Deathstalker 08 - Deathstalker Coda

Ethur, looking out over his packed court with cold, knowing eyes. Owen had been warned about the state of the Emperor, but the reality still came as a shock. Ethur was the oldest living human being, having occupied the Steel Throne for over four hundred years, but that privilege came at a price. His body was riddled with support mechanisms and gengineered organs, plugged into the machine that was the throne. He had the look of a man in his forties, apart from the many wires and tubes and cables that entered his body, connecting him to the throne he could never leave. He would never rise from the Steel Throne again, except in death.
    The Emperor’s pale leathery skin was covered only by the crimson silk cloak that adorned his bony shoulders, fluttering occasionally in the gusting air currents of the court. He had no hair anywhere, no fingernails and no navel, and his complexion and body color changed constantly as chemical tides moved slowly within him. Now and again, strange sharp-edged mechanisms rose up through his flesh, like surfacing creatures, only to be pushed back down by an effort of will. The pale skin closed over them reluctantly, with not even a scar to show their passing. Ethur’s face was lean and hawkish, with a beak of a nose over a tight pursed mouth, and his eyes were as old as the world.
    Dominic and Glory stood at the bottom of the dais, and presented themselves to the Emperor. They bowed deeply, but Ethur barely nodded in return. The Defender and the Investigator explained their business, and the whole court grew quiet to listen. They looked at Owen with angry, frightened eyes, and the whispered words Mad Mind moved through the courtiers like an icy breeze. Armed guards moved slowly through the courtiers to surround Owen, who politely pretended not to notice. Finally Dominic and Glory presented Owen to the Emperor, and Owen bowed courteously. Ethur considered him thoughtfully for a long time, and when he finally spoke his voice was little more than a whisper, the words an effort, as though they had to be summoned up from deep inside him.
    “So, Owen, you are from the future, come to visit us. Something new, at last. How delicious. There is always novelty in our court, but rarely anything new . You have done well, Defender and Investigator; but where is the threat to our world that you spoke of? I see only an undeveloped man, dressed like a barbarian, and armed like one too.” He paused to allow a ripple of laughter to run through the courtiers. “You may have come from the same future as the Mad Mind, Owen, but you don’t seem nearly as dangerous.”
    “I’m no threat,” said Owen. “Really. I’m just visiting. A nice cup of tea, some answers to a few questions, and I’ll be on my way again.”
    “We will decide that,” said Ethur.
    “Owen has . . . abilities, Your Majesty,” said Dominic. “He has restored to us the city that was lost, and made the survivors human again! A miracle . . . but my partner and I felt unworthy to judge his abilities and potential, and so brought him here, to you.”
    “You gave instructions, Your Majesty,” said Glory, “that any other visitor from the future should be punished for the crimes of the Mad Mind. But . . . we could not decide whether Owen is a threat of that same magnitude. So we are here, awaiting your judgement.”
    “Yes, yes,” said Ethur, leaning as far forward as the tubes and cables would allow, to stare directly at Owen. “The wound in our world, healed at last by an effort of will. A miracle, indeed. Our scientists are currently having all kinds of hysterics over that. They do so hate to be outdone. And over two hundred survivors, apparently normal again. Truly impressive, Owen. Of course, we had them all killed immediately.”
    “You did what?” said Owen. “Why, for God’s sake?”
    Ethur actually smiled a little at the harshness in Owen’s voice. “The risk was too great. They might have reverted, or proved contagious. They were inhuman once, and that is enough. You must not judge us, man from the future. This is our time, and we make the decisions here.”
    “And the only miracles permitted are the ones you authorize?” said Owen. “Life and death, but only at your command? Well, well, I guess some things don’t change at all, no matter what time it is.”
    There were guards all around him now, with energy guns openly trained on him. Owen looked at them thoughtfully, and Dominic and Glory stirred uneasily. And