"I will get it for you," the new Prince Pride said, understanding immediately. "Naturally I don't want lives expended uselessly any more than you do; I will have to manage this Kingdom all too soon."
He was taking hold very nicely, despite his lack of prior training for the position he had assumed. Gaea's work again, surely.
The new Prince Pride took a carpet immediately to the Rajah's palace, while Mym paced him invisibly on the horse. The trip was swift, as neither had to wait on traffic below, and in a few minutes they were there. Then Prince Pride asked for a copy of the order requiring the cessation of hostilities and took it with him. The moment he was alone, he held it in the air, and Mym materialized enough to grasp it. "Thank you, Prince," he said. "May you have a long and happy life."
He galloped back to the battle site, where things remained frozen. He brought the order to a messenger boy, put it in his hand, and phased in to his mind. No thought was proceeding, because of the freeze, but Mym projected strongly: URGENT MESSAGE FOR GENERAL.
Then he sat back on the horse, touched the Sword, and willed the release of the stasis.
The scene reanimated. The troops resumed killing each other; blood resumed flowing, and arrows completed their flights. The messenger boy looked startled, evidently not remembering how he had come to possess the urgent message, but knowing his duty. He rushed it to the General.
The General perused it. He sighed. "Peace has been declared," he said, disgusted. "Cease hostilities. Send a mission under flag of truce to the enemy to acquaint them with this news."
It took a while to sort it out, but in due course the armies disengaged. The battle was over, and not too many men had been killed.
But if he had handled the matter more expeditiously, there would have been no carnage at all. Mym knew he had a lot yet to learn about the performance of his office.
He gathered up his minions and returned to his castle in Purgatory. Conquest, Slaughter, Famine, and Pestilence went their ways, disappointed. They would have only a slim harvest from this day's work.
Rapture met him at the front foyer. "Oh, beloved, I missed you so!" she exclaimed. "Why did you have to be gone so long?"
"I have an office to serve," he sang.
"To supervise violence and rapine?" she asked. "It would be better if you stayed here!"
"To stop a battle between the armies of your Kingdom and mine," he informed her gently. "Peace has been declared, but the news had not reached the front. I was fortunate to get it stopped before things had proceeded too far."
"Maharastra-and Gujarat-were fighting?" she asked, appalled.
"Because of us," he agreed. "We refused to marry the Princess and Prince of Rajasthan, so our Kingdoms went to war with each other."
“But actual combat? I hadn't realized!"
“I stopped it. That was my business today."
“But people died, before-?"
“Some died, yes. It was complicated to-"
“Oh!" she exclaimed. "I never wanted people to die because of us! If I had realized-"
"There was no way to-" he sang.
But she turned away from him, part of her horror extending to him.
Disgusted, he left her. It seemed they were having their first quarrel.
He cleaned up, for though he had had very little contact with mortal things, he had been under some pressure and had sweated under his golden cloak. He changed to informal garb, then went to Rapture's quarters.
She met him in the hall and flung her arms about him and sobbed. He tried to speak, but she stifled that with a kiss.
It seemed that their quarrel was over.
Then they talked, and he learned what was really upsetting her. It seemed that the butler had explained it to her during the day.
This was Purgatory. No mortals resided here. This was not discrimination, but the simple fact that mortals were of a far more complex physical composition, possessing three physical dimensions instead of two. This was not a precise analogy, but the butler had made it simple to understand. Mortals could visit, when sponsored by an Incarnation, but could not remain.
"But you have been here a full night and day!" Mym sang, protesting.
"Yes, and I am starving," she responded.
"But there is plenty to eat!"
"For you. Not for me. Not for a mortal."
"You're my mortal!" he sang angrily. "They will feed you!"
She shook her head. "They have fed me, Mym. But this is Purgatory food. It looks and tastes real, it feels real-but it has nourishment only for ghosts. A mortal requires a thousand times the substance found in this food. What I have eaten here has been illusion, for me. I have been existing on my own bodily resources. This is easy to do, for a short period, when the stomach seems full-but can not be maintained."
He stared at her. "Purgatory food-can't feed you," he repeated.
"Mym, I must return to the mortal realm, if I am to eat."
He was appalled. "No wonder you were upset! It's so nice here, and now-"
"Now I must leave. I can visit only a few hours at a time, before hunger and thirst-oh, I feel that thirst, now!"
Mym shook his head. "Rapture, I never knew about this! I never would have brought you here, if-"
His distress seemed to ameliorate hers. "I have only to find a mortal home. I can be here each day when you return. I can spend the nights with you. It can be very much the same; I can be gone only when you are gone."
"But I have no idea where you can go!" he sang. "It can't be Bombay-"
"The butler says he can arrange something, and I'm sure he can. But-it must be soon, because-"
"Because you are wasting away!" he finished. "Oh, my beloved-"
"It will be all right," she said, though he knew she was deeply distressed. She had wanted so much to be with him always and now she could not.
They went immediately to the butler, who explained that there were those mortals who cooperated in special matters like this and maintained a system of hostels for displaced associates of Purgatory. They were discreet and understanding. "In fact you can stay with Thanatos' consort, Luna Kaftan," he said. "She is in mortal politics, but because of Thanatos, she understands perfectly. You will be fully comfortable with her."
