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.) Their comments ranged from "this was a bit much for me" to "flesh itout." (Pun intended.)Megan is an important character whose experiences in this story will shapeher, and the world of the Council, for some time to come.I think that themajority of my readers are mature enough to not have a problem with thefollowing story.I don't exactly read these things as bedtime tales to my ownkids.To those of you who do, my apologies and be glad for the warning.In a Time of Darkness (Megan's Tale)PROLOGUEThe girl washing clothes by the side of the rushing stream might once havebeen pretty.Now, with the exception of her forearms, she was filthy andskinny, her long, brown hair hanging in tendrils around her face.She wore theremains of a fine, blue cosilk tunic, which had been tied up in the heat, andmatching pants that had been cut off at midthigh.She was barefoot and herfeet were heavily calloused.Less than a year before Megan Samantha Travante, like all the humans of hertime, had lived the life of a god.Before the Fall, with the omnipresent Netto care for every need, humans wallowed in almost inexhaustible luxury.Aperson could live anywhere, even under the sea or in the photosphere of thesun, Change themselves into almost any form.Food was available with a word,Page 206 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlreplicated in any form.Safety was guaranteed by personal protection fieldscapable of surviving in any possible conditions.Megan's life had been slightly different from the norm.Her father was one ofthe few remaining"police" of the era, a man who tracked the limited criminal element thatsprung up even with enormous luxury.And he was very good at his job.Goodenough that he had pressed his only daughter into studying more than wasnormal for the period and developing a high degree of personal paranoia, notto mention defensive capabilities, which made her strange to many of herfriends.Joel Travante knew that even in Paradise the serpent always lurked inthe human breast, and he was sure that his daughter knew it as well.With pressure from her father, and her mother who was an expert onpreindustrial art, Megan had used the resources of the Net to develop herselfin ways strange to many of her peers.She attended few of the innumerableparties; she, in fact, had very little social life.Her life had beendedicated from an early age to intensive mental and physical training.Teaching methods had advanced along with every other art and science.Besidesaudio-visual systems that practically hammered knowledge into the young mindthere were direct input methods available.Between the two, no realm ofknowledge was closed to even the youngest.At first under her parent'spressure, and then on her own for the acorn does not fall far from the oak,Megan had used them to amass an education that would have astounded mostprofessors of previous eras.The Fall, though, had caught almost everyone by surprise.The Net was managedby the Council ofKey-holders, thirteen people who between them held the keys to the programthat managed the Net.They had fallen out, the reasons given ranged from their own statements towild rumors, and started a civil war that had drained the power from the Netand thrown the world into a state of instant barbarism.Megan had been seventeen at the time of the Fall, not yet officially"released" by her parents, but free to wander at will.She had been visiting afriend in Ropasa when the Fall came while her mother was, presumably, home inthe Briton Isles and her father on assignment "somewhere" in the world.Thusshe had been left to her own devices.She had managed, through the smarts andparanoia that her father had inculcated, to avoid the worst aftereffects ofthe Fall.She hadn't been raped, unlike some of her friends, and she hadn'tbeen one of the women chosen as "consorts" to the Changed legions of NewDestiny.But it hadn't been easy to avoid either.Finally, she had found workas a washing girl and general servant for one of the elders of the local town.It wasn't a great job, but she had plans.She had skills that were rare in thepost-Fall world.Most of those skills required an industrial base that wassorely lacking in the small town she had stumbled into.So she bided her time,watched for opportunities and kept her head down.In time, she'd work her wayout of squalor.In the meantime, she had clothes to wash."Excuse me, young lady," a quavering male voice said behind her and she sprungup, holding the stick she had been beating the laundry with as if it were aclub.But the voice had come from an old man who was leaning, wearily, on a stick.Even with the stick, he was no threat."Excuse me for startling you," the old man said.He was dressed in rags andhis feet were as worn as her own."I was hoping that you might help me acrossthe ford."The girl cocked her head at him and, keeping her hand on the stick, walked tosupport his off-side."This is very kind of you," the old man said."There is not much kindness tobe had in this Fallen world."Page 207 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"It's okay," the girl replied as they entered the stream."I'm surprisedyou're able to survive.""Well, I make my way, you know," the old man replied.He was skinny and hislong hair hung in greasy locks over his face and he stumbled on the roundstones of the knee-deep ford."Food is where you find it and I can work,sometimes.Not much to steal from old Paul so no trouble from bandits.Icould wish that that damned Sheida hadn't caused all this trouble, though.""I wish all the Council were damned to hell," the girl snarled."I wish.oh, I wish too much.""Sometimes we feel we are," the old man muttered."And tell me your wishes,young lady.""Just the usual," she laughed, bitterly."To be home.To be fed.To not haveto worry about the cold or having to dodge gangs of men.""Where do you live?" the old man asked as they reached the far side of theford.He stumbled over the slight bank and then sat down, resting his feet inthe water."With a couple in town," the girl replied, sitting down next to him."Theytook me in after the Fall.I.well I do their cleaning and laundry and stuff.The man is one of thetown elders and it's a good enough life.They protect me, at least.""Do you.perform other services for him?" the old man asked, delicately."No, he's never even asked," the girl replied."I don't exactly dress uparound them, though.I.don't know what I would do if he made it a condition of staying.But Ithink Master Jean's wife would have something to say about it if he did.Helives in fear of her.""Yes, yes," the old man said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye."Not the most idyllic life, though [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.) Their comments ranged from "this was a bit much for me" to "flesh itout." (Pun intended.)Megan is an important character whose experiences in this story will shapeher, and the world of the Council, for some time to come.I think that themajority of my readers are mature enough to not have a problem with thefollowing story.I don't exactly read these things as bedtime tales to my ownkids.To those of you who do, my apologies and be glad for the warning.In a Time of Darkness (Megan's Tale)PROLOGUEThe girl washing clothes by the side of the rushing stream might once havebeen pretty.Now, with the exception of her forearms, she was filthy andskinny, her long, brown hair hanging in tendrils around her face.She wore theremains of a fine, blue cosilk tunic, which had been tied up in the heat, andmatching pants that had been cut off at midthigh.She was barefoot and herfeet were heavily calloused.Less than a year before Megan Samantha Travante, like all the humans of hertime, had lived the life of a god.Before the Fall, with the omnipresent Netto care for every need, humans wallowed in almost inexhaustible luxury.Aperson could live anywhere, even under the sea or in the photosphere of thesun, Change themselves into almost any form.Food was available with a word,Page 206 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlreplicated in any form.Safety was guaranteed by personal protection fieldscapable of surviving in any possible conditions.Megan's life had been slightly different from the norm.Her father was one ofthe few remaining"police" of the era, a man who tracked the limited criminal element thatsprung up even with enormous luxury.And he was very good at his job.Goodenough that he had pressed his only daughter into studying more than wasnormal for the period and developing a high degree of personal paranoia, notto mention defensive capabilities, which made her strange to many of herfriends.Joel Travante knew that even in Paradise the serpent always lurked inthe human breast, and he was sure that his daughter knew it as well.With pressure from her father, and her mother who was an expert onpreindustrial art, Megan had used the resources of the Net to develop herselfin ways strange to many of her peers.She attended few of the innumerableparties; she, in fact, had very little social life.Her life had beendedicated from an early age to intensive mental and physical training.Teaching methods had advanced along with every other art and science.Besidesaudio-visual systems that practically hammered knowledge into the young mindthere were direct input methods available.Between the two, no realm ofknowledge was closed to even the youngest.At first under her parent'spressure, and then on her own for the acorn does not fall far from the oak,Megan had used them to amass an education that would have astounded mostprofessors of previous eras.The Fall, though, had caught almost everyone by surprise.The Net was managedby the Council ofKey-holders, thirteen people who between them held the keys to the programthat managed the Net.They had fallen out, the reasons given ranged from their own statements towild rumors, and started a civil war that had drained the power from the Netand thrown the world into a state of instant barbarism.Megan had been seventeen at the time of the Fall, not yet officially"released" by her parents, but free to wander at will.She had been visiting afriend in Ropasa when the Fall came while her mother was, presumably, home inthe Briton Isles and her father on assignment "somewhere" in the world.Thusshe had been left to her own devices.She had managed, through the smarts andparanoia that her father had inculcated, to avoid the worst aftereffects ofthe Fall.She hadn't been raped, unlike some of her friends, and she hadn'tbeen one of the women chosen as "consorts" to the Changed legions of NewDestiny.But it hadn't been easy to avoid either.Finally, she had found workas a washing girl and general servant for one of the elders of the local town.It wasn't a great job, but she had plans.She had skills that were rare in thepost-Fall world.Most of those skills required an industrial base that wassorely lacking in the small town she had stumbled into.So she bided her time,watched for opportunities and kept her head down.In time, she'd work her wayout of squalor.In the meantime, she had clothes to wash."Excuse me, young lady," a quavering male voice said behind her and she sprungup, holding the stick she had been beating the laundry with as if it were aclub.But the voice had come from an old man who was leaning, wearily, on a stick.Even with the stick, he was no threat."Excuse me for startling you," the old man said.He was dressed in rags andhis feet were as worn as her own."I was hoping that you might help me acrossthe ford."The girl cocked her head at him and, keeping her hand on the stick, walked tosupport his off-side."This is very kind of you," the old man said."There is not much kindness tobe had in this Fallen world."Page 207 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"It's okay," the girl replied as they entered the stream."I'm surprisedyou're able to survive.""Well, I make my way, you know," the old man replied.He was skinny and hislong hair hung in greasy locks over his face and he stumbled on the roundstones of the knee-deep ford."Food is where you find it and I can work,sometimes.Not much to steal from old Paul so no trouble from bandits.Icould wish that that damned Sheida hadn't caused all this trouble, though.""I wish all the Council were damned to hell," the girl snarled."I wish.oh, I wish too much.""Sometimes we feel we are," the old man muttered."And tell me your wishes,young lady.""Just the usual," she laughed, bitterly."To be home.To be fed.To not haveto worry about the cold or having to dodge gangs of men.""Where do you live?" the old man asked as they reached the far side of theford.He stumbled over the slight bank and then sat down, resting his feet inthe water."With a couple in town," the girl replied, sitting down next to him."Theytook me in after the Fall.I.well I do their cleaning and laundry and stuff.The man is one of thetown elders and it's a good enough life.They protect me, at least.""Do you.perform other services for him?" the old man asked, delicately."No, he's never even asked," the girl replied."I don't exactly dress uparound them, though.I.don't know what I would do if he made it a condition of staying.But Ithink Master Jean's wife would have something to say about it if he did.Helives in fear of her.""Yes, yes," the old man said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye."Not the most idyllic life, though [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]