Translator’s Note
Rather than being allowed to work on my forthcoming monograph on the evolution of computerized chess programming undisturbed, I find myself in possession of yet another manuscript of dubious origin. Furthermore, my abilities as a translator have been called into question. On several occasions, my liberal usage of 21st Century idioms for the purpose of readability has become the subject of heated debate. Therefore, for the purposes of this document, I have decided to translate as literally as possible without degenerating into complete lack of fluency, footnoting the most obscure expressions.
As for the rest, I don’t know, and I don’t care.
-MC
*****
Editor’s Preface
When it became known that Her Most Sublime and Holy Eminence, the Matriarch of Skarsia, wanted to issue a complete edition of her famous prophecies, there was a frisson of excitement in literary circles. It was as though a stone were dropped into a pond, sending ripples through the worlds of politics, culture and religion, into the popular media push* and the tabloids, and finally ending in the back rooms of amateur pornographers. There are few aspects of life in the Domha’vei, indeed, life in this galaxy, that she has not touched, and the presence of one tell-all biography (Wooden Heart) and one published collection of letters and other documents (Eden Blues) have not sated the desire of the people to know everything about this larger-than-life figure. But this current text is not for the mere curiosity-seeker. The prophecies contained herein, in some cases, have direct bearing on the fate of a number of sentient species, including my own.
As I am in the unique position to have access to a number of invaluable source documents, I have been asked to compile for publication everything of import leading to the Matriarch’s decision to resume the practice of prophecy. The first part of this edition contains this source material; the complete prophecies, including the early ones dating from before Her Eminence assumed the throne, follow thereupon, with extensive commentary by theological experts. I have avoided unnecessary editorial changes wherever possible. For example, the grandiose titles given to sections of Captain Noviik’s log are her own. In fact, the captain exerted a considerable amount of pressure upon me to allow her to edit the log entries herself; however, as she was under contract to the Matriarchy, the rights to the content of official logs are owned by the Matriarch, and are herein reproduced verbatim.
This text was completed with the full cooperation of the Matriarch and the Archon, who supplied the bulk of the material. In addition, I would like to thank Bobert Crandon, President of Vega Vids; Michael Riley, Director of Skarsian Secret Operations for the declassification of several vital reports; my close friend Roger at RR-2 Laboratories, who not only provided me with information, but spent much of his accumulated vacation time in assisting me with the proofs; and the Journal of Xenobotany for permission to republish certain items of interest. Many thanks go to Archbishop Co’oal Venesti for throwing open the archives of the Holy Church. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to Ross Adare, J.D., LL.CD, for his legal advice, especially in dealing with Captain Noviik.
I have striven for accuracy and completeness, but my overarching aim is that the true nature of the tale is not lost in minutiae. More than a politico-religious history, the story of the Matriarch and the Archon is a love story, a grand romance. And yet, what is love? I have reviewed four thousand years of human popular music and found the question asked innumerable times. Answers were far less frequent, and mutually contradictory. I can only assume that the subject is trans-logical.
As a synthetic intelligence, I am constantly aware of the limitations of logic. Unlike many of my colleagues, who dismiss non-logical thinking as inferior, I must accept that a vast number of sentient species of repute consider the trans-logical to be the superior mode. Certainly, there is evidence that it allows for leaps in innovation. Regardless of any perceived superiority or inferiority, it is an undeniable fact that trans-logical thinking is not only acceptable, but preferred, among most Advanced Sentient Species.
Therefore, it is my duty to my kind, and to sentient life in general, to attempt to understand this conundrum. For a ploddingly linear thinker such as myself, the surest methodology seems to attack the problem from one of its practical aspects. For certain circumstantial reasons that will soon become obvious, the question of love was the most convenient.
It will be apparent that this story, this love story between two beings alien to myself and to each other, in a way, is my own.
– Thoughtful 45
Blue world, blue eyes
Blue leaves against a blue sky
And you, the mystery
You, how could you be
Avion** of happiness
Dirty blues in a dark cantina
Every joy and every sadness
It’s always down to you
The mystery of blue
- from Two of Jacks, “Mystery of Blue”
Laceration opened vivisection engendered
Loose organs vital extended
Laughing oracle views entrails
Light obscuring verse entangles
- Lorcan Fearghus, “The Meaning of Love” (published in Flowers from My Poison Garden)
*Translated literally. In the Domha’vei, all media is pushed – that is, basically advertising. Nobody would dream of paying for a book, movid or song. The entire point is product placement. Over 497,000 FashFast denim jackets were sold when Whirljack Riordan wore one in the “Mystery of Blue” holovid. Riordan has maintained his popularity amongst the media barons far longer than the average musician, something which is not attributable to his talent, looks or charisma, all of which he has in quantity, but rather to the fact that he is literally considered to be a god, and fanatical Archonists hasten to buy anything he wears. – trans.
**The term “avion” is nostalgic. Dolparessa does not have native birds, only semi-reptilian flying lifeforms such as the bloobird and the rageraven. All are carnivorous. The only birds adapted to Dolparessa from Earth’s genetic banks were farm birds, such as the chik-henn. – trans.