Fall: Cross of the past, key of the future (Numbered Book 4)

by Magus Tor

  Nothing else was said about the matter, but Aurelia got the feeling that an understanding had been arrived at. Should Jonathon lose the election, they would fight anyway. Privately she agreed with this, but she knew that Jonathon would find it difficult to reconcile his personal beliefs with the idea. As much as he was a Resistance fighter, he wasn't really a rebel. He needed to do things within a certain moral framework. She thought it must be difficult being him, being so torn between what he believed and how he'd grown up.

  The time ticked away. No one spoke; there was no need. Now it was just a matter of waiting.

  Aurelia thought they'd been sitting for a couple of hours or so before she heard the deep ringing of the bell again.

  Jonathon looked up.

  “It's time,” Elza said gently.

  He nodded and stood. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “Thank all of you.”

  Without another word, he left the room and walked out, down the corridor and into the large chamber. The old man was back on the stage, making yet another speech. They waited a few moments, until finally he said:

  “May I ask the candidates to take their seats?”

  Jonathon turned to them, and Aurelia forced herself to give him a small smile, even though smiling was the last thing she felt like doing. He simply nodded, then turned to mount the stage. He walked to one of the long tables and pulled out the largest chair, situated in the middle of the long side of the table, facing outwards. Then he sat. The three other candidates did the same, and Aurelia noticed the fourth man, the one whose speech she hadn't heard, was also young, though not as young as Jonathon.

  The old man surveyed the stage and nodded in satisfaction. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced. “When you are ready, please cast your votes.”

  Aurelia's stomach tightened as not a single person in the chamber moved.

  Chapter Three

  Aurelia could feel every heartbeat in her body. Blood pumped and air whistled; it was like she'd suddenly become aware of everything inside her. And still nobody moved. No one wanted to be the first to declare their intentions. Everyone was waiting for someone else to make the leap.

  Someone gave a small cough, and it echoed around the chamber. The four candidates sat, still and silent. Finally, the old man nodded in resignation, left his podium, and slowly walked towards the long table to his right. Pulling out a chair, he took a seat next to the even-older candidate.

  Then there was a rustling, a moving of feet, and two others mounted the stage, each taking chairs. Aurelia noted with satisfaction that the big-bellied man sat on Jonathon's left-hand side. More came, climbing the stairs to the stage in twos and threes, chairs scraping on the concrete floor, muffled conversations and whispers. Aurelia found that she was holding hands tightly with Elza and Nicholas.

  Nearly everyone had sat; only a few council members still remained in the central chamber. Trying desperately to count, Aurelia tried to figure out which way the votes were swinging. But she couldn't. The female candidate's table was almost empty, only a handful of councillors sitting with her. The young male had a few more votes. But both Jonathon and the older candidate had full tables, and she just couldn't count fast enough to keep up.

  “He should have had more,” Elza whispered.

  “It's close,” Nicholas said. “But he's still got a chance.”

  The last two councillors climbed the stairs. One sat at the older candidate's table, and the other, after a pause, at Jonathon's. Everyone, councillors included, craned their necks, looking around anxiously to see if they could tell who had won. The older man was whispering to a councillor seated next to him, but Jonathon just sat, still and pale and quiet.

  The bell rang again, silencing the councillors. Four admin Workers entered the chamber, climbed the stairs and separated, one going to each table. They were counting. Aurelia's breath came faster, and she felt her palms become sweaty. After what seemed like an hour, the admin Workers tapped something into the screens they carried, and one by one carried them to the old man who had been the master of ceremonies so far. He looked at the numbers, face immobile, nodded to the admin Workers, who left, then pushed his chair back.

  His footsteps echoed around the room. He placed his hands on the podium and cleared his throat. Aurelia gripped Nicholas’s and Elza's hands even more tightly, but her eyes never left Jonathon. He was surrounded by people and yet looked so terribly alone.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, your votes have been cast,” began the old man. “The results are close but clear. Your new President is...” There was a pause, and Aurelia held her breath. “Jonathon Hansen.”

