PART THREE

Note: this episode's a bit "talky" and rather darker than usual, but please stick with it! It's kind of necessary to the development of parts four and five...

The girl had led Harper away from the pool, down another long, dark tunnel. At the other end, they came out into a vast gaping cavern, filled with the sound of running water, and lit by the light of a thousand flickering torches. Carved into the rocks were dozens of little houses and the occupants of these appeared to be going about their daily business. It was a pretty amazing sight, and Harper couldn't help but stare, open mouthed, at the scene in front of him. The girl, who had introduced herself as Magdalena, laughed.

"You haven't been to a Troglodyte community before, then?" she asked.

"A trogla-what? Nah, I don't think I've had the pleasure," replied Harper, incredulously. "I mean, why live underground away from the light and the air. Look, I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it seems, well, kinda odd....but, hey, you guys like movies?"

Harper had noticed that the focal point around which the community was arranged of the cavern was a wooden platform, behind which was a huge plasma screen. Magdalena seemed a little distressed by Harper's enthusiastic reaction to it. "Look, there are a lot of things about us I think you are going to find "kinda odd". You know nothing of the League of De Maistre?"

Since he had met Magdalena, Harper had quit worrying about the League. Even though she seemed to think his life could be in danger, she hadn't looked like the sort who was into human sacrifice, and he had trusted her. However, the tone of her voice at this moment made him a little uneasy. "Is there something you reckon I should know about them?" he asked.

"Come with me," said Magdalena. "I hope I have not endangered your life by bringing you here and that my brothers help you rather than kill you. I just want you to know that my intentions were good..."

"Hey...I thought you said if I kept my mouth shut about me, er, watching you, I'd be OK!" At this point Harper noticed that as they made there way through the community, all the other people edged away. However, it did not seem to be him, the intruder, they looked at with fear. It was Magdalena. "Oh, great," thought Harper to himself. "What do they know about her that I don't know? At the very least she's probably got some sort of nasty disease, which I'm just bound to catch off of her...hey I'm not feeling too great, maybe I've already got it..."

Magdalena ushered Harper into one of the rock houses and motioned to him to sit down. Harper suddenly felt incredibly tired and remembered how much his arm was hurting. In the rush of lust he had felt for this girl he had tried to ignore the fact that it did not seem to want to start healing and that the makeshift bandages were now almost totally soaked in blood. Magdalena glanced at his injury as she sat down opposite him. "I can treat that for you," she said

"No," said Harper. "I'm OK. Seriously, it's just a scratch. Look, just tell me who you lot are, and how the hell I'm going to get out of here."

....

When Trance and Tyr realised that Harper had not made it back to the ship, Trance instantly wanted to turn around and go back for him. However, Tyr refused. He insisted that it would be foolish to attempt any sort of rescue until they had established communications with the Andromeda and secured some sort of backup.

"But, Harper could be in danger right now," said Trance, her tail flicking about nervously. "What if those guys who attacked us got him. You know, he couldn't just thump all three and charge out of there, like you did. That's not a possibility for him."

"I don't see why not. I thought your little friend was a genius," said Tyr in a droll voice, as he fiddled with the communication system. "Anyway, even if they do take him, they may not see need to harm him. The League are cowards. They only attacked us because they saw me as a threat. Chances are, they will not touch him before we get there with the others."

Trance did not want to take that chance, but could see that Tyr was not going to be rushed into anything. "Why are they cowards?" she asked.

"Because they believe that bloodshed and suffering are the manifestations of divine power; they think that is the only way that they can be...saved for some unlikely after-life. Rather than pursuing their own survival, or the improvement of the self, or even some notion of justice, they just surrender themselves to the violence and chaos of the universe...damn it...what has that boy done to this communication system. I can't see what he was trying to do..."

"Go on," said Trance.

"The highest power in each community is that of the executioner - although he and his family become feared and untouchable. The League believes that each society can only be controlled through this violence, and that all must witness the devastation. Every sin must be atoned with blood...but because they see that justice does not reign in the universe, that in war and peace the innocent suffer, they believe that this must be the way of God. So, they do not even care if the blood shed is innocent or guilty - as long as blood is shed."

"So they would punish somebody who'd done nothing in the place of somebody who had?"

"As long as it fed the blood lust of their God," said Tyr. Trance did not reply, and he was glad because he was trying to concentrate and was getting a little tired of her questions. Her company was a little more tolerable that usual owing to the sober mood that she had been in since finding Harper had not got back. He was not having much luck with his repairs, though. Perhaps she could be of help.

"Do you know what Harper intended to do to repair this?" he asked, looking up. However, Trance was not there. Tyr searched the ship and came to the logical conclusion that the foolish little creature had gone to attempt a rescue alone.
...

Magdalena slowly explained to Harper that her people had originally come from a small European Kingdom on earth. One hundred years after the fall of the Commonwealth, bewildered by the chaos and devastation reaped by the Nietzscheans and the Magog, a small group, led by an ancestor of hers, had escaped here. They set up the Troglodyte community, safe beneath the surface of this planet. Her ancestors had ruled well, and justly, but they had never been happy. All that humans had held to be dear - their morals, their justice, their religions, had been shown to be false. Ultimately, good did not triumph and all did not end well.

