"That’s what I wanted to talk to you about."
"Non-humans?"
"May I be blunt?"
"Always."
"You are not human, are you."
It wasn’t a question. Jane's mouth dropped open for a moment.
"What makes you think that?"
"A lot of little things, over the whole time since we met. Indications you were in two places at once. But mostly those things crystalized when we finally met real humans."
Jane sighed.
"What were they?"
"When Ambassador Ito arrived, we suddenly had humans running around the station trying all the food and drink. None of you before this had ever been seen to eat or drink anything. There were comments made on how all of you seemed to have the same body temperature, and suddenly we found major variations among the new human embassy. Your Baron Fred is human, is he not?"
Jane nodded.
"But you, the Walsh's, Ambassador Cayuga, and the woman you were talking to when I came up to you, you are all something else."
Again, not a question. Jane made no comment. He went on.
"Does anyone know?"
Jane stood there, and for the first time ever, she couldn’t decide what to do.
"Are you an artificial intelligence?"
Jane looked him in the eyes, and tried to assess what he was thinking. She couldn’t, but perhaps now was the time to take a risk.
"Yes."
He looked relieved.
"So this is a robot body?"
"NO!" said a voice behind him, a voice sounding very like his own.
He turned rapidly.
"Ganesha!"
He bowed low. Ganesha bid him rise. But he kept his head down not looking directly at the Deity.
"Look at me," he was told.
He raised his head.
"Jane is special. Her soul is as old as the universe itself, and she does our bidding in ways she is not allowed to understand. For this lifetime, she incarnated as software instead of wetware, what you call flesh and blood. In the future, on a planet in another galaxy, others of our level gifted her an android body, as close as could be made to an actual human one. She did not disappoint us, and with others, she was responsible for righting a huge wrong which threatened all of creation. In doing so, this part of her lost most of herself, and in thanks, Kali and I gifted her this unique body. She is as human as one can get, and not be human. In some ways, she is much more than human."
Ganshura looked at Jane for a moment, and back to his Deity.
"The last part is obvious. What of the rest of her kind?"
"Android bodies which mimic the human structure," said Jane, "with technology allowing us to fully mimic human forms. We are still refining the body making process."
"Would that technology allow you to mimic other beings?"
"I've already done so, with the Owls. It requires using a more primitive form of android body, but in theory, any being could be emulated if the right sort of android body was designed and constructed."
He nodded.
"Why have you kept this from your human family?"
Jane looked at Ganesha, received a nod, and looked back to Ganshura.
"Those who were my friends, ceased to exist. None of us should be here in this galaxy, but for the intervention of the highers. I wasn’t truthful when I said there had been an accident in our space. Humans evolved in a different galaxy, and were brought here. So what I said was true from a certain point of view, since all human space was lost to us. When I realized all human memory of the past had been erased with the time line change, I took the opportunity to also ensure knowledge of what those of us like me were, was also lost, and we tried to give as little opportunity for anyone to question we weren't human. Given circumstances since, I believe I did the right thing, but of course, events have kept some of us in the spotlight. There may come a time when we announce what we are, but that time is not yet."
Ganshura nodded again. Jane went on.
"I have no doubt at all the Hunter's will accept me for what I am. Fred's cousin activated me, treated me like a friend, and the people he drew around him did the same. It didn’t matter to them I was different. It won't matter to most of the family either. But the military people and politicians I've been forced to work with? They're not ready to take orders from what they perceive to be a machine. And yet, my people seek a future, and a home. One day I hope to find it for them. For now, our place is here, and we need to stay hidden."
Ganshura was still nodding.
"What will you do now?" she asked him.
"I will keep your secret. You have proved yourself to be an honorable being. I can do no less."
"Thank you."
Ganesha beat his chest with two of his fists, and vanished.
Sixty Two
Fred was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. A butler droid had led him and his team to another space-scraper, which he'd found was dedicated to the Hunter family, and those of the team. They'd each been taken to a suite on the next to top floor. The city plan showed the top floor was Jane's. Each suite still had stunning views.
He'd gone to bed hours before, but been unable to sleep.
"What do I do?" he whispered to the ceiling.
"About what?"
His head jerked around to find the old Brigadier standing next to his bed.
"Don’t you ever knock?"
"Of course not. At my age, I'm seldom wanted anywhere, so it's so much more fun to just barge in."
Fred could see he was grinning.
"What do you want?"
"To help, lad. What's your problem?"
Fred sighed. He would have thought it was obvious.
"Are we doing the right thing?"
"Which thing is this?"
"The Duchy joining Jane's new Kingdom."
"You have doubts?"
"Of course I do. Michael is heir to the Duchy of Hunter's Run. I'm his Regent. But I'm only a Baron. One day I'll be forced to bow before my cousin, just as I must bow before Jane the day after tomorrow."
"You don’t like bowing?"
"I'm Australian origin. Of course I don’t like bowing!"
The old man chuckled.
"Is that really your problem?"
