“Impossible to know, Senator, but I am sure I would rather not know,” Noatla replied.
Swanson chuckled in agreement, and then the lines of his face grew more rigid and stern. All the color and laughter were drained out in less than a second.
“In regards to Reevas, there is something I want to talk to you about.”
“Oh?”
“You understand that what I am about to tell you should be kept in the strictest of confidence, of course?”
“Oh yes, of course, Senator Swanson, I will keep it to myself.”
“I have been talking amongst some of the other more senior Senators about her and well and um... well... we think that perhaps it is time to consider her expulsion from the Senate. Her behavior this morning with Dr. Solidsworth was atrocious, and I have already spoken to Senator Green about his behavior as well.”
“There is no doubt that she is quite disruptive to our proceedings but expulsion? Has there ever been an expulsion from this Senate?”
“We had the AI check the archives. No, there hasn’t been. But as you know already, our Senate constitution is based on the old model from the ancient United States Congress, and there had been some expulsions during their history, mostly surrounding the ancient American Civil war. But there were also quite a number of them toward the beginning of migration when corruption was at its highest. So, it seems that we do have the legal authority to do so but... well, considering your extensive knowledge of ancient history and your years of teaching in the scholar school, I wanted your opinion before we proceed any further.”
Noatla, the daughter of a former CEO of some company that had made small, colored, interlocking bricks in kits for children, and had made a ridiculous fortune doing so, had granted her some of the finest education available. Through her education, she had obtained seven different Ph.D.s over the years in Ancient History, Sociology, Psychology, Archeology, Ancient Law, Theology, and Philosophy. It was quite likely that Noatla was the most educated person alive, aside from Dr. Solidsworth. Every Upper had their vice. With Reevas it was sex, but Noatla craved books.
“So you want to know if I feel it is appropriate to expel Tera Reevas?”
“Well, given your extensive set of knowledge, yes.”
Noatla thought about Swanson’s other motivations. It seemed odd that he would specifically ask her such a question. Noatla had certainly noticed the way he looked at her and the way he regarded her. He didn’t undress her with his eyes, but he always wore his heart on his sleeve, and the surface of his mind suggested that he was quite taken with her. However, the surface of his mind also suggested genuine respect for her knowledge at that moment.
“What charges will you bring against her?”
“Oh... corruption charges, mostly. We have a number of individuals who are willing to testify that she used her position of power to blackmail them... in order to...”
“Exploit them in a sexual manner?”
It was clear without reviewing the surface of his mind that the topic of sex made Swanson quite uncomfortable around Noatla; he tripped over his words, letting them spill out of his mouth like a drunk drooling when he has had too much to drink.
“Ah... yes... that um... is the brunt of... our case, yes.”
“I see.”
He rallied his confidence and pushed his words forward out of his mouth, this time in a much more articulate manner. Noatla watched this process as she skimmed his mind. Now that the topic of sex had passed, he was able to return to the former command of his speech and his thoughts. Noatla found his discomfort somehow charming. She bit down on her tongue to keep herself from chuckling. The man, if nothing else, deserved her respect.
“I also wanted your opinion on the mood of the Senate. I know we are all a bit distracted right now with what Major Daniels just told us, but after the threat has passed, do you think we would have enough votes to remove her?”
She considered. “Hmmm. Difficult to say. You know as well as I do that she does have several allies in the Senate that wouldn’t vote against her for any reason. But... I do think the consensus on her behavior is pretty clear. What is the voting requirement in our city Constitution for the explosion of a Senator?”
“We must have a two-thirds majority.”
Noatla calculated the number in her head. “So we need 11 votes, then?”
“Yes, and we know that including Senator Reevas, we can definitely count on five votes in favor of preserving her position. That means if even a single Senator sides with her unexpectedly, she would keep her position. Which leads me to my next question, do we have your support in her removal?”
Noatla weighed this carefully. There were a lot of implications to Reevas’s removal. If they brought corruption charges, she would also likely need to be tried by the Supreme Justices, which in turn meant she might become a Runner.
“Before I could even begin to answer such a question, we need to think of the greater implications here. You and the other senior Senators should ask yourself, considering elections are just around the corner, are you willing to bring criminal corruption charges against Tera Reevas and force her into the Runnercore? Do you think the things she has done are really bad enough to sentence her to that? You also have to consider that Tera Reevas is an Upper and that means criminal charges will very likely anger some of the other Uppers, especially in regards to her family, who wield considerable power in Manhatsten. Many of us who support her removal and criminal charges brought against her, may not be reelected or worse. There would be a great deal of danger to the scholar school if I ended up on the wrong side of this.”
“Hmmm,” Noatla could see that Senator Swanson was thinking hard. “I had not considered the possible blowback from the electorate, nor toward the scholar school.”
Noatla skimmed his mind’s surface. He had not considered the wider political and social implications of removing Reevas. His mind’s focus was justice, but there was certainly something he was thinking of that he was not sharing with her. If Reevas was certainly so bad, and it wasn’t as if she had become worse lately, she had always been a troublesome Senator, why now? Why not after the notorious incident with the boy and his tongue? She wondered only for the briefest moment if Reevas had crossed some personal line with Swanson and the other Senior Senators.