  The chamber erupted into sound, cheering, applauding, but all Aurelia could hear was the roaring of blood in her ears. Then she was swept up by both Nicholas and Elza.

  “He's done it,” Elza said, holding her tight.

  For those few seconds they allowed themselves to celebrate, allowed themselves to congratulate each other, to feel hope and happiness. The councillors were leaving the stage, coming back down to the floor of the chamber, leaving only Jonathon and the master of ceremonies. More than anything, Aurelia wanted to jump up on the stage and hug Jonathon, but she knew it wasn't the time. In fact, as soon as he approached the podium, she knew that the time for celebration was over. Now it began.

  He held up his hands for silence. Gradually, the shouts became whispers, then quiet.

  “I would like to thank Mr. Sokba for his role in running this vote,” he said first, gesturing to the older man, who nodded, pleased. “And I would like to thank you all for your votes.” Again the cheering and clapping, again the hands held up for silence. “Though I feel that some of you may not be as satisfied with your decision as others.” This prompted a murmuring in the crowd that took some time to die down.

  “The time has come, my friends, for complete transparency. The time has come for change. This Empire, our Empire, is one that is rich, but only for a few. It is one that is free, but only for a few. It is one that is fair, but only for a few.”

  Aurelia scanned the room, seeing growing confusion on the faces of those around her. Some still looked elated, but those who were listening carefully were starting to piece things together, starting to realise just exactly what was happening.

  “The time has come, my friends, to bring this wealth, this freedom, this equality, to us all. To every citizen in the Empire. To divide what we have, to ensure that all have the freedoms that we ourselves have.”

  There was a buzzing, which Aurelia realised was conversation. The electors were beginning to turn to each other, to question if others had heard the same thing. Jonathon waited a moment on stage, his head bowed.

  “What exactly do you mean?” a voice from the crowd shouted out. There was a mumbling of agreement as though others had wanted to ask the same question.

  “I mean,” said Jonathon, his eyes flashing now, “that there is no difference, nor should there be a difference, between the Elite and the Workers, the Elite and the Clones, the Elite and anyone else. And the time of us treating other citizens as animals—determining when and where they shall work, monitoring their breeding, enslaving them to provide us with the resources we need—that time is over.”

  The mumbles grew louder and rapidly became shouts as the councillors understood exactly what Jonathon was saying.

  “He's losing them,” Elza said, biting her lip.

  “He was always going to,” Nicholas said, looking at his time reader.

  “But he's getting angry—he needs to calm down a little. There may still be those who will side with him,” Elza said.

  Aurelia nodded, but Nicholas forestalled any further conversation. “I'll be back,” he said, disappearing into the increasingly irate crowd.

  “We all know how the Empire works,” Jonathon continued, and he did sound calmer now. “We know the secrets that are kept from the Workers; we know the sacrifices that are made so we can live lives of luxury. It is time that this ended.”

  Som
ebody in the crowd snorted, then laughed, and he was soon joined by others. Aurelia looked around, trying to see who was laughing and why.

  “He's kidding! It's a joke!” someone cried.

  “No!” shouted Jonathon. “I'm not joking. This is the way that things are going to be. It will be a slow process—of that I'm sure, but my government is slowly going to dismantle the numbering system, and in its place we will have a system that works, and one that is fair.”

  There was shouting now, and Jonathon once again bowed his head. Sokba, the elderly man, climbed the stairs again and came to the podium. Surprisingly, Jonathon stepped aside without question, allowing the man to speak.

  He stood quietly until the councillors realised he was there. He was flushed with anger but held himself together well. He was in control.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I think we can all agree here that there has been some misunderstanding,” he said, grimly but clearly. “As far as I'm aware, talk such as this is treason, no matter who is doing the speaking.”

  There was a rumble of agreement.

  “In that case, I will ask that we all remain here quietly, until sec Workers can arrive to arrest Mr. Hansen. We will then continue with the election process.”

  Another roar of approval, and Aurelia looked around wildly, panicking. They couldn't arrest him, not now. He was President. She found Elza's eyes with her own but saw no worry there.

  “Just wait,” Elza breathed. “Patience.”

  Looking at Jonathon, Aurelia was surprised to see that he was smiling. With a polite bow to Sokba, who ceded the podium, Jonathon once more addressed the room.

  “Would you not agree that the Empire President is elected democratically?” he asked the crowd.

  There were cries of yes, of course, which Aurelia personally thought was stretching things a little. Sure, the councillors were technically elected by Workers, and they in turn elected the President, but it wasn't exactly democracy.

  “Then how,” Jonathon continued, “do you propose to explain to your Workers why you have arrested the diplomatically elected President? The President you voted for?”

  There was a deep, rumbling laugh. Aurelia saw Big-belly standing in front of the stage. “That's the beauty of it, traitor—we won't have to. The only Workers who know of your election are the admin Workers who counted the votes, and they can be dealt with.”

  Jonathon grinned. Aurelia had the feeling he'd been counting on something like this. He turned his head towards the ceiling, not saying a word. One by one the councillors also began to look up, trying to see what he was doing. Then Aurelia herself bent her head back. She saw them immediately. Cameras were mounted in every corner of the chamber.

  “You forget, my friends,” said Jonathon, still looking up. “Everything that happens in this room is streamed directly to the screens of Lunar City. Was that not one of your devices for making sure that the elections were held properly? So that there would be witnesses if someone tried to backstab you? So that there would never be a question of which of you snakes voted for whom?”

  Aurelia shook her head. Jonathon was speaking calmly but doing little to endear himself, possibly figuring that all was lost already. And from the pale faces around the room, it was clear that the camera streaming was either such a habit that no one had considered it, or such an old practice that no one gave it thought anymore.

  “You should see it out there,” said Nicholas's voice from behind them. He was breathing hard, as if he'd been running. “Everything's stopped. Everyone's just standing on the street watching the screens.”

  “Where have you been?” Elza demanded.

  “Wait and see,” he said, with a mysterious smile.

  Aurelia was still watching the councillors. They were angry for the most part, unwilling to admit that they had been defeated. Unwilling to accept that someone might change things. But she noticed that a few of the faster-thinking ones had already pulled out personal screens and were tapping away at them. Carefully she peered over the shoulder of a small man standing close to her, his fingers flying over his screen. Reservations on the Earth shuttle, she saw. Hmmm. He was hedging his bets, arranging some kind of escape just in case.

  “My friends,” Jonathon shouted over the angry roaring of the room. “My friends!” The shouting quietened. “I call you that because many of you are indeed my friends—though maybe not for much longer. I have told you what will happen. And now I urge you to join me. There is room for you all in my government, even on my cabinet, if you can commit to my cause. I will turn none of you away if you choose to join me.”

  There was a renewed shouting, angry yelling, cursing, councillors using words that Aurelia wasn't even sure she knew the meaning of.

  “We shall deem this election invalid!” shouted Sokba from the stage. “Invalid!”

  Three deep, resounding knocks came from the large front door.

  “I have my supporters, though you may not be among them,” shouted Jonathon. “And as you know, there is no reason for the election to be deemed invalid. Open the door!”

  None of the councillors moved as Nicholas sprinted across the chamber and opened the arched door. A full squadron of uniformed Military Clones entered the chamber. Their weapons were holstered, but they looked threatening nevertheless. They neatly arranged themselves along the back wall of the room. The crowd of councillors was suddenly silent, aware now that they could not count on their beloved Military Clones to protect them.

  “My friends,” said Jonathon, once more. “I will give you time to think. Know that I will go on with or without you, but that you are welcome to join me in my fight to make the Empire a just and fair place to live for all citizens. And now I shall leave this chamber as your President. Unless any of you care to stop me?”

