Yu-jin peered over the wall. The Burbs lay spread out before her, broad patches of darkness broken by a few lamps casting yellow puddles of light on the main street, electric bulbs shining in a few windows and a shop or two. She looked to where Roy’s bar stood, where usually the brightly colored lights glowed like some festival from an old movie. Tonight she couldn’t find it.
Suddenly, without a sound, all those lights switched off at once. All that remained were a few scattered campfires. It was late, and besides Joe’s Chicken Shack and the fish fry, almost all the cooking fires had burned out. The Burbs plunged in darkness.
There were a few shouts. The breeze carried the murmur of surprised conversation to her ears.
The Doctor waited. Everyone waited.
At the edge of the light cast by the floodlights on the wall, a few faces emerged. They looked curiously up at The Doctor standing atop the parapet, inches from the edge.
One of the watchers ran back into the darkness, shouting something.
More faces emerged. Within a minute a crowd had gathered, pushing into the light, growing. Yu-jin felt the urge to back away out of the lamplight, but decided it was best to be seen with The Doctor. Hiding hadn’t solved anything anyway.
The Doctor didn’t move.
“What happened to the lights?” a woman shouted up at him.
The Doctor said nothing.
The crowd pushed forward into the open area between the two settlements, like moths attracted by the light. It grew and grew until Yu-jin thought the entire Burbs had gathered. Her heart beat fast.
“What happened to the lights?” the woman shouted up again. Her call was taken up by others, their voices rising to a sustained, demanding babble. It carried an edge of panic.
The Doctor snapped up a hand, palm out. The noise of the crowd cut off sharp. Yu-jin’s breath caught.
The silence drew out for several seconds.
“I turned your lights off,” The Doctor shouted. “You don’t deserve them.”
A confused murmur came from the crowd.
“Electricity is a sign of civilization, something for civilized people. When we founded this place forty years ago we maintained the last tidal generator anywhere. We assembled every wind turbine and photovoltaic cell we could scrounge. We defended it against the ghosts of the old armies, the militia claiming to represent the Fifth Republic, a division from General Paulson’s old place in Southaven, and yes, the remnants of the Chinese army too.”
Yu-jin gulped. Out of the corner of her eye he saw Marcus looking at her. The Doctor went on.
“We defeated them all and saved our electricity, saved civilization. Then came the bandits. We defeated them too. Over the years fewer and fewer came. The wildlands couldn’t support big groups anymore. Then came the Righteous Horde. Too big to survive off scavenging, they picked the land clean so that decent people couldn’t live on it. They came here, attracted by the light, attracted by the only civilization that could sustain them. We defeated them too.
“Every time someone has come to take our light they’ve come as conquerors. We’ve never started a war. Anyone who wants to enjoy civilization is welcome here if they come as a civilized person. Anyone who comes as a barbarian gets cast back into the darkness, like General Paulson’s men, like the Chinese army, like the Righteous Horde…
“…like you.”
The Doctor paused. The crowd shifted uncomfortably. No shouts came from it.
“Yes, you. You killed three of your neighbors, beat up dozens more, and for what? For having ancestors who came from the same country as that ship? Most of the people you attacked weren’t even Chinese, you barbarians, but even if they were that doesn’t matter. They didn’t start the old wars. They’re just trying to survive, like you.”
Yu-jin tensed as The Doctor pointed at her.
“For years you welcomed this scavenger into your town, thinking she was Korean. And the instant you find out her ancestors came from China three hundred years ago you turn on her? Barbarians. She’s done more for this community than any ten of you. We almost had a battle with the ship, one we would have lost, and she stepped up and at the risk of her life offered to help. For that, I am using my power as a citizen to elevate her to associate status. I’ll bring up her name for full citizenship at the next Citizens Council.”
The crowd shifted and murmured. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Marcus still staring at her.
“She has always been a peaceful resident of the Burbs, like the other Asians. And what did you do? Attack them, drive them out of their homes, take everything they had. You even killed Nguyen Phan, who put his life on the line for this community just like she did. You pissed on a graveyard and attacked the Muslims. The Muslims aren’t even Chinese, but there weren’t enough Asians to attack so you had to go for the next visible group, right? You even burned two Asian homes to the ground. You burned shelter! I thought only the Righteous Horde did that. Well, it looks like I was wrong. I thought the people of the Burbs were civilized folk. But you’re not, you’re barbarians. And if there’s one thing New City has always stood for, it’s ‘no shelter for barbarians,’ because they’re the ones who destroyed civilization. You want someone to Blame? Blame them. It wasn’t the Chinese or the rich people or the blacks or whoever else you want to Blame, it was the idiots who couldn’t tolerate anyone different and so they tore them apart.
“You want someone to Blame? Blame yourselves.”
Dissenting voices called out from the crowd. The Doctor held up his hand again and silenced them.
“I know what you’re thinking. ‘I didn’t burn any houses. I didn’t take anything.’ Maybe you didn’t. But except for a few noble exceptions you stood around and didn’t stop the barbarians. If you allow barbarism, you’re just as barbaric as they are. There’s nothing for you here. No shelter for barbarians.”
