QBLH
The Princess of Cups:
Emotional reasoning
and intuition
to gain knowledge
and understanding
Inspiration to create,
to trust your insight,
and to listen to your intuition
XLVII
The Grand Dragon
Queen of the starry space, claiming this and that as hers—
some beings simply seem to have everything.
Yet here we discover that Jim is banishing this all-powerful creature from Earth once again.
Such a graceful coup—and she is powerless
as he pilots the Pegasus
through hyperspace
toward Artemis
.
It must be understood that Genie is accelerating the starship
closer and
closer
to light velocity
as the seconds stretch into days.
Due to the gravitational shielding
and the preservation of an intact Pegasus inertial space,
the crew feel no effects from the acceleration.
Isis is genuinely delighted to see Jim again
and she fully intends to have her way with him.
But she has a surprise for him as well.
It seems that Jr wishes to follow in the footsteps of his father.
Some things never change.
Has Jim sold out to Isis?
Impossible!
If he had, she would have no use for him.
And do not forget—,
Jim is in control of this operation.
After all… who is driving?
Has she won?
Hardly!
“I have won. Have I not?” she said, watching him carefully.
“Not exactly,” Jim replied evenly. “My turn. And you are well aware that I have business to attend to after I leave you again. It seems I have a mess to clean up—thanks to you.”
He raised his voice, invoking ancient words:
“Lord Yaohushua, we have transgressed, and upon Earth shall Thy wrath be revealed lest Thou grant my prayer.
Here then, O God, Lord and mighty King, I entreat Thee:
let a posterity remain upon Earth,
let the human race not perish,
let the Earth not be left destitute.
My race I shall banish from the Earth because it has offended Thee,
but allow my Earth friends to be righteous and upright,
and establish in them a posterity forever.
Hide not Thy face, O Lord, from the prayer of Thy servant.”
Isis was impressed.
Jim had banished her race from Earth with extraordinary grace—exchanging exile for passage home. He remained adamant about maintaining a low Earth profile. She could not contest this; she and her crew were, after all, his prisoners, and he was master of the Pegasus.
What she willed in the moment no longer mattered. Genie was already deep in hyperspace navigation. She would have her brief time with Jim—nothing more. She had painted him with a tarnished image before her people; he intended to correct that.
Whether Jim was a fool or a genius depended entirely on belief.
Jim possessed free will. Isis would tell her public that he merely enacted destiny. He knew better. The masses did not.
“Power,” Isis said calmly, “is the ability to make them believe as one wills. Beauty bends free will to desire, my Qblh.”
“I would prefer,” Jim replied dryly, “that my efforts not be flawed in your sight. You know how I detest your caustic criticism.”
“My eye is keen for beauty,” she said. “Inferior work insults me.”
“Then you are intrigued by this adventure?” he asked. “You wish it to continue?”
“That is my will,” she replied. “The game is not over. Come—lay with me. Gather your reward and my affection for a few thousand years, then return to Earth and enchant me again with your truths. Dare you discover all I know of your future, your destiny, and my memory? Let our lifeforms merge as we accelerate backward through time.”
“Backward?” Jim said. “We are returning to the future.”
“No, my love. This entire excursion lies in the past. To us, it shall seem a dream. To Earth, it shall be history. Returning to Artemis requires re-entry at a wormhole point centuries behind us. Forward maneuvers would fracture causality. I am not as foolish as you think.”
“Is that correct, Genie?” Jim asked.
“Unauthorized access to secured information. Cannot respond. Password required.”
Isis laughed softly. “Multilevel clearance. Of course. Your password is surely some idiotic phrase you repeat endlessly. Tell me, Jim—if I guess it, do I gain command?”
“I would rather you try to entice it from me.”
“No,” she said. “Xiang is eager to travel with you. Xuang prefers palace life. She likes the title Lady Dragon.”
“Dragon-Lady,” Jim suggested.
Isis laughed. “Then you would be the Grand Dragon—Qblh the Dragon.”
“I have nothing to do with China,” Jim said firmly. “That was your project. Assigning me responsibility violates causality. Our involvement has already created knots difficult to untangle. Governing Earth would restrict our ability to time travel entirely. One cannot time travel within one’s own empire.”
“I am not sure I understand.”
“Time travel requires minimal entanglement with the space one traverses. Existence depends upon return. If return becomes impossible, we cease to exist.”
“And I exist because you are taking me back.”
“Exactly.”
“How was this revealed to you?”
“By logical necessity—the same laws that pilot this vessel.”
She nodded. “I understand that.”
“For this reason,” Jim continued, “I must return alone afterward.”
“And you will not tell me when.”
“No. If you interfere, catastrophe becomes unknowable. Shaltain nearly erased us all. Genie has proof.”
Isis believed Jim was mistaken. She had known the risk and trusted he would rescue her. What unsettled her was that Shaltain had withheld the full danger.
After a long silence, she spoke again.
“Jim, I have an oracle for you. Concerning twenty-first-century Earth. Are you interested?”
Jim always was.
“Society can reach its fullest potential only when women
are not barred by law, ignorance, tradition, or intimidation
from making their voices heard.”
“Be cautious in suppressing dissent.
Sensitive matters require delicate hands.
—Xuang, the Dragon-Lady.”
“At times, democratic ideals must yield
to housing, education, and welfare.”
“If Qblh does not despair,
Earth must not despair.”
“There is no healing flame stronger than happiness.
Enough happiness could cure all disease.”
“Know this, my beloved: I have learned to love Earth as you do.
I shall restrain myself—because of you.”
Isis kissed Jim’s brow.
“Tell me you love me, my Qblh.”
How could one man resist such a woman?
He kissed her as demanded, exchanging the breath of life. For a time, his will was hers.
“First,” she whispered, “more children.”
“And Xiang wishes to accompany me?”
“Would you be a dear?”
“I will see what I can arrange."
