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NEW BOSNIA
Part 1: By Appointment To Their Majesties
What Has Gone Before:
The superhuman former basketball player Scott Stiles, also known as the Super Savior, has led 144,000 religious refugees from his famine-stricken Earth to an alternate Earth whose leading power is Turkey. The Turks were ready for them. The refugees had aimed for Montana, but they inexplicably landed near New York City without their baggage. They were captured by the army of this universe's Sultan, Hope Springs VII.
A hermit wizard man-bee was thrown from yet a third universe into nothingness, then sucked along with the refugees. He used his wizard powers to resist capture, then saved Scott Stiles and flew away. The Sultan, along with the visiting Chancellor Wyatt Ferguson from yet a fourth universe, began planning against them.
Previous Episode: The Gates of New Bosnia (www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/newbosnia.txt)
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Scott Stiles woke up inside a glowing coffin-sized kind of cocoon. Had he been captured? He listened to find out. All he heard was distant airplane noises - and buzzing. Oh, right. He'd been pierced through with arrows, but then saved from capture. By a giant bee. The arrows were gone.
Scott said, "Uh, hello? I feel a lot better now. Can I come out?" No answer. Of course. Bees don't talk. So he continued, "Uh, if you don't mind, I'm coming out now." He tore the cocoon easily, and peeked out. Two man-sized bees were watching him.
"What? There's more than one of you?"
"There iszz now."
"Huh? You talk!?"
"Ya. I alwayszz do. Dat one juszzt doeszz not know your languagzz." He pointed at the other bee. "But we both szzpeak bee now."
"What do you mean, now?"
"We are new to be beeszz. He make me one. Szzomeone where he came from made him."
"Where'd he come from?"
"Beyond. Like me. Like you. But beyond even uszz."
"Huh... I know I'm from a long way away. Giant bees probably come from farther than that. What's that make you?"
"I come from Norway far. I fight for the Chanczzelor Wyatt from Quebec closzzer. I defend the Szzultan here."
"Wait a minute... The Sultan has his own bees?"
"No. I human. Then I am szztung. Now I am of hiszz hive." The bee pointed at the other bee, who was crouching silently. "And he iszz of yourszz."
"When you say you're of my hive, does that mean you work for me?"
"Yeszz. My maszzter szzave you. He know none higher than you."
"Okay. Where are we? And where are my people?"
The Turkish Embassy to the Free City of New York had moved into the midtown British Embassy building after King Charles pledged loyalty to the Sultan. Now that New York City had pledged too, the former Embassy was the Sultanate building. There the Sultan spoke in teleconference with his Grand Vizier. "You have tracked the giant bees?"
"Of course, Defender of the Peoples. They are inside a large abandoned building at the southern tip of New Bosnia, facing Staten Island. They regularly cross the waters in between to graze at a botanical garden."
"My apologies, valued Vizier. You know you may avoid using my honorifics, but I grant that permission again today. Has anyone interfered with the bees?"
"None whom we know, Custodian of the Holy Cities." The Sultan briefly sighed as the Grand Vizier continued. "Our army has followed your orders to not engage, and has set up a security cordon around their range. We know of none who crossed."
"Are they well-separated from the other new arrivals?"
"The captives are in the Meadow Stadium, Caesar of Rome. That is thirty kilometers distant from the bee nest."
"But it is near the boundary of New Bosnia with the True United States. Is it too near for security?"
"The garrison is strong and on highest alert, Khan of Khans. The commanders swear they can repel an armored division and still shoot down a giant bee, no matter how strong its shields."
"Let us wait upon that. When will the specialists arrive?"
"Tomorrow, Caliph-Commander of the Faithful. They have many theories and many plans to try, of course."
"Of course. But that's not a bad thing. What do you think of their chances?"
"O Shah of Shahs, our people domesticated bees before anyone else. We rule more bees than does any other land. We shall do it again."
Author's Notes:
Shit. Again.
I used to sit down on Friday night and write notes for stories. I intended to do that tonight, because I have three different stories I ought to be taking notes for: New Bosnia; a Legion of Net.Heroes jam; and a nice big sequence for Superhuman World 2011, starting the day after Britannia Beach (www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/britannia_beach.txt). Tonight I started with New Bosnia. But Rec.Arts.Comics.Collective has trained me to write actual episodes. This one is now big enough, eventful enough, and cliffhanger enough. So I might as well take credit for it right now. Now, now, now!
I hope to avoid the story trap where one side or the other says, Kill Them All. So far, so good.
I tried to actually think of where bees would go when fleeing New York City and looking for sustenance. Even a stellar energy bee likes pollen. Hence, a nest near Staten Island, which is the start of the nearest green belt leading out of the metro area. Earths may differ, but their terrain usually doesn't.
I actually researched how Turks might deal with invader bees. Web searches indicate Turks (well, Anatolians, the ancient residents of modern Turkey) actually did domesticate bees before practically anywhere else. And the Sultan really did have almost all of those outlandish titles, because he dominated a lot of other people who had cultural knowledge like how to dominate bees.
Gavrilo the Hermit Wizard Bee was created by Wil Alambre, and is used by permission. (Wil, how did you tolerate writing bee dialog all those monthszz?) All other characters and concepts in this fiction are copyright 2011 by Eiler Technical Enterprises.
(signed) Scott Eiler, 29 July 2011.
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