Kuko scanned her beloved Nazz, most dressed in their black uniforms. There were also around a thousand Popes in brilliant yellow robes. Even though the Nazz primary skin color was yellow, there were significant numbers of green, red, and black, as well as a few with blue, white, and silver skin.
Satan’s contingency sat next to the Nazz. The Cardinals, all men, wore red, and the Nuns of Durga wore black. The Satanists considered all skin colors other than lily-white, inferior so all the white-skinned Cardinals sat at the front, followed by clear divisions of the lesser colors. Then behind the few black-skinned Cardinals, the Nuns of Durga section began, with the white-skinned nuns at the front and the black-skinned females at the rear.
I wonder why all the Nuns are wearing red masks today? Kuko thought. Even the white-skinned Nuns. Odd.
Durga’s children defiled every planet they touched. Long ago, they had justly earned the title, ‘The Haters’. They hated men as much as they hated women. Most of all, they hated families. They stood upon Satan’s high ground of self-righteousness, while glaring down upon families with poisonous contempt, calling them ‘Breeders’.
Kuko scanned the masks wondering which particular female hate-mongers were hidden behind them today. Eureka. The word unexpectedly slipped into Kuko’s mind as she thought about The Nuns of Durga. It was a one-word message from King Joshua that Sipheria had personally delivered to Kuko some 17,000 years ago.
During Kuko’s first visit to Eden, she was on a scouting mission prior to Indra’s arrival — evaluating the various power structures on Eden — dealing with the Satanists. She incarnated into Aribia as a dark-skinned exchange student. She moved to San Berklar and became involved in an abusive homosexual relationship with one of the Nuns of Durga.
It was then that Kuko clearly learned the difference between love and hate. After that incarnation, she unexpectedly ran into Lady Sipheria, who gave her a copy of her Thoughts on Ethics: A Message for The Sisters of Mercy. On the inside cover was that one word, Eureka, written in golden letters and in King Joshua’s own hand.
Sipheria had simply handed her the book, gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek, and said, “Now you understand. King Joshua’s judgment will not be based on the gender of those with whom you have sex. It will be based on whether that sex is motivated by love or motivated by hate.”
Next to the Satanists sat Lakshmi’s Pharisees. They too, were quite prejudiced when it came to skin color, with blue being the best. However, a child of Lakshmi with any color skin could attain any level of rank and power, unlike Satan’s Cardinals.
Lakshmi’s Pharisees wore a wide variety of robe colors according to rank, with strangely enough, white for the highest priests, and yellow for the lowest. For the remainder of the Overlord families, even if particular skin colors predominated, those colors did not determine rank.
Skin color did not dictate how the ten Overlord families responded to Kuko taking the stage. Rather, it varied by Overlord family. Only the Nazz could be counted on to stand. However, and quite remarkably, every group stood except for four. The Children of Luminosity who followed Lord Smigyl, Count Ved Vyasa, and Lord Narayana showed their respect by sitting with their eyes closed or chanting. The fourth group, the Caligastians, stood for no one, not even Caligastia, except for the random few who stood to get a better look, or to stretch, or just to be different from the other Caligastians.
When the pundits stopped, Kuko turned to face the puja table as planned. She was told to stand and wait until Pundit Devarat was ready to perform the puja. At the end of the puja, she would kneel before a portrait of Lord Smigyl, at which time Smigyl would pin the emblem of Planetary Princess on her lapel and cognize for her a new name. Afterward, the pundits would chant some more, she would say a few words to the audience, and then the reception would begin.
Pundit Devarat stood as Kuko faced the puja table. A collective gasp arose in the audience. Kuko glanced in the direction of the audience’s attention and saw Lord Indra and Lord Smigyl walking onto the stage hand-in-hand. They separated as they approached the table, stopping to stand on each side of Kuko — Indra to her left and Smigyl on her right. Indra leaned forward and gave her a delicate kiss on the cheek. “I’m very proud of you, daughter,” he said quietly.
