On Central World, meanwhile, Jubad and his Council of Rebels explore the imperial archives in increasing disbelief. Recently, however, rumors whisper that the Emperor is dead and the empire is no more. So it has been for tens of thousands of years. Traders take the carpets to the spaceport, where they are loaded aboard Imperial ships and conveyed to the Emperor’s palace. Since a carpet-maker can have only one heir, he is obliged to kill any surplus male children. Carpet-makers take several wives, each chosen for the beauty and color of her hair. He then sells the carpet, earning enough money for his son to live on while he completes his own carpet. So intricate is the work that a carpet-maker can complete only one carpet during his lifetime. The planet’s entire economy is organized around skilled artisans who knot carpets made from their wives’ hair. On Planet G-101/2 in the Gheera galaxy, reverence for and fear of the immortal Emperor Alexander is drilled into all citizens as children. Eschbach, now one of Germany’s leading SF lights, debuts in English with a novel that unfolds as a series of interlocking stories in which certain characters recur.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |