The Ardoon King

by Samuel Fort

  Chapter 76: Empyrean Futility

  Though he was unhappy about Nisirtu “justice,” Ben had reassessed his initial belief that Thal had been made a slave. That had been too harsh. She would be employed by Persipia now, who he knew to be a decent and very hardworking person. It seemed unlikely Persipia would abuse her power over the physicist.

  Additionally, if events unfolded as he’d been told they would, Thal would spend much of her day with Fiela, and he knew the two women were very close. Aboard the Anzu, Sam had told him that all the hoopla about Thal’s abuse in Cash was phony, orchestrated by Fiela to give her bargaining power with Lilian over Thal’s fate. That plan had worked, which meant Fiela could now demonstrate her forgiving nature by befriending Thal. Additionally, everyone, to include Thal, had insisted that he allow Nisirtu justice to play out without his interference, which suggested they anticipated a fair outcome.

  The man wondered if he should come clean with Fiela or Lilian about the affair. Lilian had not said a word to him about the “crime” and clearly didn’t want to. She, like all other Nisirtu, had intimated that he had done nothing wrong, whether or not the rumors were true, because kings cannot break laws and “men are men,” which was the ultimate cop-out. Fiela, on the other hand, seemed not to care about the matter at all, aside from the negative impacts on Thal. The only person he’d truly feel comfortable discussing the affair with was Sam, but Sam had been a recluse since learning of Eliza’s death.

  In any case, admitting the affair would be admitting Thal was guilty of the crime she’d just been paroled for, which meant she’d be killed. Fiela wouldn’t tell, and neither would Sam. But Lilian…

  Ben had spent long hours pondering whether he should use the Empyrean to try to undo everything that happened and prevent Thal’s punishment. He could summon all the residents of Steepleguard to the Great Hall and use the Empyrean to convince them that Thal was innocent of wrongdoing. But those nasty ethical questions again made such an act questionable. The facts were that she and he had, in fact, done exactly what she was accused of, and that under Nisirtu law such an act was a crime. Perhaps he didn’t know that, but Thal did. Was it right to give her a pass, simply because he had partaken in the crime? Or because he cared for her?

  He’d also signed the writs the caused her parole and Persipia’s dominion. If he attempted a do-over, he’d have to “undo” those, too, again with the Empyrean. Undoubtedly there were copies of the announcements floating around, and notes about the incident in diaries, and various forms in Wily’s office. In one form or another, such written records would contain the key terms of “king,” “Thalassa,” and “affair.” He had no idea how he’d track them down, but if he didn’t, the appearance of the documents even after the mind sweep would cause the entire issue to resurface again. So he’d have to use the Empyrean to also require all such documents be produced, or destroyed.

  Yet that didn’t undo what had actually happened. He assumed that rumors of the affair sprang to life as a result of the long hours that he and Thal had spent behind closed doors, especially at night. To prevent the rumors from popping up anew, he’d also have to remove everyone’s memories of the fact that he and Thal spent long hours studying the tablets in his study at night. So yet another use of the Empyrean would be necessary.

  He’d also have to remove most of the memories Fiela, Thal, and Lilian had about the entire scandal. Probably Sam, too, and all the Peth present during Thal’s alleged mistreatment at Fiela’s hands in Cash. That would be a good chunk of their memories for the past couple of months. Thal might be left with no memories of all, because surely the scandal was foremost in her mind over the past few weeks. That would leave huge voids in the affected persons’ memories, which would be unsettling, to say the least. He could fabricate alternative memories, of course, but that would be extremely complicated. Each false memory would have to be customized to fit into the existing memories of each person.

  If there was evidence of the affair, like photographs, the Empyrean mind trick would only delay the inevitable. He’d have to employ the Empyrean again if such evidence surfaced. And again if other evidence surfaced.

  In short, it seemed almost impossible to make the scandal “go away” using Empyrean without probing a lot of minds, planting a lot of memories, and perhaps altering a lot of personalities. The side-effects of such massive alternations were unknowable. And he might do it all only to find the scandal resurface anew.

  For now, at least, things seemed under control. Thal as not dead nor, apparently, threatened with death. She had consented to her parole and the dust was finally settling, in large part because Nisirtu law had been applied and Steepleguard’s residents seemed satisfied with the outcome. The encroachment of the bashmu was a far more pressing concern for most of them.

  Consequently, it seemed to the Ardoon king that the best thing to do was, for now, nothing. Using the Empyrean to undo everything that had been done might cause more harm than good and would probably be ineffective given the number of people affected and the complicated nature of the memory web.

  He missed Thal, though. He missed the private conversations he’d had with her about subjects that interested them both, none of which interested Lilian or Fiela. Subjects like philosophy, history, academia, university life, and esoterica. She was Nisirtu but had been immersed with the Ardoon so deeply and for so long that his discussions with her were refreshingly “normal.” There was no Nisirtu baggage. The conversations were easy and light and liberating.

  If only he’d drawn the line there. He’d been foolish to give all that up for a few ill-advised physical encounters. It had been beyond stupid. He was married to two stunningly attractive women, both of whom were sexually aggressive, to say the least. His “consort,” Persipia, was arguably the most beautiful woman on the planet, and she made regular, if failed, advances. If anyone lacked an excuse for an affair, it was him.

  He was, he decided, the stupidest man alive. Yet he was charged with saving humanity. What a joke…

  His desk phone range.

  He shook his head. What was done was done. Thinking about Thal would cause him, and her, nothing but grief. He had to put her out of his mind as surely as she was attempting to put him out of hers.