  He turned away from the podium and slowly walked across the stage and down the stairs. The crowd parted around him, no one moving to prevent his leaving. All were too shocked by what had happened, all too intimidated by the Military squadron lining the walls. His shoes tapping loudly in the silence, Jonathon made his way to the door, walked out into the shade of the portico, then down the stairs and into the soft glow of the Lunar dome.

  The crowd was still frozen in silence when Nicholas grabbed Elza and Aurelia by the hands. “Let's get out of here before they realise who we are and try to stop us,” he hissed, practically dragging them towards the door.

  Aurelia was amazed by the quiet. Lunar was never silent, but leaving the chamber, it was if the entire City had suddenly stopped. The clearing around the election hall was empty except for a transport pod already hovering a metre or so off the ground.

  “Everyone's still glued to the screens,” Nicholas said. “I told you it was weird.”

  He pulled them along, and as they reached the pod, it sank slightly. The door opened to reveal Jonathon already inside.

  “Come on, fast,” he said, offering Aurelia a hand. “Before they realise that there's only four of us and they probably could stop us if they wanted to.”

  They pulled themselves up into the pod. Jonathon slammed the door, hit the console button, and the pod hummed and set off. All was quiet for a moment, save for the soft whisper of the pod engines. Then Nicholas began to laugh. Jonathon joined him. Before long, they were all laughing. Aurelia wondered whether it was relief, hysteria, or panic that made them laugh until they were crying. But in the end, what mattered was that they had done it. Jonathon had done it. He was President.

  “And now?” asked Nicholas, when they reached the house.

  “And now,” said Jonathon, “if no one minds, I'm going to take a nap.”

  “A nap?” asked Elza, in horror, jumping out of the pod. “Do you not have better things to do right now?”

  Jonathon grinned. “They can wait. I'll let the news sink in first, and then tomorrow I will go straight to the parliament building. Let's see if any of those Elites can smell which way the wind's blowing. I've got a feeling that there'll be more than one the
re waiting for me.”

  “Hmm,” said Elza. “Though they might not be waiting to join your cause.”

  Jonathon shrugged. “It's early enough. We've got time to plan later. And if I'm going to start work tomorrow, real work, then I need to be rested. I think we could all use a little time to get used to what's just happened. Besides, there's nothing we can do right this second that's going to make anything better or worse.”

  Aurelia silently agreed. They'd think better when rested, anyway. She carefully avoided walking on the grass as she got out of the pod, and wondered how much longer they'd stay in the house. She assumed that part of getting rid of the Elite would mean getting rid of the large compounds they lived on.

  They made it to the front door before Jonathon was practically bowled over by a hurricane blowing out of the house and throwing herself at him.

  “Congratulations!” screamed Tara.

  Aurelia smiled. She liked Jonathon's sister, whose crazy hair had once more mutated in colour and was now a violent shade of orange. She wasn't smiling for long, though, since as soon as Tara was done with her brother, she scooped Aurelia up in a hug so tight she couldn't breathe.

  “When did you get back?” Jonathon asked.

  “In time to see everything,” said Tara, releasing Aurelia. “You were amazing. I saw it on the screen near the department store and then rushed back here, figuring you'd be home soon enough.”

  Aurelia wondered where Tara had been. She hadn't seen the young woman since her return from Earth, but she knew Tara had been working on Lunar and had uncovered the fact that their father was behind Jonathon's assassination attempts.

  “Where have you been?” Aurelia couldn't help but ask.

  “Eugh, Jonathon insisted that I stay out of the house until he'd taken care of the problem with Father. I've been crashing with the Connectors in the tunnels.” She gave a moue of distaste that illustrated exactly how she felt about roughing it with Bryn and his colleagues. “Bryn told me as soon as he'd done the job, and I got back here as soon as I could. Oh, and he told me something else....”