And so it was arranged for Rapture to stay with Luna, who lived in Kilvarough. Thanatos himself came to escort them down. Rapture almost fainted when she saw the skull-face, but then Thanatos drew back his hood to reveal an ordinary human face, reassuring her. It was all right for now.
8 - SATAN
Other nights, Rapture would come to stay with him in the Castle of War. But this night she was back on Earth, for she had a day's eating to catch up on and needed to acclimatize. Mym had known the instant he met Luna, who seemed oddly familiar, that she would take good care of Rapture; she was a beautiful, brown-haired, occidental woman, whose house was filled with artistry and guarded by griffins. It was no palace, but it was the kind of place the Princess could feel at home in.
So Mym slept alone-and discovered that, though Rapture might be dependent on him, he had become dependent on her, too. He had grown accustomed to sleeping beside a loving woman and felt ill at ease by himself.
In fact, he was unable to sleep. After more than an hour of restless turnings, he sat up and looked for something to read. There was nothing; evidently his predecessor had not been a literary man.
He got up and donned slippers and night robe and walked out into the dusky hall. The castle staff had retired; all was quiet. Did the spirits of Purgatory require sleep? Perhaps so, if they required food. As he was coming to understand it, the lives-the afterlives-of these people were similar to those of mortal folk, but more diffuse and extended. If they did not eat, they would not starve-not within a century or so-for they could not die; they were already dead. But they would become uncomfortable. Likewise, probably, with sleep. So let them sleep; it did help differentiate the days, which surely were dull enough. Purgatory was not supposed to be torture, as he pe
rceived this Western mythology; it was merely a state of indecision, a working-off of the debts of an imperfectly lived life. Westerners had no second chance by way of reincarnation to expiate their faults; they had to get it straight in just one life and then pay the consequence in the long stretch of eternity thereafter. He did not envy them their system.
But, of course, he was part of it, now. He should have been a better Hindu, so as not to stray into this inferior framework. This was really his own next incarnation, the Incarnation of War in an alien framework, and now he was bound by its laws. Punishment enough!
Yet reward enough, too, for it had solved the problem of his voided betrothal to Rapture and the war between their two Kingdoms. Had this office not come to him when it had, he would have faced disaster. So fate had not been cruel to him; it had been kind. Most kind.
Also, he rather fancied the challenge of this new position. He had made mistakes on his first day-but what person didn't, when learning the job? He now had a far better notion how to proceed and expected to do better on his next battle. The powers of his office were phenomenal and could be a great force for good when properly applied.
He came to the garden region that had so enraptured Rapture. Now it was dark; the cycles of Purgatory mirrored those of mortal Earth. The exotic plants seemed larger, the shadowed statues more alive, somehow. He walked on through it; it was indeed a lovely region, the kind that a woman could spend much time appreciating. It seemed almost natural-as if crafted by the forces of nature, rather than those of man.
The clouds parted to allow a shaft of moonlight down, and the leaves and statues turned silvery. A gentle breeze wafted through, stirring the trees. The smell of the wild came through more clearly, luring him on. The path twisted about, taking him past increasingly intriguing exhibits.
He paused to examine one statue more carefully. It was a representation of two figures, male and female, both naked, locked in close embrace. In fact they were engaged in the act of physical love. Such representations were common enough in India, but this one was unusually specific. The figures almost seemed to move.
In fact, they were moving. Mym thought he was being deceived by the play of moonlight, but now he heard the sounds of their exertions. The figures were alive!
Impossible. Statues did not come to life!
Yet there was definite sound and movement, as the act progressed. Mym inspected the representation closely, and finally touched the shoulder of the man. It was cold stone. So this was some kind of mechanical device, simulating human mating. Interesting.
He moved on. The breeze picked up, ruffling his hair. The moonlight brightened. The trees were larger and prettier, and the smell of their naturalness intensified. Now there was sod underfoot, slightly springy.
He turned to look back, but could not see the castle; he seemed to be in a forest. That didn't bother him; he was pleased with the extent and verisimilitude of this garden. No wonder Rapture had been delighted!
He came to another statue-and this one was larger, more animated, and more intimate than the first. These could have been real people, and their technique was quite interesting.
The man turned his head and saw Mym. "Ah, the master of the castle arrives," he said.
Startled, Mym stepped back. It talked!
The woman disengaged and sat on the pedestal, dangling her long, bare legs over its edge. She was extremely full-breasted and full-hipped, but slender in other respects. "Come, join me," she invited Mym, opening her arms.
A concubine? "Who are you?" Mym demanded. Then he paused, surprised, for he had spoken without stuttering.
"I am Satan, the Incarnation of Evil," the man said. "This is one of My innumerable consorts, each of whom is more luscious and tractable than the last."
"Satan?" Mym repeated, again amazed at his lack of stutter. "Here in my castle?"
"Not precisely your castle. Mars," Satan said. "You have wandered from your garden into a section of My realm, where reality is more intriguing. But have no concern; you are welcome here. I have wanted to interview you."
