Followed by.,. excerpt from Beginning of Chapter 18.
Amelia
Roscoe returns from Grasmere to Cambridge, parking his transpod near the Theatre of War, a large arena in which international disputes are vicariously settled by battles between soldier robots. In this case he watches a bloody robot conflict between Egypt and Sudan over rights to water in the Nile. After the battle he walks via Trumpington Road to the Lion Yard, and visits a reproduction coffee shop, the Grecian, based on one of that name built in 18th century London. Here he encounters a girl studying music at Emmanuel College. Amelia has already experienced Enlightenment as well as Life Extension. They separate without exchanging contact details but meet again before Roscoe sets off for Grasmere in his transpod . He is still thinking about Isla and her strengthening bond with Eric after his recovery from the struggle with a Puma but finds himself falling in love with Amelia. He discusses this with his mother Tina in Grasmere, referring to the Oath of Bonding, a successor to engagement, and the Kinship Circle, a successor to the family, made necessary by Life Extension (typically to 300 years) in what has become a largely Christian society.
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2077: Knights of Peace by J.L.Sears (Amazon UK)
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2077: Knights of Peace by J.L.Sears (Amazon USA)
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Extract from beginning of chapter 18 ...
Chapter 18
Amelia
The disused railway line
slid beneath the transpod, occasionally marked by a small group of wind
turbines, a relic from the days before abundant nuclear fusion technology was
used to power most of the world. He was flying quite low and could see that the
turbines, although not derelict, were obviously in the early stages of decay.
In the distance, even from this low height, he could see a stretch of sea
glinting in the sun and recalled that only a few decades ago there would have
been dry land as far as the eye could see.
He had approached Cambridge from
the north west having followed old motorways and main roads from Cumbriana,
then picked up the rail line which skirted the city’s northern and eastern
boundaries. Before the line he was following reached the station, now converted
into a museum of transport, he turned right and dropped the transpod into a
parking area.
Parking space was limited. He had
anticipated this because he knew that the Theatre of War would be a popular
attraction, even with the reduced population, because transpod ownership was
common and the availability of high capacity, three-dimensional routes across
the country together with almost unlimited controlled fusion energy meant that
owners used them even more than owners of automobiles in the old days of fossil
fuels.
The population of Britlandia was
down to only forty million after peaking at nearly seventy million before the
birth rate declined, net emigration increased and the Plague took its
toll. The average age had of course increased but the revolution in
ageing research had enabled people to stay healthy, both physically and mentally,
for much longer, even without Life Extension.
He walked along Trumpington Road.
It was busy with throngs of pedestrians, many of whom he presumed were making
for the same destination as he was. This was confirmed when he came to a grass
expanse which had previously been a golf course and in which stood a large
white canopy towards which moved a continuous stream of people. As he
approached he could see a floating image above the entrance, three words with
their silver letters revolving. Periodically the letters would stop rotating
and the phrase ‘THEATRE OF WAR’ would be spelled out.
Inside was a large amphitheatre
in which the battle would be conducted. Roscoe regretted that any type of
battle was still necessary within GF jurisdiction. Yet if a battle had to be
fought this was the only type acceptable in the modern world.
This was a symbolic battle. The
Theatre of War was where disputes between ethnic groups or geographical
territories could be fought without mass carnage or destruction. Only
countries within the Global Federation were culturally endowed to resolve
quarrels in this way and it was unfortunate that there were still areas of the
world, such as Ovoskotia, Essonia and Ogrenia, which did not belong to the GF
and where ethnic tensions often erupted into violence.
Today’s conflict would decide on
a victor in a fight over water rights between Egypt and the Sudan, both
countries through which the River Nile flowed with a diminishing volume of
water. The two sides had not been able to negotiate an agreement and the only
recourse they had as members of the Federation was to be represented by two
small armies of life-sized robot soldiers equipped with a variety of weapons.
Not weapons lethal to human beings. These were of course illegal under GF Law.
They were designed to destroy only the simulated humans which fought in the
Theatre of War, albeit in a realistic way which reminded the spectators of the
wretchedness of real war. Knights occasionally liked to witness simulated
battles since it strengthened their resolve to eliminate the technology which
allowed real war to reap its harvest of death and offend against Yahweh.
Roscoe stood leaning against a
waist high pillar, waiting for the first robot fighters to appear on the stage
below. Then a gleaming red armoured figure appeared and walked around the large
expanse of the stage. The audience applauded.
The robot held or had strapped to
it a variety of lethal weapons, including a sheathed sword and a repeat action
rifle. It managed to convey to the audience, in its stance, mannerisms and
appearance, a sense of irony. All were about to witness the settlement of a
real quarrel over resources yet no human being would die or be injured. It
would be an entertaining spectacle, the battle would be skilfully executed,
there would be finesse and skill in large measure; but above all it would
convey the futility and inhumanity of war.
A large
cascade of applause filled the arena.
A second robot walked calmly and
with dignity into the stage area, this time from the right. It was equally well
armed but dressed in a long purple cloak.
There was
more applause.
Similar robot soldiers entered
the arena, each dressed or designed in some way to be distinguishable to the
crowd as an individual and each eliciting its own raucous applause, unheard by
the humans who operated them from their control stations in Egypt or Sudan or,
if they were hired from outside the two nations in dispute, other parts of the
world. Despite the highly individualistic appearances the two sides were
distinguishable by colour – red for the Egyptians, purple for the Sudanese.
When each side had seven fighters
the applause stopped and the whole amphitheatre fell silent. The combatants
moved and climbed into their starting positions on various boxes, high
platforms and protrusions from pyramids around the arena. They all stood still
and the lighting dimmed until they were barely visible. A solid gold ball
descended slowly into the arena, coming to rest on a pedestal in the middle of
the stage. A voice announced that the engagement was to be fought to agreed
rules, that it was a war game, the object being to capture the ball. The rifles
each had only ten bullets each. It was also emphasised that the outcome would
have real consequences for the two countries involved....
