Chapter 18: Meddling in Primitive Societies

Jason enjoyed his time at university. He had the opportunity to spend more time with his group, but the impending duels were always at the back of his mind. He trained ferociously and planned for potential assassins. His security detachment was increased with Rover ensuring that there were dogs with him daily, largely hidden. Jason was surprised that he could always see dogs or boars while others could not. Aylot had returned and spent a lot of time with Jason. Jason enjoyed his company very much and it was strongly reciprocated. Jason’s strength returned fully.

Two weeks before the first scheduled duel, Jason was distressed to receive a communication that he needed to attend for mandatory student duty in the investigation of one of the professors of anthropology. Along with the duty request, was a summarized document that explained that when infractions occurred within the University that involved staff and students, a student representative was required to be on the panel. His name had been randomly selected.

That afternoon Jason was introduced to the panel consisting of multiple professors of anthropology, the Dean of anthropology, Professor Nora DeBeer and one of the senior administrators. The afternoon was intended to be a briefing for the panel as to what had happened, decide on any further investigation, and then decide on a date for formal court proceedings. The charges against them had been presented to the professor and to the students and they would have the opportunity to defend themselves against the accusations.

Professor DeBeer presented the fundamental problem. One of the students had complained that the professor had pressured them into playing Gods while they were observing a society that had in the previous one thousand years begun developing agriculture and animal husbandry. The society in question had been under observation for the previous four thousand years and the professor wanted to see the effect of introducing multiple disparate religions onto the planet. He informed them he had done the exercise previously and needed a comparison group. The students were informed that they were to participate or they would be failed.

The students were aware that the previous research had shown that the introduction of multiple different belief systems had a negative effect on the long-term development of the society and impeded later unifying efforts. The professor felt that in a society that apparently had not developed any form of religious beliefs, that an introduction of different religions should be formally tested to ensure the hypothesis was confirmed.

The students appeared to different communities on the planet using holographic projections as either a single figure, or as multiple figures for other groups. They provided contradictory information to each group along with sets of beliefs and in some cases, whole books that were created with the assistance of the AI’s. Their appearances before the different groups were dramatic and spectacular and were undertaken after several rehearsals.

They created ‘miracles’ to reinforce their initial presentations and show the powers of the Gods. They also made use of their skills in hypnosis to grant individuals boons. They encouraged people to pray, read the minds of some and granted their wishes. They took a number of family members who were prayed about who had illnesses to be cured on the ships and were returned. Two of the students had put in complaints on their return about what they regarded as unethical behavior.

They considered that if a study could potentially influence the development of an entire planet and could create wars it should have been passed by the University ethics committee. They also considered that it would be unlikely that the ethics committee would condone such a study. They further complained that the professor used illegal pressure upon them. The professor himself had not denied the accusations, nor had the other students. Some of the students said that they were not to blame as they had been under pressure from the professor. Others considered themselves as having done something that they regarded as unconscionable.

The issues were discussed in considerable detail, and had included the Dean of Ethics. Jason came to understand that the fundamental beliefs of the anthropologists were not to interfere in the development of any society. Such a study would never have been condoned.

Where the group became stuck was around the issue of how serious a crime had been committed and how should the crime be regarded within the University and within the Empire. They wanted to know if the different groups in society had been conned by this group purporting to be Gods. Secondarily they wanted to know how strongly the beliefs were held and retained.

Some thought if the different groups had been conned and had strongly taken to heart the beliefs that they had been given then the crime was to be regarded as more serious. They were of the belief that such malicious acts had occurred on more than one occasion by various more advanced societies precisely as this heinous act was perpetrated.

In some cases their belief was that it was aimed at trying to assist the society by creating a diversity of beliefs that would lead to the society becoming enriched. In most if not all cases they believed that it was aimed at sowing discord. The group’s view was that there was very little doubt that a significant punishable offense had occurred. The question was its severity. They believed that it was important that at least three different groups were observed in order to assess the impact and the take-up of the beliefs.

The committee decided that two people needed to go to the planet for three days to a week in order to observe and validate that the communities had been influenced and if so to what degree and what level of influence had occurred. They appreciated that it would be important to later consider remedial action to try and unify the planet. This had been done in the past by creating an overarching religion given by a higher level of Gods who were much more powerful and impressive who taught that the other beliefs are given by false Gods. They could from their own experience gauge the likely impact to determine the level of charges to be laid at the University and in the courts. They had confiscated the holographic recordings of all the so-called appearances as God or gods. They proposed that all the names of the panel be placed in a bowl and two were to be selected to go to the planet to observe the behavior and assess the impact if possible. Jason knew his black hole was attracting trouble, but what that trouble was he was yet to discover.

