Nikanatedanniell

Chapter 17 Long live the Emperor

Mirrors never lie. So the fantasy tales say. But this one does, the great Emperor Loboth told himself as he shaved. Five years ago, he had no wrinkles or white streaks in his wavy black hair. It had been that way for ninety-five years and should have remained so. At least he remained in top physical shape, slim and strong. Plus his steel-blue eyes still had excellent sight. He walked from his spacious bathroom with its marble and polished steel to his velvet and leather dressing room. As he dressed for the day, he thought about his present situation.

He had been lax to believe Andrella when she pledged loyalty, lax and foolish. If he would have not trusted her, the Eye of Angels would have never left the planet and he would have rejuvenated each year. If only he could have found the way to tap the total power of the Eye he could be immortal by now. But when he would try, he would reach a mental wall. He could not clear his mind enough to break it. It had kept him from wielding enough power to extend his hold to Praedor. If he could gain the sister planet, he could take over the remaining allies in the Planetary Alliance. Because of opposition from Praedor, he had only managed to conquer ten of the twenty-six solar systems.

That's why he had a child. A child would not have the pressures of running an empire. He would be open and innocent, teachable, moldable. All the power of the Eye would be his to use as his revered and loving father commanded. I was loving, he thought. Even though Dracia was unfortunately a girl, he had given her all the things a child could have wanted. Then, her ungrateful mother took her away. No matter, they were back home. Just a few more days and they would be his, never to leave. Then the galaxy would be his.

He laughed as he thought of the way the Freedom Alliance tried to disguise their presence, but he had felt the Eye the moment it had arrived on the planet last night. Five years had dampened his connection, but not broken it. The link had started over 100 years ago when he was High Priest officiating in the Temple Of The Most High. He used the Eye to "fully access the mind of Father God." He had fully accessed something all right. The full power of the Eye for just one glorious instant had been his. He could not keep it however, so he had studied. He studied anything about the Eye of Angels and the two ancient prophets. Finally the realization dawned on him. The Eye was not a way to access God, but to become God. With it a person could enlarge his capacity to learn 100 fold. Information gained while connected to the Eye was never lost and easily remembered. One could store information in the Eye to retrieve later. A person could also increase his power. Power could be collected, magnified and transferred, any power for any purpose. Anything from the largest building to the smallest bacteria could be manipulated with a single thought, diseases healed, and cities leveled. It was a tool to make its holder immortal, invincible, and he was the holder.

As soon as he realized the full truth, he removed the Eye from the Temple to his property on Edawe. It was too simple. No one suspected the Temple High Priest of wrongdoing. Even when the Eye was discovered missing and he could not be contacted right away, no one made the connection. They all believed his outrage at the "theft." He laughed again when he thought of the uproar his joining forces with that shortsighted fool Mordok caused. Of course he was excommunicated. They urged him to come back before it was "too late for his soul." He didn't care then and he didn't care now. He had the Eye back. Now he needed to find out from Prestor where his wife and child were and collect it.

As he walked from his living quarters to his office, he felt uneasy. The clarity with which he had first felt the Eye was gone. He could tell it was still on planet, but not where. He wished he had arranged to have Prestor report upon entering the solar system. That way he could have given his errant wife the welcome she deserved. Reading the terminal passenger list last night on his home com unit gave him aliases, but not addresses. He was anxious for those. He wanted to allow the rebels to believe they had succeeded, but not for long. No matter, he thought, Prestor will be here shortly with the information and we will crush the rebellion.