Captives of New Pompeii (10 page)

“He spanked you?” Felicia set down her cup
and leaned forward. “And you liked it?”

“Between the emotional purging I did while
he swung the belt and the amazing orgasm he gave me afterward, it
was the most erotic experience of my life. I can’t wait for
more.”

Felicia raised a trembling hand to her chest
and pressed it over her thudding heart. “Caleb asked Aiden if he
was going to ‘train’ me. Do you think that sort of thing is what he
meant?”

Laetif reached across the table and squeezed
her other hand. “Aiden is not Caleb and you are not me. There is no
way Aiden would do something like that to you. What you need is
tenderness and patience. Aiden understands that. If you are curious
and if you’re as attracted to him as I think you are, you don’t
need to be afraid.”

“How well do you know them? Have you hired
their skyship before?”

“You’re right. I don’t know them that well,
but Caleb could have taken advantage of me last night. I was all
over him. But he didn’t. Not only did he give me exactly what I
needed and nothing more, he held his own desire in strict control
the entire time. He was really very gallant.”

“While he spanked you with his belt?” They
both laughed at the irony and Felicia relaxed. “Tell me about the
new city. How long did it take to build? A goddess could have
willed in into existence, but you keep insisting you’re not
gods.”

“You really don’t miss much, do you?” She
nodded toward Felicia’s half-full plate. “Keep eating.”

“But I’m full. I really am. I never eat this
much, especially early in the day.”

“All right. Have another cup of coffee then.
This is sort of hard to explain.” Laetif paused, apparently
ordering her thoughts while Felicia poured them both a fresh cup of
coffee. “There are so many people on Fedoros that the planet has
trouble supporting us all. It has been like that for thousands of
years. Everyone feared that the planet would die and we would be
forced to relocate. So a series of expeditions were sent out to
other star systems, some close enough to colonize and some very far
away.”

“My world was one of these planets?”

“Yes. Earth was seeded shortly before the
rise of the Roman Empire.” Laetif smiled, but Felicia didn’t quite
grasp the significance. “Your gene pool was infused with…” She
sighed and rubbed her lower lip. “I’m not sure how to explain this
to you. The people from my world made subtle changes to yours. Some
were made stronger, some smarter, others more attractive. Many of
the stories in your mythology are the result of these improvements.
Hercules and Helen of Troy—”

“But those are just stories.”

“Are they? Most stories have some tie to
fact. Yes they have been embellished and romanticized, but woven
through each saga are real people and real events.”

“So your people came to my world and made us
better than we would have been. How does this keep your planet from
dying?”

“Earth was a failsafe, a backup, backup
plan. We began to colonize the inhabitable planets that were closer
to Fedoros. We also put into place strict qualifications for
reproduction. If people didn’t want to abide by these rules, they
have to move to one of the colonies.”

“Your government tells people when they can
have children?” Felicia could not imagine anything more unnatural.
She set down her coffee cup and tried not to frown.

“When and with whom. As I said, people
flocked to the colonies because they refused to abide by these
laws.”

“I would have been among them.”

“I am not able to conceive, so the statutes
have never bothered me. Okay that was probably more information
than you were hoping for, but it’s important for you to
understand.”

Two days before, none of it would have made
any sense to Felicia. She had matured a lifetime in less than two
days. “You have not overwhelmed me so far.”

“Well, the next thing you need to understand
is that crime has been basically eradicated on Fedoros.”

Felicia narrowed her gaze, trying to decide
if she meant the statement literally. “How can any society stop all
forms of crime?”

“That was a bit of an exaggeration.
Corporate espionage is still a problem and every time someone posts
about a hacker-proof environment, hackers spring up like weeds to
prove them wrong. Violence has been eradicated, at least in
reality.”

“All right, I am confused now. What did your
world do to change the basic nature of man? Unless things are very
different on Fedoros, the capacity for violence is an inevitable
part of each of us.”

Laetif shook her head and carefully set down
her coffee cup. “No. Human nature hasn’t changed. We are still
capable of horrendous acts of violence, but the penalties for
acting on those impulses are so severe that people have learned to
control them.”

“What penalties? Are they worse than
crucifixion or being boiled in oil?”

“That’s the problem. Both of those penalties
are violent. That means someone has to commit murder to punish the
murderer.”

“It’s not murder if the—”

“I don’t want to debate the morality of
death penalties. I’m not sure what we do is any better.”

“What does your world do?”

“We alter the person’s brain, make them
incapable of any form of violence. It leaves the person…changed,
their personality muted. But a few years after the practice was
adopted violent crimes dropped dramatically.”

“How can they be certain they have the right
person? How many innocent people have had their brains butchered in
the name of justice?” Sitting back in her chair, Felicia folded her
arms and shook her head. She would not accept such a perverted
practice. Each mind, each personality was carefully sculpted by
the… But these people kept insisting that her gods were not
real.

“Fedoros is under continual surveillance.
Remember the vidstation?” Felicia nodded, too upset to speak.
“Cameras are placed all over our world and they record everything
that happens. If the authorities need to find out who committed a
crime, they just review the image of that particular scene, or
check the GPS logs.”

“What is a GPS?”

“Global positioning system. It’s another
type of machine that keeps track of everyone’s location.”

The concept of creating images was easier to
understand than an all-seeing machine, so Felicia focused on
surveillance. “These images are created when people are alone
inside their homes?”

“No, but the images of the street outside
their home would show who went in and out.”

“I understand.” She was distressed by the
concept, but she understood what Laetif had explained.

“Now people always want what they can’t
have. True?”

“Very true.”

