The Quest

1

THE QUEST

2 Rose had been invited to a coming of age ceremony surrounded in secrecy. She put the invitation in her handbag, ready to be shown at the palace, as a woman dressed in a robe appeared by her side. “Mother,” Rose said. “I must go to the lights.” The woman pushed back a lock of red hair from her face. “The summer solstice might help you to find a man,” she said Rose sighed. “Mother, men are finished.” “Haven’t you heard the rumours?” her sister Mary said. “A woman’s had a baby boy.” Rose shrugged. “It’s only gossip.” Their mother took a medallion out of a chest of drawers. Rose had seen it somewhere else in time. “This is my lucky charm,” she said. “It has been in the family for countless generations.” Rose looked at the handsome face on the pendant and her heart beat faster. “Who is he?” “You’ll find out one day,” the woman said. “I don’t understand.” “We have to go,” her sister Mary interrupted. As Rose put the lucky charm around her neck, it shone amidst her red hair. Looking at her reflection in the mirror by the door, she made sure her dress looked nice for the big occasion. “You must follow the family tradition,” the woman said as Rose stepped inside the coach.

THE QUEST

3 Rose wondered about her mother’s words, while the horses trotted down the road and the sun went up the sky. “Mother hopes that a man hides somewhere in the kingdom,” Mary said. Rose nodded. “That must be the family tradition.” “You could call it a quest.” As the green fields rushed by their coach windows, Rose dreamt of the man in the medallion. He had to be a prince living in another land in space and time, where her dreams would take her one day. “We are survivors,” she said. “You are right,” Mary said. “We don’t need any men helping in the fields.” After a long trip through the countryside, they arrived at the town’s suburbs where women gossiped in the streets and little girls played hopscotch on the pavement. The Piccadilly tower rose before them, its light shinning for miles around, as a crowd of women dressed in uniforms sang military songs. “It’s a beautiful day,” Mary said. “I hope everything is fine,” Rose said. “Don’t worry.” The coach stopped by the lake, where the swans gathered in the sun and the mosquitoes made their lives impossible. Mary made sure her dress didn’t have any wrinkles, as she got off the vehicle. “It’s a dream,” Rose said. The sisters feared the monsters roaming the Piccadilly gardens, while moving across the well-kept lawns full of flowers.

THE QUEST

4 “I can see the golden gate,” Mary said. “It’s beautiful.” Armed women marched constantly in front of its façade to the rhythm of piped music. Whatever lived in its midst had to experience luxury amidst hundreds of opulent rooms. The girls admired the figures sculpted at the sides as the guards saluted them. “We have been called,” Mary said. “Hurrah to the Gods,” the guards said. The girls didn’t know why they had to go inside the place. Mary led her sister towards one of the doors at the end of a path surrounded by flowers as footsteps disturbed the calm of the day. “I want to go home,” Rose said. “We must wait.” A creature with a big head appeared by their side, while an entourage of elderly women followed the monster. He looked at the girls for a few moments, as Mary stepped back but Rose froze. “Go away,” she said. Touching her softly with his tentacles, the creature showed her his teeth. I’m Orson,” he said. “Let me love you.” “No,” Rose said. “You mustn’t argue,” Orson said. Rose looked pale, while moving away from the monster. “Leave my sister alone,” Mary said. The creature touched the girl’s teats, groaning all the time.

THE QUEST

5 “Rose must look after the lights,” he said. Looking at the tower above them, Rose remembered the stories she had heard of women disappearing in its shadows. They had to be true. “We must proceed with the ceremony,” the creature said. “I’ll help my sister to find a man,” Mary said. The creature growled. “I’m the man here.” “We need a man to bear our children.” Mary said. “That’s my job.” The creature lifted Rose’s her skirt, showing her pants. “I’ll wait for you by the Piccadilly tower at midnight,” he said. “But you must go by yourself.” The old women cheered. “We want to see your prince.” “Shut up,” Rose said. “You have nice teats,” Orson said. Whilst the robot servants led the girls out of the temple of light, the lasers changed from red to green and women carrying offerings to the gods moved through the gates. “He won’t get away with it,” Mary said. They reached the river, where a few boats floated in the water and the power station let the smoke infect the city atmosphere. On stopping by a bridge, they looked at the flat land in front of them, where the birds flew to their nests. Rose held her sister’s hands. “You must go to the hall of mirrors,” Mary said. “I’m afraid,” Rose said.

THE QUEST

6 “Today is the summer solstice,” Mary said. “The mirrors will send you into another world before midnight.” Rose had heard of the legend told by the elders on rainy nights about a place full of buildings, a world reachable through the glass on special occasions. “The mirror’s surface changes the nature of the space-time continuum,” Mary said. Rose frowned. “I see.” “You must keep the pendant around your neck,” Mary said, while taking a dress out of her satchel. “I keep it for special occasions.” Rose admired the soft fabric and vibrant colours. “A princess once charmed her man by wearing a see-through dress,” Mary said. “Did she marry her prince?” Mary nodded. “Men lived all over the earth at that time.” “I can’t imagine,” Rose said. “You must go to the Battersea canal, built during the reign of Lizzie the third,” Mary said. “It’s haunted,” Rose said. “That is a rumour,” Mary said. “Touch your medallion if you’re in any trouble.” They hugged for the last time as tears stained their clothes. “I’ll find a man,” Rose said. “That’s good.” As Rose set off through the swampy land, a moderate breeze kept the worst of the mosquitoes at bay and the sky was a bright, crisp blue. Upstream of the dam the water formed a circular pool, where it overflowed the bank.