"Believe me, I can understand how they felt," said Harper.

"Then, a few generations ago, we received some visitors who told us of the League of De Maistre. The news they spread did not make my people happy, but it seemed to give us some answers to all the chaos and suffering. They taught us that there is no answer."

"Yeah? I bet it took a genius to work out that one!" said Harper sarcastically.

"No - you don't understand. They saved us...they gave us back our religion. We could not reconcile the existence of the all-loving God our people had once believed in with all the horror that had happened to us. But...that was because we were trying to understand him. We need to recognise how small and weak we are and stop trying to work it all out. Those who have power to hurt and destroy...they must have been given this power by a God...and sometimes, the innocent must suffer...it's all part of the divine plan that we can never really comprehend."

"OK...stop right there," said Harper. "If you're going to start going on about human sacrifice, there is one thing you should know. Seamus Harper is NOT innocent! I mean, back where I come from...the chicks just can't keep their hands off me. I couldn't be pure if I tried...so...so...I'm not gonna make much of an offering to your mad Psycho-God!"

Magdalena couldn't help laughing. "I know that! You're a Peeping Tom too, remember."

"Yeah!" said Harper defiantly. "See?"

"We're not into human sacrifice, Seamus...may I call you that?"

"I prefer Harper."

"OK, Harper. But you have to know that my brothers, who currently govern us, keep to the rules of the League very strictly. All sins must be punished with blood. It is sad, but violence and suffering are the only things to have any lasting impact and power in the universe. They must be divine...so we must obey."

Just then, a loud gong sounded outside the house. "Oh no...not now!" muttered Magdalena. She turned to Harper. "I must go outside. There is no need for you to come too...you look tired and you must be hungry. Stay here and rest...help yourself to some food. I'll be back as soon as possible." She left swiftly, leaving Harper somewhat bewildered. What had the girl been going on about? It didn't sound too cool, all that stuff about blood. And she still hadn't told him how he was going to get out of here. Despite his exhaustion, he was growing impatient. He turned and looked out of a carved stone window to see where Magdalena was going.

...

Outside, all the men, women and children, had gathered around the large plasma screen, and they seemed to be receiving an incoming message. To Harper's dismay, it was not from the Andromeda. On the screen, a man in black was making some sort of announcement that lulled the gathered crowd into a eerie hush. What happened next made even Harper, who had seen some pretty bad things in his time, feel sick with horror.

The broadcast showed an execution, happening somewhere far away, presumably in another League community. A man was brought out, beaten brutally with a club, and then left to suffer before the executioner administered the final blow. At first, Harper thought it was some kind of violent movie, but he fairly soon realised what he was seeing was real. He flinched and looked away as the axe finally fell. What sort of sick people brought out their children to watch that kind of stuff?

Then he saw Magdalena. She was standing apart from the crowd, as if overlooking the proceedings. When the gruesome images had finished she waved her had, as if to dismiss them. Nobody spoke to her; instead they shrunk away in fear. Magdalena did not look as if she was getting any pleasure out of this, but she was resigned to her role. She started back over towards where Harper was, but he had already decided that he was not going to wait for any more of her explanations. He was about to try and slip away un-noticed and find somewhere to hide, when the cavern fell silent again. Three men, all dressed in black, had entered at the far end. They seemed to have been on the loosing side in some sort of fight - all three were stumbling, bruised and covered in blood. Magdalena let out a cry and ran over to them. Unlike the others, they did not shrink away from her.

"Right," thought Harper. "This is my chance." He edged towards the door, and peeped out, wondering where he could make for without being seen. However, on reaching the door, he realised that he was going to have to make a run for it. The three big guys were making straight for the house. Magdalena seemed to be running after them, calling them back. "Shit!" thought Harper, and legged it out of the door.

On seeing him, the men began to shout instructions to the other Troglodyte inhabitants, who unquestioningly obeyed. Harper ran as quickly as he could, but he couldn't even remember the way he'd got to the house. His arm still hurt, and he began to feel dizzy as he ran. Surrounded by people, he realised it was all rather futile. He ran into one of the houses, and hid under a table.

"Genius, plan, Seamus!" thought Harper to himself, as the three men appeared at the doorway. He initially grimaced as their gazes fell down on him in his rather ineffective hiding spot. Somehow he managed to respond with a cocky grin. "Er...hi, guys! Nice cavern you have here...er...it would make a great nightclub, y'know. You could make a fortune - have you ever thought of that?"

One of the men leaned under the table and grabbed Harper by his injured arm, dragging him out. He bit into his bottom lip, trying not to scream out in pain. Magdalena ran in, and desperately tried to intervene.

"Please...don't hurt him. He's done nothing wrong."

"That is not important, sister" said one of the men, pushing her away. "Crimes have been committed against us by an outsider and the divine demands that blood must be shed in retribution."

"Not him," pleaded Magdalena. "Why him?"

"I'm sorry, Magdalena," said the elder of the men. "Sometimes, the innocent must suffer for the crimes of the guilty."

END OF PART THREE