CHAPTER THIRTY
It was dark when Lynch returned from his haunts. He cursed the Council for banning him and his 'brothers' from the village. Of course, they allowed Randall to return because he was a true Dominant and not a duplicate or clone like him, but Randall had created another clone which he kept in reserve, and not just one, but two.
There was a true sibling with the Lynch reddish hair, but his eyes were hazel and his skin a bit lighter. Besides, he was an inch shorter. Lynch did not consider him a true brother. Besides, he was in the Infiltrator program, a section of the Chameleon program in which one went into politics. Right now he was in Montana campaigning for testing against artificial hormones in cattle so Randall did not have to worry that Grant would return.
It was the Medicals' fault. They decided that he was unstable. Now they were developing a test to see if his reaction time was different. So it came out four minutes and fifty nine seconds, a second out so what? Also, his hair started to show a little gray. So what? He was stronger and faster than any human and he was tracking her now.
He did not need binoculars or a road map to see the person he was after. She was going in that building, along with several other humans. He could recognize her anywhere, the wavy auburn hair, the slim figure. It was Sloan Parker, all right. .The building was a Church, the same type that dominated small Mexican villages. Lynch wondered about this. What would they be doing at a Church.
Now the Dominants had the Official Union equivalent to the human religious marriage rites. The Council had arranged for certain Chameleons to enter the Seminaries of the major Christian religions so that they could perform the Union according to the Marriage service preferred by humans.. It was necessary so they could live together without starting a major species war.
Now it was not as if the Dominants did not have the equivalent before they decided to hide among the humans. The Dominant Official Union went something like this.
"The male Ben Varden (or what ever surname his first Dominant ancestor made up) will be united with Ellen Sands. Their true parents, John and Carol Varden, and Grant and Donna Sands give their approval to the match."
At this the members of the Council would come one by one and give an announcement depending on their station. For instance, a Mentor would say, "May you teach your offspring well" and the Executioner would say, "May you kill those who oppose you." and an Advocate would say, "May you do what is right in the book of the Dominants." Each would give a symbol of his office, a Mentor, a book, the Executioner, a knife, an Advocate, a sword. The Dominant Advocates used a sword instead of a gavel, showing that justice could be swift and permanent.
Then the Sacred Official would ask each, "Do you truly wish to share the bed of your mate" or "Do you truly wish to bear more of our species (or) dominants to increase our kind."
After the young male and female gave their consent which was "We do. We will rule in the kingdom of man!" they were considered as mated. After that, the Sacred Official announced, "They are now Ben and Ellen Sansvarden" and drank the sacred chamomile tea mixed with wine.
The Dominant reception did not have the throwing of the bouquet (that was added later when they mixed with the humans) and certainly not the garter throwing for the groom (they never added that one later.) Instead since most unions were arranged, the parents of the male of the couple hid a revolver in the sand outside, the parents of the female hid a knife, and let everyone who had a potential son or daughter under the age of eight look for them. It was said that the children of the two who found them were the first to be united. Of course, only the men were allowed to search.
During the reception, unlike the human type which people had gifts already prepared, the Dominants brought what was considered valuable. The first item was that black bed, and clothes, several machines, weapons, a car or truck depending on the rank of the married children, and enough material to start their own house once their first set was born. On few occasions, they received a human captive along with the knife "to kill it" or "you would prefer to break its neck." On rare occasions, the new couple let the captive live at which he or she became their slave, but this was rare indeed as most humans were needed for experiments or for work and to have one around would incur resentment. The ones who lived were often like that slave foreman, not afraid to die.
As for the regular union, a representative of the Advocates, and not a very respectable one at that, would say, "So Timothy Martin and Lara Gunn, you wish to share the bed of your partner and you wish to bear more of our species to increase our kind" Just say, 'We do, we will rule in the kingdom of man'' and it's done." There was no sacred chamomile tea mixed with wine and no relatives or friends giving them trucks, black beds, etc and since the black bed was expensive to make without the machines used by the Dominants, you passed with a slab of rock painted black and the symbols painted on in another color until you made enough or kill enough humans to get the silver or gold to pay for a real one.
The Advocate representative did write the new name on a metal plate, you might wind up as Timothy Gumarty or Lara Gunmertz, or something like that. And you had to convince your parents that you were indeed true mates. Usually the only time they believed you was when the same minor Advocate came and said, :"Ah you're the two I united. Told your true parents yet?"
Even the Official Joining where the Favorite received a chain around his or her neck and real wine seemed better than this. At least, she or he was considered a valuable piece of property or possession, not like Lynch. .
.
For the first decade or so, since the Dominants developed, the Official Union was only for the Chameleons (which included the Chosen and the Council) while everyone else just took a mate. But as time went on and the Council noticed that they mated for life, it was prudent to apply it to all Dominants, that is those of the higher classes. The lower classes, that is, those who were the ordinary soldiers and the workers had the Union. No Sacred Official for them, it was just the rush through shortened version. Any ceremony was at the discretion of the participants and Dominants loved ceremony.