Then, with a wave of shock running through three million members of The Children of Luminosity, Smigyl leaned forward and gave her a delicate kiss on the other cheek. “I am very proud of you, too. I am honored to call you sister.”
Smigyl’s voice reflected off a large dish hung in the corner on the far side of the stage. It had been placed there so when Smigyl projected his voice toward it, it would bounce back, focusing the sound into The Children of Luminosity’s section.
Seeing his God kiss Kuko and call her ‘sister’ so stunned Devarat, he did not know what to do. He just stood there with his mouth open. In the mind of a pedantic pundit like Devarat, for his Lord Smigyl to call her ‘sister’ was also to say that she, too, was an Overlord.
Smigyl whispered softly in her ear. “Over the past weeks of planning, The Children have really pissed me off, especially Devarat. And I guess you already know how angry I am at Rahu, Patanjali, and Chismael. So I have a little surprise set up for them.” He gave her a wink. Then he gave Devarat a razor-sharp glare. Defy me one more time you little prick, and I’ll rip your head off.
Chapter 60
Prison Blues
How do we compare societies? There are many criteria. One of the best is to look at how a society deals with those who are the most helpless. To become a prisoner is to enter into an arena of perfect helplessness. So, if you wish to test the quality of any society, visit their prisons. Not only your own, or those of your allies; you must also visit the prisons of your enemies. Better yet, become a prisoner of your enemy. Then you will know.
—King Joshua
Oceania
Guard1 lay in a comfortable cot staring blankly at the ceiling. Guard2 lay in her cot on the other side of the small prison cell. There were two chairs bolted to the floor facing the bars. On the other side of the bars sat five chairs arranged in a semi-circle. Obviously where the jailer sits to interrogate or jeer at their prisoners, thought Guard1.
On both sides of the outer chairs were solid doors that more than likely led to other prisoner cells. Behind the chairs was a mirror, obviously two-way for observing the prisoners during interrogations or torture. How strange. There are no manacles embedded in the walls in our cell. And where’s the fire-pit and torture implements?
Their cell contained a small seat-less toilet, a roll of tissues, and a water fountain. Most remarkably, everything was spotlessly clean. The Pharisees would never waste money to pay a maid to clean a jail cell — there was no profit in it. The only other feature in the cell was a high window near the top of the outside wall. It was nighttime, but Guard1 suspected it would provide a nice flow of light in the morning. This was the most luxurious prison cell Guard1 had ever seen — except for the showpiece cells on Glamoria used as displays when inspectors visited.
As in any prison system, Guard1 and Guard2 were told to strip and shower. Both were given a tan shirt, tan trousers, and a simple pair of sandals, but no underwear. Guard1 had supervised more than one interrogation while on Glamoria as part of her training to become the highest-level guard. She was shocked she had not yet been raped. On Glamoria, all female prisoners were raped after their shower. The more attractive the prisoner, the higher the rank of the rapist.
As she lay in her cot, it almost seemed cruel to have to wait so long for this violation to begin. It would have been better to just get it over with. One of the reasons Guard1 and Guard2 had been selected to serve Karolita was their physical attractiveness. Guard1 imagined her rapists would probably be the senior officers who were busy torturing Karolita and Eros, working up their sexual appetite through violence. Considering what Karolita had attempted to do, and the terrible Black Beast that was the truth under Colonel Doulmahel’s pretty, white
skin, Guard1 shuddered at what cruelties were now being unleashed upon her master.
The door opened. Immediately both guards sat up. A stainless steel cart rolled into the room. “Here it comes,” Guard2 whispered to Guard1, her voice shaking.
“Hello. We thought you might be hungry.” A young female Valkyrie corporal pushed the cart up to the bars. Two intense female sergeants — one a gunnery, the other a master sergeant — walked behind her. The young corporal was of average height, while the gunnery sergeant was tall. The stocky, blue-skinned master sergeant was massive. She was the only one wearing a nametag: R. Sardiniel. By her squarish head and body, she was clearly a Melchizedek.
