Journey to Year 1,000,000,000 Ch. 20

"Of course," Khalid grinned, giving a broad smile.

Taylor didn't like that smile. And for good reason. It was usually the last smile an infidel ever saw before he was beheaded.

"Take them!"

Guards rushed up to grab Taylor and Pam. Taylor wasn't concerned, until he saw, to his surprise, that the guards were able to grab them. "Pam?" he said, in a confused voice.

"Bring her here!" said His Eminence.

Pam was brought up to Brother Khalid. "You are a beauty, aren't you?" said Khalid, smiling as he undressed her with his eyes. "I think I will sample you, before having you beheaded." He liked saying that. He enjoyed taking slaves more when they had the fear of death in them. Whether he actually killed them depended on how much pleasure they gave him. The best ones could last for days before he got bored and lost interest. "Guards!"

All it took was one word. They knew what to do. They had done it many times before. They pushed Pam down on her back on the padded carpet, and cut away her dress with daggers.

"Pam!" Taylor cried.

Brother Khalid dropped his pants. Laquinta didn't demand his most ardent followers wear underwear, for which Khalid was very grateful. His sizeable manhood made the audience gasp respectfully.

"Pam!" Taylor cried again. He struggled to get free, but the guards held him in their grip.

"I will love using you, little one," said Khalid, as he looked down at Pam's gorgeous body. He looked down at her large breasts, and blonde-brown pubic hair, and knew she would be good for many, many rides to come. He moved to get between her legs.

"Pam! You've made your point!" Taylor cried.

And suddenly, the world froze.

Taylor pulled free of the guards. Pam, still naked, calmly sat up. "And what point would that be, Michael?" she asked.

Taylor didn't answer. He just looked at Khalid, his penis erect, frozen in a bent position, with lust in his eyes.

"What I expra you wanted to say, Michael, is that nearly every man I meet wants to make love to this body," said Pam, standing up. "Every man except you. Why do you think that is, Michael?"

"For the very same reason that you don't want to make love to any man except me," said Taylor. He saw the surprise on her face. He had scored. "All you have to do is say the words."

"I can say the words, but they wouldn't be true," said Pam.

"They are true," said Taylor. "You simply don't expra it."

"Don't talk to me about expra when you can barely even screan," said Pam.

"We're quarreling like lovers, do you realize that?"

"Is stopping this religious war important to you, Michael?"

"Yes," said Michael.

"How important?" Pam asked.

Michael walked up to her. Her breasts looked so squeezable... so suckable. "Very."

"What will you give me if I end this war?" Pam asked. She looked at him almost seductively. "Will you make love to this body?"

"No," said Taylor. "But I will do something special with you."

"Special?" Pam brightened. "What?"

"It's a surprise."

"You can't surprise an omniscient being."

"I just did," said Taylor.

Pam gave him a skeptical look. "All right. But this body better enjoy it."

Taylor walked over to her. "This body will like it. And so will you, even if you won't admit it."

Pam shivered as she saw his smile.

********

"What? What happened?" said Khalid.

Suddenly, he was in another place. And his pantaloons were back on. And the woman was dressed again as well.

"I'm sorry we had to stop you from raping my friend here, but that's not what we came for," said Taylor.

They were on Ramada, at the main spaceport. Thousands of Stranglers were on line to board ships to take the fight to Earth.

"What are these... things?" Khalid asked.

"They are called spaceships. They go to other planets," said Taylor. "We are fifteen hundred years in your future. In the future, your follows grow into the millions. They spread out into space, most notably to a planet called Ramada."

"Your story about being from the future... was true?" said Khalid, looking confused.

"Yes, it was," said Taylor. "Anyway, I know this is a lot to take in, but your people think my friend here was sent by the Evil One, and they are preparing for the final battle detailed in your Book of Blood."

Khalid laughed. "This beauty? An agent of the Evil One?" He leered at Pam; she smiled back, shyly putting one leg in front of the other.

"I know, it's comical, isn't it? Anyway, we want you to talk to your guys, tell them to stand down, and then everything will be fine," said Taylor.

"But... what about my empire? What about my conquests?"

"Once you've done this very minor thing for us, you will be returned back where we found you. You can be raping and killing innocents again by lunchtime," said Taylor.

Khalid considered, rubbing his goatee. This had possibilities. "All right. I will help you."