THE QUEST

7 On the far side of the stream, where the land rose and then tilted shallowly, bracken and holly bushes stood in a foot of water as a building appeared, its porch sinking back into the ground. After trekking through the water, she found herself at the building door. Rose felt nervous as the creature could be waiting beyond the dark corridors. “Is anyone there?” she asked. The echo of her voice answered her question. On entering a large room, she saw its wall, floor and ceiling covered with mirrors, her own reflection shining in the light of the sun streaming through the windows. Mary had mentioned a magic word and Rose said a few things but the mirror remained solid. On looking at the handsome stranger in the medallion, one word came to her mind. “Man,” she said, while touching the glass. Rose descended into a whirlpool of light, the world around her turning into nothingness, the stars shining in the universe. Then she awoke in a strange room, full of books and other things she had never seen. After putting the dress on, she admired her reflection in the mirror by the door as someone came in the room. Rose had seen men in the museums and holograms but had never met a real specimen in her life. The stranger wore different clothes and said strange words. It had to be that ancient language spoken in the country hundreds of years ago. Switching on a gadget she had in her brain, the stranger’s words appeared clearly in her mind. Orson had implanted gadgets in their subjects’ heads to help them with their lives. “Are you our new secretary?” the man asked.

THE QUEST

8 Rose’s internal dictionary explained: a secretary was someone who typed letters, chatted and drank lots of tea or coffee. The relevant skills appeared clearly in her mind, while she pressed one of the computer keys and a letter came into view. “Haven’t we met before?” he asked. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I’m Rose.” “I’m Mark,” he said. “I’m your boss.” She panicked. A boss had total control over her body in the world beyond the mirror. “I m a writer,” he explained. Her eyes widened. “Will I have your baby?” “I don’t think so.” Then she saw the book he had on his desk. “Interview with an alien,” she read aloud, proud at the remarkable progress she had made. “I know aliens,” she said. “You must be joking.” “I never joke.” “Can I have an interview with your aliens then?” “Today is the summer solstice,” she said. “We must go inside a mirror before midnight.” He knocked on the mirror with his fists but nothing happened. “You must let your hand slide through the glass,” she said. On touching it again, he felt his hand tingling as she finished typing one of the business letters. “Did the agency send you?” he asked.

THE QUEST

9 “No,” she said. “I escaped from Orson.” “Is he the alien?” She

nodded.

He

wanted

to

touch

her

teats,

while having a feeling of déjà vu. Bending down a little, his lips brushed against hers. She blushed. “Will you do it now?” “I don’t understand.” “Orson does it fast.” “I won’t rape you,” he said. He searched for a pen and paper in a draw. ‘Interview with an alien,’ he wrote on a notebook, wondering what his colleagues would make out of it. Rose smiled. “Orson will talk to you.” “Can’t we go to your world from here?” he pointed to the large mirror in front of them. She shook her head. “We have to go to the Piccadilly lights.” He put the papers in his bag. “Let’s go now then.” As they went out in the street, she looked at the roaring traffic with a mixture of amusement and curiosity. “Orson prefers horses,” she said. “I see.” Rose ogled the men and giggled a few times at the women’s fashions, while moving down Regent Street amongst the throngs of shoppers. Nobody in her world dressed like that.

THE QUEST

10 “Those are Orson’s headquarters,” she pointed at the traffic lights. “His throne is over there.” Mark saw the Eros statue. Could that be Orson? “All right,” he said. “Let’s have an interview with him.” Just then a group of Japanese tourists crossed the street, their cameras clicking as Rose looked at them open-mouthed. Mark smiled. “They are taking pictures.” “I don’t understand.” “Orson hasn’t taught you much.” “He touches me.” She looked for a reflecting surface while the tourists chatted in their language. “Hold my hand,” she whispered. She looked at a van’s mirror, ignoring the driver’s curses. “You shouldn’t do that,” Mark said. As the lights changed, she placed her hands in the mirror and they fell in a stream of colours, where the universe began a long time ago. After a few moments, they landed in front of a creature with big hypnotic eyes. “I’ve caught a man,” Rose said. The monster grimaced and said something unintelligible. Mary looked in admiration at the handsome stranger while the old women pulled his hair and touched his clothes. “He’s mine,” Rose said. “We want his babies,” they said.

THE QUEST

11 Mary noticed her sister’s bare neck. “Where’s your pendant?” she asked. Rose found herself falling into a whirlpool of light while Mark called her name forever.

The end

THE QUEST