The Meat Tree Read Free Page B

Though I don’t understand it. A virgin’s not fertile, is she?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Only potentially. But it rings a bell. It’s something to do with matriarchy, that the king is at the mercy of female sexuality. When I was a teenager, I read quite a bit of Robert Graves.

    Apprentice
    Who?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Poet and mythologist. He wrote about the Goddess, who was deposed by patriarchal religion. Fascinating. This VR Field may be much earlier than I previously thought if it’s using an image of the Goddess right in the Dramatis Personae.

    Apprentice
    The what?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Surely you know… oh, never mind. The list of characters.

    Apprentice
    So I’m a goddess. All right!

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Not quite. You’re her representative.

    Apprentice
    But you could just as easily read this differently. That the king is radically divorced from his land. What’s the point of being king, if you can’t have the pleasure of taking off your shoes and feeling the lush grass under your feet?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    So, what to make of two bodies together, like an uncopulating but coupled animal? Your position looks quite bizarre. Does it feel sexual? The early myths rarely were. They’re much more about nature than sophisticated court mores. Nature’s rarely sexy. It’s only once you’ve moved one step away from the land that eroticism comes in. That’s Eliade, if I remember rightly. Ever heard of Eliade?

    Apprentice
    Who?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Never mind.

    Apprentice
    OK. I see. Yes, Math and I are stuck together, like man and wife, except that there’s no hanky panky. Strictly platonic. Though I’m the most ravishing woman of my generation. Must be quite tricky for the king. That’s all I have here. Except that I’m totally devoted to Math and feel that it’s nothing but an honour to dedicate my life to keeping him alive.

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Interesting. Because I wouldn’t have expected a…

    Apprentice
    Look, instead of showing off what you know, why don’t you find out about your own character? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…

    Inspector of Wrecks
    That’s what being footholder to the king does for you. Gives you a certain haughtiness! You’re beginning to play your part.

    Apprentice
    It’s as though I’m starting to hear Goewin’s tone of voice. You’d better hurry and catch up, I think this programme’s ready to roll.

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Right, back to basics. I’m Gwydion and the chap standing next to me is my brother Gilfaethwy. I don’t want to scare you, but I think my brother has a passion for you.

    Apprentice
    And should that worry me?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    It should if you’re wanting to stay a virgin. What he has in mind is not medieval courting or holding hands.

    Apprentice
    Seems to me that I’m all right as long as the king’s around. And he’ll only move if the kingdom’s at war.
    What are your qualities?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    I’m a magician and poet: the best storyteller in the world.

    Apprentice
    Sounds like a much more useful skill than being the king’s footholder.

    Inspector of Wrecks
    I wonder if this Gwydion is a shadow persona for the Mastermind of this whole VR. They often gave themselves a secondary character, so that they were both authors of the game and actors in them.

    Apprentice
    You mean like writing a story about themselves? And what’s Gwydion like?

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Very clever. An escape artist with words. His big skill is that he’s able to persuade other people to do things against their will. Oh, and he’s sneaky. The type of man who pays his way with other people’s suffering. And he’ll do anything for his brother.

    Apprentice
    Oh my God! No!

    Inspector of Wrecks
    What’s going on? Nona!

    Apprentice
    Get him off me! No!

    Inspector of Wrecks
    Shit! Something’s