Wish You Were Here (Instead of Me) by Frank Tayell

Author:Frank Tayell [Tayell, Frank]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Frank Tayell
Published: 2023-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

“That is quite a tale,” Sir John said when Sean had finished his account. “You’re a general?”

“The war’s over, so as long as it doesn’t restart, I’m just an ordinary citizen.”

“Don’t shy away from the rank. An officer is a gentleman. Your friends are religious revolutionaries, but these regents, they were usurpers?”

“That’s it,” Sean said, picking his words with care. “The regents were tyrants. Under their regime, society stagnated. People lived in fear.”

“And this Valley, this federation you’re aligned with, they’re run by this prophet?”

“No, the Valley is governed by a council,” Sean said. “Individual communities, or nations, within the federation each have their own system of local government, chosen by one system of direct election or another. The council oversees trade and defence.”

“Ah. So it’s similar to parliament?”

“Very much so,” Sean said because it was easier than explaining that the complexities of governance were still being worked out. The Valley had pledged direct elections for all localities, but many were still run under the same martial law, and by the same military governors, as during the emergency of the civil war. But he understood why Sir John considered these questions a priority. Sir John’s withered arm had prevented him from joining the army, but like his forefathers, he was a pillar of the British Empire. While an ancestor had been Cromwell’s leading butcher in Ireland, another had become a staunch defender of King Charles II. Since then, they had never been far from the throne of what was currently Earth’s largest empire.

“What are their intentions?” Sir John asked.

“They consider our planet a holy place. Many will want to visit. Some will want to live here. And because it is considered holy, they are prepared to protect the planet.”

“Fascinating. And you say there are local governments on individual planets?”

“There are, yes.”

“Good. Interesting. Are we to go to the palace and inform Her Majesty?”

“Victoria is still alive?”

“Oh, indeed,” Sir John said. “She’ll outlive us all.”

“I need to speak with Celeste before we begin any discussions,” Sean said. He leaned back in his chair while Sir John walked over to his decanter, both men lost in very different thoughts of what the future might hold.

“You said you were married to one of these… ah, these towani?”

“I am. Their customs are different, of course, but we are both committed to one another.”

“Do you have children?”

“Not yet,” Sean said.

“I have a son,” Sir John said. “He’s five.”

“Congratulations. And your wife, is she at home?”

Sir John’s countenance darkened. “She died shortly after the birth. I don’t think she ever truly believed me when I told her of the Ripper. Especially not since there were more murders afterwards.”

“There were more?”

“Six more, stretching into 1891. I thought it might be more star-folk, but my investigations were no more fruitful than Scotland Yard’s.”

“The Ripper was a high-ranking member of one of the regency families. He’d been murdering for so long, and with such impunity, evading the constables had become a game to him. I think he enjoyed the chase as much as seeing the fear in his victims’ eyes as he killed them, but he was acting alone.

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