GENESIS - THE BEGINNING. Book 1

CHAPTER 28 ... Traitors

 SIRE.

"I am tired. Can it wait?"

NO SIRE. A PROMISE WAS MADE TO THE DEPARTING EMPEROR. IT MUST BE KEPT. OUR INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO HAVE THE NEWLY CROWNED EMPEROR TAKEN TO THE HALL TO VIEW A VIDEO REPRESENTATION OF A HOLOGRAM.

"Lead the way."

She was exhausted. Covered in blood and dirt. Stank to high heaven. What she wanted now more than anything else was to refresh herself, then sleep. She stumbled after the Polrob, her brain feeling dull and befuddled and did not notice where it guided her. A few minutes later she passed a group of heavily armed guards but was too tired to do anything more than nod at them. One opened a door and she entered a large, empty hall. Its wooden flooring gleamed as sunlight reflected from it. A single chair in the center of the room drew her attention. What looked like an old and thin but large comp screen stood on a table a few meters from the chair. A guard stood at attention next to it and saluted her as she entered. Beside the ridiculous looking comp screen was a compact, square, black and silver-faced box like object.

"What is this?" she asked.

EQUIPMENT FROM OLD EARTH SIRE. DATING BACK FROM THE FIRST PLANETARY MIGRATION OF HUMANITY. BEFORE YOU IS WHAT WAS KNOWN AS A TELEVISION SET, WITH A MAXBUILD1000 DVD/MP3/MP4 COMBO PLAYER. SPECIFICS ELUDE US BUT IT WORKS AND IS ANALOGOUS TO A COMP SCREEN IN A FEW WAYS.

She sat down after removing her weapons and placing them on the floor. The chair was as comfortable as it looked.

PROCEED MR. BABOO. THEN LEAVE. The Polrob instructed the guard who nodded and pressed a few buttons.

A blue screen with the name MAXBUILD 1000 in green lettering appeared. The lettering moved diagonally across the screen to bounce off the edge and move in another direction only to bounce of the edge again. It was hypnotic to Katya. Her head nodded and her eyes struggled to stay open. The picture on the comp screen flickered and rolled twice. The screen went dead then flickered to life. The camera panned out and in again until it focused on an old man sitting in the floater in the middle of a large unfurnished hall. It looked suspiciously like the hall she was in right now.

"Are you about done?" The voice came from the speakers. She sat up and stared at the screen as the old and sick looking man glared at somebody not in the picture.

***

She sat alone in the huge hall and thought of what she had seen. The Tele whatever-it-was showed the old man snoring loudly with head bent and chin resting on his chest. The old Emperor was probably turning in his grave right at this moment, she thought. She had seen and heard all that he said on that antique comp screen. She was alone here; it was she and the Polrob. Tired and exhausted, she stood and looked up at the Polrob.

"Record this please ... I would like the one called Guardian to be relieved of all duties as of right now. He is to be my personal bodyguard. You and two others of your choice shall take instruction from the Guardian. Do you understand?"

The Polrob dipped to waist height and an arm's length from her. SIRE. AS YOU ORDER IT, SO SHALL IT BE.

"Then all four of you are to obtain every single upgrade on the market, for free. The account ... who pays the Emperors accounts?" she asked.

THE TREASURY SIRE.

"Then have the treasury pay for your upgrades. Whenever new upgrades are available you will notify the treasury and the four of you are to be upgraded. Do you understand?"

SIRE. WE THANK YOU.

"Your name shall be Protector from now on. The two others will be known as Sentinel and Guard. You four will answer to none but to me. You have no alliance or allegiance with any other Polrobs, government officials, humans, or your own kind. You answer to me and me alone. Do you foresee any problem or personal dilemma with these instructions?"

NONE, SIRE.

"From now on you four are above the law. You will work outside of the law. You profess to be Judge, Jury and Executioner of the law? You are mistaken. From this moment on you are Executioners only. Do you understand?"

SIRE.

"Understand this as well," she stuck out her hand and placed it underneath the saucer like shape of the Polrob's cold metallic belly. She drew the machine closer. The camera lens focused on her. "You will protect my life and if I say you, I mean all four of you. You will protect my life with yours for if I am poisoned or killed, you will self-destruct. You will commit suicide immediately. Do you understand?"

SIRE. AS YOU ORDER IT, SO SHALL IT BE.

She nodded and smiled. "Good. I want to sleep now. When I awaken I wish to have all four of you present. I am the only human you are to protect unless otherwise notified by me. Secondly, have the entire Empire's governing body present and waiting in this hall. Should it be too small then prepare another, suitably equipped with refreshments and finger food only."

SIRE. A NOTIFICATION HAS NOW BEEN SENT TO CALL BACK ANY OFFICIAL THAT HAS ALREADY LEFT. NONE HAVE LEFT. THEY ARE STILL CELEBRATING. ALL WILL BE NOTIFIED IN DUE COURSE.

"Once the meeting is in session, I want the hall surrounded by Polrobs. No human is to leave unless I personally instruct it. Any who attempt to leave are to be captured and brought to me immediately."

SIRE.

"The meeting is to be recorded and sent to broadcasting centers throughout the Empire with instructions that it may not be broadcast until I personally give instruction. It may interfere with my other plans. Then have a list drawn up of every single orphanage in the Empire, especially the ones on Chicago. The City will be Graeco and the Orphanage is called the 'Mistress of the Helping Hands.' Get me every piece of information you can on this orphanage. I want to know who it belongs to. Information on every single person that ever worked there. Who is alive and who not? Information on every child that ever entered that devil's hellhole. Do not approach any orphanage for information. Go through public records for now. We can do an in-depth investigation later."

SIRE.

She took a breath and wondered what she had forgotten? The Empire could wait. Her day of revenge was at hand. She wished Adelia could have been here to enjoy it with her. "I need sleep Protector, otherwise I'm going to fall down and make an ass of myself."

FOLLOW ME SIRE. NOURISHMENT SHALL BE PREPARED AND WAITING WHEN YOU WAKE.

styl*