“Little by little Fedorans started making
games and simulations that incorporated the violent acts they were
forbidden. It started out with relatively innocent simulations, but
the acts became more graphic and more disturbing. These things were
not really happening, you understand. People were just watching
moving images created by computers.” She paused for a reassuring
smile. “Are you still with me?”

“I believe so.”

“Good. This is where everything connects.
Mikko and his business partner at the time visited your planet
about eight years ago. While they were in Rome, they went to the
Colosseum and watched the gladiator games. Needless to say, they
were fascinated. They knew Fedorans wouldn’t be able to resist the
brutality or the suspense.”

“But violence of any kind is forbidden on
Fedoros.”

“Violence of any kind is forbidden to
Fedorans,” Laetif stressed. “Mikko and the prince recruited
gladiators from all over the Roman Empire and brought them to
Fedoros.”

“How did they explain their technology?”

“A few were told, like you. But most were
kept in stasis until they were in the training facility.”

“
Ludus
.” Felicia smiled, proud to
provide an unknown word for a change.

“Yes,
ludus
. The gladiators were
taken to a
ludus
that looked much like any other, so they
had no idea they were on a different planet.”

“And gladiators are slaves, kept in cages,
so they were never in a position to find out.”

“True.” Laetif didn’t sound particularly
proud of the fact and she rushed on to the next part of the story.
“The gladiators fought as they have always fought with one major
distinction. The only time they were allowed to kill was when they
were fighting criminals.”

“Where did the criminals come from if there
is no crime on Fedoros?”

“Our colonies are still brash and
uncivilized. That’s where the Thrax brothers come from.” The
thought made her chuckle. “So, Fedorans paid for the privilege of
watching moving images of these games. They would through parties
and wager on the outcome. The games were extremely popular, so
Mikko and his partner returned to Earth for more gladiators.”

“I thought they weren’t allowed to kill each
other. Why would they need more?”

“Not intentionally, but you’ve seen
gladiators fight. They don’t pull their punches or hesitate to
swing their swords. I think that’s part of the appeal. Everyone
hopes someone will be hurt badly or even die. As you said, the
capacity for violence is part of our basic nature.”

“When and why did they build the city?”

“Soon, watching vids of the games wasn’t
enough. Prince Tarhee convinced his father to allow Fedorans to
actually attend the matches. They built a large arena and created a
string of
ludi
to encourage rivalries among the gladiators.
That’s when the sport really took off. Everyone wanted to see a
live gladiator, to hear the bones snap and smell the blood.” She
shivered, but Felicia wasn’t sure if it was revulsion or
excitement. “Then Tarhee and Mikko plotted a way to expand the
concept even more. They wanted to create a more exciting
experience, offer Fedorans the opportunity to walk among the
ancient people and live as they lived for a few days.”

“So they built a replica of one of our
cities? How did they intend to populate such a place? They could
not have known about the volcano when the construction began.”

“They figured they would gather people as
they had gathered the gladiators, a few at a time from many
different places.”

“They were going to steal thousands of
people from my world and release them without their knowing they
had been moved? That’s despicable.”

“They knew the people would realize they
were in a different place. There was no way to avoid that, but they
figured they would adjust to the new situation because it was so
similar to their homeworld.”

“I think they greatly underestimated the
people of my world, but the volcano makes this moot. In one fell
swoop, your husband was given an entire population and an
explanation that will satisfy the majority of the survivors. There
is one thing I don’t understand. How will we be kept in the city?
What is to prevent us from wandering into your world?”

“Venus is going to erect an energy barrier.
If anyone touches it, they will be burned.”

“Why would a benevolent goddess trap her
people within the confines of one city?”

“The barrier is a shield protecting you from
Vulcan. Her husband was furious when she rescued your people and he
is desperate to discover where she put you so he can try again.
Anyone who steps beyond the barrier will be vaporized by
Vulcan.”

Felicia was quiet for a long time. She
despised the manipulation, but she had to admit that their story
explained everything. Those who hadn’t believed in Venus before the
miraculous relocation were sure to believe in her now. And fear of
her husband’s wrath would keep them from trying to escape.

“Then we are to live the rest of our lives
on display? We are an exhibition for the entertainment of
Fedorans?”

Laetif looked her in the eyes and asked,
“Would you rather be dead?”

Would you rather be dead?

Laetif’s question echoed through Felicia’s
mind for hours after she returned to Aiden’s cabin. Life as they
knew it was over. There was no going back. She tried to imagine
what the entire experience would be like if her gift had not warned
her of Aiden’s deceit. If she had been an ordinary woman, she would
have been taken to a small, windowless room and been told the
Fedorans’ story. Would she have believed the tale and would she
have been content within the false reality?

She was still contemplating those questions
when Aiden walked through the door. His smile sent heat spiraling
through her body. “Did you miss me?”

“No,” she lied. “Laetif kept me
entertained.” Unfolding her legs, she scooted off the bunk and
slipped her hands into the pockets of her pants. Pockets were a new
concept, as were pants, but she was rapidly adjusting to all sorts
of new things.

“I just bet she did.” He moved closer, his
gaze moving over her face. “Did she have any outrageous
stories?”

She wanted to tell him that his brother was
the outrageous one, but instead she just smiled.

“Was she able to answer your questions? Do
you understand what Mikko is doing?”

She quickly told him what she’d learned and
waited for his reaction.

“If Fedorans are going to interact with the
population of New Pompeii, how will they keep the environment
authentic?”

“She said there is something called a
‘noninterference clause’ that must be agreed to before anyone from
outside will be allowed into the city. They will dress and act as
much like the people of Pompeii as possible. My people will believe
they visit from other cities beyond the barrier.”

“Why are Fedorans allowed through the
barrier, but not the people of New Pompeii?”