Time Enough for Tenchi, part 4: Time Enough for History
by Eaerth

The sun was hitting my face when I woke up.  Oh God I hurt. 
I was divided between covering my eyes and holding on to my
head.  Holding on won.

"Oh, fuck," I said.

"He's awake," somebody said.  "Wake up."

I sat up painfully in bed and had a look at my benefactors.

The first woman looked like a former California girl.  She
was in her late 30s or early 40s, tanned, tall, plump, and
blue-eyed.  A great pile of blonde hair was tied atop her
head with a red ribbon.  She yawned expansively as she woke
up.

The second woman, well, girl, was already awake.  She was
maybe a teenager, or almost a teen, with short-cropped blue
hair and large magenta eyes.  She was clearly not human. 
The girl's clothes were ill-fitting and ill-patched.

"Kuso," I swore.

"Hello, Tenchi," Sasami said.

"Hello Sasami," I said to the child.  "Mihoshi," I said to
the blonde.

We were in a cheap hotel room.  Bed, particle board table,
and two cigarette-stained chairs, which looked slept in. 
Wet sunlight dribbled in the window.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked.  I was in my underpants. 
Mihoshi blushed and looked away.  I noticed bloodstains on
her blouse.

"A dumpster," Sasami said.  "They were disgusting.  Bloody,
dirty, and soaked in vomit, and burnt off in places.  I got
you some new clothes from Salvation Army.  Here."  Sasami
handed me a paper bag.  They looked away as I dressed.

Then I remembered something important.  "I had two
photographs.  Where are they?  You got them, right?"

"Here, I have them," Sasami said, giving me the pictures.

"You know, she looks a lot like--Owwwwwwww!!" Mihoshi said. 
She rubbed her shin, looking at Sasami.  "Ouch.  Who's the
woman?"

"My ex-wife," I said.  I ditched the frames and tucked the
pictures in a coat pocket.  "Why are you two here?" I asked. 
"What is the Galaxy Police doing on Earth?"

"Oh, I'm not with the Galaxy Police any more," Mihoshi said. 
She frowned.  "Now I'm a daring revolutionary!"

"Whaa?"

"Well, one of my husband's old friends told me this thing,
you see, and I had to warn the underground that they were in
terrible danger from, uh, the people.  Um.  I'm awful at
this explaining stuff.  Sasami, could you tell him?"

The girl rolled her eyes.

"There's a lot of history to tell and I don't have the time
to go over it right now," she said.  "The main thing is like
this:  because of his career, Mihoshi's husband had a lot of
contacts, in the government as well as in less honorable
places.  Well really, they're more honorable.  Mihoshi found
out from one of these old friends that informants for the
Empress had found the leader of the resistance on a
backwater world orbiting a distant sun in one of the less
important galactic arms.  This world.  So Mihoshi came to me
and then we came here to find him before Aeka did.  We
barely warned him in time.  And now that you're conscious
and know the story, you can go on your way and leave us to
our business."

"No, Sasami, we can't leave him," Mihoshi said.  "He could
get killed."

"Have you forgotten history, Mihoshi?  All ready to get
chummy after what he did to you?"

Mihoshi hung her head.  "No.  No.  You're right."

"He's no friend of ours.  Let the old man take his own
risks."

"Now listen here," I said grimly.  "I don't know what you
have against me, Sasami.  I never did anything to harm you. 
Mihoshi has good reason to hate me, very good reason, but
not you.  But... you're right, I don't want to be around you
guys any more than you want me around."

Sasami softened a bit.  "I don't think you're in any danger,
anyway."

"I'll get by.  I... hm.  I have no job, and now I have no
home, but I'll get by like always.  At the least I can get
very, very drunk with what I have in the bank."

Mihoshi changed her mind again.  "No, you're coming with us. 
Tenchi can be a revolutionary too!"

"God--damn--ech--!  Mihoshi, do you even listen?" I yelled. 
"I don't want to go with you!  The only reason I'm still
alive today is because I don't have daily reminders that you
and she and those others exist.  I don't know what you're
thinking, though I realize you're usually not, but I don't
know why you want me to join you after what I did to you. 
Just leave me alone.  I have other things to do.  Leave me
alone," I said.

