Page 17 of A World Enough

“It’s beautiful, but how can they have water for decoration when the people guard every drop because it’s precious?”

“It’s a means of control. You see the people on their knees praying right beside the water? If anyone touches or drinks the water here, they forfeit their life, and their family’s life—on some occasions, their whole village. The Abnobians are worshipped as gods.”

Camber pointed to the Temple. “Inside that, the priest class do the bidding of their overlords.”

Brogan felt such deep anger for this planet’s plight. “That is disgusting. What are the Abnobians really? Do they use magic?”

“It’s worse. They themselves have very little magic. But long ago, before the people that left us the portals disappeared, the Abnobians conquered other races who had powers and gifts hugely better than their own. The Abnobians didn’t have magic, but they have one or two things that helped them take over much of the realm.”

“What?”

“They have a gift for science and technology, military tactics, and building an empire.”

“So what happened?”

Camber put the monocular to her eye to take in the scene. “We haven’t got time to go into it all now, and especially as I don’t know for certain who you are—”

Brogan rolled her eyes, and Camber relented.

“The people of this planet have been slaves for a long, long time. The Abnobians expect every family to send one person to work in the mines beneath the sands,” Camber said. “The mines are far away from the Temple. They rarely make it back.”

Brogan shook her head in disbelief. “What are they mining for?”

“Minerals they use for their technology. They have the best scientists in the realm. Do you see the stone doorway to the right of the Temple? That’s what they call the gateway to the gods. You see the Drazani guards on either side?”

Brogan nodded.

“The gods, when they choose to, appear from there. Everyone is both awed and terrified by them. In the Temple grounds, local guards are not allowed, only the Drazani, the Abnobian military.”

“But what’s behind that doorway?” Brogan asked.

“The people think it’s a doorway to the gods in the stars. It’s really all their smoke and mirrors. There’s a spaceport for their vessels. Vessels to go off planet and to the other side of this world to get the food and water for the people.”

“How is it this world developed like this, most of it so warm and dry but one continent ideal farmland?”

“Because the Abnobians have the technology of climate control,” Camber said.

“You mean the whole planet could be green and lush?”

“Yes. It used to be. It’s the worst kind of cruelty. They use the giving and restricting of food and water, and bring artificial droughts, if the people displease the so-called gods.”

Camber leaned back and looked right into Brogan’s eyes. “If you are a bounty hunter for the Abnobians, I hope you can live with yourself, aiding and abetting this scum.”

Chapter Five

Davor looked around the circle of twelve, seated around a round table of made of ternite rock, the mineral that powered their technology. The meeting room was more of a cavern, deep in the heart of the Abnobian empire.

He had silver hair and very pale skin, but the Abnobian lifespan was so long, he might be an elder statesmen but was by no means elderly. He was head of the council of twelve, the most powerful people in the empire.

Each person who took a seat on the council represented a different branch of Abnobian society.

Ninti, to his right, was head of science and medical. She had brown skin and tightly braided hair. She was Davor’s second, to all intents and purposes. He found her intelligence, as well as her years with him, made her a good companion. She was responsible for the huge strides they had made in genetic manipulation, building on the work done to improve their own genome, to make them stronger, more intelligent, and more long lived, among many other improvements.

The ancestors of the Drazani guards had been intensely strong farmers when the Abnobians took over their home world. The Abnobians saw potential in them, and their genome was altered in such a way as to increase their strength while making them more subservient to their masters, so much so that they would die for the Abnobians.

Over a long, long period of time, the Abnobians changed strong farmers to super soldiers at their beck and call.

Ninti was an expert in her field, and she and her team had made amazing strides.