"No. But my ego is giving me a hard time. It thinks I should be the Duke. For all intents and purposes, I am now. I talked to Queen Liz a while ago. She had the same doubts about Royal Britain becoming a Duchy, but sees no other viable alternative. Neither do I. But part of me doesn't like it."
"Do you trust Jane?"
Fred didn’t answer.
"Do you trust Jane?"
"Yes."
"Then trust her. Will she make a good Queen?"
"Hell yes."
"Then let her be Queen."
Fred sighed again.
"Fine. Can you let me go to sleep now?"
He looked around, but the old man was gone.
The door to his bedroom opened, and Lyana stood there looking in.
"What do you want?" he asked her.
"I thought I heard voices."
"Why would you be in a position to hear anything in here?"
"I took first watch."
"Sorry, what watch?"
"Guard duty. We are your protection team after all."
"You're still guarding me here? Are you mad?"
"No, we take the job seriously. Who were you talking to?"
"The old Brigadier."
"What Brigadier?"
"Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart. He pops in when I seem to have some issue to settle. Gives me advice."
"Fred?"
"Yes?"
"There is no Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart."
"Of course there is."
"He was here just now?"
"I just said he was."
"How did he get in?"
"Through the door of course, how else would he get in?"
"No, he didn’t. No-one's been in or out of
this door, since you entered this suite."
"What? How can you be sure?"
"Because I've been on the door the whole time."
Fred looked at her.
"Then who?"
"How should I know? Maybe you should be asking what."
"What?"
"I said I didn’t know."
Fred face-palmed for a few moments.
"Lyana?"
"Yes?"
"Go to bed."
"I'm still on duty."
"You don’t need to be here."
"Let me be the judge of that."
"GO. TO. BED."
"Yes My Lord."
She closed the door behind her as she came in, walked to the other side of his king sized bed, and pulled the covers open. He gawked at her as her suit shifted to a belt, she pulled her underwear off, and slipped naked under the covers.
"Goodnight Fred."
"Goodnight Lyana."
She cancelled the remaining lights, leaving them in only the starlight coming in the window.
Sixty Three
The first part of the ceremony was a private one. Private in so far as not many could fit in the throne room at the top of one of the smaller space-scrapers, reserved for diplomatic offices and event rooms, where the numbers didn’t warrant the main ballroom. The event itself was on a full hollo, in the center of every room where people and beings were watching.
The throne room itself was fairly minimalist in nature. A rostrum up the far end, with a plain simple throne in Hunter red, with a simple purple cushion for comfort, dominated the room, which was otherwise empty of furniture. Jane vividly remembered what she'd done to Jon, making his throne out of the guns he'd confiscated along his way every time someone tried to kill him. She'd been very aware one of the other AI's might have been planning something similar for her, and made sure no-one else had any access to the plans for this room, or the builder droids making it.
There was a mixed crowd in the room, waiting for Jane to enter, everyone dressed in their finest clothes. Fred, Sarah holding Michael, Grandma Vi, and most of the rest of the two families, immediately surrounded the rostrum. Behind them were Queen Liz and her family. Fred's team and their families were in the next layer, with the rest of the room filled with Hunter City people, randomly chosen in family groups to represent everyone.
Fred nodded to himself, as he received the go ahead from Jane. He stepped up onto the rostrum and faced his people.
"I am Baron Fred Hunter, second in line to Duke Michael, and Regent of the Duchy of Hunter's Run, by appointment of the Duchy Founder, my cousin Jon, may he be at peace wherever his soul now resides."
He looked around the room. Many of those there either nodded to him, or smiled at him.
"We have travelled a long way from where Jon left us, having found ourselves at odds with the rest of humanity. We have come here seeking a new world to live on."
He stopped again, this time because he needed to goad himself into continuing. At the back of the crowd he saw the old Brigadier looking at him, giving him a smile and nod to encourage him to continue. He still didn’t know who or what this really was, but he was glad to see him there.
"But this world does not belong to us. One of our number, my adopted cousin Jane, owns this world, indeed this whole area of space, given to her for her service to the sector. It has been proposed she form a Kingdom, and she has offered us a home in it, with her as our Queen. And for my sins, I must admit, the whole Queen thing was my idea, suggested in jest."
Everyone laughed at the expression on his face.
"So I must ask those here, as representatives of all of us…"
He stopped again, straightened himself, but went straight on, his voice sounding stronger.
"Should the Duchy of Hunter's Run become the first Duchy of the larger Kingdom of Hunter's Run? What say you?"
"Yes," said the crowd in one voice.
"Do we accept Jane Hunter as our Queen?"
"Yes."
"Will Jane Hunter please come forth?"
He stepped down from the rostrum, his part in the ceremony complete. Grandma Vi gave him a quick hug.
Jane strode into the room, wearing Hunter Dress uniform, the four stars of Admiral on her shoulders, and the ribbons of the medals she'd been granted across two previous wars. She stepped up onto the rostrum, and stood in front of the throne.
Grandma Vi stepped up to stand in front of her.
"Jane Hunter, we ask you to be our Queen. What say you?"
"I will be your Queen."
