Chapter LXI
The Princess of Swords
Medea
"If we return to the Pleasure Dome, Shaltain will still be on sentry Jim, and you are under direction from Queen Isis to have me disabled while in the Pleasure Dome."
"Well Genie, that certainly doesn’t prevent me from exercising my free will to countermand that order as her equal. Certainly you can conceal a communication channel between us and perform warps at my request which will allow me to come and go from the Pleasure Dome so that I can simultaneously perform my duties there while proceeding unhindered with operations here."
"I anticipated that request Jim, and already have that contingency provided for in our flight solution. As you are aware, we were limited in abilities when the Gemini twins confront us, but we are not limited now. I can simulate such limitations upon our return, but will actually be able to transfer you at will between Artemis then and any point in space-time we choose to navigate, but we must maintain the continuity of any continuum with which we interact."
"Which means I must play out each created episode to a logical completion."
"Precisely."
"Very well, transfer me back to Artemis, and let us find out what Isis has in store for me next."
Within an instant, Jim was standing again in front of the Gemini twins as they were scolding him concerning Genie.
"Oh very well, return to the palace and entertain Xiang and Xuang then, Genie. Sorry girls, I only meant to have a little fun with Genie to make the Pleasure Dome a little more interesting."
"You don't need your.."
"Devices to be adequately.."
"Entertained here. Besides.."
"It is by the command of Queen.."
"Isis that Genie is not.."
"To be here. So please,"
"Don't blame us, lover."
Jim was no longer under the influence of ambrosia, and it had seemed like ages since he had been here last, although to Gemini it had been but an instant. Jim now knew that Isis intended on taking Pegasus to Cygnus, and thus once again to Earth's past.
It did not seem odd that it was Medea who was calling for him now. Jim smiled to himself. Would he not encounter Medea again when he returned to Earth?
Medea was virgin and she would seek a child from Jim. She would go to Earth, and perhaps she would deliver the child then. This was all really beyond Jim's control, and although he knew what was to transpire if he did what he was expected, he could not change the apparent course of events. For now she was simply innocent and immensely attractive. She was indeed a governess candidate, and had been trained in dealing with primitive subject kingdoms. After her affair in the Pleasure Dome, Isis had in mind to assign her to a colonial mission. Medea knew not where she was to be transferred, but Jim now had a pretty good idea as to where she was headed. It did seem a little odd, however, that Medea was next. He would have expected Hateshepsut.
She approached him and reached for his hand. "Follow me."
Jim reflected on what he knew of the future history of this woman, but he also knew that she did not even yet have a clue that she would soon be embarking on a mission to the stars, and in just s few hours at that. Yet now she radiated innocence. He could feel her joy as she anticipated her brief time with her lord Qblh. Medea had always been fond of Jim, even before he had been elevated in stature, although all knew that the promotion was inevitable. They entered her shielded area and turned on the electromagnetic shielding so that they would have privacy. Jim still had access to Genie, if he so desired, due to the recent upgrades.
Once inside her chambers, Medea switched on her simulated environment, although some would even say that this simulated environment was every bit real, yet it was its controllability by the will of the Medea which made it nothing but illusion as far as Jim was concerned. Medea being strongly skilled in the magical arts of Artemis was an adept illusionist.
"Where would you women be without your ability to enchant?" Qblh propositioned this to her.
"Useless question," she replied. "Where would we be if there were no ocean or air, and how were they put in place to enable our evolution?"
"Would you really wish to know these things, Medea?"
"They matter not, my lord. It is too bad that I could not extend this illusion to spend more time with you. Yet I , like others can only imagine this in our fantasies, and even my holodeck cannot extend my time with you."
"We never know what the future shall bring, Medea, but I know full well, that your loyalty to Isis shall always be a barrier between us."
"Is it my loyalty or fear of her, my lord, because all know that she ultimately has power over you, and even you cannot protect us from her will. She always maintains that our attraction for you is genetic and we cannot overcome it, even as you cannot overcome your desire for us as well."
