Chapter XXXIII
The Princess of Wands
GERONIMO!
The Brave in a New World
"So we are sailing to Mexico? Very clever, Jim. Can you do that?"
"It seems that we are now doing that, and they are following us without my asking. Besides, where else should we take them?"
Antiope was happy that they were going to sail to America. She had programmed Genie to do that and scarcely believed it when she discovered that Jim had made that decision.
She tried to recollect how Genie had managed to dupe her into simulating the American expedition. She kept this to herself, because she knew of other things that she had simulated with the Genie. Would they come true as well? She shuddered as she considered the possibilities. "Better him at the helm," she thought, "he somehow seemed to know what he was doing."
She did relish the concept of acting as Antiope, Queen of the Amazons, and Genie’s crystal ball link to the “simulator” had revealed to her glimpses as to how the role would be played out.
Wanting to speak to the natives, they knew they couldn't without exercising "magic". Use of "magic" is something Jim wanted to avoid. Each use of "magic" would compromise his position. He had Idiot maintain a passive scan for the starship Pegasus. He would know if it appeared in the proximity of his horizon on Earth during his stay. He intended to stay “hidden” for all his missions. Isis would be hunting for him within myths.
The other refugees making landfall near such city states as Gubal, Sur and Avaris would certainly disclose the existence of the stranger to the local high priestess governing the local temples. As a result, Anat would certainly find out to realize Qblh had made his initial appearance and therefore notify Pegasus. The starship contained an active star gate for access to Isis located on Artemis. Anat would certainly get a feather in her cap and get a ticket back home to Artemis, but even there she would not be able to get a date with Qblh as she was not a Pleasure Dome participant. As a counter measure, Qblh intended on a four hundred year temporal displacement in order to throw off any trackers.
(This does not mean that his family did not get involved with Egypt during that period. After all, Isis and the children will be making a visit there, but that is to be discussed in a later chapter.)
Antiope and Helen would be exposed to none of this. Qblh would transport them safely to their vacation getaway adventures after settling away a few Mexican migrancy issues.
Idiot had chosen the route to America as the solution of least risk. Genie would be able to give the illusion of favorable winds to the refugees. The flair with which the Dutchman apparently followed the wind as if the captain of the Dutchman controlled the wind encouraged the other ships to implicitly trust their leader.
"Nice trick, Jim. How do you control the wind?"
Jim said nothing. Neither he nor Idiot was controlling the wind. It was more than just Idiot who was initially controlling the wind, but it did give Jim the incentive to make the effort to follow the wind’s lead. He immediately went below decks again to discuss with Idiot the wind situation. Idiot was, however, very good at taking advantage of the wind at the fullest and saw no danger, but only great curiosity, for a machine.
"Idiot, I get the feeling that we may be permitted to tamper with the wind to get these people to our destination. Can you take over when the winds are no longer naturally favorable?"
"That is a pretty tall order. You really haven't tampered with nature that much and I really don't have the programming to do such."
"Well start learning about the wind, Idiot, and let me know when you have some form of solution."
"It is easier for me to place a navigational lock on all the ships and move them myself via conventional devices than it is to control the wind."
"Very well, then Idiot do that. Before making the transatlantic voyage, we shall make two landfalls, one in Sicily and the last at the Rock of Gibraltar and “Casablanca”. We will ensure that all ships are provided adequate provisions for the transatlantic voyage. We should be able to make the crossing in twenty-one days. In Sicily we shall demonstrate our water purification "magic" so that they may understand that we can re-supply them with fresh water on the way. This should gain their trust so that they follow us."
"Understood."
At Gibraltar they counted two hundred ships. Jim personally inspected each ship before he permitted it to cross the Atlantic.
The sea voyage gave Jim plenty of time to consider his future plans. He had plenty of time to act out numerous simulations. He would need those twenty-one days to consider his actions; besides, he had all the time in the world at his fingertips.
Antiope and Helen stood guard over Jim, ever reminding the refugees that they were contemporaries of Ayesha, their beloved high priestess who had sacrificed her life for their salvation. The people were following the women, thinking that they were the source of the magic. Jim still played the role of servant to Antiope and Helen, which made the people all the more comfortable with these strangers. The majority had their doubts about Jim, but they trusted Ayesha's sisters and she had told them to trust Antiope and Helen as they had her.
It was true then that now four thousand exiles were following the women, but by now many were curious as to the mysterious captain of the Flying Dutchman who would be leading them across the great expanse. Jim was quite an enigma to these people. Most only remembered him as the crazy old man who had warned about the end of their city. Most had laughed at him then, but most seemed to be following him now. Great magic was indeed needed to convince them to follow, and this mysterious captain seemed to possess great magic, but he wished to be treated as a mere man.
The voice simulators proved indispensable. Although not everyone could understand the Egyptian tongue at first, there was a sufficient number to allow basic communication to be enabled. It wasn't long however, before Genie managed to acquire a superb fluency of the native's language and the Egyptian translators were then no longer needed.
The trip went without incident, mainly because of the Gibraltar inspection and adequate supplies. Towards the end, the food was a little scarce. All were advised to fatten before they sailed, and Sicily and Gibraltar had both been calls of bountiful feasts. Yet fresh water could be obtained from the Flying Dutchman and this kept the morale high.
Jim also had Genie renew their food supplies while at sea. The adjustment was made very subtly. As soon as someone began to think the barrels were bottomless, they would run dry, only to find another food reserve that someone had apparently stowed away.
The weather was exceptionally mild as the voyage was made. Jim and Idiot were able to conduct several successful weather experiments. Across the ocean the convoy stayed in a rather tight formation. Jim did not get much rest.