"Aren't you the occidental figure of evil?" Mym asked. "I have been warned to be wary of you."
"Indeed I am, and indeed you have," Satan agreed expansively. "My name is Nefarious-and rightly so."
This was not precisely the approach Mym had anticipated. He had been led to expect a creature with hooves, tail, and horns, who breathed fire. This man was none of these. He seemed entirely human, even to the act he had been performing with the woman. "Why have you chosen to contact me?" he asked, once again marveling at his lack of a stutter.
"Why, isn't it the neighborly thing to do?" Satan asked. "It is no easy thing to step abruptly into the office of an Incarnation, and it behooves others of us to facilitate your adaptation in whatever ways we can."
Mym shrugged. "I appreciate that effort. But other accounts indicate that you bear mostly malice to others. As the Incarnation of Evil, this makes sense. So you should be trying to make this more difficult for me."
Satan grinned in disarming fashion, and the woman smiled. "This shows the importance of personal contact. As you can see, I am not as intractable as others may depict Me. Come, let us converse." He jumped off the pedestal, not at all concerned about his nakedness, and the woman followed. She was robustly constructed, and her breasts bounced magnificently as she landed. What a concubine she would make!
As they walked, the welkin brightened, not from any dawn but from a surrounding luminescence. The trees glowed, and the ground, and even the three people, as if animated from within. This provided a preternatural clarity of vision, for there were no obstructive shadows. The garden was almost ecstatically beautiful, a true paradise.
The woman took his arm. Mym glanced at her, surprised. The enhancement of vision applied to her, too, and made of her physical form a thing of perfect splendor. She smiled at him.
"You like Lilith?" Satan inquired. "She was the model for all the statuary, and she will gladly pose for you, in any manner you desire. She has more experience than any mortal woman."
So she was of the spirit world; he should have realized. "Thank you; I already have a woman."
"But not a suitable concubine, here in Purgatory," Satan said. "A man of your stature needs more than one woman."
"True," Mym said. "But a prince does not take a used woman."
"Readily fixed," Satan said. He snapped his fingers, and Lilith vanished. Satan snapped again, and a new woman appeared. This one was just as lusciously constructed, but possessed a greater innocence of demeanor. "Lila, here, has never been touched by man."
Lila smiled at Mym. She was every bit as pretty as the concubines the Rajah had provided.
Still Mym had a doubt. "But I don't know how Rapture would feel about a spirit concubine."
"Well, you can ask her," Satan said. "Lila will be available whenever you wish." He waved one hand negligently, and Lila vanished. "How did you like your first day's work?"
"It sufficed," Mym said guardedly.
"I understand that you had the privilege of supervising a battle in your own bailiwick."
"I was trying to end it!" Mym exclaimed.
"End it? Whatever for?"
"Because it was pointless. There was no need for men to die on that field; peace had been declared."
Satan smiled. "Now I can see how that might be construed as an embarrassment. Still, a good battle is a good battle, whatever the circumstances. Why didn't you simply enjoy it?"
"Enjoy it!" Mym cried. "Outrageous!"
"How so. Prince? War is an honorable pursuit, and there is much challenge and glory to be had in battle."
"That is the kind of remark I should expect from Siva," Mym muttered. "War is the root of endless evil. Slaughter, Famine, and Pestilence ride right with me when I go out."
"Siva-your God of Destruction," Satan said. "I like that. But consider where the world would be if there were no war. We know that mortals have faults; they are dissatisfied with their lots,
whatever their lots may be, so they seek to better those lots at the expense of their neighbors. Men take advantage of each other, they steal from each other, they enslave each other and will not give over; whole societies have been enslaved by other societies, or by their own repressive leadership, and suffering is endemic. I know these things, for I receive the souls that are degraded and finally damned by such circumstances. Human beings are not fair to each other; each wants more than his fair share and will take it if he has the power. What mechanism exists to restore fairness to humanity? Reason? Man is not a rational animal, no matter what he chooses to call himself. He remains governed by his selfish emotions. He uses reason only as a means to an end, the end of self-aggrandizement. When reason suggests he is wrong, he dispenses with it and keeps his ill-gotten gains. No, Prince-in the end, there is only one answer, and that is to restore fairness by force. That is what we call war."
"But war does not restore fairness!" Mym protested, taken aback by this rationale. "It is noted in the spread of unfairness!"
"Only if abused," Satan said smoothly. "That is why there is an Incarnation of War-to see that it is correctly used."
Mym thought of his day's work. "I did not handle it well today."
"You will improve with experience, of course. We all do. No blame attaches to you for that."
"I would prefer to abolish all war, so that no battles needed managing."
"Then you would be neglecting your office. Some war is necessary. It is like burning off a fallow field, to clear it of a tangle of brush and to fertilize it with ashes, so as to facilitate new growth. The process of burning may seem violent, but it is in fact quite beneficial. Likewise one must not be deterred by the seeming violence of war; it is but a means to a necessary end."
"Some means are not justified, and war-"
"Or like the surgeon's knife, that cuts away cancerous growth. It is true that some healthy flesh must be touched, but this is a small sacrifice in view of the advantage to be obtained."
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