The aroma hit. It was warm and succulent. It had been a long time since Guard1 had eaten and the smell was almost overwhelming, but she pushed away her hunger.
“The food is filled with Bane, isn’t it?” Guard1 asked.
“Bane?” the young corporal asked. She turned to Master Sergeant Sardiniel, awaiting an explanation.
“Bane is a mixture of aggressive parasites designed by Dhanvantari,” Sardiniel explained. Everyone knowledgeable of the Overlord’s crucial need to create Yukta Yogis knew Dhanvantari was the preeminent genius in the preparation and combination of herbs. “Supposedly, he designed Bane to process some of his herbal rasayana mixtures. But it’s also put into an enemy’s food to create a slow, painful, infectious death. Very difficult to treat.”
“Really?” the young corporal replied skeptically.
The tough-looking master sergeant walked up to the bars and glared at Guard1. “Trust me. If I wanted to feed you Bane, I would stuff it down your throat with my own hands.”
Master Sergeant R. Sardiniel stepped back and nodded to the corporal. There was a small door in the bars. Inside the cell was a platform large enough to hold two trays of food. Both Guard1 and Guard2 froze, knowing the harsh punishments a prisoner would receive if they charged an open door. The corporal reached into her pocket and pulled out a key, opened the small door, slid in the food, and then relocked it.
After the corporal and the gunnery sergeant left, Master Sergeant Sardiniel approached the bars again. She stared at Guard1 for a moment, then Guard2, then back to Guard1.
“You’re the senior guard, aren’t you,” Sardiniel said to Guard1. “If there’s any one creature that insults the very concept of woman, it’s Lakshmi. She is a whore who creates whores. And that piece of dribble called Karol… She isn’t worth the powder to blow her to bits. I personally wish Parvarti had not begged Colonel Doulmahel for mercy, and she had killed that putrid animal on the spot.” The master sergeant’s penetrating blue eyes were so bright, Guard1 had to squint.
“Yet, I know what it means to be military. You are military in service to these creatures. So maybe you don’t have any choice but to be associated with that filth. Or maybe you were tricked into it. Or maybe you’re just as sleazy as everyone else on Glamoria. I don’t know. But I’ll tell you this. You’re now amongst the Valkyrie. You will be treated with respect. You will not be harmed unless you attempt to harm one of us.”
Sardiniel’s blue eyes began to change. They looked like computational machines rotating through different means of perception. When the rotations stopped, the massive Melchizedek’s eyes became shafts of light so intense Guard1 felt they would bore holes through her.
“I’ll tell you two other things. One, I don’t like the word ‘pigeon’. Do not use it. The quicker that word falls from your vocabulary, the better off you’ll be. The other thing. If you attempt to harm any of my sisters or brothers, and especially if you are in anyway disrespectful to Colonel Doulmahel or General Pesagniya, I will tear your freaking heads off.” Sardiniel spun on her heels, walked toward the door, and opened it. She stopped and turned her head halfway back. “So, it might be a good idea to start practicing the words ‘Ma’am’ and ‘Sir’.” Then she left, slamming the door behind her.
Guard2 looked at Guard1. Guard2 walked over to the trays of food, picked one up, and carried it to Guard1. Then she went back and got her own. “I see this thing very simply. Either we eat poison now, or we can sit here until we starve and end up eating poison anyway.”
Guard2 started eating without hesitation. Guard1 had gathered her strength and determination for a starvation diet. She had seen what Bane did to a prisoner’s gastrointestinal tract and then to the rest of their body. She would rather starve to death than experience anguish like that. But after living with the Valkyrie for a week, she decided to take a chance. Maybe they really are honest.
At the end of the meal, they returned their trays to the platform. A warm and relaxing sensation filled their stomachs. A moment later, both were fast asleep.
Chapter 61
An Unexpected Puja
Even if they seem stupid and senseless to you, never ridicule or underestimate the power of another culture’s beliefs, rituals, and practices. Carefully educate yourself before you participate in anyone’s religious rituals. Entire planets might fall if the wrong person participates in the wrong ritual at the wrong time. Know this to be true. That’s what inevitability happened to Eden because of me, because of the Puja The God of Light performed to me.