“Thank you, Senator Lightfoot. There are some elements here that need further consideration. No doubt other members of the Senate will weigh these facts in their decision to vote to remove Reevas. There is also no doubt that a failed removal attempt could be potentially dangerous for most of us.”
“There is another option, Senator Swanson. What if we simply made light through various other channels of some of her abuses during the next election cycle, we could force her out of office without angering the other Uppers and without condemning her to the Runnercore. The question is, do you think what she had done requires punishment?”
Swanson hesitated notably, and the surface of his mind flickered and spun with intense emotion, an indication to Noatla that something had indeed happened to anger Swanson.
“Well... it’s hard to say, Noatla, you have heard the rumors just as I have, but it is hard to know what is true and what is an exaggeration.”
Noatla knew that most of the rumors were true. Seeing into Tera Reevas’s mind had shown her that she was a lost soul. If Reevas had been born a Lower, she would already be a Runner by now. It was only her family’s wealth and power that had protected her when her former husband had met with his unfortunate end. She still couldn’t quite understand how they had converted that incident into votes among the Mids. Even with all of her education and her abilities to skim minds, she still had a hard time mapping people’s behavior during some of the election cycles. The people had no common interest with the Reevas family, yet the votes came. Somehow they thought that Tera was a great leader, despite all the evidence otherwise.
“That’s true. It is always difficult to separate fact from rumor,” she repl
ied.
“Thank you, Noatla, your counsel, and wisdom are always appreciated. I sincerely hope you run for reelection next year, your insight on a great number of issues have been useful in the Senate and I truly believe that you are exactly the kind of person that should be helping to govern our fair city.”
“Why thank you, Senator Swanson, your leadership is always appreciated.”
There was a slight color that surfaced in Noatla’s cheek from Swanson’s kind words, but because of her pale skin and Northern European ancestry, it made Noatla appear as if her entire face had gone flush. In the surface of his mind, Noatla felt Swanson turn his attention to her color.
“Uh... also... there is one more thing.”
“What is it, Senator Swanson?” She knew exactly what was coming.
“I was wondering if perhaps you would like to have dinner with me this evening. I mean... it’s getting late already, and I am sure you are quite hungry...”
Swanson let his words hang in the air.
Noatla did genuinely like Senator Albert Swanson, and his mind revealed that he had a good heart and good intentions, but Noatla simply wasn’t interested in him in that way. He wasn’t her type. Major Daniels on the other hand... if he had been asking...
“That is a very kind offer Albert, but I think you should realize just how much work is needed to be done to secure the library and archives, especially with the recent archeological data that we gathered last year. There is just so much to do, and now just really isn’t the time. Most of the scholar school is going to be up all night the next several nights ensuring our work is safe in the event of an attack from another city.”
“You’re right, of course, Noatla. Perhaps another time.”
Swanson looked crestfallen. He tried to keep a warm smile on his face, but it almost looked someone had taken hooks and begun to pull the smile down.
“Perhaps we will soon Albert, but I really must get going.”
“Yes, of course, you have been generous with your time already. Please see to your duties, and I will see to mine.”
Swanson turned toward the lift and headed to the Uppers. Noatla watched him go and felt just a tinge of pity for him. She also knew that even if she were interested, a Protestant minister would never be all right with a woman who was the Matron of the Order of the Eye, and one look at some of the Buddha forms in her home would probably make Swanson rather uncomfortable.
Neither Swanson nor the rest of the Senate knew of Noatla’s other duties. The hidden nature of the Order of the Eye was not by accident.
She waited until Swanson was long gone before she headed to the lift herself. She needed to move quickly, the day was already growing long, and she would have to assemble her sisters.
There was a sense of urgency in Noatla’s steps. She placed each foot so hard and quick that her gait became almost robotic in its efficiency. The sounds of her feet colliding with the floor sent echoes through the empty corridor and became so loud in their reverberation that she turned to look back to ensure that no one was following.
Noatla headed to her private garden on the balcony of her quarters. It was there she had created a sacred space for her work as the Matron. There she had spent many hours meditating. Transmitting from mind to mind required a great deal of concentration and effort, and she knew by the time the sun peeked its morning gaze through the orange glow of the EnViro shield, she would be utterly exhausted.
She knew she would have to delegate her duties at the scholar school, but she had no problem with doing so. Most of her staff were highly competent.
2.
Noatla exited the lift and headed for the sky bridge on the 41st floor. She had 9 bridges to cross to get to her building, where she lived on the 56th floor. It was quite a long walk, but the clear glass windows of the sky bridges provided her with an excellent view from which to survey the city. There were many times when she had sat up in a sky bridge for hours and reflected on her life. She was an old woman mentally, but because of the alcoves did not look a day over forty-five. Her blue eyes and blonde hair were well-intact for a woman over 900 years of age.