Mihoshi started to cry.

"Oh, stop it," I said.  "I'm not going with you.  I'd be
happiest if I never saw you again.  I don't care how you
cry, no."  She didn't stop.  "Please Mihoshi, don't cry. 
You know I can't--  I'm not changing my mind."

Mihoshi began crying at the top of her lungs.

"God in heaven," I said to myself, "forty going on four. 
Ok, ok, shut up.  Mihoshi.  Mihoshi!  Mihoshi, be quiet! 
I'll go with you."

Mihoshi stopped crying.  She sat there wiping her eyes. 
"Ok," she said.

Sasami rolled her eyes again.  "Come on, then, let's get out
of here.  Rosman's waiting for us."

				#

We took the rail out toward the Microsoft arcology.  The
blasted landscape outside was dotted with broken down cars,
remains of prefabricated housing, rubble, and weeds.  On the
edges of the wasteland, construction was reclaiming the
abandoned land, but it had gone unused for many years,
mainly inhabited by squatters.

I remember some of the battles that helped devastate this
area, part of the company wars that flare up here and there
all the time.  They mentioned them in the news every couple
weeks or so, another conflict over some secretive warehouse
in the slums.  Then they stopped being even slums.

"Why are we going this way?" I asked Sasami.

"Like I said, we have someone to meet.  Maybe there's
something we can do to help."  Sasami was gazing out the
window at the decaying mess.  "There are parts of Jurai that
look like this now.  After the war passed over, no one
bothered to reclaim them.  They are forgotten now.  Most
people don't even see them."

Sasami took two sandwiches out of a paper sack.  "I made
lunch," she said, giving one to Mihoshi.  She took a bite,
and then thought for a moment.  She ripped half off her
sandwich and gave it to me.  I hadn't eaten in about 24
hours.  It tasted good.

"I've been homeless for a couple decades," she said, looking
out the window.  "I think it's good to have a cause to feel
part of.  It helps keep you warm."

The old city sped by.

				#

Outside the arcology we got off the train.  There was no
going further.  I looked over the electrified fencing at
Microsoft.  I couldn't see anything except politely tended
forest.  There was a huge complex in there, somewhere.

It was busy out here, right outside Microsoft.  This was
where all the arcology citizens went to do all the things
that weren't allowed at home, or just to go somewhere
different for once.  Business was doing well.

Sasami led us into a bar fronted by a smiling demon in neon. 
There were a few groups of office types on lunch break.  We
sat down in a booth.  When the waiter approached, Sasami
asked him, "Is Ichiji here this morning?"

"Yeah."

"Could you get him?"

Five minutes later we were in a back storeroom with a burly
bartender wearing a hockey jersey.

"I'm told you can get us in," Sasami said.

"In?" I asked.  "In where?  You don't mean... in there?  Are
you nuts?  Microsoft is, like--"

"Shut up, Tenchi," Sasami said.  "Can you?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Ichiji said.  "Not for free."

"Mihoshi, pay him."

"Ok, I know I have the money somewhere," Mihoshi said,
digging into her purse.  "Pilot's license, pictures, extra
tissues ... vitamins ... hmm, I don't know why this is here
... rm-54 controller..."  She started emptying objects from
her purse, many of them strange, onto the floor.  "Fountain
pen, pistol, aardshok clasps... I don't know *what* this is
... ooh, I thought I'd left this at home..."

Sasami sighed deeply.

"Ah, here we are!  Is 500 credits enough?"

The bartender just looked at Mihoshi.

"Ok, uh," Mihoshi said, "here's ... 624 credits ... and,
uh," counting a handful of change, ".76.  It's all I have."

"Give it here and we'll go," Ichiji said.

"Thanks!"  Mihoshi gave him the money and shoved the pile of
junk into her purse.

