But the cameras – conjured up by magic – followed them wherever they conducted meetings, and gave the Mortals instantaneous access to the photogenic wizards. Amanda had long ago shed any inhibitions of walking in the sky; the wizards always ensured that she had firm grounding beneath her feet, even if she couldn’t see any floor. She no longer bothered to look down, except when she was resting and wanted to enjoy a bird’s-eye view of whatever portion of the continent she was in. She truly enjoyed the meetings that were previously held above the Grand Canyon, the rain forests of Central America, and the tundra of Canada’s north. The wizards had long been jaded by these sheer majestic landscapes, but to Amanda, it was like multiple hot air balloon excursions in selected spots – only better.
Ten a.m. now; the meeting was ready to start. Demus spoke out. “I, Demus…”
He paused, clearly in a more-than-usual jovial mood today. The other four waited patiently for his next words, amused.
“…to be at quorum today.”
The three other wizards laughed. Every wink, chuckle, and inflection was broadcast all over North America, live. Amanda always felt conscious of her moments on live television and Internet streaming, but had also gotten used to throw-away moments.
Amanda said, confused, “What’s so funny?” She also didn’t understand what Demus said. Something about quorum?
Demus flashed a mischievous expression at her. He started again, “I deem us to be in quorum today,” speaking the sentence naturally.
Oh. Amanda felt stupid. He was using a play on his own name. Clever. She had never thought of that before.
“There’s no such thing as quorum,” Amanda snapped. “All four wizards are needed to start the meeting.”
Demus laughed again. “I know, I was just teasing you.”
“Good one, Demus,” Regi said. Apparently struck by a clever idea, he held his hand up, too impatient to be recognized as the next speaker. “I’d like to propose a motion.”
The three other wizards snickered. Amanda got cross. She said, “We’re not yet at that stage of the agenda, Regi…”
He interrupted her, attempting to be silly. “Oh, oh, just wait.” He twirled his index finger, and then all of the participants at the meeting, including Amanda, were shaken about, as if there could possibly be an earthquake up in the wild blue yonder.
Amanda exhaled as the movement stopped jarring her about. Oh… the motion… Geez. What a dumb joke.
She was irate now. “Can we start the meeting, please?”
Demus basked in the attention as the cameras zoomed in on his attractive features. He then looked at the first item on the agenda and quickly fell solemn. “The first issue up for debate is: the hostage threat by Patriots Everywhere United.”
The assembly groaned.
Amanda read the briefing. “As you know, Patriots has forcibly kidnapped the head of the Partners with Liberators front, Leslie Bafia, and demanded the Liberators surrender and forsake any claim to governance over the countries of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and the others. They’re also asking for compensation of two billion dollars to be paid into a trust account, claiming that the Liberators have caused damage to enterprise and to property…”
“We’ve been adding property!” Indie spoke out, angry.
Amanda glanced, and then continued. “Jake Faulkner, the leader of Patriots, has indicated that Ms. Bafia will be executed by twelve noon, Pacific Time, tomorrow if their demands are not met. They further warn if there’s no response, and she is executed, they’ll continue to kidnap and kill more supporters of the Liberators.”
Her hands trembling, Amanda attempted to calm down. “Open the debate.”
The four wizards gazed at each other, all about five hundred feet apart. While they looked small to each other, the cameras everywhere ensured close-ups of each wizard, displaying them on huge screens strategically located for maximum visibility, rendering the physical distances irrelevant.
Indie began the debate. “My position is simple. Do not negotiate with terrorists.”
Immediately, the small gathering began murmuring audibly.
Demus said, “Indie’s right. You give them one concession, they want more. You give them another; they are rewarded for their demands. I say no.” He sat back, detaching himself.
Justica said, “I agree. However, we must consider the fate of Ms. Bafia. She has now found herself in the position where she’s risking her life for supporting us. How do we deal with this?”
Indie scoffed. “We didn’t ask for the Partners with Liberators.”
The group started talking over one another.
“That’s right!” said Demus. “How can it be our fault? We didn’t ask for volunteers. All we need is the goodwill of the Mortals. We’ve already made tremendous contributions to their society.”
“I hate to say this,” Regi added. “If Ms. Bafia dies, her blood will be spilled by the Patriots group. They alone must bear the responsibility.”
Justica gazed into the screens. “Remember, Mortals, we have no information where Ms. Bafia is detained. If we knew where she was, we could use our magic to free her. But we don’t know. Just wanted you to know that.” She wiped one eye.
“It seems to be all agreed,” Indie said. “We have consensus. We’re not to deal with murderous thugs who wish nothing better than to disrupt the progress of mankind.” There were cheers from the other three wizards, while Amanda sat stone-faced.
Demus glared at the camera, and giant images of his stern, impetuous face filled screens everywhere. “Mortals,” he commanded, “you have before you the despicable, cowardly actions of Patriots Everywhere United, who are holding a defenseless, helpless woman hostage. Jake Faulkner, wherever you are, you are not only holding Leslie Bafia hostage, but also her husband, her children, her friends, and her neighbors.” He nearly lost his cool. “You realize, Mr. Faulkner, this spineless action of yours doesn’t harm any single wizard, but rather, a member of your own race, which you falsely – very falsely – claim to protect.”