—Kuko Kiena
Elysium
Kuko finally noticed the puja table was much shorter than normal. All the usual paraphernalia was there — a golden tray to receive the offerings, two small bouquets of fresh flowers, golden containers for water, sandalwood paste, rice, a mixture of diamonds, sapphire, rubies and emeralds, several sticks of incense, and a single white candle. Strangely, there was no portrait of Smigyl.
In a smooth, coordinated motion, Smigyl and Indra lifted the puja table and walked around to the other side of Kuko. Kuko naturally turned and again faced the audience. While turning, she noticed there was another dish hanging high above her head, this one quite large. It would reflect Indra and Smigyl’s voices back to the entire audience.
Indra and Smigyl stood side-by-side facing Kuko and the puja table, Smigyl on the left and Indra on the right, while Kuko faced the audience. Mutterings arose from the audience. This was not what they expected. Then Indra and Smigyl knelt.
Gasps arose from all over the audience. Indra and Smigyl took a bouquet of flowers in one hand and incense in the other. As one, they touched their incense to the open flame of the candle. They dipped their flowers in the water, sprinkled it over the table, dipped again, and then flicked them over their heads. They started chanting together in unison.
“We purify the realm to make ready for our Planetary Princess.
“She, whose blessed feet now stand before us.
“We kneel before Kuko Kiena, she who is the undisputed Planetary Princess of Eden.
“We worship at her divine feet, she who is now our guide.
“We embrace our duties and ask that she be merciful in forgiving us of our many shortcomings.
“We rely upon her wisdom and guidance.
“May all within the Creation realize that whoever is the enemy of Kuko Kiena is now my enemy.”
In coordinated motions, they reached forward, touched their fingers to the sandalwood paste, and then touched them to the golden tray. “We offer the sweet smell of sandalwood to the divine feet of Kuko Kiena.”
They reached forward and picked up a few grains of rice, then sprinkled them on the tray. “May Kuko Kiena bring bountiful nourishment to all children of Eden.”
They reached forward and picked up some of the gems, then sprinkled them on the tray. “We offer all our wealth to the divine feet of Kuko Kiena.”
They reached forward and laid a flower on the tray. “She who fills the world with beauty.”
They held up a stick of incense and slowly moved it back and forth. “She who fills the world with sweetness. She, whose blessed feet now stand before us. We kneel before Kuko Kiena, she who is the undisputed Planetary Princess of Eden.”
Because it was not Devarat performing puja to Lord Smigyl for Kuko, rather it was Lord Sm
igyl and Lord Indra performing puja to Kuko Kiena, words could not express the levels of shock that ran through Pundit Devarat and The Children of Luminosity. In their minds, Kuko Kiena had suddenly been elevated to the status of a Goddess.
Lord Smigyl and Lord Indra simultaneously reached into their pockets as they separated and walked to either side of Kuko. Smigyl reached over and pinned an elegant curved rainbow on her right lapel. Indra reached over and pinned the red twisted cross of the Nazz on her left.
They each took a hand and helped her to a golden throne that had materialized behind her. She sat. They bowed respectfully, then gestured upward, behind her. She turned and saw words displayed on the screen behind her, large enough for even those at the back of the hall to read. It was just too much. Even if she had been thinking straight, she could not have predicted this. Her body went cold.
The screen read:
We praise Nazz Madame General Kuko Kiena, she who is the undisputed Planetary Princess of Eden.
We worship at her divine feet, she who is now our guide.
We embrace our duties and ask that she be merciful in forgiving us of our many shortcomings.
We rely upon her wisdom and guidance.
May all within the Creation realize that whoever is the enemy of Kuko Kiena is now my enemy.’
Indra moved farther stage left. Smigyl walked around behind Kuko’s throne and joined Indra, standing to his right, again taking Indra’s hand. Gasps ran through the audience. They scanned the audience for several seconds, and then simultaneously, in their thunderous voices, they started the chant.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 48
