The Apocalypse Script (40 page)

She stared at those below her for
a long second before saying quietly, “But there will be no
more.
”

Nods and whispers of agreement
greeted this pronouncement.

“
Only the
guiding hand of the true and uncorrupted Nisirtu has allowed
humanity to progress to its current state. The human cesspool in
this country idle away their time texting or emailing or calling
one another on their shiny toys to babble incessantly about every
second of their miserable, directionless lives. It is like the
grunting of pigs in pens. They send endless streams of photos of
themselves to their slave friends. And do you know
why
they do this?
Because their lives have so little meaning that they secretly
wonder
if they even
exist
.”

Lilian pantomimed holding a phone
to her ear. “Did you get the selfie of me eating that fish taco,
Chad? Yeah? And was I in it? Are you sure? Good, just
checking!”

There were a few chuckles and
grins
.

“
The problem,”
continued Lilian, “is that we have allowed the Ardoon to ascend
Maslow’s pyramid. They are consumed with the need to improve their
self-esteem and to self-actualize. They cannot do this, we know,
because they are trespassing into the realm of the Nisirtu. Their
proper place is at the base, where they are fated to scurry for
food and clothing, humping like dogs and following their carnal
desires wherever they might lead. Even the Ardoon elite, their
pathetic rulers, equate toys and money with power, not
understanding that
power is a thing
unto itself
. They make this error because
they share the genes of the animals they rule. You can put a suit
on a slave
but he remains a
slave!
”

Lilian exhaled and took a few
steps before continuing. “Well, the zenith of the Ardoon has
finally arrived. Humanity shall rise no higher because the Nisirtu
have grown weary of the Ardoons’ wicked ways. The Families have
rightly said,
‘The Ardoon seek to become
like us, so we shall confound and silence them. We will take from
them their precious internet. We shall destroy their phones, radios
and televisions. Let us further deny them electricity, and water,
and engines, and farms, and medicine, and security. Let us return
them to their natural state so that their eyes will be reopened to
the reality of their pathetic existence. They are not gods nor
masters and they are certainly not Nisirtu!’
”

The condemnation was welcomed with
enthusiastic applause. Lilian gave it a moment to die down before
continuing.

“
Now, as a loyal member of the
Seven I would never object to the actions of our Families…” she
said tongue-in-cheek. The room erupted in laughter. She smiled
sheepishly.

“
But
were
I to have an objection, it would be that the Nisirtu should
be united in this monumental undertaking. Why should the Seven not
seek peace with the Maqtu? Why do they continue to war against
their own kind, even now, when the scripts are irreversible? The
Seven have won. The Maqtu are defeated. The proper thing to do –
the
Nisirtu
thing
to do – would be to humbly accept the swords of the defeated
Families - to restore them and offer them a seat at the great
table. Is it just that three ancient and noble kingdoms should be
destroyed or made vassals for opposing a strategy they viewed as
suicidal? Wrong or right, their only sin was to seek the
preservation of the Nisirtu.”

Again murmurs of agreement rose from those gathered
in the Hall.

“
I need not
remind you learned people that there was also dissent amongst us as
to when to end the empires of the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. We
were almost split in two when arguing the creation of the United
States. The introduction of communism was debated for
decades!
And need I mention the
problems with Germany at the start of the previous
century
?”

There was boisterous laughter
throughout the gallery. Lilian made a face. “
That
is why one does not return sour
milk to the refrigerator.”

When the laughter had subsided,
she said, “And yet somehow our ancestors found a way to come
together and keep the Nisirtu intact. Yes, we have had our
wars.
I know that better than anyone
here.
”

There was an awkward stillness below her.

“
No, truly. My
father warred against the other Houses and I have suffered for it.
Yet the Fifth Kingdom was not abolished even after my father was
usurped. It is regrettable that my own kingdom now seeks to
marginalize or destroy three of the kingdoms that had beneficently
allowed
it
to remain intact only two decades ago.”

She shrugged. “Well, it does not
matter now, does it? This civilization is at an end. In a hundred
years, or a thousand, it will be forgotten. Consider the fate of
the
Olmec,
the
Mycenaens,
the
Minoans,
the
Anasazi,
and hundreds of other civilizations that tested the patience
of the Nisirtu. Even today Ardoon historians and archaeologists are
unable to explain how such seemingly advanced societies could fall
and their populations vanish into thin air.”

She raised a finger into the air.
“The simple explanation is, ‘
Because the
Nisirtu willed it.’
”

More applause.

“
Not only will
today’s civilization collapse, it will cease to exist even as a
memory. It shall become a thing of legend to the descendants of the
Ardoon and later not even that.
I
say that is a fair punishment.
What is a harsher, to kill a father, allowing his children to
memorialize him, or to kill him
and then
wipe his memory from his children
’
s minds?
To do the former is to make the man a martyr. To do the
latter is to undo him completely.

“
That said, the coming realignment
is on a scale never attempted by our ancestors. It is the
eradication of not one or two civilizations but all of them at
once. This is a complete remaking of the world and it is not a
matter to be taken lightly. The Families think the downward spiral
can be controlled and that they can avoid the vortex the Ardoon are
sucked into.

“
They are either
delusional or
horribly
misinformed. I do not plan on paddling around the
whirlpool and hoping for the best. I plan to stand here, on terra
firma, and to watch my foolish peers as they are pulled into the
depths. As the Great Sage once told me, ‘It is foolish to
pull
an enemy off a
bridge when he can instead be
pushed
.’

