‘I didn’t mean to suggest anything by that,’ she said gently. ‘I’m sure you have a great life here. I’m just talking hypothetically, that’s all.’
It was then that they heard footsteps clacking down the hallway outside, so Tesla scrambled quickly to his feet and hurried to the door. There he stood at attention, staring straight ahead with a stern expression on his face. Shortly after this the General walked into the room. On his face he wore a broad, congenial smile, but Margaret sensed an unmistakable chill lingering in those hypnotic eyes of his, and an icy shudder trickled down her spine as her eyes met his.
‘I trust you have enjoyed your breakfast, Dr Green?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I have,’ she replied with a cool smile. ‘Very nice, thank you.’
‘Excellent. Today I have a very rare luxury on my part: some free time. I will take you on a tour of our city, if you so wish?’
Margaret tacitly understood that this was not a question but an order, and she knew that she had best comply.
‘Of course. I’d be delighted to do some sightseeing and such around here.’
‘Then since you are finished breaking your fast, as the saying goes, let us depart at once.’
‘All right, I’m ready. Let’s go.’
They headed along the corridor, down the spiral staircase and out into the General’s exquisite garden. Margaret marvelled in awed silence at the vast and vibrant spectrum of colours on display in the foliage, the fruit and the birds.
‘How long did it take you to grow this garden?’ she asked as they strolled through it. ‘It really is a work of art.’
‘Thank you. I’m glad you appreciate its beauty. In answer to your question, it has taken me at least twenty years to get it to this point. I still have further plans for it, of course; it is a work in progress.’
They emerged out of the forest-like foliage and then headed out of the palace gates, which were guarded by a squadron of soldiers in armoured combat gear, and then began to stroll through the city.
After a few minutes the main road took them to the river that wound its way through T’Kalanjathu. The river’s gently sloped, grassy banks were populated by pockets of teenagers and adolescent. Some sat on their own, reading books or sketching pictures, while others appeared to be couples, talking and laughing hand-in-hand or simply embracing and enjoying the afternoon sunshine, while others were larger groups of friends, playing games and laughing. Margaret was quite surprised at the sight, and the General spotted this look as it distorted her features.
‘You did not imagine that I gave my soldiers time to relax, to simply enjoy life, did you?’ he asked with a wry smirk.
Margaret’s cheeks reddened and she stammered a bit when she responded.
‘I, er, well it’s not to say that, I, er … I just imagined that with the discipline needed for soldiers and such…’
The General chuckled.
‘Relax Dr Green, it was a jest, not an accusation. I do instil strict discipline in my troops, and I keep them very busy most of the time, but as you can see, they are allowed some leisure time in which they can do as they please. Come, let us walk along the river. It is tranquil and picturesque, is it not?’
Margaret stared for a while at the trees, huge old things that must have been there for hundreds of years. The sight of these towering behemoths, along with the soft green banks, and the lazily drifting water, and the rich azure sky above caused her to feel a strange sense of contentment. She couldn’t believe it, but she found herself wearing a smile of genuine wonder and feeling a true sense of serenity.
They walked along the river for a while, with the General pointing out features of the city and telling Margaret about them, or with her asking about various aspects of life for the soldiers and their lives in T’Kalanjathu. The conversation flowed relatively smoothly, but there was always a simmering undercurrent of tension that refused to depart.
Eventually they came to a place where the river flowed through a thick steel grid at the bottom of the enormous city wall. A system of gears and pulleys was connected to the grid, and Margaret stared at it for a while.
‘What’s all that machinery for?’ she asked.
‘That is a portcullis. We keep it shut most of the time, to keep anyone from sneaking into the city via the river. However, when boats want to come or go along the river under the wall, we can raise it and allow them passage through. And since we’re here,’ he said as he pointed up at the top of the wall, ‘have a look at that.’
Margaret followed the direction of his finger, and gasped as she saw a number of nude teenagers standing on the sloped roof of a tall tower, built on top of the battlements above the river. They must have been at least fifteen metres up from the river, and it looked as if they were preparing to jump off the roof into it.
‘What the heck are they doing up there?!’ she gasped. ‘One slip and they could die!’
‘They are jumping into the river outside the city walls.’
‘My God! What if they hit a rock or a submerged log or something?!’
‘The river is very deep in the centre, as it is navigable for large vessels, so there is no danger from rocks or other submerged objects. I not only permit them to engage in such activities, I encourage it. Anything that fosters bravery improves them as soldiers, you see. Observe, that one is about to make the leap.’
Margaret stared in mute horror as a slim teenage boy scrambled down the slope of the roof to the edge. With a shout he sprang off and his body disappeared temporarily behind the city wall, reappearing
