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Triumph and agony'...and here I would conclude the dispute'.They didn't look overly happy over my decision - they never were. As an Emperor's Civil Servant, I could not take sides - nor satisfy a call for revenge. That's what we are, I thought, - mediators. A grease between the uncounted number of sides in an uncounted number of frictions. I relaxed the mental control, letting the people in the courtroom to see me in my real form - a tall olive-skinned man in his late twenties. Mine late-twenties, I mean. Out of here, now - back to home. Back to my blasphemy... * * * ...Dark. I hear gentle snores of Sharol by my side. That's one of the infinite number of things I love about her - her sleep. She sleeps like a child - so utterly open and so utterly vulnerable. ...then, what woke me up, a silent voice in my head?. I had to just close my eyes to see the too familiar dark-green figure of Him. He was outside - I could catch the grass under his feet. Smiling gently. At me. I nearly burst up. 'Emperor...' 'No need' - the vaguely dinosaur-like creature picked a flower with its left hand. 'It's I just wanted to talk to you. You were distressed'. 'Brin...' - one always addresses an Emperor by His first name - 'I...' 'You were at some doubt during the dispute. I could see as much. But you came to a right decision, Aden. That feud between families had to stop, someday. I'm glad you could see a way out.' And, then, nothing. I tried to recapture my usual mental equilibrium. Nevermind the sudden loss of contact - that was always there. In a Universe that large, even an Emperor can't indulge in losing time. Instead, I just wondered, for a bit, as to why He called me at all. Was that a mere routine, following each crucial knot I have managed to untangle? Or did He know about Sharol..? Dark... * * * In the morning, I was just barely in time to see Sharol off. She was already dressed and running, tea mug left behind. 'Love you, Aden'... She was off before I could get a chance to reply. But, then, wasn't it exactly what I was after, even as I embarked on creating her? Suddenly, I was lost in memories again... Ended as such, it started as a dream. A dream of a perfect companion for me - a lover, a wife, a friend. Laying hands on a gene tank was ridiculously easy. An Emperor's Civil Servant could whip local governments to do his bid in no time - as anyone knew, Imperials intervened only when to do so was crucial. Nor had anyone asked me why I would need a gene tank. All I had to do was to identify myself as a member of Emperor's Civil Service by appearing as Emperor Himself in their eyes. A nice mental trick, I take it, and as foolproof as can be - any Civil Servant is imprinted with an ability to so alter the minds of those watching as to appear in the shape of an Emperor Himself. Only He has an ability to seem as anything at all. ...The gene tank - that one which generated the body to my specification. Sharol's body. And me awakening her for the first time... only to find out that a Creature can lure the Creator... I mean, she was all I ever wanted and intended to create. Punkt. Schluss. Of course, I had to feed in the memories of her existence before her eighteen, which she looked like upon emerging. I made it a happy memories, I needed no grief in our midst. ...memories... with me as her civil husband, of course. The first surprise came on the second day after her revival. 'Would you marry me, Aden?' 'But, Sharol, we're already married, for three years!...' 'I mean, would you marry me in Temple?' That was the first sign of independence I saw on her - wanting to marry me in the eyes of God, if not Emperor. Need I explain the result? The second surprise was in two weeks after that, when she decided to get a job. I still remember the short argument which conceded. 'Aden, I think I'm to get a job' I almost hiccupped 'Why would you want to?' 'It fascinates me to be needed... ohh, Aden, not that - to be relied upon... Just want to be lovely in more eyes than yours... So, before you could say 'kiss' there she was - an assistant advertiser at some freaky company. Welcome the third, too - I awaited her on the doorsteps at her first day at work, of course. What was that story about God creating a bait even He Himself can't refuse? I felt almost as such... She was terrified... 'Aden, I don't know what's happening...' She didn't, of course, and it took me a better part of the night to discover and prove that she was capable of adjusting minds just the same way we Civil Servants do - to appear in a shape of Emperor Himself. Now, that posed a problem - she was not entitled to such control, never having been through the Management School. Or was my creation too perfect? * * * 'Bye, Aden, see you later...' Even as she said those innocent words I was unsure as to whether to cheer or to cry... I called an Emperor, for the first time in my life. I will hold those moments forever... Nor had I to work - almost a second after I tried, He appeared before my inner eyes. 'Brin...' 'Aden?' I knew this was an all-or-nothing talk. I had goofed - and I still had to report my goof in full. 'Brin, I must confess to two sins' 'Go on' 'My last decision at court was biased. I have shown mercy where balance should have been' 'And second?' 'I have created a human. She is capable of doing anything a Civil Servant can - that including the imitation of Yourself...' And then there was nothing. I had to take a time assessing the encounter - and, by the end of it, I was thoroughly convinced that I no longer can manipulate my mind to appear as anyone but myself in anyone's eyes. Grief. Expulsion from the Civil Service, at least. * * * I don't even remember how I got to where I was now - a dark side-street, a few lampposts. A few gravicars whooshed by, the last one turbulencing the air around and throwing a newspaper from the pavement into my hands... The too-familiar dark-green face was filling the better part of the front column. I didn't know whether to love or hate it, about to throw the paper away. Then, some words in the middle of a page caught my attention - '...Sharol is not...' I sat down right where I was, re-reading the entire page from the top. 'I don't have much time thinking this - but, on my way to a chopper which will take me away from my palace, strange thoughts crowd my mind. Some are of you, Aden. A quest for creation is always there in your species - the reason you humans make for best Civil Servants. And most troublesome ones, too. I followed you right from the first thought you had about the artificial companion. I even flatter myself at understanding your motives. Your mistake, as so many others before, was in thinking you could control life entire...' I skipped a few paragraphs... '...especially your devotion. As you, no doubt, guessed by now, you lost your mental power - I can't have one such as you at my Civil Service. Not one who is capable of creating a soul. For, Aden, Sharol is not an artificial person. Or, to be correct, she had started as one - but is no longer a mere artefact. She could master the mind to appear as one of Mine, for one. You did your bid too well. And she loves you in a manner deeper that you can, as yet, imagine. Your choice of Empire versus Love has been made - happily, I must say. For you. It is with great regret that I say eternal good-bye to the one so devoted...' * * * Blast and hell. I barely found my house in the torrential downpour which ensued. Lost all I ever lived by... But, one of these minutes, Sharol may be back...
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