“Scumbag!” Regi snarled, unable to restrain himself.
Demus spoke again. “Do what you will. It serves no purpose, benefits no one, and is an act of blatant violation against dignity. Nothing will come of it. We will not yield.”
Justica weighed in. “As you know, we’ve said we’ll end our rule within three years from Liberation Day. I don’t understand what the problem is. In less than two years from now, you’ll be ‘free’ as you claim, but this honorable woman will be dead. Do you really want that?” She crossed her arms and muttered to herself, speaking in Spanish.
Eyes wide, Amanda knew that the next item on the agenda was about to commence. In her head, she said a prayer for Leslie Bafia.
“Next up on the agenda,” Amanda announced in a clear voice, “We have a formal debate proposition.”
“Oh, I like this!” Demus said, rubbing his hands.
Relieved to move on from the prospect of a political assassination, Amanda said, “There are two motions on the floor. They’ll be debated concurrently, as they’re very much intertwined.”
The wizards sat spellbound, eagerly anticipating the excitement.
“The wizards are to adopt the two motions, the first is ‘Be it resolved that an ideal society does not require any government,’ and second, ‘Be it resolved that no man shall be forced to pay for the burden of another man.’”
The wizard whooped at hearing of the selected topics.
Amanda added drily, “The second, of course, is code for ‘Should we pay any taxes?’ But it was important to frame it in a clear manner.” She paused. “All four Liberators will argue for the two motions. To oppose the two motions will be the Dean of the School of Political Science of my alma mater, Berkeley University, Professor Emily Knight.”
The four wizards applauded.
Amanda said, “Indie, make it so.”
Indie nodded.
Instantaneously, Professor Emily Knight app
eared, sitting on a chair. Dressed like a tenured academician, she sported curly red hair, speckled horn-rimmed glasses, a beige suit jacket, a simple white blouse, and plaid maroon-and-beige cotton pants. A slim belt adorned her waist. Her face betrayed her hundreds of hours lecturing in front of graduate school classrooms.
With one hand, she held papers in front of her, and with the other, she firmly grasped the seat of her chair. When she looked down, she gave a startled gasp and shrank back into her chair.
Amanda sympathized. “It does take getting used to, but I assure you, the wizards will never let you fall to Earth.”
Knight’s voice was hesitant. “How do I get up?”
Amanda explained, “Just stand up. I know it feels like you’re in space, but there’s an unseen floor right at your feet. You’ll just have to trust us.”
“I’ll just sit here, thank you.”
“Be my guest,” Amanda said. “The Liberators will defend the motions. Professor Knight will ask questions. Just so you know, she was my thesis supervisor at the University of Berkeley. Having said that, she’s extremely professional and will defend her ideals vigorously.” She and Professor Knight laughed.
“Amanda sure defended her thesis with impeccable logic. She should be debating, not me.”
Amanda brushed off the compliment. “Ready when you are.”
“I’ll start,” Demus offered. He gazed straight at the camera, adopting a lecturing mode. “As you know, Mortals, this was inevitable, and this was why the Liberators had to seize control. Governments everywhere were at their lowest popularity in decades. The economy was stagnant, millions were out of work. All nation-states faced bankruptcy and the rapid erosion of their authority. Government was necessary when mankind depended on each other for programs and services, but that time has passed. With the advent of technology and social media – and the incredible emergence of the bitcoin economy, we no longer need government.”
“We do need some government, Demus,” Indie intervened. The others expressed startled glances over her words. Nonetheless, she dispelled their briefly held concerns as she continued, “The noted philosopher Ayn Rand outlined three tasks of government, ‘the police, to protect men from criminals – the armed services, to protect men from foreign invaders, – the law courts, to settle disputes among men according to objective laws.’”
“And that’s it. No more!” Demus said.
“Right.”
“May I speak now?” the professor asked. Her thoughtful poise was captured by the giant screens.
“Sorry, professor. Go ahead,” Amanda said.
“Certainly. First of all, we should offer a prayer for Leslie Bafia.” She looked around as everyone gaped at her. “One minute of silence. Shall we?”
The four wizards and Amanda nodded. Amanda was sincerely glad for this moment, to be able to privately pay her respects. Closing her eyes, deep in thought, she prayed. Halfway, she cheated and stole a glance at the wizards. They were all looking ahead awkwardly, but none of them were praying. The professor was silently mumbling to herself, her head halfway down to her lap, her hands in the prayer position in front of her forehead.
The magic clock beeped after the sixty seconds were up.
“Thank you,” the professor said, snapping to attention. She composed herself, and then looked straight at Demus. “I’d like to begin by asking about you wizards.”
“Shoot,” Demus smiled.
“Magical creatures,” Knight said with a trace of wonder in her voice, “Something I dreamt of as a little girl. I disposed of my fantasies around the time I stopped playing with my Barbie dolls.”
Amanda grinned.