Jason and Professor Nora DeBeer were selected. Jason was hardly surprised. He knew it was inevitable. The professor explained to Jason that his studies could be suspended with opportunities given to him to catch up with laboratories and other sessions. She explained the student body had lobbied long and hard for students to be able to be involved in such issues and represent student interests.

They were to leave in professor DeBeer’s shuttle within the hour.

Jason communicated with home. He told the professor about his security issues and requested he be allowed to bring his guards, but she said that they would wear armor, have shields and be cloaked on the planet and there was no weapon, the natives possessed that could in any way adversely affect them. She said that it was not appropriate or necessary to bring his bodyguard.

He went to meet the professor at her shuttle. It was quite a lot larger than he would have expected and she said it was capable of flying anywhere in the galaxy. When he looked at it he could see through the holographic projection of the craft as presented, to reveal an entirely different craft of a very much more advanced construction, very much like that of the bugs. He did have his ring modified to pick up the latest bugs as well as all of the others, but picked up nothing strange within the committee or with the professor. He only picked up warmth and interest from her.

She was a very capable pilot. She suggested that he sat up front with her as she piloted her way off the planet and charted the course to their destination. Jason had done extensive travel and was well aware of the expected times of travel to various destinations. It should have taken them nearly 4 days to get there in an imperial design shuttle. She informed Jason blithely that it would take them approximately two and a half hours to the planet.

She put the craft on autopilot, took him to the galley, and prepared a delicious meal. She explained that they would land in the early evening, would don their armor, cloak the ship and themselves, and observe the first of the big groups. She informed him that the languages had been inserted into him while he was seated in the cockpit. They would then proceed as quickly as they could to the next groups. She wanted to see how much conversation was centered upon the appearance of the deities as well as the preliminary conclusions that were being reached.

“Professor DeBeer, I am quite curious about a few things. I wonder if I might ask you a couple of questions,” Jason inquired. The professor nodded indicating for him to go ahead.

“Firstly your ship; the outside is disguised. Secondly the level of its technology is beyond that of the Empire. I could see this trip is going to take much less time than it should. The calculations that were made by the AI in the navigator were also significantly faster than is possible in the Empire. There is no technology in the Empire that can insert languages as you have done while I was seated in the cockpit. It is my impression that you may not be entirely who you say you are!” Jason said. He realized that he should be concerned that he was with a very much more advanced being who could potentially do him harm, but he felt no such intention. He continued to perceive a pleasant feeling from her.

She laughed, and then grinned at him.

“You, young Jason are not who you say you are either. I can detect in you an ancient being, then some kind of other intelligence, a remarkable mind that I simply cannot penetrate in any way telepathically, someone who can see through my ship’s disguise and then calls me on who I am! We only have a few minutes before we have to land and I suspect that we have a much bigger discussion than we can adequately conduct. I propose that we get that task over and done with as best we can and then I am happy to be open with you. Do you mind if we do that?” She asked while piloting the craft rapidly towards the ground at what seemed to Jason to be precipitous speed. He noticed that the shuttle was not buffeted by the atmosphere and was absolutely stable and noiseless.

They observed a large community meeting room. It was clear that the chief and the shaman had both spoken to the people previously and they wanted to hear the story again. The chief and shaman both spoke of the God that they had seen and the gift of an important statue in the image of the God as well and a book about the past and the story of their people. They were to obey the God and follow his teachings. They were to worship the God who was a jealous God. They were a special people to be blessed by the God and only people who worshipped the God became special people who had a place with the God when they died. They were to go out to bring others to their God. The chief also spoke about the sickness of his son and how the God had cured his son. The shaman also said that he had been given special knowledge and how to help and treat the people.

Jason was truly shocked. This was far too familiar a story. He could see big trouble brewing if different Gods gave conflicting stories.

They travelled nearly half way around the planet to a different tribal group to hear a similar story but with multiple deities each representing emotions or attitudes. There was a God of love, a God of war, a God of envy, a God of sexuality, a God of anger and so on. These Gods emphasized that they were the only legitimate gods and the people needed to go out to spread the message. It was clear from the conversations that they heard that there was a very strong level of belief. This last God suggested war on the unbelievers.

