by Rick Field
She locked the room with a simple locking spell rather than a barrier seal before sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs overlooking a window that offered a majestic view of the city. Rather than simply high up, this window had been set with a view of the skyline of the impressive city, and the Pillar watched the sunset.
The receptionist knocked politely to announce the arrival of her meal, startling Vera out of her thoughts. Had she really been sitting there long enough for a full meal to be prepared? Today must have exhausted her more than she had thought.
She accepted the trolley gratefully, and requested that she not be disturbed. The young receptionist acknowledged gracefully, and the Pillar sealed her room. Throwing back her cowl, Liane enjoyed the simple yet filling meal before taking a long, hot shower in her suite's bathroom. Sometimes, hot water really was better than using a sonic stall.
After a quick look through Epter's eyes, she determined that Mariam was retiring as well. Unfortunately, she wasn't muttering to herself. Liane retired early, hoping that sleep would bring enlightenment.
The events of the day and the revelation that one of her oldest and dearest friends was actually subverting Kirian government kept her awake despite her best intentions. Her thoughts played the conversation over and over, hoping to gain a different outcome yet always falling to the same result. Her friend was attempting to bring down the Kirian Government and replace it with a system that basically amounted to a popularity contest.
She would have to reprimand and arrest Mariam.
And yet, Mariam was her friend, and she did not want to destroy her life. Liane's duty and loyalty compelled her to do so; her oaths and vows would enforce it. And yet she didn't want to. What was she to do? How could she both do her duty and save her friend? It was an impossible conflict, one that Liane cursed herself for putting herself into. She should have kept her mouth shut, should never have asked for this assignment. One of the other Pillars should have come. Her friend would have been arrested and brought before the Adjudicators.
It certainly would have been easier for herself, she thought. But was it any different if she brought her friend in, or a different Pillar did so? It sounded rather hypocritical, now that she thought about it. The end result was the same in either case.
She sighed and rolled over yet again. Sleep refused to come, her mind and heart torn between loyalty and friendship. Tomorrow, she would have to talk to Mariam about the future, rather than about politics. She would have to tell her friend that she would have to arrest her if she insisted upon continuing to spread her subversive ideas.
Liane grunted angrily. Mariam was headstrong, she always had been. Why hadn't she kept silent? If she had just kept her mouth shut, or talked about her popularity contest political system only to close friends and relatives, none of this would have happened. Kiria wasn't an evil Empire, one could have all the thoughts and ideas that one wanted, but one simply shouldn't attempt to undermine the Emperor in the public way Mariam had done.
There was a very thick black line between simply holding a different conviction and actually trying to change the mind of other Nobles in an attempt to change the government. It simply wasn't done. That was... revolution. It meant upheaval. Chaos.
Why Mariam had chosen to break that unwritten rule, Liane didn't know. Perhaps that was the major reason why she couldn't sleep now, the thought of why Mariam had done as she had, rolling through the Pillar's mind. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to accept if she understood Mariam's reasons. Or maybe it would just make things even harder.
When she finally did fall into sleep, her rest was troubled and she awoke the next morning feeling almost as weary as when she had gone to bed. A hot shower had her feeling almost human, and a few spells took care of her clothes. After unsealing her room, and bringing the trolley full of dirty dishes back to the receptionist, she ordered some light breakfast for herself in the meditation room.
She was left to finish her breakfast in peace, watching over the New York vista portrayed by the remote-viewing windows. She returned the trolley with dirty dishes to the receptionist once more.
“Has the Consul awoken yet, My Lady?” the Pillar asked of the younger woman.
“The Consul took breakfast in the dining area, My Lady. I believe she is in her study now,” the receptionist replied. Vera nodded, turned on her heel, and walked calmly to the Consul's study, her staff tapping the plush carpet without sound.
She knocked and received an almost immediate answer. The Pillar walked in, put up a privacy barrier seal, and threw her cowl back. Once more she sat in the visitor's seat, her staff once more remaining obediently upright by itself right next to her chair.
“Do you wish to continue our conversation, My Lady?” Mariam asked.
Liane sighed. “Unfortunately, I cannot, My Lady,” she replied as calmly as she could. “As much as I would love to continue the debate on the relative merits of Aristocratic Dictatorship versus Democratic Popularity Contest, my time here is limited. What I have heard so far has worried me deeply.”
“So you wish to arrest me after all, despite your promise yesterday,” Mariam said softly, her voice carefully neutral.
“What I wish is for you to tell me that you will no longer attempt to convince others of your political views,” Liane replied, just as calmly. “Kiria is tolerant. You can hold any views or ideas that you wish. You may even debate and discuss them openly. What you cannot do is attempt to destabilize the government by inciting revolution.”
Mariam remained quiet, and Liane gave her friend time to think.