She stopped and stared over the fading glimmers of sunshine that bounced off the EnViro Shield and then fractured and spread the light across the city. Sunsets under the shield were beautiful. They created a kaleidoscope of wild color transmitting through the dome as if the sun was whispering the secrets of its beauty and power to the shield and the shield was a giggling child letting tiny hints of that secret escape from its lips.
For a long time, Noatla’s hopes had laid with the architects. Her votes were, and always would be, with Dr. Solidsworth. She believed the man was capable of greatness and held unique knowledge that no one else had access to. But now, as she was getting older, her hope was simply to find a way to break the cycle of migration and restore the earth. She wasn’t so sure that the architect’s dream of traveling to other stars was the answer but recognized that she didn’t have any answers herself.
She passed several other Uppers on her walk down the corridors and the sky bridges. She was near her quarters now. As she passed, most Uppers did not offer greeting, instead, they focused on their tablets or other forms of entertainment. If she were lucky, the would occasionally cast a nod or a slight smile. Conversation was mostly out of the question. Uppers were atomistic. They cared nothing for each other, except maybe for their families. They were the ultimate pinnacle of privilege.
Noatla arrived at her quarters. Even after all this time, she still felt uncomfortable with the vast space afforded to her. But as far as Uppers went, her quarters were small. She preferred it that way. Many Uppers had entire floors of skyscrapers for apartments but her corner penthouse was more than enough for her. She kicked off her shoes and felt the organic grass beneath her feet. It poked up between her toes and she closed her eyes, feeling the bare earth. Only her living room was bare earth, most of the apartment was cool black and white tile. She walked over to the food dispenser and ordered a glass of wine. Wine helped to relax the mind, and a single glass was enough to relax her while keeping her mind clear enough for the task of multiple mental transmissions. She gulped the wine down in one sip.
She would call the others to meet in the old Lower Library archives as soon as it was possible. Then as they convened, she and her sisters would call the young girl, Alexa, together. There was no choice but to call on Alexa. Reevas simply wouldn’t do. They weren’t even sure what the Senator was capable of. Noatla would need to meet with Mimi before her sisters convened. Perhaps Mimi had discovered Alexa’s specialty.
Noatla sat down on her favorite red velvet cushion. She lit incense and began breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. Quickly, she calmed her mind and focused. One by one, she called her sisters. They would meet as soon as possible. She started with the traditional summons. “The Order of the Eye is Open...”
Chapter 13
Combat Training
“You’re certain, Mimi?” asked Noatla.
They sat in the Lower Library. A few other sisters were present but occupied with training. Pairs sat across from each other with eyes closed, concentrating on various mental techniques for developing their skillsets. In the dimly lit room, Mimi and Noatla sat across a table from one another, sipping tea.
“Well, she’s certain at least. She only seems to think about two things. Why she’s down in the docks and Runner 17. In her mind, she keeps thinking about how she saw herself down there in a dream or vision or something, and she doesn’t know why. That’s why she picked the job.”
Noatla’s eyes were wide. “A specialty of seeing other time. Can you imagine, Mimi?”
Mimi shrugged. “Assuming she isn’t delusional or something.”
Noatla smiled. “Of course. But did she have any other apparent specialties?”
Mimi shook her head. “Nope. Unless you count thinking like a horny teenager.”
They both laughed at that.
Noatla said, “It
’s easy for the old to forget what it’s like to be young. You will have to be patient with your new sister. The two of you are quite different.”
“So, you decided, then?”
“Yes, we will welcome her, and if she accepts, she will become our sister. She’s just so young. I don’t think we have ever taken a sister less than forty before and she’s barely half that.”
“There might be someone else out there, or we could wait?” Mimi shifted in her chair.
Noatla shook her head. “No. If things were different, we would wait a little while and observe her more. But with the recent news of the fall of Langeles, we are better strong and balanced. If the Children of Gaia did destroy that city, we will need the Order to be whole. Besides, in this case, I had the chance to teach her as one of my students. She is a sweet girl, a trusting girl.”
“You’re right; we are different.” Mimi cracked a smile.
Serah, who was sitting in the corner with Patricia practicing soothing techniques, stood and walked toward Noatla and Mimi.
“Mimi, are you ready to go?”
Noatla frowned. “I’m still not sure I entirely approve of this kind of combat training.”
Serah grinned, the Cheshire cat. “That’s probably why Mimi’s doing it.”
Noatla looked at Mimi and Mimi shrugged and stood. “Probably. Anything else, Noatla?”
Noatla stood with her. “No, I think that’s all. But Mimi?”
“Ya?”
“Thanks for your help with Alexa.”
Mimi shrugged and started to walk toward the exit.
Serah said, “Come on, Shannon’s due to wake up sometime in the next hour.
“Let’s stop by Nowhere.”
“Your ritual?”
“I’d hardly call giving Shannon flowers a ritual.”
Serah smiled. “You know, you two are kind of an inspiration for me. It’s nice to know there’s at least one sweet and loving couple out there.”
Mimi said, “What about Fatima and her husband? They’ve been married for three centuries.”
Upon Stilted Cities - The Winds of Change Page 21