********

The Al-Sanaa Manske was the largest manske in Foyahd, the capital of Ramada. The Lufti, the Revered Yosef Kaleel Mustafa Ben Ali, was just getting ready to give his mid-day sermon when three people suddenly appeared on stage.

"I have come!" Khalid proclaimed.

"Who are you?" Ben Ali demanded.

"Who am I? Don't you recognize me?" said Kalid.

"Pam, I just realized we are going to have a problem," Taylor whispered. "How are we going to convince these guys that we've brought them their religious leader from 1500 years in the past?"

"Don't they have likenesses of him?" Pam asked.

"In their religion, making likenesses of him is a death sentence," said Taylor.

"You didn't tell me that."

"You didn't ask," said Taylor.

They exchanged challenging and flirtatious looks.

Khalid was increasingly exasperated that he wasn't being recognized. "I am Khalid Mustafa Hussein Al Saddiq, the Emir of the Grand Sisinphate!"

"Blasphemer!" Ben Ali roared. "Guards, seize them!"

Suddenly the ground shook. People screamed. A blue light came down from the heavens and shone on Khalid. "I am Khalid. I am your Emir. Obey me or die!"

In moments, they were all on their knees.

"Forgive me, please forgive me, master!" Ben Ali cried.

"Rise, my friend," said Brother Khalid.

Ben Ali slowly stood. "Is it... is it really you?"

"It is," said Khalid. "And I have a message I want you to deliver to all good followers of the God of Blood."

"To all of them?" Ben Ali asked.

"Is that a problem?" Khalid asked, with just a touch of menace in his voice.

"I am the Grand Lufti of the Suttis," said Ben Ali. "I can only speak for the Suttis."

"Suttis? What is that?"

"Can you really not know, oh great one?" Seeing the expression on Khalid's face, and quickly backtracked. "Of course. You wouldn't. After you... died, your follows split into two factions, the Suttis, and the Shiars."

"Two factions? Why?"

"A great disagreement of interpretation of the Book of Blood. The Book of Blood states that the God of Blood is to be worshiped on the Seventh Day of Dagmar, and every seven days thereafter. Suttis believe that falls on a Sunday; Shiars believe that falls on a Saturday. We have been bitter enemies, ever since, and have been slaughtering those infidels for generations."

"That is preposterous," said Khalid. "How can you believe in such things?"

"Then what is the truth, Emir?"

"The truth is that you should worship the God of Blood on Tuesdays!"

"Tuesdays? Are you certain?" The Lufti saw the look on Khalid's face, and added hastily. "Yes. Of course. It shall be done. What is your message?"

"That the time of the Evil One has not come. The Final Battle is not upon us." He gave Taylor and Pam a wicked smile.

"Are you certain?" said Ben Ali. And then, "Yes, of course, Emir."

********

They went to the largest Shiar Manske on Ramada and delivered the same message. However, even with the light show provided by Pam, the Grand Lufti of the Shiars was not convinced.

"Liars!" he said, pointing a bony finger at them. "I recognize that woman who accompanies you. She is an agent of the Evil One. You all must be agents of the Evil One! Guards-"

Suddenly his voice was cut off, as well as his head, as Khalid drew his curved sword and used it. The Lufti's head went rolling to the ground, joined by the rest of his body only seconds later.

Khalid held up his sword, dripping with red. "Blood!" he cried. "The true words of the Great God Laquinta! Heed my words, or you shall make an offering of your own!"

And so compelling was his stature, that all the Shiars got on their knees and prayed for forgiveness.

********

They spread the message to Manskes all over Ramada. But each time they delivered the message, Khalid's smile grew broader, and there was a glint in his eyes that Taylor didn't like or trust. He tried to screan what Khalid was up to, but couldn't make any sense of it. He whispered something to Pam, and she nodded.

Suddenly the scene flipped, and they were at the spaceport again. Once again long lines of warriors were waiting to board rockets bound for Earth.

"What is this? What has happened?" Khalid asked.

"I asked Pam to take us forward a week to see the results of our little intervention," said Taylor. "Your boys still seem to be getting their war rockets ready to attack Earth. Any idea why, Emir?"

Khalid gave a broad grin. "It will do no harm to tell you now. In the Book of Blood it states that there will be a long period of anarchy, where followers of the Great God of Blood will be pitted against each other."

"Yeah, they've been doing that for centuries," said Taylor.

