The Brothel Creeper: Stories of Sexual and Spiritual Tension by Rhys Hughes Page A

fact: the whole world was a living entity and we were the cells that gave it life, working together, discarding the demands of the ego for the greater good. I despised myself for not contributing, for acting as if nothing had altered since the days of Colonel Bones. I still awaited a knock on the door but this time I was dismayed when it did not come. I felt left out and forgotten and my jealousy was only amplified by the fact that I was entirely responsible for this situation.
    At last contact was established with the outer world. An envelope was pushed under my door. I snatched it up and read the message inside. Moona wanted to see me. I washed and shaved and wore my cleanest clothes and made my way to the address she had given. Festivals were in progress everywhere. I was smothered with kisses and adorned with flowers. My route took me to the edge of town, the old industrial zone. The warehouse where the resistance had conducted its plotting had been converted into a palace. An immense sunburst flag flapped lazily above the ramshackle roof.
    Guards marched me to a room at the rear of the building. Moona sat behind a desk littered with charts. Among the flowers that filled the room I noted a telescope on a tripod angled at a high open skylight. She had been an astronomy student at the university and I assumed she planned to recommence her studies. The truth was less innocent and I had a vague feeling something was wrong even before she glanced at me.
    “You are our new leader,” I said simply.
    “Don’t congratulate me,” she replied harshly, rising from her chair and clutching one of the charts. “We are living in dark times, darker than any that have gone before. We have been so ignorant.”
    “Why did you send for me?” I asked.
    “I need your advice. As you should be aware, the entire world is a single organism, but it is not the only planet in the solar system. There are others. Take a look at this.”
    She offered the chart to me and I approached and studied it. “It doesn’t seem very significant.”
    She snorted. “How can you say that? These are the current positions of all the planets in our solar system. As you can see, our world is alone on one side of the sun, the others are grouped on the far side.”
    “I still don’t follow you,” I admitted.
    “What are they doing there? All together, huddled like conspirators. Gossiping about our own world, plotting and scheming against it, leaving us out.”
    “This is a joke,” I responded.
    She slammed her fist down on the table. “How dare you doubt my word? Our civilisation is in danger from vast forces. They are whispering behind the sun.”
    I glanced away from the chart and shook my head. “Earth might be a living organism but all those other planets are dead worlds. And planets don’t conspire against each other, the concept is ridiculous. Power has deformed your mind. Come home with me Moona.”
    She sneered. “Measures must be taken to protect ourselves. The first step is to declare Martial Law.”
    I felt at last I might achieve something worthwhile. “Don’t do it!”
    Her sneer was replaced by a smile. “Thank you. That’s all I needed you for. I always knew you were weak and I intended to do the opposite of whatever you advised. Tonight the laws are going to be changed, but the danger we face is greater than anything Colonel Bones had to deal with, so we must be even stricter. We will start by outlawing public gatherings of one or more .”
    I blinked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
    She moved away and approached the telescope, standing immobile and staring up at the skylight, resting one hand on the apparatus, her muscles tense as if she was preparing to make a sudden leap through the roof into the sky. I waited for her to move or speak but her position and attitude did not change. I turned on my heel and walked briskly out of the palace. I had no more desire to see her again. As evening drew on, the first stars appeared above me