01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
"You are talking about something different. You are talking about the gods, not the God
who is the Law-Giver. You are talking of those that Jabez - and people who are like him -
worship. The old gods, Zayez, Harma and Hella and a host of others. I suppose your devil
would be Shaita. Surely your people are not so primitive that they still think as Jabez does?"
She sounded incredulous, she was certainly wide eyed. He shook his head hastily.
"Up to the time of the Evacuation, they had their various forms of religion. Now, they
believe in nothing except hard work and dust and thirst. We are a people who have outgrown
the need for gods. Now and then, some fanatic like Jabez comes along and tries to stir up the
old fires, but he doesn't last for long."
"I am relived to hear it. My father has more trouble with people like Jabez than with
anyone else. We know that a destiny controls our lives. We know how to use the Gift and
many other helpful things. They originated from those who control our destiny but we also
know that we are not able to sway the path of our destiny by praying to those who control it.
What must be, is and will be. The Race Masters control all things!"
He looked at her wide eyed.
"Who or what are the Race Masters?"
As they walked back to the house she tried to explain.
"We are bound in ways inexplicable, by beings who control the complexity of our past,
present and future - so that their purposes will be fulfilled. Our lives are pawns in their
expression of will. We are infinitesimal, specks to be used or ignored in the vastness of their
design. They are they who must be obeyed. You cannot withstand the might and power of the
Race Masters. They control the destiny of all the Lynxe who ever were. They are old - so
ancient that they existed before the Lynxe-star gave light and all was darkness."
It was one of their old legends! He felt a little disappointed. He was no nearer to
understanding the significance of the Pentacle. He wasn't sure if Maia was reading his
thoughts. If she was, she gave no indication and he doubted if it would have meant very much
to her. They parted at the entrance to his room and she moved on around the corner of the
corridor. She moved well, he dwelt upon it appreciatively. Clearly, her thought came back to
him:
"Lecher!"
Another day was nearly over, their star plummeted towards the horizon. For a brief
moment, the sky was a fire of redness and then it faded to black. It was nearly time for him to
make his way to the meal table. It was to be hoped that his new appearance might give a
better impression of what the normal, well groomed inhabitant of New Earth looked like. He
delayed his entrance and watched the stars appear. It always raised a feeling of total
loneliness not to see familiar constellations. It didn't matter where he had been in Solar space,
they had always been their - a kind of reassurance.
Wherever he now was, there was a drastic difference to the perspective and alignment of
the patterns. Here and there, he thought he could make out something familiar but it was
probably wishful thinking. They probably had their own constellations. It depended if the
locals had an enquiring mind or any interest in looking outward.
He remembered how he had looked up at the stars with Hara and with the memory came a
resurge of unrest. Impending fatherhood was something with which he had to come to terms.
Her pregnancy wasn't something to be surprised about, they had been completely uninhibited
in their coupling. He would never understand the female mind. If a man on Mars got a girl in
the family way, she stayed around and tried to get as much out of him as possible. Often the
man would put the biggest distance he could between himself and his responsibility. Hara had
other ideas, preferring to hide herself away in some female community. It was more than
likely that he would never know if the child was born, or if it was his. He wasn't much good
at finger counting when it came to working out the time of the birth. He also realised that he
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