Ichiji pushed aside a machine of some sort and removed a low
panel from the ground behind it.  We crawled into the
darkness, Ichiji leading the way with a battery torch.

We followed him through a maze of ducts and tunnels until we
exited into a dimly-lit, abandoned-looking hallway.  "Ok,
you are now in Microsoft," Ichiji said.  "If you want back,
talk to someone who knows me.  I'm out."  He went back
through his panel and left us there.

Sasami examined the room number on the door of a maintenance
closet.  "Follow me," she said.  "Quietly."

Eventually, we rounded a corner toward a rolldown steel door
for some kind of storage area.  "Hold it," a woman's voice
said.  "You don't look like you work here."

I looked around.  Out of a darkened side room stepped a
middle aged woman wearing a security uniform.  Her hair was
bright orange.

"We need to see Dr. Rosman," Sasami said.

"Do you?" the woman asked, grinning smoker's teeth.  "And
who are you three?"

"I am Mihoshi Kuramitsu, honored madam," Mihoshi said. 
"This is Sasami Jurai, and this is Tenchi Masaki.  *Now* can
we see Dr. Rosman?"

"Ho ho!" the woman said.  "What a find.  The
princess-in-exile, the Butcher of Belaresh, and the man
slated to be Emperor, who abandoned us to the Beast Aeka. 
All in one day.  I better mark this in my diary."

The rolldown door lifted a couple feet.  "Give it a rest,
Merle," someone said through the opening.  "Sasami and
Mihoshi saved my life last night."  He lifted the door the
rest of the way.  "Come on," he said.

We followed him into a large underground landing bay for
VTOL cargo craft.  It should have been empty and disused,
looking by the shape it was in, but people were crawling all
over it.  Merle closed the door behind us.

"Hello," the man said.  He was an old Juraian, with wild
grey hair and a bushy beard.  His eyes, behind horn rimmed
glasses, were gold and serious.  Then he grinned.

"I'm glad to meet you.  I am Dr. Takeshi Rosman," he added
for my benefit.

"We didn't get to talk at all last night," Mihoshi said.

"Ms. Kuramitsu, your clothes are rather bloody," Rosman
said.  "We can clean those up for you.  And we have a bath
in the ship."

"I would kill a busload of mimes for a bath," Sasami said.

He called someone over, who led Mihoshi and Sasami away.

"You're the leader of these people?" I asked Rosman.

"Aye."

"How are we here, in Microsoft?"

"We're not here officially, you understand.  Enough money in
the right hands, and they ignore us."  Rosman looked up. 
"Someone's calling me.  You stay here with Merle.  We'll
talk later."

"Oh, yippee," Merle said.

I looked into the landing bay.  There was one long,
airplane-looking spacecraft, and one--it could only have
been a space ship--which looked like a half-egg.  It was
black and broken by purple slashes that seemed to shift with
the light.  Rosman swung himself up a ladder to the balcony,
swiftly for one so old.

"What did you mean by 'the Butcher of Belaresh?'" I asked
Merle.

"Ahm, that's a story," she said.  "A little more than a
quarter century ago, your friend and her partner discovered
a robbery attempt at the Bank of Belaresh, which quickly
became a hostage situation.  Before backup could arrive,
Mihoshi, through gross incompetence, caused a firefight to
break out.  In the battle, the backup generator in the
basement was damaged and, before more than half a dozen
hostages could be rescued, the building blew itself sky
high.  More than a hundred people were killed in the
explosion.  The families of the victims cried for her blood,
but all they got was Mihoshi drummed out of the Galaxy
police."

"Oh, well," I said.  "I suppose it was bound to happen."

				#

"So you want to know what we're fighting for, Mr. Masaki. 
This means, unfortunately, that I am going to have to teach
you a little history."  Rosman took on a professorial pose. 
"Not very long ago, less than ten generations past, the
Juraian galaxy was not free.  This galaxy was a subject of
the Tuvan Empire, which rules many galaxies.  Juraians and
the other native species were treated as slaves, in many
cases, and had no say in their own government.