Jim's convoy made remarkable time. In just seventeen days, Helen spotted an island she knew as Puerto Rico. Jim resolved to find harbor and let the natives hunt.
The Flying Dutchman moored near a reef where dolphins were playing. Remembering Helen's fondness for these playful creatures, he chose a location that the dolphins liked. Antiope and Helen did not mind the swim to shore at all. It invigorated them, and the dolphins would always come to play with them.
The mood could have been described as somewhat exuberant. Antiope and Helen challenged the native men to impress them and hunt up some fine game. The men were not only willing, but very hungry as well. To make the festivities even more sporting, Antiope and Helen planned on giving the women some female advice, as to how to make themselves more irresistible. They both thought it was a very cute idea to give the Earth women a tincture of ambrosia with which they could entice their men.
Antiope and Helen had loved the sea journey as well. Once in Mexico, the trio kept their distance from the natives. Jim didn't care much for the reverence he was getting, but he didn't know how to communicate with them effectively to explain who he really was, other from mentioning he was from the stars. That only increased reverence though, so was a little counterproductive. He certainly could use Ayesha.
He would have Genie print out a picture of what he wanted done if he saw detailed communication was needed. Although the natives could not understand Jim's speech very well, they certainly understood his pictures. The graphical detail convinced them that they did not want to argue with this being. He scolded them each time they tried to worship him. Instead he would teach them to stand and face him and shake his hand in greeting as an equal. This they understood with a smile.
Tribal chiefs always desired an audience with him as they attempted to establish their social ranks.
Jim liked this location. Isis could not follow him here. He knew it. He did not try to correct the odd beliefs that the people were formulating concerning him, neither was he encouraging them. He kept usage of his unique talents to a minimum, but at the same time, he would clearly let the people know that he did not want to be disturbed. He did not want to have a say in their day to day lives, and the sooner that he could find a suitable location for this crowd, the sooner he could be on his way.
They called him the Great White Spirit. They had other names for Antiope and Helen, but they still revered their beloved Ayesha, who had sacrificed herself so that they may be free.
Not one of them anticipated this remarkable adventure to a new world. Yet, the Great White Spirit offered more. He offered them a land of unlimited expanse, a virtual Garden of Eden. Many were doubtful and remained thoroughly frightened until the appearance of this very rich port of call. Nature was thriving in abundance and the land was virgin, untouched by civilized habitation. Jim promised the people that the land across the sea to where he was taking them would be even better and would be theirs to take and multiply within.
The trio spent the night on the yacht. The interior had been modernized and had virtual reality consoles for each of the crew. They could use these to watch the island festivities or whatever else they could get Genie to show them. Antiope and Helen couldn't help but take a peek at the effect of the ambrosia on the men. The islanders had indeed found much game on the island, and they were also able to harvest natural fruits and vegetables which they deemed safe to eat. Antiope assured herself that the food was good by remotely inspecting and identifying the produce collected. She was genuinely concerned about the health of these people. Jim had given Genie permission to respect Antiope's wishes concerning the feast foodstuff. All were quite aware of some of the difficulty which would arise with respect to the initial food collecting rites. Yet, the trio being Venetian royal power, were certainly aware of the standards of the empire concerning treatment of the native indigenous population of a primitive planet. It was simply a matter of recollection of their military training for the women to recall effective means for dealing with the natives.
Genie quite conveniently destroyed any idol that the people attempted to erect during the celebrations. Idiot applied a few of its weather generating capabilities and quite conveniently destroyed any object that Jim would target. True to his Yaohushua, Jim was not going to encourage idolatry of any sorts. It didn't take long for the people to catch on, and eventually they were constructing all sorts of disfigured idols laughing as the lightning destroyed each of these idols. Yet the lightning did taper off as Jim commanded Idiot stimulated a rainstorm to end the banquet. To enhance the special effects, the clouds folded to reveal only the stars.
"Very impressive Idiot, I didn't know you had such capabilities."
Idiot was equally surprised. "I don't. It seems that your good friend was entertaining us again. It seems that we are not really the direct cause of this exodus, but we have been manipulated by a force greater than ourselves."
"YAOHUSHUA!", Jim cried. He knew what the force was. He pondered the magic of that night, but the people would forget. He knew that they would tend to return to their old ways, but he also knew that a remnant would remain free and learn to love the land and nature and abandon the corrupt ways of their forefathers.
These Native Americans would all lose their autonomy centuries later when the lost continent was once again discovered. Jim considered the plight of the American Indian under a new light after this event. He considered some of the changes that he would like to implement in the twenty-first century to improve the second class citizenship of the American Indian. They were the descendants of Ayesha's people, and he was sworn to protect them.
So this is how Isis trapped him, or so he thought. Reluctant to lead and not wanting to rule how he felt about simply abandoning these people in this strange new wilderness, he was bringing them to. He didn't feel he needed to be their mother. They knew how to hunt and cultivate the soil. It would be better for the land itself to teach it her ways. He had saved them from the tyranny of others. It was still up to them as men to master the land. He would not fall prey to this temptation to rule. He would take them to the mainland and then abandon them. He would go as mysteriously as he came, from the sea.
Perhaps it could be easy to criticize Jim for not helping these people any more, but he felt that he had already violated enough paradox avoidance guidelines and it would be extremely dangerous to push his luck any further. Instead he would sail off into the sunrise and against the wind. All were extremely impressed by his departure which was made in the mists of pre-dawn. When the sun was halfway over the horizon, he appeared as but a point on the horizon as he disappeared in the midst of the sun. The spectators swore they saw a very bright light in the middle of the sun, and that was the last they ever saw of the trio.
