Free The Mutant World by Darryl T. Mallard Page A

tonight.” The woman then chuckled and said, “ This feast will not be as casual and fun as the one last night, but it is still a great honor. We Ramsys are even distantly related to the empress.”
    The poor aide knew that his stay on Bellasaria and even his career was over. He wasn’t going to be at that dinner.
    “Well…I…That is…Thank you very much, Lady Lana,” said the aide nervously, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to make the…”
    “Of course he’ll be there, Lady Ramsy,” laughed the president. “This man is one of my most able assistants. Isn’t that right Mr. Jeffries?”
    “Y…Yes, Lady President!”
    “Excellent!” said the noblewoman. “I am very pleased to hear this.”
    After about fifteen minutes of pleasantries, Lady Ramsy and the prime minister departed. A large breakfast had been prepared in the great hall for the American President and the other leaders and their kin and vassals. President Chambers thanked the two and promised to be along shortly and a servant was left at the end of the hall to escort them when they were ready.
    The president looked at Luther Jeffries for a moment and shook her head . “When in Rome, do as the Romans,” she muttered to herself and laughed. “Well,” she said, “it looks like you won’t be losing your job and going back home after all. I guess you made a good impression on them for us and with the right people. You may prove to be a great asset young man, but I wouldn’t go too native again if I were you.” Luther nodded in understanding. He had narrowly dodged the bullet this time. Then she looked at the rest. My whole first perception of these people has changed, she thought. In some ways they have changed from the mutants we dealt with a generation or two ago, but in others they’re just the same. They are an extremely attractive and intelligent people, but also emotional, hormonal, aggressive and EXTREMELY dangerous once roused to anger. But their technological achievements are astounding! I was wrong about the empress from everything from her figure to her temperament. President Chambers smiled and shook her head as she thought about it.
    I had seen Beral III as a sweet, cute and chubby girl that was more gentle and trusting than Queen Bellasaris was. Last night showed me otherwise. She is not a girl…at least not by our standards. She’s MUCH older than I am. ‘Chubby?’ thought the president shaking her head. I still can’t believe the body that was under those heavy robes she was wearing when we first met. She’s not fat at all, and she’s more than cute…she’s total “Man-Candy”! And gentle? That woman changed from sophisticated and congenial host to total violent bitch in the blink of an eye. Thank God the Akkadian President was there and calmed her down before someone was killed. And as far as trusting goes, I’m very afraid that someone VERY old and infinitely more dangerous is lurking in the shadows watching and advising the woman. Bellasaris is still alive, I’m sure of it! We are all on very shaky ground here, I can’t afford any screw-ups. The president then looked at one of her aides, the man whom she had to reprimand for his remarks earlier.
    That guy needs to go, anyone who refers to mutants as ‘Muties’ on a planet ruled by mutants is a moron and dangerous to our mission! I’ll find some pretense to keep him confined to this room and then sent home. How ironic, when I first got up this morning I was going to send that Jeffries kid packing because of his drunken and inappropriate behavior, which turns out was the appropriate behavior under the circumstances. But instead I find myself now needing to get rid of James, whom I believed was one of my most trusted and intelligent aides, because of his speciesist thinking. His thinking is of course the wrong kind of thinking, and on this planet thoughts are open books to some people.
     
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    Beral III squared off again with her opponents, both