ARQUON

The staring blue-black eyes saw nothing. For once the sharp glint was dull, the navy depths shallow. Arquon slept. His sleep had begun two days previously, when in a sudden, unpredictable rage he had collapsed on the floor. He had not moved since. They had done all they could since then to keep him comfortable and to rouse him. They had brought in specialists from everywhere - more were on the way. Still he slept. The tension in the palace was tanglible. Outsiders wondered at the sudden increase in secrecy and security, but eventually decided it was just another of the Lord's incomprehensible spot-decisions. In all the fuss no-one remembered the cause of the Lord's rage : an insubordinate had asked him a question he could not answer. Arquon slept.

After two weeks the Ministers were still none the wiser and torn between worry and glee. Two weeks of freedom from those terrible navy eyes had added a new dimension to their lives. There was, after all, only so much one could do under constant surveillance. Surveillance which could not be detected or stopped. The All-seeing, All-knowing had restricted their actions just as he had liberated their minds. The wonder of the perfect kingdom was only perfect when seen with no regard for personal freedom. They began to find expression. They began to live.

Six months later the Kingdom of Arquon was in total and utter happy chaos. News of the Lord's slumber had somehow leaked out and the spirit of liberation had swept throughout their civilization. People had strayed from the Path, returned to their old ways, religions and traditions. They had begun to live.

After a year the liberation began to be regretted by the scholars and the Ministers. Having returned to their natural form, people had started fighting amongst themselves. War had resulted. Whereas before the Technology of the Lord had improved their lives, it now made them easier to end. They began to die.

Ten years had passed when the depths returned to the navy eyes. Arquon woke. He sat up, reaching out with his mind to his people, to the civilization he had formed. The echoes of death and destruction echoed through his immense mind. All that remained of this Kingdom, of this generation of Children was a few herders in the North Mountains. They had died. They had all died.

Arquon smiled, the evil in his eyes chilling. He set off for the mountains, to the herders. The pools that were his eyes swirled, drinking in all. He began again.