“
I think many of
you are of the same mind. We are, in a way, like the ark of legend.
None of you have been selected by chance. Among you are not only
wise and worthy nobles but also architects, engineers, physicians,
statisticians, biologists, and experts from dozens of other fields.
All of you are here because you will be needed to re-establish
civilization. You are the
progenitors
of the new world. This
place, Steepleguard, shall be your new home.”

She opened her arms to the
congregation. “Welcome to Mount Olympus.
Welcome to the rebirth of the Fifth Kingdom of the
Nisirtu.
”

Lilian continued her speech,
introducing various nobles and discussing with them some pressing
issues, until her watch told her it was fifteen minutes before
eight o’clock.

Looking up, she saw two men at the
far end of the Great Hall near the doors that led to the courtyard.
She recognized one of them as a man known to the Ardoon as Todd
Peck, though his Nisirtu name was Torbitz. He was a chemist with
blond hair down to his shoulders who looked like he had stepped off
the cover of an old romance paperback. She was unfamiliar with the
other man, who was a bit shorter and dark haired, but Lilian
thought they had arrived together.

They scanned the room furtively
before casually putting their backs to the doors and trying to push
them open. The doors didn’t budge. The two men conferred in
whispers before making their way through the crowd in Lilian’s
general direction, though she knew they were focused on the
corridors behind and on either side of her that led to other
egresses.

When they were only ten feet from
the stage, she said loudly enough for everyone present to hear her,
“Gentlemen, are you leaving us? This is a most inopportune time.
Where are you going?”

The two men froze when they
realized she was speaking to them. Looking back awkwardly, the man
named Torbitz said, “We beg your pardon, Princess, but we were
looking for the, uh…the
facilities
.”

“
A bit too much wine,” added the
other man, trying hard to smile.

Lilian put on her mask of
astonishment. “Is it so urgent that you would leave just ten
minutes before I conclude my remarks? And why did you attempt to
leave the building? Did you intend to relieve yourself in the
bushes? I think you have lived among the Ardoon too
long!”

Others in the room laughed, but
uneasily. They sensed the tension in the air. So did Fiela, who
moved toward the men.

Seeing the Peth’s movements,
Torbitz held up his hands. “It was mistake,” he said, taking a step
backward. “You’re right, Princess, it was very bad timing. But you
see, we did not want to push through the other guests and disrupt
the proceedings. We assumed there was another entrance to the
building that we could access once we were outside. No offense was
intended.”

“
Oh,” said
Lilian, “I
do
see. Unfortunately, it is quite impossible to either
enter
or
exit
the building. All
the doors are locked, and they are
substantial
doors.”

“
Ah,” said Torbitz, unable to
handle the weight of his artificial smile. “What are we to
do?”

“
Perhaps you should call your
friends in the hills above and ask them.”

The other guests began worriedly whispering to each
other, their eyes never leaving the stage. The two men said
nothing.

“
I’m sure the Peth surrounding
Steepleguard would have some timely advice for you,” continued
Lilian. “You are hoping to evacuate the building before they
attack, no doubt. To ensure you don’t get caught in the
crossfire.”

The whispers in the Great Hall
became a gentle roar. There were shouts of
“
Traitors!
”
and
“
The Seven!
”

The situation was now clear to
Fiela, who lowered the tip of the ceremonial but still quite
functional spear. She stepped forward until the iron tip floated
only inches from Torbitz’s statuesque face. He tried to retreat but
found himself held by a group of men that had assembled behind
him.

Lilian motioned for the men
holding Torbitz and his anonymous friend to bring them to the edge
of the platform. The tip of Fiela’s spear floated steadily above
Torbitz’s nose like an angry fly. When he was near enough, Lilian
crouched and whispered into his ear, “Give me the name of the other
spies and I shall spare your miserable life.”

“
What? Please! I don’t
know!”

“
Unfortunate,” she said, standing.
“Peth, how quickly can you make these creatures into
trophies?”

“
Five minutes,” answered
Fiela.

“
No!
Please!
” screamed the other man.
“Let us join you! I
spit
on the Seven!”

Torbitz scowled at his confederate.

“
A good decision made too late,”
said Lilian. Turning back to her flock, she said, “Anyone with
children or a low tolerance for spilled blood should turn around
now.”

Some did, but most, even those
with children, did not. It was not the Nisirtu way.

“
Do it,” said Lilian with a flick
of her wrist. Fiela instantly shoved the tip of the spear into
Torbitz’s left eye. He screamed for only a second because the Peth
immediately began spinning the spear tip, grinding the man’s brain
to a gray paste. It was, in its way, a merciful execution. The
other man suffered longer simply because his writhing caused Fiela
to first severe his nose.

When she was done, she looked at
Lilian questioningly.

“
Thank you Sister, but that is
all. Be quick about the trophies.”

The men who had blocked the
traitors hauled their corpses toward the kitchen, Fiela following.
Lilian again faced her audience, which quieted.

“
Such things are to be expected,
and were,” she said. “Yes, we are surrounded by Peth-Allati under
the command of Lords Moros and Nizrok. They have orders to capture
us and try us as rebels before the Seven. I am not inclined to give
them that pleasure. I find it ironic that they now wish me at court
after having banned me from it for two decades.”