As they were walking back towards the ship the professor spoke. “These religious beliefs that we have heard are probably sufficient for us to need to take remedial action. I don’t like the nature of the construction of these Gods and the legitimization of religious war. These beliefs here are in conflict with the other beliefs and will lead to major problems down the track. A third set of beliefs will compound the situation.

“Remedial action is going have to be taken by the University.

Jason felt a thump, saw lightning had a very brief and transient thought that he had been struck by lightning and that was the last he knew until he woke up on a hard floor in what turned out to be a cell near the professor. Jason woke to find he was thirsty and hungry.

“Jason, I am in a different type of containment cell next to you, he heard telepathically, “We have been captured by a very advanced species of reptilian origin. They are not telepathic at all. I can understand their thoughts easily. They believe we are a group of heretics. My consciousness returned on the ship as we were taking off. It was quite a quick trip here, approximately forty-five minutes. They are intending to charge us as heretics, which appears to be a serious crime.

The ones I have seen are about twice your size and may be three or four times your mass. I have never seen such creatures. They walk upright on two large legs and have two smaller hand-like limbs with claws. Their rear legs have seriously big and dangerous looking claws. They have a massive jaw with frightening looking teeth. They look like very dangerous predators. They are highly intelligent and as far as I can tell they are a very sophisticated very advanced society.

They have been waiting for you to recover and undoubtedly will be down to speak to us soon. They gave me a big chunk of raw meat on a bone earlier which I explained I could not eat. I said that I could eat it if it was cooked. The guards initially had no understanding of what that meant, consulted someone else and I got the meat back, charred on the outside but edible. He consulted with some anthropologists who were part of the party that kidnapped us. They are coming!”

Jason looked at the door. He could sense two minds behind the door. It opened and he saw what looked like two relatively small sized Tyrannosauruses. They were brown/black mixtures and were literally twice his height and at least four times his weight. He saw that there were a line of cells to his left. On his right was a cell with a glowing barrier behind which was the professor. Beyond the cells was a large room with a huge table and stools in front of it. He guessed the stools were so that they could sit with their tails behind them. There were some remnants of bones on the table with score marks that looked like they had been ground with teeth. He could hear their every thought. The first was the guard who was concerned for the safety of the other who was their defense lawyer. The guard was female and significantly bulkier than the male lawyer.

The lawyer stood in front of Jason’s cell first as it was the closer one to the door. He spoke to introduce himself which Jason could understand clearly telepathically but pretended to not to understand the communication.

The lawyer left and returned with another Tyrannosaurus who Jason understood was a doctor. He understood what she wanted to do. She indicated for him to stand near the bars and injected him in the neck with something, then did the same with the professor. It was entirely painless. The doctor spoke and Jason first heard the same unintelligible booming sounds, which then devolved into language. When she saw that he understood she explained that he had been given a communicator that would allow him to understand what they were saying and when they spoke they would be understood.

“We learned the language from the shuttle and inserted a translation table into the universal communicator. As we communicate further, the communicator would become more accurate and the language less stilted.” The doctor said turned and walked to the door.

The lawyer then moved a stool so that he was at the border of both of their cages.

“You were observed on the planet an hour before your capture by our anthropologists who had arrived on the planet to study the tribes. They observed Jason and Professor DeBeer cloaked and watching the tribe. The description that the tribe gave of their religion was very close to their own beliefs. They were very disturbed both by the criticism of The One True Religion by Professor DeBeer and then outraged by the suggestion that something would need to be done about it.

“The God of War is the Queen of our Gods and criticism of her is the worst form of heresy in their Empire. Do you have a defense?”

Prof. DeBeer attempted to explain the background, but the lawyer said that the court would not address other issues other than what the witnesses had observed and seen. Any defense and explanation could only apply for that period by the rules of their law.

“Jason this is like being in a boat on the river heading towards a waterfall of great height that crashes down onto massive boulders,” said DeBeer despondently.

“I am a black hole that attracts trouble. This is grist for the mill for me. So we face the death penalty?” Jason asked politely.

The lawyer looked at them both. “This is the most serious case that has been tried in this jurisdiction for the last five hundred years. The Queen herself has taken an interest in this case. You must have a better explanation of your words at the time if you do not want to be euthanized,” he said with the utmost of gravity but with the greatest respect towards them both.

