Chapter 32: Homeward Bound

Thirty-eight days later...

Time: February 5, 8239 6:03 AM

I finished a short Prayer of Ascension to the two pilots in the flight cabin. They gave an appropriate Prayer of Humility back. I commended them for their very smooth flight so far and then clicked off the intercom.

Michal was sitting next to me and gave me a timid look. She had come out of her purge cycle less than two hours ago and knew nothing of the undamaged states of her sister-wives. And everything she knew of me now, she learned from her marriage book.

I smiled at her and signaled with my hand that she could return to gazing out her window if she wished. I was rewarded with a beaming smile of gratitude before she returned to gaping at the landscape far below. The South American scenery at dawn was very beautiful, and we'd soon be angling out over the coastline to the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific.

My personal ramjet had lifted from Bandar Arenas an hour after dawn, at 5:29 AM this morning. We were scheduled to land at Dakar at 8:55 AM, an hour before dawn there. So during this trip we would have the unique experience of watching the sun "set" in the east, as our ramjet slowly overtakes the boundary between day and night. I was looking forward to it, and Michal was mesmerized.

Somewhat by coincidence, sunset today at Dakar will be exactly the same time as sunset at Bandar Arenas was yesterday, 8:02 PM. So I was up against the interesting experience of half a jet lag, almost a five and a half hour difference in sunrise with no difference at all in sunset. I found myself looking forward to the relaxing darkness of Dakar. Bandar Arenas, and Karbala and Jizari too for that matter, are cities full of light this time of year. It would be a nice change to have some nights of decent length.

At the end of last year as Judgment approached, I had a long conversation with all four of my wives. If I did make it to the Supreme Council, typical behavior would be to take just one or at most two wives with me to the capital. After a lot of thoughtful discussion, we agreed I would take Michal, and then Michal insisted I not tell her of all our subterfuge while we were at the capital. It made sense. She would act her part perfectly because it would be no act.

The Council! What a labyrinth of twisting politics and agendas! The whole world must think Abdul Quddus has the plushest job on Earth, and in some ways they're right. But in other ways I don't understand how the man keeps himself from going insane. The depth and layers of the political alliances and feuds are mind boggling.

For many thousands of years, the Utility faction has held about sixty Guilds, High Tech about forty, and Health about twenty. But regardless of the Guild counts and Council votes, each faction currently holds about equal power. I could see now why Jibran was desperate for some friendship. The place is enough to drive anyone crazy.

In mid January, the Health faction shocked everyone by proposing that each Grand Mufeto be the Domine of three townships, one from each faction. Since Health has the fewest townships and only one Grand Mufeto on the Council now, it was truly a remarkable proposal for them to make. Of course High Tech and Utility jumped on the idea as the best thing to come along since quantum computing. Abdul Quddus was in one of his rare smiling moods when he memorialized the new law to the standing ovation of the Council. Jibran and I gave each other thoughtful looks during the ceremony. Just what does the Health faction think it's doing?

And what does this mean for me? I'll remain the Domine of Dakar, which suits me fine. After some intense discussions with Utility, I'll also become the Domine of Qataban. Utility is thrilled with the idea. All three cities around the Xerxes spaceport, Qataban, Kedar, and Zoser, haven't had a Domine in centuries. The altitude in the ancient Bolivian heartland is just too extreme. The Ruling Royals don't see the townships as attractive home bases.

But it's a perfect fit for me. My old ties of loyalty to the Utility faction have been affirmed, and I have my own reasons for wanting to spend time at Qataban. I can't wait to get Abigail's reaction when she hears about this. Perhaps we can go and see the street where we first met. I'm sure the site must be repaired by now.

All three townships around Xerxes are in the Utility faction. Qataban as a mining town is obvious, but even Kedar (ballistics) and Zoser (rocketry) are production oriented towns, not research oriented towns. That's the key difference between Utility and High Tech. An example of a fence-sitter town is my hometown Anqara. It's officially in the Utility faction for its prime focus on specialty metal fabrication. But Anqara is also the world's leading authority on refractory metallurgy research, and they get a lot of respect from High Tech for that.

And where will my Health Domine be? The Health faction asked me to fly to their faction headquarters Giza sometime this month to discuss the matter, a month before they want to talk to any of the other Grand Mufeto. Both High Tech and Utility have had separate talks with me, asking what was going on. I told them the truth. I don't know.

Michal was on my right staring out the window. I was next to her sitting in an aisle seat. On the advice of Abdul Quddus, I had picked an oversized ramjet, the newest model, with room for nine passengers in a 3 x 3 seating arrangement. Michal looked surprised but happy when I sat down right next to her before liftoff.

By global convention, northward bound flights travel at odd-number altitudes. A half hour after liftoff, we were 800 kilometers from the capital and cruising at 21,000 meters at Mach 3.8, just over 4,000 kph. I pulled out some Council notes to read, but my mind was on Michal.

Men talk about discipline-training their wives, which of course with the eternity drugs is a complete oxymoron. Or is it? Michal is a bit timid with me, but underneath her shyness is a huge reservoir of genuine desire to please me. During several after-Prayers social gatherings at the captial, a number of Grand Mufeto commented how little she fears me, and how genuinely happy Michal is when she pleases me. They asked me how I did it.

I could say little more than comment that I never let a wife awaken with a body full of pain from a previous day's whipping. A minor thing to say perhaps, but every journey begins with a first step. The idea of not whipping a wife seemed like a completely new concept to some of the Council members.

Michal was captivated as she gazed out the window. The Pacific shoreline of South America was falling away slowly to the east. Unconsciously she left her arm on our common armrest, palm open and raised and offering to hold hands with me. I reached over and held her warm hand as I read. She gave me affectionate squeezes back. And our flight continued. The cabin was remarkably free of vibration and noise as we thundered north to home.

One hour later...

The overhead display at the front of the passenger cabin told us we had just crossed the equator at 7:22 AM, at longitude 20 o 44' W. The northernmost tip of the island chain of Nubia (the Ocean Conservancy Guild, at the ancient site of the Galapagos) was below us to our east. Down below it was perhaps a dozen minutes before sunrise, but at our height of twenty-one kilometers the sun was clearly visible.

We continued flying northward. I was reading and holding hands with Michal. Eventually she sighed and pulled back from the scene of the darkening Pacific. After a few more minutes she started caressing my hand with hers, gently brushing her fingertips across the palm of my hand. A little more time passed, and my fingers began to play with hers. We were caressing the pads of each other's fingertips.