The aroma of the ambrosia was now taking effect on Qblh, as he knew full well that Medea spoke truthfully.
"Isis holds the power of life over us all, and we have all sworn an oath to her allegiance. Yeah Qblh, I love you greatly, but I also love my queen by respecting my love for you and granting me the privilege of being with you now. I will love no other than her more than my love for you, and will hold no other in higher regard than you. Remember my love, I fear Isis, but I fear you as well. I love and fear you both above all others, and now I find myself incapable of desiring anything else but your touch. Again I say to you, I desire you above all else and greatly would I desire to spend more time with you. Would that I could find myself in a colonial kingdom under the thumb of a foreign tyrant that I would have you rescue me and whisk me away to an empire of our own that we could share responsibility for. I would sacrifice my fame, fortune, and good reputation I suppose to share one of your marvelous adventures, that I have heard that you are capable of."
"Perhaps I could hold you to that Medea. Swear to me that you would surrender any throne that Isis would bestow upon you, and I will swear I will carry you away to be your lover again, and give you another child as well."
Jim had made an offer that Medea could not refuse. Now he was to give her one child now, and another if they met in an alluded possible adventure, but these as her helodeck were just her own wishes, and had really no bearing to reality itself, or so it appeared. Yet she had nothing to lose by giving her oath, or so she thought. "I so swear!" was her reply.
Perhaps at a future date when I am more adept at describing the scenes of lovemaking I can expand on the minutes that follow, but does it really matter. It should be quite easy for the reader to fill in the vacant lines, because certainly Medea gave Jim her golden peg, and most certainly we know now why Jim would alter his course once again on his return to Earth and set sail for Colchis, because he knew that would be where he would find his beloved Medea. Medea would not have a very good reputation as a result but that would only be because the facts that were truly relevant would never be known, because of Jim's need to keep his travels from creating paradox. Instead of being regarded as the noble Amazon that she was with all of her superhuman abilities, Medea would be regarded as a witch and her children that had been a result of Earth sacrifices would be murdered by the very same king that she herself executed, before fleeing Colchis. What caused this tragedy remains to be seen as Jim, himself, ponders the new induced variables that had just now been brought to his attention. Medea would know something about the Amazon base when Jim arrived at Colchis. He would need this intelligence to find Antiope and Helen in a worldly sense. Granted he would be able to use his electronic surveillance techniques to physically find the base, but he would need personal contact to establish a liaison, and Medea would be the method that he would use.
"Poor Medea!" some would say, because it would be obvious to anyone with knowledge that both Isis and Qblh would be using her, but she was a willing servant to them both, and she considered it nothing more than her duty to subject herself to the will of both. She had truly no other option. Yet Jim couldn't resist the opportunity to present Medea with a gift which he knew Isis would appreciate. He summoned Gemini by making a request for Genie's services.
"Isis brings this gift to you my lady by Qblh's request, and she has complied."
"You may make your request, lord Qblh, from the Genie before she opens the package."
"I have a golden fleeced garment for you, my lady. This is my gift to you that you shall give to the father of your next child, and he in turn will see you safely back to your own land. Genie, make it so."
"Acknowledged."
"Open your present, my dear."
"A golden fleeced afghan for me? How delightful, I have never heard of such a thing in any empire, even though I am aware of the technique of primitives to use the fleece of sheep to sift gold dust and other minerals from rivers, although it is hardly very effective at completely removing all the available minerals as our modern methods."
"Just you remember who you got it from, and the fact that it will be your ticket back to Artemis some day."
Medea was confused, but she charged it to memory nonetheless. Qblh always spoke the truth, and even if she did not understand him now, she knew that she would understand when the time came. Qblh would say not much more during her brief session with her, but she did not desire much more conversation, but only a few more moments of shared experience with her lover.
"Whatever do you mean, my love?"