“We have lived to the tenets of our belief for our entire history. Our beliefs were given to us by the Gods and have guided us and unified us over the course of our history. The beliefs that you have espoused would be regarded as anathema in this society. If the public knew what you have said they would be clamoring for your blood. It is not what happened before, and it is not what happens after in our law that is important; it is the words that we hear and what the witnesses’ record.

“We have a clear recording of what you said. We were initially not convinced about the first translations from our universal translators as we had only acquired your language five minutes previously. As you spoke further your views became clearer. When we interrogated your AI we were able to confirm our translations. It was then that the decision was made to bring you to this planet and to our holy Empire.” The lawyer said sadly.

“The anthropologists suggested that you both be rehabilitated. The prosecutor was in no way prepared to do so, she was horrified by your words. The preliminary hearing lead to a view you needed to be tried for heresy with the penalty being death if so proven.” The lawyer informed them.

Jason clearly heard his thoughts: the alternative was combat to death. If they won against their opponent the words that they spoke was true. He believed that they were too small and too weak for that option to be considered. He was mortified to think that if one of them fought and won it could shake the foundations of their beliefs. He considered the possibility that they fight one of the captured cockroaches as he would love to see the death of the cockroach general. He thought he was a disgusting evil individual who deserved to die, but it was against their principals to simply kill enemy after battle. These people were too frail and weak to fight the cockroach. He could not offer the alternative, it was unethical to set them up for a terrible death. Euthanasia was painless. The Cockroach would have to be sold back to his people. He wished they were stronger and could kill the cockroach.

“In many societies an alternative to a trial by jury or judge is a trial by combat. If that option is available, it is my belief that it would be more honorable to die in combat than to die by euthanasia. In those societies, it is also my belief that the victor has the capacity to make a statement of what constitutes a truth and for it to be accepted because of the trial by combat. If a trial by combat is allowable I formally request that trial by combat is our defense,” said Jason firmly before Professor DeBeer had a chance to say anything to the lawyer. She spoke to Jason telepathically.

“Jason I know of those cockroaches and one of them could slaughter ten Marines in unarmed or armed combat,” said Professor DeBeer, “I am sure that you don’t know what you are letting yourself in for other than an honorable death if such a thing exists. I know we don’t stand a snowball’s hope in court. At the same time not only will you fight the cockroach you are fighting a formidable general. They are usually bigger and spray poison that is utterly lethal. If they fought the cockroaches and won they must be a pretty formidable people. It is extraordinary that they captured us so easily. There is nothing that I can do now other than wish you the best of luck as this cell blocks my powers and I am weak. I am very sad that I dragged you into all of this.”

The professor, Nora De Beer sat in her cell with her head on her knees gently sobbing. Jason saw her for the first time as a woman. Before, in his mind, she was an amorphous sexless Professor. She was a beautiful tall and lithe woman with blue and blonde hair that fell about her face in waves. She had delicate Elven features and much redder lips than was usual in the Empire. Her skin color was even paler than Jason’s. Her age was indeterminate. She could have been anywhere from her late twenties to thousands of years old. She looked young. Jason was aware that anyone who became a dean at the University had to have a remarkable intellect and a stellar career. They had to be politically able with excellent interpersonal skills. He certainly found her very personable and had enjoyed her company. He was very curious about her background. Despite her skepticism he was very confident that he could acquit himself well in battle with the cockroach. He was now immune to their poison and had an education in unarmed combat with insects that was second to none.

“I shall discuss this with the Lord Judge. You will need to present yourself in court, but only the one who challenges fights in combat. Both of your lives are dependent on the result,” said the lawyer.

Half an hour later accompanied by a platoon of guards they were taken to the court. Neither contemplated escape. They had no idea where they were or even within which galaxy they were. Jason had attempted to communicate with the dogs without success. He knew that they must be at a great distance. He had gone into a deep meditative state and attempted to contact The One and Porquenta. He could not establish contact to his satisfaction, but tried to send a message to both to explain what had happened. He thought that even if they received this communication that there would be little that they would be able to do against the society that could capture the cockroaches and had done so, but he at least wanted them to know where he had disappeared.

The court was a truly massive room with a very high roof. It was opulently furnished with burgundy soft looking walls and massive paintings on the walls of what looked like Tyrannosaurus judges. The paintings looked truly ancient. Jason and Prof. DeBeer were given stools in front of an immense podium which Jason assumed was where the judge sat. The stools were so large they climbed up and sat on them cross legged. Several further tyrannosauruses filed into the room who Jason knew were lawyers from their thoughts.

