Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

thought he was an angel.”
    “Oh, he is,” said Hellen. “They all are really, the dears. We weren’t worthy of them.”
    Owen nodded. He was thinking of what the young boy Giles had said to him, on the border world. That when Hazel appeared to him, she looked like an angel. And there was . . . something, about the Light People that reminded him of Hazel. They were undoubtedly the strange presence he’d sensed from orbit. But they were aliens; why should they remind him of Hazel? And the Madness Maze . . . Was there some unsuspected, abnormal connection between them? He realized Hellen had stopped talking, and was looking at him.
    “I know,” she said quietly. “I do go on about them, don’t I? I know . . . I’m not really bright enough to understand or appreciate the Light People, but someone’s got to look after them. And if not me, then who? I keep trying to get them proper interviews, proper attention and respect, but I don’t have the contacts. I’m just a woman who isn’t young anymore, looking for something to fill her time, something worth doing. Truthfully, I suppose I need them as much as they need me. They deserved someone better, someone more connected; but I’m all there is. I just wish . . . I could get people to listen, really listen, to what the Illuminati have to say. But you can’t make people listen when they don’t want to.”
    “You could be a great help to me,” said Owen. “I don’t know much about this world, this time. I saw a lot of big ships being assembled in orbit. Tell me what’s happening there.”
    “I suppose it all began with New Frontier,” said Hellen. “They were a new movement, as much philosophical as political, inspired by the invention of a working stardrive, some fifteen years ago. For the first time, the stars were within our grasp. That inspired a lot of people. Me included, at the time. New Frontier believes that it’s vitally important for Humanity to get out of the solar system and colonize other worlds. To spread Humanity in a vast, boundless Empire. They say we’ve got too soft and cozy here on Hearth and the other worlds, with robots to do everything for us. That we need to go out into the stars to rediscover our old strength and courage and capabilities. To be truly Human again. We have to go out there, they say. It’s our destiny. So, we’re building starships, and soon the bravest and the best of us will be off and out, into the infinite. And then we’ll find out what we’re really made of.”
    “How many soldiers are you taking with you?” said Owen. “How big an army?”
    Hellen looked at him blankly. “Why should we need an army?”
    “Because it’s a bloody dangerous place, out there, ” said Owen. “Trust me on this; I know. There aren’t that many intelligent species, but there are a hell of a lot of really nasty and vicious creatures, who won’t be at all happy about you people coming along to colonize their worlds. Don’t you people have armies anymore?”
    “Well, no, not really,” said Hellen. Her mouth pursed, as though Owen was trying to get her to discuss something that nice people didn’t normally talk about. “We have peacekeepers, to take care of the criminal element, and keep an eye on some of the more extreme groups, like New Frontier. And Hearth First, fanatics who are violently opposed to star travel, and want all the money spent on the Nine Worlds instead. And Defense of Humanity, a small but very loud group, who object to the very idea that aliens can be as intelligent as humans. They don’t even approve of the animals. They keep trying to hold rallies, but the dogs keep chasing them off. We don’t need an army! Not here, or on any of the Nine Worlds. There hasn’t been a war in the Empire in over a hundred years.”
    Owen thought about that, and all the things he could say, and then turned to Lucifer. “Tell me your story. Give me your message. I’ll listen.”
    And the Illuminati spoke, saying, “In the galaxy next to this one, long and long ago, we built a great civilization, first through control of light and gravitational forces, and later, as our powers grew, by shaping reality itself through a concentrated effort of will, by the gentle urgings of our minds. We were great and mighty in those days, and spread across many worlds, remaking them in our own image. There were cities of light, rivers of gravity, waterfalls of fire and roads of winds. We lived in peace and harmony on thousands