When she finally spoke, it was not with the statement that Liane had hoped to hear. “I fail to see how I am inciting revolution, My Lady.”
“You contacted various powerful members in the Kirian Council, and attempted to convince them to hold elections. I fail to see how that could not be construed as inciting revolution,” Liane said, slowly standing up in an effort to hide her displeasure. She stepped deliberately to the window.
“I was merely debating and discussing my views openly,” Mariam replied with a tiny smile. “I am unaware that such debate is now considered to be the precursor to revolution.”
“It is if you ask various council members whether they'd like to sponsor a bill for democratic elections,” the Pillar said, scoffing at the very notion. “As if letting a Commoner vote would be a good idea.”
“Oh? And why is that?” the Consul asked.
Liane cursed her big mouth, drawing her yet again into the debate she was hoping to avoid. “Ask a Commoner what he wants, and he will always vote for the one who promises to lower taxes. A Commoner is incapable of seeing the picture beyond his own purse, unable to see that his taxes pay for the roads, the infrastructure of water and sewage, the protection of our country, and the running of the government. It's the same reason why a Commoner should never be in a position of power.”
“And once more you dismiss the Commoners as being second-rank citizens,” Mariam replied levelly.
“I do not wish to hold this debate. My hands are tied. You have been found to incite revolution. I must bring you with me to Kiria. I spent many hours last night, attempting to find a way around my oaths; I have found nothing. I have discovered sufficient evidence. I have no other choice.”
Mariam looked slightly stunned. “It saddens me to hear that. I thought you said you would not bring me in?”
“Had you told me that you would keep yourself out of trouble, I could have done so. I would have been able to file my report with the conclusion that it was a lapse of judgment on your part and that the situation would never repeat itself. You would be observed for six months to a year, and you would be free to go about your life. Instead, I have found that you are stubborn in your conviction and I now have no choice but to bring you with me to stand before the Adjudicators.”
Suddenly, the view from the windows vanished, replacing the New York overview with cold, hard rock. A deep red light spread from the Consul's desk. �
�And did you think I would come quietly, Lady Pillar? You seem to forget that I was the one who taught you your first runes, and that you have been coming to me for advice on magic for as long as I remember.”
Abruptly, the staff launched itself from its spot, snapping into Liane's hand. The tip struck the ground, resounding like the temple bell. The deep, clear note rebounded off the walls, breaking whatever red-light enchantment Mariam had erected. A ghostly pale light framed Liane, casting ghastly shadows across the darkened study.
The Pillar looked over her shoulder, a pair of glowing eyes burning in her sockets. “And you seem to forget that I am Liane, the MagicWarper, and that I am Pillar of Kiria!” her voice crackled from every corner of the room, and Mariam could feel her midriff vibrate angrily at the tones of it.
Slowly, the Consul raised her hands in supplication.
The windows returned, as did the normal illumination. The staff was lifted off the ground, and Liane's eyes returned to normal. “I do not wish to fight you, but you have given me no choice,” the younger woman said, sadly. “You are one of my oldest, dearest friends. I had hoped the insinuation to be nothing but vicious lies. Instead, I find that you are attempting a revolution. It is… hurtful.”
Mariam lapsed into silence, and once more, Liane allowed her time to think. From her tiny facial changes, the Pillar could see her friend was going through some inner turmoil, debating things with herself. A look of shame suddenly became very obvious, a look that hid itself behind Decorum as quickly as Mariam could manage it. Something had changed, some fundamental aspect of the Consul's convictions had shifted.
“I can make you the promise that I would not incite revolution, Lady Pillar,” Mariam said, her voice soft.
Liane shook her head. “A promise given while under threat of arrest is no promise at all.”
“And if I took Truth Serum?” she offered. “I will still debate the merits of Democracy, but I will not attempt revolution.”
The Pillar sighed, and sat down. “If I give you Truth Serum, your deepest and darkest secrets will be revealed, My Lady. They will be part of public record. If I give it to you, I must question you extensively, and record the conversation. If there is a part of you that wishes for revolution, a part that will still discuss this with the wrong people, the Serum will find it and force it into the open. There would be no protecting you then.”
Mariam swallowed deeply, then nodded bravely. “I'll take the Truth Serum. I'll keep my convictions about democracy secret.”
The Pillar took a deep breath, and extracted a small bottle from her robes, which she placed on the desk. She held up her hand when Mariam reached for it, making her halt. Liane then pulled out a cylindrical piece of crystal. She flipped her hood back up, and tapped its base.
“Vera of the Black Wind, Pillar of Kiria, Voice and Hand of the Emperor, interrogating Mariam of the Volcanoes, Consul of Kiria to the United States of America, regarding allegations of inciting unrest and revolution to the detriment of the Kirian Empire. Lady Consul, please speak slowly and clearly. Has the use of Truth Serum and the results that its truths will reveal been explained to you?”