Jason could see that there was room for spectators, but the gallery was clear. There were many levels of stools and he assumed that there could be at least hundred and fifty spectators. There were some lawyers and clerks that looked smaller than his lawyer and one or two significantly bigger. The large doors near the raised desk on a platform opened. They were the biggest doors he had seen in a building other than on an aircraft hanger.

In walked a truly massive Tyrannosaurus rex, closely followed by two others of a similar size. A further very large Tyrannosaurus quickly moved ahead of the judge and his two assistant judges and announced to the court the arrival of the judges. The lawyers slammed their feet on the ground to signify their respect. The judges sat and looked down at Jason and Prof DeBeer.

“How do you plead?” The voice of the judge thundered through the court. Jason could feel the vibrations through the feet of his stool. Jason’s and Prof. DeBeer’s lawyer stood up.

“My Lord Judge, this one on my right called Jason Kargo has pleaded not guilty and elected to trial by combat. He has the belief that he has a truth that will out, and combat will he face. We have previously considered this an unlikely option as we considered it to be unfair due to his small size and easy capture. They appear to be frail and vulnerable and I considered this option was unethical. Jason Kargo specifically asked for trial by combat. This is a choice that this court has accepted in the past and as it is the lives of this pair and is clearly an unsolicited choice and is a legal option we elect to choose trial by combat and we accept the option of fighting the cockroach general. He is the closest prisoner in size to the accused.

“They do not know their potential combatants, I believe, but Kargo has accepted. If it pleases the court they will accept the judgement of the court and understand fully that if one fails in combat that they will both sacrifice their lives. They understand the option if they are guilty is death. I have fully explained the nature of the charges against them and the operation of this court. They do both fully understand our holy language and can understand what you say and what you may ask of them, thank you my Lord for the opportunity to present their defense.” Their lawyer looked at them, lifted his left knee, and stamped his foot down on the ground while he looked at the judge and then sat down.

Jason could hear his lawyer’s thoughts clearly. He was sorry that Jason had to face such a dangerous foe as he regarded the contest as heavily weighted in the favor of the Cockroach. Their skins were so soft and they had no claws. The cockroach was armored and could spray poison. Their people were not in any way vulnerable to cockroach poison and had a much superior level of technology. He believed Jason would be vulnerable to the poison and die a miserable death. He despised the cockroaches that he saw as parasites who did not want to put in the effort to develop their own planets and industries and wanted to steal the efforts of others.

The lawyer had been part of the prosecutorial team that built a case accusing the cockroaches of war crimes. They had unfortunately not had enough evidence from contemporaneous observers to do so. The cockroaches had fared so poorly against his people that they had not had the opportunity to build a sufficient case to allege war crimes against them.

The general was a disgusting evil insect with a miserable personality. He would relish his death but could not see that Jason could achieve it.

It was their tradition that combat was unarmed. The rule was that combat was with the weapons that were on the person’s naked body. They had searched both Jason and Professor DeBeer. They had no weapons upon their person. He knew that some of the great martial artists were alleged to be able to create weapons out of thin air, but he did not believe it was possible.

“Do you both fully understand what your lawyer has said and fully understand the consequences of your decision? Further you may make a brief statement to the court, it is your right.” The judge’s voice sounded even deeper than before and reverberated around the room.

“Yes we do my Lord Judge,” said Jason loudly and confidently, “we do believe that we have a great truth that needs to be told and if that truth is sufficiently strong I will prevail in this conflict. If the truth is powerful enough I will change my nature to beat my opponent and hammer him into the earth. If my truth is not a truth we will both die and I accept that decision. It is a matter of honor that we ask your indulgent permission to be able to engage in combat to clear our names and the reputation of our people.

“My belief is we meet your people for a reason. I do not know this reason but I know this with absolute certainty. We thank you for this opportunity to be able to say a few words to the court.” Jason sat down after bending his leg and thumping it on the ground. The judge looked at him with some respect Jason thought, but the judge’s thoughts were of sadness that they would die in combat, but better to die in combat than to die by euthanasia.

They were both supplied with cooked meat on bones that night.

“Jason I have to give it to you. You have the greatest confidence in the world. For someone going to your doom you were remarkably cheerful in court. I am not sure how you can keep yourself going, eat with such appetite and energetically do your exercises. I do not know how you can change and hammer the cockroach, but I hope you do. You heard his thoughts about the awful insects as did I.