Lynch's father had gone through the Union and Lynch resented being just a soldier. However, Tom Daniels' parents were of the Dominant elite, and as such could afford to go through the Official Union and since this Sloan was the daughter of Paul Sedona and his concubine, Lupe, she was, although damaged, was a token Dominant and their issue would be Dominants.
So, wondered Lynch, why go through the Roman Catholic rite, when Daniels could go to the Council and arrange for the Sacred Ceremony? Why disgrace the Council and the New Species by such an affront?
Tom had turned traitor. If he got to the Council, they would stop this and bring the Chosen back in the fold.
Now Lynch had no intention of this happening. He would have to phrase his words in such a way so that the Council would execute Tom and chose another, perhaps someone who was a Clone, someone whose father was a soldier, a pure Dominant untainted by human stench. Like me, thought Lynch.
He smiled, imagining the Council giving him the honor of being the Chosen. Perhaps his first act would be to execute Attwood and his group, and then their families. After that, he would do what they had intended first, wipe out any human on the planet. There would be no need of putting the blame on those humans who killed someone because she happened to pay others to mate with her, nor on those who killed because they reminded him of a false female. Soon only they the New Species would remain. All human weakness would disappear as the dust.
However, he needed allies, those who refused cooperation among the humans. Roderick would have been his first base, but the Chief of the Executioners was too busy also being the Chief of Propaganda, a position designated to a survivor couple of the Lost Ships—if there were any survivors besides the Advocate or rather a descendant of a survivor. Besides the Council had rejected him and now with the Progenies, they felt no need to exterminate all the humans.
He crept a little closer, recognizing some members of the Council, including Roderick enter the church. Ah a massacre, once they close the door, thought Lynch, but he saw no nod between them, no signal that only a Dominant or Dominant Clone could catch. They're going to allow this to happen! Our whole species have been betrayed!
It was then he spotted a young boy about eight or nine, rather short in stature, but with a cold look to his eyes. Lynch could see the hatred the boy had towards Tom Daniels and his future mate and how the Dominant guards kept an eye on him. The clone recognized the boy, one of the Progenies, offspring of Dominants and humans, able to cloud the minds of both. Now all he needed was to approach Kevin, but he would have to wait his time and he had plenty of that.
10/8/2003
It was dark when Lynch returned from his haunts. He cursed the Council for banning him and his 'brothers' from the village. Of course, they allowed Randall to return because he was a true Dominant and not a duplicate or clone like him, but Randall had created another clone which he kept in reserve, and not just one, but two.
There was a true sibling with the Lynch reddish hair, but his eyes were hazel and his skin a bit lighter. Besides, he was an inch shorter. Lynch did not consider him a true brother. Besides, he was in the Infiltrator program, a section of the Chameleon program in which one went into politics. Right now he was in Montana campaigning for testing against artificial hormones in cattle so Randall did not have to worry that Grant would return.
It was the Medicals' fault. They decided that he was unstable. Now they were developing a test to see if his reaction time was different. So it came out four minutes and fifty nine seconds, a second out so what? Also, his hair started to show a little gray. So what? He was stronger and faster than any human and he was tracking her now.
He did not need binoculars or a road map to see the person he was after. She was going in that building, along with several other humans. He could recognize her anywhere, the wavy auburn hair, the slim figure. It was Sloan Parker, all right. .The building was a Church, the same type that dominated small Mexican villages. Lynch wondered about this. What would they be doing at a Church.
Now the Dominants had the Official Union equivalent to the human religious marriage rites. The Council had arranged for certain Chameleons to enter the Seminaries of the major Christian religions so that they could perform the Union according to the Marriage service preferred by humans.. It was necessary so they could live together without starting a major species war.
Now it was not as if the Dominants did not have the equivalent before they decided to hide among the humans. The Dominant Official Union went something like this.
"The male Ben Varden (or what ever surname his first Dominant ancestor made up) will be united with Ellen Sands. Their true parents, John and Carol Varden, and Grant and Donna Sands give their approval to the match."
At this the members of the Council would come one by one and give an announcement depending on their station. For instance, a Mentor would say, "May you teach your offspring well" and the Executioner would say, "May you kill those who oppose you." and an Advocate would say, "May you do what is right in the book of the Dominants." Each would give a symbol of his office, a Mentor, a book, the Executioner, a knife, an Advocate, a sword. The Dominant Advocates used a sword instead of a gavel, showing that justice could be swift and permanent.
Then the Sacred Official would ask each, "Do you truly wish to share the bed of your mate" or "Do you truly wish to bear more of our species (or) dominants to increase our kind."