"It is a winnowing process, a process of creating the best of the best."

"There's nothing like a healthy competitive spirit to kill off the weak among your followers," said Taylor.

"Exactly," Khalid smiled. "But when the time comes when all Laquintans are united, that will be the signal for the Final Battle to begin."

"Wait a minute. We brought you here to stop the Final Battle, and instead, you started it?"

"Exactly," said Khalid, smiling broadly. "Soon the streets of every city on your world will run red with the blood of-"

"Pam, get this asshole out of here," said Taylor.

Khalid immediately disappeared.

"Do you wish to know where I sent him?" Pam asked.

"No, not really," said Taylor. "You promised to fix this."

"You also promised me something as well," said Pam, moving close to him.

"You have to deliver first."

Pam sighed, and looked unhappy. "Very well."

Taylor looked at the spaceport. The lines of warriors waiting to board their ships were still there. But one important detail was changed.

The spaceships, some fifty or more of them were... gone. All gone.

"They cannot kill if they cannot get to Earth, can they?" Pam asked.

"No. I suppose they can't," said Taylor. There were also followers of Laquinta on Earth, but they were fewer in number and not as well-

Suddenly, they were back in his apartment, and Pam's arms were all over him. "So I have delivered on my promise. Now make love to this body, as you promised."

"I never promised to make love to you," said Taylor. "Not until you say the words."

"I cannot. I will not lie to you, Taylor." She stared at him so earnestly he wanted to take her right then and there.

"Only to yourself, it seems," Taylor sighed. He went into the kitchen. Pam followed.

"Taylor, you cannot deny reality," she said, as Taylor retrieved some popcorn kernels from a container.

"You're the one doing that," said Taylor, as he put the kernels into the atomic cooker. He pressed some buttons, and it hummed.

"I am a diagnostic program, Taylor. I have no feelings."

"Then why do you keep asking for sex?"

"It is this female body, Taylor. It needs it. Is that not good enough for you?"

The cooker chimed. Taylor opened it, and removed the contents. He went out on the terrace, and gestured for Pam to follow.

He sat on an oversized padded chair, and gestured for Pam to sit with him. She sat down and snuggled up against him. He said, "Open your mouth."

Pam obediently did so.

Taylor put something in it. "Chew."

Pam ate it. It was crunchy. "What is it?"

"It is called popcorn," said Taylor.

"This body likes it," said Pam, her eyes widening.

It was a brilliant evening. The moon was out, as were the stars. Taylor's apartment overlooked the Pacific Ocean. They heard the roar of the waves and saw the reflection of the moonlight on the water.

"So what is this reward you have promised me, Taylor?"

Taylor looked at her for a long moment, and then leaned forward and kissed her. Pam wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back.

"Do you like that?" he asked, after he pressed his lips against hers.

"This body does," said Pam, looking eager for more.

He kissed her again. "But do you like it?"

"I note it, Taylor," said Pam. "I can only be what I was made to be."

"No," said Taylor. "You can be more."

And they sat there for some time, together, kissing and hugging and touching, feeling each other's bodily warmth, looking in each other's eyes, and just enjoying the feeling of being... with each other.

********

"We're naturally glad that the attack from Ramada has been foiled," said the holoimage of Admiral Von Windhoek."But... did she really wipe out all their rockets?"

"Yes sir."

Von Windhoek shook his head. "No one should have such incredible power."

"No one in our time does," said Taylor.

Von Windhoek bit his lip. Taylor could screan that he was starting to believe. "There were also unconfirmed... reports that Khalid, the prophet who started Laquintaism some 1500 years ago, was seen on Ramada. Would you know anything about that?"

Taylor frowned. "Maybe this is something we don't want to get into in a holocall."

Von Windhoek sighed. "Such incredible power. What if she decides to eliminate all of us?"

"That's not the problem, sir," said Taylor. "I told you what the problem was."

"What... that in a billion years, aliens might decide to retroactively erase the galaxy?" He looked at Taylor, and his eyes grew wide. "You were telling the truth, weren't you?"

"Yes," said Taylor.

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Von Windhoek asked.

"I don't know," said Taylor. "I think the key may be to get Pam to recognize the value of humanity. If I can convince her, maybe she can convince her people."

"And how is that going?"

Taylor looked at the bathroom. Pam was taking a shower, with the shower door open. She was soaping her heavy breasts while giving him a sly smile. "It's a work in progress, sir."