“I have been briefed, Lady Pillar,” Mariam spoke.
“Please take the Truth Serum, My Lady.”
The Consul drank. “As a control question to ensure that the Serum is working, please tell me the one secret that you would never share with anyone, My Lady,” Vera said.
Mariam blinked twice, and for a moment appeared to attempt to resist the Serum. In the end, her voice was emotionless when she said, “I find myself attracted to women rather than men.”
Vera blinked under her hood, not having expected that sort of response. Managing to keep her voice level, she looked at the crystal. “I verify that the Consul is under the influence of Truth Serum.” Turning back to her friend, she added, “Please rest assured, My Lady. Your secret will go no further than the two of us, the recording, and the testimony officer. The crystal shall be destroyed at the end of the investigation.”
Mariam relaxed at the words, her shoulders sagging in relief.
“Allegations have been made that you were inciting revolution by sending messages to high ranking members of the ruling council. These messages contained questions regarding the organization of free elections. Did you send these messages?”
“Yes, I did,” Mariam replied.
“Why did you send these messages?”
“Because I am of the firm belief that a democratic government is a fairer system of government for all Kirians, Nobles and Commoners alike,” the Consul answered honestly.
At this point, Vera was glad she'd talked to her friend first. Had she been an investigating Pillar on any other case, those first two replies would have been very damning, indeed. She would have to be careful with her questions at this point.
“Will you send more of these messages in the future?” Vera asked, hoping that her friend knew what she was doing. If there was even a shred of doubt, the Truth Serum would force her to reply honestly.
“No, I will not,” Mariam replied, calmly. Liane found herself letting out the breath she had been holding, barely managing to keep it silent enough to be missed by the recording crystal.
“Why will you refrain from sending them in the future? Is it merely the fear of reprisal or are there other reasons?” Vera asked, knowing that she needed to have everything recorded.
“Because you, Pillar, convinced me that a revolution would be the result of my actions. Above all, I am a loyal Kirian citizen and I only want the best for it. I still believe that democracy is best for it, but I do not want to plunge our country into upheaval and revolution in order to get it. Therefore, I will not make any further inquiries and will keep my ideas to a small circle of confidants.”
That was a good answer, Vera thought. Thoughts and ideas weren't bad or discouraged, only destabilizing the state or the government was. “Do you have anything else to add to this interview that may shed light on your appearance of guilt or innocence?”
“I have never wished for damage to Kiria, as my intact oaths and vows have proven. I love my country, and only wish what is best for it. It was the Pillar who convinced me that I was doing damage to it rather than assisting it.”
Vera nodded, tapped the crystal, and flipped her hood down. “Our interview is over, My Lady. Please wait for the Truth Serum to clear from your system before engaging in conversation with anyone, as you would be forced to tell the truth.”
Mariam nodded. “Perhaps you would like to ask a personal question?” she asked.
Liane frowned slightly. “You are under the influence of Truth Serum. Not only would it be a gross invasion of your privacy, it would also be a breach of trust. What question would you have me ask, anyway?” She asked, before cursing herself. She had asked a question, despite her resolve not to. She now understood why Adjudicators left the room immediately after terminating an interview.
“What changed my mind,” Mariam replied, calmly.
“I am a little curious, as I did not think that I convinced you,” Liane said, very deliberately not phrasing her statement as a question.
“It was your use of the term ‘revolution’, and your steadfast belief that the end results of my actions would result in it, My Lady. I failed to see how ‘revolution’ would apply to what I did, but as our discussion progressed, I realized that you were right. The predominant viewpoint is the one you hold. Introducing democracy in Kiria would be nothing else than revolution, the destruction and reconstruction of our nation. It was not my intention to cause the chaos that would no doubt result from such an action,” Mariam said. “I can do nothing but apologize.”
“I’ll note in my report that you were found to be under a faulty impression and had a severe lapse of judgment. It’s likely that you will be monitored more closely in the next six months to one year. Also, I do not think it likely that your place as Consul to the United States will be extended. I believe you will be called back to Kiri
a at the end of your term.”
Mariam just nodded.
“I will leave immediately and travel back to Kiria, My Lady. I hope that we will be able to continue our written correspondence in the future,” Liane said, standing up.
“I would hope the same, Lady Pillar,” the Consul answered as Liane flipped her cowl back up. The room was unsealed with a single motion of her staff, and Vera made to open the door. “Pillar?”
“My Lady?” she asked, half-turning to look at Mariam.
“About my secret... thank you for not commenting.”
“Please promise me that we will just remain friends,” Vera answered calmly. “As I am attracted to men.”
Mariam’s lips twitched slightly and she nodded her assent before Vera turned and left the study. She had a long trip back to Kiria to prepare, a report to write, and a debriefing to attend.