The Doctor paused. For a brief instant Yu-jin thought she saw hesitation flicker across his features, but an instant later they hardened again.
“Effective immediately, New City is cutting off all trade with the Burbs. No electricity, no food, no work from the machine shops. If there is another attack, the gates will not be opened for you. I’ll still give free medical treatment. I took an oath with the Red Cross, Crescent, and Star long before I founded New City. That oath will never be broken. As for everything else, you’re on your own.”
The Doctor hopped off the parapet and walked away. Marcus tried to get in front of him and say something but The Doctor shouldered past him. Yu-jin followed. To be out of his sight now would be a death sentence.
She glanced around and saw no one else following him. Yu-jin had assumed that Marcus and Clyde and the others would dog his footsteps, begging him to reconsider or giving their own opinions. It seemed to be his daily routine.
Not this time. Everyone looked scared of him. She felt scared of him too, but the option of finding someplace unprotected to sleep tonight was far scarier.
As they hurried up the stairs alone, Yu-jin summoned the courage to speak. “Um, how do you think the Burbs will react to that? They really look up to you. Even love you.”
The Doctor snorted. “They don’t love me, they need me. There’s a difference. And I don’t love them either. I’m not going to sit around pretending to love everybody like some hippie.”
“Hippie? What’s a hippie?” Yu-jin asked.
“A species of weakling. They’re extinct.”
They passed through the medical office and entered The Doctor’s private quarters. He let out a loud sigh and made a beeline for the sofa, and the whiskey bottle sitting on the table in front of it.
“It’s always a wise idea if you get woken up in the middle of the night to have a second nightcap,” he said. His poured one for himself and another for her. As he offered her the glass, Yu-jin could see his hand trembling.
She sat down on her chair and he slumped on the sofa. He took a gulp from his glass and she followed his lead with a polite si
p. A drink was the last thing she wanted right now, but he was right, it was probably the only thing that would get her to sleep tonight.
Yu-jin studied The Doctor over the rim of her glass. His whole body trembled and his eyes had a faraway look. Her father had got like that sometimes, when the worries of trying to take care of his family in the wildlands got to be too much. She used to cheer him up by asking about the past. Talking about the past always seemed to cheer old people up. It didn’t make sense, considering what had been lost, but instead of seeing it that way, they treasured the good things even though they were gone. Memories of the past became the crutch that helped them limp through the present.
“So what was your husband’s name?” she asked.
The Doctor smiled. The expression faded quickly. “Lucas. He was a doctor like me, a long time ago.”
The Doctor took another gulp of whiskey and gave her a wry smile. “You seem surprised I’m gay. Haven’t you heard the rumors?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t believe them.”
The Doctor gave her an odd look. “Why not?”
Yu-jin shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Because we’re all too effeminate and weak to take charge,” The Doctor said. He used his fingers to pull at the edges of his eyes, giving them a slant, “And Chinese are all evil plotters trying to destroy the world.”
Yu-jin tossed a pillow at him and it bounced off his head.
“Very funny,” she said.
The Doctor tidied his hair in with an exaggerated female voice said, “Oh, you’ve messed up my hairdo!”
Yu-jin laughed and rubbed her temples. “Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Yup, the leader of the civilized world is a bitter old queen,” the Doctor said proudly, putting his feet up on the table.
“You’re leader of only part of the civilized world,” Yu-jin corrected.
“True enough, but no talking about work. We’re relaxing.”
Yu-jin stared. This guy had just put an embargo on the Burbs and here he was talking about relaxing. He must have seen her reaction because he poured her some more whiskey and said,
“Learn to switch off. It’s the only way to stay sane.”
I’m not so sure you are.
Yu-jin looked him in the eye. It was a difficult thing to do.
“OK, let’s not talk about the impending disaster outside,” she said.
“Impending? I see you’re an optimist.”
Yu-jin laughed and shook her head. This guy was a piece of work.
“What’s it like being married?” she asked.
The Doctor cocked his head. “That was a random question. Thinking of getting hitched to that artist?”
Yu-jin looked at her glass. The Doctor went on.
“If you got the right person it’s amazing. All those cheesy songs are actually true.”
“Is that what it was like for you and Lucas?”
The Doctor twiddled his glass. “For a time. Before General Paulson decided to do some spring cleaning.”
Yu-jin’s jaw dropped. The Doctor looked at her.
“That bastard had a big moral crusade,” he went on. “The Chinese weren’t the only target. First he went after anyone from the old regime. General Whatshisname. Roberts, I think. Doesn’t matter. The previous regime were a bunch of bastards so nobody cared much, but purging them wasn’t enough to secure Paulson’s grip on power. So he went after you people. That proved more popular but he was still scared. Things were really falling apart and he knew the populace was ready to take it out on anyone. Soon enough, he went after the gays.”
“I’m sorry.”
The Doctor didn’t seem to have heard. He was staring into the golden liquid in his glass.
“We could have hid, just like we hid when you people were taken away. Oh, we protested, said all the right things when the guards weren’t around, but when the guns pointed in your direction we played the neutrality card. Then the guns pointed in our direction. Those who were out were rounded up first. They overlooked me and Lucas. We had never hid our relationship, but didn’t make a show of it either, and I think a lot of people decided to overlook it since we were doctors. But then the last of our community and a few brave straight friends decided to stage a protest. I didn’t want to go, but Lucas convinced me.”