********

The Laquintans were not the only ones who were affected by Pam's arrival. All major religions on the planet Earth attributed some kind of meaning to it. Pam was fascinated by religions, and wanted to learn more about them.

"I think I am beginning to kockk religion," she said, sitting down on the couch next to Taylor. She put her legs over his.

"You are? Then kockk me."

She gave him a sly look. "Your people use religion as an attempt to understand the true nature of their existence. In their own very crude way, they are trying to screan Tisson Crae, even though they have no screaning abilities whatsoever."

Taylor looked thoughtful. "I have never heard religion described quite in those terms before."

"You have never before benefited from the analysis of such a superb research and diagnostic tool."

"Certainly not a pretty one," said Taylor. He smiled, and saw the look in her eyes. "It's funny you should mention religion. We have invitations from the Archbishop of Equality and the High Priestess of the She-Goddess Aura. They both would like to meet with you. Would you enjoy that?"

Pam nodded.

********

Henry Egan was the Archbishop of Equality of the First Equalitarian Church of North America. There were a number of Equalitarian churches all around the world, but the First Equalitarian was the largest, with well over 200 million members. People were drawn to it because of the incredible guilt they felt over inequality. Egalitarians had analyzed the Bible, and concluded the entire text was one big metaphor for the pressing need to redistribute income and property so everyone had exactly the same.

So successful was the Church's message, that it had amassed nearly a hundred billion dollars in donations to do its good works. The main branch of the church in downtown Boston was an entire city block long, and ten stories tall with large spires, enormous stained glass windows, and huge frescoes and statues inside, all testaments for the enormous need for redistribution.

"It is so nice to meet you, Pam, and of course you as well, Captain Taylor," said Egan, welcoming them into the church. He gave them a tour before taking them to his office.

"This is a big place," said Taylor, staring at the giant statues of social justice warriors, and the five story stained glass windows.

"All paid for by the generosity of those who want equality for all," said Egan.

He took them to his office, which he was also very proud of. His desk was a 300 old antique made of real wood. The oriental carpet was another heirloom which had cost even more than the desk. The chairs were refurbished from the Palace at Versailles.

"I have heard much about you, Pam," said Egan, as he sat down behind his desk. "Is it true that you come from the distant future?"

Pam barely looked at Taylor. "Yes."

"And is it true that in this future, mankind has evolved into a state where all are... equal?"

Pam frowned. "I am not sure how to answer that. We each have our own functions. I am a diagnostic and research tool. Another of my group is a specialist in determining Shursta. Another focuses on the intricacies of Trista. But we are all part of the same group, and when we are together, as one, we decide, as one."

"You all become a single being... all of whom are equal?"

"Yes," said Pam.

"How exciting," said the Archbishop. "If only we had the ability to do that, to merge ourselves into one, great being. It would be grand."

"Speak for yourself, Archbishop," said Taylor.

Archbishop Henry smiled at him. "Do I smell the scent of individuality, sir? But of course, you are a dashing Survey Service Captain, and Survey Service Captains have the hubris to believe they are in a class of their own. No offense intended, Captain."

"None taken," said Taylor levelly. "And what of Archbishops? Do they think themselves in a class of their own as well?"

"Of course not," said Archbishop Henry. "We are the very same as the common man. That is why I want your help, dear," he said, turning to Pam. "If you could... endorse us."

"Endorse you?"

"Simply tell the world what you have just told me. That Equalitarianism is the wave of the future. That some day, we will all be exactly the same."

"I did not say that."

"But that's where we're heading; all being part of one being. Totally equal," said Henry.

"But you aren't equal," said Taylor. "I've done some research. Your salary and benefits is the equivalent of over 500,000 credits a year."

"I am merely compensated for the important services I provide," said Henry.

"You have seven homes in six countries. Yachts, planes, spaceships, air cars... I did some digging. Your net worth is said to be north of sixty million credits," said Taylor.

"That's not true," said Archbishop Henry. "That is lies, spread by the unequalists."

"Really, then what is your net worth?"

"Captain Taylor, I can see that you're a skeptic. I respect that," said Archbishop Henry. "But I really wish to speak to Pam. Would you permit us to converse in private, just for a few moments?"

"No," said Taylor.

"Yes," said Pam.

"Pam," said Taylor, in a warning voice.