Eighth Circle

The induction ceremony took place at the high table. Tom was acclaimed the 5122nd member of the Esteemed Order of Guardians and informed that 4987 members were still living. He gathered that membership guaranteed immortality and that, as Emperor of the Sixth Realm, he would rule for eternity under the guidance of the Supreme Council of Guardians.

He had never met such a bunch of two-faced, double-dealing, back-stabbing, perverted arseholes in all his life. Nothing in his former life had prepared him for them. They had spent the previous evening drooling over the prospect of his agonising death at the hands of a pack of homicidal women. Now they were lavishing praise on him and saying what a clever fellow he was.

The chancellor took him off for a friendly chat after the ceremony. They used the chancellor's private pod and went to a garden with orange trees. Tom had never seen so much luxury with so few people to enjoy it.

'We are about to enter the Forbidden Zone,' the chancellor declared.

'Forbidden to whom?' Tom asked.

'All except us.'

'You mean us guardians?'

'Precisely. You will have free access once your implant is fitted.'

Tom felt a tingle of alarm. 'My implant?'

'We all have implants, Professor. Yours will be put in place by one of our palace surgeons. Prior to that I shall introduce you to those of your fellow guardians who were not present at your induction.'

'These would be the more junior members?'

'Quite the contrary, Professor. They are our older and more senior members. As immortals, we cannot expect to dash around in our poor tired bodies forever. A time comes when we have to lead a more sedentary life. That does not, of course, mean we cannot participate as full members of our fellowship ...in mind if not in body.'

The chancellor pointed to an imposing building at the far end of the garden. Tom figured he was going to be taken to some sort of old-folks' home. It was the sort of place where elderly guardians might reside. He had visions of private chambers with views out over the coast.

They mounted a flight of marble steps and entered a huge hall. Tom was reminded of some of the natural history museums he had visited, The gigantic space was decorated with displays showing the Eighth Realm as it was before The Fall. He noted that elephants and giraffes were now extinct together with most other living things on Planet Earth.

He was examining a display of extinct butterflies when a door at the end of the hall opened and two young men appeared. They had green hair and were dressed in garments that looked like tracksuits.