The Blind Gods
Copyright© 2025 by Wau
Chapter 56: The Two Cities
The square is lit by a single streetlamp, with a large circle of polished stone at its center. On the other side, one of those strange antennas. A black, eyeless Xeno bird sits on the edge of a wall. The lights are warm, and there is nothing sinister about it. Beneath an archway, a door opens onto the famous nameless tavern.
The Wau must bend his knees and stoop to enter. Inside, the same gold and orange tones, as if the walls were lit by ancient torches. Numerous wooden tables, completely empty, and behind the counter-where everywhere else in the world one sees a robot-stands a long-haired man, unsmiling. He growls with a hoarse voice:
- “Now what. What are you, a Xeno?” he grunts, signing in stellar language with his fingers just in case.
- “There’s a human under the armor.”
- “That must be inconvenient!”
- “Usually, yes. Except in a firefight.”
- “Is that a threat?” he growls again. “Are you a citizen? Or are you here for the daily special?”
- “Do the HS rules apply here?”
- “Well, until further notice Booz is part of the HS, right? Unless that damn armor’s crushed your brains too much! Hahaha!”
- “I was told, on the contrary, that it’s the Brotherhood laying down the law here.”
If it were possible, his closed face darkened. The Wau sensed he was about to lie.
- “You’re misinformed, and you’re a son of a bitch.”
He spits on the ground.
- “I don’t feel like serving you anymore.”
- “You’re lying to me. I’m considering breaking both your legs and sitting right over there, in that corner, to see how you’ll spend the rest of your night.”
- “I’ve got friends, you know.”
- “Members of the Brotherhood? Perfect, then you don’t even have to say another word. Call them.”
The innkeeper’s eyes gleamed, and the Wau noticed something. One was green, the other purple. A curious vanity for a guy who looked like he’d never shaved or bathed.
A group of tourists entered the establishment noisily. Six or seven men from twenty to fifty years old, accompanied by just as many humanoid Xenos with serpent tails. Already quite drunk, they ignored the Wau and ordered ten liters of nebula alcohol and twelve citrus fruits. The Wau hadn’t really planned to carry out his threat anyway, but he didn’t see how he could keep bluffing with this merry bunch around. He left the bar as the serpents danced on the table to the sound of a portable LE.
He could always penetrate the psyche of the very dumb diamond later. The Wau loathed doing so, even in emergencies. Ultimately, he had done it with Sam because he was a friend. Entering someone’s mind was a defeat, both moral and intellectual: clues are often there, everywhere, more eloquent than most speeches. After all, humans are lost, uncertain beings. Often, a mind doesn’t scream the truth, but its doubts.
Back outside now, in the silence interrupted only by animal cries and the wild singing from the tavern. If the innkeeper is lying, that means he’s in league with the Brotherhood. A Brotherhood with three thousand ships. And yet ... not a soul in sight. The silence of the place reminded him of another: the silence that fell over the once-crowded streets when he touched the unidentified antenna.
He places his metal glove on the antenna. A slight vibration. The square lights up and suddenly fills with sound and people.
All around the square, about fifty men, all in pilot uniforms, talking, observing operations, or participating in them. A team with lights is guiding Ozys descending from the sky into a hole matching the polished metal circle in the center of the square. There are four Ozys in total, rather well maneuvered with inertial grapples, prowling around the city. A team leader is shouting orders.
He lifts his hand from the antenna. The square returns to calm.
Good God. The Brotherhood of the Two Worlds. The tale of the two cities. There are literally two worlds at the same location here in Babylon! But by what miracle?
He places his hand back again. This time, a few men see him and point him out. All of them wear at their belts a similar device, resembling an old-fashioned portable radio. A Wau! The word is out. One of them has an antique assault rifle with kinetic bullets and fires-poorly-at him. The bullets ricochet. Thermal rifles are pointed, FAMs are fired at him ... For fun, he removes his hand at the moment of impact, then touches the antenna again.