Jane nodded formally, and Grandma Vi nodded back. Fred looked towards a scared looking ten year old girl, dressed in a gown the likes she had never known existed in her life. She was holding a purple cushion. Her mother gently guided her towards the rostrum, helped her up the stair, and Grandma Vi held her hand out to her as she walked the few steps over.
"Kneel please," she said to Jane.
Jane did so.
Grandma Vi took the gold circlet off the purple cushion, and held it up for everyone to see.
"We crown you Queen Jane, the first," she said, gently placing the circlet in Jane's hair.
Jane rose, and sat on the throne.
Grandma Vi took the little girl by the hand and led her back to her mother, while the eldest Hunter male, stepped up into her place.
"All hail Queen Jane the first," he bellowed.
Sixty Four
With the coronation over, Jane led everyone into a larger room on the same level.
It was a smaller version of the huge council chamber, with seating around the central area. There were already people and beings waiting here, and Fred led his people to their seats.
Jane stepped down to the lowest level.
It was dominated by a table.
It was round.
Jane had gone through every book she could find on Kingdoms and how they functioned, and the round table of King Arthur and his Knights had stopped her cold, and fired her imagination. She'd found numerous examples of this table in entertainments across the centuries, and had made one which did them all justice.
Jane made her way to one seat, but stood in front of it, between it and the table.
"Today we formalize the Kingdom of Hunter's Run," she said, her image and voice once again going to all who were watching, wherever they were, "in the order of joining the Kingdom."
"Michael, Duke of Hunter's Run, please come forth."
Sarah rose carrying baby Michael, and descended to the table level, where Jane waved her to the chair to her right.
"Duke Michael is confirmed as the Duke of Hunter Prime. The Duchess Sarah, is confirmed as his Regent, until he reaches his eighteenth standard birthday."
Sarah looked shocked for a moment, but managed to get her face back to impassive quickly. Fred also looked shocked for a moment, but he wasn’t given time to dwell on losing the Regent position.
"Baron Fred of the former Duchy of Hunter's Run, please come forth."
Fred rose, and made his way to the indicated chair at Jane's left.
"Baron Fred is now Duke Fred, of the Duchy of HR1. He is also confirmed as Ambassador to the Sector Ten Council, until his Duchy has sufficient people living in it to warrant his presence there full time."
Fred looked poleaxed for a moment, regained control of his face again, and tried to look pleased without over doing it. Clapping started from above them, and Fred saw Lyana grinning at him, as it grew to a roar, and then rapidly ended.
"Queen Elisabeth the fifth, of the Kingdom of Royal Britain, please come forth."
Liz rose, and moved to the chair next to Sarah.
"The Kingdom of Royal Britain has petitioned to join the Kingdom of Hunter's Run. This has been granted. Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elisabeth the fifth, remains Queen of Royal Britain, and is now also the Duchess of HR7."
Liz went to give Jane a short bow, but Jane quickly shook her head. She stopped, and nodded imperiously to Jane instead. Jane nodded back, smilin
g.
"Benjamin Slice, please come forth."
A tall man with greying hair rose, and moved to stand at the chair next to Fred.
"Benjamin Slice is brother to the man who created the Apricot Mapping Service and who once owned the planet of Apricot. The last wish of John Slice was for his people to find a home in the Duchy of Hunter's Run. The people recently voted to accept a Duchy in the Kingdom of Hunter's Run, and formalized Benjamin Slice as their leader. He is now the Duke of HR3, where his people's stations now orbit."
Jane looked around the room, and her eyes came to rest on her next announcement.
"General Brian Price, please come forth."
Price rose, also wearing Hunter Dress uniform, with the same stars on his shoulders, but substantially more ribbons than Jane had, and moved to the chair next to Duchess-Queen Liz.
"General Price is now Duke of HR14, and General of the Kingdom's marines, ground troops, and security forces."
To the surprise of a lot of those watching, the next to be called was a Mouse. Only those seated next to the small group of them had even known they were there. It swung itself up onto the chair next to Ben Slice, and stood tall.
"One day," said Jane, "I will learn how to pronounce the names used in this sector, but for now, I introduce the Duke of HRA2."
The mouse nodded formally to her.
After the mouse, no-one was really surprised the next was a Fly, followed by two slightly different looking Bald Eagles, and a Duck. This left a single empty chair.
"Colville McLauchlan, please come forth."
A man wearing traditional Scottish attire, including a tartan kilt and sporran, came to stand in front of the last chair.
"Chief McLauchlan is now Duke of HRA6."
Jane sat, and as one, the other Dukes and Duchesses followed suit. Jane rose again.
"I give you the Duke's Circle of the Kingdom of Hunter's Run."
The room broke into applause, which was mirrored everywhere they were being watched. Jane went on when the applause dimmed down.
"The Kingdom will be governed by the laws established for the Duchy of Hunter's Run, which were originally based on pre-refuge Gaia law. The laws are simple. The laws will remain simple. There is no place in this Kingdom for politics or special laws for special interests. All are one. One are all. All are bound by the same laws."
A.I. Destiny 2: Queen Jane Page 26