“What happened then?”
The Doctor looked at her, an old pain burning in his eyes. “Use your imagination.”
Yu-jin rested a hand on his. She could feel him trembling.
“Maybe we could have stopped General Paulson in the early days,” he went on. “There were plenty of people against him, and he was taking them out group by group. We should have unified, but everyone was tired of coups and fighting. We convinced ourselves it would get better. If we had resisted together, right at the start, well…”
They lapsed into silence. The Doctor finished his drink in a single slug.
“Long day tomorrow, get some sleep,” he said, and staggered to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Burbs Council showed up the next morning, pounding on the gate at the crack of dawn. This time the guards saw fit to wake The Doctor up. He told them not to open the gate until the proper time. Let them wait. In the meantime he had an assistant bring him breakfast. He ate slowly. Once he finished he checked the time, briefly wondering how many functioning clocks there were in the world and why he hadn’t shifted to the basics of sunrise/sunset/season like everyone else, and saw that the gate would be opening.
Yu-jin was still fast asleep on his couch. The Doctor stared at her peaceful face for a moment, wondering how anyone with so many troubles could sleep so well on so little whiskey, squared his shoulders, and went out to meet the council.
They met in Clyde’s operations center. Luckily Clyde was off doing something, so at least he had one less problem to deal with at the moment.
The entire five-person council was there—Ahmed Abd-al-Karim, whom The Doctor had trained up as a nurse; Dante Williams and Stella Van Eyck, both market traders; and Carla Fuller, who managed several of the old shipping containers New City rented out to scavengers as shelter. The fifth person at the table made him do a double take. It was Susanna Waites, the slave from the Righteous Horde, and later Weissberg, who had forced his hand when Weissman had separated to establish his own settlement.
When did she get on the council?
They were all seated around Clyde’s table. The Doctor stood at the head of the table and did not sit down.
“Well?” he demanded.
Ahmed, who sat at the opposite end of the table and was council chairman, spoke first. “First we’d like to lodge a protest against the collective punishment you have inflicted on our people for the actions of a few.”
“And the inactions of the many. Protest noted and ignored. What else you got?”
A flicker of annoyance passed over Ahmed’s face. “We’d like to remind you that the Burbs are an essential part of New City’s economy. You need us for trade, for labor, and, as you saw with the attack from the Righteous Horde, for survival.”
“We would have beaten them without you.”
“Nonsense,” Ahmed scoffed. “If you hadn’t let us inside the gates you would have run out of fighters for the wall.”
“If I hadn’t let you people inside the gate I would have never been shot. Thanks for that.”
Ahmed had been instrumental in helping the protest that got noncitizens inside the gate for the first time. It had been an act of defiance The Doctor could never forgive.
And to think I once had a crush on you.
“We have a proposal for solving this problem,” Susanna said.
“Do you now?” The Doctor asked, cocking his head. “And when did you get on the council?”
“I was voted in a few days ago when Clive Tombaugh had to step down due to his health.”
The Doctor nodded. That old farm worker’s liver was failin
g him. Probably drank some tainted water. Yet another of the many cases his limited store of medicine couldn’t cure.
And what happens when my AIDS medication runs out? Will Radio Hope send me more? Now that we’ve fucked up their plans with the ship will they even want to?
The Doctor shook that thought away and focused on the problems of today.
“Well, congratulations I guess,” he said. “So what’s this plan of yours?”
“We will rebuild and repair all the damaged houses and stock them with enough provisions to last the winter,” Susanna said. “We’ll also pay compensation to the families of those killed and injured at a rate we can work out between us. Deputies Andrews and Edgerton are punishing those who use hate speech against Asians.”
“Where’s Annette?”
“She’s out in the wildlands looking for her son,” Carla Fuller said.
“Shit. They still haven’t found the kid?”
Great. The Burbs fall apart and the sheriff isn’t in town.
Ahmed shook his head. “She’s beside herself. We have the situation under control, though. The Burbs are calm this morning. We hanged two of the looters last night. That certainly helped.”
“You don’t have authority to execute criminals, only I do!”
Ahmed smiled. “You cut off relations, remember?”
The Doctor glared at him. Ahmed was unphased. “If you want sole authority for capital punishment, you can restart relations between our two settlements.”
Incredible. I educated you. Made you a citizen. Gave you a job. Made you someone important. And this is how you repay me? If you want to be running the Burbs so much I should relinquish your citizenship. Yeah, maybe I’ll bring that up at the next Citizens Council. Nah, they’ll just whine about it. Weaklings.
Susanna spoke before The Doctor could come up with a suitably savage reply. “Tensions have been high and we didn’t impose enough order when we should have. We acknowledge that. But we must move on. Surely you can see that we can’t live side by side and not interact. You cut off the electricity as a wakeup call, as a warning. Fine, the people have woken up and been warned. Let’s get back to business. We have more important problems.”
We Had Flags (Toxic World Book 3) Page 20