"Through protests, strikes, and not a little violence, we
finally convinced the Tuvan Empire to return our galaxy to
us and let us rule ourselves.  I was a very small boy at the
time.  On this planet, your Holy Roman Empire was still in 
power.

"The Tuvans helped us build the Juraian Empire and the
people chose our new leader.  After the disappearance of his
only offspring, he was the last known survivor of the
ancient noble bloodline, the last of the line of kings who
ruled the Juraian states before they were conquered.  The
people were satisfied with their new Emperor, old though he
was, and without heir.

"All was not perfect in Jurai, however.  There was division,
not in politics, but in the other great poisoner of nations:
religion.

"It is strange how, even with billions of gods worshipped in
the universe, so many people hate anyone who worships a
different god than they do.  I could explain why, but it
would take a two semester course.

"There are two major interstellar religions.  The people of
the most populous religion, the one followed by the galactic
royalty, worship the Great Trees of Jurai.  The minority,
but not inconsequential, religion follows the Goddess
Tokimi, the Lady of Mysteries.

"My people petitioned the government for their own nation
and were denied.  The Emperor said it would be disruptive
and would throw the galaxy into war.  So, without the common
enemy of the Tuvans, we turned on each other.  The situation
was tense from the beginning.

"Most people got on, but extremists on both sides indulged
in killing and terrorism.  At times, the hate flared up into
riots and warfare, which fed the hate in the families and
loved ones of the dead.  But, in everything, remember that
very few people engaged in violence.  We are not a dangerous
people.

"And so life continued.  A little more than 30 of your years
ago, the Pretender conquered Jurai but was defeated, mmm, by
you."  Rosman grinned.  "You already know this.  With her
parents murdered by the Pretender, Princess Aeka was
selected for rule.  Parliament in fact had a young heir to
the lost line of kings to choose, but he opted not to serve.

"After a brief absence to grieve, Empress Aeka formally took
the throne.  She was young and emotional and uncompromising. 
Terrorism from Tokimi extremists meanwhile was increasing in
quantity and destructiveness.  To combat the problem, the
Empress pushed new laws through Parliament.

"Over the next few decades, curfews and military
installations were established in all major cities.  At
first, all people were required to attend Great Tree
ceremonies save those who carried a special Tokimi
Identification card.  Later, cards were required for all our
people and ceremonies were mandatory for everyone.

"Our people were barred from all jobs in important
governmental buildings.  We were considered a security risk. 
Naturally, this prevented us from holding any public office.

"All people, of any religion, became subject to random
search and seizure.  The government began monitoring all
electronic communications for terrorist activity.  Any
information which could be used to create bombs or weapons,
as well as any incitation to violence, was banned, as was
any information which could be used to circumvent police
monitoring.

"This is where we come into the picture.  We do not support
terrorism, but we cannot allow the current trend toward
totalitarianism to continue.  Most of our movement are
followers of Tokimi, but not all.  More Juraians are joining
us every day.  What is bad for us, is bad for everybody.

"We are fighting for freedom, Mr. Masaki."

---------
The names of Tenchi, Washu, Aeka, Sasami, Ryoko, Mihoshi,
and Kiyone are copyrighted and probably trademarked by AIC
& Pioneer LDC.  I don't claim any ownership over them.
Beyond the names, this story has just about nothing to do
with the series.  I hope you don't feel cheated.

Completely unrelated stuff, such as my comic, "Kevorkian 
Won't Return My Calls," can be found at my website.
http://eaerth.isfuckingbrilliant.com/ is the redirect.

The email address on this post has been spam harvested and
at least one of the spammers has the Klez virus, so I'm
getting that mailed to me too.  If you send anything there, 
there's a good chance I won't even notice it when I check 
email (once every couple months).

If you have any comments or questions or anything, check the
website.  I used to put my real email address here at the
bottom, but the website redirector has lasted two years, 
which is longer than any email service I've signed up with 
has lasted.  Sorry for the extra step, but if you'd tried 
to send a message to the old address at the bottom of this
chapter and gotten a bounce, you'd understand why.