Knight continued, “And I certainly never, ever thought I’d be hovering one mile up in the sky. It’s both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.” She looked down, past her chair, with trepidation.
The wizards all laughed softly.
“So maybe it’s time to believe. To believe again, in magic.”
The wizards clapped lightly in appreciation.
“Well,” she glanced around, “I ramble. I just never thought I’d ever be here.” She sighed. “Back to the debate.” She stared at Demus. “Mr. Demus, sir…”
“It’s just Demus, ma’am.”
“Right. Demus, how many of you are there in this world?”
Demus’ expression betrayed astonishment at being asked such a direct question. Amanda had her pen ready in a jiffy to take notes.
“I never anticipated this question,” Demus said softly. “But to answer it, ma’am, there are 143,067 of us on Earth, as far as we know.”
Amanda started writing fast and furious.
“Yes,” the lady replied evenly, as if she didn’t care about the answer after all. “That means you wizards, worldwide, never had more than the population of humans in a small city.”
“Right.” Demus seemed to wonder where she was going with her logic.
“And that means you’ve never had to govern a large, diverse population.”
Demus appeared taken back. “That’s not true.”
Indie spoke out, “We wizards have members in every country and continent in this world!”
Knight held her finger out. “Let’s stick with the facts. You’ve just admitted that you’ve never had more than 150,000 wizards worldwide.”
Demus said argumentatively, “Let me tell you, we’ve had—” only to be interrupted by Amanda.
“Demus,” she said, “Professor Knight has the floor now. You can only answer her questions, not argue with her. You’ll get a chance to argue later.”
Grunting, the wizard in red reluctantly held his mouth firm.
The professor held up her hand. “You have magic, don’t you?”
Demus didn’t like her tone, or his role in passively agreeing to her obvious statements, but he had no choice. He chuckled maliciously. “Just as the sun rises, and as the sun sets, yes, we have magic.”
Professor Knight forgot about her fear of heights and started walking toward Demus, her hands behind her back. It appeared as if she was walking on air – which she was. She momentarily glimpsed the horizon below, and gasped, but controlled herself. Taking her time, she passed within ten feet of Demus, unable to resist savouring the opportunity that few on Earth had – to actually see a powerful wizard up close.
“Then,” Knight raised her arms, “You don’t need much help, do you?”
“We’re very independent, yes.”
The professor extended her arm, and released her fingers, clumsily pretending she was doing a magic trick. “Anything you need, you just go poof and you got it.”
“That’s right.” Demus dreaded to know where she was going with this.
“Then, you don’t need government so much, do you? Anyone who’s a wizard can get what he wants.”
Demus swiveled and sternly faced her. “Government is a relic in mankind’s history. Men have grown strong since then. They no longer need government. All we’re asking is for Mortals and wizards to join hand in hand and throw off the oppressive yoke of government.”
“My point is,” the professor said, “our histories are very different. Don’t you agree, Demus, that history shows that government was invented in order to meet human needs?”
Demus squirmed a little. “Yes.”
“The Romans, for example, created an elaborate system of government to administer their vast territory. They’re the ones who created the roads and aqueducts. They brought sanitation and created transportation hubs. They vastly improved the administration of justice, developing the Twelve Tables, which outlined the laws for property, religion and divorce, and listed punishments for everything from theft to black magic.”
Demus nodded, trying to hold himself back.
Now speaking as if she were addressing a college class, Knight said, “You’ll be very interested in this, Demus. The Romans even introduced a law called lex frumentaria, which ordered Rome’s government to supply its citizens with allotments of cheaply p
riced grain. This early form of welfare continued under a program known as alimenta to help feed, clothe, and educate orphans and poor children.”
That earned a retort from Demus, “And, in fact, several historians allege that these generous social programs led to Rome’s downfall.”
“That’s on ongoing debate, yes.”
“And also, the Roman Empire consisted of conquest and domination, did it not? Without this conquest, would these fundamental improvements have ever arrived in the barbarians’ lifetimes?” He sneered.
“Demus,” the professor said, with a hint of irritation in her voice, “I have the floor now. About 1350, the Black Death was a major bubonic plague that broke due to poor sanitary conditions. It was responsible for killing an estimated fifty percent of the population of Europe at the time. In the nineteenth century, governments everywhere began constructing extensive sewage systems and water treatment plants in order to provide fresh water and to combat disease. These developments alone, along with hospitals and public health programs, constituted the biggest advances to human health and life expectancy rates in history.”
Demus said nothing.
“Right, Demus?” Knight queried.
“That’s correct.”
“And these developments weren’t undertaken by corporations, were they? They were undertaken by government.”
“Like I said, that was a necessity back then. People – truly emancipated people – no longer need governments.”
“Emancipated?” Knight said, her eyes expressing astonishment. “You make it sound like we’re slaves. Don’t we in North America elect our own governments, Demus?”
Indie eagerly waded into the debate. “Professor Knight, you make some very good points, but I’m going to quote Emma Goldman here, ‘The keynote of government is injustice.’ There have been major scandals arising from the entitlement of government in its use of force over the ordinary citizen.”
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