One Message Remains
by Premee Mohamed
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted February 19, 2025
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In July 2021, Premee's novelette "The General's Turn" appeared in The Deadlands magazine. It was reprinted in her previous collection, No One Will Come Back For Us. Now it joins three other stories set within the same world, one where the Empire of Treotan is engaged in different wars over many years. Their adversaries differ from war to war, from Eudast, to Ustukh, to Avalaia. The title story is the longest, a novella, and it comes first, with the original story, the shortest one, coming last. I don't know for sure, but I assume they are in order of internal chronolgy.
The Treotan war against Eudast may be over, with the conquering nation occupying the new annexed territory. Major Lyell Tzajos did not fight in the war, his job comes later, surveying the battlefields and recovering bodies of the fallen. The intent is to return the bodies to their families for a formal burial, but what Treotan doesn't realize is the Eudast way is for the burial to be at the place of death, and to move the body later is sacrilege. Even worse is perusing the personal effects of the fallen, and in particular, reading anything the deceased had written. Major Tzajos learns the dangers too late. The spirits of the dead invade his thoughts, spilling over into his own speech, into the reports he is writing for his superiors, as well as in letters to his wife.
The second story, "The Weight of What is Hollow," is set in the Treotan capital city. Tyra is a sixteen-year-old girl who works with her aunt and uncle constructing gallows for executions. The gallows are made from bone, orginally animal bones, but now human bones. There is a process of flensing the flesh from the bones, then drying and treating them with various chemicals for preservation and strengthening. The latest execution did not go off as planned, with the trap door not releasing properly, the prisoner not dropping quickly enough to snap his neck for a quick death. The general overseeing the next execution chooses Tyra to construct the new gallows, even though she is still just an apprentice. Her family was from another territory, previously separate from Treotan, now occupied. She travels to get advice from her grandfather. The gallows she builds does the job to her satisfaction, but not that of the general.
"Forsaking All Others" concerns Rostyn, a deserter from the Treotan army, trying to get back to his home somewhere in Ustukh, another area previously conquered by Treotan. He is joined by another man, who he at first doesn't trust, thinking he may be leading him into a trap. Interspersed with their travels is a story being told by an old woman, who turns out to be Rostyn's grandmother, who also happens to be one of the leaders of the Ustukh resistance. As in the first story, there are spirits that aid those who believe in them, but are malevolent against the Treotan oppressors. Rostyn joins the resistance too. "The General's Turn" is back in the capital city. The war against Avalaia is probably still ongoing, but maybe winding down. A prisoner of war is being toyed with, set up to play a game on a stage constructed of giant gears and levers, similar to a clock. Other participants are actors, one of which portrays Death. Or is it possible they are the true spirit of Death? If Private Stremwynn can identify Death before the reveal he will be set free. The general orchestrating the game may have grown weary of it, scheming to send signals to Stremwynn to help him escape Death.
The recurring theme is the arrogance of Treotan, their belief they are superior to any other nation, theirs for the taking. They could be a stand-in for Russia, both post World War 2, and again today. Or any other colonizing nation throughout history. They either cannot understand why "lesser" peoples would balk at the social and technological advances Treotan offers, or else they don't care since they don't think of their adversaries as people, certainly not their equal. Whatever the case, Treotan's cruelty is the point. They must crush the spirit of their enemies regardless of the cost. Any resistance they encounter only reinforces the notion their adversaries don't deserve what is being offered. If Premee ever writes any more stories in this milieu I don't expect much would be different. Treotan is going to smash and grab whatever they want, but resistance will always be there, no matter the odds. Treotan might win every war, but they will never break the spirit, or the "spirits," of their foes. As with everything else I've read by Premee, this is highly recommended.
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