After the young male and female gave their consent which was "We do. We will rule in the kingdom of man!" they were considered as mated. After that, the Sacred Official announced, "They are now Ben and Ellen Sansvarden" and drank the sacred chamomile tea mixed with wine.
The Dominant reception did not have the throwing of the bouquet (that was added later when they mixed with the humans) and certainly not the garter throwing for the groom (they never added that one later.) Instead since most unions were arranged, the parents of the male of the couple hid a revolver in the sand outside, the parents of the female hid a knife, and let everyone who had a potential son or daughter under the age of eight look for them. It was said that the children of the two who found them were the first to be united. Of course, only the men were allowed to search.
During the reception, unlike the human type which people had gifts already prepared, the Dominants brought what was considered valuable. The first item was that black bed, and clothes, several machines, weapons, a car or truck depending on the rank of the married children, and enough material to start their own house once their first set was born. On few occasions, they received a human captive along with the knife "to kill it" or "you would prefer to break its neck." On rare occasions, the new couple let the captive live at which he or she became their slave, but this was rare indeed as most humans were needed for experiments or for work and to have one around would incur resentment. The ones who lived were often like that slave foreman, not afraid to die.
As for the regular union, a representative of the Advocates, and not a very respectable one at that, would say, "So Timothy Martin and Lara Gunn, you wish to share the bed of your partner and you wish to bear more of our species to increase our kind" Just say, 'We do, we will rule in the kingdom of man'' and it's done." There was no sacred chamomile tea mixed with wine and no relatives or friends giving them trucks, black beds, etc and since the black bed was expensive to make without the machines used by the Dominants, you passed with a slab of rock painted black and the symbols painted on in another color until you made enough or kill enough humans to get the silver or gold to pay for a real one.
The Advocate representative did write the new name on a metal plate, you might wind up as Timothy Gumarty or Lara Gunmertz, or something like that. And you had to convince your parents that you were indeed true mates. Usually the only time they believed you was when the same minor Advocate came and said, :"Ah you're the two I united. Told your true parents yet?"
Even the Official Joining where the Favorite received a chain around his or her neck and real wine seemed better than this. At least, she or he was considered a valuable piece of property or possession, not like Lynch. .
.
For the first decade or so, since the Dominants developed, the Official Union was only for the Chameleons (which included the Chosen and the Council) while everyone else just took a mate. But as time went on and the Council noticed that they mated for life, it was prudent to apply it to all Dominants, that is those of the higher classes. The lower classes, that is, those who were the ordinary soldiers and the workers had the Union. No Sacred Official for them, it was just the rush through shortened version. Any ceremony was at the discretion of the participants and Dominants loved ceremony.
Lynch's father had gone through the Union and Lynch resented being just a soldier. However, Tom Daniels' parents were of the Dominant elite, and as such could afford to go through the Official Union and since this Sloan was the daughter of Paul Sedona and his concubine, Lupe, she was, although damaged, was a token Dominant and their issue would be Dominants.
So, wondered Lynch, why go through the Roman Catholic rite, when Daniels could go to the Council and arrange for the Sacred Ceremony? Why disgrace the Council and the New Species by such an affront?
Tom had turned traitor. If he got to the Council, they would stop this and bring the Chosen back in the fold.
Now Lynch had no intention of this happening. He would have to phrase his words in such a way so that the Council would execute Tom and chose another, perhaps someone who was a Clone, someone whose father was a soldier, a pure Dominant untainted by human stench. Like me, thought Lynch.
He smiled, imagining the Council giving him the honor of being the Chosen. Perhaps his first act would be to execute Attwood and his group, and then their families. After that, he would do what they had intended first, wipe out any human on the planet. There would be no need of putting the blame on those humans who killed someone because she happened to pay others to mate with her, nor on those who killed because they reminded him of a false female. Soon only they the New Species would remain. All human weakness would disappear as the dust.
However, he needed allies, those who refused cooperation among the humans. Roderick would have been his first base, but the Chief of the Executioners was too busy also being the Chief of Propaganda, a position designated to a survivor couple of the Lost Ships—if there were any survivors besides the Advocate or rather a descendant of a survivor. Besides the Council had rejected him and now with the Progenies, they felt no need to exterminate all the humans.
He crept a little closer, recognizing some members of the Council, including Roderick enter the church. Ah a massacre, once they close the door, thought Lynch, but he saw no nod between them, no signal that only a Dominant or Dominant Clone could catch. They're going to allow this to happen! Our whole species have been betrayed!
It was then he spotted a young boy about eight or nine, rather short in stature, but with a cold look to his eyes. Lynch could see the hatred the boy had towards Tom Daniels and his future mate and how the Dominant guards kept an eye on him. The clone recognized the boy, one of the Progenies, offspring of Dominants and humans, able to cloud the minds of both. Now all he needed was to approach Kevin, but he would have to wait his time and he had plenty of that.
10/8/2003